While recently walking the crowded and busy streets of London, I became acutely aware of the masses, the ocean of humanity, who I was passing by and would never see again. Literally thousands upon thousands of faces, who each represent lives, families, generations with entire existences that I will never know anything about.
In Colossians 2:2-3 Paul makes a clear connection between gaining all the wisdom and knowledge that is found in Christ alone, and being firmly anchored in loving Christian community.
On the day of Pentecost a new community of Spirit-born people came into being. What started as a miraculous unity and love still need wisdom and maturity to grow.
Matthew's use of the phrase "kingdom of heaven" reminds us that Jesus ministered under the authority of the Father's eternal throne in heaven, that Jesus showed us that heaven has come near.
The New Testament talks a lot about the Kingdom of God. It is a key theme in the gospels (especially Matthew and Luke) and numerous times in other NT letters. In many occurrences in the New Testament, the Kingdom of God is referred to as a present reality under the reign of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, who has now ascended to the right hand of the Father. Scripture declares that Christ has conquered sin and death and that his Kingdom has been inaugurated, but there is no denying that the Kingdom of God is not yet seen or expressed in its fullness and completeness. We still experience suffering, sickness and death in our bodies. This is a part of our still being physically located in the 'present age'. Many of us might have a hard time digesting all that the bible says about the Kingdom of God and then being able to articulate just how His kingdom outworks in…
What IS the meaning of Christ's resurrection? More specifically, what does it mean for US and what are the implications for our lives?
What can we learn from Jesus' time in of prayer and fasting in the wilderness after his baptism? Careful observation can help shape our expectations of what times of focussed fasting and prayer may hold for us.
Life is a marathon race, and Paul urges believers to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received", that is, to run their race well with perseverance and focus, keeping both eyes on Jesus and the eternal prize that awaits us.
David shares how the Lord gave him a conviction to learn Paul's Letter to the Ephesians - to commit it to memory and deliver it as a word spoken from the heart.
Paul declares that, "what counts is the new creation." This is a key to understanding what happens when someone puts their hope and trust in Jesus Christ, in the power of his death and resurrection in which we are included by faith.