424 results for tag: blog
“Without the Shedding of Blood” – Brad Jersak
“Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Heb 9:22).
The prosecution rests, your honor.A blood sacrifice is required or there is no forgiveness.That should end the discussion.
Well it shouldn’t. But it did … for me. See, God can’t just forgive freely … that wouldn’t be ‘just.’ Sin must be paid for. How? Only by the shedding of blood.
Because why? Because a blood sacrifice is what God requires, what God needs, what God wants … and by blood, we mean death. Death of the sinner, or alternatively, a ram, lamb, bull … or a Son. And so we taught, “Sin cannot simply be forgiven. ...
Fabric of Our Life – Stuart Segall
Isn’t this amazing….
I was captivated when I saw this. It was like a sunset, a landscape, a wondrous seascape. Yet, when I imagine what this dress is made of and the work that went into it, I understand the heart, soul, and emotions involved in the final touch of the artist/tailor/seamstress that finished it.
When you weave different fabrics together like silk or satin you get an amazing fabric. They are not durable and must be handled with care, but when that is done, you get a look of beauty and richness that is second to none. It is all about what the weaver and the tailor choose to create.
As a boy, I worked in a tailor’s shop ...
A Renewal of Compassion – by Ed Dunn
The times in which we live have been, in a word, tough. The last two years have seen radical changes in our health, both mentally and physically, our nation, politically, racially and economically, and our world, as we try to move around it. It’s been easy of late to take up a position on any number of topics, to stop listening altogether to different points of view, and to see large groups of people as “other.” I know I’ve felt a strong pull towards this polarization, and the harmful attitudes that come along with it.
I take public transportation to every destination I can’t get to on foot. Given my eyesight condition, I gave up my ...
Reflections on Mother’s Day – By Stuart Segall
I have a Mother’s Day story that I would like to share with you.
I was at my office at the end of the day on Saturday, May 7th, 2022. I usually come by at that time to feed the squirrels and birds around my office. My clients enjoy spending a few minutes watching all the activity.
I was getting ready to leave while there was still light outside. As I got to my car, I looked behind the gated area where the dumpster is for the office and could see someone moving around behind the fence.
I like to gather flowers during the week from several florists who support my little service of bringing flowers to widows and shut-ins at retirement and ...
The King’s Clothes – Jim Fowler
Once upon a time there was a king. He was king over the vast kingdom of Ecclesiastica. This king was known far and wide for his vain delight in royal vestments. Aware of his propensity to lust after the ego-satisfying need-fulfillment of “pomp and circumstance,” two enterprising con-artists offered to stitch for him some royal finery “fit for a king.”
They explained that their product was so extraordinary and supernatural that it was visible only to the elite and knowledgeable, and invisible to those who “did not have eyes to see.”
“Take my order,” begged the king. “Money is no object!”
The king’s assistants in ...
Five Generations: A Legacy of Love – by Laura Urista
One of my most treasured possessions is a black-and-white photograph of five generations of women in my family. Over the years several people have mentioned to me how unique and rare it is to have a five-generation photo. Pictured here are my great-great grandmother Mietz (seated in the middle), my great-grandmother Fiebick (seated on the far left), my grandmother Olga (affectionately called “Grandma Dee Dee”) and my mom, Charlotte, holding my oldest sister, Sandy, on her lap. This photo was taken in the summer of 1946.
I wish I knew more about these wonderful ladies of my lineage. I do know that great-great-Grandma Mietz and great-Grandma ...
The Mother of Us All by Greg Albrecht
Back in 1990, after the Iraqi army was evicted from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein, then the President of Iraq, told his people to prepare for what he called the “mother of all battles” against the American-led coalition forces.
Though Hussein did not invent the phrase, since that time the phrase “the mother of all...” has spread through the English language and is often used to define not only the origin or source of something, but also the significance or the greatest example of something.
Two Mothers
In Galatians 4:21-31, we read the story of two mothers. The historical background to Paul’s lesson is recorded in Genesis 16 and 21. ...
Reflecting On Grace by Ed Dunn
On a recent visit to see my parents, my mother caught me completely by surprise one morning after breakfast. With a smile on her face, she handed me a small treasure buried deep in the palm of her hand. She handed me a white-gold ring. “Here,” she said, “this was your great grandmother Grace’s engagement ring. I want you to have it.”
“Whoa, wow!!...really?!…my great grandmother’s engagement ring?” The thought of such a personal and precious item from my great grandmother so many years ago took me back. “I’m honored and flattered, mom, thank you so much!” Beyond that, I was speechless. I didn’t know what else to ...
Jesus Is Our Center – by Greg Albrecht
Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and you are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. (James 4:1, MSG)
If you have not noticed, our world today is as divided and at odds as it has been for a long time. The divide is not just nationalistic between nations who are either rattling sabers or perhaps openly at war, the divide is not just political between political parties, ...
Becoming Real – Stuart Segall
It's only been a few days since “Resurrection Weekend.” Jesus the Son of God, finished his human, earthly life and was cast out of the human life and put in the grave. Three days and nights later He rose and when He ascended to Heaven, He did, not as man, but Spirit, the ultimate change.
As I consider this, the child in me also hangs on to another story.
I am in a Velveteen Rabbit mood this wonderful late evening. This children’s story is one of wisdom and understanding on a higher level if you have “eyes to see”
Let's look at one small piece of this wonderful and delightful wisdom, written by Margery Williams.
...
Psalm 22, Good Friday and the Princess Bride
by Carolyn Arends
A New Light on a Dark Friday Cry
My kids finally saw The Princess Bride, a movie their dad and I have loved since our college days. There is something wonderful about watching your favorite people watch one of your favorite films. In this case, the added bonus was observing the light come into their eyes as they discovered the origin of several quirky things their parents routinely say. “Hey!” they shouted with a shock of recognition when Westley first said, “As you wish”—a line they’ve heard their father utter hundreds of times. Vizzini’s “Inconceivable!” produced a similar response. By the time we got ...
“You Can Sit Here…” – Greg Albrecht
It was the first day of school for Forrest Gump. As he walked down the aisle of the school bus his peers noticed the braces on his legs – on Forrest’s first attempt to take an empty seat, the occupant on the two-person bench seat spread his hands out, saying that seat was “taken.”
As I recall this happened several times until finally, near the back of the bus, Forrest paused next to an empty seat, receiving a beautiful smile from a lovely young lady seated by the window. Her name was Jenny and she welcomed him, saying “you can sit here…” Jenny became, as those of us who have seen “Forrest Gump” know (in my ...
The Power of God’s Love by Laura Urista
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.—1 John 4:7-8 (my emphasis)
In the scripture above, we are admonished to “love one another for love comes from God.” The word translated into our English word “love” throughout this passage is the Greek words agapao (verb) or agape (noun). Agapao refers to the supernatural love of God, but that is only part of the meaning. Agapao also refers to the love which arises from a “keen sense of the value and worth of the object loved.” When ...
Jim Fowler and Duke Snider
Jim Fowler
Jim Fowler is one of the great friends and mentors of my life – I’m not the only one who is closer to God given Jim’s ministry. Given a traumatic surgery he has recently endured, allow me to share a few thoughts about my relationship with Jim, a self-sacrificial servant of Jesus.
I first became aware of Jim’s ministry something like 25 years ago. He was then and still is a rare “find” – I look back and I was like an archaeologist who has found a treasure – something (someone) of great value. I quickly determined Jim Fowler to be a prolific writer, a consummate and dedicated scholar who ...
The Land Dispute – Jim Fowler
Jim Fowler
Many centuries ago in the old country a parcel of land was identified and acquired. The old land deed duly records that the property boundary ran “from the large rock on the southeast corner, west to the sea, north to the top of the hill, east to the large oak tree, and south again to the large rock.” Without precision instruments to measure latitudinal and longitudinal bearings and the exact degrees of direction, this type of land demarcation was common in old land deeds. The large rock that marked the southeast corner of the piece of property was immovable and served as the fixed point of bearing for the position of the parcel.
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“God is Love BUT …” Brad Jersak
"Everything before the word 'BUT' is horse sh*t." - Game of Thrones
I've heard this statement elsewhere as "Nothing someone says before the word 'but' really counts," especially when an affirmation of love is immediately followed by its negations. The aphorism is loaded with wisdom and experience. Even if you feel that love compels you to bring a word of critique or correction, if you use love as your opening salvo to bring someone down, you'll bring love down with them. It's a big relational mistake... unless it's a case of deliberate 'gaslighting,' which is abusive.
How much more so with God! Does Jesus say, "God so love the world BUT..." ...
The Cross: God’s Eternal Mercy Seat – Brad Jersak
The celebration of Easter this month once again places the Cross of Christ and his resurrection front and center of our faith, as they should be. These events comprise a hinge-point in the human story and what theologians have called “salvation history.” The New Testament witness not only records what occurred but also reflects upon the meaning of those occurrences as good news—our gospel.
Unveiling the meaning of the crucifixion is of particular importance to the apostles, because they are convinced that it spelled more than a tragic end to the life of Jesus. Somehow, the Cross is essential groundwork for the reconciliation of all ...
The Great Descent – “A Harrowing Exit” – Brad Jersak
The Great Descent
The Law, the Psalms and the Prophets forecast it.The Gospels and the Epistles allude to it.Ancient Christian hymns, liturgies and poetry announce it.It permeates both Eastern and Western theological tradition.It even has its own line in the Apostles’ Creed.
But only recently has Christ’s conquest of Hades caught the attention of moderns. It’s so central to the gospel message that its omission requires correction.
The same events go by various names—the great descent, the harrowing of hades, Christus Victor. But they all refer to the narrative that culminates in the resurrection of Christ before dawn on ...
Victory Through Christ by Greg Albrecht
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 15:57
Victory! Unless your favorite sports team just won an important game, victory is not a word in high demand over the past few years. So much in our world previously defined as successful and prosperous has changed over the past few years. Of recent dates, instead of progress and growth we have seen and endured much more chaos and upheaval. So many of the routines of daily life are new or at least modified, completely unlike the world before COVID.
Physical life can seem to be running smoothly and efficiently until it doesn’t. We all know, ...
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