ryan.the.calvinist

Colossians 2:11-15 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, but the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.  And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcis of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Personally, I am in the process of working my way through the Gospel of Mark in preparation/repentance as we move closer and closer to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. However, a question came up today from a professor of mine that I had to address. Matthew 5:17-20 {ESV} [Jesus taught, saying:] "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever laxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." I am fairly certain that a few months ago I did a rather lengthy 2-part ...

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (ESV) And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. If truth be known, I would probably be accused of being a "church hopper" by some (or many). This is unfair. I have not been hopping for the sake of hopping or until I find a church that has the right color of carpet or that only sings Charlie Hall praise choruses ('cause Chris Tomlin is better anyway... lol), etc. Someday I will write a lengthy blog about my journey through (more or less) Evangelical churches, starting with my parents being raised in the Oneness cult and then onto a Penteco...

It was sometime last week I was sitting next to my friend Elise during our Apocalypses course when the issue of Theodicy came up. It arose when our instructor mentioned the question that many must struggle with: "How can God be just/good and allow bad things to happen to people?" This question is odd to me. I am not truly sure if I am relaying it correctly, or if my memory is going bad. But if I had related the "problem" correctly as previously stated... it is something I struggle with. It is not something I struggle with as most people probably struggle with. I would venture to guess most people who struggle with such a question are at odds with some apparent contradiction between God being a good/loving God and a just God and his action of permitting evil or bad things to occur. I suppose these individuals who are baffled by such a conundrum fret over God's inability or unwillingness to wipe evil away off the face of the earth for good... RIGHT NOW (o...

1 Peter 3:13-17 (ESV, emphasis added) Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. I wish I could remember 100% the quote I am about to reference, but I do not really know where to begin to look for it. I know it was said by the guys who are on The White Horse Inn --one of my favorite podcasts to date. Though I will be unable to regurgitate the quote word-for-word, the essence will be there. The best thing to do to someone who has...

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son [Jesus Christ] has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him . 2 Timothy 4:1-5 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. I recall last summer, I prayed with Nolan about my roommates for this current school year I am in. We prayed that God's will be done and that it may mean being paired with nonChristians, so be it that I may share th...

John 3:3 Jesus answered him [Nicodemus], "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Now I [Paul] would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. John 14:6-7 Jesus said to him [Thomas], "I am the way, and the truth, and the life No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Ephesians 2:4-9 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he lo...