512 results for tag: blog
Rachel and Leah: Rival Sisters – Ruth Tucker
What if there had been no story?
No Abraham and Sarah, no Isaac and Rebekah,
and no Esau and Jacob, and no Rachel and Leah.
What if no one had remembered?
What if no one had cared enough to write it down?
What if there had been no God of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel,
and the ten generations from Noah to Abraham had never existed?
What if there had been no creation and there was only chaos and the void?
What if God himself was only a hole in the darkness?
Anne Roiphe, Water from the Well
Ruth Tucker
The Bible is filled with good stories. Here we focus on the rival sisters, Rachel and ...
Religious Control Opposes God’s Grace by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from February 2022
I think good preachers should be like bad kids. They ought to be naughty enough to tiptoe up on their dozing congregations, steal their bottle of religious pills…and flush them all down the drain. The church, by and large, has drugged itself into thinking that proper human behavior is the key to its relationship with God. What preachers need to do is force it to go cold turkey with nothing but the word of the cross—and then be brave enough to stick around while [the congregation] goes through the inevitable withdrawal symptoms.—“The Foolishness of Preaching,” Robert Farrar Capon
During ...
Rebound! – Jim Fowler
Jim Fowler
The basketball game was proceeding at a frenzied pace. Receiving a pass from his teammate, the hometown guarddribbled toward center court. The defending team was employing a full-court press, so our player faked to the left and drove hard to the right, dribbling to within fifteen feet of the basket. There he attempted a one-handed jump shot which ricocheted off the glass and caromed straight up off the front of the rim.
Amazed that he has missed the mark, our player stops in his tracks, his upper torso hanging limp in dejection. Looking toward the coach, he sobs his apologies and laments his failure.
“I’m sorry, Coach,” he ...
End Racism – Greg Albrecht
The imperative plea appealing for an end of racism appeared in block letters on the back of a football player’s helmet. Watching on television, I wondered about the effectiveness of this message. I shouldn’t be too harsh in my judgment, any more than I should be with the empty slogans on bumper stickers plastered on cars. But still, given a few words at best, how much critical thinking can take place in the abbreviated space on the back of a football helmet or the back bumper of a car?
How much interest is arrested by the soaring and lofty goal of ending racism in people watching a live football game? 1) Most can’t see the ...
God’s Glass Ceiling? Ruth Tucker
Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the cradle and last at the cross. They had never known a man like this man—there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered them, never treated them as either The women, God help us! or The ladies, God bless them!; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; never had an axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was ...
Lottery – A Ticket to Hell? – Greg Albrecht
Gambling is a controversial topic in Christendom. I personally see nothing biblically wrong with buying a lottery ticket, but I know that my saying so will rouse the ire of some. They will see such a statement as permissive and back-sliding, among other things.
In my opinion, based on my understanding of the Bible and of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not wrong to play a game of chance, as long as it does not become an addiction—at that point, as with so many other behaviors, gambling is not only a sin, it becomes a curse.
Here's how I see the issue of gambling, from a biblical, Christ-centered perspective.
Gambling can be addicti...
A Journey – Not a Guided Tour by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from January 2018
On or just before January 1, fresh calendars are opened with almost as much anticipation as unwrapping a Christmas present. We page through a new calendar, admiring its twelve uncluttered months and 365 unplanned days. And we experience the liberation of setting aside the year that has just ended, with all of the days and events we are all too happy to put behind us. The New Year is a time of a new beginning and a fresh start. The fresh start of a New Year reminds me of the wisdom Paul shares with us about our ongoing life in Christ, on the Jesus Way: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward ...
Let the Past Be the Past by Ed Dunn
Past and future veil God from our sight; let them both be burned up with fire. – Rumi, 13th Century Persian Poet
Life can give us such precious moments - a wedding day, closing on a first-home purchase, the birth of a child, a high school or college graduation – all of these events can remain with us as some of the best memories we can experience in life.
Life can also present us with such difficulty and heartache at times - a bitter and contentious divorce, a financial mishap, parenting miss-steps which may have led to strained relationships with our children, health challenges and accidents – these types of events can reside with ...
The Idolatry of Methodology – Jim Fowler
Jim Fowler
It is a natural tendency of mankind to develop methods that will lead to the desired human performance and production results. Our entire educational system seems to be the instruction of the latest methods in every discipline. There inevitably develops a competition of methods in every field of study concerning which method works better – “This is how to do it right or most effectively.” The social sciences and humanities studies, in general, seem to engender a broader spectrum of methodological variation, having less definitive operational criteria. Methods, procedures and techniques are necessary, but they must not be allowed ...
A Christ-Centered Time Out – Brennan Manning – Greg Albrecht
In the midst of the horrific, ongoing and seemingly, like a Frankenstein monster, growing hatred in our country and in our world – in the midst of new and deep divides between family and friends, we can find healing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s time for a time out! We can find peace and assurance – the Lord our Shepherd will lead us to green pastures and quiet waters, preparing a table for us so that we might dwell in his house forever.
With our deep need of being still and waiting for God in mind, I was re-reading the introduction to Brennan Manning’s “The Relentless Tenderness ...
“I haven’t seen you lately” by Greg Albrecht
A friend of mine who attends her church on a fairly regular basis missed a few weeks in a row. When she returned, one of the "church ladies" greeted her with: "I haven't seen you lately!" Of course, the "church lady" meant she hadn't seen my friend lately at church, and that was a cause for concern.
"I haven't seen you lately" might include the following thoughts:
First, let's assume the best. This greeting might be intended to communicate the fact that my friend was genuinely missed, and that her return was warmly welcomed. However, "I am glad to see you. How are you?" might avoid the extra helping of guilt and innuendo present in "I haven't ...
It Was Bound to Happen – Greg Albrecht
Mark Twain, in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer (I know, mentioning this politically incorrect book will probably result in me being “banned in Boston” – not to mention being declared persona non grata in many esoteric ivory towers of progressive “wisdom”), has Tom Sawyer staging a practical joke and attending his own funeral.
While I have never considered staging my own funeral and secretly attending to see who would come, while listening to what they would say about me, I realize I am on the way to my own funeral and I am becoming more acutely aware that many less than enjoyable experiences are “bound to happen” on the ...
Why Do Many Christians Make the Good News Sound So Weird? – Monte Wolverton
Among some folks, the ability to speak fluent "Christianese" is a sign of true Christianity. But do these special words and phrases help or hinder the message? Here's some suggestions as to how we as Christ-followers might improve our communication skills.
—Text and illustrations by Monte Wolverton
I just want to come up alongside you. I have a burden—because God has laid it on my heart to minister to you and disciple you. God spoke to me, and he wanted me to share my testimony with you and to witness to you. The message I’m called to give you will be a real blessing to you.
Chances are, you know some people who talk this way all the time. ...
Poking Holes in the Darkness – Greg Albrecht
Friends and Partner Letter for January 2022
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has notovercome it.—John 1:4-5
Robert Lewis Stevenson, well-known for his adventure story Treasure Island, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, into a well-to-do family. His father and his uncles and his maternal grandfather all designed lighthouses. During Robert’s childhood he was in poor health, suffering from severe bronchial problems, and was thus often confined to his room, particularly in cold winter months. But his creative mind was active, even at a young age, giving evidence of ...
The Real Beginning – Greg Albrecht
It's here! The end of another year. What a year this has been! The grumps, the curmudgeons, the gloom and doom prognosticators, the fear mongers and the Jeremiad prophecy buffs have been selling their wares.
Thankfully, the vast majority of the party poopers who scream and shout within Christendom agree on one thing—only Jesus Christ can clean up this mess!
It does take Jesus, doesn't it? As we end a year of endless varieties of Christ-less promotion and hype in his name, it might be helpful to compare and contrast the understated way the good news first came into our world. Jesus' birth passed with little fanfare. Books about his first coming ...
Q & R: “Not counting our sins against us” Part 2 – Brad Jersak
"Not Counting Our Sins Against Us"
In a previous post, "Not counting our sins against us," I wrote concerning Paul's remarkable claim that at the Cross, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself not counting our sins against us." (from 2 Corinthians 3:18-19). That last phrase is a stunning repudiation of every claim that God is beholden to some higher justice that requires payment or punishment as a condition of forgiveness or reconciliation.
Further, it shines bright among a constellation of similar verses that wipe out any sense of record-keeping on God's part. Two others that come to mind:
* Hebrews 8:11-12 citing Jeremiah ...
Q & R – Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? – Greg Albrecht
Q: Should Christians celebrate Christmas? I believe Christ was born, but I haven't read anything in the Bible that says we should commemorate that event! I don't see anything wrong with celebrating Jesus' resurrection, since we know that was in the Spring—but we don't know the date of his birth. And, according to my research, Christmas seems to be a Roman Catholic invention, not a biblical one—and I tend to view anything coming from Rome with great mistrust.
A: Perhaps we should define the word "Christmas." For some this word simply means an endless round of parties, concerts, gift giving, decorating, etc. MUST Christians do this? NO. ...
Separation vs. Alienation & “the fear of God” – Brad Jersak
“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he FEARED.” Hebrews 5:7 KJV
My friend Lazar Puhalo recounts his memory of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth on a new-fangled invention called the 'television. It was June 2, 1953. During the coronation of this graceful and gracious 27-year-young woman, the same style of King James language used above referred to the new queen as our 'fearful and 'terrible sovereign, which sounds ominous indeed. And yet, those who 'feared her with reverence and awe' also felt a deep ...
No Christmas Without Christ – by Greg Albrecht
Friends and Partner Letter for December 2014
He is both a speechless child and He is the Word…He lies in a manger, but he holds the world in His hand; He is nourished at the breast but He feeds the angels; He is wrapped in swaddling clothes but He clothes us with immortality… He does not find room in the inn but He makes a temple for Himself in the hearts of believers. For Strength took on weakness that weakness might become strong.
– Augustine, (354-430), Sermon 190.
As we begin this last month of the year, we see another frenzied Christmas shopping season of excess, with retailers unleashing promotional devices and marketing ...
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