CTK Blog
The Honorable Life, Part 1
One thing all human beings have in common is sleep, and when we sleep we often dream. In fact, there are some dreams that are universally common. For example, have you ever dreamed of being in public and suddenly realized you forgot to wear pants? Or, have you dreamed of being at work or school and abruptly remembered that there is a big presentation or test you didn’t prepare for? Dreams like this are remarkably common experiences. It is generally thought that this reflects our common fear of shame and humiliation.
The Father’s Love
God is our loving heavenly Father. This is a fundamental truth of our faith. In fact, It is one of the most marvelous truths of our faith. Yet, it is often one of the most difficult to believe. Sure, we say it, but so often there’s a disconnect between what we say and what we believe. We find ourselves wondering: Does God actually care? Does he even notice? Does he even love me?
The Main Things
As Christians debate matters of faith and practice, it becomes easy for any point of controversy to be taken as an essential element of our faith. What must Christians agree on? What matters are non-negotiable of our faith? Our goal in our We Believe series to explore the core beliefs of our faith. We want to look at the essential elements—those foundational truths that are central to the Christian faith. We begin this series and will spend much time looking at who God is. God himself is the center of our faith, and so we what we believe about him forms our core doctrine. All else that we believe flows from who God is.
Shepherd the Flock
Speaking to fellow pastors, Peter encourages them to shepherd the church in gospel awe and wonder. Here, with the authority given to him by Jesus himself as an apostle, Peter exhorts pastors to shepherd with the heart and disposition Jesus intends for them. In my experience, when we shepherd this way, with gospel awe and wonder, pastoral ministry is a tremendous joy.
Enjoying Resurrection Life Today
The resurrection is central to the Christian faith. We confess that Jesus was raised from the dead and we look forward to his coming again and raising us for life in the new creation. And for most of us, this is where it stops. The resurrection is a past reality and a future hope. Yet, the New Testament often speaks of the resurrection as something we can enjoy today. What does it mean to know Jesus and the power of his resurrection in your life today?
Hardship and God’s Kindness
The sin from which all our hardship results was laid on Jesus, and in kindness, he closed his eyes in death only to open them again in resurrection power and glory. Because this is so, we can be sure today through faith in Him that one day our eyes will also open in a world without hardship or end.
Hardship and Spiritual Blindness
For Jesus it seems that how one thinks, feels, and acts toward the hurting is indicative of one’s own spiritual condition. Towards the end of our passage Jesus learns that the Pharisees kicked the blind man out of the synagogue and this is what Jesus has to say about it: “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind” (v. 39). One of the points Jesus is making here is that the Pharisees may be able to physically see but their treatment of the blind man reveals that they are in fact spiritually blind.