daddy4ms

I recently finished Getting Jesus Wrong by Matt Johnson.  I would recommend this book to discover if you have accepted a false view of Jesus.  Johnson has a great understanding of law and gospel and how a focus on Christ not the Christian is most important.  Here are quotes that resonated with me: While we still live in a messed-up world, hope is not something we can activate through spiritual activity or church associations. No, the core of the Christian faith is about objective hope that lives outside of our personal experiences and hearts. Objective hope is found in the miracle of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Here’s the good news: the mountaintop experiences of life aren’t normative. If everything in our lives of faith were a mountaintop, then nothing would be a mountaintop. Jesus does not require that we ascend up to him; he descends to us But on each step of the way faith must be grounded in who Jesus is and what he’s done...Not hope in what is i...

Getting Jesus Wrong by Matt Johnson is a great book about how the author's understanding of Jesus changed over the years.  What Johnson discovered was that he had created several false messiahs rather than seeing Jesus as He really is. The first part of the book looks at these false messiahs: Life Coach Jesus, Checklist Jesus, Movement Leader Jesus and Visionary Jesus.  Each one ultimately leads to pride (if you are accomplishing what Jesus requires) or despair (if you are failing what is asked of you). Through humor and real life stories, Johnson helps the reader understand how even though you attend church on a regular basis, you can still have an inaccurate understanding of Jesus.  The book does not come across as judgmental or pointing fingers because the author's honesty and vulnerability shows how he personally experienced each of these false messiahs in his own life.  The second part of the book looks to the antidote of pride and despair and these fa...

I have enjoyed reading a small book published by Mockingbird Publications called Law and Gospel. It is helpful in understanding how both words shape and influence the Christian life.  I finished the book last week so here are some quotes to think about: the Law must continue to convict us of our utter unrighteousness, and the Gospel must continue to save us...So where the Law is a closed fist, the Gospel is an open hand. Gratitude is a natural response to salvation. It does not require coercion or encouragement; to the extent that individual understands what has happened, gratitude will flow organically and abundantly from their heart. The precise form it takes will be different every time, but such is the nature of fruit. Belovedness can actually beget love itself. God's presence and promise are objective comfort, not to be conjured or obtained but only recognized. Thus the wild, absurd, unconditional truth of God's love in Emmanuel--"God with us," just a...

I am currently reading Law and Gospel published by Mockingbird.  Here are a few quotes that I liked from my reading last week: Jesus does not relate to lepers, tax collectors, prostitutes, and reprobates on the basis of what they bring to the table but on the basis of who he is. Though the law is conditional--a two-way street--the gift of Christ is unconditional.   The injunction to forgive may be a good and noble command, but it cannot inspire us to do so. Again, the Law commands that we love perfectly. The Gospel announces that we are perfectly loved. The Gospel announces that we are justified by grace through faith: not by what we do, or even who we are, but by what Christ has done and who he is.