512 results for tag: blog

Success by Excess is Not True Greatness – Greg Albrecht

During a school vacation, Billy stayed at his grandmother’s house, where she introduced him to the game of Monopoly. As you know, the game of Monopoly is about money and power—it’s all about acquiring, purchasing and owning more property, more buildings and more companies than anyone else. It’s ruthless—one cannot win the game of Monopoly until one bankrupts one’s opponents. During his week with his grandma, Billy learned that she was a Monopoly expert. They played Monopoly every day and she never lost a single game. She never patronized Billy by letting him win. At the end of the week she told him he needed to learn how to play ...

Thanks-Giving or Self-Absorption? – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from November 2015: The day and season of Thanksgiving, already celebrated in Canada on October 12, and yet to be celebrated here in these United States on November 26, is much more than turkey and pumpkin pie!  From a Christ-centered perspective Thanks-Giving is aptly named, for giving thanks is one of the most inevitable characteristics evident in those in whom the Master lives and works.  Sadly, it seems giving thanks and being grateful is increasingly becoming extinct in our world. The plight of many today, particularly the younger generation, is that their spiritual senses have been overwhelmed by ...

Self-serve Christianity – Jim Fowler

Jim Fowler Remember the days when the proprietor at the mercantile, the clerk at the grocery market and the attendant at the gas station would take the time to really serve the customer? They regarded pleasant, helpful service to be their primary responsibility, whereby they might maintain loyal, satisfied customers. Their mottoes were displayed on the wall: “Service with a smile.” “The customer is always right.” Today, ours is a society of convenience stores, fast-foods and self-service. Aptly referred to as the “Me-generation,” we want just what we want, and we want it now for the least price. Ours is the age of supermarket ...

The Word of God – Greg Albrecht

The first chapter of John is the New Testament counterpart of the Old Testament creation story recorded in the first chapter of Genesis. The Genesis story is focused on the physical and mortal beginning, with the creation story in the Gospel of John placing an emphasis on the spiritual and eternal beginning (the phrase “in the beginning” used twice in these two verses). John introduces us to Jesus, God in the flesh, the Word.  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us – John 1:14. When God became man and wanted to tell us all about who God is, Jesus became one of us. As the Word of God, Jesus is the Master Communicator ...

Generosity Without Expectations – Greg Albrecht

During the Thanksgiving season several years ago, the leader of a youth group from a prosperous suburb persuaded everyone to help serve meals in an inner-city soup kitchen. Before this volunteer service project, most of these young people had only seen homeless, impoverished locals through their car windows as they and their family drove through a poor part of town. The teenagers served a predictable Thanksgiving menu of beans, mashed potatoes, yams and turkey to a long line of homeless people. As they filed past these young people, filling empty plates with generous servings, few of the homeless people made any eye contact with the teens ...

Finding Your Way Home – by Greg Albrecht

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.—Psalm 137:1-6 One of our lifelong goals is to "find our way home." In the Gospel of John, Jesus assures his disciples, and by extension all those who would follow Jesus ...

Out of the Tribulation Closet – by Laura Urista

When our world seems to be spinning out of control, when fear and panic spread like wildfires, we cling desperately to tangible things that give us a sense of  security. At such times, many hoard emergency supplies, attempting to gain control over their own circumstances. “Out of the Tribulation Closet” by CWRm and Plain Truth managing editor, Laura Urista, offers an encouraging perspective on fear and anxiety. We share this article from our April 2020 CWRm to help readers focus on the eternal security found only in our one True Provider and Healer. Read - "Out of the Tribulation Closet"

Samson – Stuart Segall

As many of us could attest, my life, all the way into my 60’s, has been a struggle. In times of trouble and despair it is always comforting to find David in the Psalms. Somehow, when we read of his despair and struggles, many of us can relate to those kinds of feelings. How gracious of God to put illustrations of David and his story in the two books of Samuel, the Kings, and the substantial book and writings that David contributed in the Psalms. David, like me, showed a roller coaster of emotions­­--highs and lows. Yet, in the end his is a story of the depth of God’s grace toward us. There are people like me, who considered themselves ...

SALVATION – How Many are Saved? – Greg Albrecht

SALVATION – How Many are Saved – Who, Where, When and Why? Question: When you responded to a question I had, you included the following statement:  "I hope and believe in my faith that many more have and will accept God’s invitation, but because it’s ultimately our choice, some will reject him, even after he pursues us relentlessly." I would like your thoughts to my following questions: 1)  Can any human be eternally responsible for rejecting God's offer of eternal salvation while tainted with human nature? 2)  Why do you think any human, after being saturated in a world of sin and misery and then experiencing ...

Be Still! – by Greg Albrecht

  When in danger, when in doubt, Run in circles, scream and shout The British Navy has a strange custom, I am told. If a sudden disaster happens, "the still" is blown. If you live in certain parts of the United States you may think of a still as a place where bootleg whiskey is produced.     The "still" in the British Navy, as I understand it, is a whistle which calls the crew of a ship to a moment of silence in a time of crisis. It's a moment of calm that allows everyone to collect their thoughts before they respond to an emergency.     My wife, Karen, and I recently witnessed the results of failure ...

Revolutionary Jesus – Brian Zahnd

You say you want a revolution, Well, you know, we all want to change the world —The Beatles The revolution of Christ is the radical alternative to the unimaginative politicism of the religious Right and Left. Jesus is not apolitical. Far from it. Jesus is intensely political! But Jesus has his own politics — and they cannot be made to serve the interests of some other political agenda. As Eugene Peterson says, “The gospel of Jesus Christ is more political than anyone imagines, but in a way that no one guesses.” The politics of Jesus are set forth in the Sermon on the Mount — and neither the Republican nor the Democratic party have any ...

The Trouble with Halloween – by Greg Albrecht

Q: In your opinion, is it wrong to dress up in costumes, have a party or give out candy to trick-or-treaters?   A:Some Christians see nothing wrong with Halloween as a time for families to take children, who love to dress up in costumes, into their immediate neighborhood, and, with careful supervision, receive goodies and treats as they go from house to house. Some of these parents avoid witch and ghost costumes for their children in favor of cowboys, action heroes, angels, clowns or Disney characters—because they don't want to glorify or encourage the grotesque or occult. Other Christians participate in Halloween by handing out not only candy ...

Now Thank We All Our God – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from November 2022 Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices Who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices Who from our mother’s arms hath blessed us on our way  With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today At 8:07 am, on the morning of January 13, 2018, an emergency ballistic missile alert was issued over cell phones, radio and television in the state of Hawaii. BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER.  THIS IS NOT A DRILL.  At 8:45 am, 38 minutes later, the state of Hawaii sent a second emergency alert. THERE IS NO ...

A Totem Tale by Jim Fowler

Jim Fowler Fires burn in each settlement across the land. The sound of tom-toms can be heard in the background. It is the time for the perennial carving of totem-poles. Congregating in our tee-pees, each group heatedly considers the essentials of their belief-system. After due consultation of these spirit-matters, consensus is achieved within each tribe as to how they will stack their totem-pole. The meticulous carving begins. Every detail is important, because each cut has implied meaning. Distinction must be achieved, even in the intensity of the painted colors. Extreme effort is made to make it appear life-like. Duly carved and erected for ...

Marriage Counseling by Greg Albrecht

Many years ago, over three decades in fact, in another life, professionally at least – another phase in my ministerial life – I spent many hours talking with young people about marriage.  Recently I was asked, by several people within a few weeks period of time, what I felt were some of my lessons learned from the thousands of hours spent with people, trying (that was my intent at least) to help prepare them for marriage.  Here are a few thoughts from those conversation, really more like interviews:  First of all, and I say this somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it seems ironically the more I have learned about marriage the ...

The Gospel According to Pooh-Bear! – by Laura Urista

I am a “Pooh” collector. Not quite a “Pooh-holic” or a “Crazy Pooh lady” – but close! Lots of friends have asked me what made me decide to collect all things “Winnie-the-Pooh” over the years.  It’s a long story, going back over 55 years. It was the summer of 1966 and my family had just moved from a tiny town in North Dakota to a slightly larger town in Texas. My Dad had just become a member of a strict, legalistic church and he was determined that his four school-age children should attend “God’s school” – a private school founded and run by the church he had recently joined. A few months after our move, I ...

Prayer – The Steering Wheel or a Spare Tire? – by Greg Albrecht

Corrie Ten Boom once asked, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" When she compared prayer to a steering wheel, I'm relatively certain that Corrie Ten Boom didn't know anything about a modern GPS system—the navigational system many people have in their cars today. As you probably know, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It’s a radio navigation system that allows land, sea and airborne users to determine their exact position. It relies on 24 satellites in orbit above the earth—positioned in such a way that four of them will always be above the horizon, anywhere on the earth. A GPS receiver, like the ones many ...

Inspired, Infallible & Inerrant? by Greg Albrecht

If God intended to produce an infallible and inerrant literary document, surely he would not have used so many fallible humans in the writing, editing, preservation, translation, production and printing (not to mention interpretation) of the Bible! ----------------------------------------------------------- At some point in the past you may have fallen for some theological pied piper who lured you down a sawdust trail with selected biblical passages, lining them up as proof texts to say what the piper wanted them to mean. We are providing deeper insight for our readers and listeners to better understand and interpret the Bible—so as to ...

Not That Kind of Christian – Greg Albrecht

When I tell new friends or acquaintances that I am a Christian, a frequent response goes something like this: “Well, exactly what kind of Christian are you?” My answer includes specific distinctions about common assumptions. Here are a few: • I am a Christ-follower. I do not follow or believe or trust in religion. I follow, believe and trust in Jesus. I believe God loves us in spite of religion, not because of any efforts or deeds we perform to convince him to love us. • I do not believe that God is a God of wrath. I do not believe that God the Father was so upset with the sin of humanity that he could only be appeased through ...

Such A Time As This – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from October 2016: “And who knows but you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” – Esther 4:14 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9 About 475 years before the birth of Jesus, Esther and Mordecai were Jews living in Susa, one of the four capitals of the Persian Empire. The Jews had been taken into exile in Babylon a century before, and then 50 years after that Babylon was conquered by the Persians. The Persians released the ...