• Reflect

    How many times do we get to die?

    ▪ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AS A SHORT PAPER FOR PHOENIX SEMINARY▪ INTRODUCTION Curse and suffering all began with Adam in the garden of Eden when he ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—even after he was told not to by God himself. That was humanity’s first sin, and the result was curse and suffering to all who came after. It was promised that “in the day that you eat of it, [all of humanity] shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17, ESV) That is the first biblical promise of a curse resulting as a consequence of disobedience to God. Since Adam was the only human alive when God…

  • Reflect

    [s]indwelling or sin-indwelling

    If we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit…. Here is an interesting verse to look at because there is so much packed inside of it—and I would like to unpack some of it: “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”Romans 7:20 ESV Paul wrote this letter to the Romans as a follower of Christ. Paul, like all Christ followers, has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So, the sin that dwells within each Christian must be sharing a dwelling with the Holy Spirit. That sounds like they could be roommates—except that they are…