We Can’t Force the Beauty and Mystery of God into a Neat Little Box Just as I bristle over the word theology, I also don’t like the word doctrine. Though the two words mean different things, in my mind they have the same effect: They both turn the beauty of God into an intellectual construct, […]
Jesus Offers Us the Gift Of Salvation; All We Need to Do Is Accept It We read in scripture that we are saved by God’s grace through faith. There’s nothing else we must do. It is God’s gift to us. We can’t earn it. All we need to do is receive it (Ephesians 2:8-9). He […]
How Engagement and Marriage Worked in the New Testament In Bible times, when a couple became engaged, the groom-to-be with go home and prepare a place for them to live by adding a room to his parents’ house. As soon as he finished the construction, he would go to his fiancée, the marriage ceremony would […]
Make Jesus the Focus of Your Celebration With Christmas falling on Sunday this year, I planned to wish you a blessed Christmas on my weekly Sunday post. Alas, I’ve already wished you a merry Christmas in the past—three times. So, instead of repeating what I’ve already written or reprising an old post, I’ll give you […]
Embrace a Different Way to Worship God The term “sacrifice of praise” is only found in one verse in the Bible. It’s a curious phrase. What does it mean? Whatever it may refer to, the first thing we see is we are to do it continually. We are to offer a constant sacrifice of praise […]
Which Part of the Godhead Do You Focus On? Though the Bible doesn’t use the word trinity, most followers understand God as a three-in-one deity, made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is three persons in one. Though implicitly equal, most adherents more readily embrace one form […]
Instead of Joining a Church, Align Yourself with Jesus Most churches talk about church membership—a lot. Some treat it as the next step after salvation, even as if it’s salvation part two. It’s not. And if your church is part of a denomination, membership in the local church is automatic membership in the denomination. Church […]
Our Focus Should be on Our Heavenly Father Most Christians revere Jesus and place him at the center of their faith. Indeed, all of history revolves around Jesus’s saving work that he did for us—for everyone—when he died in our place, sacrificing himself for the wrong things we’ve done. The Old Testament builds up to […]
Protection From the Evil One To the Thessalonians Paul writes that God will strengthen and protect them from the evil one. He will give them protection from evil. This excites and comforts me, because I want to be protected. But that’s only half the of the promise. The other part is that we will be […]
Which Part of the Trinity Most Receives Your Attention? The Bible talks about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We intellectually know that these three parts of the Trinity exist, but what is the reality of our spiritual practice? Most Christians prefer one part of the godhead over the other. […]