How do relationships begin There is naturally not just one way one place or one word needed to start a relationship But is there a common process by which friendship is built from nothing to the point that neither party can imagine life without the other Some friendships begin in childhood thei

In a number of Servant Songs in Isaiah a mysterious individual appears who sometimes represents the nation of Israel though later Christians understood him to represent Jesus In Isaiah 42 this person is designated ldquo my servant rdquo ebed in Hebrew while in the Septuagint ldquo my child

The truth of the supposedly clich d phrase ldquo every child is a miracle rdquo hits home for most people when a child is born to them or an adopted child is welcomed into the family The instantaneous recognition of the child never before seen is a spiritual experience made tactile as a mother t

A summer ago my family set off on a cross-country car trip from Minnesota to Vancouver B C in part to pick up a wooden bench that my great-grandfather had made when my family immigrated to Canada It was the first thing he built when he arrived As an old man he was too old to work in the fields

Christians read the Old Testament today understandably in light of Christ rsquo s fulfillment of the promises and prophecies found there It is a simple thing to do since the early church read the Old Testament in the context of Jesus rsquo incarnation and teaching and the experience of Easter a

The fulfillment of hope especially divine hope fundamental hope does not rest on intricately calculated human plans in which we chart the future according to algorithms that never vary and on the basis of mathematical certainty await the fulfillment of our calculations Perhaps this works for 40