Prayer Is a Big Deal

Jesus prayed constantly. One of his more meaningful and critical times of prayer was at the garden of Gethsemane, shortly before he was arrested, beaten and crucified. The gospel of Luke makes it plain in chapter 22: this was

"Justified by Faith"?

Does your own faith save you?  Maybe we should ask, faith in what? And what kind of faith?

Note how T.F. Torrance explained Jesus’ faithfulness:

Jesus Christ stood in our place, taking our cause upon him, also as Believer, as the Obedient One who was himself justified before God as his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased. He offered to God . . . a perfect faith and response which we are unable to offer, and he appropriated all God’s blessings which we are unable to appropriate. Through union with him we share in his faith, in his obedience, in his trust and appropriation of the Father’s blessing; we share in his justification before God. Therefore when we are justified by faith, this does not mean that it is our faith that justifies us, far from it—It is the faith of Christ alone that justifies us, but we in faith flee from our own acts even of repentance, confession, trust and response, and take refuge in the obedience and faithfulness of Christ—“Lord I believe, help thou mine unbelief.” That is what it means to be justified by faith. (“Justification: Its Radical Nature and Place in Reformed Doctrine and Life,” Scottish Journal of Theology, vol 13, no 3. pp. 225-246.)

As Joseph Tkach explains in this article, our faith is both active and passive. We trust in Christ, and we trust in Jesus' perfect faith on our behalf, not on our own imperfect (and sometimes missing!) faith.

A Few Nothings about God

The Triune God -- Father, Son and Spirit -- are not limited in any way. God's attributes include being all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful.  So, here's a list of a few "Nothings" that apply to God:

Nothing that, from our perspective stands in our way, imposes an obstacle

"God Is" Equals "God Does"

Why did God send his Son into the world? John 3:17 answers that "God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him."  But why did God become

Mary's Vision, Joseph's Dream

I've been wondering again -- in the wonder of the whole Incarnation story that keeps leaving me with my mouth open in amazement -- about the stories of Mary, in Luke's gospel, and Joseph in Matthew's account.  The idea that God would become one of us is just beyond me. It was beyond Joseph and Mary too. That's why the angel appeared to them. But my question is,

Impossible?

Mary woke up early, reflecting on her memory of the angel coming to her the day before to announce she would bear the child named Jesus. So what was she to do now? Her family, unbelieving, would reject her, and so would Joseph. But she had heard the angel say "nothing is impossible for God" and she had responded with "Here

And He's Coming Back, Too: Advent #2

Advent isn't just about Jesus' first coming. He said over and over in different ways that he is returning. What will that mean for humanity? For each one of us? For the "dead in Christ" and all our relatives who have died in the past? Here's a half-a-thumbnail sketch: