“But what if there’s really no such thing as a crisis of faith? … What if it just feels like everything is going wrong, but really that instance is a moment when everything is about to go right? … What if what we often call a faith crisis is actually a divine journey–not from God, or simply to God, but a journey with God?”

“Sometime during eternity some guys show up and one of them who shows up real late is a kind of carpenter from some square-type place like Galilee and he starts wailing and claiming he is hep to who made heaven and earth and that the cat who really laid it on us is his Dad”

“An attitude of thankfulness keeps me centered when every attitude other than thankfulness promises me a center that it can’t find.”

“Being alert is not to vigilantly stand on tip-toe in order to scan some distant horizon out of the fear of some approaching enemy. Quite the opposite. It is falling to our knees knowing that God is already out on that horizon and that He thwarted the enemy long before they ever reached it.”

“The longer I’ve walked with God the more I’ve realized that being thankful is vigorously celebrating what’s right in the world while anticipating that what’s wrong with it will soon follow suit.”

“When we begin to reflect Christ, the Bible, when more understood as being centered around Christ, seems to be potentially every man’s biography regarding God’s promised experiences and truth for him – his individual, unique path of humbling oneself before the Lord and then being exalted by the Lord back into his true and righteous personhood. Many followers may speak of it merely to try to change other people (before changing themselves), but the prophets speak of it as a living word which miraculously tells their very own experiences.”

“I see the Christian world like this: we’ve inherited a divided map of the truth, and each of us has a piece. Our traditions teach us that no one else has a valid map and that our own church’s piece shows us all the terrain and roads that exist. In fact, there is much more terrain, more roads, and more truth for us to see if we can accept and read one another’s maps, fitting them together to give us a clearer picture of the larger Christian tradition.”

“Chapter 1: Genesis 3712 And [they] went – his brothers – to shepherd the flock of their father in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Yosef (Joseph), “Are not your brothers shepherding in Shechem? Go and [I] will send you to them.” And [he] said to him, “Behold: [here] I [am]!”

“Chapter 1: Genesis 3714 And [he] said to him, “Go, please, see [to] the peace of your brothers, and [to] the peace of the flock, and return to me a word, and [he] sent him from the valley of Ḥevron (Hebron), and [he] came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him, and behold: [He was] mistakenly [wandering] in the field, and [he] asked him – the man – saying, “What [do you] request [to find]?”16 And [he] said, “My brothers I request [to find] – Say, please, to me: Where [are] they shepherding?”17 And [he] said – the man – “[They] journeyed from this [place] because [I] heard [them] saying, ‘[We] will go to Dothan.’” And [he] went – Yosef (Joseph) – after his brothers, and [he] found them in Dothan.”

“Chapter 1: Genesis 3718 And [they] saw him from afar, and before [he] came close to them [they] plotted [against] him to put him to death. 19 And [they] said – [each] man to his brothers – “Behold: The possessor of the dreams – this one comes! 20 And now: Come and [let’s] kill him, and [we] will cast him in[to] one of the ground-pits, and [we] will say, ‘An evil living [creature] ate him’, and [we] will see what will be [of] his dreams!”

“Chapter 1: Genesis 3721 And Reuven (Reuben) heard and [he] saved him from their hand, and [he] said, “[We] will not hit him [killing his] soul!” 22 And [he] said to them – Reuven (Reuben) – “Don’t spill blood! Cast him to this ground-pit that [is] in the desert, and a hand do not send [forth] against him!” in order [to] save him from their hand [in order] to return him to his father.”

“Chapter 1: Genesis 3723 And [it] was when Yosef (Joseph) came to his brothers, and [they] stripped Yosef (Joseph) [of] his tunic – the striped tunic – that [was] upon him. 24 And [they] took him, and [they] cast him to the ground-pit, and the ground-pit [was] empty – there [was] not within it water.”

“Chapter 1: Genesis 3725 And [they] sat to eat bread, and [they] lifted [up] their eyes, and [they] saw, and behold: A caravan of Ishmaelites [was] coming from Gil’ad and their camels bearing spices, and balsam, and myrrh going to bring down to Mitzraim (Egypt). 26 And Yehudah (Judah) said to his brothers, “What gain [is there] that [we] will kill our brother and [by our] covering [up] his blood? 27 Come, and [let’s] sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hand [let] not be [up]on him because [he is] our brother – our flesh [and blood] he [is].” And [they] heard – his brothers – [and heeded].”

“Chapter 1: Genesis 3728 And [they] passed – Midianite people (merchants) – and [they] pulled, and [they] raised Yosef (Joseph) from the ground-pit, and [they] sold Yosef (Joseph) to the Ishmaelites for twenty [pieces of] silver, and [they] brought Yosef (Joseph) to Mitzraim (Egypt). 29 And [he] returned – Reuven (Reuben) – to the ground-pit, and behold: There [was] no Yosef (Joseph) in the ground-pit, and [he] tore his clothes.30 And [he] returned to his brothers, and [he] said, “The child [is] not there! And I – where do I go?!” 31 And [they] took the tunic of Yosef (Joseph), and [they] slaughtered a hairy-goat, and [they] dipped the tunic in the blood.”

“Chapter 8: Genesis 45 1 And Yosef (Joseph) could not control himself for all the posted-persons upon him, and [he] called [out], “Remove every man from upon me!” And a man did not stand with him in the confessing of Yosef (Joseph) to his brothers. 2 And [he] gave his voice in crying, and [they] heard – [all of] Mitzraim (Egypt) – and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3 And Yosef (Joseph) said to his brothers, “I [am] Yosef! Does my father still live?!” And his brothers could not answer him because [they] were terrified from his face.”