apokatalasso

INTRODUCTION Les réflexions sur l'armure du chrétien s'inscrivent dans une compréhension de Jésus Christ et suit le sens profond de Pâques. Je vous invite à les suivre... Lors de la Pâques, nous venons de vivre un temps de souvenir de ce que Jésus a accompli à la croix et à la résurrection, à la fois pour Dieu et aussi pour nous. Une des leçons de vie qui découle du cheminement de Jésus est sa disposition et son attitude face à la perspective de la croix et de l’ensevelissement et de la résurrection. Je pose souvent la question suivante : « Comment Jésus a-t-il vaincu le péché, la malédiction, la loi et la mort ?  Il y a deux réponses clés :   La première est qu’il est devenu ces choses dans sa chair (voir 2Co.5 :21 ; Gal.3 :13 ; Ro.8 :2-4 ; Col.2 :13-15) en intégrant dans sa personne ses exigences, il les a parfaitement accomplies (Jn.19 :30). C’est ainsi que son incarnation (ou intégration) en nous...

"... He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and movement... In Him we live and move and have our being..."  . ..by Him, through Him, and for Him all things were created... and in Him all things hold together..." (Ac.17:25, 28; Col.1:15-18) When we think of Christianity a majority explanation will communicate a standard set of pre-established statements of belief. Another expression might be of the importance of intellectual understanding of the concepts of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Humanity, etc. Technically we call this "intellectual ascension," inciting us to correct belief conviction and confession. It is another way of trying to make sense of Christian faith. Others might seek to do a comparison between other religious systems of belief, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Animism and a long list of other "isms." To make the revelation of God Father, Jesus and Spirit "fit" in a system is to deform the revelation an...

Understanding Church and Sexuality in our Generation (excerpts) It is out of a sense of urgency that the church know on what foundations she is building and that her prophetic voice to wider society sound out with clarity to those who wish to hear. More than a few in church and I suspect in wider society do not know how to make sense of the cultural shifts in society particularly around the gay marriage and wider relational and sexual issues that this current dilemma raises. Many Christians may be struggling to understand from a faith perspective how to approach this in the strange absence of a coherent voice of church and leadership. The following is a brief excerpt, of an in-depth treatment of the issues at hand, historical, philosophically, psychologically and biblically and then ask the question of church’s response. i. History Some have sought to argue from Greco-Roman practices during New Testament times. It is true that many men from emperors through many stra...

Lk.19:1-10 Zacchaeus Story The encounter is set in Jesus' onward journey having passed through Jericho to the entry Jerusalem as final destination. The “entering” portrays this sense of onward journey, less of a preplanned encounter more of Jesus meeting Zacchaeus in a spontaneous way and responding to the present circumstances. This reinforces the meaning of the journey, the learning, lessons, experiences that can only be experienced with this perspective on the moment present. Zacchaeus’ significance was his position as “submagistri” (Gk. “architelōntēs” ) in that he was in charge of a territory in the Province as overseeing the tax collection officers. His abundant wealth would have come from his ability to pay to Rome less than he collected from the territory. This was his art. The enmity towards him as a Jew and collaborator with the Romans would be intense and socially evident. He combats this social stigma by climbing a tree to see ( “oida” more than physical, perc...

Moving forward in the shaking and shifting « Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken… » When constructs, seasonal or generational, reach their limit, losing their utility as a platform for the forward movement of Kingdom expansion, shaking occurs under God then it’s time to re-examine our foundations. What we build on determines the longevity and therefore durability of the construction. In seasons of change, the invitation is not necessarily to look for new methods or systems but to look at our foundations and establish whether they are built on relevance culturally or on a societal trend principle. Renewal comes through a return to the source, to identify Kingdom core values and also the means that are inherent in the way Jesus and the apostles related to the Kingdom reality. It is not a face value adhering to principles, but a grasp of the inherent and underpinning truths that sustained Kingdom message, ministries and people. In ...