DAY TWENTY-TWO OF FEBRUARY, YEAR OF GRACE TWENTY FIFTEEN A gracEmail subscriber writes: "The author of Hebrews says that Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2). What is that joy? Paul prayed for his converts to know "the riches of [God's] glorious inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18). Is this saying what it sounds like? Are the saved themselves somehow a part of Christ's own reward? * * * God has named Jesus "heir of all things" and that includes every human being he rescues from destruction (Heb. 1:2). They all will be presented to him as a gift and … [Read more...]
A MESSAGE SIGNED WITH BLOOD
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF FEBRUARY IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN Last Sunday, the jihadist group calling itself ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) martyred 21 young Egyptian Christians working in Libya, one of Egypt's four next-door neighbor states. Ramez Atallah, a leader in gospel outreach worldwide, is general director of the Bible Society of Egypt. Within days of the executions, Atallah published an article in the Society's Newsletter titled "A MESSAGE SIGNED WITH BLOOD," which he addressed to fellow-Christians everywhere as "THE NATION OF THE CROSS." In the … [Read more...]
God, the gospel, and the nations’ obedience
When God chose Israel as his special people and covenant partner, it was his intention through them ultimately to bless the world. "By your descendants," God promised Abraham, "shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:18). God blessed Israel so that, through Israel, all nations would be blessed. The chosen people prayed: "May God . . . bless us, that thy . . . [saving power] may be known . . . among all nations" (Psalm 67:1-2). Israelites who rightly understood their role as God's chosen people gladly invited other human beings everywhere to worship Israel's God, saying: "Praise … [Read more...]
Walking through a strange land home
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...]
Ask God about Jesus-man in Kenya and you
ASK GOD ABOUT JESUS-MAN IN KENYA AND YOU I do not normally use gracEmail for this purpose (to do so could quickly consume every issue), but I come today urging you to consider a special need in Africa and to ask God if you are to be a part of the solution. George Odhiambo is a Jesus-man in Kenya in East Africa, with whom Sara Faye and I have had contact for several years. He and his wife Lilian have three children (full disclosure: one of whom is named "Edward Fudge Odhiambo") but like many of their fellow-Christians there, they also support his father, other relatives and some village … [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...]
Divine revelation–Word to words to Word
A crowning diamond in the Christian treasury is the gracious ease with which God's self-revelation to humankind occurs, and the beauty of its flow from Word to words and back again to Word, until every rift between God and humans is removed and relationship is fully restored. The cycle of redemption is thus completed: the fullness of God becomes human and, through dying and being raised from death, brings the fullness of humanity into the glory of its intended destiny in sharing the divine nature (Heb. 2:5-9; 2 Pet. 1:3-4). The cycle of revelation begins in the eternal beauty of God's … [Read more...]
DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE
A caller phones Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and asks to speak to Dr. Ben Witherington III. "I'm afraid he can't talk right now," the receptionist says. He's writing a new book." Nonplussed, the caller replies, "Never mind. I'll just hold." With more than forty books to his credit, including socio-rhetorical commentaries on every book of the New Testament, one is tempted to suspect that the prolific author (who calls himself "BW3" on his website at: www.BenWitherington.com ) really does crank out books that fast -- which suspicion, of course, would be a mistake. Witherington … [Read more...]
SCRIPTURE AT ITS BEST: SATURATION
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "I want to grow in my relationship with God, but I'm now struggling with where the Bible fits into the equation. How do I approach scripture to apply it to my faith journey?" * * * The best place for learning how to approach scripture is Scripture itself. The 39 books that we call the "Old Testament" were regarded as sacred writings by the Jews before there were any Christians, and also from the first by Christians, who then were all Jews, and who eventually added 27 more books of their own that we call the "New Testament." If we can identify how New … [Read more...]
INTERNATIONAL, MEMORABLE, AND HISTORIC
The long-awaited Rethinking Hell Conference last weekend (July 11-12, 2014) brought together nearly 150 registrants and participants from the USA, Canada, U.K., France, Lithuania, New Zealand and Australia at the campus of the Lanier Theological Library and Chapel in Houston, Texas. The Conference sponsor, the Rethinking Hell (RH) Project, is presently uploading presentations to its RH Channel on YouTube. Presentations by both plenary speakers are already available for viewing, as is a lively conversation between RH podcaster/interviewer Chris Date and me, including some questions from the … [Read more...]