If you want to spend your time with a complicated study try doing some research on calendars and dating systems. The details of how various cultures have tried to keep a record of time while making adjustments for lunar or solar cycles is mind bending. Natural new beginnings— One thing that seems clear is that […]
It has now been more than 2009 years since the birth of Jesus. The Middle East remains at the swirling center of worlds news. The descendants of Abraham and Sarah are still fighting over a small strip of land. Many of us see the rockets going into and out of Gaza as being linked, not […]
Going into the Christmas holiday, I was focused on what can appear to be the scandalously generous side of grace. Found myself drawn back time and again to the priceless gift expressed in the words, “The Word (God) became flesh and lived among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only […]
Never got the last winter storm that was supposed to materialize today. Instead we got a lot of rain and a flood watch. The Grand River, for which our town is named (Grand Rapids, MI), has developed an ice jam and backed up to flood stage. Now the wind is kicking up and the temperature […]
In the eighth century before the birth of Jesus, the Jewish prophet Micah predicted, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). Then there are […]
Tonight the Discovery Channel is running a three hour special on Jesus: The Complete Story. Consecutive hours will address The Early Years; The Mission; and The Last Days. Advertising copy for the first segment reads: “Explore the strange fables that surround Jesus’ birth. Follow the childhood and early adult years of Jesus using a first […]
With the weather forecast calling for more snow and near blizzard conditions for later in the day, a local weather forecaster says that only a collision with the sun will keep it from being a white Christmas in West Michigan this year. So far, December has seemed more like January or early February around here. […]
Who hasn’t been frustrated trying to find the perfect Christmas gift? So why bother? Probably for any number of reasons… none of which is more important than giving out of a heart that is once again being warmed by the true meaning of the Christmas story. The Gifts of the King Continued from Christmas Morning […]
Sometimes the best thing about Christmas is the anticipation. When the day actually comes, it passes all too quickly … often leaving warm memories mingled with unrealized hopes and let down. The real Christmas story follows a similar pattern… Continued from Children Waiting Finally Here! After 400 long years, the silence was broken by unkind […]
Over the years, the ethnic relatives of Jesus have not been the only ones to ask, “If Yeshua was the Messiah, where is the peace he was supposed to bring? The prophet Isaiah clearly predicted that in the days of the promised King, ‘They will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning […]
