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Tag: Sin

Making All Things News: From Bones to Living

Making All Things New: From Bones to Living

Ezekiel 37, with its familiarity causes us to glaze over the full depth of the passage.  We often are able to intellectually understand the idea of dry bones will rise and walk again.  We picture images of skeletons standing up like cheap halloween specials but miss the significance of where we are in this story.  As God shows Ezekiel the dry bones, God asks “Can these dry bones live?”  Ezekiel while answering God, undoubtedly came to the same understanding and fear that we all face.  We come to understand that we are the dry bones and fear that the answer is no.  

Making All Things New: From Old to New

Making All Things New: From Old To New

The author of Hebrews connects the prophesies of old with the works of Jesus Christ.  For the old prophets, God revealed a future where the old covenant would disappear and a new covenant would be established.  Where people once studied the word of God, in the new covenant, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the covenant would become a part of their DNA and their very identity.  The sins will be forgiveness and they will be established for eternity.  The old will be made new and restoration will come for the people.  Through Jesus Christ, the Old Covenant established between God and His people will be fulfilled and a new covenant will be established by the grace of God.  Our response to this new covenant is nothing short of following wherever God leads us and submitting to His will.

Making All Things New: From Death To Life

Making All Things New: From Death To Life

Towards the end of John’s Revelation he understood God’s desire for the salvation of His people.  God was making all things new.  The plan wasn’t to attempt to tidy of or to make a used car to be like new, but to reform and remake a person new.  There is a difference between new and like new and God would be making all things new.  God, on His sovereign throne, would command existence itself to be restored to fullness by His powerful might and His wondrous grace.  Though sin had been introduced to the world and through it death, God removes the decay for the restoration of mankind. 

Faith and Works: James 3:1-12

James 3:1-12 The Steering of Our Lives

It is fascinating how something so small can have such a tremendous effect.  The tongue and the words we speak are an incredible guide for how we put on the full display of the Gospel in our lives.  The way we address people, things, and discuss our situations can guide and steer our whole outlook and worldview.  Even worse, it can reveal the treasonous nature inside of ourselves.  The same mouth that produces praise for God also produces the same foul hatred and despair for others and the world around us.  Clearly, the tongue, with its great potential to speak life also carries with it an undeniable temptation to tear down.

Faith and Works: James 2:14-26

James 2:14-26 A Faith Expressed

Our relationship with Chirst is transformative in that it seeps into every creavase of our being. While the bible does contain many commandments for the Christian to follow, this is not the point.  The point of the Gospel is that we are saved and transformed by the power of God and guided towards a new way of living. If we believe that Jesus Christ came and died for our sins then we understand that He is offering us a new and transformed life.  Our faith goes beyond mere knowledge and straight to expressing that same belief.  

The Book of James: Faith and Works - James 2:1-13

James 2:1-13 Money and Mercy

Too often we judge a person by their financial wealth and ability to produce. We give fine seats to those who have money and influence and place them above others. Through God, however, this system is turned on it’s head. God, having all the riches of the world, chose to come to those who were poor and in need. Likewise, James exhorts the readers to do the same. Money causes problems and conflict and generally serves as the sign the world uses for worth, even intrinsic worth. With God, however, the sign of worth comes from knowing and being known by our creator and heavenly Father.

The Book of James: Faith and Works - James 1:19-27

James 1:19-27 Input and Output

James begins to look at the input and output of our religion.  He reinforces the idea that whatever a person allows to rule inside of them will naturally flow through them.  There is a natual expression of the change in our identity that occurs with Jesus Christ.  Whlie James isn’t claiming that it is works that save us, he does state plainly that it is the works that show our faith, for good or bad.  Whatever we allow in to shape our identity will be the thing that is expressed through what we do.  Furthermore, this is not a passive process but an intentional shaping and molding as we allow the word of God to become implanted deep into our spiritual DNA.  

The Book of James: Faith and Works - James 1:12-18

James 1:12-18 Dealing With Temptation

Every person seeking to follow Christ will most assuredly encounter tempation along the way.  This is an unavoidable fact that we must be willing to deal with.  It is during these times of temptation that what we believe about God and about His salvation becomes clear.  We quickly see what the things we turn to are and who we blame for our situation.  But James makes it clear, that being able to stand up in the face of temptation is a valiant expression of our faith; one that leads to eternal glory.  Furthermore, God is there every step of the way through our times of temptation to see us through to the other side.  

Nobody Special: The Podcast

Nobody Special 015: Four Ways To Keep on Sinning

Everyone panic! There is a solar eclipse coming up.  Is it a sign of impending doom and judgment or just a reason that people use to consume alcohol midday.  Caleb and Danny talk about the struggles of temptation and sin and consider the different ways to get out of sin.  Or, we talk about how to stay in it.  

Also, Game of Thrones is very popular right now, but neither of us are watching it so instead we give our various theories on how Westeros connects with the Marvel Cinematic University.  Is Tyrion Lannister a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy?  We are not sure, we only saw half the movie.  

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Hope of Sins Defeated

Hope: Sins Defeated

God’s goal is not to merely keep us from sinning.  This missing the grand purpose of Christ’s coming.  Just as wiping the dirt of clothes does not make them clean, getting us to stop sinning does not mean we are sanctified.  The purpose of Christ’s coming was to return us to Him, fully and completely.  Our sin separated us from the holiness of God.  The hope in our victory over sin rests fully in the work of Jesus Christ having already conquered sin.