503 results for tag: blog
Rest for the Weary – by Greg Albrecht
I heard a story about an American missionary named David who served in an African town several decades ago. David was amazed to see the heavy loads and burdens the Africans carried on their heads as a part of their regular jobs.
The most astonishing individual he met, in this regard, was a lady who had perfected the technique of carrying heavy loads on her head to such a degree that her peers called her "the human delivery truck." Amazing at it seems to us, she delivered engine blocks from cars and trucks from one repair shop to another. According to the story, four men would lift the engine block on to a tray that she carried on her head—she ...
Empty Your Pockets – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter for November 2024:
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) was a beloved American writer. Her humor, in newspaper columns and 15 books, was flavored with inspiration and wisdom. She concluded a newspaper column published on March 10, 1987 with these insights (my emphasis in bold):
“I always had a dream that when I am asked to give an accounting of my life to a higher court, it will go like this: ‘So, empty your pockets. What have you got left of your life? Any dreams that were unfulfilled? Any unused talent that we gave you when you were born that you still have left? Any unsaid compliments or bits of love that you haven’t ...
Are You a Believer? – by Greg Albrecht
Many Christians use the word believer as a short definition of their way of life and as a way of separating their practices and teachings from non-believers. Without further qualification, the term believer can be just one more in a long list of clichés and "in-house" terminology. After all, a believer might describe someone who believes in UFOs and aliens from outer space. A believer might describe someone who actually believes in the ghosts and goblins of Halloween. So the term believer begs for further definition, doesn't it? Belief in what or who? The answer may seem to be obvious, but sadly, in many cases it isn't.
Ponder with me two ...
Loving Legalism – No Such Thing! – by Greg Albrecht
From the time the first human beings walked the face of the earth, literally billions of people have been living lives of religious legalism—attempting to do for themselves what God has already done for them—trying to replace God's infinitely powerful grace with empty, useless human effort.
After Jesus came to us, telling us about and showing us God's unconditional love, and after establishing his church, it seems we should have gotten the point. But even though Jesus, God in the flesh, came as one of us revealing the Father, religious legalism continues even among people who claim to be Christians.
In fact legalism, as a counte...
Unity, Liberty and Charity – by Greg Albrecht
IT’S FAR FROM BREAKING NEWS! Our world is hopelessly divided, embroiled in continuing controversy. With soul-depressing regularity it seems entire news networks and organizations here in the United States spew out one and only one polarizing political perspective, demonizing all who disagree. Then there is the religious world, where “devout” people whose holy books tell them to love their neighbors are instead terrorizing and persecuting and even killing those who disagree.
Politics divides us and Christ-less religion separates us.
You may remember the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) – what began as a war between Catholics and ...
See How He Loves Us – by Greg Albrecht
There's a great story about a little boy who was trying to learn the Lord's Prayer. One night he was kneeling down by his bed, and he prayed: "Our Father who are in heaven, how do you know my name?"
St. Augustine, revered as one of the great theologians of the Christian faith, once said that Jesus loves each of us as if there was no one else to love.Time after time we read in the four Gospels about people Jesus met who felt and experienced his radically personalized, individual affection—no one they had ever known had talked to them, treated them and spent time with them the way Jesus did.
The eyes out of which Jesus saw and perceived ...
The Four “No’s” of Our Lives in Christ – by Ed Dunn
Do not be afraid…for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32, NIV).
…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2, NIV).
What does it mean to live our lives in Christ Jesus with the Four No's - No Fear, No Shame, No Guilt and No Doubt?
No Fear: Fear seems to be such a common driver, a motivator, and a “come-from” in the world in which we live today. Headlining each day’s key news cycles, the media feeds we the public on an unrelenting diet of what to fear and who to blame for that fear. Our politicians first campaign on, and then govern from, a continual focus on all ...
It’s About Time – by Sheila Graham
A brown leaf drifts slowly to the ground outside the window. There’s a sense of quiet expectation. Though the trees are still green, the smattering of dry leaves across the lawn hint at what's to come.
We know we can look forward to the cooler temperatures now. It’s that brief space of time between the seasons’ triple-digit heat and below-freezing cold, the lovely time of fall.
Springtime is the same. It’s as if a switch has been thrown. The searing heat of summer and the icy cold of winter seem to be endless, but whatever the season we know relief is coming. Fall, winter, ...
Resting in Christ Jesus – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from October 2024:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest – Matthew 11: 28
These monthly letters are normally a way of providing some Christ-centered nourishment, one of the most important parts of our ministry. When we pray about, ponder and prepare these letters (primarily Ed Dunn and myself as writers, but the team who ensures these letters arrive in the mail and are posted digitally includes all editors and proofreaders) we take each letter seriously, often spending many hours before completing one.
We don’t just dash these letters out, but we carefully and ...
18 Prominent Biblical Passages and Why – by Greg Albrecht
Greg Albrecht
Recently I was asked to provide a list of my top ten verses in the Bible. The request specified that each of the ten selections be restricted to just one, or at most, several verses and no more. I tried, but I could never boil my list down to just ten brief passages, so I decided to respond by expanding on the original request.
I set out to make a list of top ten passages. At first I thought that I could come up with my top ten passages in the Bible if I allowed for "passages" to be more than simply a verse or two but a chapter or even an entire book of the Bible. But then, after working on that plan, I was still stymied. I ...
What is True Fellowship? – by Greg Albrecht
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you read or hear the word fellowship? Within a Christian context the word usually calls to mind something to do with companionship and community. For some people fellowship is just another religious thing they have to do or (so they believe) God won't be happy with them. In many cases, fellowship means going to places to spend time with others who are also members of their church.
Fellowship has also come to signify a spiritual atmosphere that will soothe and secure a person from the life they live. Given this meaning, fellowship can become something like "hot-tub religion"—a place where people ...
Why Suffering? – by Greg Albrecht
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, religion generally believed those who suffered and experienced catastrophic accidents and calamities were being punished for their sin. But the gospel of Jesus Christ insists that disease, disasters and distress (or lack thereof) are NOT indications of a person’s inferior or superior spiritual standing with God.
The Gospel of Luke (Luke 13:1-8) tells us of some Galilean Jews who had recently come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to God at the temple. Pilate, the procurator of the province of Judea, the same Pilate who tortured and crucified Jesus, barbarically killed these Jewish pilgrims and mixed ...
“No” to Wrath and “Yes” to Love – Part 2 – by Greg Albrecht
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on ...
“No” to Wrath and “Yes” to Love – Part 1 – by Greg Albrecht
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to those who are being saved it is the power of God…—1 Corinthians 1:18
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.—1 Corinthians 2:2
Many, if not most, Christians when they are asked, "Why did Jesus die on the cross?" will give an answer something like this:To die for our sins. This of course, as far as it goes, is a biblical answer.
But the answer doesn't end there. Most Christians will continue to explain why Jesus died on the cross by parroting back phrases they have been taught, such as:
• "He died for our ...
Our Eternal House – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from September 2024:
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile, we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling… and we would prefer to be away from the body and present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 8).
When I turned 50, along with nearly everyone else my age in these United States, I started receiving literature from the AARP (American Association for Retired Persons). I was surprised – to be honest, I was offended. What? My 50th birthday meant I needed help crossing the ...
Name It and Blame It – by Greg Albrecht
Many churches and ministries today claim that God heals everyone who requests relief of physical afflictions, as long as they ask in faith. This assertion is made on the assumption that Jesus' death on the cross, his atonement, was for both "spiritual" and "physical" sins.
Further, some even claim physical healing is a "right" that one who is doing all of the things that God commands and demands might "claim" from God. Some call this claim a "prayer of positive confession." Others who have reservations about this practice believe it to be naive and perhaps superstitious and thus call the practice "name it and claim it."
Of course, since the vast ...
Finding Hope – by Kimalee Finelli
Follow Up Post to February 4, 2024:
Growing up in a legalistic church, I was unable to think for myself. Words like obey, repent, and submit were a part of our daily life. The pastor preached that he was not to be questioned. Church leaders were instructed to carry out the pastor’s agenda. Members were informed that disobedience would be dealt with swiftly. Those who dared to rebel were labeled as “backslidden” or “living in sin” and church disciplined. Most of us learned to be silent so we would go unnoticed by the preacher.
Except for me. I had questions. I noticed everything and knew in my heart that something was not right. I ...
A Lion and A Lamb – by Greg Albrecht
Will a cure for cancer ever be found? Will there ever be a time when little children don't go to bed hungry? Is there a way to end crime?
Don't you just wish that someday, some way, the abuse of the very young and the very old would stop? Will anyone ever find a way to disarm all armies, to melt down all weapons of warfare—to beat swords into plowshares, as the Hebrew prophets foresaw?
We all long for peace for the entire world. We all want solutions to the misery and suffering of our world. We want the hatred and violence to end. Of course, you're way ahead of me—but don't get too far ahead—because what I want to talk about may surprise ...
Finding Jesus or Being Found – by Greg Albrecht
But now that you know God – or rather are known by God… Galatians 4:9
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. – John 1:11
When we read John’s summary statement about Jesus being rejected by “his own” we normally think of the historic Jewish culture, race and religion into which Jesus was born… something that happened a long time ago, in the “olden” days. But consider this:
If Jesus arrived on earth today, many people who sincerely believe they are following him wouldn’t even let him in their church buildings.
I have a friend who is a Hindu, who in the spirit of our lighthearted ...
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
