1720 results for tag: Greg Albrecht

What If? Imagine a Strange…but not Impossible Dream – Greg Albrecht

What if relentless efforts to destroy enemies and vengeful efforts in taking an eye for an eye, came to a grinding halt? What if the spiritual and emotional eyesight of every human being, clouded by hatred, grievances and recrimination as it is, were to be miraculously healed in favor of reconciliation and forgiveness? What if we moved on from the bitter memories of the Holocaust and the never-ending pogroms before and after? Oh yes, they happened, and if the reality of this world is all we have to live for and count on, we must remember. Never again! But what if everyone knew it was impossible for anything like the Holocaust to ever happen ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

October 5, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “The Beatitudes are counter-cultural to an entrenched Christian culture that since the days of Constantine has been hell bent on ‘evangelizing’ through enforced conformity and ultimately subjugation rather than proclaiming the grace of God and the transformation he freely gives, through Christ, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). In a world dominated then and now by the lethal, oppressive combination of warfare and violence on the one hand with the tyranny of fear-based religion on the other, the Beatitudes are the revolutionary manifesto of the kingdom of heaven.” Originally published ...

The Book of Judgment – Greg Albrecht

Question: Would you please give me your perspective – your interpretation – of biblical passages regarding a book of judgment.  I am thinking in particular of a reference to names being blotted out/not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life – but of course there are other similar references to judgment in the Bible. Response: Thank you for a great question. There are, as you mention, many references in the Bible to books being opened, in the context of judgment. The cultural and literary context of each reference is helpful, beyond that necessary, in order to arrive at a Christ-centered interpretation. Given your reference to the ...

Read the Book!

Do you own a Bible? Do you know where it is? When did you last see it -- when did you last open it? In this program Greg offers five reasons to study the Bible. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0234.mp3  

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

October 3, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “It is time for those on the right and those on the left to renounce fear-mongering voices that seek to improve their own advantage at the expense of continuing hatred and animosity. It is time for peace, not war – for love, not hatred – for misery, not revenge.  It is time for us to beat weapons into productive tools for planting and building. It is time for us to fill our hearts with the grace, mercy and love of God, for politics and politicians will not save us. It is time for a vision of hope. It is time for new life rather than the darkness of evil, hatred, racism and violence, so that ...

Grace and Mercy – Love Only God Can Give

Grace is getting something we don't deserve, mercy is not getting something we do deserve, and when you put those two together you have great news! Grace and mercy are two sides of the coin of God's love for us. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0233.mp3  

Are You Sure You Want What You Deserve?

We love stories about criminals caught in their crimes. "He got what he deserved," we say. As humans we cheer when justice is done. On the other hand, when we do good things we feel we deserve rewards, but are we sure that we want what we deserve? https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0232.mp3  

Resting in Christ Jesus – by Greg Albrecht

Friend and Partner Letter from October 2024: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest – Matthew 11: 28   These monthly letters are normally a way of providing some Christ-centered nourishment, one of the most important parts of our ministry. When we pray about, ponder and prepare these letters (primarily Ed Dunn and myself as writers, but the team who ensures these letters arrive in the mail and are posted digitally includes all editors and proofreaders) we take each letter seriously, often spending many hours before completing one. We don’t just dash these letters out, but we carefully and ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

October 1, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “There’s a story about an older gentleman who owned a classic Cadillac about the length of a small yacht that illustrates the deep divides in our society. The old man was trying to carefully back his ‘boat’ into a parking place when a teenager zipped in with a little ‘Smart’ car and stole the parking place. The teenager, who had not been taught to respect seniors, jumped out of his little car and said, ‘You’ve got to be young and quick to zip in and out of parking places, Pop.’ The senior citizen continued to back up his massive Cadillac, rolling over the mini-electric car like a tank, ...

Is God Mad at You?

Is God a slave driver -- a never-satisfied, cranky old man who can't wait to beat up on us when we make a mistake? And are you like many people who live fearing and trying to appease God in order to make him happy? https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0230.mp3  

God Demands Perfection

When we appear before the judgment seat of God and he asks us why he should let us into his kingdom of heaven, what can we say? Do we cringe in fear, knowing our imperfections, or is there a basis for confidence before God? https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0229.mp3  

“The Fall” Bugs the Heck Out of Me – Greg Albrecht

Question/Dilemma: I have wrestled with what so many Christians believe about “The Fall” for decades.  They say that Adam and Eve “fell” and because of that every human being has been separated from God, and God it seems,  was and is the one who enforces the separation because Adam and Eve did not follow his instructions.  But how does this interpretation of the early part of Genesis hold water when compared with the gospel of Jesus Christ? After observing and thinking about how we individual humans eventually grow up into fully-formed, healthy adults (hopefully – there are sadly many who remain immature all their ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

September 28, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “For people who are trapped in religious legalism, their god is all about control.  They perceive their god as controlling all aspects of their lives, everything that they might anticipate doing or not doing is legislated by their religion and taught to them as God’s will.  God, in short, is all about controlling them, he’s an overlord, and he does it because he loves them, or so they are told. For so many hundreds of millions of people, the god of religion never cracks a smile.  For them, the god of religion doesn’t experience joy of any kind, and of course, neither should ...

Two Really Bad Reasons Not To Be a Christian

If someone doesn't want to be a Christian, that's their choice. But many non-Christians -- thinking to be logical and rational -- base their choice not to be a Christian on one or the other of two really bad reasons. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0227.mp3  

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

September 26, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “As long as I misunderstood the Book of Revelation, I accepted predictions and date setting as a part of my life; failed predictions would all simply be re-issued by extending the goal line to some even more future and far off date. In my case, religious legalism and prediction addiction teamed up as a lethal one-two religious punch.  While they both may exist apart from one another, they are cousins in the sense that they are religious co-conspirators.  They contribute to one another, leading to the same kind of religious captivity.  I experienced the ‘combo-platter’ of religious ...

Getting Older – Looking Forward

Dr. Albert Schweitzer performed surgeries when he was 89. Grandma Moses did well over 300 paintings after she was 100. The experience of aging is not the same for everyone, but we all get older, and our gap with death narrows. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0226.mp3  

Forgiveness — What It Isn’t Pt 2 of 2

Forgiveness is one of the most important issues we can ever deal with as we understand the gospel of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ. This second program on forgiveness explores what forgiveness is not. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0373.mp3

18 Prominent Biblical Passages and Why – by Greg Albrecht

Greg Albrecht Recently I was asked to provide a list of my top ten verses in the Bible. The request specified that each of the ten selections be restricted to just one, or at most, several verses and no more. I tried, but I could never boil my list down to just ten brief passages, so I decided to respond by expanding on the original request. I set out to make a list of top ten passages. At first I thought that I could come up with my top ten passages in the Bible if I allowed for "passages" to be more than simply a verse or two but a chapter or even an entire book of the Bible. But then, after working on that plan, I was still stymied. I ...

Reflections Along the Jesus Way

September 24, 2024 - Quote for the Day: “The crib and the cross didn’t happen because God remained aloof.  The crib and the cross happened the way they did because God determined, out of his love for you and me, to enter into his reality and become just like us and experience life as we live it.  He brought us good news which we call the gospel.  He didn’t write a book, lick a stamp and put the gospel in a package and have the mailman or FedEx driver deliver it.  He didn’t send angels or prophets – he brought the gospel himself, in person.”  Originally published in: Letters to My Friends ----------------------...

Forgiveness – What It Is Pt 1 of 2

Forgiveness is one of the most difficult things a human can ever do. Its monetary equivalent is the cancellation of a debt. Listen to this first program of a two program series exploring forgiveness. Today's program deals with what forgiveness is all about. https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0372.mp3