For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Last month most everyone who follows Jesus took the time to remember the birth of the Prince of Peace. We sang songs that announced the incarnation of Christ and we re-read the scriptures that reminded us of the angels who sang of peace on… Read more
January 10, 2020
Sacrifice Of A Different Kind
January 10, 2020 By Keith Giles
2 Comments
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how God never wanted animal sacrifices and how Jesus just forgave sins all the time without the shedding of blood, or even repentance from the person in advance. Specifically, I pointed out “7 Examples Where God Forgives Without Bloodshed.” To add to that, I’d like to point out another difference between the Old Covenant concept of sacrifice and the New Covenant twist that Jesus brings to the equation. Under the Old… Read more
January 9, 2020
Why Gay Jesus Isn’t Blasphemous
January 9, 2020 By Keith Giles
22 Comments
You’ve probably heard about the “Gay Jesus” film on Netflix that has been creating a lot of controversy lately. Most people I’ve talked to about this have not actually watched the film. To be honest, neither have I. But whether you’ve watched the film or not, I think we can still have a conversation about the subject matter and hopefully agree that a gay Jesus is not only not controversial, it’s not blasphemous either. Here’s why: Being a gay is… Read more
January 4, 2020
Christians: We Can End War In 2020
January 4, 2020 By Keith Giles
6 Comments
There are over 2.3 Billion Christians in the world today, according to most polls. In the USA, approximately 65% of Americans identify as Christians, or approximately 167 Million who claim to follow Jesus. Christianity is the world’s largest religious group. So, that means that if every one of those who claim to follow the Prince of Peace would put His words into practice and love their enemies, lay down their weapons, and refuse to fight [as Jesus famously predicted His… Read more
January 1, 2020
Finding A Little Hope
January 1, 2020 By Keith Giles
2 Comments
Last night, as we were sitting around the fireplace, reflecting back on the year that was, my wife, Wendy, found this little wire balloon with the word “Hope” inside of it. Our youngest son had found it on a walk a few weeks earlier and picked it up off the ground. It ended up on the fireplace near a few logs and sat there, unnoticed, until a few hours before the New Year began. To be honest, I think… Read more
December 27, 2019
7 Examples Where God Forgives Sins Without Bloodshed
December 27, 2019 By Keith Giles
3 Comments
Most Christians break one of the biggest rules of Biblical interpretation: Basing all of your theology on a single verse of scripture. That verse is Hebrews 9:22: “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Many take this to mean that God’s requirement for forgiveness is the shedding of blood. But, before we address that error, let’s take a look at that assumption. Does the Scripture support… Read more
December 24, 2019
How Christians Embraced Virgin Sacrifice
December 24, 2019 By Keith Giles
8 Comments
Most Christians – if you ask them – will strongly deny that they believe in Virgin Sacrifice. But, if you start asking them a few specific questions about their theology, you’ll see that they actually DO embrace this theology. For example: Ask them if they believe that Jesus was innocent and sinless. Most will say “Yes.” Ask them if they think Jesus ever had sex with a woman. Most will say, “No!” Ask them if they believe that Jesus had… Read more
December 23, 2019
Stop Surpassing God’s Infinity
December 23, 2019 By Keith Giles
1 Comment
There you go again, loving sinners more than God does. It’s getting kinda annoying, to be honest. I know God is awesome, but come on. God is not THAT awesome. Sure, God is love, blah, blah, blah. I get that. We all get that. But, you forget that God is also a God of wrath and justice. There’s plenty of wrath and justice just oozing out of God right now. Lots of it. In fact, you should probably just meditate… Read more
December 17, 2019
Why The God Of Wrath Let Cain Off The Hook
December 17, 2019 By Keith Giles
5 Comments
Every time. Every single time I try to teach people that God is love and that God responds to our failures with mercy and forgiveness, someone will always try to say, “But God is also a God of Wrath and Justice!” Every time. But, as I’ve already mentioned, there are zero verses that say “God IS wrath”, but there are lots that teach us that “God IS Love,” and the book of Revelation even mocks the idea of God’s wrath… Read more
December 16, 2019
Did the Magi Bring Jesus A Gift From Buddha?
December 16, 2019 By Keith Giles
17 Comments
Ok, I know this one is a stretch, but stay with me here. The Magi who came from the East following the star of Bethlehem were disciples of Daniel, the Old Testament Prophet. How do we know this? Because we read that Daniel stayed behind when the Babylonian/Persian captivity was over. We also know that Daniel was leading a school of mystics during the reign of Nebuchadnezzer and continued to teach disciples under the Persian rulers. This is why those… Read more
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