When I heard that the Bible Advocate was spending a year on the Ministry of Reconciliation, I was thrilled. Some of my first Christian thoughts were those of reconciliation. Today, after seven years as a pastor, I still think we need to hear this message and spread it with the greatest resolve. I base my […]
Christians are justified by a God of justice and commanded to be people of justice, but often we fail to embrace our identity and calling.
Are you concerned about harmony within the church? Many of us are. How then can we be reconciled with our brothers and sisters in our congregations? What is the ministry of reconciliation that 2 Corinthians 5:18b talks about: “Christ . . . gave us the ministry of reconciliation”? After reading this text, I asked myself, Am […]
As I’m writing, the COVID-19 pandemic is sweeping the globe, impacting daily life for billions of people. If the past few months have taught us anything, it’s that we cannot predict the future. I can’t imagine what the world may be like by the time this article is published. What I do know is that […]
We are called to be ambassadors for Christ. We know that. But what might it mean in this season of COVID and change? Make no mistake, we are living in the end. If not The End, an end. Hinges in history — turning points — are tumultuous, but they are also generative. God brings new […]
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” We know this from experience. In fact, just reading this saying brings images to mind. For some it is a newborn baby, for others the Twin Towers on 9/11. For me, a picture comes to mind from a courtroom. In 1995 former professional football player O. J. Simpson […]
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself . . . (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19). Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians surprises us each time we read it. One […]
Greetings, BA readers! It’s an exciting new year, and we have an exciting new theme to go with it. Following our Great Commission focus last year, 2020 is dedicated to what the apostle Paul called the “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). We have all year to explore this profound and demanding text, but here’s […]
