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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Although human reason pretends to understand a great deal about work and word of God. The glory of it is too bright, the longer he beholds it the blinder he becomes.
There is a power that is stronger and mightier than the power of separation in death. And that power is the power of God’s love for you and me.
His word is what strengthens and changes our hearts. The Lord God will bring us victory.
God’s goal in all this is that His call to repentance impacts our lives by turning us to find peace and joy in Christ.
We trust God's Word because Jesus never fails us. He is our daily comfort when struggles and afflictions find us.
Your prayers are not what make you acceptable in his sight. You have already been made acceptable through the blood of Christ.
There is no justification except by faith alone. The radical forgiveness itself puts the old to death and calls forth the new.
In Christ Jesus, through faith, we’ve received everything we need for our bodies and lives, and life eternal.
These words not only rescue and defend; they also attack.
I rededicated my life as many times as I could when the guilt was unbearable. I would read my Bible more and pray more, yet I still struggled. I knew deep down, I was breaking God’s heart with my failure at being his child.
New normals are always sneaking up on us. Preachers ignore them to their peril and the peril of our hearers.
The power of God's Word is nothing like human power. People exercise power through force and violence. God's Word manifests His power through humility, service, and self-sacrifice.