Jesus Archives - Page 8 of 13

In Blog, Salvation, Theology on

May 16, 2022

Just As If I’d Never Sinned

One Sunday when I was in middle school or early high school, my pastor was teaching about the difference between the three parts of the salvation process: justification, sanctification, and glorification. As he was describing justification, he said “When I am justified, it’s just as if I’d never sinned.” This play on words has always stuck with me and reminded me of what being justified means.

But even this helpful phrase may leave you wondering—What exactly is justification? How is justification possible, and how can I know if I’ve been justified? What happens to me when I’m justified? If you’ve ever considered these questions, keep reading because this post is for you!

Tristany

In Bible Study, Blog, Genesis on

May 9, 2022

King of Righteousness, King of Peace

I love a good mysterious movie. A movie where you don’t fully understand the plot or the characters until it reaches the climax. A movie that keeps you guessing until the very end. One in particular that I very much enjoyed was The Murder on the Orient Express, a film that is based on a novel of the same name written by Agatha Christie. As you can imagine, the story focuses on the murder of a man on a train, and the great Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the crime and interviews numerous train passengers with mysterious backgrounds. If you’ve never read the book or watched the movie, I won’t spoil it for you, but the climax of the story when Poirot solves the murder is thrilling!

The Bible has its share of mysterious characters. People that pop in and pop out of the storyline that we know very little about. Men and women that seem so unlikely that we at times wonder if they even really existed. One of the most mysterious characters in all the Bible is a man named Melchizedek, a king who lived during the time of Abraham.

Tristany

In Bible Study, Blog, Luke on

April 25, 2022

Jesus Draws Near to the Burdened

I do not watch horror movies. I know that some of you are probably flabbergasted that I haven’t and will never watch anything that falls in your favorite movie genre, but I just don’t enjoy horror films. I don’t like the jump scares. I don’t like to be kept up all night worrying that someone or something is going to kill me. And since most horror movies feature some demonic character, I don’t like focusing on these creatures that are very evil and very real.

I think a lot of people can forget that demons are real beings because we don’t typically see obvious examples or evidence of demon possession in today’s world. But they are real, and they have possessed many real people. During His ministry, Jesus encountered many people who were possessed by demons. One of them was a particularly burdened soul who dwelled in the Gentile region of the Gerasenes.

Tristany

In Blog, Prayer, Theology on

April 17, 2022

Prayer Basics

Without communication, a relationship will never survive. I’ve had many friendships fade away because I just lost contact with them. And the same is true with other kinds of relationships, too. Marriages that lack communication often end in divorce. Miscommunication between bosses and employees tend to result in missed deadlines and uncompleted tasks. Parents who never communicate or cultivate relationships with their children are often estranged from them later in life.

Our relationship with God is no different. While a lack of communion with God won’t end in divorce or loss of relationship, forsaking practices like prayer and Bible reading can hinder one’s fellowship with God, making them feel like God is far away from them. Bible reading is a fairly straightforward discipline, and it’s rather easy to recognize how God speaks to us through His Word. But many Christians struggle with prayer. Who do we pray to? When should we pray? What should we pray for? Even people who have been believers for years are asking these questions, and all of them and more will be answered in this Prayer Basics post!

Tristany

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In Bible Study, Blog, John on

April 10, 2022

Washing Feet

Take a moment and think of the person you would consider your worst enemy. The person you hate (or at least strongly dislike) with every fiber of your being. Perhaps this is someone who has betrayed you in the past. Perhaps this is someone who gets on your nerves and pushes all your buttons. Perhaps this is someone who is meanspirited and rude or condescending and arrogant.

You got that person in your head? Good. Now imagine doing something really nice for them. Like REALLY nice. Like shoveling snow from their driveway in the middle of winter. Like buying them a fancy dinner from their favorite restaurant of all time. Like giving them a genuine compliment on their appearance or their work.

Could you do it? Could you actually sacrifice your time, effort, money, and/or pride to do a nice thing for someone who wouldn’t think twice about turning on you and throwing you under the bus? If most of us are being honest with ourselves, we wouldn’t go through with it. We wouldn’t want to waste our time and resources on someone who will never show us any kindness or respect in return.

Thankfully, Jesus is a lot more humble and loving than we naturally are.

Tristany