Tag: Jesus
-
A Bible Built for the Daily Office: ESV with Apocrypha
I still remember last year’s daily‑office lectionary calling for 2 Maccabees 6. One line leapt out, “Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age.” I was following along on a podcast with no Apocrypha in hand and thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to read these passages…
-
O day of peace that dimly shines
Sometimes familiar tunes with new words can be surprising. I had such a moment in 2017 at a remembrance service in St. James Cathedral, Toronto. As the first notes of the tune commonly associated with Jerusalem (Blake’s “And did those feet in ancient time”) rang out—a melody deeply tied to English patriotism—I was jolted from my reverie.…
-
The Gospel Is not Everything
The gospel is not everything. By this I mean to say that the gospel isn’t necessarily this message of the holiness of God and sin (and indeed it is not). It is not the message of heaven (though that may be a result). The gospel is much more focused than that. Pure and simple, the…
-
I don’t want to be Christian
The more I understand Christianity and Christ the more that I don’t want to be Christian, and yet the more I can’t help myself from being so. Christianity is about grace, it is about how a God who is love has provided a means for a wayward people to come back to himself in the…
-
Faith and Obedience
Recently I have been reading Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship where Bonhoeffer talks about the nature and meaning of true Christian discipleship—the purpose of Christianity. Reading it, I was most struck by how Bonhoeffer frames the relationship between works and faith. only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes. Thinking more about…
-
Holiness is not Everything, God Really IS Love
Christians who have tried to hold true to the character of God cringe when it is commonly said that “God is love” as if positive feelings were the sum of what it means to be Christian. And this is a valid concern because for many people, Christianity is merely a means to feel loved and…
-
Post 2D, Christ today and tomorrow
Where is Jesus now? The Nicene Creed tells us that Jesus, after rising from the dead Ascended into heaven, And sits at the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead: Whose kingdom shall have no end. These statements show the core doctrines…
-
Easter Joy
Today is Easter. Where historically Good Friday has been a day of remembering how undeserving we are of the cross, Easter has always been a joyous remembrance of our risen Lord and the joy of our hope in him. Remember today that “there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For…
-
Christian Humility
I wish to remind everyone to be penitent in this lenten period. (that is to remember our sins and earnestly seek and remember the forgiveness we have in Jesus Christ). For while the Jews and the Romans had their parts in the crucifixion of Jesus, it was not them that crucified him (for his death…
-
2c Missing the Mark of God
Christianity is not a crutch for weak people, no it is far more than that. While some Christians might object to this, the truth is far more than that. Christianity isn’t a crutch for weak people because it asserts that people are dead because they have chosen to rebel against a just and omnipotent God…
Defined Faith 