Forgiveness is not in our fallen human nature. We are attacked, we defend ourselves; someone treats us unjustly and we want justice done to them; someone is mean to us and we want to hit back. Even as the event recedes into the past we keep it alive with fantasies of revenge. God Is Really Clear on This Yet Jesus was extremely clear – extremely clear – that we need to forgive! “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25) Note that here, Jesus doesn’t say anything about if a person really…

This is Part 3  of The Three Great Miracles of the Christian Life. Part 2 “Off to War” is here.  So we have accepted Christ and literally – not figuratively, not symbolically — actually became new creatures in Christ. We live our lives in the power of God, joining the battle as conquerors. And finally, we come to the end of our battle. The finishing of our life on earth. And the third of the stupendous miracles of the Christian life: you are going to live forever. There are many people who believe in the afterlife and want to go to heaven. It’s hardly surprising, whether or not we believe in…

This is the 2nd part of The Three Great Miracle of the Christian Life. Part 1 “New Creatures in Christ” is here. So accepting Christ is the first of the great miracles of Christian faith. The second one – – and this may sound a little surprising – – is war. All out, violent, life-and-death spiritual battle. Peter – you know, the Rock on which God built the Church — wrote, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) It doesn’t do any good to pretend that you’re not in the thick of it. If you…