1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands 1 John 1:1 We have an amazing statement here to start off 1 John. That which was from the beginning – think about that for […]
1 John 2:1-5 I’m doing a study through 1 John with my men’s group, so I’m posting insights from it here. Maybe it will make a nice little resource going forward. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. 1 John 2:1 John has just finished saying […]
Yet, love cannot be commanded. If you pick up a small child and shake him harshly and demand that he love you, he may eventually pretend love to avoid further abuse, but he will not really love you. A man cannot hold a gun to a woman’s head and command real love. Love cannot […]
I want to make sure I drive home the takeaway point here. It is the great and abundant forgiveness we have received that IS our death. If we make light of our forgiveness, it muddies the water of our ‘baptism’ into His death, and the whole foundation that Paul builds his ideas about sanctification and […]
Tullian Tchividjian has an excellent blog post on the one-way love of God here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2012/03/06/one-way-love/ Many times in our discussions about law vs. works and whether or not we should fruit check and the relationship between justification and sanctification and all of that, perhaps we miss this very point. The MAIN THING about grace is […]
He [Paul in Romans 8:1) has not said, “God has done this and that and the other thing; and if by dint of imagination you can manage to pull it all together, you may be able to experience a little solace in the prison of your days.” No. He has simply said, “You are free. […]
I’ve been reading Genesis 25-33 about the life of Jacob. He is a very strange figure indeed, but I began to think about the events in his life from the perspective of grace. Here is a guy who is chosen beforehand more clearly than just about anyone else in history by God for blessing. He […]
Here is the question: There are a lot of statements in Paul’s letters, where he tells us very clearly, do this or don’t do that. They are imperative statements. Romans 12 is a great example: 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one […]
Well, the Liberate 2012 conference is over, and it was AMAZING. Here are my impressions: Worship: The worship was very moving and effective. The musicians were great, I especially liked the violin player. The piano player clearly had some jazz chops peeking through. They made very effective use almost exclusively of old hymns done in […]
Today I’m here in Ft. Lauderdale Fl, for the Liberate 2012 conference! Wonderful people in my church contributed money sacrificially to make this possible, and I am so grateful to all of them! I have high expectations and I’m praying to make some great friends and learn some great things to bring back home and […]