The clearest message of Jesus and the deepest message of the Bible is “God’s mercy, not our merit.” When it comes to our salvation we are neither saved by our merits nor justified by works. We are justified—declared righteous before God—solely through faith in Jesus […]
Alienation from God Recently, there has been talk about spirituality and Christianity, which has made me wonder what fellow Christians mean when they use the words “spiritual” and “spirituality.” When discussing these topics, it is important to focus on the very heart of Christianity—that we are […]
In Martin Luther’s essay, “The Freedom of a Christian,” we read the following: “I believe that it has now become clear that it is not enough or in any sense ‘Christian’ to preach the works, life, and words of Christ as historical fact, as if […]
Light into Darkness In John 8, right before Jesus heals a blind man he says: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The miracle of giving sight to the man […]
Love Your Neighbor as Yourself I have been studying these verses recently and thinking about the command to love one another and how that can actually happen. Romans 13:9—The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever […]
A Miracle In John 6, Jesus performs a miracle of multiplying loaves of bread and fish to feed over 5,000 people. This passage has been used to make the point that Jesus had to wait for the boy to offer his food before Jesus would […]