Nathaniel was certain that Messiah's arrival would be a good thing for Israel. It was therefore incredulous to him that the blessing could emerge from a place with such a poor reputation.

With the advantage of hindsight we see that the Savior's origin's are not so surpr...

Israel was about to be driven into exile. Enemy nations believed they had the upper hand and were in control of events. They did not know that their ascendancy over Israel was being incorporated into a larger plan than theirs.  God is greater than our personal misfortu...

Heaven, imagined as a place beyond the stratosphere where disembodied people float blissfully, is nowhere taught in Scripture. Instead, the future God has in mind will be this world, redeemed and, along with its inhabitants, renewed and transformed.  The futile tribal...

Two prodigious realities are here mentioned.  Sin, which beclouds and dominates life, explaining why we self-sabotage even our best efforts, accounting for our  brokenness.  Then, the Lamb--Jesus, the answer to our futility.  Sin's hold on us is ruinous, but Christ is...

Many a politician begins his day in the sun by announcing that he will make things right in the world. Each in turn proves the falsity of this claim. John the Baptist was more useful by being more truthful. He came right out and said, 'I am not the Christ' (I am not Go...

'Justice', here, is mishpat, more accurately, 'judgment'; truthful differentiation between right and wrong, which prevents the evil of injustice. Sure evidence of knowing God is love of justice. Genuine faith is weighty with social consequence.

A frequent victim of racial profiling, and seen as spiritually impotent by the Jewish establishment, comes before Christ in adoration, gratitude, and readiness for service; sure signs of genuine religious experience. How often does it happen that a bona fide relationsh...

The prophet portrays refugees from the cities and towns of Judah, having fled for refuge within the walls of Jerusalem as their last bastion of hope against the marauding army of Sennacherib. Two figures of speech with a rich usage in Israel's story picture God as shep...

Because we are the product of a personal God, to reflect the Creator's personality is the imperative of our existence. All thought and action occurs under an overarching 'oughtness.'  And after having done right, what we should not do is think that God owes us somethin...

'Don't make a mess in your own back yard.' Most of us know someone who, not having followed that piece of folk-wisdom, has made their home unlivable. There is a permanent homeland for the human spirit--with God, in the sharing of his values. 'There is a place of quiet...