Prayer and fasting are often joined together in the Scripture (see Ezra 8:23; Nehemiah 1:4; Acts 13:3,14:23, for a few places). Immediately after He gives the model prayer, Jesus turns His attention to fasting (Matthew 6:16-18)—undoubtedly because of their close association. And He did say, When you fast rather than If you fast. Yet unless I’m misreading things, fasting is notContinue reading “Living A Fast Paced Life (1)”
Category Archives: Coming to God
Lead Us In Prayer
Imagine a group of disciples gathered together for a special time of prayer. Before they pray, there’s a meal where large amounts of sodium, cholesterol, and fat-laden foods are consumed. Then the bulk of their praying is to the effect that God will keep everyone healthy. Don’t get me wrong—I’m all for enjoying the occasionalContinue reading “Lead Us In Prayer”
Shaking Things Up
“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30) I’ve often marveled at this prayer spoken by the church in response to the release of Peter and JohnContinue reading “Shaking Things Up”
The Cross
A Roman cross and a Jewish carpenter (1) A Roman cross and a Jewish carpenter (2) Body, Blood, Bread & Cup Sin and the cross (1) Sin and the cross (2) Sin and the cross (3) The cross: punishment or suffering? The cry from the cross Thinking about atonement (1) Thinking about atonement (2) Thinking big aboutContinue reading “The Cross”
Thinking Big About The Cross
If you lived in a village in France during either World War, your attention would be riveted on the war as it related to where you were. How close is the fighting? Are you in danger of being bombed or invaded? How is the food supply? If you have to evacuate, where will you go?Continue reading “Thinking Big About The Cross”
Thinking About The Atonement (2)
This much everyone agrees with—Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). But what exactly does that mean? How did His death bring us life? Here is the atonement in four parts. 1. Jesus honored God and His purpose in creating man fully and completely. He lived to do His Father’s will in a way that no oneContinue reading “Thinking About The Atonement (2)”
The Cross: Punishment or Suffering?
Did God punish Jesus at the cross? When you put it that way it sounds rather stark, doesn’t it? I think there would be unanimous agreement that God didn’t punish Jesus for anything He personally did. He had no sin (Hebrews 4:14ff). But after this, there would be some significant divergence. There would be more thanContinue reading “The Cross: Punishment or Suffering?”
A Roman Cross and a Jewish Carpenter (2)
If you take this political/religious template and lay it over the New Testament, it opens another dimension of understanding. Jesus’ birth becomes a political event. He was born to overthrow Rome. Not in the civil sense of occupying an earthly throne, but in the sense that He was to be everything Rome was pretending to be.Continue reading “A Roman Cross and a Jewish Carpenter (2)”
A Roman Cross and a Jewish Carpenter (1)
We’re accustomed to thinking about the gospel in terms of the conflict and conquering experienced by Jesus. Whether His opponent was Satan, death, or sin, Christ met with and triumphed over them all. We’ve traveled down the paths of Scripture that develop these truths many times and have benefitted greatly from the journey. But thereContinue reading “A Roman Cross and a Jewish Carpenter (1)”
You Can Be Good Without God (2)
The new atheism is like a lot of things wearing the label—there’s really nothing new about it. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, the late Christopher Hitchens, and others are simply this generation’s militant atheists. There are to their time what Madelyn Murray O’Hare or Robert Ingersoll was in their day. They’re churning up the same arguments and objections toContinue reading “You Can Be Good Without God (2)”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 