Do you ever feel a longing for home, but a home not of this world? If so, there is a very good reason, and First Peter just might be what you need to see you through this day. Written originally to Christians in five Roman provinces, it is clearly a legacy for the church at large, consisting of individuals Peter describes as God's chosen ones but strangers in this world. That double (and paradoxical) identity will follow us through the whole epistle. This world is not our home, as anyone who takes seriously God's calling and assignment quickly learns. What is this mission to which we are … [Read more...]
what our people must learn
"You will know them by their fruits," Jesus said when warning his disciples about false teachers (Matt. 7:15-20). Teaching and living go together. Say something often enough, or just hear it said, and you will soon be living as if the thing being said is true. Which brings us to Titus. Paul stationed Titus in Crete to amend what he found defective and to ordain elders in every town. The Cretan churches faced two primary issues: the presence of some subversive teaching (Titus 1:9-16), and ongoing problems involving Christian morality. "The grace of God, the goodness and loving kindness of … [Read more...]
COMMUNITY OF THE RESCUED
The following is an edited excerpt from Edward's latest book, The Divine Rescue: The Gripping Drama of a Lost World and of the Creator Who Will Not Let It Go, scheduled for pre-release at Pepperdine University Bible Lectures on May 4-7, 2010. For more details, click here. Jesus himself envisioned a community of faith, a fellowship of the Rescued, created by his intervention on their behalf. As we read Jesus' words in the Gospel of Matthew, a picture of that community emerges, and this is what we see. These people are famished for the Creator’s approval, and they will be satisfied with … [Read more...]
FEEDBACK: ‘KNOWING ONE ANOTHER’ – 3
Judging from your feedback, the gracEmail for May 18, 2008 titled "Knowing One Another" touched a live nerve. Following are a few responses (some edited for space or form). Thanks to all who wrote! * * * "Can you imagine ACTUALLY 'confessing our sins to one another'??? Yikes!" -- Mike (msecuro777@yahoo.com). * * * "Rarely, I'm convinced, do individuals share themselves on a deeply personal level. A larger part of social relationships are presenting oneself as consistently as possible to what we want people to think of us. . . That does not mean that there is no true and relevant … [Read more...]
FEEDBACK: ‘KNOWING ONE ANOTHER’ – 2
Judging from your feedback, the gracEmail for May 18, 2008 titled "Knowing One Another" touched a live nerve. Following are a few responses (some edited for space or form); we will share others from time to time. Thanks to all who wrote! * * * "A few weeks ago my husband John needed to see two men about two different matters and he scheduled separate appointments. Eeither one ran late or the other was early, andthe two ended up in his office at the same time. They had not met each other before that day. One had lost a child to cancer a few years ago and was still grieving. The other lost … [Read more...]
FEEDBACK: ‘KNOWING ONE ANOTHER’ – 1
Judging from your feedback, the gracEmail for May 18, 2008 titled "Knowing One Another" touched a live nerve. Following are a few responses (some edited for space or form); we will share others from time to time. Thanks to all who wrote! * * * "People everywhere are longing to be known. The desperation of alcohol addiction has led to transforming life-sharing help through Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings since 1935. Yet many churches are still having arms-length meetings with no openings to give anyone Jesus' love." -- Wayne (Wayne7282@msn.com) * * * "All of us have friendships like … [Read more...]
KNOWING ONE ANOTHER
Sara Faye and I participated in our congregation's food-and-fellowship network the other Saturday. It was a joyous event which convicted me regarding the shallowness of my friendship with our hosts Don and his lovely wife Vee. I thought I knew them -- after all, we had exchanged pleasantries almost every Sunday morning for 26 years. I knew, for example, that Don and I shared an emotional bent, that we both appreciated a Eucharistic liturgy borrowed from the Book of Common Prayer, and that we had been good-natured co-conspirators for many years in trying to add a cross behind the pulpit. I … [Read more...]