“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Thomas Oden: The treasure of Trinitarian fellowship outweighs all earthly trials.
From: “Of Communion with God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost”, By John Owen (1616-1683)
“In the First epistle of John, Chapter i, verse 3, the apostle assures them to whom he wrote that the fellowship of believers “is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ:”and this he doth with such an unusual kind of expression as bears the force of an asseveration; whence we have rendered it, “Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (more…)
Knowledge and Point of View
I have two eyes. And one nose. My last name is Gillgrist. I do not use a hairdryer. My wife does.
Nature, Revelation and un-Revelation
In any pursuit of knowledge of God people will begin by looking at what they can see. For most of us this begins in Eden–specifically the parts of creation that still hold its echoes. The bullfrogs and mountains alike bear His glory and are “the voice that goes out through all the earth” (Psalms 19:4). We are grateful for the clear understanding of “his divine nature and eternal power” (Romans 1:20) that is possible to derive from all that. As must be said again and again, not knowing God is a choice, because we were made to be able to see the invisible (i.e., what is revealed) through what is visible. (more…)
Stealing the Will
I have been reminded recently how little people really have say over their own hearts. God commands His people to not only regard His freedom, but to also have regard for each other’s freedom. Jesus explicated this idea in Matthew 7. He exhorts us to break our habits of condemning others and of trying to get others to buy into our precious ideas (pearls). In part because we have not understood his teaching in this matter, and in part because of our flesh, we come today to a world full of folks who are ‘expert’ in stealing each other’s wills.
Getting to the heart of things
Recently I have wondered if some of what largely goes by the title of ‘activism’ in our day really gets to the ‘heart’ of what is being addressed. I currently have never known more folks who are more willing to be a part of addressing global social and economic concerns than I do now. I’m grateful for how my awareness is being expanded in so many directions by what they’re teaching me.
treasure and vessel
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
