CJ Penn's Online Writing Hangout

The reason I write: To promote Christian truth and help Jesus get His Christianity back.

Tag Archives: Christian Truth


by Leave a comment

The Spirit of Truth

Jesus prepared His disciples to spread His truth by telling them as much as they could handle, as much as the spoken word can communicate to an open mind. However, He wanted to tell them more, as He said: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear” (John 16:12). Jesus then promised: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (verse 13, emphasis added).

Again, reading the Bible or listening to sermons isn’t enough. Complete truth only comes from a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit speaks to us at a level far beyond the reach of reading, listening, human vocabulary, and human reasoning. And as Jesus also said:

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, namely, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, He will testify about Me.” (John 15:26 NASB)

In the movie A Few Good Men, there’s a climactic moment near the end of the court martial scene. In response to Tom Cruise’s character demanding, “I want the truth!” Jack Nicholson’s character shouts, “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!” Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we can’t handle the truth. It’s scope and meaning won’t be fully grasped by our limited minds. Yet the Spirit of truth will open our minds to the truth:

“It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.” (1 John 5:6 NASB)

(Excerpt from “Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity.”)

https://www.amazon.com/Beneath-Graffiti-churched-Christians-Christianity-ebook/dp/B0DK7VD71B

 

 


by Leave a comment

A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity

For reasons I at first didn’t understand, I began to doubt the authenticity of the Christianity I’d been experiencing, at least the Christianity practiced in my small corner of the Christian world. So, after leaving the church I’d been attending for over twelve years, I went looking for the truth. That is, I went searching for Jesus’ Christianity, a Christianity I could believe in without doubts, a Christianity that wasn’t stained by the influences of man and the world.

In my just-published book, “Beneath the Graffiti; A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity,” you can follow me as I look beneath the graffiti of manmade rules, doctrines, beliefs, and traditions, to uncover the original masterpiece that Jesus lived and taught.

Paperback and ebook now available on Amazon, where you can read a more detailed description. Plus, there’s a generous “Read sample” selection for the Kindle version (the paperback version shows less—just an Amazon quirk, I suppose).

View on Amazon

Mockup


by Leave a comment

What’s beneath the graffiti of modern Christianity?

Jesus Christ created a masterpiece when He lived and taught what came to be called Christianity. Then, over the centuries, men splattered graffiti on that masterpiece, graffiti in the form of manmade rules, doctrines, beliefs, and traditions. Today, the manmade often obscures the God-made to the point where, in some Christian circles, Jesus’ masterpiece is barely visible.

MockupSensing that the Christianity I’d been experiencing was influenced more by man than God, many years ago I left church and stepped off on a multi-year journey in search of the masterpiece. My book, “Beneath the Graffiti; A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity,” is a record of what I found when I peered beneath the accumulated graffiti of the past 2000 years, graffiti painted by church history and human nature.

What I found confirmed my suspicions that, when we look on the surface of modern Christianity, we don’t always see what Jesus lived and taught—we don’t always see the truth of what it means to be Christian. Yet, by scraping off the graffiti and revealing Jesus’ masterpiece that’s been hidden beneath, I hope this book will help reverse the decline of Christianity in the US—I hope this book will help Jesus get His Christianity back.

You can follow this link to get a sneak peek at Chapter 1.

And if you’d like to be notified once the book is available on Amazon, please click Follow in the right sidebar, or follow my Facebook page.


by Leave a comment

Manmade verses God-made

Manmade Ch. or Jesus' Ch.When we look on the surface of modern Christianity, we don’t always see what Jesus had in mind. Rather, we often see a manmade version, a form that at least partially paints Christianity in man’s image rather than God’s image, thus defacing Jesus’ truth.

Of course, many adherents to a manmade version of Christianity are reluctant to accept this claim. As I’ve experienced, some will vehemently argue that the nuances of their religion represent true Christianity, unpolluted by human influence. Over the centuries, their predecessors perfected the arguments approving the authority of their manmade version of church, and their definition of what it means to be Christian.

But consider this, from Jesus: “In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Now consider what Peter said when challenged by the religious leaders of his day who clung to their manmade rules and traditions: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!” (Acts 4:19).

The choice facing all who call themselves Christian is, will they listen to Jesus and His truth, or to those who cling to a defaced version of Jesus’ Christianity.


by Leave a comment

The End of the Other Pandemic

In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve fell for the temptation of Satan, the outcome was as if Satan had infected them with his sinfulness, pridefulness, and selfishness. This virus was then passed onto Adam and Eve’s descendants.

Then, Jesus Christ died to the sin, pride, and self that had infected humanity. And by His death and our faith, we can participate in Jesus’ death and also be dead to the virus of sinfulness, pridefulness, and selfishness.

The best part about all this is that, with death to our sinful nature, we make room for the Spirit of Jesus to take its place so that we can say with Paul, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

Galatians 2-20 & 5-24


by Leave a comment

Giving Truth a Shoulder to Lean On

Jonathan Swift quoteEntering the campus of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, as I followed the herd of other tourists through Library Square, I looked up to see a large sign with this quote from Jonathan Swift.

With respect to the state of Christianity these days, this quote has helped fuel my desire to give truth a shoulder to lean on, especially when so many people are kicking it in the shins.


by Leave a comment

Helping Jesus Get His Christianity Back

I’ve been on a 16-year journey searching for Christianity, writing a book about my journey and what I found—I hope to publish the book this year. What I learned early in my journey is that what we often see on the surface of Christianity isn’t what Jesus had in mind.

During the past few years, I believe God solidified my purpose for the book and for my life, which is: To promote Christian truth and help Jesus get His Christianity back. Jesus wants His Christianity back.