13 results for tag: mercy
Mercy Drops – by Ruth A.Tucker
I was a senior in high school, focused and driven. A Mozart French horn solo was all that seemed to matter. I will never forget the phone call with the news that I had won first prize in the northern Wisconsin regional brass competition. It was a feeling of sheer ecstasy—a landmark in my life.
We all have experiences like that. Maybe it’s that long-awaited phone call that the adoption has finally come through. There are no words to describe our joy. Or maybe we’re biting out nails in the third row back of the darkened auditorium when daughter Katie spells “masseuse” and wins the spelling bee. Or, perhaps ...
The Wideness of Mercy – Brad Jersak
"Mercy is every manifestation of God's goodness."
Mercy Mistaken:
A friend of mine was asking whether "mercy" is a worthwhile word (1) if it presupposes divine punishment and (2) if we've left behind our image of God as a punisher. My friend's question is legitimate if we define mercy narrowly as "withholding punishment"... as if "Lord, have mercy" means nothing beyond, "Lord, please don't punish me." If that were the case, I'd probably ditch the word in a heartbeat.
BUT... "mercy" reduced to evading retribution misdefines mercy... a classic error I made when I used to say, "Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Grace is getting what ...
July 2023
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Articles:
Mental Health Care: A Christian Response – pg. 1
Show Your Cards, Not Your Trophies – pg. 2
Two Ships that Pass in the Night – pg. 5
Elevator Dogmatics – pg. 7
Quotes & Connections – pg. 8
April 2023
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Brad Jersak: Logos, Light & Lamb – pg. 2
Greg Albrecht: Everything Happens for a Reason? – pg. 4
Greg Albrecht: Nailmarks, Scars & Doubts – pg. 7
Q&R with Brad Jersak – “What are the limits to God’s mercy?”
Question:
A friend of mine insisted, "God is merciful, but even his mercy has limits."
And I remembered a talk that you gave.
You: and his Mercy lasts how long?
Crowd: forever
You: how long?
Crowd: FOREVER
You: How long?
YOU AND CROWD: FOREVER!!
No response necessary, but I wanted you to know that many of us have that voice of mercy in the back of our heads when we hear some "wonk." Thank you.
Response:
Thank you! And while you didn't require a response, I'll just add a few beautiful texts to that antiphonal chorus. Of course, I was leading the crowd to join me in proclaiming the refrain of Psalm 136 in the NKJV, which proclaims "His mercy ...
Q&R – Does Christ ‘deny us’? with Brad Jersak
Question:
I have a question about Matthew 10:33 and 2 Timothy 2:11-12. Both passages describe Jesus denying us. This seems to be contrary to his nature and contrary to most of the theologians I find myself reading. Yet, I see these statements (among others) that seem to paint Jesus has relatively severe.
My task has been to try and see the self-giving God revealed in Jesus and yet not neglect the hard sayings of Jesus. I’ve actually found the task of Christology to be more difficult than I had imagined.
Response:
Let's start with our shared assumptions,
(1) that the God revealed in Jesus Christ is radically inclusive, unfailing Love whose mercy ...
Supersized Mercy: All the Goodness of God – Brad Jersak
At some point in my early Christian training, I inherited the memorable maxim on mercy,
Mercy is not getting what you do deserve,Grace is getting what you do not deserve.
It seemed clever, so I adopted and often repeated those lines when defining those two important words. As a young pastor, I even posted it as a slogan on the signboard outside our church for passersby to digest.
In that model, what we deserved was God’s wrath, so we had effectively reduced the word mercy to withholding punishment. Praying “Lord, have mercy” was akin to pleading, “God, please don’t condemn me!” We could ...
Q&R with Brad – “For God shut up all people”? Romans 11:32
Question
I wonder if I could pick your brain on something! I’m battling a severe form of CFS/ME and have been for almost 20 years. I am also going through deconstruction (an almost lethal combination!) and am questioning the goodness and fairness of God. I’ve got really stuck on Romans 11:32. Here’s my dilemma: I didn’t choose/consent to being created and as I read Gen 1-3 it feels like God set us up for failure (putting us near the tree, allowing the serpent in, etc). But then he sends Jesus as the solution to the problem he created. Allowing free will led to absolutely catastrophic consequences. The devastation this illness has ...
October 2019
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Monte Wolverton: Making Change– pg. 3
Brad Jersak: The Truth About Condemnation– pg. 6
Brian Zahnd: Trying Hard Not to Be Ugly – pg. 8
Laura Urista: What Are We Really Singing? – pg. 10
Blair Baker: Music Ministry: Beyond Manipulation – pg. 12
Richard Rohr: God Is Good – pg. 14
Greg Albrecht: But What About Works -pg. 15
August 2019
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Greg Albrecht: Healthy Faith or Toxic Religion?– pg. 1
Keith Giles: The Gospel: Information or Transformation?– pg. 6
Brad Jersak: Is Christ in All People or Only in Christians? – pg. 10
Peter Enns: The Bible's True Purpose – pg. 12
Brad Jersak: Three Visions of Salvation -pg. 14
Breakfast with Brad – Justice, Mercy & Guinness
In modern thought, justice = punishment and mercy = withholding punishment. That makes them opposites and creates both a sick society and sick theology. But in the biblical prophetic tradition, justice and mercy kiss. Having had a big English breakfast hours earlier (see below video), Brad waits for his flight in an airport pub and nurses a Guinness to work it all out.
Behold, the "full English Breakfast" with gratitude to the Stonehouse Guesthouse in Priorslee, UK.
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