Article archive :: Jesus Rant

Human Nature part 2

03/03/2015 10:54

"This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:2-3). The way I see it, if we're still (on this side of the cross) born with a "sin nature"...

Human Nature part 1

03/02/2015 13:22

I don't believe anybody on this side of the cross is born with a "sin nature." I know that goes against a lot of "traditional" preaching, but I'm of the opinion--and remember, this IS my opinion--that what Jesus did on the cross is a lot bigger than we give it credit for. And since this is a...

Unforced part 5

03/01/2015 12:12

I started this Rant series with the line: Don't stress about rest. And that's where I want to end it. Because if we're stressing, we're not resting. If we're trying to do it ourselves then we don't believe that it is finished. You can't force the rhythms of grace. You can't live up to the...

Unforced part 4

02/28/2015 18:46

You can't force it. The Kingdom, the Promised Land, rest, our abode, love... is not something that can be earned. The biggest and first lie ever told was that you have to DO in order to BE. Eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil THEN you'll be like God. WRONG! We were made in His image. We...

Unforced part 3

02/27/2015 11:15

Rest results from the unforced rhythms of grace. We learn to rest as we spend time with the One who finished the work. But what, exactly, IS rest? We know rest is the promised land. The land that flows with milk (righteousness) and honey (revelation). And we know it's connected to faith--trusting...

Unforced part 2

02/26/2015 13:21

You can't force grace, or rest, or mercy... or love. Up until John the Baptist the Kingdom suffered violence and the violent took it by force (or TRIED to take it by force). But then Jesus came and showed us a more excellent way. He came and showed us that we don't have to earn Daddy's approval, or...

Unforced part 1

02/25/2015 10:32

"It just needs a little elbow grease." That's our solution to most problems. Try harder. Make it happen. Force it to work. But that's an Old Covenant mindset. Jesus said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force"...

Weight of the World part 5

02/24/2015 13:31

When the weight of the world (external forces) press down on us, it's uncomfortable. And when we know there's something better available, it can be almost unbareable. Which is why it breaks my heart when I see people settling. People taking what the world throws at them and trying to make the best...

Weight of the World part 4

02/23/2015 13:11

There's in a line in a song that goes, "I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like." And even though, as believers, we KNOW what it really is--It is finished--it seems like so many times we get lost in what it feels like. We get crushed under the weight of the world....

Weight of the World part 3

02/22/2015 12:10

The weight of the world pressing down on us. So much STUFF trying to bury us. Distract us. Control us. And listen, I'm not saying you don't have to take care of business. You do. Bills aren't going to pay themselves. The Apostle Paul said it like this, "For even when we were with you, this we...

Article archive