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February 4, 2015 - In This Issue:
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INFORMATION ON JIM FOWLER
Jim Fowler has been a pastor at the Neighborhood Church in Fallbrook, California for the last twenty-three years. His wife, Gracie, and their five children (Philip, Charis, Kirsten, Sarah and Sandi) have been very supportive in Jim's teaching, preaching, and writing ministries.
Jim's educational background includes Manhattan Christian College, Friends University, New College-University of Edinburgh, Bethel Theological Seminary, Palomar College, and Jubilee Theological Institute.
In recent years, Jim has spent much of his time writing, as can be viewed within the resources of his website. He is currently researching and writing several other articles and books.
Feel free to contact him at jimfowler@christinyou.net
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"The purpose of Jesus' incarnational advent and His ministry here on earth as a man was not to establish a new religion, nor to inculcate a new teaching, nor to lay down a new morality system. Jesus came to bring Himself, the presence and dynamic of His own divine being, expressed in the humanity of one perfect man, so that He might be expressed as divine, eternal life in the humanity of all men. The gospel that Jesus brought was entirely Christocentric. There is no message of "good news" apart from the ontological reality of the very Being of God in Jesus Christ who is the essence of Christianity. Christianity is Christ!" - Jim Learn More About Jim's Studies:
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"This book details the primary discussion of this year's World Grace Summit. I considered the discussion of "Dialectic Formatting" to be of the highest priority of dispelling Universalism in its attack on the true Church of Christ."
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"When Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of being "in Christ" or of Christ being "in them," this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him. They mean that Christ is actually operating through them..." ("Mere Christianity" Macmillan Publishing. 1978. pp.64-65). -C.S. Lewis
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HISTORICAL CHRISTIAN BIBLES
For over a decade now, Jim Fowler has been collecting Bibles for an exhibit that shows "The History of the Christian Scriptures." A new website has been developed to show featured items in this collection. View at www.fowlerbiblecollection.com.
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Spirit Union and Stuff Happens
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 There is a fallacy in some religious teaching that "Christians should not have problems." And if they do, it is a sign that they lack faith, or that they are not working or praying enough. They falsely conclude that hardships indicate God is withholding His blessings, or punishing an individual. They encourage such persons to pray for deliverance from such demonic assault. While some explain the adversities of life as "the devil is after me," others attribute the same circumstances to God's sovereignty, saying, "God has done this to me, or allowed this to happen to me." The source and causation of life's trials has long been debated, and the various positions taken depend on one's theology and theodicy. Some forms of Eastern religion regard the situations of life as "just an illusion" to be disregarded or denied. Humanistic naturalism, on the other hand, resigns itself to the explanation, "Stuff happens," and attributes the unpleasant ordeals of life to "bad luck," "bad karma," or "the fickle finger of fate." The pessimistic and aphoristic adage commonly applied is, "It's Murphy's Law - if anything can go wrong, it will." Claiming to be "victims of the circumstances," many seek to blame others for the difficulties they encounter. The following sequence of statements shows the range of religious explanations for the circumstances of life: Confucius says, "Stuff happens." The Taoist says, "Listen to the sound of stuff happening." The Buddhist says, "Stuff happens again and again. How do I escape all this stuff?" The Muslim says, "Stuff happens. It is the will of Allah." The Jew says, "Why does stuff always happen to us?" What, then, is the Christian explanation for the "stuff that happens," in the events and situations of life? Believing in God's providential sustaining of His created order, the Christian cannot accept the Deistic detachment of a world that just plays out in evolutionary indeterminism, nor the monistic merging of good and evil into one principle. Christians recognize the fall of man into sin (Gen. 3) and the "world system" of evil that prevails among mankind as orchestrated by "the ruler of this world" (Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the "god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4). We are "in the world, but not of the world" (Jn. 17: 11, 14, 16), and must expect that we will experience problems and be personally rejected by fallen and selfish persons. God did not promise a red carpet walk into a fantasyland. He did not promise us "smooth sailing on calm seas of life." Jesus said, "In the world you have tribulation" (Jn. 16:33). Peter advised his readers, "You have been distressed by various trials" (1 Pet. 1:6, NASB); "do not be surprised, as though some strange thing were happening to you" (1 Pet. 4:12, NASB).
Since the Greek word peirasmos can be translated both "temptation" and "trial," Paul's statement can be translated, "No trial has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able, but with the trial (or testing) will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13). Christians should be realistic in their expectation of... Read Full Article
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the
New King James Version.Copyright � 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, � Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. |
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