Skipping the embarrassing parts . . .

Posted on November 30, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

I’m learning to be increasingly comfortable with the embarrassing bits of Scripture because they teach me a lesson that I struggle to hear, that of grace.

Did all mankind fall?

Even a superficial reading of the news provides ample evidence that there is something wrong with man. Stories of war, crime, assault, abuse, neglect and selfishness can be found on every page. We see all around us the effects of the fall of man.

Old error in a new setting

These reflections were prompted by a statement that was recently brought to my attention. The speaker used 1 Corinthians 14:1 as a springboard to declare that bringing prophetic words to people is the best gift to have. Prophetic words being in the form of “God told me that . . . ” The “that” is usually something that the listener needs to do in response to what the speaker thinks is beneficial.

Evil and death

I ran across this quotation from Nicholas Wolterstorff while reading Philip Yancey’s book Vanishing Grace: When we have overcome absence with phone calls, winglessness with airplanes, summer heat with air-conditioning – when we have overcome all these and much more besides, then there will abide two things with which we must cope: the evil in […]

Spiritual CPR – No Insurance Required

What is important is that I had it ALL. I had been a practicing Christian since my youth. My faith was growing. My relationship with God was solid. I had a great income. My children, though typical teenagers, were doing well. All the boxes were checked. Life was sweet UNTIL a mistake at work was made on my watch. The bottom fell out of my life. My heart figuratively stopped beating and God began to perform Spiritual CPR in order to save my life.

On holy heartburn

We should be reading with expectation of learning how our involvement in the story will change us. We should be reading with expectation of learning the extent of God’s love for us. We should be reading with the expectation of getting a glimpse of what we will become when God finishes his work in us.

We should be reading with expectation of holy heartburn.

Skipping the embarrassing parts . . .

Categories

Archives