In short, we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus’ atoning work on the cross. As Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” When Christ said on the cross, “It is finished,” he truly conquered death and overcame sin for all who believe. His resurrection from the grave proves it. Many Christians do not struggle with this concept as a doorway into heaven and the church, but we frequently misunderstand that this is the path to holiness as well as salvation. We believe that Jesus is Lord for the purpose of saving us from damning sin, but not for the purpose of making us righteous today. For righteousness, we believe we must “work out our salvation” on our own (Philippians 2:12). “The spiritual reality is that it is God who is in us doing the work,” Jared explains. “The gospel is not just power for regeneration; it is power for sanctification and for glorification [as if these ideas can be separated-pw]. It is eternal power; it is power enough for life that is eternal.” Continue reading Gospel Wakefulness by Jared Wilson
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Semicolon's List of Lists
Sherry is compiling on long list of 2011 book lists which vary in focus, some being recommendations, some being what someone has read. Here is her second list. Here is her first list. And there’s more to come.
Signs You’re Reading Too Much Young Adult Literature.
Bookriot has a list of five signs you are reading too much of the current swath of YA Lit. For examples: “You keep a spreadsheet to try to determine whether you exist in a utopia or a dystopia. (Corporate ownership of media? Dystopia. New Muppet movie on the horizon? Utopia.) You secretly hope it turns out to be a dystopia so you can demonstrate your awesomeness in some world-liberating way.”
Life as a Walk Through a Dark Wood
Jean Burden writes, “it is a wood to be gone through at night/ with no road to follow, /with no light,” such is life in a way. Patrick Kurp reflects on this, a kind of contrast to the light of Christmas.
A Thousand Christmas Trees
Merry Christmas. Robert Frost’s pleasant holiday poem “Christmas Trees” is a good addition to your reader’s holiday.
The city had withdrawn into itself
And left at last the country to the country;
When between whirls of snow not come to lie
And whirls of foliage not yet laid, there drove
A stranger to our yard, who looked the city,
Yet did in country fashion in that there
He sat and waited till he drew us out
A-buttoning coats to ask him who he was.
He proved to be the city come again
To look for something it had left behind
And could not do without and keep its Christmas.
He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees;
My woods—the young fir balsams like a place
Where houses all are churches and have spires.
Why He Stopped Reading Your Blog
Michael Hyatt explains why he stops reading a blog. He would probably say we’re undisciplined.
Drawing Close to the Others
“Father Damien was a priest who became famous for his willingness to serve lepers.” Trevin Wax quotes a Christmas meditation from the life of a man willing to live close to lepers.
Also via Mr. Wax, Alan Jacobs’ essay, “Christianity and the Future of the Book.” If Christians are people of the book, how would we change if “the book” as we know it disappears? “This interweaving of technology and theology is extremely complex, and the arrows of causation run in both directions.* Christians adopted the codex before other groups — Jewish and pagan alike — for serious theological reasons…”
On the Death of Christopher Hitchens
I always enjoyed what heard from Christopher Hitchens. As difficult to hear as some of his opinions were, he seemed to be an interesting, pleasant man at a distance, very smart and a great stone for sharpening one’s mental sword. Cal Thomas reflects on his death in this column, pointing to the truth that has endured centuries of caustic argument.
Hitchens’ brother, Peter, has written about him too, calling him courageous. “I offer it because the word ‘courage’ is often misused today. People sometimes tell me that I have been ‘courageous’ to say something moderately controversial in a public place. Not a bit of it. This is not courage. Courage is deliberately taking a known risk, sometimes physical, sometimes to your livelihood, because you think it is too important not to.”
More Narnia? Try This Podcast
Ancient Faith Radio and Dr. Chrissi Hart have produced a 101 podcast version of The Chronicles of Narnia. Ancient Faith Radio uses online audio to build the faith of Orthodox Christians.
Ghost Stories
Andrew Klavan’s “Advent Reunion” ghost story is being anthologized by Vintage Originals.
Also, Loren and friends once again are observing an advent ghost story sharealong.