I’ve started to notice that Paul uses the phrase “In Christ” in a very interesting way. At first, I was only aware of a few places where he used the phrase and I was often quoting his use in Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..” Lately, I have found myself reminding people that they are “in Christ” and because of this, they were not under any condemnation whatsoever. Eventually, I started seeing a few... Read more
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ, you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. “ – Col. 2:9-10 Over the last few months, I have been meditating on this verse above, along with a few others that express what many theologians have come to regard as the “Cosmic Christ.” The other verses that attempt to explain this concept are: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the... Read more
My friend asked a question today: “Do you think there’s a new form of Christianity quietly forming?” To which I responded “Yep.” Here’s why that’s a good thing… What I see happening is more Christians learning to embrace Jesus for His actual teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, which include loving God, loving others, showing mercy, forgiving quickly, sharing freely, and embracing those who are not like us. This shift is also one that veers away from things like... Read more
Part 7 in the Unbelievable Truth Series. My internet friend, Brant Hansen, said something the other day that inspired me to write today’s blog. What Brant noted was that we tend draw the line between good people and bad people. If we do good things, God will accept and love us, but if we do bad things then God will hate us and punish us. But, as he wisely pointed out, Jesus never drew those distinctions between good people and... Read more
Quite often in the Gospels, Jesus – and other Gospel writers – will use a common Hebraic figure of speech called a “Limited Negative” to emphasize a point. A limited negative is often constructed like this: “Not A, but B”. For example: “…children who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” [John 1:13] What the writer actually means is: “Not only A…but also B” or,... Read more
Part 6 in the Unbelievable Truth Series In our previous installment, we talked about how hard it is for Christians to believe that God really loves filthy sinners like killers and rapists and terrorists. This article examines a very closely related truth which Christians equally struggle with: The idea that God really wants us to love our enemies too. Because we can’t accept that God would love evil people, it just follows that we can’t believe that God would expect... Read more
If we’re not here to observe the Universe, does it cease to exist? What if Christ in us is what created the Universe, and it holds together because we are here to observe it? “Now do you believe that I am in you and you are in me and we are in Him?” What am I talking about? Well, honestly, I’m not sure. But I think it all starts with this: “One of the most bizarre premises of... Read more
Part 5 in the Unbelievable Truth series. “One who has been touched by grace will no longer look on those who stray as “those evil people” or “those poor people who need our help.” Nor must we search for signs of “love-worthiness.” Grace teaches us that God loves because of who God is, not because of who we are.” – Philip Yancy; “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” For some reason, there are Christians who find it difficult, even impossible, to accept... Read more
Part 4 in the Unbelievable Truth Series There is an incredible reality to be discovered in the Gospel. One that should revolutionize the life, boggle the mind, and transform the behavior of every single Christian who fully perceives it. However, the sad thing is that, while many Christians are aware of this reality in theory, they mostly live lives that effectively deny it on a daily basis. The reality? Simply that God lives within every single person who has placed... Read more
Part 3 in the Unbelievable Truth series. One of the hardest truths for Christians to accept is the idea that God is trustworthy. They can believe in Him – that He exists and that He created the Universe – but to surrender control of their lives to Him? Not so much. To me this is the most tragic of all the unbelievable truths, because if we cannot trust God then who can we trust?Our inability to trust God, I think,... Read more
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