1782 results for tag: Greg Albrecht

The Commands of God and the Tradition of Men

Sin management is the focus of Christ-less religion - attempting to make bad people good, or at the very least better. But Jesus' mission is not about making bad people better. Jesus comes to make spiritually dead people live!

Hooked on a Feeling – by Greg Albrecht

Once upon a time, the word "addiction" was used almost exclusively to define and describe dependence on mood altering substances. Addiction is centered on sensory stimulation and gratification. When a particular chemical substance that produces an incredible "rush" or "high" wears off, an individual starts returning to the drug to experience the same feeling again. Substance addiction is further understood as continued involvement with a drug because of immediate pleasure and gratification, in spite of the negative consequences the addict would eventually experience. Today we speak not only of substance addiction but also, in a broader context, ...

Clothed in Christ – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter for February 2025: One hears much discussion at this time of year about clothing styles and designers as the “stars” come out for award shows which their industry hosts to honor itself – the Academy Awards being the most lavish and spectacular of them all. Much of the focus is on what the “beautiful” people are wearing.       Clothing of course hides our nakedness and protects us from the elements. But spiritually speaking, clothing can be an attempt to hide who we really are while vainly endeavoring to present ourselves as being something we are not. Genesis says clothing served ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 28, 2025 - Quote for the Day “Here, in a tiny little backwater town of Bethlehem, our Creator, the Prince of Peace arrived looking more like a little prune-faced pauper than an adorable Gerber baby born into comfort, safety and hygiene.  The first Christmas was a long way from the adorable depictions of baby Jesus we see today, in front yards, on Christmas trees and over the mantle of fireplaces.  2000 years later Jesus has been, in the popular version that is taught and imbibed, adorable, repackaged and shrink-wrapped.”  Originally published in: Christianity Without the Religion magazine, November ...

Knowing the One True God

God is seen and known only by and through Jesus, who came to reveal God. We pray for those who are yet to see and know the One true God.

Whatever Happened to Grace?

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. His grace is resisted by religious high places, but the spiritual gravitational pull of grace causes it to flow to low places.

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 25, 2025 - Quote for the Day “My computer screen flickered for a moment, and then the video my friend from Indiana sent me started to play.  An ordinary guy was sitting in front of his computer screen – he looked at me and said: ‘I got an email the other day which said … Jesus loves you.’ Ordinary guy thought, ‘that’s nice,’ but then he read the rest of the email which said…If you don’t start doing what Jesus says you’re going to burn in hell forever.’ Ordinary guy pondered…‘So, this love Jesus has for me is conditional. I can understand that.  Love has conditions attached.  ...

Religion Attempts to Overthrow Grace

The early New Testament church quickly learned that they could not deceive or manipulate God. The relationship he offered them, and that he offers us, is one that we can only receive, not gain or earn. We have nothing to offer God that he doesn't already have.

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 23, 2025 - Quote for the Day “In both his behavior and his teachings Jesus reached out to the downtrodden, offering healing and grace to all those in bondage.  He pierced through the crippling aggression of the rich and the slavery of religious power brokers.  Jesus flipped the script of what is fair and just, upending traditional ethical assumptions and religious traditions.  The Beatitudes then seemed so illogical and counter-intuitive and they still do.  Jesus’ teaching reveals the eternal and divine value of vulnerability in the face of danger and gentleness in the face of hatred.”  Origina...

Downward Mobility

Jesus disciples all wanted to be rich and famous, but the kingdom of heaven is founded on an opposing value -- serving others rather than serving ourselves. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR262.mp3

February 2025

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht "You Don't Love Me!" – pg. 2 Richard Rohr God, the Lover of Life – pg. 5 Brad Jersak "God is Love, but..." Nothing! – pg. 7

Growing Beyond Our Expectations

What did Jesus mean when he said, Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me?

When Christ-less Religion Meets God’s Grace – by Greg Albrecht

All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.—John 16:1-3 What happens when fear, shame and guilt meet God's unconditional love? Human history is a record of titanic struggles and classic confrontations. Biblically, we think of Moses and the seemingly defenseless Israelites, hemmed in by the mountains, with the Red Sea at their back, being pursued by the finest, most well-equipped and trained army in the world at that time. We ...

Q&R with Greg Albrecht – “Law or Grace: A Debate”

Question 1: I have read repeatedly in the Bible about the “wedding garment” – most importantly, the passage where the man in heaven is seated at the table of the feast and is found not to have a wedding garment on. He is asked why and is speechless. So he is bound and thrown into “the darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 22:13). How do I know if I will have a “wedding garment”? Response 1: Great question! A study of wedding garments in the New Testament reveals that only Jesus can provide the wedding garment. The wedding garment is given, by grace, not by works. No amount of sewing or shopping on our part ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 21, 2025 -Quote for the Day “When truth is fixed, reality adapts to unequivocal, eternal verities.  When truth is no longer truth, and every opinion equal, then subjective decisions are more likely to be accepted and tolerated.  Every generation that seeks to right all wrongs, finds itself battling with the unsettling reality that others in the past differed, and the notion past generations may have had it more ‘right’ than we do now is not only inconvenient, it is a painful and disconcerting possibility.  So why not reject such notions for ‘convenient truth?’”  Originally published in: C...

Making a Difference in Christ

Greg explains the real difference between the sheep and the goats of Jesus parable in Matthew 25.

Sitting With Others

As we remember the extraordinary legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. we think of how instrumental he was in bringing people of different races and cultures together. We consider Ezekiel's example of sitting among captives and exiles, and most of all the example of Jesus who became one of us, living among us, sitting with us.

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

January 18, 2025 - Quote for the Day “In a sad but twisted irony, religion not only seduces and deceives its followers (addicts and slaves), but it assures them that they need to endure misery and abuse in order to please and appease God.  What a travesty!  Religious legalism has turned many of its followers into the walking dead.”  Originally published in: Unplugging from Religion – Connecting With God ------------------------------------- Help Us Help Others - Give Now

Can You See His Hands?

Join Greg as he considers the difference between an open hand, like that of Jesus on the cross, and a clinched fist.

Looking Ahead or Looking Back – by Greg Albrecht

As the covered wagon rolled and pitched Along the prairie track, One sat looking forward And one sat looking back.  One searched the wide horizon For a bright and better day: And, one saw the disappointing road       Til’ it too slipped away.                                                              ...