69 results for tag: faith
Faith In Another Dimension
Do you have "enough" faith? How can you acquire "more" faith? "How much" faith will it take before God is happy with you?
September 2022
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Articles:
Walking With Jesus – pg. 1
Our Daily Walk – pg. 2
Living in the Way – pg. 5
God Surrenders to Us in Love – pg. 6
Donkey Rescue – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Faith, Fiction, Fantasy & Truth – Brad Jersak
"Sometimes fairy stories may say best what’s to be said.” —C.S. Lewis
“C.S. Lewis taught me that in fiction, stepping into magical realms means encountering earthly concerns in transfigured form.” —Lev Grossman
CAN FICTION BE TRUE?
I frequently encounter surprise and even disdain when I recommend works of fiction as an essential element in one’s spiritual or theological diet. Indeed, as a professor of theology, I’ve contended with students who were intent on exemptions from the classics I assign as coursework!
“What’s the point? Novels aren’t true,” I’m told with incredulity. Or sometimes, I hear, “I only ...
July 2022
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Articles:
Unadorned Clay Pots – pg. 1
Freedom to Forgive – pg. 2
Thanks PTM - Keep On Rockin'! – pg. 5
The Band – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
May 2022
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Articles:
Closer Than You Know – pg. 1
Reflecting on Grace – pg. 2
Scared Prayers – pg. 5
Memories & Mercies – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Christ-centered faith vs Christless religion/spirituality – Brad Jersak
Lately, I’ve been noticing subtle differences between the popular ‘spirituality vs. religion’ and ‘faith vs. religion'
Some prefer ‘spirituality’ because it only implies one’s own spiritual self or soul (sans any god at all). So hiking the mountains is ‘spiritual’ because it nurtures the soul. True enough. However, I personally prefer to speak of ‘faith’ because my spiritual self or my soul has been freed and fed by a Love greater than my own … and indeed, faith freed me from religion in a way that spirituality hadn’t. As one Orthodox priest says, ‘Religion is a neurological disease and faith is its cure.’
I’m also ...
September 2021
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Articles:
Remembering 9-11 in the Wake of 2020 – pg. 1
We Believe – pg. 2
Think on These Things – pg. 5
Forgiveness and Apologies – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Name It and Blame It
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, ...
The All Star Game of Faith – Greg Albrecht
Baseball season is in full swing, and, as always, this season includes controversy and arguments – not always about the game played on the field. Once again this year politics are creeping into Mom, Apple Pie and Baseball. Reacting to political decisions made by the state of Georgia, the hierarchy of MLB has decided to award the All Star Game, previously scheduled for Atlanta, to Denver, to be played on July 13.
While I have my opinions about this year’s MLB All Star Game, I will not here enter the swamp of political debate about this decision, but rather propose a far more interesting game in which two teams play an All Star ...
Unwavering Faith? Greg Albrecht
A friend of mine, enduring some painful struggles, asked me to continue to pray for him. He was particularly concerned, as he said, that “my faith doesn’t waver.”
I started thinking about “unwavering” faith. Everything human wavers – love, commitment, trust, honesty, fidelity, patience – it all wavers. Human faith wavers. We are not the rock – Jesus is. Jesus is the unmoved mover. He is always here for and with us. Jesus never walks away and abandons us. He is perfectly faithful.
It may well be the most faithful ...
March 2021
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Articles:
The Crux of Our Faith – pg. 1
A Far, Far Better Rest – pg. 2
When I AM Lifted Up – pg. 5
Places I've Been – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Christ Alone – the Absolute Center of Our Faith
Studies of sermon topics and titles reveal that the vast majority of messages given within the churches of Christendom, perhaps up to 80%, are centered on the needs and desires of human beings, rather than on Jesus Christ. 80%!
The task of preaching and teaching the real, authentic gospel of Jesus Christ boils down to preaching Christ. The purpose of Christ-centered, authentic Christian teaching, preaching, ministry or church is not to preach the Bible, but to preach Christ. Of course, properly interpreted and understood, the Bible is all about Jesus Christ—he is not only the divine author but he is the subject and theme of the ...
November 2020
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Articles:
Like Wool on Sheep – pg. 1
Descending to Serve – pg. 2
Thanksgiving for Everyone – pg. 5
Scaredy Pants – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Reforming Grace
by Greg Albrecht
For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite."—Isaiah 57:15
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.—Matthew 23:12
Over 490 years ago, on the day now known as Halloween—October 31, 1517—a young Roman Catholic priest named Martin Luther posted 95 theses, or statements, on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. These 95 issues were a summary of what this ...
How Free is Free Will?
by Greg Albrecht
How much choice does any individual human actually have? We speak of "free will"—but how much of a choice to accept God's grace does anyone have, given the brainwashing and propaganda to which they are subjected? How much of a choice to accept God's grace does a young boy in a radicalized Muslim school have? How much of a choice to accept God's grace does someone have who is ensnared by some ultra fundamentalist church, where performance-based religion rules?
Being in Christ is a divine invitation to an eternal relationship, open to everyone. But being in Christ is not an automatic, divinely bestowed or imposed gift. Being in ...
The Master’s Voice
by Greg Albrecht
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was ...
Should We Boycott the Wedding?
by Greg Albrecht
Recently I was asked to give my opinion about a married man, in the process of divorcing his wife, while dating a younger, unmarried woman. My immediate thought was the response of Jesus when he was asked by someone to get involved in a family about an inheritance. "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" (Luke 12:14).
However, remembering that Jesus used the question as a way to discuss some of the more important spiritual issues surrounding it (see "The Parable of the Rich Fool"—Luke 12:15-21), I tried to respond in a similar way. The person who asked me the question said that the still-married man was ...
July 2020
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Articles:
I Will Give You Rest – pg. 1
Religious Games – pg. 2
Faith is a Choice – pg. 6
Forwarding to the Future – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
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