196 results for tag: grace
A Great Grace Give-Away — by Greg Albrecht
David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "At your service," he replied. The king asked, "Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?" Ziba answered the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet." "Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar." So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of ...
Does God Have a Strategic Plan for You? – by Ed Dunn
We are in the midst of an exciting strategic planning process here at Plain Truth Ministries (PTM). This planning process, which involves our team here in the Pasadena office, along with Brad Jersak in Canada, gives us an opportunity to take a fresh look at PTM’s mission, magazines and partner letters, books, on-line content, as well as the operations and procedures that support all we do in this ministry. As a closeknit team, we approach every aspect of this planning process prayerfully, as careful and conscientious stewards, asking God for guidance and wisdom as we look to the future. By definition, Strategic Planning is a type of planning ...
Grace = No More Scorekeeping – by Greg Albrecht
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.—1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Keeping score is one of the fundamental predispositions of human beings. Keeping score is the way we operate, it's the way we gauge our progress and that of others and it is one of the primary ways in which our culture motivates us.
I learned to keep score at an early age via two of my passions—sports and music. The first score-keeping experience I had in sports was with the game of baseball. As I recall, I was about ten years old ...
August 2024
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Brad Jersak The Gospel According to A.I. – pg. 2
Greg Albrecht "Divine Appointments?" – pg. 5
Ed Dunn Running the Race – pg. 6
Alone No More – Ken Williams
Early in life I felt disconnected from God, family, and others. I felt I was on the “outside looking in.”
Circumstances beyond a child’s control contributed to feeling this way, but that wasn’t the problem. I didn’t know Jesus was with me and using my imagination, I chose to “escape”. I didn’t know it but God used the circumstances of life to prepare me to receive his Son, believe in his name, give me birth to be his child, and then welcome me home. It took time.
Circumstances? Mom and dad were grieving twin sons Johnny and Joel’s deaths. They were less than a month old. They isolated from one another as pains in life ...
Standing Firm in God’s Grace – Part 2
Can a Christian live anyway they like, walk on the wild side, live a permissive and immoral lifestyle and say they are justified in doing so because of God's grace? Is it possible they really are in Christ? How can they be saved if all of the evidence is to the contrary?
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0339.mp3
Standing Firm in God’s Grace – Part 1
In Galatians 5 Paul tells us to stand firm and not let ourselves be bound again in a yoke of slavery. What is this yoke of slavery Paul is talking about, and what does standing firm in God's grace mean? This is a critically important subject for Christians.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0338.mp3
High Risk Grace
One of the biggest objections many have to God's grace is where they think it leads? Do you know where it leads? Do you fully understand the implications of the grace God offers us?
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0354.mp3
The Grace of God Is Immoral? – by Greg Albrecht
A familiar captivity is frequently more desirable than an unfamiliar freedom. – C.S. Lewis
When many who are comfortable with their cherished religious practices and ceremonies hear about CWR (Christianity WITHOUT the religion) and how we as a ministry champion “religion-less” Christianity, they often accuse Christianity WITHOUT the religion and “religion-less” Christianity as being nothing less than permissiveness and immorality.
It’s a serious accusation – one the organized religion of Jesus’ day used to condemn him. As you know, the religious leadership of Jesus’ day insisted that Jesus was spending too much time ...
Getting Caught Up in a Religious Show – by Greg Albrecht
Acts 5:1-11 The story of Ananias and Sapphira
Here's a story that might seem as if it belongs in the Old Testament rather than the New. The story related by our keynote passage begins with an idyllic picture of new Christians, living together and sharing their lives. But then, in the midst of this upbeat picture of God's favor and blessings, comes a depressing story of a man and his wife who gave an offering to God, but misrepresented the actual amount of how much they gave. In the middle of this time when God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all (Acts 4:33) God took the life of this husband and ...
Extra Rewards for Those Who Run Further and Faster, Against Greater Obstacles, in the Race of Grace? – Greg Albrecht
Question:
I have just read your blog post titled “What is Our Eternal Reward”. I have a question. After we receive the gift of eternal life I believe we will sit at a fabulous banquet in the Kingdom, and those like me who haven't done much with our talents will be applauding people like Joni Ericson Tada who allowed God to use her, in spite of being a quadriplegic, to do an incredible work of serving many handicapped people around world. She, like many others like her, who devoted their lives to works of service, and have made tremendous sacrifices to serve others should be rewarded according to their works. And shmucks like me will be ...
Eternal Torture – Divine or Human Vengeance? by Greg Albrecht
Hell is a subject many religious people get all hot and bothered about. It's one of the most disputed and controversial teachings within Christendom. The squabbling is not about the surety of judgment for depravity and wickedness. Most Christians agree that there is and will be divine judgment for evil. The battle for hell is all about specifications, temperature and longevity. The debate involves comprehending and communicating divine justice—and in the process humans expose definitions of time and space into eternity.
But the Bible does not suggest that God needs to import our flawed perspectives into the perfec...
Righteousness by Law or By Faith – by Greg Albrecht
There's an old story about a young man who asked his rich grandfather, "Grandpa, how did you get so rich?" "Well," said grandpa, "during the Great Depression my family had no money whatsoever. I found two pennies in my old piggy bank, and I bought an apple with those two pennies. I shined that apple up, took it out on the street where people were hungry, and sold it for five cents. Then I took that nickel and bought two more apples for two cents each. I shined them all up, took them back out on the street, and sold them for five cents each."The grandfather paused, and then continued, "That was my first real job. I did real well selling apples during ...
The Christian and a “Heretic” by Ken Williams
How I view my relationship with Jesus determines how I see others.
Ken Williams
I joined the other passengers as we boarded our flight from Sacramento, CA to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. I looked forward to relaxing and reading. After getting settled in my window seat and greeting the woman in the aisle seat, I pulled my book out intending to relax and read. But that was delayed by the woman in the aisle seat who asked me if I believe the Bible. It felt more like a trap than a request for friendly conversation. I sensed that nuancing my answer would prolong the conversation, so I replied, “Yes” and started to read. She wasn’t finished. Other ...
It’s Good to Be Alive – by Greg Albrecht
It's one of two times in the year when brick-and-mortar churches have their highest attendance. It's without a doubt the most meaningful time of the year for Christians, but Easter lilies, bunny rabbits, Easter hams, painted and chocolate eggs can take our attention away from the vital life-giving significance of this spiritual victory we celebrate every spring.
Easter signals new life springing from what is seemingly dead and lifeless. Gray gives way to green. Ice melts and snow is replaced by the promise of buds and sprouts. Light overcomes darkness. The light and life that comes bursting from an empty tomb triumphs over death on the cross, a ...
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
Grace — It’s Not Quid Pro Quo
In today’s Plain Truth program Greg gives 9 definitions of “grace”. Just what is grace, anyway?
It’s Either Old or New – by Greg Albrecht
By way of introduction to It’s Either Old or New—It Can’t Be Both! I would like to introduce two special guests.
Before going any further, I should explain that our special guests will appear as caricatures—in the form of a communication that they might have had with each other—so that there is, as far as I know, no actual resemblance to anything they’ve ever said to each other, if indeed they ever had a one-on-one conversation. I hope that clears me—that’s my disclaimer.
Our first guest is Martha Stewart.
Martha Stewart has come, over the past few decades, to symbolize the paragon of a dutiful, ...
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