This World Is Our Home

ByAlex Franklin March 8, 2022 2 Comments
Photo Credit: Eberhard Grossgasteiger . Let's talk about going to heaven. Generally speaking, the prevailing belief in Christianity is that when a faithful Christian dies, their soul leaves their body and goes to be with God in heaven for the rest of eternity. Furthermore, the belief is that the faithful that are alive at Jesus' second coming will have their souls taken from their bodies and...

The Joyful Anticipation of Judgment

ByAlex Franklin August 1, 2023 0 Comments
There are two sides to court cases -- the defense and the prosecution. One side (the prosecution) represents the victim(s) of a crime, and the other (the defense) represents the alleged perpetrator of that crime. In court cases, a verdict of guilty will elicit very different responses depending on which of those sides one falls. For the defense, a guilty verdict will almost certainly result in...

Mercy Healings

ByAlex Franklin December 20, 2022 0 Comments
“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”Romans 8:19-21 (NIV) Paul...

Exploring Restoration: Promised Land

ByAlex Franklin December 6, 2022 0 Comments
In an effort to further shine light on the Bible's restoration message, I'm taking the time to explore different themes, threads, and patterns within the Bible that point to the restoration (not destruction) of God's good world.This post will explore the theme of promised land, exile and the restoration of promised land. ------------------------------------ God always intended for humans to have...

A Second Look: I Thessalonians 4 & Meeting the Lord in the Air

ByAlex Franklin August 10, 2022 1 Comment
The Bible tells the story of the restoration of God's good world, not humanity's escape from it. This post is a part of our examination of common passages in scripture that have traditionally been interpreted as communicating the idea that the ultimate goal for humans is to leave the physical world to live in the spiritual location of heaven for all eternity. . For the Lord himself will come...

A Second Look: II Peter 3 & The Destruction of The World

ByAlex Franklin March 12, 2022 1 Comment
The Bible tells the story of the restoration of God's good world, not humanity's escape from it. This post is a part of our examination of common passages in scripture that have traditionally been interpreted as communicating the idea that the ultimate goal for humans is to leave the physical world to live in the spiritual location of heaven for all eternity. . But the day of the Lord will...

A Second Look: Philippians 3 & Our Heavenly Citizenship

ByAlex Franklin March 12, 2022 0 Comments
The Bible tells the story of the restoration of God's good world, not humanity's escape from it. This post is a part of our examination of common passages in scripture that have traditionally been interpreted as communicating the idea that the ultimate goal for humans is to leave the physical world to live in the spiritual location of heaven for all eternity. . But our citizenship is in...

God Wants Sons, Not Slaves (Part II)

ByAlex Franklin September 5, 2021 1 Comment
Photo Credit: Vlada Karpovich | In my last post I explored the well-known parable of the lost/prodigal son from the older son's perspective and pointed out what I believe to be one of the most important lessons from the parable: God wants sons (and daughters), not slaves. This post will explore that same lesson, but from a different perspective within the story -- that of the younger son. Before...

God Wants Sons, Not Slaves (Part I)

ByAlex Franklin August 22, 2021 1 Comment
Photo Credit: Ketut Subiyanto | Recently, I sat with a well-known parable of Jesus for several days. And as the parable unfolded over that time, an important message became clear: God wants sons (and daughters), not slaves. To explore this statement, we're going to dive into Jesus' parable of the lost/prodigal son -- because, as you'll see, it has much to say on the subject. Before we get going,...

Blood Saves The Body

ByAlex Franklin January 8, 2021 0 Comments
. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!Hebrews 9: 14 (NIV) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.Ephesians 1: 7 (NIV) But if...