The Joshua Victor Theory

  Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! This Easter season we’re looking at resurrection themes in 1 John. Today John shows us what resurrection love looks like in the life of a believer. Resurrection love is sacrificial, open hearted, and generous to those who are in need. Resurrection love is for action and deeds not just word or speech. Our heart is the battleground between this resurrection love of Jesus Christ and the way of darkness, sin, and death. This “worldliness” tries to squeeze Christ’s resurrection love and truth from our hearts. Jesus’ death and resurrection stirs resurrection love in our hearts, to love as God first loved us. V. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers . Resurrection loves knows Jesus, and how He lived and died for us. He laid down His life for us because He loves us. His love is resurrection love because He confidently laid down His life in the knowledge that He woul...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Genesis 3 is one of the foundational events in the Bible. We often call it “The Fall” or the “Fall into Sin”. It was a turning point in very early human history. God had just completed creation, and Adam and Eve were in perfect harmony with Him. They tended the Garden of Eden; had access to the Tree of Life. But they had one command: to avoid the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If they ate of it they would surely die. But how quickly paradise came unraveled, as the devil whispered doubt into Eve’s ear: “ Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’? ” And doubts of God’s Word and commands have plagued humanity ever since. If we could only trust that the wise and all powerful God actually knows and tells us, His creatures, what is best for us, we would be infinitely better off. But ever since Eve first gave room for that doubt, and began to agree wit...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today in our reading from 1 Peter, the phrase “good conscience” appears twice. Once it’s in the context of a Christian living out their faith in Jesus and doing good, while suffering persecution or opposition—yet being able to have a good conscience. The second time it’s about our appeal to God in baptism for a good conscience. Today we’re going to see what this Scripture tells us about the gift of a good conscience, and how to keep our conscience clear. Have you noticed nowadays how even non-religious people are very aware of guilt? It’s no surprise that they often try to deal with it in a variety of ways that are very different from the Christian answer to guilt—which in short, is forgiveness in Jesus Christ. But it shows that guilt is very troubling for people. Sometimes we perceive that it originates from inside us; while other times we blame others for imposing guilt on us (isn’...