Christianity is not for the faint of heart. Jesus urges us to count the cost of discipleship. Many of the patriarchs had to make hard choices, as do we.

No one has felt more rejection than Jesus Christ. He was rejected by those of His hometown, and His own physical brothers rejected Him because they did not believe.

The twin sons of Isaac, Esau and Jacob, are a classic model of sibling rivalry, and their contentious relationship has had a tremendous impact on history.

We know a lot about Joseph, but we tend to know precious little about his younger brother Benjamin. Here is what the Bible shows about him.

Paul refers to the church as 'the Israel of God.' Why not 'the Judah of God'? Why did God not inspire Paul to call the church "the Jacob of God"?

Jacob's son Joseph receives the least criticism and the most praise, a sterling record of character and human accomplishment surpassed only by Jesus Christ.

An entire chapter of Genesis is devoted to the sexual violation of Dinah and its consequences. Who bears the responsibility for this grievous crime?

God frequently bypasses the firstborn, selecting for His purposes another sibling. Jacob selected Joseph's second son, Ephraim, to receive the blessing.

By studying eating in the experiences of those in the Bible, we plumb a deep well of instruction from which we can draw vital lessons to help us through life.

Feelings and emotions may throw our faith off course. Our moods are mercurial and we must control them with daily prayer and Bible study.

Joseph was an extraordinary type of Jesus Christ. His life and character parallels Christ's in at least 16 ways, which God purposefully foreordained.

The Scriptures provide many examples of how difficult relationships were dealt with by humility, deference, longsuffering, and prayer.

The Hebrew word used to mark appointed times connotes a pilgrimage. The Hebrew year contained five steps or seasons, corresponding to God's holy times.

It is easy to follow in Satan's footsteps, courting his daughter Envy, reaping the disquiet which accompanies her. Envy comes from pushing God from our thoughts.

We must learn to let God provide blessings rather than, through crafty scheming life our forefather Jacob, grabbing them from others for themselves.

At times, God has to ignite our conscience and undermine our self-confidence to get our attention in a similar fashion as he did to Joseph's brothers.

This is the time to make the most of what we have experienced, establishing our spiritual priorities, and reflecting deeply on why we gave ourselves to God.

We have to learn to rely on God to get us out of strait and difficult situations, realizing that God may want to help us to develop a backbone and mature.

How can we evaluate whether our Feast is 'good' or not? God's criticism of Israel's feasts in Amos 5 teaches what God wants us to learn from His feasts.

Many churches understand tithing but do not believe that God commands them for today. However, tithing has always been God's way of financing His work on earth.

In the Bible, eating can be a symbol of fornication. Like Jacob and Christ, we must learn to curb our appetites, learning to distinguish holy from profane.

God exiles to punish for sin, separating individuals and groups from Him in order to spur repentance. There is something to exile that God finds very good.

Even when we exercise free moral agency, God engineers circumstances and outcomes so that we are virtually forced to make the right decision.

Even though Joseph was born into a highly dysfunctional family, he nevertheless had a high batting average when it came to making the right moral choices.

The best use of imagination would be to assimilate events, principles, lessons, and doctrine from scripture, transforming us into the image of God.

A spiritual Israelite undergoes a metamorphosis in which his own self-centered will is broken so that God's creative work can be completed within him.

We can do nothing to gain the favor of God before our calling, but we are empowered by God to carry out a particular part of His plan to edify the body.

With godly hope, we need to envision the successful accomplishment of God's purpose for us, realizing that God has bound that promise with an oath.

Martha used her gifts, but to an excessive extreme. Jesus had to reel her in, setting her on a more productive course. We must use our gifts responsibly.

Jesus Christ was a master of satire, word play, absurdity, irony, sarcasm, and exaggeration. Humor in the Bible reveals one dimension of God's personality.

We have to exercise faith, realizing the timing will be right for us, enabling us to accept His provisions and decisions for us without fear or anxiety.