Yesterday, I came across a FB post from an old buddy I used to go to church with. We were never that tight, but we worked together on a couple of projects for construction. He made a post thinking he’d made a breakthrough in theology about the divinity of Christ because he’s been trying to read directly out of the Greek (even though to my knowledge he does not know Greek). He claimed that Jesus is the Son of God, but is not God Himself. His views aligned closely with Arianism of the 3rd century. I wanted to post my response to Him here in case it helps anyone understand why as Christians we believe that Jesus is the same God and of the substance of the Father and the Holy Spirit. 3 persons, 1 God. 3 persons, 1 substance. 3 roles, 1 God. Let me know what you think or if you’d add any other thoughts. Here’s my response: “I agree the concept of the Trinity is hard to understand. But then if we could understand everything about God, would He really be God? Ha. I do think some Scripture seems to contradict some or your current view. Not at all trying to come at you, but this is a pretty important aspect of our faith so I figured I’d chime in with what I believe is true. Let me share a compilation of Scripture that I think supports the divinity of Christ and shows why most of church history has affirmed it and why the Council of Nicea addressed Arianism head on (a similar view to yours). Take a look at these and let me know what you think. Happy to take the convo offline in PM’s or whatever. “Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭ Jesus is bothered because Philip asks Jesus to “show us the Father” because He says seeing knowing Him is just like knowing the Father. He says if someone has seen Him, they’ve seen the Father. The Father is “in” Jesus and Jesus is “in” the Father.

Let's get to know each other! You can use this simple format: Hey, I'm from _______________________. For fun I like to ___________________________________. My favorite book of the Bible is _________________________________________.

I’ve been reflecting on what the Bible actually says about peacemaking, and I wanted to share a few key passages that have helped me see it more clearly. A lot of people think being a Christian means being a peace-KEEPER. The Bible seems to affirm something different: PeaceMAKING. Jesus begins the Beatitudes with: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). PeaceMAKING is an active part of reflecting God’s character. God Himself is a peace-maker. Psalm 34:14 says, “Seek peace and pursue it”. Seek peace...that means it's not something that just happens passively — we have to intentionally go after it. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” We can’t control how others respond, but we are responsible for our own efforts toward peace. Ephesians 4:1-3, says be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Peace is the glue that holds relationships together only when the Spirit is involved. We are called to unity in the Spirit, not unity in another spirit. James 3:18 adds that “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” This is interesting because it says a harvest of righteousness follows peace sown by those who MAKE peace. Peacemaking brings greater righteousness in our lives. Once again, it's emphasizing peace is to be MADE, not necessarily KEPT. At the center of all this is Christ Himself. Colossians 1:19-20 tells us that through the blood of His cross, Jesus made peace and reconciled all things to God. Ephesians 2:14 says, “He himself is our peace,” who broke down the dividing walls of hostility. Jesus made peace with us between us and Himself through his death and resurrection. If God was about peace-keeping, He would not have dealt with sin. Because He's about peace-making, he MADE peace through a major sacrifice of love. Peace-making is active. Peace-keeping is passive. I’d love to hear your thoughts: Which of these passages stands out to you most when you think about peacemaking?

I just put together a quick 8-slide TikTok breakdown on the resurrection of Jesus — and I focused it specifically for skeptics. Instead of starting with "the Bible says," I stuck to the minimal facts that the majority of New Testament scholars (including atheists like Bart Ehrman) actually accept: - Jesus really died by crucifixion - His tomb was found empty shortly after - The disciples believed they saw the risen Jesus (in groups, not just alone) - This belief started extremely early — within 1-5 years - Skeptics like Paul and James (Jesus’ brother) suddenly became believers, and the original cowards turned into bold martyrs The big question the slides asks is: What’s the best explanation for all of these facts together? Most natural theories (stolen body, wrong tomb, mass hallucination, etc.) struggle to cover everything at once. The resurrection seems to fit the data surprisingly well. Would love your thoughts: What’s the strongest counter-explanation you’ve heard? Or which of the five facts do you find most surprising? Drop your take below 👇 Let’s discuss respectfully — believers, skeptics, and everyone in between welcome.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." At the time it was written, the word for Scripture is the same word used to describe the OT Scriptures. Therefore, the early apostles recognized the divine authorship of the OT. Jesus also recognized the OT as Scripture having divine authorship in several places in the NT: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18) "Scripture cannot be broken." (John 10:35) “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭27‬) "Have you not read that he who created them... said.." (Matthew 19:4-5). Therefore, both the apostles and Jesus Himself recognized, quoted and taught from the OT as divine authored Scripture. What about the New Testament? "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual." (1 Corinthians 2:12-13) “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬) “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” (‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭16‬)