It all really comes down to a matter of faith, not in Trump, but in Jesus.
Tag: Christianity
Hope And Community
“…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15). Hope is essential for human well-being. Conversely, the lack of sufficient hope is the root…
Beyond Superstition
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude…
The Error
The failure to see the wholeness of a thing is the failure to see its essential character because it is its wholeness that defines it as the thing that it is. The failure to understand God’s holiness amounts to a failure to stand under His wholeness. People do this when they engage in compartmentalization, the unconscious psychological defense mechanism used to avoid the mental discomfort.
The Church and the Future
We who are in the church, especially pastors and denominational executives, have a vested interest in maintaining the church as it currently exists. Of course we’d like our church and/or denomination to grow, but what we mean is that we would like more of what it already is, more of the same kind of people, more resources, etc. What we really want is a better status quo, churches like the ones we have, but bigger. But is that what God wants or what God is doing at this time in history? It doesn’t seem to be. The church plural is in crisis. I don’t have a magic solution for this problem, but it is worth discussing, worth facing up to some harsh realities, and taking stock. Which is better: harsh realities or false hope? …
Seed
Again, Paul made much ado about σπέρμα (sperma), which is a plural noun used in the singular. Understanding how Paul used this term and what he meant by it is essential to understanding Paul’s message to the Galatians. The law…
Rhema–Tongues
How this washing takes place is significant. It happens “by the washing of water with the word” (ῥῆμα, Eph. 5:26). This phrase by itself is odd at best. Paul used the analogy of marriage to talk about the church, which…
One Another
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. —Ephesians 4:25 James Jordan has said somewhere that we Christians need to one-another one another, using one-another…
Ministry–Church Work
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… —Ephesians 4:11 The function of ministry (διακονία), the central occupation of…
Dominion
(from In Christ–the Church at Ephesus, forthcoming.) God is in the process of bringing heaven here, not abandoning this world to Satan. God’s intention is to destroy Satan and his works, but not the world. God’s intention is the destruction…