Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.
The word of assurance given to Moses at Sinai echoes through eternity on the lips of the Savior, untroubling troubled souls with the good news that there is one who walks the paths of life with you, and soon he’s coming to bring you to himself.

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Senkbeil is a pastor’s pastor, a master of the art of pastoral care.
Luther’s final thoughts were not meant to bum you out or lead you to despair.
Jesus stands before the disciples as the bridge between heaven and earth, and between Old Testament and New Testament.
The tragedy of the incidental Christ I was raised with is that he was really no Savior at all.
The one true God has revealed himself as the answer to the longings of every human heart. The search has ended. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Holy, Holy, Holy.
What does it mean that holding to Jesus’ teaching will set us free? Which teaching? What will we be set free from?
Solomon did not write Ecclesiastes to bum you out. He wrote it to set you free.
To understand the meaning of the Pentecost miracle for the life of a Christian, we must first learn to see it through the lens of the history that came before it.
Jesus reminds us of God’s mercy to the helpless, snakebitten children of Israel, then connects that story to him being lifted up on a cross to rescue an entire human race that is snakebitten by sin.