200 results for tag: grace

Scandalous Grace – Part 2

by Greg Albrecht Our story centers on Jacob's deception, but more than that, it centers on God promising a reversal. God essentially told Rebekah, Jacob and Esau's mother, that Jacob would receive the blessing the older brother, Esau, should have had. Amazingly, the life of Jacob after he had deceived both his father and his brother was an ongoing saga of deceit and conflict. When Esau realized that he had been duped and deceived, Jacob had to run for his life to escape Esau's anger. The story of Esau and Jacob is an illustration of God's scandalous grace, a grace that reaches into the murky depths where right and wrong seem to be blurred, where ...

Scandalous Grace – Part 1

by Greg Albrecht This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, ...

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 ...

October 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: Faith Beyond Factions– pg. 3 Greg Albrecht: Jesus Invites Outsiders– pg. 6 Keith Giles: Attack of the "Love Buts" – pg. 10 Brian Zahnd: War of the Lamb – pg. 12 Greg Albrecht: Loving Sinners, Hating Sins? -pg. 15

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 ...

I Want to See

By Greg Albrecht— For the last time during his earthly ministry, Jesus was en route to Jerusalem. He had only a few days left in his earthly life—with every step he took toward Jerusalem he knew he was that much closer to the awful pain and suffering that awaited him. The road took him through Jericho, a city located about 17 miles northeast of Jerusalem. It was just before Passover—one of the three times in the year when pilgrims traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts of the old covenant. So the road was crowded with travelers, and as a result there were many others alongside the road—small businessmen and entrepreneurs, as well as ...

Does God Forgive and Forget?

Q: While attending a Bible study one night in a church I used to attend the pastor stated, "when we ask forgiveness of God, he does forgive us but he never really does forget." He was "clarifying" Hebrews 10:17. The pastor said, "After all, he is God, he knows everything, it would be impossible for him to forget." I find myself angry at this minister even today and I haven't seen him in years. I believe God does forget—however in the back of my mind this minister's comments still haunt me. Please, tell me, does God forget or not? A: I think I know what the minister may have meant. Part of what he may have been trying to say might be true, but ...

September 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: The Overlooked and Ignored – pg. 1 Question the Question – pg. 2 God is Love – pg. 5 To Seek and Save that Which is Lost – pg. 6 The Prodigals – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Two Brothers

by Greg Albrecht Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "W...

How Far Will God Go For Love?

by Greg Albrecht Lending institutions place a cap or limit on the total amount of purchases you can charge to their card. They will only let you go so far before your credit runs out. How far can we go with God before he says to us "That's it—my grace has its limits!" Is it possible to use so much of God's love that our account will be "maxed out"? Of course God's mercy, grace and love are endless. As and when we request forgiveness, God will always forgive us. That's one of the attributes that makes him God. But, is it possible to take advantage of God's good graces? Surely he isn't like an indulgent grandparent who just sits on his throne, ...

Why Did Jesus Call a Woman a Dog?

by Greg Albrecht The Canaanites became mortal enemies of the Jews some 1,500 or so years before the time of Jesus when they resisted the new nation of Israel as it attempted to inhabit the Promised Land. Matthew 15:21-28 relates the story of a Canaanite woman who was so desperate to seek healing for her daughter that she defied social and religious conventions as she publicly spoke to Jesus (a man she didn't know) —beyond that, a Jewish man. We know, from everything else we read in the Gospels, that Jesus, God in the flesh, loved this woman, but it didn't seem that way to her when she first started talking to Jesus. She cries out, "Son of ...

August 2020

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: Destroyed But Not Defeated– pg. 3 Brad Jersak: Grace Is the Real Offense– pg. 7 Blair Baker: Keep Shining – pg. 10 Jonathan Foster: My Soul Is Like a Chiminea – pg. 11 Brad Jersak: With Hope for All, Why Share Our Faith? -pg. 15

Browbeaten and Bullied at Church

by Greg Albrecht One of the most gratifying experiences we have at PTM is when we hear from someone for whom God has "turned on the light." By God's grace they realize their primary allegiance is not to a human religious authority. They realize that churches and church leadership are fellow-servants and laborers for the gospel—and that such organizations and authorities lose their credibility the moment they allow the gospel to be subverted by religion and its legalisms. The following letter is a wonderful example: I recently wrote an article about tithing for our church newspaper. My conclusion is the same as that of PTM—"­­tithing" is ...

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 ...

Citizens of Heaven

By Greg Albrecht— For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.—Philippians 3: 18-21 From the time I entered the mysterious world of adolescence, watching the 1960 political conventions on television, ...

Citizens of God’s Kingdom

By Greg Albrecht— Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"   But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose ...

The Kingdom of Service

  By Greg Albrecht— Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one ...

Battle About the Bible

By Greg Albrecht— What role does the Bible play in our faith? Is it accurate, for instance, to say that the Bible is infallible? Is it accurate to say that the Bible is holy? You might say, well, of course the Bible is holy—that's what it says right there on the front cover of my Bible. It says "Holy Bible." As we consider the battle about the Bible, we're going to study John 5:39-40. Fasten your seat belts. You may feel that some of your cherished notions about the Bible might be questioned as we examine a few sacred cows in the light of John 5:39-40. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal ...

He Can’t Stop Loving You

By Greg Albrecht— Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"—John 11:25 Ray Charles is one of my favorite blues singers of all time. The movie about his life, produced several years ago, won several Academy Awards, and was simply titled "Ray." Human suffering has given birth to much of our music, poetry, literature and art. The tragedies and the traumas of human relationships were the fertile soil from which many of the story lines and lyrics of Ray Charles' music grew. When I was a teenager I ...