Love Truth Blog

Recently I got reacquainted with Watchman Nee, particularly his book Sit, Walk, Stand . I still recall attending Gardena Valle Baptist Church and hearing Pastor Ron believer’s position in Christ and condition in the world, which was something he gleaned from Nee’s Sit, Walk, Stand . It has really been a blessing to revisit some old lessons. Nee’s reflection on Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians is truly profound. The Apostle Paul writes of the Christian being seated in the heavenlies in Christ (Eph. 1-3), walking worthy of the calling which the believer has been called (Eph. 4-5), and standing against the powers of darkness (Eph. 6). Sit, Walk, Stand, the words appear to be out of order, counterintuitive to life, and truly paradoxical. Some of us think about living a good life then going to heaven, but Ephesians 2 indicates the Christian is already seated in heaven (albeit still traversing the earthly sojourn). Nevertheless, this is the unique rhythmic drumbeat of the dance ...

Jesus: I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore (Rev. 1:17-18). Crucified. Buried. Empty tomb. Multitudes of witnesses. Changed lives. Christ lives on....He is risen....He is risen indeed! Two millennia ago the heavens and earth were shaken as a new universe emerged from the shambles of the old. Multitudes have since been redeemed and prepared for their resurrection to eternal life. Because He lives I can face tomorrow! ~ WGN

New life begins with death. This paradoxical truth is conveyed in Paul's exhortation, What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:1-4) Jesus death paves the way sinful people can reconnect to God and provides the example for all to follow. Real living comes when we die to the old ways & patten that amount to self-destruction. The Christian lives recognizing the sin within has been crucified. ~ WGN

“It is finished" (Jn. 19:30). Paid in full.  Jesus paid it all. What sinful people could never do, Christ accomplished on the cross to forge a way for multitudes of sinners to enter back into a right relation with God. If there is anything good about Good Friday, it is this. Shalom, ~ WGN

Go into any Christian church building and while you might find an altar in the front of the sanctuary, it is relatively an unused piece of furniture. If one is in the place of worshipping believers, it is a reminder of a past age when God’s people worshiped with priests and sacrifices in a tabernacle, and subsequently a temple. Why the change? The Old Testament is very exacting in its prescriptions. Scan through the Book of Leviticus and you’ll find detailed instructions for five different kinds of sacrificial offerings (Lev. 1:1-7:38), codes for maintain a holy priesthood (Lev. 8:1-10:20), codes for ceremonial purification (Lev. 11:1-16:34), and codes for maintaining ceremonial purity (Lev. 17:1-25:55). Worshippers who kept their covenant with Yahweh were blessed whereas the unfaithful were cursed (Lev. 26:1-46); yet, there were ways sinners could be redeemed (Lev. 27:1-34). Similar ordinances can also be found in Exodus 20-40 and the Book of Deuteronomy. Yahweh eventually...

Scientific explanations do not explain theism away, because they confirm the hypothesis that our Universe has been designed. Explanations for the motion of the planets, or mechanisms like photosynthesis do not 'explain God away.' the revelations of science raise further questions—questions that point to a theistic answer. Why do we live in a universe that is governed by laws and mechanisms? Why did the history of life on earth result in such bewildering diversity and beautiful complexity? Theism answers that the universe was created, and is ordered by a rational agent—God. ~ Graham Veale