What is forgiveness? What does it mean to be forgiven of our sins? According to the Scripture, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22) because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 5:12, 6:23). As believers, we know that God provided a way for us to receive His forgiveness by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross in our place (Eph. 1:7-8a, Acts 10:43, Col. 2:13-14). But what [...]
Fast food. Microwaves. Pay-per-view movies. Instant Messaging. E-Mail. YouTube. Our lives are filled with time saving, instant gratification conveniences. There are not many things we will voluntarily stand in line for. We don’t like to wait. Unemployment. Unpaid bills. Growing children. Medical bills. Home repairs. Inflation. Flat tires. Grouchy co-workers. Marital stress. Pain. Fear. Anger. Our lives are drained with stresses from every direction. We know we need to pray, but we find it hard [...]
Prayer is an amazing thing. As believers saved by grace, we have an incredible privilege to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16) Not only that, but through prayer, God offers us the incredible privilege of being an active part of His plan and purpose. Although He certainly does not need our help, God has chosen [...]
There are two Greek words used in the New Testament for time. The one we hear most often is chronos, which generally refers to chronological time. The other is kairos, which refers to “the right or opportune moment.” An ancient Greek poem inquires of Kairos, the Greek god of “the fleeting moment”, “And why does your hair hang over your face? For him who meets me to take me by the forelock. And why, [...]
As I opened the Scripture, God directed my attention to the fourteenth chapter of John. As I read and listened for what God wanted to say to me through this passage, I was awed by the insight He gave me and which I would now like to share with you. In the fourteenth chapter of John, Jesus is sharing with His disciples that He soon will be leaving them to return to His Heavenly Father, [...]
Look carefully at this triangle. It is called a Penrose Triangle and illustrates the concept of a paradox. A paradox is something that seems absurd or contradictory. Our common sense tells us it should be one way, but in truth it is something else. If you are familiar with the artwork of M.C. Escher, he created several works that illustrate visual paradox. [You can view Escher’s work online at www.mcescher.com. See especially: Belvedere (1958), Ascending [...]
If you have been following along with me as we have been exploring faith of the head, heart, and hands, I appreciate your patience. I realize we have packed a lot of information into a very small space. I hope you have been able to take the time not only to read through the articles, but to re-read and think about whether you have primarily a faith of the head, heart, or hands and also [...]
If you have been thinking about whether you have a faith of the head (emphasizing thought), a faith of the heart (emphasizing passions), or a faith of the hands (emphasizing actions), you may have wondered which is more important. You may have even compared your faith expression to that of others and wondered which is the right kind of faith, and which is not. The truth is, all of them are right. And all of [...]
A young man lay in his bed. He had lain there for some time now. He sighed dejectedly, rolled over, lay there some more, and then reached for the remote. Turning toward the TV, he grabbed the legs of his pajamas to adjust himself to a more comfortable position and turned on the television. He flipped through the stations until he came to a soccer game. He loved soccer. He watched for a while. As [...]
In part one, I wrote to you about loving the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might (Deut. 6:5) and how we might use Dennis Hollinger’s paradigm of Head, Heart & Hands to help us understand what it means to live out that love in our everyday life. In this part, I want you to consider how to recognize expression of faith through your head, heart and hands [...]
