Roses of Grace

One day in ancient Israel, two men went to the temple. These men were very different—one of them was a Pharisee, a renowned teacher of the law, and one of them was a tax collector, a job infamous for its corruption and uncleanness.  If you grew up in the church, you probably know this story. In case you don't know it, I'll quote the rest from Luke 18:11–14:  'The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”' What if, instead of a Pharisee, it was a clean-cut church kid who's been ...

Solomon, king of Israel, was famed for his wisdom. Thousands posed to him the most difficult questions, and even kings and queens—most notably, the Queen of Sheba—traveled from miles away to hear him speak. Solomon also had over 700 wives and 300 concubines, and ended up worshiping false gods later in his life.  Napoleon Bonaparte swept over Europe with his armies at an astonishing speed shortly following the French Revolution. He was crowned emperor. The countries that were still unconquered lived in fear that his conquest would turn to them next, and it seemed like France would rule the majority of the civilized world. And then he was defeated. Twice. And he was exiled to a little island in the middle of nowhere.  In the 1920s, the American economy was booming. Spirits were high after the end of the Great War, and many were caught up in the festive mood. The stock market kept climbing, and there was no better time to invest then now .  And then the stock market crashed,...

Knowledge is power. So goes the saying, and God has the most knowledge of all. Omniscient means all-knowing. And it's a crucial attribute for God to have—what good is power without knowledge? How powerful would a God who didn't know everything truly be, or God from whom you could hide? That isn't our God, though. The God of the Bible is omniscient, all-knowing, and it's important for us to understand what that means.   The True Power of Knowledge Omniscient is also a word derived from Latin. Omni means all, and scient comes from the word sciere , meaning "to know." It's also the word that "science" comes from. Science is a popular field. Ever since the early days, when it was called natural philosophy, human beings have studied the world and start to understand its secrets. We have a thirst for knowledge that hasn't been satisfied yet. Now, it's possible that this desire stems from our nature. God has knowledge, and we want that knowled...