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.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
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.

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The petition not to be led into temptation is found in just the right place within the seven petitions.
Though envy whispers to us that peace can only be found by “keeping up,” Jesus whispers to us a better word: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
When you walk into church on Sunday, you may not notice, but there are wounded soldiers sitting in every single pew.
If Jesus is better than Moses, then everything changes. If Jesus is better than Moses, then the ultimate becomes the penultimate.
Jesus takes the sins of man upon Himself and carries them to the cross to make our hearts holy and acceptable in the eyes of God.
Our ears are opened by the Spirit through the word. Then, faith in Christ is present in us.
There is joy in Lent, but it is the kind of joy that comes in being made whole.
It’s not the disciples’ faith that invented the resurrection but the resurrection that gave birth to the disciples’ faith.
When we look upon the cross, we see our sin. We also see the One who washes it away and gives life.
God preserves language so he might continue to communicate his love and grace to us, and that we might communicate his love and grace to others.
Trusting in Christ’s promise of new life and deliverance pours generosity and hospitality into the way we think and the way we experience life.
Christianity is not about principally about ethics. It was the Cross on the Hill rather than the Sermon on the Mount that produced the impact of Christianity upon the world.