Harmony of Grace

John 3:14-15 In a discussion with the religious leader Nicodemus, Jesus refers to the story that we read yesterday. He tells Nicodemus that "just as Moses lifted up the bronze snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up." Sometimes, I think that Christians try so hard to be the mediator between people and God. We seem to believe that if we  don't tell people what to believe, how to behave and what to say, then we are doing a disservice to God. With this mindset, we end up using fancy tactics to try and sell  God to people. Jesus reminds us that He  is the one who needs to be lifted up. He  is the only mediator between people and God. Instead of trying to shove our ideas of God down peoples throats, perhaps all we need to do is introduce them to Jesus and let Him do the rest.  People do not experience eternal life by coming to our church, singing our songs or becoming experts on our bibles. All of these things might assist them if used correctly,...

Christians often seem to focus solely on converting people to Christianity.  Churches host large events or camps, an emotional experience is created, an altar call is given, and people are encouraged to stick their hands in the air or walk to the front if they want to commit their lives to Christ. Someone then counts the number of hands and the church/pastor brags about how many people were "born again" because of their work.  I have been to so many youth camps and worship evenings where hundreds of people have declared their newfound commitment to Christ. I am sure that many of those people took their promise seriously (In fact, this was the way that I first came to faith in Christ), but too often I would see those same people walking away from the Church a week, month or year later. Before I sound like I am generalising, let me acknowledge that there are people doing the hard work of following up with these new converts in helpful ways after events such as these, but all t...

Andrew Neel To this day, I am yet to meet anyone who enjoys receiving promotional phone calls from companies trying to sell their product. Thankfully, apps like Truecaller have stepped in to save the day, informing us if a phone number has been marked as spam by other users. One of my biggest pet peeves is walking past those little stores in the middle of malls and being flagged down by someone trying to sell me a phone cover or screen protector. How often do we try to sell Jesus in a similar way as these telemarketers and salespeople? Does Jesus really need to be sold? What makes us think that Jesus is such an unattractive product that he needs to be promoted in order for others to want to follow him? In Matthew 4:19, Jesus calls his first disciples to follow him and tells them that he will make them fishers of men. Many Christians seem to think that to be fishers of men, we need to try and sell Jesus to others. I don't know much about fishing but I do know that fish...

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple... In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." - Jesus in Luke 14:25-26,33 In Luke 14, Jesus lays down conditions for those who want to follow him. He says that "we need to love our family members less than we love him, bear our crosses and renounce all that we have."  It seems like an extreme response, but Jesus knew that his followers would face trials and would need to be willing to count their costs and persevere. This was not an isolated incident in Jesus' ministry. In Luke 9, Jesus tells 3 prospective followers that they could expect homelessness if they became his disciples and that they would have to abandon their families without even getting an opp...