On May 21st our Jewish friends will celebrate the Feast of Shavout.1 The Book of Ruth is traditionally read at this holiday, also known as the Feast of Pentecost. For a number of reasons, this feast may have far more prophetic relevance than is commonly recognized.

What do we call a government where a single individual has the power to create laws merely by uttering a few words or issuing some sort of written decree? Most of us would respond that this describes a monarchy. The founders of our nation clearly wanted to depart from the kind of despotic control that can be imposed by a royal ruling class and established a republic to achieve that.

I am so very excited to report that my new book Faith in the Night Seasons is almost completed. After living it for seven years and then writing it for almost a year and a half, you can't believe how thrilled I am to have it nearing completion.

Esther is an obscure book to many, even though it is a story of romance and palace intrigue set in the glory days of the Persian Empire. A Jewish maiden, elevated to the throne of Persia as its queen, is used by God to preserve His people against a Hitler-like annihilation.

Time is the most mysterious of the four usual dimensions of our space-time continuum. "It's not so much that there's something strange about time," said Dr. John A. Wheeler, the famous Princeton cosmologist, "the thing that's strange is what's going on inside time. We will first understand how simple the universe is when we recognize how strange time is."

In previous articles, we noted how scientists have been attracted to the strange properties of a hologram to help explain the bizarre properties of quantum physics and even the organization of the human brain.1 It shouldn't come as such a surprise, then, to discover that the Ultimate Architect may have also employed some of these concepts in the design of the Scriptures themselves.

Over the last several months we have been delving into the real meaning of Agape Love-the supernatural Love of Jesus that is poured into our hearts the moment we believe and invite Him into our lives. It is God Himself who comes into our hearts at that moment-He is that Love!

After Jesus' resurrection, why did people always seem to have difficulty recognizing Him? We can't help but notice something strange about Jesus' post-resurrection appearances.

Many of us fail to really appreciate the remarkable-yet often misunderstood-epistle written by Jacob to the descendants of Israel. (Jacob means the supplanter; heel-catcher; tripper-up.1 It is Ya'kov in Hebrew, translated Jacobos in Greek, Jacques in French, Iago in Italian, Diego in Spanish, and James in English.)

Without a doubt, there is a great need in Christianity to get back to the basics of God's Word. This is true whether we're talking about salvation, sanctification, service, or finances.

This month many of us may avail ourselves of the opportunity to celebrate our loved ones with a traditional remembrance. It is also an appropriate time to remind ourselves that you and I are the recipients of the ultimate "valentine."

"Why does everyone make such a big issue about God's Love?" "What's so special about it? Why is it so important?" There is only one answer to these questions. 1 John 4:8 says, "God is Agape." This is why Agape Love is so special, so important, and why we are commanded to seek it with all of our heart, mind and soul.

The field of physics worships at the altar of c, the velocity of light. It is widely regarded as the inviolate constant which affects all things: from our knowledge of astronomy to the very behavior of subatomic particles.

Ezekiel is one of the most fascinating prophets of the Old Testament. One of the captives with King Jehoiachin in the second of three deportations under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, He mentions Daniel three times, who had been in Babylon nine years before Ezekiel arrived.

Last month we began a short series on "knowing God loves us." We said that it's critical to know He loves us, not just in our heads, but in our every day life experience. We need to know God loves us "experientially" so that no matter what happens to us circumstantially, emotionally or physically, the security of His Love is always there.

Intelligence experts are warning that 1999 is likely to be a year of serious upheaval in the Middle East. King Hussein of Jordan is suffering from lymph cancer, and a major conflict between Turkey and Cyprus over the issue of the delivery of S-300 missiles has been postponed only temporarily until the end of the year.

"Herein is Love, not that we [first] loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10)

Every Christmas season our thoughts turn to the birth of Christ and to his mother, Mary. To some extent, we all take the nativity for granted. But why was Jesus born of a virgin? One answer, of course, is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14: "Behold the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

Over the last few months, I've been sharing how God saved our marriage twenty years ago by His supernatural Love. I made the statement that had we not found God's Way of Agape, we would not be together today.

This month, with our celebration of Thanksgiving, we initiate our holiday season: a time for families and a time of reflection. This unique day reflects - perhaps more than any other - our national religious character.