Forerunner

Year


The Justice of God
The Justice of God (January-February 2012)
The world's frequent cry for justice ignores the perfect justice of God, an element that Christians must constantly and consciously consider if they will live by faith. When He judges, God is always perfectly fair and right, despite our human misunderstandings of His sense of justice. Mercy, however, often tempers His decisions, extending help and grace instead of punishment.

Meet the Minor Prophets
Meet the Minor Prophets (March-April 2012)
The imagery of the plumb line derives from the prophecy of Amos given to the Kingdom of Israel just before it fell to Assyria (see Amos 7:7-8). A great many well-known biblical sayings and images are found in the section of the Old Testament called the Minor Prophets, which bridges the gap between the Testaments. Though small in length, the twelve Minor Prophets contain valuable information and warnings for us today.

God's Gift of Grace
God's Gift of Grace (May-June 2012)
Everyone enjoys receiving gifts. True Christians have received the greatest gift of all: God's grace. Most people think of grace only in terms of God's merciful forgiveness and acceptance through the blood of Jesus Christ, but such an idea severely limits this awesome, unmerited gift. The Bible reveals that through the fullness of Jesus Christ, we receive grace upon grace (John 1:16), a continuous flow of divine favor and gifts from God to help us in every situation of life. Through His grace, God supplies our every need.

Clay in the Potter's Hands
Clay in the Potter's Hands (July-August 2012)
Most Christians understand intellectually that God is sovereign over all things. At the same time, we see events in His Word that make us uncomfortable, such as His wholesale destruction of various peoples in the Old Testament. However, part of our growth as Christians is learning to give our lives completely to Him in faith. Do we truly trust Him in all things?

Paradoxes of Fear
Paradoxes of Fear (September-October 2012)
We live in a world gripped by many fears. Some of them are personal phobias like agoraphobia (fear of crowds or open spaces) and ophidiophobia (fear of snakes). Other fears, however, can have a significant effect on our spiritual lives. God frequently urges us not to fear, yet we are to have a fear of Him. We consider fear to be negative, but some fears are "healthy." How do we explain such paradoxes? How do we deal with fear?

Make Every Day Count
Make Every Day Count (November-December 2012)
The Bible depicts Christians as pilgrims on a trek through the wilderness of this life. Our destination is the Kingdom of God, and the path we must tread is often difficult and discouraging. Each of us, however, has only a limited amount of time to overcome those obstacles—to ford the rivers and cross the mountains—before winter sets in. In other words, we have to make every day count to reach the Promised Land that awaits us.