In his book Unconditional?, Brian Zahnd
challenges believers with a “radical call of Jesus to forgiveness.” Using
stories, historical and theological insights, Zahnd, pastor of Word of Life
Church in St. Joseph, Mo., reminds us that the foundation of Christianity.
Although forgiveness is not an easy command to obey, as Christians, we have the
grace to do so—no matter what. Featured in The Buzz is an
excerpt from Zahnd’s new insightful book. (Click here to purchase Unconditional?) What does it mean to be a
disciple? If someone were a disciple of the sitar master Ravi Shankar, it would
be assumed that they hoped to learn to play the sitar with great skill. If
someone were a disciple of a kung fu master, it would be assumed that they hope
to eventually master the art of kung fu. So, if we call ourselves disciples of
Jesus, what is it we are trying to learn? What is it that Jesus offers to teach
us when we heed the call to follow Him?
What is Jesus the master of, which we seek to learn? The answer is
“Life.” Jesus is the master of living well, living rightly, living truly. Jesus
is the master of living a human life as God intended. And at the center of Jesus’ teaching on how we should live is the
recurring theme of love and forgiveness.
For those who are serious about
being a disciple of Jesus, serious about learning to live the way He taught,
the Sermon on the Mount is of supreme importance. This is where Jesus sets
forth His radical vision of how we should live. And make no mistake about it;
it is radical—so radical that for much of Christian history, the church has
occupied theologians in finding ways to get around it. Some theologians have
suggested that Jesus never actually expected us to live the Sermon on the
Mount; rather it was a disingenuous teaching to “drive us to grace.” As the
argument goes, in attempting to live the Sermon on the Mount we would find it
simply can’t be done, and then we would look to grace as an alternative to
obeying Christ. Not grace to live the Sermon on the Mount, but grace not to
live it. This interpretation is pretty
far-fetched, to say the least, but surprisingly common.
Jason Crabb |
Charisma House Jason Crabb, a
soulful Southern gospel celebrity who left his family group and embarked on a
more eclectic solo career, encourages readers who are going through hard times,
in Trusting God to Get You
Through: Lessons I’ve Learned Through the Fire About Grace, Loss and Love. Lyrics from
“Through the Fire,” a song his father wrote, accompany each of the book’s eight
chapters, which address topics including loneliness, finding strength in weakness,
God’s protection and refusing to give in to the enemy of the believer’s soul. The oldest son in
The Crabb Family, he tells of the challenges and blessings of being raised in a
traveling, gospel-singing group, and of his own personal trials, such as his
parents’ eventual divorce and the miscarriages his wife,
Shellye, suffered before the birth of their two daughters. Crabb focuses the
reader’s attention on God’s character, reassuring them that they can walk
through the fires of adversity with His help. Readers needing compassion and
encouragement will find it here, and this debut book should draw fans of the Grammy-nominated
artist and his well-known family. Click here to
purchase this book.
Considering how ultraviolent 300 and Watchmen were, I was a little tentative to watch director Zack
Snyder's first fully animated film—Legend of the Guardians: The
Guardians of Ga'Hoole, now avilable on DVD. Based on the first three books of the popular children's series by
author Kathryn Lasky, Snyder's fantasy film has been
described by several movie reviewers as Lord
of the Rings with owls. The film tells the story of Soren (Jim
Sturgess), a young owl who grew up listening to—and loving—his father's
stories about the Guardians of Ga'Hoole—a mythic band of winged warriors who
once fought a great battle to rescue all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones.
Meanwhile, his older brother, Kludd (Ryan Kwanten),
rejects the stories of heroism and good, but is actually drawn to the Pure
Ones.
Best-selling author and pastor John MacArthur believes
that a mistranslated word has changed the message of the New Testament. He
asserts that the term servant instead of the term slave has
misconstrued what it means to truly be a follower of Christ. The following is an excerpt from his new book, Slave:
The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ (Thomas Nelson). A Word That Changes Everything Since its first appearance in Antioch, the term Christian
has become the predominant label for those who follow Jesus. It is an
appropriate designation because it rightly focuses on the centerpiece of our
faith: Jesus Christ. Yet ironically, the word itself appears only three times
in the New Testament—twice in the book of Acts and once in 1 Peter 4:16. In addition to the name Christian, the Bible uses a
hose of other terms to identify the followers of Jesus. Scripture describes us
as children of God, citizens of heaven and lights to the world. We are heirs of
God and joint heirs with Christ, members of His body, sheep in His flock,
ambassadors in His service, and friends around His table. WE are called to
compete like athletes, to fight like soldiers, to abide like branches in a
vine, and even to desire His word as newborn babies long for milk. All of these
descriptions—each in its own unique way—help us understand what it means to be
a Christian. Yet, the Bible uses one metaphor more frequently than any of
these. It is the word picture you might not expect, yet it is absolutely
critical for understanding what it means to follow Jesus. It is the image of a slave.
To help us celebrate
the most wonderful time of year, Charisma asked several artists to share a
favorite Christmas memory or tradition. From Dec. 20-24, each day we will feature
two artists who shared their thoughts with us. From all of us at Charisma, Merry Christmas! My favorite Christmas memory is when my wife and I picked out a tree and decorated it for our first Christmas together. Not only was it a blast, but it was an amazing feeling realizing that I had started a family of my own. —Phil Wickham
My favorite Christmas memory is Christmas Day, 2002, when my daughter, Skye, was born. I remember it was 3 o’clock Christmas morning. Tim, my husband, and I were holding our baby girl. We were the only ones on the floor and the nurses had turned all the TVs in each room to Christmas music. “Silent Night” was playing, and I will never ever forget those moments. God truly blessed us. —Heather Williams
For exclusive videos, podcasts and songs, check out this month’s digital edition of Charisma magazine at charismamag.com/digital
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