Prodigal Spouse / Josephus & Jesus: New Evidence / Romans 16

Author

Douglas Jacoby
July 30, 2025

For the audiovisual version of the bulletin (YouTube, about 3 minutes, read by Chase Mackintosh), click here. 

Good morning from Manchester Airport! In an hour I’ll board my flight for Atlanta. A few days ago I got back from a productive writing getaway on the Isle of Man—photos below. (More about the book next year.) My favorite is that of the Tower of Refuge, built in Douglas Bay to provide shelter for anyone unlucky enough to be shipwrecked there. We all need a Tower of Refuge; as followers of our Lord, we have one.

I hope you enjoy today’s three offerings. Remember, fresh biblical material posted at the website nearly every day, so you don’t need to wait till Wednesday for inspiration.

Rugged coastline between Laxey and Douglas / The Bee Gees (born on the Isle of Man) / Manx flag by Douglas Bay

Manx flag / Residences and B&Bs along Victorian promenade, Douglas / Tower of Refuge (erected on a partially submerged reef, for any victims of shipwreck — I like that!)

Peel / Port Erin / Sicilian flag (Notice the triskelion—an ancient symbol—and the strong resemblance to the Manx flag. Is this a coincidence? Your thoughts welcome.)

Encouragement for Anyone Waiting on a Prodigal Spouse, by Betsy Childs Howard

CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE

Besides the prodigal son, there’s another parable of a prodigal in the Bible. It isn’t told by Jesus; instead it was lived in real life by the prophet Hosea. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. He took her away from the men who had bought her, gave her a home, and had children by her. She didn’t stay with him, but instead ran away to her old life, the life he had rescued her from. CLICK ABOVE TO CONTINUE

KEY NT PASSAGE: ROMANS 16:25-27

The last three verses of Paul's letter to the Romans are golden. They are hardly throwaway lines, or just a polite ending to his meaty epistle. Learn what a doxology is, and find out why. Listen to the talk (11 minutes).

Click HERE. (MEMBER LOGIN REQUIRED)

Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ, by T. C. Schmidt

From the abstract: This book brings to light an extraordinary connection between Jesus of Nazareth and the Jewish historian Josephus. Writing in 93/4 CE, Josephus composed an account of Jesus known as the Testimonium Flavianum. Despite this being the oldest description of Jesus written by a non-Christian, scholars have long doubted its authenticity due to the alleged pro-Christian claims it contains. The present book, however, authenticates Josephus’ authorship and then reveals a startling discovery.

UPCOMING

Thank you for your continued interest and support for this ministry.

I head to the US today for a one-week trip to Georgia and Florida: family visit, medical and financial appointments, speaking to the Atlanta Braves senior staff, and looking at possible future residences.

Next week Wednesday I will fly back to the UK.

Please keep those prayers coming.—DJ