When people read the Bible, they may be surprised to find shocking stories of wickedness mixed with stories of great faith, sometimes in the very same people. In other words, it contains stories of people like us. Judges reports on the chaotic situation in Israel after the death of Joshua during which a series of deliverers rescued God’s people time and time again from self-inflicted problems. At the end of the book, things spiraled out of control, but this failure reveals the main point of the book. In the end, the judges could not have lasting success but were signposts pointing forward to the answer to their failures and ours.
Jesus’ scathing denunciation of the religious leaders exposed their hypocrisy and challenges us to let his light shine on ours.
When Peter explained what happened at Cornelius‘s house, the Jewish Christians were amazed that God had given salvation also to non-Jews!
All of a sudden, in John 11:55-12:26, Jesus not only permitted but encouraged people publicly to recognize him as king. What had changed? What...