NT Wright – Apprentice 2 Jesus

This is the day I look for

I am always glad the daily office readings end in Revelation as the New Testament reading. It makes me homesick every time. There will be a time when war will be no more. A time when heaven and earth are truly joined together. A time when our King will finally be known in fullness toContinue reading “This is the day I look for”

The healing we refuse

My daily office reading has my New Testament reading in Revelation to finish out the year. I needed to land this NT Wright quote on Revelation 6 somewhere, so I place it here. It is a stark reminder to how we, as American Christians, have been asleep at the wheel for so long.

Do I TRULY believe the Gospel?

2 Corinthians 5:16–17 (NIV)16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! This is Paul’s appeal:

Citizenship

20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20, NRSV) A beautiful note from NT Wright on this verse. We have so much to learn! ‘We are citizens of heaven,’ Paul declares in verse 20. At once many modern Christians misunderstand whatContinue reading “Citizenship”

The longing to see him

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will beContinue reading “The longing to see him”

Holy Scripture — a beautiful description by NT Wright

“Perhaps, indeed, that is what “holy scripture” really is — not a calm, serene list of truths to be learned or commands to be obeyed, but a jagged book that forces you to grow up in your thinking as you grapple with it.” — NT Wright, Paul: A Biography My life has been one ofContinue reading “Holy Scripture — a beautiful description by NT Wright”

Our misunderstanding of salvation

I have been rekindled in my thoughts concerning “salvation” the past few years. We have such a truncated version of “gospel” that we try to keep it reduced to something like, “Jesus came to save you so when you repent you can know you go to heaven when you die.”

The “Second Coming” and what we may not want

I am reading NT Wright’s biography on the Apostle Paul currently and once again in awe of Wright’s grasp of 1st Century Judaism. He talks about the conversion of Saul and walks the reader through what “preaching” really was in that day (which is far different from what we have in our minds today), alongContinue reading “The “Second Coming” and what we may not want”

From fishermen to shepherds

When I first came into ministry it was the days of leadership development under guys like John Maxwell. There was the mantra: “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Setting the world right

“… evangelism, which will flourish best if the church is giving itself to works of justice (putting things to rights in the community) and works of beauty (highlighting the glory of creation and the glory yet to be revealed): evangelism will always come as a surprise. You mean there is more? There is a newContinue reading “Setting the world right”