the Way, the Truth, and the Life

In "Vintage Jesus" Mark Driscoll titles a chapter "Where is Jesus Today?" I almost skipped over it at the time, because I did not care to strap a GPS on Jesus. He's in heaven, right, end of story? Dr iscoll makes a statement in the chapter that pops up a couple times. He says: Sadly, when many people think of Jesus they only understand his past humble incarnation and neglect his current glorious exaltation. (pg. 149) I found this to be very refreshing and helpful. To walk away understanding the full portrait the Word speaks of itself is to find the classic story of the King amongst His peasants . This romanticized tale that is common helps me now to appreciate the power of Christ in the present. It has been said thousands of times in thousands of ways, but the fact that God humbled Himself and took on flesh is a wonderful expression of True Love. But where I find the story missing its fullness, and where it rightly comes up short, is when we leave out that t...

I just finished "Vintage Jesus" by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears today. I have to say that I was surprised by the content and the frankness of the book in general. For as little as I had known about Mark before the book, which was what I'm sure the average person knows (a hothead preacher who spits venom and is only awake at night in order to stay away from the sun), the book was solid. Questions were the titles of all chapters, and thus he set out to answer those questions. Very straight forward. As a great apologetic tool as well as Christology , Vintage surprised me with the explanations to almost all questions. The most important message to take home from the book is biblical supremacy. Mark and Gerry do not shy away from first saying what God tells us, and then from there drawing either contemporary or ancient ideas to compare with the Word of God. Mark uses examples from all around our culture without covering up who our culture thinks Jesus is. I enjoyed this...

I write about sin because I'm told I am sinful (Romans 3:23). Then, I come to realize that I'm not just being told this, but I find myself to be sinful (Romans 7:14). Then, I am reassured by the Lord, the comforter , the actual Saviour that it is He who grants the power and ability to break free from this sin I now realize that I struggle with (Romans 7:24-25; 1 John 2:1-2). Where I am often scared and rightfully fearful is afterward; when will this happen again? I should claim victory and rest in the sacrificial blood spilled by Christ. It is over, it is finished, the matter is so done with that when Christ speaks on my behalf to God, God ends up freeing me from any accusation ( Colossians 1:22). That is worth thanking enough. It is worth becoming my motivation, that He has completely forgiven me so that I can be at peace afterwards and continue living for Him. But my fear of repetition aches me. I understand grace, so if I have been given what I do not deserve, why...