Tag: Idolatry

By micoots
13/01/2017 0

Final Call (January 13)

Welcome to Final Call, a brief, hand-picked selection of news, articles, videos, and curiosities from the Internet and beyond.

Separated and Reunited
Audrey and Gracie were both born in China and adopted into American families. Until recently, neither of them knew they had a twin sister. Grab some tissues and watch them meet one another for the first time. It does a soul good.

Ordinary Time
Ordinary Time is a band I’ve been enjoying for a number of years. Their focus is simple: discovering, reviving, and celebrating old songs through folk-acoustic music. While they’ve released several albums now, my favorite remains one of their older ones, At The Table.

At The Table by Ordinary Time

If you are interested in their arrangements, they share lyrics, chord charts, and other material at their site.

New & Notable
Enjoy by Trillia Newbell (Release date December 20, 2016). New from Trillia Newbell is Enjoy: Finding the Freedom to Delight Daily in God’s Good Gifts. The publisher says this:..

By micoots
13/01/2017 0

The Gospel in 3D (John Frye)

I imagine most Jesus Creed readers have attended a major motion picture filmed in 3D. With those amazing 3D glasses you sense that you are not merely seeing a film, you are living in it. I remember my first 3D film when I was eight years old (1955). With technology nowhere near as sophisticated as today, when the jungle natives threw their spears (a Tarzan movie) toward the camera, my mother said I yelled and ducked behind the seats. The spears were flying through the theater right at me. Back t..

TLG Prayer
By micoots
11/01/2017 0

Christ, the All-sufficient Sacrifice

PassageRomans 2:12-24
PrayerDear Father, holy God,Write the requirements of your will upon my heart. May I live in such a way that my conscience will bear witness that I have striven to live for you, on that day when you judge the secrets of men's heart by Christ Jesus.Help me to be sincere and to have integrity. If I teach others, let me first teach myself. If I teach against stealing, don't let me take what is not mine.If I teach against adultery, don't let me lust. If I teach a..

By micoots
10/01/2017 0

Final Call (January 10)

Welcome to Final Call, a brief, hand-picked selection of news, articles, videos, and curiosities from the Internet and beyond.

Mini-Q&A
Q: Have you ever considered doing a series on the “hard things” of Scripture? Here are a few examples: Who are the sons of God in Genesis 6:2? What is meant by Psalm 82:6 where it says, “I said, ‘You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you'”? Who are the spirits in prison Peter refers to in 1 Peter 3?

A: Yes, I actually got as far as mapping one out once upon a time. But I ended up abandoning it because I began to consider the benefit of “staying in my lane.” I don’t think that series would be playing to my particular strengths. There are people out there who are far better equipped to do serious studies of seriously tricky texts, and I am happy enough to leave the work to them. In particular, I’d direct you to the Word Matters podcast with Trevin Wax and Brandon Smith. “Each episode takes a contested or puzzling passage of the Bible, walks ..

By micoots
10/01/2017 0

N. T. Wright’s The Day the Revolution Began: A Few Reflections

“I pretty much agree with Mike Horton’s review though I thought he was too easy on the book. I’d like to add three thoughts to Mike’s review. I’m not going to do any summary, just critique. For summary read what Mike wrote.”

This week I read Wright’s new book on the crucifixion, The Day the Revolution Began. I’m not a Wright-hater. I owe him a lot. Some of his writings have been instrumental for my own development in understanding the Bible. At least one article of mine spawned from ideas he ga..

By micoots
07/01/2017 0

God Hates Injustice

The God who loves what is good must not love what is evil. He must not even be ambivalent toward what is evil, what is harmful, what is destructive. He must hate it. The God of the Bible reveals himself as a God of love. But he also reveals himself as a God who hates. We have been looking at verses where the Bible employs words like “hate,” “abomination,” and “detestable,” and have seen that God hates idolatry and God hates sexual immorality. Today we turn our attention to this: God hates injustice.

God Hates Injustice
God rules this world, and he rules it in justice. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you” (Psalm 89:14). God delegates authority and responsibility to us, beings made in his image, and he expects we will express justice on his behalf. “By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just,” (Proverbs 8:15) and “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, a..

By micoots
06/01/2017 0

What We Need to Learn from the Early Church

Many say that Christians who maintain the historic, traditional doctrines are behind the times, are too exclusive, and are “on the wrong side of history.”

Two recent books that cast doubt on this view are from historian and biblical scholar Larry Hurtado: Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World and Why on Earth Did Anyone Become a Christian in the First Three Centuries?.

The earliest Christians were widely ridiculed, especially by cultural elites, were exclude..

By micoots
05/01/2017 0

Sharing Heaven with Serial Killers

Roy Ratcliff is the pastor who baptized infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

After Dahmer was convicted of 15 murders and sentenced to many lifetimes in prison, Ratcliff began visiting him and sharing the gospel. According to Ratcliff, Dahmer struggled to grasp the depths of God’s grace. It’s not hard to understand why. For someone who committed such atrocious acts, grace must have seemed unattainable. But in a 1994 interview with Stone Phillips, Dahmer said: “I have accepted [Jesus] as my Lo..

By micoots
04/01/2017 0

Sometimes Saying “No” Is The Right Thing To Do

Ask God. This seems obvious, but too often it is easiest to simply act on instinct before we ask God what He would have for us. Different seasons of life bring different opportunities, and believe it or not, God wants us to make the most of our time for our It brings Him pleasure and glory when we invite Him into the details of our decision making.

Saying no is hard.

A couple weeks ago I felt that familiar pang when I was asked to do something. I had the evening free, and I could definitely fi..

By micoots
02/01/2017 0

‘Pope Francis’ Urges: ‘Let Us Entrust the New Year to Mary’

ROME — The leader of Roman Catholicism, Jorge Bergoglio, also known as “Pope Francis,” observed the feast of “the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God” on New Year’s Day, urging followers to “entrust the new year to Mary.”

“Let us entrust the new year to Mary, Mother of God, so that peace and mercy may grow throughout the world,” he Tweeted on Sunday, generating over 33,000 likes and 11,000 shares.

The feast “coincides with the octave-day of Christmas” on the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, an..