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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In our attempts to flee from our fears and escape death, we will become imprisoned by them.
Love is to be the interpreter of law. Where there is no love, these things are meaningless, and law begins to do harm.
We cannot control the resistance of people to God’s Word, but we can trust in God’s power and promise to work through His Word.
Jesus did not come to be first. He came to be faithful, faithful to His Father’s mission for you.
If your congregation promotes and supports “family values,” you should be prepared to take this text head-on.
If the world could have been saved by bookkeeping, it would have been saved by Moses, not Jesus. The law was just fine.
The Father in Heaven is the only one we have legitimate reason to fear. But in Christ, we learn that the Father knows His children intimately and values His children exceedingly.
The enemy comes with his wounding, haunting words, and I stand behind my advocate Christ the Lord. He gives me more words, better words, truer words.
Before the sending is the gathering. Before the gathering is the compassion. Before the compassion is the seeing. And it all starts with a gracious God.
Christ is joy and sweetness to a broken heart. Christ is a lover of poor sinners, and such a lover that He gave Himself for us.
We are meant to serve in love both our neighbor in need as well as the neighbor who doesn’t think they need us.
The Lord, who is with us, retains authority over us. His promise calls for trust and obedience.