655 results for author: Brad

Awaiting the Arrival: Love, Power or Nothing – Kenneth Tanner

You either believe that the end is the arrival of power, or you believe that the end is the arrival of nothing, or you believe that the end is the arrival of love. A lot of people believe we are waiting for the arrival of nothing. At the end of their physical life, the person they were is gone forever, disappearing as quickly as the brain cells die, never to return. This is also how they see the end of everything and everyone else. Sooner or later it's all going dark. No ultimate justice. No ultimate mercy. No ultimate meaning. Nothing. Many more people believe we are waiting for the arrival of power, a power that imposes its will on everything and ...

We’re in ‘the Last Days’ (As Usual) – Brad Jersak

"Last Days" Lunacy In 1973, I was an all-in "Last Days" aficionado. The "Yom Kippur War" or "Ramadan War" marked the fourth Arab-Israeli war (between Israel, Egypt and Syria) and threatened to turn the Cold War into a global nuclear conflict. Popular "theology" (hint: it wasn't theology) was ablaze with talk of World War 3, Armageddon, Gog and Magog (code for "the Commies"), the Great Tribulation and the identity of the Antichrist. I was well-read on the topic (for a nine-year-old) and knew my "Last Days" biblical-geopolitical timelines and symbols all too well. What can I say... I was a sucker for calculations and charts that made us feel ...

Are You “Christian”? Brad Jersak

Are You “Christian”? Having firmly identified as an “Ex-vangelical,” a friend of mine was asked whether she would still call herself a Christian. Her answer was necessarily complex since the question involves defining “Christian,” who gets to define it and whether we should preserve the word or put it to rest. Frankly, identifying as “Christian” has always been a bit risky, whether because it incited persecution or was co-opted for domination. So, are you a Christian? How do you feel about that word? What if we were to come at the question from a different angle? The following is a thought experiment that may prove productive: What ...

Walking the Jericho Road – by Brad Jersak

  Epistle Reading: Ephesians 4  - Walk as Children of Light:   8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things that are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore, He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from ...

Prophecy Pays (but the Gospel Frees) – Brad Jersak

Prophecy pays but the only gospel frees us from fear.

Worshipping God: from Fear, for Rewards or for Love? – Brad Jersak

Torch and Bucket The legend is told of a sage who was found marching through the streets of her ancient city, bearing a torch in one hand and a pail full of water in the other. It was plain to everyone that she was focused on a mission, with a stern expression and long, determined strides. Just where she was headed was not as clear. Up and down the streets she went, muttering prayers as she went as the flames danced and the water sloshed. At last someone asked, where are you going? What are you doing? What is the torch and bucket you're carrying? She replied, "With this bucket of water, I will douse the flames of hell and with this ...

“Sin”? Missing What Mark? Brad Jersak

Periodically, I hear sin defined as “missing the mark,” as if this grand discovery will repair our misunderstandings about sin, the gospel or God himself. The imagery of a bulls-eye is recycled with each telling. And fair enough. But truly, nearly everyone accepts this definition, from Southern Baptists to Christian Orthodox, or divergent theologies ranging from the “hyper-grace” camp to hellfire fundamentalists. Some crucial clarifications are in order if “missing the mark” is to serve a Christ-centered perspective on sin. The first question can’t be, “What is sin?” but rather, “What is the mark?” Christians generally ...

Q&R: If God is non-violent, why is nature violent?

QUESTION:   "If God is non-violent ... then why is there evidence of violence in nature, i.e. between animals and also in weather, such as hurricanes/typhoons, volcanic eruptions, etc.?"   RESPONSE:   At the most basic level, I often boil things down to these ideas, which most folks can understand if we provide examples:   1. God created the conditions for life and love, which are the laws of nature and human freedom. This is very good. 2. But nature and humans also cause a lot of suffering. Nature and people can become violent of their own accord. 3. But in his great love for us, God became human to ...

Q & R: “Narrow Way, Narrow Gate” Brad Jersak

Q: If Christ has made possible the salvation of all, why does he say "the gate is narrow and few will find it?" R: Context is so important! Take a moment to ask yourself in which context you first heard this message. Whenever I have heard these words, composed by Jesus Christ himself, almost without exception, they were embedded in the context of an evangelistic sermon describing the way of salvation that leads to eternal life. In contrast, the way of destruction was identified as the road to hell.  In that context, Jesus' warning sounds unequivocal: 1. Only Christians go to heaven; 2. very few will become Christians; 3. therefore, only a ...

Q&R: Does God literally send blessings & curses? – Brad Jersak

QUESTION: I am currently on my fourth read of A More Christlike God and each time I read it, I am getting to know God more and more. Regarding your notion that wrath is a metaphor for God's consent, I wonder how to interpret God's blessings and curses, which God seemed to bring about directly. Can this be reconciled? RESPONSE:  Re: God's blessings and curses, I think a good way to approach that question would be to take a walk through the Bible as follows: 1. OLD COVENANT PROMISES: First, notice how the old covenant (Deut. 28 for example) seems to say that IF you are good, God will directly bless your crops with sun and rain, but if you disobey ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak “Is faith a requirement?”

Question: I’ve been on a journey today trying to process. Faith in Christ still requires me. There is something wrong with this wording or something wrong with my understanding. It can’t be dependent on me. How can it be that God has covered our side of the covenant, yet it is our faith that somehow magically leverages God into some action? “Your faith has healed you.” Then I have to ask, “Who is God, us or him if our faith is the working component? I get the need for participation. But what is the secret sauce to the inherent conflict of surrender and participation? How does one reconcile the two? Response: B...

Calvary: Crucifixion as Torture, Cross as Hope – Brad Jersak

Trite or true, we're each and all on a journey, not quite sure whether any given year, week or moment is really ascent or descent -- the calm before a storm or the dark before dawn. I see this tension in the biblical story of Calvary, at once a crucifixion and a Cross, the intersection of goodness and affliction, of torture and hope. At Calvary, we see the violence of religious fanaticism married to national security ... and we see the humility, forgiveness and self-giving love of God. I hear this tension in Augustine, who is quoted in the movie, Calvary, as saying, "Do not despair; one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume; one of the thieves ...

Free Will, the Nous and Divine Judgment: A Critical Analysis of Three Visions of Universalism — by Brad Jersak

  I’ll say it again at the outset. I’m not a universalist.But some of my friends are … some of my evangelical friends, some of my Orthodox friends. So I ask them questions about that. This is not flirting (as Lewis and Barth were accused of), but simply being fair. In the name of ‘discernment,’ I’ve encountered a LOT of name-calling, dismissiveness, intentional misrepresentation and caricaturing. “Earth to Matilda!” – that’s not discernment. We can and must do better than that. Surely we could at least build bridges (from both ends of the chasm!) long enough so that listening could displace lobbing.  &n...

I’ve Not Been Forgotten – Brad Jersak

THE EXPERIENCE OF ALONENESS: It is inevitable. At some point, grief or loss knocks on our door. Life happens, tragedies strike, death overtakes us or sometimes worse, those we love most. When the ache of emptiness does invade our lives, even the most faithful Jesus-followers may experience the "felt absence" of God. Even if by faith we can cling to the promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5), the feeling of suffocating aloneness can leave us crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!?" (Psalm 22:1). This can be truly troubling. Where is God when it hurts? Has God really left? If not, why can't I feel God's ...

“To the Merciful, You Show Yourself Merciful” – Brad Jersak

Jeff Turner is a blogger who leads 'Sound of Awakening Ministries' and the author of Saints in the Arms of a Happy God. His provocative zingers are also really quotable. When I saw the above summary online, it triggered further thoughts for meditation. My first reaction to the above quote was, I suppose to the red faced, angry preacher, God shows himself (or more technically, allows himself to be seen) as a red face, angry preacher. I was reminded of these lines from Psalm 18. Psalm 18 (AKJV) 25 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with an upright man you will show yourself upright; 26 With the pure you will show yourself pure; ...