God does not PLAY GAMES. God genuine and forthrightly commands people to repent. IF people genuinely repent, God changes his mind and graciously forgives them and delivers them from his prior plan to destroy them eternally. This is a consistent teaching throughout scripture.
Here’s the thing that bothers me about the inability to reconcile with people we disagree with, even people who are blatantly wrong, and have done great evil….Do we realize the question we are actually asking and answering isn’t “Does God love Fred?” or “Should we forgive Mark Driscoll?”
The question we are really asking is “How does God view me in my sin?” In those places of my life where I don’t share with others, the parts of my heart that make me aware I’m not God’s solution to the suffering of the world, I’m also a part of the problem.
I have a hunch that forgiveness is best born out of awareness of our own sin and brokenness, and the people who are the most merciful are the ones who have received mercy in their most broken places.
More Important Than Christmas?
And so the Annunciation’s implications are intensely political as well as theological. Few days on the Christian calendar, and few passages in Scripture, are so relevant to the abortion debate. For example, Alcorn notes that since Mary “hurried” to see Elizabeth (Luke 1:39) after Gabriel’s visit, it’s likely that Jesus was not yet fully implanted in Mary’s womb when Elizabeth’s unborn son, John, “leaped for joy” (1:41-44). That, he suggests, helps to eliminate hairsplitting over when personhood begins.
Let me share two thoughts about the menu of those who minister. First, Churches must eat the full Word of God. It must get on the inside. Too many congregations exist on fast food: they eat Gospel Lite, partake of diet discipleship, consume junk spirituality, and devour pizza every Sunday. God calls for consumption of the seven food groups: Law, prophets, writings, Gospels, history, epistles, and Revelation.
As a minister steps down, a variety of thoughts flood his mind: the past great moments and the past struggles, the members who have your back and the members who talk behind it, the messages of sadness and the messages of motivation. So many thoughts are blended into those final words, but the work will go on. What will a minister say? What will he do in those final moments of the messages before taking the final walk down the aisle?
Should we let “Telling the Truth in Love” Be an Excuse for Being a Jerk?
Some “truths” are better left unsaid. That, many times, would be the loving thing to do. “29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,” Frankly, many “truths” that are spoken seem to be done for the benefit of the one speaking, to prove their rightness, their relative superiority, what they know or do well that the other person doesn’t. And that is neither kind nor loving.
5 Arguments Not to Have on Facebook
Please note, this isn’t an article about what shouldn’t be discussed on Facebook. All of these topics are worthy of interesting conversation, and social media can be a helpful platform for just that purpose. This is a list of things that aren’t worth arguing over on Facebook.
VA Christian school bans 8-year-old girl because her tomboy looks aren’t ‘biblical’
An 8-year-old girl in Virginia has been told that she can not return to her Christian school because she defied “biblical standards” by looking like a boy.
Doris Thompson told WSET that her granddaughter, Sunnie Kahle, was forced to enroll in public school and has been refused admission for the next school year until she can express the proper gender identity.
Early Instructional Videos for Using a Rotary Phone
A couple of weeks ago, we posted a hilarious and adorable video of children reacting to rotary phones. Most of them, raised on iDevices, had no idea how to use it.
It seems silly—and definitely makes us feel old—but the kids aren’t alone in their confusion. Based on these early instructional videos, it seems like our ancestors were also pretty puzzled by rotary phones.