515 results for tag: Brad Jersak

March 2024

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: New Birth Through the Resurrection – pg. 1 What's in an Anniversary? – pg. 2 Prophecy Pays: The Gospel Frees – pg. 5 Inside and Out – pg. 6 Sidewalk Wrinkles – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Q&R: “And can it be?” & the blood of Jesus – Brad Jersak

Question: So many hymns speak of salvation coming from the shed blood of Jesus. But many deconstructed Christians find this view disturbing and disgusting that God required His Son to die ‘for us.’ I’m really struggling with this also. For example, how should we now regard a hymn like "And Can It Be?" which says, And can it be that I should gain An int'rest in the Savior's blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! how can it be That Thou, my God, should die for me? It does seem in Scripture that our sins needed atonement, and that we receive that through the ...

Waiting: the Golden Key to God’s Strength – Brad Jersak

We long for the coming of Jesus Christ to heal this broken world. BUT we are not waiting in his absence but in his presence.

God is not what Christ forbids – Brad Jersak

"Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you." Eph. 4:31-332

Using Up Our Inheritance – Brad Jersak

MY INHERITANCE: During the past year, I received a modest inheritance after my dad, Lloyd Jersak, graduated into the “great cloud of witnesses” (see Hebrews 12). By ‘modest,’ I mean the sum requires me to steward it well if it is to be spent in a meaningful way. Should I invest it in my grandchildren, renovate my study, or use it on a holiday? In any scenario, I was both grateful for the gift and mindful of too easily “using it up.” OUR INHERITANCE: Broadly speaking, Western civilization grossly underestimates the magnitude of the inheritance it received from Jesus and his apostolic progeny. We fail to recognize that many of ...

Q&A: “Does John 3:16 teach penal substitution?” – Brad Jersak

"God loved the world in this way: he gave us his only begotten Son." We read that God gave his Son to us to save us from perishing. Jesus Christ is the saving gift God the Father gave us."

Q&R: Living Peacefully in “Real Life” – Brad Jersak

Real life is precisely the situation Jesus is speaking to. Real life for so many is violent and oppressive. They despair of living in peace and pray for some way to rise above the malice in our hearts and in our world. Everyone I've ever met would love to see their children grow up without the threat of terror, war, bullies, or chaos. In that sense, the real world desperately needs a Savior. That Savior is the Way and showed us the Way… and he beckoned us, "Follow me!" on what we call the Jesus Way.

Life in Christ Jesus – CWR Video

In this CWR Video, Brad Jersak and Ed Dunn explore what it means to live our lives in Christ Jesus, as Christ Jesus lives his life in us. https://vimeo.com/897925995 If this post has helped you, please subscribe and share it freely. We also invite you to help us continue to help others with a donation. Click here if you're able to partner with us

Q&R: Doing All We Can To Stop Evil – Brad Jersak

We must do all we can to prevent evil. It is time for Christians (at least) to try taking the Jesus Way on a far grander scale. I can't foresee that, but until then, I must start with me.

“Who do you say that I am? No, really!” Brad Jersak

Tim Rice’s musical, Jesus Christ, Superstar, was composed over 50 years ago. Back then, conservative Christians of the brand I was raised in were deeply offended. His script didn’t follow our doctrinal prescriptions and it raised uncomfortable questions about who Jesus of Nazareth was and is. In my view, if faithfully portrayed characters like Judas Iscariot and Mary Magdalene and Simon the Zealot wrestling with whether this man was more than a teacher or healer… Was he more than a man or was that just the mob letting their hopes get out of control? And if he was their Messiah, why all the missteps that would lead to a cross rather than a ...

February 2024

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: Using Up Our Inheritance – pg. 2 Grant Corriveau: Science vs. God? – pg. 4 Steve Brown Life without Disclaimers – pg. 7    

Many Keys, Many Treasures, Many Rooms – Brad Jersak

Many Keys: During a discussion I was having about Matthew 16, a teacher-friend of mine in Aberdeen pointed out Jesus’ promise to give Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).  Notice: keys, plural—not key, singular. If the entry to the kingdom has just one narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14) or Jesus himself is the singular Door (John 10:7-9), why not just give Peter the one key to the one ...

Q&R: Should we use Love as a name for God? Brad Jersak

Question: Should we use the word Love as a name for God? I started thinking about this after I recently read that "God is change." God certainly is IN change, and God is fluid. But is He change? Then, I was reading a suggestion to substitute the word 'love' for God. I haven't yet found where God describes Himself as love (although He uses many wonderful descriptions.) I know that the Apostle John says God is love. And, given our unceasing ability to make things up, do we go maybe a bit too far when we substitute the word 'love' for God?  Response: Thanks for this great question. I don't know that God ever uses "Love" as a proper ...

Q&R: Should followers of Jesus use the threat of deadly force in self-defense? Brad Jersak

Question: Thank you for your inspiring article, "The Day of Vengeance." What came to mind while reading it was the question of self-defense and the use of deadly force to protect others. My neighbor follows Jesus, is as wise as serpents, and intends no harm to others, yet ended up in a life-threatening situation. He would have used deadly force to stop harm intended for him and another. Thankfully, the violent man stopped threatening and was later arrested. Any comments? Response: My own intention (from personal experiences of violence) is to align with Jesus’ wisdom from the Sermon on the Mount. Some think Jesus’ call not to ...

A Wakened Heart, a Listening Ear, an Encouraging Word – Brad Jersak

Isaiah the Prophet: Isaiah, son of Amoz, was a priest and prophet based in Jerusalem in the 8th century. The book bearing his name records visions and events through the reigns of four kings of Judah, leading up to the Babylonian captivity and a period immediately after the exile. Isaiah was commissioned as a messenger in a temple-shaking encounter with the Lord (Isaiah 6) and his prophecies included judgments concerning the nations, the rise of a virgin-born Prince of Peace, and the arrival of God's universal kingdom on a renewed world. It's worth pondering Isaiah's relationship with God, how he functioned, and his example to us. In this ...

Q&R: “What is the Second Death?” – Brad Jersak

Question: How do you understand the second death mentioned in John's Apocalypse? Response: Whatever it is, it sounds like serious business and something to avoid! The phrase only appears in the symbols of the Book of Revelation. Here are the relevant texts: Revelation 2:11: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Revelation 20:6: “Blessed and holy are those who have a part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand ...

Q&R: Are we seeing God’s vengeance now? Brad Jersak

Question: In response to our blog post, "The Day of Vengeance," by Brad Jersak, a reader asks, "Aren't we seeing God taking vengeance right now? It seems that way." Response: Thanks for your question. I think the key term in your question is SEEMS. Where do we actually see God taking vengeance today?  I can't think of any examples where I see God literally and directly taking vengeance, if we mean by that actively intervening to cause harm through violent retaliation (which is the definition of vengeance). In fact, if God IS doing that, God SEEMS quite incompetent at directing that vengeance with any accuracy or equity. ...

Q&R: “The Day of Vengeance” – Bradley Jersak

Question: I have a question concerning Jesus' statement in the synagogue in Luke 4:19, where he stops short of finishing the verse cited from Isaiah 61:2, which ends "and the day of vengeance of God." Many use this to proclaim a ‘Dispensationalist’ form of eschatology in which Jesus came the first time in love but will return with blood and destruction on his mind. How do you see this? Response: A very good question indeed! Let's review in some detail: Jesus launched his Galilean ministry with a prophetic mission statement from Luke 4:18-19: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,     because he has ...

Q&R: Is Jesus the Son of God – Brad Jersak

Question: Thank you so much for your honesty and generosity in sharing your walk with Jesus. I have a question: I thought I was done with deconstructing and had started to move forward again, but I now wonder why I have accepted for so long that Jesus is the Son of God. I think he is, but is this just a belief bubble that I have inherited? How did the early church come to this conclusion? Are there any good books that help on this journey?  Response: The early church came to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God because of the authority Jesus revealed in making that claim, particularly through his resurrection and in the first ...

Q&R: “If God isn’t controlling, what about prayer, healing & miracles?” Brad Jersak

Question: I have just finished reading A More Christlike God. I found your book challenging and spiritually uplifting. I have a few queries. First, if God doesn’t "do control," are miracles off the table? Are the miracles in the Gospels and Acts to be viewed as exceptions in ushering in his kingdom and not something we should expect? Second, following your advice, I try to avoid seeing prayer as either (1) a way to get our wishes or (2) taking the opposite line of being a fatalist. But I am having trouble understanding how to structure prayer when God doesn’t "do control." Take healing as an example. Let’s say a friend had cancer. I ...