Article archive :: Jesus Rant

The Embrace part 2

06/01/2015 13:07

When we were yet sinners--when we were unbelievers, and literally couldn't believe that God loved us--He showed us love for us by opening His arms wide on the cross. By gripping us in a loving embracing and proving that He will never let us go. God didn't wait for us to "clean up our acts," or,...

The Embrace part 1

05/31/2015 13:09

I'm going to start this Rant series the same way I ended the last one: The only way to stop the struggle (of trying to be someone you're not) is to embrace who you really are. So that's what we're going to focus on in this series. The embrace. And I'm going to give it away right at the beginning....

The Struggle part 5

05/30/2015 12:59

If you're trying to be someone you're not--even a "better version" of yourself--then you will never be able to stop struggling. It's impossible to be someone else. And it's not what God wants for us in any event. He made you. And He made you specifically... YOU. I think one of the biggest keys to...

The Struggle part 4

05/29/2015 13:15

The struggle is real. I know that it is. I see it every day. Because it's so easy to believe the lie. The lie is right there on the surface, and if you want the truth you have to dig a little deeper. The lie says you aren't good enough. The lie says you have to DO in order to BE. The lie says you...

The Struggle part 3

05/28/2015 13:39

If I'm struggling to deny myself and be somebody else then I must believe that there is something inherently wrong with me. I'm not good enough, and I need to DO better in order to BE better. But here's where that idea falls apart: If I'm not good enough to begin with, how in the world can I do...

The Struggle part 2

05/27/2015 13:08

Trying to be somebody you're not is a struggle that is doomed to end in failure, frustration, and ultimately death. Why do you think so many people leave the church? Because (for some reason) we are still preaching the Law of Moses. Still trying to get people to behave in a certain way. And the way...

The Struggle part 1

05/26/2015 13:43

You are NOT a bad person who needs to change into a good person. That might be what religion--and even to some extent the world--would have you believe. Self-help... laws to obey... rules to follow... hoops to jump through... This isn't what Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life...

Beautiful part 5

05/25/2015 12:52

The key is not to judge things as beautiful or ugly... but to find the beauty in everything. And notice I said IN everything. Because that's where true beauty is; it's on the inside. A meek and quiet Spirit is beautiful. The inner man, the hidden man of the heart. Where else could beauty come from,...

Beautiful part 4

05/24/2015 17:00

We see perfection, or beauty, as being flawless. Never making a mistake. Looking good on the outside. And that's our problem. That's where so much condemnation comes from. Self-condemnation, and condemning others. Because we are judging by appearance. We have this impossible standard that we are...

Beautiful part 3

05/23/2015 13:52

The problem with self-condemnation is that it disqualifies us. It goes hand in hand with the religious idea of earning something, or doing in order to be. In fact, speaking of the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, 2 Corinthians 3:9 in the Message Bible puts it like this, "If...

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