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~ Rejecting the gods of our culture since 1998.

cultural atheist

Monthly Archives: March 2016

Next Step

21 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by braddahr in Uncategorized

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Over the last year, I have developed a much deeper appreciation for Jesus Christ. I don’t have a messiah complex (at least I don’t think I do; if I had one would I be aware of it?) but on a much smaller scale it seems I’ve been walking in his sandals.

Relocated for an important mission – check.

Poured out his life for the lost lamb – check.

Called a devil – check.

Denied/betrayed – check.

Didn’t open his mouth while being condemned – check.

So looking ahead, I guess the next step would be… Oh crap.

The Temptation

09 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration, Spirituality

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christ, God, Good News, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Love, salvation, Satan, Temptation

Recently, I was with a group of young people and we were talking about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. I asked them what is the take away from this story – what do we need to learn? They responded with the common things I have heard from many others: Jesus was showing us we can overcome temptation like he did, the devil is a liar, faith in God protects us from Satan; we need to know scripture so we are not deceived, and so on.

Those thoughts are not necessarily wrong or bad but something triggered in my mind. The Bible is the revelation of God; every story whispers Jesus name. Unfortunately, we often make the story all about us and from there we tend towards moralizing and even salvation and righteousness by works.

What if the story is all about Jesus and only there to tell us about him? If so, what does this story tell us about Jesus? As I look at the text through Jesus, what I discover is, it’s not about my abilities or overcoming, or my faith.

To me, it’s about Jesus, God with us, who was willing to do whatever it takes, to endure everything that can be thrown at him, so that he can set us free and bring us home.

What do you see in this Jesus story?

Secure

05 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration, Observations, Spirituality

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Tags

Faith, God, Jesus, Justified, salvation, saved, trust, works, Yeshua

Once in a while, a page I follow called, “Hebrew for Christians” is so on point, I just have to share it. This isn’t new news, just Good News very eloquently stated.

“Therefore, since we have been justified (δικαιωθέντες) by faith, we have peace with God through our LORD Yeshua the Messiah, through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Rom. 5:1-2). 

We must be careful never to think that God’s salvation is not really secure, or that we may lose our place in God’s heart because of our unfaithfulness… Thinking that our salvation depends on our faithfulness puts us back under the “curse of the law,” since we are attempting to establish our own righteousness rather than trusting in the love and power of the One who “justifies the ungodly” (Rom. 4:5). No, from beginning to end (and including the middle) we are kept by “the strength of His might” and the “surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe” (Eph. 1:19). We must always remember that “if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10). If the death of Yeshua brings us God’s grace, his undying life sustains and secures us in that grace. 

It is the power of God that both saves and sanctifies you, and not the merit of religious observance: “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). We do not trust in ourselves, nor in the virtue of our faith, but rather in the great faithfulness of our Savior and God, blessed be He (Psalm 40:11; 121:7; Jude 1:24; Phil 1:6).

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