In this 13th chapter of Hosea we unexpectedly come across one of the most remarkable verses in the book, if not in the whole Old Testament. But first we need to see its context. 

All Spanish political parties take sides in the controversy around the Jewish artist. Heated debate about freedom of conscience continues on social networks.

A German pastor cycles from Holland to the south of Italy, gets in touch with local churches and raises money for three missionary projects.

Will you, like Israel in Hosea's time, become increasingly confident in what you have gained? Or will you remember your origins, where you have come from, and so keep yourself humble before your God?

Archeologists at Bar-Ilan University have discovered the remnants of the ancient city of Gath, one of the largest and most influential cities in the region.

The project is part of the Israeli library's global initiative to digitize and disseminate online tens of thousands of rare Hebrew manuscripts currently dispersed between hundreds of collections worldwide.

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed evidence of early small-scale agricultural cultivation at Ohalo II, a 23,000-year-old hunter-gatherers’ sedentary camp on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

God is love. We often find this difficult to comprehend, especially when faced with hard circumstances, because our understanding of his love is so small. We find it hard to grasp how he can hold light and love in balance.

The scroll was unearthed in 1970 in a synagogue at Ein Gedi. Now, a high resolution 3D scanning has allowed to decipher it.

The deal limits Iranian nuclear activity in return for the lifting of international economic sanctions. Israel said “it is a mistake of historic proportions.”

We can sow to please our sinful nature or sow to please the Spirit - in both cases we should be aware of what we are sowing for. Our sowing has consequences in the future.

Michael Oh, CEO of the Lausanne Movement reminded Christians “the need for faithful biblical teaching and faithful biblical living.”

So, what are your life goals at this moment in time? To get a better job? To get married? To move to a bigger house or flat? To get a better car? To have children? To pass your exams?

Why don't you ask God to give you a 'roadworthiness check' and see if there is anything that needs putting right? Like me, you may be surprised at what he puts his finger on.

Have you ever tried to bargain with God? If you do this for me, if you give me this healing, I will sacrifice something for you, do something that I think you will like. It doesn’t work.

Michael W. Smith talked to Evangelical Focus in his visit to Barcelona. Prayer, the power of music and differences between the USA and Europe, some of the topics. 

Participants from across Europe met in Poland to connect, share projects and study the Bible together. Ajith Fernando, Michael Oh and dozens of other speakers encouraged participants to join God's mission.

"It was like hitting the jackpot," says Filip Vukosavovic, an expert in ancient Babylonia, Sumeria and Assyria after reading the tablets.

When I worked in the European Commission one of the most tense times was when the annual promotion list was being published. The competition to get on the list and so rise up a grade was intense. 

When a society turns its back on the true God, the reality is very different from the one envisaged by John Lennon and the optimists of the 1960s. Hosea lived that reality and describes it to us in this chapter.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Yuval Noah Harari, fabricates a future with no Creator: “Humans will become God-like cyborgs within 200 years.”

When God wanted to buy us back from our slavery to sin and wrongdoing, it took much more than money - it took the most precious thing that he could ever find, the blood of his own Son. 

Britain has become a society where economic growth is king. And this is true at a European level as well. 

Michael W. Smith talked to Evangelical Focus during his visit to Barcelona. He thinks “it is pretty unbelievable” that some of his songs are sung in churches all over the world. 

The singer talked to Evangelical Focus in his visit to Barcelona. “You just have a pinch yourself, how did these songs of mine found their way in all these countries all around the world?”