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The need for greed
We wrestle with consumerism and materialism. I take that back. Some have long surrendered, actually. We may even fake wrestling because, quite frankly, we like our stuff. But when I read these challenging verses out of Luke’s Gospel, I am left with an aching heart, quite honestly. I realized today the compelling force of what Jesus says so plainly in…
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God isn’t fretting small beginnings
Mustard seeds. Five loaves and two fish. Twelve followers. 120 in the upper room. God isn’t intimidated or discouraged by what WE think is small. He asks for: 1. Surrender — Give what you have to him. All of it. 2. Trust — When he says YOU are part of the miracle, understand he just may know what he is…
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Imagine: A New Day
In his book, Simply Good News, NT Wright defines Christian spirituality: Christian spirituality — an awareness of the loving and guiding presence of God, sorrow for sin and gratitude for forgiveness, the possibility and challenge of prayer, a love for God and for our neighbors, the desire for holiness and the hard moral work it requires, the gradual or sudden emergence of…
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Why is it simply good news?
The good news of the Kingdom is quite simple. We’ve complicated it, or we’ve tried to reduce it to the wrong simple phrase. John’s gospel brings the simplicity of the proclamation of good news: Now is the time for judgment of this world. Now this world’s ruler will be thrown out. (John 12:31) The King has come. He wins. This…
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It is simply good news
I am starting into NT Wright’s book, Simply Good News: Why the Gospel is News and What Makes It Good. As usual with Wright at this point in my life, it is refreshing reading. Wright has done such a marvelous job of paring down issues over time. He can be as complicated as the next scholar. Here, he keeps it basic.…
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Simple. Gospel.
Today, live in the power of the simple proclamation of the good news. Let your life be saturated with the prayer, “Lord, is my life speaking out to others the good news of the reign of King Jesus?” It’s not about how our “eloquence” is taken… it’s about the cross. Live the simple gospel. For Christ did not send me to baptize,…
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Remember the poor
Paul writing in Galatians brings verification of his preaching by retelling the story of his visit to the apostles. The big issue, of course, was the gospel coming to the Gentiles, but the one piece of common theological ground they had to have from Paul was this: They asked only that we would remember the poor, which was certainly something…
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What is “Good News?”
Reading in an Acts commentary by N.T. Wright, I am summarizing some of his thoughts on what it means to have “good news” come to us. Good news isn’t about getting in touch with your inner spiritual self. It’s not about committing yourself to a life of prayer, worship, and good works. It’s not even about believing some particular theory…
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The Journey to Obedience
I commented the other day about the move from success to significance to obedience and how there aren’t many leadership books on “obedience.” While that is true, and it’s probably true because generally we only want to read about “successful” people, I think there are some great examples. The problem is obedience has such a high cost, we have examples…
Tag: Gospel
