UBC Wed For Life

                             Prophets and prophecies are seen throughout the Bible. Prophets were typically tasked with bringing the Word of God to the people either by delivering what God spoke directly to them like in the case of Moses or through interpretation of dreams and prophecies similar to what Joseph did when he was in Egypt. Several books in the Old Testament are dedicated largely to prophecies and the prophets that delivered them. The Book of Isaiah is probably one of the more well-known examples, and Isaiah might be the best known of the prophets among Christians because of what his prophecies meant for Jesus’ coming. Isaiah lived during the reigns of the kings of Judah: Uziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. That time began with affluence and became tumultuous for God’s people because of their disobedience and rejection of God. Isaiah’s first mentioned vision addresses that state of affairs. Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared child

                               Valentine’s Day is coming up on February 14th. The day originally started as a Christian feast holiday meant to honor a martyr named Valentine or Valentinus. Historians are not quite sure which man is the inspiration for the holiday as they know of multiple martyrs by the name of Valentine. For example, one was killed for defying the Roman emperor, Claudius II, by marrying young couples after the Romans outlawed marriage for young men. Another was killed for illegally freeing Christian prisoners. Regardless of what or who exactly inspired it, we do know that Valentine’s Day is very old and has changed quite a bit over the centuries. Originally, it had very little to do with love.  Over time, that became a more and more significant aspect of the way the holiday was celebrated. The concept of a Valentine's Day being a celebration of love started to really be embraced in American society in the 1700s, and, as is common for things introduced into Ame