Grief

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Sometimes the news comes quick. Sometimes the news comes slow. No matter how or when it comes, grief travels in the wake of the news. Grief is heavy, weighty, a burden, especially when it involves someone deeply loved. Grief is not meant to be carried alone. It’s too heavy and may last a while—and that’s ok. That’s what family and friends are for, to share the load. Jesus stood outside the tomb of his friend and wept but He did not weep alone. It was a deep, human moment. “ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted ” (Matt 5:4). If anyone knows how we feel in grief, it’s Him. But His grief did not linger long, as at the mention of his name, Lazarus came forth. We are not meant to dwell in grief, but should leave room enough for it. Let it run its course. Like the song says, “ Every Storm Runs Out Of Rain .” Another song says, “ The storm We will dance as it breaks The storm It will give as it takes And all of our pain is washed away Don't cry or be afraid Some things...

Rob Bell Denies the Gospel

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Thanks "Redeemed" for bringing this to our attention.


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I’ve mentioned on a few occasions that in his book Velvet Elvis: Repainting The Christian Faith (VE) Rob Bell of Mars Hill Bible Church gives a first hand account of the distortion and denial of the Gospel of Jesus Christ currently going on within the Emergent Church exacerbated by their wrong view of the mission Christ gave His Church. The job of the real followers of Jesus is quite plainly spelled out in our text above:

He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God (vv.19b-20).

If one needs to be reconciled then it becomes obvious one has not already been reconciled simply from Christ dying on the Cross alone. Because it is only after someone has been reconciled to God through His grace alone by a personal commitment by faith alone in Christ alone that they will even be in the Kingdom of Heaven to begin with. And this has always been the Gospel preached by the true historic orthodox Christian Church. The Emergent Church however, is certainly obscuring–if not outrightly denying–the essential work done by Christ in the vicarious penal substitutionary atonement on the Cross, which then leads to their huge misconception concerning the primary mission our Lord has given to His ambassadors to seek and save the lost (see–John 20:21).

Read the rest here.

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