Christ our Advocate!
The Father is going to listen to Jesus! Jesus is saying, yes, all those accusations are true, and I died for them. Are you going to say that my death was to no account, Dad? And the Father will say, of course not!
The Cross of Christ Declares that We are Greatly Loved (Part 2)
Why can’t we rest in the simplicity that the cross offers true and lasting mercy? Mercy is not simple, and there is nothing at all unimportant about the power of the forgiveness we have received in Christ. At the cross Jesus became just and the justifier; He has rolled away the stone of our reproach.
The Cross of Christ Declares that We are Greatly Loved (Part 1 – The Sacrificial Gift)
Here is the stunning thing about all of this: He wanted to do this for us! The Father was pleased to crush Him and put Him to grief, to render Him as a guilt offering (Isaiah 53:10). That is strange but for one thing: as a very great show of love for us, God Himself showed forth a very great and sacrificial gift. The greatness of the sacrifice is part of our assurance that we are very greatly loved.
The Cross of Christ Declares that Jesus is Worthy
I want to pause for a second here and ask a simple question. How hard could it be to open a scroll? It is a scroll. The question isn’t about insufficient force, it is about insufficient morals. If you think about it, a lamb standing as if slain is not exactly a symbol of superior force or even intelligence. Why didn’t anyone think to ask, “Why are we so hung up on worthiness? If this is so important, just OPEN IT. Who cares who opens it?” You know what is strange? Not one being said this.
The Boastful Pride of Life
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 1 John 2:16 I have been thinking about this phrase “the boastful pride of life” and why he uses it in […]
Tullian and The Gospel Coalition
I hope this isn’t just linkbait. I do want to take a minute and throw out some thoughts about recent events involving grace preacher Tullian Tchividjian being asked to remove his blog from The Gospel Coalition’s web site. There has been a lot of heated rhetoric on all sides in the blogosphere about this. I […]
Rewards in the Kingdom of Gifts
I’ve been ruminating on this one for a long time. I think I’ve come to a bit of an epiphany on the issue, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to get to my computer and share this. I think it is a very powerful insight from the Holy Spirit, and I have been weeping […]
False Grace and Nonconformist Conformance
In a recent post, Peter Rollins brings up an interesting idea about how many people base their relationships on what I would call false grace: … religion doesn’t simply offer a set of positions to conform to, it also offers the acceptable ways in which one can transgress these positions: it tells us both how […]
Enter Your Rest! Do it!
This post is a reflection on Jacob Goff’s wonderful post on the power of the redeemed mindset. It is very much worth the short read: simulblog.com/2014/05/07/why-christians-cant-believe/ Really, read it and be blessed. I insist! Now, I reflect. Someone commented on Jacob’s article and said they struggle to maintain a redeemed mindset. The brilliant thing about […]
Free Will, Determinism, & Responsibiity
I recently listened to episode 93 of the Partially Examined Life podcast (you can listen to it or read about it here). It is fascinating to listen to non-religious people (these are not rabid militant “New Atheism” people, just fun and thoughtful agnostic/atheists) grapple with a problem that we have been looking at from a […]