For Christ-followers, we may like to think our faith is the sole influence on our values, but other factors (such as modernity, history, culture, and nationality, to mention a few) influence our values as well. Some of this is okay (right and good), since we are meant to live in the present while working for the Eternal […]
Tag: Kingdom of God
On Nationalism
As workers of the Eternal Kingdom, Christ-followers must be wary of unfettered nationalism. For the Christ-follower, it is impossible to have full commitment to both God and country. Only to God. This indeed is a hard pill to swallow. We want to follow what is most tangible and present, and we find this often in […]
On History and Modernity
History can be a hard subject for the Christ-follower to reflect on and consider. So many dark, dangerous, and truly evil things were done (and are still done) in the name of Jesus. As those that follow the Light of the World, we have a duty to learn from history and absorb it in its entirety, […]
On Confession
As we meditate on the Lord’s Prayer and think about “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive our trespassers”, we must also think about confession. There are stories of young Martin Luther confessing his sins for hours on end, then leaving his confessor, and then immediately returning, realizing he left out something and fearing the consequences. […]
On Forgiveness
After we ponder our daily needs (see previous post), we then must ask for forgiveness of our wrongdoings. This is a natural flow, as thinking about our daily needs opens our eyes to our dependence on God and others. We can now think about our trespasses, our debts, our sins. Matthew writes this part of the […]
On The Kingdom
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Good and right prayer asks for the Kingdom of God to come, for God’s will to be done, and (perhaps most importantly) that God’s will be done on earth. This is the linchpin of the Lord’s Prayer. It sets the context for the […]
On Sin and Grace
Jesus re-defined the Ten Commandments, saying “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:34-40) In effect, He also re-defined sin. We can now diagnose sin simply, like this: Sin is when we do not […]
On Affirmation and Rebuke
You might say that Jesus’ magnum opus on moral ethics is His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). When we zoom out and look at the sermon as whole we find it equal parts affirmation and rebuke. The affirmation is one that humans are special and beloved by God. When Jesus says “you are the light […]
On Jesus (part one)
Similar to how Scripture had become buried and re-worked by 1517 (to benefit the authorities of the day and keep the powerful in control), so too had become the central figure of Christianity, Jesus the Christ. His words had become watered-down and His identity had become muted. Now, it is important to add that it […]
On Tension
Up to this point there has been an undercurrent theme in these posts. We could call that theme “tension” (other words like “balance” or “discernment” could also be used). Understanding that rooted and fruitful faith means living a life of tension sets the stage for future reflections on this blog. When we embrace tension (both […]
Relevant Reformation 