41 results for tag: forgiveness
Praying the Lord’s Prayer in Violent Times – Brad Jersak
You've noticed that we're living in very violent times. At home, abroad ... to the point of exhaustion, hopelessness and/or numbness. I see no reprieve in sight and every reason to expect further escalation. I find myself in daily need of prayers that guard my heart and mind from both despair and the vengeance fantasies of repressed rage.
In that context, I have begun to pray the Lord's Prayer in a focused way on a daily basis with some new (to me) understanding about Christ's strategy in ordering the phrases in series as he does. Here is the part that seems super-relevant to us all right now:
Forgive us our ...
The Freedom to Forgive – by Ed Dunn
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17, NIV).
Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you – Jean Paul Sartre
Freedom lies in being bold – Robert Frost
I’ve been thinking about the words Freedom and Forgiveness a lot of late, considering how the two words may both work together and support one another. You see, two close friends of mine have recently had a falling out. These two close friends have had a falling out over a common source of strong opinion and emotional tension these days. Unfortunately, hurtful words have been exchanged and harmful events have ...
“Without the Shedding of Blood” – Brad Jersak
“Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Heb 9:22).
The prosecution rests, your honor.A blood sacrifice is required or there is no forgiveness.That should end the discussion.
Well it shouldn’t. But it did … for me. See, God can’t just forgive freely … that wouldn’t be ‘just.’ Sin must be paid for. How? Only by the shedding of blood.
Because why? Because a blood sacrifice is what God requires, what God needs, what God wants … and by blood, we mean death. Death of the sinner, or alternatively, a ram, lamb, bull … or a Son. And so we taught, “Sin cannot simply be forgiven. ...
Forgiveness…Who First? – Greg Albrecht
Wouldn’t it be great if you or I could hit a delete button and send the memories of all our hurts and pains somewhere far away, into the most remote recesses of our minds, and never, ever have to think of them again? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the hard drive in our brain suddenly crashed, and no bad memories survived?
As painful as our memories of being hurt are, they can fester and grow into resentment and hatred of those who either hurt us or had some part in our pain.
Nasty things can and do happen when we throw a pity party, swimming laps in a pool of resentment, endlessly replaying painful moments from our past.
Mo...
Our Debt Forgiven
At dinner in a Pharisee’s house, Jesus forgave a harlot. Her debt was great, yet she was forgiven. You will be forgiven too, if you accept Jesus Christ as your savior, but if you try to do it on your own as the Pharisee did, then your debt remains.
Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Can we withhold God’s forgiveness?
Question
What is your take on John 20:23?
"If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Response
That's a very difficult verse. Of course, the first part seems easy enough. Up until that point, there was this sense that only God could forgive sin (Mark 2:7), so Jesus' critics were upset when he would announce (in the passive voice), "Your sins are forgiven." They claimed it was tantamount to blasphemy. But note, he didn't say, "I forgive you," but rather, spoke the words as the Son authorized by his Father. Even on the Cross, we hear Jesus praying, "Father, forgive ...
April 2022
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Brad Jersak: The Cross: God's Eternal Mercy Seat – pg. 2
Laura Urista: Trimming the Roses – pg. 5
Richard Rohr: The Saving Power of the Cross – pg. 6
Greg Albrecht: The Meaning(s) of the Cross – pg. 7
“Father, forgive them” – Particular & Universal – Brad Jersak
"Father, forgive them.”
When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left.Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also mocked Him and came up to offer Him sour wine. “If You are the King of the Jews,” they said, “save Yourself!” Above Him was posted an inscription: THIS IS THE ...
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
July 2021
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Articles:
The Father I Never Knew – pg. 1
Get Comfortable With the Questions – pg. 2
How Free Do You Want to Be? – pg. 4
God's Not Through With Us Yet – pg. 5
Life's Lava Tubes – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Q: How Do We Avoid Cherry-Picking the Bible for a God of Love of Our Own Wishes ? – Brad Jersak
QUESTION: How do you respond to people who object that we are imposing our own ideology of peace onto the Bible rather than letting the Bible speak for itself? When you "unwrath God," aren't you cherry-picking according to our own wishes for what you wish the text had said rather than submitting to what it actually says?
RESPONSE: I hear this objection regularly, perhaps even weekly. I need to respond often enough that a standard answer has begun to unfold.
1. First, we must acknowledge the real problem of bias when coming to the text. We must admit the importance of being mindful as to how our prejudices impact our reading and interpretation of ...
Forgiveness: What it isn’t & what it is – Brad Jersak
"And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." Matthew 18:34-35For those who find it easy to leave the streams of love, forgiveness, compassion and mercy behind,... you may not care to remain in those streams but, is your infinite debt something you can manage on your own? Be careful not to forget the unforgiving servant. Go back to the streams of God and be grateful for them. -- Adit Gamble
I'm feeling such a fear of the Lord these days about ...
What ‘Christ Died For Us’ Meant to the Fathers – Brad Jersak
The following summary represents what we find in the classics of early Christian thought as they recalled the 'faith once delivered,' and sought to articulate the meaning of the Incarnation in light of the revelation that Christ was both fully human and fully divine.
For primary readings on this, see for example:
Athanasius, On the Incarnation
Gregory of Nazianzus, Letters in Critique of Apollonarius
Cyril of Alexandria, On the Unity of Christ
When the apostles say Christ suffered and died for us, once for all (Rom 6:10; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 3:18), for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 13:28; Col 2:13) and not ours only, everybody's (1 John 2:2), what ...
December 2018
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Brad Jersak: Advent, Arrival, Appearance– pg. 1
Eden Jersak: Arrival of Hope– pg. 3
Brad Jersak: Arrival of Peace – pg. 4
Laura Urista: Arrival of Joy – pg. 6
Kenneth Tanner: Arrival of Love – pg. 8
Greg Albrecht: Kingdom of Heaven – pg. 8
Larry Parsley: J.B. Roane and the Case of the Belated Apology – pg. 12
Steve Stewart: Pure and Wonderful Grace – pg. 14
Brad Jersak: “What Lesson Is God Teaching Me?” -pg. 15
Breakfast with Brad – Korea part 2 – BBQ Pork & the importance of forgiveness.
In this episode of PTM.org's "Breakfast with Brad," Brad is in Korea (part 2) with his wife Eden, son Justice and friend Jake, enjoying BBQ Pork & discussing the importance of forgiveness to essential Christianity.
PTM.org's "Breakfast with Brad" - Korea part 2 - BBQ Pork & the importance of forgiveness. from Brad Jersak on Vimeo.
Breakfast with Brad – 2 Cor. 2:10 Forgiveness is Giving Grace.
2 Corinthians 2:10 Forgiveness is giving grace.
https://vimeo.com/1007833787
Breakfast with Brad – Forgiveness, Resentment and Justice
PTM.org's 'Breakfast with Brad' - In which Brad must practice forgiveness against a great injustice lest his resentment morphs into malice, vengeance and violence. Without forgiveness, our attempts at justice become hateful and self-righteous. Notice too how Brad cleverly projects his own error (buying the wrong product) onto the supposed offender. Classic.
https://vimeo.com/1007821595
Radical Forgiveness: Why She Forgave Her Father’s Killer
How one woman (Margot Van Sluytman) came to forgive the man who murdered her father.
CLICK HERE to listen to the radio interview by Anna Maria Tremonti (CBC The Current).
Or CLICK HERE to read the story transcript. (Copyright © CBC 2016)
Margot writes,
"Meeting the man who murdered my Dad, disrupted my family life. At the time of that occurrence, I was told to trust.
'Trust what happens when authenticity of the heart guides your choice.'
Ten years later, that disruption has become an aspect that infuses my relationship to my family with deepened respect for each other. And, also shifts how we can talk with each other, even when ...
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