A brief thought on the Christian debate between 'Eternal Security' (which may have other names, but very basically asserts that a person cannot lose their salvation), and other viewpoints which argue that you can lose your salvation (by falling into a pattern of sin, and generally not practicing your faith): Maybe one problem with the … Continue reading Bare Minimum
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Seeking God’s Will
Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” John Piper brought this up in a recent podcast episode concerning seeking God’s will, and I really appreciated the way he applied … Continue reading Seeking God’s Will
Why Do People Walk Away?
Why do people walk away from church, or the Christian faith, or from belief in God more generally? I believe the answers to that question are as varied as the people who could give them. Sometimes there is abuse perpetrated by someone who is supposed to represent the church. Sometimes a person goes through painful … Continue reading Why Do People Walk Away?
Prototyping Eternity
Every generation seems to think the prominent events of their particular historical context signals the end of the world. There are matrices of being which are beyond known human experience, and maybe beyond human capacity, but the hope I have in the face of the demands placed on the human psyche by the exponential onslaught … Continue reading Prototyping Eternity
Lenses and Images
It is not clear to me that I am in a place right now where I can say something other than what I need to hear myself. I am preaching things I need to get myself. I was once having a conversation with with someone about the need for truths known in the head to … Continue reading Lenses and Images
Father
"No one who denies the Son can have the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well." -1 John 2:23 The latter half of this verse is somewhat of an affirmation for me, because until very recently my prayers were adressed "Christ Jesus". I actually felt a bit self-conscious about that because … Continue reading Father
As Defined by You
"Counsel in a man's heart is deep water; but a man of understanding draws it up." -Proverbs 20:5 I believe that "deep water" has to do with drawing water up from a deep well, because that's what they would have done in those days. What I had on my mind when this verse grabbed my … Continue reading As Defined by You
Rhema
"So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." - Romans 10:17 Another translation renders it, "...what is heard comes through the message about Christ." The Greek for "word" is not "logos" here, but "rhema". Personally, what this verse means to me is that I am made able to hear by God … Continue reading Rhema
Humble Vessels
"This is what the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel says: take these scrolls, this purchase agreement with the sealed copy and this open copy - and put them in an earthen storage jar so they will last a long time." - Jeremiah 32:14 I can't help but think of us humans, creatures of … Continue reading Humble Vessels
Things are not as They Appear
"For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgement to himself if he does not judge the body rightly" - 1 Corinthians 11:29 1 Corinthians 11:17-33 is not a passage to be used by your church as an incantation for their particular theological bent on communion. Instead, it is a call for the church … Continue reading Things are not as They Appear
Andrew K. Banks 