by Dries Cronje on December 2, 2008
As followers of Christ, we want to enter the kingdom of God, right? This is similar to saying, we want to obtain eternal life, or “be saved”…
In his teaching DVD Everything is Spiritual, Rob Bell talks at length about the existence of this further dimension, this invisible spiritual world, which some people admit to experiencing, and others, well, don’t.
When talking to Nicodemus about entering the kingdom of God, Jesus refers to this spiritual side of life. He warns that unless we submit to this, we cannot enter God’s kingdom… [click to continue…]
by Dries Cronje on November 17, 2008
Are you trustworthy or untrustworthy? This can have a big impact on your relationship with Jesus. See, Jesus likes trustworthy people.
In John 2 (near the end) it is written, “During the time he (Jesus) was in Jerusalem, those days of the Passover Feast, many people noticed the signs he was displaying and, seeing they pointed to God, entrusted their lives to him. But Jesus didn’t entrust his life to them. He knew them inside and out, knew how untrustworthy they were. He didn’t need any help in seeing right through them” (The Message).
[click to continue…]
by Dries Cronje on November 13, 2008
The first of many miracles Jesus performed is a surprising one. Even still—I think we sometimes misunderstand it. Read it below, and allow me to explain.
Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held approximately twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, “Fill the pots with water.” And they filled them to the brim.
“Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host,” Jesus said, and they did.
When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings out the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!” – John 2, The Message.
Some of us might have wondered what the point of this miracle is. Drinking too much wine is clearly not a biblical principle.
What if the message underlying this miracle, is that we should sometimes trade in rituals (the pots were used for ritual washings) for some authentic community? Could it be that Jesus wants us to realize that spending time with friends, relatives, and strangers, even partying and having a good time with them, is more important than our rituals, the very rituals that we sometimes use to point an accusing finger to these people?
by Dries Cronje on November 8, 2008
We all have different opinions about why God sent Jesus, or why Jesus came to be human.
I recently found a very good explanation of why this actually happened. It’s in the Bible, but it’s not in the Bible. It is part of Eugene Peterson’s The Message – in his introduction to the gospel of John…
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God is presented as speaking the creation into existence. God speaks the word and it happens: heaven and earth, ocean and stream, trees and grass, birds and fish, animals and humans. Everything, seen and unseen, called into being by God’s spoken word.
In deliberate parallel to the opening words of Genesis, John presents God as speaking salvation into existence. This time God’s word takes on human form and enters history in the person of Jesus. Jesus speaks the word and it happens: forgiveness and judgment, healing and illumination, mercy and grace, joy and love, freedom and resurrection. Everything broken and fallen, sinful and diseased, called into salvation by God’s spoken word.
For, somewhere along the line things went wrong (Genesis tells that story, too) and are in desperate need of fixing. The fixing is all accompanied by speaking—God speaking salvation into being in the person of Jesus. Jesus, in this account, not only speaks the word of God, he is the Word of God.
Keeping company with these words, we begin to realize that our words are more important than we ever supposed. Saying “I believe,” for instance, marks the difference between life and death. Our words accrue dignity and gravity in conversations with Jesus. For Jesus doesn’t impose salvation as a solution; he narrates salvation into being through leisurely conversation, intimate personal relationships, compassionate responses, passionate prayer, and—putting it all together—a sacrificial death. We don’t casually walk away from words like that.
Isn’t that beautiful? And well-written, well-explained? Can you understand why this man’s Bible translation is my favorite?
by Dries Cronje on November 7, 2008
Jesus said: “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me.” Do we really know what Jesus’ commandments are? If so, do we keep them? Or do we fall hopelessly short?
By daily looking at the words of Jesus from the four gospels, and Revelation, making them our own, and applying them practically in our lives, we will have a shot at really loving Jesus. That’s what we’ll be doing together here on this blog.
But that’s not all – this is not a blog that highlights only the words of Jesus. We’ll also look at the claims Jesus made about himself – his identity, and the actions Jesus took – his life. And then we’ll also discuss the stories of Jesus. In short, we’ll be reframing Jesus for the Google world – how is Jesus relevant to people today, and how can we follow Him.
This is the first blog post of The Jesus Feed Blog. The official launch date of the website is 15 November 2008. In the meantime, I will try to post once or twice, but the main work will be behind the scenes to get everything ready for launch day.
Be sure to subscribe, and you’ll hear all about it, as it happens.
