I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of God. That’s what Jesus said to a group of first-century disciples at Sardis (Revelation 3:2). It’s not the best news in the world, but it’s not the worst. It’s kind of a good news/bad news scenario. It says, You were headed in the right direction but youContinue reading “A Call to Intimacy and Urgency”
Author Archives: A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green
An Identity For All Times
Peter wrote to disciples who were being harassed because they had chosen to follow Jesus (4:16). There’s nothing to suggest their lives were at stake, but things were definitely more difficult because of their allegiance to Christ. Rejection from anyone, but especially loved ones, would leave them feeling confused, broken, and unsure. They needed someContinue reading “An Identity For All Times”
The Good News is not Fake News
Fake news is something we’ve heard quite a bit about the last decade. Although the phrase is somewhat new in terms of popular usage, fake news has been around as long as man has. It’s just been called by different names: propaganda, false narrative, disinformation, etc. Let’s acknowledge at the start that fake news can beContinue reading “The Good News is not Fake News”
Changing the World
Submission is a prominent theme in 1 Peter. He speaks of the younger being submissive to the older (5:5), wives to their husbands (3:1,5), slaves to their masters (2:18) and disciples to civil authorities (2:13). Additionally, there are other places where he uses the word “humble” to urge submissive conduct (3:8,5:5-6). The central section whereContinue reading “Changing the World”
Living out the Story
Submission is a word that is offensive to many. To them it speaks of oppression, abuse, and other relational evils. Unfortunately, there’s too much truth to that take. People have abused power and privilege in relationships from the beginning of time. We are all all-too-familiar with the sad stories we have heard too frequently fromContinue reading “Living out the Story”
He Cares For You
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. These words from Peter come on the heels of his call for us to humble ourselves (1 Peter 5:5-7). In the act of humbling ourselves, we submit to God and place ourselves under “His mighty hand.” We commit ourselves to looking at life fromContinue reading “He Cares For You”
The End of All Things?
What does Peter mean when he says that “The end of all things is near?” (1 Peter 4:7). Is he talking about the return of Jesus? Does he mean something to the effect of, “The end of the world (i.e., the return of Christ) could take place at any time?” I suppose that’s a possibilityContinue reading “The End of All Things?”
Trust God and Put Your Name On It
If you think about the time you spent in school, nearly everyone would agree that they didn’t look forward to test day. Even if you were good at tests, it wasn’t a day you circled on your calendar and anticipated with eagerness and enthusiasm. Even though the nicest of teachers would try to calm ourContinue reading “Trust God and Put Your Name On It”
Too Wonderful for Words
When Peter wrote to the Jewish disciples dispersed in the five Roman provinces of Asia Minor (present day Turkey), he told them that even though they hadn’t seen Jesus (as he had), they loved and believed in Him. As a result, they were filled with an “inexpressible and glorious joy” (1:8). It’s that word “inexpressible”Continue reading “Too Wonderful for Words”
Thinking about Reverence
There’s something about Jesus’ cleansing of the temple that is startling. It seems out of character with Him, but it’s not. It’s simply out of character with the Jesus we have created—the One who accepts everybody and everything and makes no demands on anyone. Let me suggest if Jesus was really like that no oneContinue reading “Thinking about Reverence”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 