Tag Archives: growing in Christ

The Shadows or The Shadow-Caster?

Paul didn’t say they were wrong or bad. Didn’t say they had no value. But he did warn that they were not the way nor the best. Warned that they shouldn’t be embraced as the things above all things or … Continue reading

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Addicting

Here’s the problem I think is being addressed in my reading this morning: if we consider the gospel something that relates only to “getting saved” and is not an active dynamic in how we think about “being saved”, then we’ll … Continue reading

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Grow!

Peter wrote to remind them of ” these things” — things they already knew, things upon which they already stood firm (2Pet. 1:12). Things which Peter very much wanted them to be able to recall at any time (1:15). Things … Continue reading

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Wanting More

“Please sir, I want some more!” Now that’s a dickens of an incentive for obedience. Better than following the rules just because they’re the rules is playing the game for the sheer enjoyment of playing it. Better than doing what … Continue reading

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Moving Beyond Picture Books (2012 Rerun)

Dull of hearing. Unskilled in the word. Should be meat-eaters, instead only able to digest milk. It’s what I think was at the heart of the problem that the writer to the Hebrews addresses. They were tempted to fall away … Continue reading

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The A,B,C’s and Slavery

Continuing to work my way through Paul’s letter to the Galatians. He’s frustrated with his children in the faith (4:19). Having been saved by grace they are being persuaded to now rely on their good works. Having known redemption from … Continue reading

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Individually Members of One Another

Ours is an individualistic culture. That’s not some new observation. Nor would it surprise anyone if we said the culture at large tends to shape the church in particular. But this morning I’m struck afresh by how compromising individualism can … Continue reading

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Last Words among Last Words

Wrapped up about 20 days in 1 and 2 Peter. Peter’s last letters to those taking it in the teeth for Jesus. Peter’s final exhortations for those in the pressure cooker of oppression, dispersion, and some confusion about the end … Continue reading

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Counsel That Transcends Circumstance

Whatever it meant to be one of the “exiles of the Dispersion”, you sense life isn’t easy for those Peter is writing to in 1 Peter. Life’s not going “swimmingly.” Far from it, you sense. Instead, it seems kind of … Continue reading

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A Use It or Lose It Thing

That they were struggling is evident. That they were complicit is also evident. To be sure, taking a stand for Jesus within the predominant Jewish community of the first century wasn’t for the faint of heart. While many believed that … Continue reading

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