1721 results for tag: Greg Albrecht

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, ...

Manipulated by Cunning Craftiness – Greg Albrecht

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed to and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14).  Paul employs the word picture of a boat being tossed and driven by a storm, reminding  Christ-followers “the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) will mature them, helping “then” to prevent them from being “blown here and there by every wind of teaching.” The NEB translates this passage:  “We are no longer to be children, tossed by waves and whirled about with every fresh wind of teaching, dupes of ...

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

Q & R with Greg Albrecht – What do you think about “Deliverance Ministries”?

Question  Our church has begun heavy use of “deliverance ministries” type materials. I am concerned at this and have begun an in-depth search to come to a better understanding of my own. The trouble is although there is a lot of biblically-based material in opposition to this ministry view, my church leaders condemn this opposition, saying it comes from people opposed to God’s will (whatever that really means!). My pastor says that I have to be careful reading opposing views because the devil can deceive me. How do I know the truth? Response As you report, it seems that those who follow some fad or fancy often become ...

Q&R with Greg Albrecht – “Falling out of God’s will”

Question I am in college. I think God may have called me to be a teacher. The problem is that I want to pursue other goals. I want to study what I am interested in. But when I stray completely away from education, something horrible always happens. The last time I was considering something other than teaching, my mom had a heart attack. I am afraid something worse is going to happen. I am afraid to have fun. I am afraid to have other interests because I am afraid of falling out of God’s will and then something really terrible happening. What do I do? Why is God punishing me?   Response Your question sounds more mystical and ...

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 ...

Q & R with Greg Albrecht – “Can I work out my own salvation?”

Question If our focus ought to be on God’s grace, expecting works to follow automatically from a life transformed by grace, what does the Bible mean when it tells us to “work out” our salvation?  Are we not expected to perfect the salvation we have received and grow to be more and more like him? Response It’s the ever-present question—if grace really is too good to be true, then won’t Christians just become slackers, goofing their way into God’s kingdom of heaven, expecting God to do everything for them? The major problem with this line of questioning is that it comes from our human experience/expectation/per...

Q&R with Greg Albrecht: Do tattoos honor God?

Question A sermon in our church regarding tattoos has stirred a debate in our home and I need your help to clarify a couple of things.  1.      Based on Leviticus 19:28 and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, would someone who gets a tattoo be honoring God with his/her body?  2.      If so, how does this differ from ear piercing?  3.      How can we apply one law from the Old Testament and discard others, specifically the laws in Leviticus about cutting hair on the sides, mixing crops in the field, etc.? Response The new covenant is not ...

Have You Forgiven God?

  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."—Isaiah 55:8-9 A few years ago I officiated at a funeral service for someone I had never known. I interviewed people who had known the deceased, and in the process I found out some dark and disturbing things. What do you say at a funeral when you can't find anyone who ever knew the person who has anything good to say about them? What can you say at a memorial service when surviving friends and relatives are having a difficult time ...

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 ...

The Gospel of Non-Violence – A Christ-Centered Perspective by Greg Albrecht

For some within Christendom the secular and highly politicized crusade to resist, end police brutality, overcome racism and stop hating people whose sexuality, gender or culture differs is one and the same as the gospel.   Cancel culture is a buzzword for standing against excesses of the North American culture, including the prosperity enjoyed by the “privileged.”  But are these goals one and the same as the gospel? In many cases it is not that hard to be against something, because the act of resistance appeals to the natural desire to minimize and condemn others in order to exalt oneself.  But the gospel is not self ...

Q & R with Greg Albrecht: “How can God sit on his own right hand?”

Question How can Jesus, the Son of God, sit on the right side of the Father and still be God (Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1)? How can God sit on the right side of himself? Response The Bible speaks of God in human language, using human reality and mortality to describe heavenly eternity. When the Bible says that God is “in” heaven, it does not mean that God is confined to any place, nor does it mean that heaven is a “place.” Heaven is a state of existence that is outside time and space, but in order to think about it and talk about it, humans have to speak of being “there.” The Bible tells us that God is omni-present—everyw...

The Father I Never Knew – by Greg Albrecht

Elmer Otto Gustav Albrecht is the name on my birth certificate, but I never knew you. Had you lived long enough July 18, 2020 would have been your 100th birthday, but you only lived a few months past your 28th birthday. As I celebrate your 100th birthday I mourn a past that never was and a father I never knew.   My “memories” of you have fashioned a mosaic-like image, emerging like a jigsaw puzzle, pieced together from mementos and stories. Those cherished treasures have helped me fill the massive hole in my heart. I have gazed at old photos of you so often that it almost seems like I was there – I wasn’t in most of them and the few ...