Category: Salvation

Salvation Sin Spiritual Growth

Our Meaningful Sorrow

Dark clouds hang over our souls like vultures vying for flesh in this broken world. The Adamic curse brought toil and torture, darkness, and death with it. Some souls see this more, others less. But let not sickness and sadness send you to dispair. Let them bring you to the cross of Christ. There, on the cross, died the life of humanity, and there, in the dark, hung the light of the world. Christ knows your sorrow more than you can imagine, yet he redefines and repurposes it too.

… Our Meaningful Sorrow
Christian Thought Jesus Christ Salvation

Be Merry, But Belong

Holydays tend to mask our emptiness and longing to be filled. The red wine you drank away at dusk wanes with dawn as morning sobers you up. Pork steaks satisfy no heart, and night-long banter wearies your head to bed. The long-awaited celebration time vanishes as vapor in cold winter—as though it never was. You sure are merry, but do you belong? You are lost, and who can find you?

… Be Merry, But Belong
Jesus Christ Salvation Spiritual Growth

Cruciformed Disciples and the Prosperity Gospel

Cruciformed disciples reject the Prosperity Gospel. By “cruciformed” I refer to a life shaped by the cross. And what I am saying is that we cannot be shaped by the cross and adhere to the Prosperity Gospel. At least that is what Mark’s Gospel teaches us. Now, if this makes you a bit uneasy, please bear with me. You will soon see why I say these things.

… Cruciformed Disciples and the Prosperity Gospel
Exegesis Jesus Christ Salvation

What Acts 2:16-18 Speaks about End-Time Prophetic Activity

My previous piece pertained to the place of Old Testament prophecy as per Hebrews 1:2-3. The text tells of two eras and means of God’s self-disclosure. There was when God revealed Himself to the Jewish fathers by the prophets. But the writer of Hebrews says that period ended with Christ’s coming. In the last days, God revealed Himself to us through His Son.

… What Acts 2:16-18 Speaks about End-Time Prophetic Activity
Exegesis Jesus Christ Salvation

What Hebrews 1:1-2 Speaks about Your Prophet

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” Heb. 1:1-2

Self-styled prophets are a sensation in Uganda, if not Africa. Roadside billboards loom large before your traffic-held car as the TV and Radio ads invite you to stay tuned for the next ‘prophetic encounter.’

… What Hebrews 1:1-2 Speaks about Your Prophet
Exegesis Salvation Worldview

When We Prosper in Distorting 3 John 1:2

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 Jn 1:2.

Are material wealth and health part of the ‘blood-bought Christian package’ for our enjoyment now? Specifically, what does 3 John 1:2 tell us about John’s view on material prosperity? Did he mean by this that physical health and material wealth are must-have things for every Christian in this life?

… When We Prosper in Distorting 3 John 1:2
Christian Thought Salvation Sin Spiritual Growth

Cursed Christians?: Answering Objections

Christians cannot be cursed. I argued so in my previous article.  If to be a Christian is to be God’s son and daughter, then who can bring a curse against God’s elect (Rom 8:33)? Nay. We are free in Christ, no longer Satan’s prisoners (Jn 8:36, Gal 5:1). God himself ‘delivered us from the domain of darkness’ (Col 1:13), and who can turn it back (Is 43:13)?

… Cursed Christians?: Answering Objections