CWR Blog
Christianity Without The Religion BLOG hosted by Brad Jersak.
old testament god
Listening to God
Listening to God involves trust and faith. It is far more than dictating our wants and desires. Prayer is more than us talking to God — it is talking with God — asking Him to change us and tell us what He wants us to do.
Beyond Mere Civility – Monte Wolverton
Yes sir, my buddy answered his father. I was about 15 years old and this was not how my Pacific Northwest friends normally talked to anyone. But Caleb (not his real name) was from Louisiana. His affable southern quips and gentle drawl made him fun to be around.
Not that he wasn’t into wayward teen activities—just that he’d been culturally conditioned to be genteel and civil when it was in his best interest. My other friends and I were a rather uncivil lot (insolent come-backs and raunchiness are teen survival skills), but I still respected my parents, and I ...
Breakfast with Brad – Participating in Grace with Nico Deschner
Breakfast with Brad and Nico Deschner's omelette special, participation and grace.
https://vimeo.com/1008962141
We hope that our articles and resources bring comfort, hope, encouragement, and healing to our readers. If you’re experiencing that, please subscribe freely, share freely, and, if you’re able, please consider donating freely toward paying it forward by clicking the blue giving at the top of your screen.
Two Brothers
Whether it’s the two brothers of Luke 15 or the two brothers of A River Runs Through It “Two Brothers” will help you consider God’s infinite love, and the special relationship he offers to you.
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
July 7, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“When I was a young boy, I loved sports (still do). Sports fascinated me. I wanted to make either participation in or reporting about athletic endeavors my life. My mother, though she and my stepfather were often hard pressed to pay all their bills, recognized my desire and purchased a subscription to Sports Illustrated (SI) for me... Over the years SI apparently determined to grow its circulation and demographic appeal by catering to a wider audience than simply sports fans who wish to read unembellished accounts of athletic ...
Life, Dirt, Dust and Jesus Part 3 – Ken Williams
What I learned from mom and how I apply her lessons.
The saying, “Hurt people, hurt people” is true for my family. We helped and hurt each other. Well intentioned people told me, “Let it go!” I “forgot about it” for years but now ask God for the serenity to accept the things that I could not change. Writing “Life, Dirt, Dust, Jesus Part 1 & Part 2” has comforted me as I recalled the good times with my father. On the other hand, it was humbling and challenging to remember my relationship with my mother. Facing it and seeking to find the good that ...
God-Given Freedom – by Greg Albrecht
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 ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
July 5, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Sadly, many within Christendom see ‘God’s justice’ through the prism of human experience and limitations. They attribute human definitions and desires to God. God’s justice conforms, as they perceive it, to their own sense and definition of justice…
Christ-less religion places the focus on the need for humans to reimburse and repay, to compensate and remunerate for damages inflicts whereas the grace of God we find in Christ-centered faith is all about forgiveness – writing off the debt – as Jesus ...
God Or Country?
Which kingdom truly encourages and enables us to love our neighbors as ourselves — kingdoms of our world or the kingdom of heaven?
Sample One of Our Daily Audio Messages
"God or Country?"
Which kingdom truly encourages and enables us to love our neighbors as ourselves — kingdoms of our world or the kingdom of heaven?
We hope that our articles and resources bring comfort, hope, encouragement, and healing to our readers. If you’re experiencing that, please subscribe freely, share freely, and, if you’re able, please consider donating freely toward paying it forward by clicking the blue giving at the top of your screen.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/RCWR490.mp3
Links to Our Daily Radio
Always Obey Governing Authorities?
Since Christ-followers hold dual citizenship, what happens when civil authorities seem to cross the line, imposing or demanding un-Christ like action?
Christ Our Encouragement – by Ed Dunn
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19, NIV)
From the first words spoken at the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus gave those listening to him direct and unmistakable encouragement. Jesus boldly announced that he had been sent to give good news, freedom, recovery of sight, the end of oppression and divine favor to those who needed encouragement ...
God and Caesar
When Jesus was asked a trick question, he responded with timeless wisdom about the nature of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this world.
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
July 2, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“One of the major lessons of the book of Revelation is that religion and the state often combine as enemies of the true gospel, so much so that Revelation 18:4 calls to the people of God, who follow Christ alone, to Come out of her, my people.
The book of Revelation provides a warning and chronicle of what happens when those who profess Christ jump into bed with either Christ-less religion or the idolatry of Caesar worship – the worship of a nationalistic human empire – or a combination of both. Just as there have ...
Damaging Legalistic Religion – Jim Fowler
Many have had experiences in rule-based, legalistic religion that casts everything into arbitrary right or wrong categories. Such believe-right, do-right religion can leave a person with a damaged psyche of perfectionist moralism that affects their personality and operational perspectives. The authoritative and judgmental orientation of such religion often leaves a person with an elitist attitude of thinking they know everything and everyone else should conform to what they believe. They judgmentally view and accept others based on their conformity to their belief-s...
Q&R with Brad Jersak – “C.S.I. Jerusalem: Who killed Ananias & Sapphira?”
Question:
Dear Brad,
I have read your book, A More Christlike God, and I am on board wholeheartedly, knowing that we are still learning every day. I have given your book to a friend whose worldview has shifted dramatically. Yesterday he asked me, “What shall I make of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) in light of the "unwrathing" chapters in Brad's book?” It is a problematic text. Where have you landed on this one? Thanks for all you do … Faithfully reading your CWR blogs.
Response:
Because of my conviction that Christ revealed that our Abba ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
July 1, 2025 - Quote for the Day:
“Many Christians are missing the point of Revelation because they’re reading it as though it were a newspaper, with verses lined up and seemingly corresponding to an event in today’s news, or the news they’ve been told will almost certainly be printed in the newspaper in the next month or next year.
Reading the book of Revelation as if it were an advance copy of next week’s or next month’s newspaper has resulted in many people losing faith in God when world events don’t work out the way they were told they ...
Whose Side is God On?
Is there any place in the kingdom of heaven for human partisanship and sectarianism? Join us for fresh insights about our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven.
Everlasting Grace—How Expansive Is God’s Love? – Steve Orr
This question is posed in a pop music hit by the Bee Gees, which is among the top 500 greatest contemporary songs.
Despite the pop culture overtones, this is a serious question. "How deep is your love, 'cause we're livin' in a world of fools, breakin' us down."
There are spiritual overtones: "I believe in you. You know the door to my very soul. You're the light in my deepest, darkest hour. You're my savior when I fall." "It's me you need to show, how deep is your love?"
To this I would like to ask another question: How deep is God's love?
I believe the ...
The Lost and the Found
The gospel often turns our expectations upside down — so that those who think they are religious found — who think they have it made — may actually be lost. And those who think that God has given up on them — there just might be hope.
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
