New Year, New Vision

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Well as you are no doubt aware I have not posted on my blog for some time; almost for six months in fact! Life is busy, our baby is soon to be born, and posting on Alive in Christ has not been at the top of my priority list. I have nevertheless for some time been thinking about how I can best utilise this blog and hopefully continue to provide encouragement to people through exploring the Christian faith together online.

So along with a new year, here is my new vision for the blog:

Firstly, my Weekly Wraps are going to become Monthly Wraps. There are so many great articles that I come across every week however, with time constraints I think that it would be best if I provide just one wrap once a month. I'd prefer to take the time to read and then pick from a wider range of quality articles to share online.

I'm also going to continue to write book reviews as I read them - this is a skill that I am interested in developing so what better way than to share here? I want to make a concerted effort in 2014 to share a wide variety of book reviews so you should see a couple of reviews here and there throughout the year.

Also, I also want to commit this year to explore and hopefully explain (to some degree at least!) what various theological terms actually mean. We all hear and read words like substitutionary atonement, post-tribulation, election, dispensationalism but what do they actually mean? I'll humbly try to provide some insights into common theological terms.

Finally, I'm keen to start reading through and studying a book of the bible and posting my reflections and notes online for discussion. To kick off 2014, I'm going to start with one of my favourite books of the bible: Ephesians. This should be a great way to engage with the bible and hopefully learn from one another along the way.

So I encourage you to stay tuned in for the all new blog content in 2014 - it should be a great year ahead!

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Just a quick note to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

May this season be one of great blessing for you and your family as you reflect on the birth of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.

And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: 'Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people, Unto you is born this day a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.' Luke 2:11

I'll be taking a break from blogging until early in the New Year so drop by again in January and I'll have some more interesting articles and blogs to share with you!

Blessings,


Joel

Welcome to Alive in Christ

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Welcome to my blog Alive in Christ! I decided to
create this blog to provide a place where Christians can be encouraged, challenged and grown through engaging with and discussing the issues of the Christian faith in a safe and friendly environment. I plan to regularly update this site to include content such as scripture expositions, book reviews, thoughts from classic and modern Christian literature, weekly wraps of other people's interesting blog posts, as well as contributing articles of my own on theological and social issues.

So you might be wondering, why did I decide to call my blog Alive in Christ? Well, I personally love the book of Romans. I appreciate the clear writing style and the amazing way in which the writer presents the gospel message to his audience. In particular, I love the passage from Romans 6:1-14 which reads:

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

This passage sums up what I am passionate about. I am passionate about seeing people become free to live the new life in Christ Jesus - a life that is not mastered by sin but a life that is free from the burden of the law and truly alive through the grace of Jesus Christ. I am passionate about seeing Christians reach out to God to take hold of the abundant life that He longs for them to experience with Him. I am passionate about seeing people truly "...dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11). I am passionate about seeing all people develop relationship with Jesus Christ.

So it is fitting that this blog be entitled Alive in Christ. I pray that as you engage with and enjoy the content on this blog, that you would find yourself becoming more and more alive in Christ as you deepen your relationship with Him. Be sure to comment and share your thoughts on the various articles on this blog; by doing so you will not only be able to better articulate your own thoughts and opinions on various issues, but you will also contribute to the learning and faith development of others.

Enjoy!


Joel Hawting