441 results for tag: blog
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 the most. The poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed would be the ...
Forgiveness – A Wonder of His Love – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from July 2025:
Of all the scenes I recall from “Forrest Gump” (one of the memorable movies I shall probably ever see), I will never forget the heartbreaking scene when Jenny, Forrest’s long-time girlfriend and finally, for a short time before she dies, his wife, returns home. She and Forrest are walking down a country road toward the house where Jenny lived when she was a little girl. When Jenny sees her old house it unleashes a tidal wave of toxic memories – a raging river of agonizing flashbacks, including the sexual abuse to which her father subjected her.
Jenny is overcome with rage and begins picking ...
CWR Video – The Religious Version of the Prodigal Son – by Greg Albrecht
The Religious Version of the Prodigal Son
For other video shorts, with Greg Albrecht, Brad Jersak, Lucy Peppiatt, Brian Zahnd, Steve McVey, and others, visit CWRvideo.
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.
The Gathering Storm of Fundamentalism – by Greg Albrecht
It is one of the most explosive issues facing our world in the early years of this 21st century. Political and religious agendas around the world are bullied and coerced, reacting to a virus-like spiritual plague of religious fundamentalism. The Islamic fundamentalist reaction to Western imperialism and decadence is said to be a counter-attack on the "great Satan's" of our culture (materialism, immorality, secularism, humanism, science and technology), all of which are blamed for taking our world to hell in a hand-basket.
Though the eyes of the world are currently focused on Islamic fundamentalism, the seeds of radical religious fundamentalism ...
Tender Mercies: “Isadore’s Secret” – by Ruth A. Tucker
Bless the Lord who crowns you with tender mercies (Psalm 103, NKJV).
When we contemplate love and care and tender mercies bestowed upon another, we usually imagine the person to be alive. But throughout history—particularly among Christians—there has been special care accorded the dead. Jesus' body was perfumed with spices and laid to rest in a tomb set aside for burial. Generations later Christians stayed behind in Alexandria during a pandemic to nurse the sick and bury the dead. Pagans, fearing for their own lives, had abandoned family members—the dying and the dead.
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The Real Love Story – by Greg Albrecht
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.—John 3:16-17
It's been said that love is the most powerful force in the universe because it alone can conquer the human heart. But God's love does not coerce. God's love works in our lives by our consent.
Many people suffer with a warped and twisted view of God's love. They have a perverted idea of God's love ...
Q&R with Greg Albrecht – “Is Being Born Again the Same as the New Creation?”
Question: I'm trying to get a clear understanding on what the new creation in Christ means - specifically in Gal 6:15.
Can you recommend any good books/articles that could help me?
Hope you can help!
Warm regards,
A Pastor in California
Response:
My initial response is that all of the New Testament metaphors for new creation, salvation, conversion, transformation, being one in Christ, new men and women in Christ, putting “on” Christ, born again, being children of God, being heirs of his kingdom, being resurrected in Christ from a watery grave, et al, all speak of the same event, not of course to be ...
Robert Frost’s “The Oven Bird” – by Stuart Segall
There is a singer everyone has heard,
Loud, a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird,
Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again.
He says that leaves are old and that for flowers
Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten.
He says the early petal-fall is past
When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers
On sunny days a moment overcast;
And comes that other fall we name the fall.
He says the highway dust is over all.
The bird would cease and be as other birds
But that he knows in singing not to sing.
The question that he frames in all but words
Is what to make of a diminished thing.
Robert Frost’s The Oven Bird ...
Bargaining with God – by Greg Albrecht
The chief object of education is not to learn things; nay, the chief object of education is to unlearn things. – G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
The first serious conversation most of us ever have with God is when we realize we are in a world of hurt. Our back is against the wall – we have painted ourselves into a corner and we desire to have a heart-to-heart talk with God so he will get us out of the mess we’re in. Typically, the first time we wanted God to really listen to us was also when we offered him a bargain.
Do you remember? Perhaps the first serious discussion you had with God was when you were in high school. You goofed off all ...
Two Types of Fathers – by Ed Dunn
One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters – George Herbert
Fathers, do not frustrate your children with no-win scenarios. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master – Ephesians 6:4, (The Message)
Every father should remember that one day his children will follow his example, not his advice – Charles Kettering
Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man – Frank Pittman
There are so many joys to fatherhood. And, as I am learning now married for a second time, to step-fatherhood, as well. There are also real challenges, many challenges, that are both experienced and ...
He Wants You: Dead and Alive – by Greg Albrecht
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that ...
CWR Video – Joshua – The Conquest by Matt Lynch
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.
The Comfort of Christ – by Ed Dunn
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28, NIV)
The most important thing that ever happens is letting ourselves be loved and comforted by God. ‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10)” - Brennan Manning, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7, NIV)
One of Jesus’ most precious gifts to those who follow him would have to be comfort. In using the term, comfort, I am not writing of a material comfort, as if Jesus promises his followers great wealth, perfect health, or an easy life. No, far from it. The Comfort of ...
Life, Dirt, Dust and Jesus – Part 2 – by Ken Williams
What I learned from dad and how I applied his lessons.See Life, Dirt. Dust and Jesus Part 1.
Dad died April 17, 1982. His body was buried in the dirt, has returned to the dust he came from, and his bones are resting in his grave in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Shortly before he died, he predicted he would die soon after he turned 82, like his parents before him. I heard him but was reluctant to let him go and reminded him that Nancy was pregnant, and his youngest grandchild would be born in four months. He was confident, sensing Jesus’ gift of peace but assured me he would die before this grandson would breathe his breath ...
What’s So Bad About Religion? – by Greg Albrecht
Some of our readers and listeners can't bring themselves to believe that religion is as bad as we say it is. They say things like, "you spend too much time talking about the negative things and too little about the good things." One person said, "What's so bad about religion? If you had more grace you wouldn't harp on religion so much."
If you have ever visited a prison, you walk away realizing it's a horrible thing to be incarcerated. When you are locked up, you are a slave, you have no freedom. If you know anything about institutionalized incarceration you will also know that inmates learn to depend on and work the ...
Spiritual Sight – by Ed Dunn
Friend and Partner Letter from June 2025:
For we live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Many of you have graciously asked me through your cards, letters, emails and phone calls about my eyesight condition and how I am doing here at PTM. I always appreciate the question, and your deep care behind the question, and so, I would like to take some time to give you an update.
You may recall, I have written previously of my eyesight condition in Plain Truth magazine articles and columns, and also on our website, www.ptm.org, through various blog posts. I suffer from a rare form of macular degeneration known as Stargardt’s Disease. This ...
What Does ‘We are Not Under the Law but Under Grace’ Really Mean? by Greg Albrecht
Many professing and church-going Christians fail to realize what "we are not under the law but under grace" means. Most agree that it's God's grace and not anything we can do that will make us right with God. Most realize and accept that Christians don't follow the rites and rituals of the Old Testament but they are often confused about the Ten Commandments. They believe that the Ten Commandments (except seventh-day Sabbath-keeping) are valid and required norms of behavior.
Here's the Christ-centered perspective we need. When Jesus died on his cross, he completed all the terms of the old covenant. He had kept its terms perfectly, and on his ...
Our True Significance – by Stuart Segall
At a time in life about 15 years ago, I felt useless. I did not know what I had left in me. Would I somehow be able to regroup, retool, and rethink? How I reflect on this when I look back and now read this quote."No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another," carries a profoundly wonderful message for folks like me. At its core, each act of kindness, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, adds value to our collective human experience. You see, our worth isn’t solely determined by great achievements or grand milestones; rather, it is measured by the way we contribute to easing another’s struggles.Charles ...
What is the Gospel? – Part 2 by Greg Albrecht
When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are ...
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