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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Truly, God uses good and evil, believers and unbelievers, to accomplish His purposes.
As God in his mercy enacted his plan to redeem his loved ones, he took them step by step. In the process of redeeming every part of us, he sent us prophets like Moses.
The Lord who stood before her seemed reckless in His love. Her sin didn't deter Him. Rather, it was the reason He came.
Jesus is making it crystal clear that the master, the king, God Himself decides who is and who is not welcome in His Kingdom.
The Church is like a beehive: One working for all and affecting all and all working for and affecting one.
From mountain to mountain, from meal to meal the LORD God points us to His banquet, already prepared; the marriage feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom which shall have no end!
We don’t deserve Jesus' friendship, but he nonetheless embraces us with it, along with his promise that he will never leave us nor forsake us.
The best synonym I can think of for Biblical meditation is "wonder." To meditate upon God's word is to wonder, as a child wonders at the stars.
The LORD is not yet finished with His vineyard.
Paul has discovered something to put on the credit side in comparison with which everything else he can imagine can only be a debt.
Contrary to common American Christian thinking, you would emphasize the individual is not the center of the biblical narrative. Christianity is not primarily about me and my relationship with Jesus.
This is an excerpt from “Unveiling Mercy: 365 Daily Devotions Based on Insights from Old Testament Hebrew” written by Chad Bird (1517 Publishing, 2020). Used with permission.