Dad, It's Been a Month Since You've Been Gone

Dad, It's Been a Month Since You've Been Gone: And that puts me on a morning train

Today makes it one month since my dad died. He died. He did not pass on, pass away, or move on to the other side. He died and that is the reality of it all. He did profess faith in Jesus in the weeks leading up to his death, but there is no way around the ugly fact that it was death. Too often we skirt around that language to make things more bearable, but I am afraid that when we do so we are trying to cover up reality. Reality tells us that death is real and it is real because of sin.

My dad would not have denied being a sinner. Matter of fact that was the biggest obstacle for him to profess faith in Christ (from his perspective). He feared that he sinned too much, that his offenses were too great to be forgiven. And that very view point is sin as well. Paul says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Romans 1:18 ESV).”

Trusting in the Sovereignty of God

Dear Readers,

This post is not primarily about me, nor is it primarily about my doubts, fears, frustrations, or complaints. This post is about thankfulness and joy. The thankfulness and joy we have in Christ who has redeemed us. Coming out of Easter Sunday, my awareness has been heightened as it has been with most. My thankfulness and gratitude for my salvation and the multiple blessings God has given me is great. At that same time, I am fighting doubt.

Book Review: Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

BOOK REVIEW

DUG DOWN DEEP
Building Your Life on Truths that Last
By Joshua Harris
Published by Multnomah Books

What do you think you know about God? Is it true? Are you a Christian who doesn't really care about who God is? What about theology? Is it a foreign word that causes you to cringe when you read or hear about it?

Truth is, we are all theologians. We all have some kind of idea of who God is, even if that idea is that "he isn't." You see, what you believe about God, whether he exists or doesn't exist, whether he is good or evil, all powerful or completely weak, it is still theology. You have developed a doctrine about God that you think is right, or at least you may think it is most plausible.

Why Do Protestants and Catholics Have a Different Bible?

Reasons for Rejecting the Apocrypha or Deutero-Canonical Texts

Prior to reading further on in this post it is important that you first read this. Protestants and Catholics disagree on a number of doctrines, most of which are secondary in nature. While these issues are strong enough to cause a number of denominations to develop out of the Reformation, it should only be for the purpose of kindling better relationships with the one true catholic church which is all Christians united under Christ. Doctrines such as the canon of Scripture which I am about to discuss are of major importance, but they should not take priority over our fellowship and unity with brothers and sisters in Christ. “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread,” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, ESV). We are all united under Christ into the body of believers which make up the one true church. 

The True Meaning of Sola Scriptura

I have recently been involved in discussions with Catholics about the Protestant belief in Sola Scriptura. In case you are not familiar with the phrase, it translates from Latin as “scripture alone.” There is a misconception held by Catholics of what this means for Protestants.

First, it does not mean that the only truth is Scripture. What do I mean by this? There are plenty of truths found outside of Scripture. The Bible is concerned about revealing God (Jesus) and who he is. Scripture’s primary concern is not science, math, psychology or any other field though it touches on every subject one could imagine.