Faithful Writers

And if we stopped yanking this verse out of the middle of a very intimate, emotional conversation — if we actually slowed down and listened to what was really happening — we might hear something much more human. Much more hopeful. And far more powerful than a doctrinal threat.

We’ve built entire sermons around words Jesus never spoke. It’s time we stop preaching a misquote and start living the truth.

It is very important that the believer fix their eyes on the living Lord and not get stuck behind the cross. Our joy and hopes are complete only living with the risen Lord. Behind the cross is guilt, misery, pain, and hopelessness. A hopelessness we cannot endure.

However, before I turn to the deep teachings of Paul, I must address another growing tension in Christendom that seeks to isolate the teachings of Jesus from those of His holy apostles.

Some allude that God could have used many ways to save humankind that were less barbaric; that He just preferred blood! He did it for His own pleasure and entertainment — much like the gods of Olympus, He used humans for entertainment to amuse His boredom of eternity.

Jesus loves the assembly line workers and the remote salespeople who only check in occasionally via Zoom. But he delights in the worker who knocks in person. Imagine his smile when you put a couple of donuts on his desk.

Yes, there’s judgment. God deals seriously with sin. But I also saw a God who is incredibly patient. Who keeps giving second chances, and third, and fourth. Who rescues people over and over again, even when they keep running away.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: a lot of what we were told about Jesus isn’t from Jesus. It’s our denominational image.

The middle of the week of 30 A.D. was a Wednesday Passover. Jesus was to be “cut off” in the middle of the week! He was to be cut off in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week, in the middle of God’s 7000 year week and in the middle of the simple seven day week.

If you choose to believe in Science, you indeed will be limited by the same. However, if you choose rather to put your solace in someone who is greater than science, your life will definitely produce results that rationality and science can’t explain!

Sin can not and should not be tolerated; if God tolerated sin of any kind, He would have to tolerate all sin. If He did that, then good would no longer exist, sin would take over, and our understanding of good and bad would cease to exist completely and become a constant state of grey. 

"JESUS died for you"...this isn't a cliché, JESUS was actually killed, JESUS was slapped, He was exchanged for a robber who was rightfully guilty of a felony,

Imagine taking the weight of all your sins and multiplying that by billions. Then willingly taking those upon yourself while being crucified?

It wasn’t just His body that was crucified that day; it was also His heart, mind, and soul that were beaten, bloodied, and shredded.