God has a plan – that much is certain. He has a very specific picture of what the world will look like once his plan is complete. “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And…
A Jesus Centered Community of Scripture, Faith, and Grace
Posts by University Lutheran (Page 62)
Recently I have been a part of a series of opportunities to talk about different beliefs as they apply to different religions and different denominations within Christianity. This seems to always be a topic that interests people. We like to know what our Roman Catholic or Baptist brothers and sisters think when it comes to…
The definition of “framework” is this: a basic structure underlying a system or concept. After much time spent in Jesus’s company, James and John thought they had that down pat. They understood what Jesus was up to – he was going to take over! He was going to overthrow the Romans and establish the nation…
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel had a high priest who would make sacrifices on their behalf. This was necessary in order for their sins to be forgiven, but there was a problem. The high priest was also sinful. “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf…
What is needed to sustain life? That’s an easy question. The basics include food, water, and shelter. But beyond physical life, the question isn’t so easy. Our human condition is one of brokenness. We are helpless in so many ways. We are aimless, wavering in the wind. We are ignorant, not sure of what is…
Have you ever had a teacher who was convinced he or she knew everything? I know I have. I recall a professor who taught us out of a book and then proceeded to tell us that most of the book was wrong. She based this only on her own experience, not on research she had…
This is an important question that all too often we neglect to answer for our neighbors around us. How is your experience of Jesus and His Church somehow valuable to you? Our culture (both in its secular and parochial manifestations) has done a phenomenal job of denigrating the word “religion” to mean something that has…
Because of Christ, you are alive. If you were left to your own devices, you would be dead in your trespasses; but because of Christ, you are alive. End of story, some might say. But is it really? Not in the slightest. Yes, as Paul says to the Ephesians, “by grace you have been saved…
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt. He provided them with food and water in the desert. They owed their very lives to him, and yet “the people spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no…
We have been made holy. This has occurred because God chose us and because he demonstrated it for us through the holiness of others. Jesus, holy above all others, was our ultimate example. He had great zeal for the house of the Lord (John 2:17), but much greater zeal did he have for us. Although…