Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Imagine being perfect. Think about a life without hurting or being hurt. Of not disappointing others. Of making choices that are always good and wise. Of pleasing God and neighbors. What would it be like to care for others with a complete and ongoing integrity? To trust and to be trusted without any hesitation? We …
Read More PerfectionLet me raise a question about Christian missions. How robust is the growth of Christianity today? Better yet, how did Christianity grow in the first century; and how does our present growth compare with early church expansion? I don’t have specific data but allow me to generalize from what I see, hear, and read in …
Read More On a MissionThink about how our vision of God shapes the way we live. If our God is an activist he fills our lives with activities. Alternatively a token God is a backstop for difficult moments in life but he, she, they, or it—the best term for God isn’t a matter of consensus so I’ll stay with …
Read More Creating GodThis entry is also published on the Cor Deo site. Please post any comments on that site. Thanks! What if every Christian loved God above all else; and, with that, loved his neighbor as himself? Would friendships be stronger? Marriages sweeter? Families healthier? Churches more winsome and dynamic? Businesses staffed with Christian employees more productive? …
Read More What if?All of us who know Christ are covenant theologians. But I’m not thinking of the specific creedal formula offered by Reformed theologians. The version of covenant I have in mind is marriage: what a man and woman share when properly united by God. But why add “theology” to marriage? Because God offers us a marriage …
Read More True Covenant TheologyThis entry has also been published on my shared Cor Deo site. For any responses please go there: Cor Deo A leader with Christ’s heart differs from leaders in the world as light differs from darkness. Jesus taught as much and lived as such. Think, for instance, of how he loved all those he led. …
Read More Two Types of LeadersFaith is a response of trust birthed by our meeting Christ “in person.” Knowing him produces a life-changing entrustment as we recognize and receive his love. Recently we wrote of grace as a “who”—the Spirit revealing his love in our hearts. His relational grace produces a relational faith working through love, as Paul taught in …
Read More Discovering FaithEmpty grace is an odd but widespread feature of Christianity. It offers a form of Christianity based on information about Christ but it lacks any power. The faith it produces affirms many social values and laws taken from Christianity while missing Christ’s most central invitation to know him by responding to his love. Living grace, …
Read More Living GraceAlso published on the Cor Deo website. Please post any responses on that site by clicking here Job’s pain pushed him to ask God for a reprieve and also for an explanation. In effect, “What, oh my God, are you doing?!” In the dialogue with his friends Job knew something of what the Bible reader …
Read More God’s agenda in JobIt’s mid-morning and I’m enjoying a morning coffee at Le Petit Café in the university district of Ljubljana, Slovenia. I arrived to the background sound of Amazing Grace in English playing on their sound system. It’s remarkably apropos because of my focus here for today: Jonathan Edwards’ Treatise on Grace. I drew from it yesterday …
Read More A Treatise on Grace