The following appeared in our local paper’s religion column last weekend. It is a revision of a previous post, “Love, not Law”. The paper re-titled it “What Complete Freedom Means.” *** “Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). Most Christians know…
Tag: Christ our life
I Am Not the Christ
This post has been on my mind so I thought I’d repost it *** It may sound absurd, but it’s true: we often take it upon ourselves to be Christ. Usually, we do so unconsciously, out of a sincere desire to be like Jesus, and not because we consciously wish to supplant Him. So, we…
Thumbs Up!
As one called to preach and write about Christ, God often challenges my motives. Why do I do what I do? Am I still functioning out of His life and calling? Have I slipped into letting ambition drive me? Do my own efforts sustain what I do or am I energized by Christ’s energy? (Col….
Slaves of Death
“Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death–that is, the Devil–and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15). Certainly, the above verses…
More than Eden
Before the fall, Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden. They weren’t subject to sin or death. But they hadn’t eaten from the tree of life either. Had they eaten from that tree, the Lord wouldn’t have stopped them after the fall: “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good from…
Call Me Bitter
What follows is something the Lord started dealing with me about just the other night. It’s rather unrefined but I wanted to share it anyway. *** The book of Ruth opens with a story about a woman named Naomi. Naomi moves to Moab with her husband because there is a famine in Israel. Naomi and…
The More I Come to Know You–Musical Guest Post
Emee O’Reilly is a dear friend and leads worship at our church. Over the years, the Lord has given her many songs. Emee’s music has a way of bypassing all my defenses. There is a quality about it that leaves me completely vulnerable before the Lord. Today’s post features a song from her album, The Alabaster…
Fact & Fiction
The fiction: Trying circumstances, instability within or without, personal failure, weakness, a lack of spiritual discipline, temptation, and the devil can separate us from God. The fact: “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of You we are being put…
Mosaics, Quilts, and Piles of Socks
What should church “look like?” How should we “do church?” I hear these and similar questions bandied about regularly. There are lots of different answers. Some say we should “do church” like they did in the New Testament. In reality, there was no single New Testament way of “doing church.” There was a mosaic of…
The Voice of One 