"Evil exists, and when left unchecked, it robs human beings of their dignity. I know firsthand how it feels to be dehumanized, helpless, and hopeless. I know what it feels like to be the target of evil." J. Perkins (For complete quote, click the link below.)
Tag: Kingdom of God
Quote of Note #272: The Counterintuitive Kingdom
"The kingdom [of God] moves forward through God's strength, not human strength." Quote from "Inalienable" (For the complete quote, click on the link below.)
Quote of Note #255: Following the Jesus Way
"...the very 'Way' Jesus walked on earth was and is: to be building a community of thankful healed persons busy in redeeming ordinary activities with joy, sharing gifts and goods to fill communal needs (cf. Acts 4:32-35), quietly exorcizing the spirit of vanity, violence, greed, and pride infecting leaders like a deadly virus." C. Seerveld (For complete quote, click the link below.)
Quote of Note #254: Not by Violence but by Self-Giving Love
"At the heart of John’s kingdom theology is God’s love revealed in the death of his Son, the Lamb, the Messiah. This is conquest, but by love. This is power, but in weakness. This is kingship, but in self-giving suffering for others." Wright & Bird (For the full quote, click the link below.)
Quote of Note #236: Western Civilization & the Christian Moral Vision
"Most people in today's world recognize as noble the ideas that we should love our enemies, that the strong should protect the weak, and that it is better to suffer evil than to do evil." N.T. Wright & Michael Bird (for full quote, click the link below)
Quote of Note #232: A Kingdom without a Cross
"Christian nationalism is impoverished as it seeks a kingdom without a cross. It pursues a victory without mercy. It acclaims God's love of power rather than the power of God's love." Wright & Bird (click link below for full quote)
Pastor Note #143: Coercion & the Kingdom of God
Here’s an important diagnostic question for American Christians to ask themselves: “Does my vision for the kingdom of God rely on coercively imposing righteousness on my neighbors?” Said another way, “Do I see the kingdom of God as something that should be forced upon people against their will? Are people coerced into the kingdom of God or invited into it?”
Pastor Note #141: Getting My Bearing for These Times (Cont.): Rejecting Coercion
Coercion can never achieve the kingdom of God. I do not believe it is ever God’s desire or plan that any one group of Christians should aspire to get its hands on the levers of coercive governmental power and use that coercive power to impose its will on its unwilling neighbors. Again, coercion cannot and will never achieve the kingdom of God.
Pastor Note #140: Getting My Bearings in These Times, A Beginning
I am the recipient of the unconditional love, grace, and compassion of Jesus Christ. Therefore, my identity is based solely on the fact that Jesus has saved me and is saving me. My identity and my way of living are based exclusively on the fact that Jesus is Lord.
Quote of Note #200: Caring for the Weak & Vulnerable
"We do justice and God smiles."
