Tag: Bible
-
The Dilemma of Missions
As missionaries, we often report statistics as a way of conveying the impact we are having. Numbers of salvations, people taught, clinics opened, or people rescued from the evils of society. Behind these numbers are people, stories, and often difficulties. One the people we’ve been training, recently had an interesting situation which drove this reality…
-
Are People Good?
We see countless headlines about the athlete who took drugs, denied it, then when he got caught says, “I’ve made mistakes.” Politicians are caught in immorality, acknowledge their failures only to get re-elected in a few years. Why are we surprised when they mess up again? We want to point the finger of blame. “I’m…
-
Is God Angry?
One of the biggest fears in the hearts of believers is having a God who is angry with them. We lie awake at night feeling guilty for our latest mess-up, resolving to try harder the next day. We wake up and engage in good, spiritual activities attempting to “earn back” the favor of God we…
-
Grace and Consequences
Many times grace receives the label of cheap or sloppy. We then attempt to manage, limit, or even control the dispensing of grace for fear people might abuse it. Grace and consequences are not opposed to each other. Forgiveness is not the absence of consequences. Pick any Biblical character and see the “pain” and implications their sin…
-
Don’t Blame Cheap Grace
I hear it all the time. People want to downplay grace by pointing to “sloppy agape” or “cheap grace”. They want to make sure us grace folk do not go too far in our communication of this truth, causing people to abuse it. They feel the need to remind us of consequences and judgment while…