515 results for tag: Brad Jersak

Q&R: What is “the World” in John’s Gospel & Letters – Brad Jersak

Question: In John's Gospel, we read that God loves the world (3:16) but in his first epistle, John says we should not love the world (1 John 2:15). Is he using the same Greek word (cosmos) in both passages? Response: Yes, indeed, it's the same word! Go figure!   The thing to know about translation is that any given word has what we call a 'semantic range,' which is about how one word can be used differently in different contexts. In my article, "Reading from the End," I played with the different ways that an English word such as "plant" can be used. I noted that we define the word by how it is used in various contexts. ...

Sometimes Waiting is Hard – Brad Jersak

Waiting: “Advent” is a word I was unfamiliar with as a child growing up in my Baptist tradition. But in my years with the Mennonites, I became familiar with the ritual of lighting candles on the Advent wreath in anticipation of Christ’s nativity. Advent, I learned, meant arrival but intrinsic to that word was the waiting, the anticipation and the longing of God’s people for his appearance and especially his deliverance. As a little boy, I relived that expectant hope as the calendar slowly edged forward to Christmas. Sometimes Waiting is Hard I think most children find waiting for the climax of Christmas morning difficult … but they may ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak- “How do we trust God when prayers for healing are denied?”

Question: How do you remain in a state of trust and faith when your prayers for healing are continuously denied? Not to mention those of your friends and family.   When I read about Jesus in the scriptures, I see a character who values restoring those to healing and wellness. I don't recall Jesus ever turning anyone away, or saying He wanted to teach someone "a lesson" with their suffering. I also think of the following verse: James 5:14-15 – "Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick ...

Q&R: A Six-Year-Old Wrestles with the Problem of Pain – Brad Jersak

Question: My 6-year-old fell down the stairs and hit his head, and got a concussion. Before bed tonight, he asked me, "If God is in control, and is powerful, and loves me, then why did he watch me fall and not help me?" Response: Your child certainly is a deep thinker! And deep thinkers have been asking that question for a very long time. At least since the philosopher Epicurus (about 300 years before Jesus). And those who try to answer the question always seem to stumble into rationalizations that end up calling good evil and evil good. So I've been praying and pondering about this for days... how to respond to a sincere child who ...

Q&R: 2 Chronicles 7 – When is God the Cause?

Question: It's that time again when everyone brandishes 2 Chronicles 7:12-14! In Bible Study, a questioner honestly admitted NOT quite seeing how God would prevent rain, command locusts to devour the land or send pestilence among the people: "Why is God so mean and controlling, etc?" I know you have shared this (maybe A More Christlike God?), but I would love to give her a succinct, Christological answer! Response: First, the text in question: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble ...

December 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: Not What Religion Expects – pg. 2 Kenneth Tanner: One-Sided God – pg. 6 Brad Jersak God in Our Image – pg. 7

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Bring them here & kill them in front of me” (Luke 19:27)

Question: I was thinking of WWJD? (What would Jesus do?) the other day in the context of world events, especially the wars that are raging right now. I've run into some strange reactions. Some said, "Jesus would side with ______," and others said, "No, Jesus would join ______." As a militant? Not Jesus, surely! But then a friend posted Luke 19:27: "But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me." I'm stumped. It's in the New Testament. How do you read this?  Response: Let's start with the question of God taking "sides." While I can find all kinds of biblical ...

Q & R: Baptism and the fate of the ‘unprepared’ – Brad Jersak

Question: If I found myself numb with pain, injured and bleeding in the cold on a cloudy day, having never been baptized for whatever reason(s), and therefore not "OFFICIALLY" in the Body of Christ as I died. Being lifelong mostly homeless, reality itself seemed to communicate to me "authoritatively" that my death and eternal punishment were now imminent? Would I have reason to quiver convulsively in deep and dreadful fear?  To add a little humor, if I were dying in those circumstances, could I say a few words then spit on myself and confidently count it baptism? Thus, I'm in! But what if I were unconscious? I know these "unprepared ...

CWR Video – “Christ: The Lion and the Lamb” – by Brad Jersak

Short video by Brad Jersak - The Lion and The Lamb

Audio Books Available

Books by Brad Jersak - also available as Audio Books: A More Christlike God A More Christlike Way From Audible/Amazon and iTunes!

Q&R: Longing, Striving, Struggling & Surrender? Brad Jersak

QUESTION: I see folks around me working really hard to "press into" doing good works for God, having more time with God, etc, etc. "If I only did A, B or C more, it would all be better." Their longing drifted towards striving. My question as a faith leader is how to address this. I love people who long for more. But how best might I shepherd and steward that longing? In other traditions, I see people asking for "mercy gifts." Instead of striving, they actively do something with their longing. They pray for a gift of faith, or boldness, or whatever. Or they even pray to receive a certain longing they are lacking. RESPONSE: This is such an ...

THE BEATITUDES: CHRIST FORMED IN YOU – Brad Jersak

My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.(Galatians 4:19) There came a moment when Leo Tolstoy balked. And so did Gandhi.And so did Dietrich Bonhoeffer.And so did Howard Thurman.And so did Martin Luther King Jr.  They all balked at an idea that became dominant 400 years earlier—their own gospel fact-checking challenged the notion that the Sermon on the Mount cannot be practiced and that even trying to practice Christ’s teaching denied the grace of God in favor of salvation by works. As if trust in and obedience to the “law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2) is but a failed attempt to earn ...

Q & R: Are God’s hands tied until we “return” to God?

Question: Have you done any writing, or know of someone that has...around the biblical theme of "returning" to God?  In contemplative prayer, "returning" has been a beautiful invitation, but many biblical references describe the "return" as being the precursor or condition to God's favor, compassion and/or forgiveness. Undoubtedly this has contributed to the toxic idea that when we turn away, God is also turned away, and until WE do the work of returning, God can't do anything. Obviously, I know you've written and talked a lot about this in the context of the "Gospel in Chairs" ...but I'm just wondering about broader writing on the ...

Progressive Revelation and the Unveiling of God – Brad Jersak

Question from a reader:   I have been reading a lot about progressive revelation, specifically in my readings of John Howard Yoder and Guy F. Hershberger. This sounds like some of the things I may be reading from Michael Hardin (anthropological revelation). This idea of God incrementally slipping revelations into humanity's cognitive compartments, filling them gradually through different epochs is what I am referring to. Also, the study of later texts (prophetic texts) critiquing earlier (royal dynasty of Israel/kingship texts) makes for a more complete understanding of the Bible. I was curious if you have come across this and if ...

Q & R – The Ethics of the Trinity – Brad Jersak

​ Question: I've been reading your A More Christlike God.  On page 102 you discuss "Trinitarian love". I've always taken the Trinity as a "given," and never really looked into its implications. But as I've read Jason Pratt's Sword to the Heart, I've come to see that the Trinity has significant ethical implications; God Self-Begetting (the Father) and God Self-Begotten (the Son) always treat One another lovingly. If a Person of God were to rebel against another Person of God, all existence would cease. This gets around the "Euthyphro dilemma" in a way that I do not think unitarian faiths can.  What are your thoughts?   &nb...

November 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: 60 Years Later... If JFK Could Talk – pg. 1 The Love of Thanksgiving – pg. 2 Should We Fear God? – pg. 5 A Sickness Unto Death – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Q & R: God’s Mighty Sovereignty & Protection – Brad Jersak

QUESTION: I am enjoying reading A More Christlike God, but the chapter(s) on the God of will versus God of love have brought on some anxiety too. When we jettison the wrathful and angry images of a Calvinist God, do we also abandon his mighty sovereignty--his ability to watch over us and protect us? RESPONSE: What an important question! And such a mystery! For those who've not yet read A More Christlike God, our reader's question needs a little background. In the book, I lay out two ancient, ongoing and competing visions of God: The God of pure will: That image of God causes all things and governs every event, including ...

Q&R: “Do not resist an evil person” – Brad Jersak

Question: I was thinking about the passage where Jesus says not to resist someone who's trying to rob you and I was wondering what that meant. Suppose a delivery I was expecting doesn't come in, does that mean I shouldn't ask for a refund? My common sense says no but the passage seems on the surface to have a pretty straightforward interpretation to me. Response: Such a good question! And I think your common sense instincts are right. It's generally important to begin with Christ in his immediate context, which will then help us transpose his principles to our lives more easily. First, here's the text in Matthew 5 (NIV): 38&...

1st Human Head Transplant! – Brad Jersak

First Successful Human Head Transplant! A first successful human head transplant?! Who?! When?! I don't think it was Dr. Sergio Canavero. He was the Italian surgeon who claimed to be the first to perform the surgery successfully. But I don't buy it, for the simple fact that his subject was already deceased... and stayed that way. Cadavres don't count. I know it wasn't Valery Spiridonov. He is a Russian man who suffers from Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, an irreversible muscle-wasting condition. Valery volunteered to be the first subject of a full human head transplant. Reports vary on why he 'bowed out' but he claimed to have found love and ...

Reading from the End – Brad Jersak

Reading from the End: In a previous blog post, I wrote about moving "From the Letter of the Law to the Spirit of the Word." I wrote about how children move from seeing the letters c-a-t to seeing the word "cat" and, ultimately, see past the letters on the page to the image of a cat in their minds automatically. I shared how John Behr compared that to the apostle Paul's encounter with Christ, after which he moved from death-dealing law enforcement to a life-giving gospel. My friend and teacher, John Behr, offered a second analogy to follow up on how the first Christians' reading of Scripture was turned upside down by their experience of the ...