Tuesday, November 11, 2014

What Christians Can Learn from Veterans

Military people understand the intersection of Faith and Authority. The centurion understood Christ's sovereignty over nature, space, and time -- that all of nature was under the authority of it's Creator and would obey. He didn't need to see Jesus touch his servant to acknowledge Christ's Lordship over this illness. "All things were made through him" (John 1). 

Matthew 8: 5-13

When he [Jesus] had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant,[c] ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel[d] have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said,“Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

(Source: cut and pasted from Bible Gateway)

Monday, November 3, 2014

The Meaning of Exile

Some Christians are predicting an imminent exile for the church in modern times. Whatever you believe about our future, what does exile mean about the church historically?

What Exile Means