Who is your favorite female character in the Bible? How many of you would choose someone who was only mentioned a couple of times in the Bible by name, but who dedicated her time to serving her Lord? Let's meet Joanna, one such woman who offers a great example of a life of service.
Kashvi meets the Christian owners of the orphanage and begins to have a relationship with the one true God. The contrast between the "religion" of her childhood and the true godly faith of her new life at Karunai House really shows how the gospel can change your life.
This city is quite the man-made accomplishment, especially considering that the town didn’t even exist in the Old Testament. Herod built this city to celebrate humanism: the glory of Caesar Augustus, the Roman Empire, and Herod's own worldly achievements. Herod established this city to celebrate man forever and built the harbor to show he could “conquer nature” himself. Caesarea Maritima certainly boasted all the worldly pleasures man could ever hope for. But God had other plans.
You might think of the creeds of Nicea and Constantinople as your personal connection to Cappadocia...our spiritual bond to this place is vital. Next time you or your minister reads from the Nicene Creed, think of Cappadocia and the three church fathers from there that God sent at just the right time in church history to defend those truths we hold so dear.
King Herod didn't want anyone to forget his funeral. He ensured it had the same decadence and self-aggrandizement that he had displayed in life, so his subjects would remember it forever. The procession began at Herod's summer palace in Jericho. With all the pomp and circumstance of a military parade, it headed 23 miles west to the Herodium, Herod's pleasure palace and final resting place south of Jerusalem. Herod himself led the way, embalmed and carried on a golden bier.
But the Jews were left to wonder: Who would be their next king? Would it be Antipas, son of Herod’s Samaritan wife Malthake? Or possibly Philip, Herod’s son with a Jewish wife named Cleopatra? What would Herod’s last testament reveal?
I found this book an enjoyable read. It served as a good refresher on the beauty of the Protestant Reformed view of the covenant. It's that beauty, when truly grasped and appreciated, that should motivate us all to confess Jesus before men. While reading this I couldn't help but feel that I often don't appreciate that enough.
