Tag: Grace
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Christ Within
Somewhere inside of me. Something within you. The image of the invisible God, who is Christ, shapes something of who we really are. I say “something” and “somewhere” because I cannot quite put my finger on it, find adequate words for it, or identify the God-in-us reality of which Paul speaks. Christ in you, the…
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When God Appears
Last week I suggested that God remains out of reach, not revealing himself when we want that revelation to be on our terms. Once we give up and no longer demand God show himself in the way we want, but let God be God, then we may begin to discover God coming to us. But…
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Shared Glory
I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. Isaiah 42:8 The prophet Isaiah denounces Israel’s fascination with idolatry, and asserts the uniqueness of Israel’s God, Yahweh. His own significance, the gravity and immensity of his essence, is not something…
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Outer Darkness and Hope
A Roman centurion approaches Jesus and begs for him to heal his servant, and Jesus is amazed at his faith. In fact, Jesus remarks that he had not encountered a faith like this man’s in all of Israel. “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table…
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Original Grace
The initial and profound experience of grace we receive is universal. It is a gift to everyone. This is the grace which initiates, is inherent within, and supports our very human existence. The expression of God’s creative love is the original grace that brings us into being, and not into an arbitrary or meaningless existence,…
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The Grace of Christ
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:16 Before this verse, John the Baptist is recorded as declaring that Jesus is much greater than himself (1:15). Now, John, the gospel writer, expands on the meaning of Jesus’ greatness, stating that we all receive from the fullness of Christ grace…