Two weeks ago, I shared with you about Living in the Freedom of Christ. Last week we focused on Living in the Grace of Christ. This week, I want to share with you about Living in the Forgiveness of Christ. These three truths are closely intertwined, but, in my experience, forgiveness is the key to experiencing what it really means to live in the freedom and the grace of Christ. If you recall, I promised [...]
Early one morning, the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to test Jesus, hoping to find grounds to accuse Him. Jesus responded to them, saying, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And one by one, her accusers walked away. A little while later, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in [...]
Have you ever sat back and thoughtfully read through the first few chapters of Genesis? Have you ever really contemplated Creation? The story begins with, “In the beginning… God” In eternity past, before Creation, before time as we know it began, there was the Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. In Colossians, we read, Col. 1:15 [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all [...]
On the night of the Passover Feast, the night He was betrayed, Jesus knew exactly what was coming. Knowing He had but a few short hours, He chose to humble Himself and take on the role of a Servant. He laid aside His outer garments and attended to the needs of His disciples by washing their dirty feet (John 13:1-15). In one of the most beautiful Old Testament passages (Isa. 52:13-53:12), the prophet Isaiah writes [...]
Unless you have studied European Renaissance Literature, you may not know the name of John Donne. John Donne was born into a Catholic family in England in 1572. That may not seem significant to you, but due to laws previously passed by Queen Elizabeth I, anyone not faithfully attending the Church of England in those days was subject to fines, confiscation of property or imprisonment. In 1601, John Donne secretly married Anne More, grand-niece of [...]
[Continued from Freedom: Are You Free?] In the beginning, God gave to mankind the freedom to choose their own thoughts, actions and attitudes. We were never free to choose the thoughts, actions or attitudes of others. Freedom never meant freedom from responsibility or to choose the consequences of our actions; external laws and circumstances will affect us whether we want them to or not. For example, if I choose to jump out of a tree, [...]
Freedom is a concept that is often misunderstood. In America, we consider freedom, or liberty, to be one of the defining attributes of our nation and we fight vehemently to keep the hard-earned freedoms that our founding fathers provided for us. We hear references in the news to the many civil rights we enjoy in this country, and sometimes we argue over exactly how far those rights reach. But as cherished and dearly purchased as [...]
Do you know what it means to be holy? The apostle Peter wrote, “…like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior…” (1 Peter 1:14-16) I believe in order to understand what Peter is saying, we need to first really understand what holiness is. And for me, the best way to understand holiness is by comparison. So, if you will bear with me a moment, let me try to explain [...]
As Christians, many of us struggle to balance faith with works. Sometimes we lean too far in the direction of legalism and forget that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Sometimes we lean too far the other direction assuming grace will cover us while we live in sin (Romans 6:1-2). James understood that faith and actions (works) go hand in hand. Either one without the other is worthless. Have you read through [...]
