Wheat field Banner

Gleanings From The Word

Tag: salvation

  • The Countercultural Jesus

    The Countercultural Jesus

    reflected in a puddle made me think of the countercultural Jesus

    Looking at this picture of trees reflected, it’s hard to tell which way is up. That’s the way things are sometimes. The bible upends everything, and we worship the countercultural Jesus.

    The world tells us either that there is no truth or that you make your own truth. The world tells us that there are many paths to heaven. Jesus says, “No.”

    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6

    The world tells us that we are all good people. Jesus says that isn’t true.

    And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.Mark 10:18

    The world tells us we can earn our way to heaven. The Bible says differently,

     For by grace you have been saved through faith, and [a]this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

    The world teaches us to hate those who are different from us and to hate our enemies.  The countercultural Jesus differs.

    “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you …” Matthew 5:44-44

    The way of the Christ follower will always be a path that conflicts with those who are not. The world hates Him and His message. They may well hate and reject us as well.

    The path of the Christian leads to eternal shalom (peace with God and blessing). The path of the unbeliever leads to torment and turmoil forever.

    There truly are, as the countercultural Jesus said, a wide path and a narrow one. I urge you to stick to the narrow trail.

    Trust Him by faith and follow even when the path diverges from the ways of the world.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Visit our home page

    Kingdom Diversity

    SUMMARY

    Following Jesus means embracing a truth that often runs against the values of the world, trusting that the narrow path of faith leads to eternal peace with God.

    Three takeaways:

    Jesus teaches absolute truth and declares Himself the only way to the Father.

    Salvation is a gift of grace through faith, not something earned by human effort.

    Christ followers are called to live differently from the world, even loving enemies and enduring rejection for His sake.

    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

  • Faith Matters

    Faith Matters

    Let’s talk about faith. I recently overheard a conversation in a coffee shop.

    A couple of fellows I didn’t know were having an animated discussion. One of the men said, “Who needs faith? I’ve lived my whole life without it.” 

    His friend replied with a sarcastic “Amen!” From the little I heard, it was clear that they were making fun of a mutual friend or acquaintance.

    They continued for quite a while, mocking anything to do with faith or religion, before moving on to some other topic.

    I wanted to (but didn’t) ask how they were managing to sit or drink their coffee. The chairs hold them up, but only their faith in that fact allowed them to sit. 

    If they didn’t have faith in the chair’s safety, they never would have sat down. They had faith that the coffee cup wouldn’t suddenly break and pour scalding liquid on them; otherwise, they never would have picked those cups up.

    We have faith that we’re going to be alive in the morning or we would never set our alarms. We have faith that we’re going to be alive for the evening meal or we wouldn’t plan the menu.

    Whether we recognize it or not, we all have faith in something. We simply couldn’t function without it. Even the most ardent atheist has faith, not faith in God but faith in many things.

    Faith Matters

    Faith is critical; without it, our lives would fall apart. 

    Even more critical, though, is where you place your faith. If all your faith is in personal relationships, you are going to get burned at times because people and circumstances change, and you will eventually get hurt.

    If all your faith is in your wealth, you’ll worry about the value of your investments and while you can be wise and diligent about your investment choices, you could lose it all.

    If your faith is in science, you’ll be shaken as new discoveries throw out old “facts”. 

    If your faith is in your own wisdom and abilities, you’ll be destroyed if those things are taken away. When all my faith was in my abilities and I suffered my brain injury, my whole world collapsed. Only coming to faith in Christ sustained me.

    You can’t live life without faith. More importantly, your eternal destiny depends not only in faith but in faith in the right person.

    There is only one unchanging place to put our faith, one true eternal hope. That place is Christ. 

    Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

    You may not understand all you are going through in life, but if your faith is truly in Christ, a you know that He will bring you through it. 

    Faith matters. 

    Faith in God matters more. 

    Faith in Christ matters for all of eternity.

    Until next time, may your faith be grounded in the Living God, through Christ by faith. Everything else is vain hope.

    Be blessed
    Kevin

    You might also enjoy

    A Leap of Faith
    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living
    God’s Story