[Elijah] went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life.’” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get…
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A robe dipped in blood
Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True . . . He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white…
I’m right! You’re wrong!
Debates in church and politics can get painfully polarized, especially when participants hear only from like-minded people. Within our respective echo chambers, voices on both sides of an issue become shrill. We are tempted to demonize others who disagree. Buildings that house the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem have architecture symbolizing such binary thinking. Underneath…
Crossing barriers is risky business
Jews from Asia, who had seen Paul in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy…
Jesus was a child immigrant refugee
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by…
The first apostle was a woman
The twelve were with Jesus, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. Luke 8:1-3 For centuries, popular…
Breaking the weary cycle of violence
Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall, how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!” O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them…
Gaza, Goliath, and an end to hatred
“The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath . . .” 1 Samuel 17:3 Like fans at a lethal sporting event, Israelites…
Another King named Jesus
“We have a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” Hebrews 8:1 What are the limits of patriotism for followers of Jesus? Caesar Augustus (whose given name was Octavian) ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to AD 14. He was such an extraordinary…
Get off your ass and help!
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead” (Luke 10:30). The setting for Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan was Wadi Qelt or the road that runs parallel to it. The wadi is a deep…
Holy Lands Peace Pilgrim 