82 results for tag: Plain Truth Ministries
Whose Side Is God On?
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"— Joshua 5:13-14
Have you ever noticed how many individual Christians and incorporated religious institutions assume that God is exclusively on their side? Many seem to think that God is a member-in-good-standing of their denomination. Many seem to ...
Can We Lose Our Salvation?
Q: Do you believe we can lose our salvation once we are truly saved? My personal belief is that, yes, we can. While God will never take it away, through constant and willful sinning, we can turn our eyes away from God. This will eventually lead to a case of "Pharaoh's hardened heart," a state whereby we can reject God's offer, and create a wall between ourselves and God that even God will not cross—for to do so would be to break his promise to us of free will.
A: No, I do not believe we can lose our salvation. Before explaining why, let me say that this discussion, in my view, is not a "make or break" theological perspective. Christians ...
Grace on Trial
Greg Albrecht: I'm talking with a good friend, Steve McVey of Grace Walk Ministries. Steve is the president of Grace Walk Ministries. Steve, I've got to tell you that I wish there were more people in this world who are proclaiming radical grace.
Steve: When we talk about grace we're talking about Jesus, and I think folks need to have that firmly in their minds, that grace personified is Jesus Christ. So to those who say, well, that's great to talk about grace but there are other things too, I say, well, what else is there? The grace of Jesus Christ is the gospel. Radical grace—I like that. For those who may not know, let's remind them the ...
God-Given Freedom
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is ...
Merry Christmas from Plain Truth Ministries
Artwork by Monte Wolverton, PTM associate editor and board member.
He’s ‘Friended” Us!
By Greg Albrecht
What a friend we have in Jesus! So goes that great old hymn—and its message is the gospel truth.
In John 15:9-17 Jesus encourages us to remain in him and with him. In the Authorized King James Version the word used is "abide." Jesus is requesting that we stay with him.
He's saying, "Don't move away. Don't wander away. Stay with me. Remain with me."
Jesus is saying, "Keep your eyes and focus on me. Don't ever stop looking to me as the absolute center of your faith. Don't allow religious ceremonies and rituals to confuse you—so that you think our relationship (your friendship with me) depends on you."
This passage is a ...
Grace At Church
By Greg Albrecht—
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified ...
The Pearl of Great Value
By Greg Albrecht—
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.—Matthew 13:45-46
We turn our attention to one of Jesus' parables about the kingdom of heaven. In the Authorized King James Version the parable is called The Pearl of Great Price. As I normally use the New International Version, we'll refer to it by the title given to it in that translation, The Pearl of Great Value.
Here's the widely accepted Christian interpretation of this parable:
The merchant is you or me. We decide to look for Christ, and finally, after ...
Ships That Pass in the Night
By Greg Albrecht—
Many, even those unfamiliar with the Bible, have heard of Jonah. Most remember the story of Jonah as it is depicted in children's books—a man named Jonah who was swallowed by a big fish and lived to tell the tale.
As we go a little deeper into the story (deeper even than the whale went with Jonah) we see that Jonah is yet another biblical example of how humans can completely misunderstand God. We can misunderstand God as Jonah did, and in terms of our relationship with God, be, as he was, like two Ships that Pass in the Night.
The book of Jonah begins with God telling Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the ...
May 2017
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Articles:
Blessings - Why You... and Not Someone Else? – pg. 1
The Stretch Marks of a Mother's Love – pg. 2
A Covenant... Not a Contract! – pg. 6
Dog's Grace – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
April 2017
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Brad Jersak: The Wounds that Heal – pg. 1
Cindy Brandt: Easter: The Game Changer – pg. 6
Paul Young: The Shack - Interview with Paul Young – pg. 7
Greg Albrecht: "Have I truly accepted Christ?" – pg. 10
Greg Albrecht: The Mother of Us All – pg. 11
Brad Jersak: The Great Descent – pg. 15
March 2017
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Articles:
Two Parades – pg. 1
A Son or a Hired Hand? – pg. 2
Grace Notes – pg. 5
No More Gatekeepers – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
February 2017
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Greg Albrecht: How Great is the Love? – pg. 1
Cindy Brandt: Outgrowing the Christian Bubble – pg. 5
Rob Grayson: Fear God... Or Fear Not? – pg. 7
Greg Albrecht: "I feel like I never do anything right!" – pg. 9
Jeff K. Clarke: This World IS My Home and I am NOT Just Passing Through! – pg. 10
Josh Valley: Being Cross-shaped in a World Bent out of Shape – pg. 13
Brad Jersak: Ghouls, Ghosts... and Gospel! – pg. 15
January 2017
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Articles:
Faith in Jesus or Faith in Sinai? – pg. 1
Religion - Where is the Love? – pg. 2
Cargo Cult Christianity - All about Appearances – pg. 5
Missed Opportunity – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
Winter 2016
Articles:
Dare to Hope...Can All Be Saved? - page 4
32 Scriptures that Dare Us to Hope - page 6
7 Myths about Christian Universalism - page 8
"If you want to see folk damned..." - page 12
Changing Diapers for God - page 15
Nones and Dones - page 16
One Road; Two Ditches - page 20
A Perfect Plan for Your Life? - page 23
Jesus, Son of Adam - page 24
"When the time had fully come..." - page 25
What Itching Ears Really Want to Hear - page 31
Fall 2016
Articles:
Remembering 9-11: 15 Years Later - page 4
When Towers Fall - page 11
Five Stages of Religious Violence - page 14
Religion That's Lost Its Way - page 16
What's so "Christian" about Christianity? - page 17
"Fear Not" - page 18
Raising Children with Fearless Faith - page 20
The Dogs of Legalism: Can Religion Help with Stress? - page 21
The Therapeutic Massage of Prayer - page 25
George MacDonald's Spiritual Journey (& mine too) - page 26
House of Cards - page 27
Times of Refreshing and Restoration - page 31
Nov-Dec 2016
Articles:
The Parables of Jesus--Part 2 - page 1
For Those Who are Banged Up a Little - page 2
"No" to Wrath and "Yes" to Love--Part 2 -page 5
A Little at a Time -page 7
Sep-Oct 2016
Articles:
The Parables of Jesus--Part 1 - page 1
Living a Life of Love - page 2
"No" to Wrath and "Yes" to Love--Part 1 - page 5
"That's more than I wanted to know..." - page 7
Summer 2016
Articles:
Whose Image Is on the Coin? Religion & Politics - p4
Why We Love The Walking Dead - p8
I Wish the Bible Had Never Been Written - p14
God Is Not a Monster - p15
The Gospel in Three Words - p17
Because He First Loved Us - p18
Raising Children Un-fundamentalist - p20
You Don't Need Another Study Bible - p21
Putting the World Back Into Christianity - p23
Burning Ember: The Steve Bell Adventure - p25
Father, Forgive Us - p28
Walking Through Minefields Together - p29
Missing What Mark? -p31
Jul-Aug 16
Articles:
Beatitudes--Part 4 - page 1
I Fought the Law - page 2
Obedience is Dangerous - page 5
Is Jesus a Protestant? - page 7
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
