The Mileses

Paul and Olena Miles with Grace Abroad Ministries

history

The Kingdom, a word study, and a story about King Darius running away from Ukrainians

This post is extracted from some research I’m doing related to the kingdom.

φθάνω (Matt 12:28; Luke 11:20)

A host of clear biblical passages teach that the kingdom is literal and earthly. Two obscure passages that have become key to overthrowing the plain meaning of the text are Matt 12:28 and Luke 11:20, both of which record Jesus telling unbelievers that the kingdom ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς, which the KJV translates, “is come unto you” in Matthew and “is come upon you” in Luke. To the assertion that Jesus made it plain that the kingdom had already come, Millar Burrows responds:[Read More]

Book Review: So The Next Generation Will Know

Here is a stark reality: if we do not consciously equip young Christians with a biblical worldview, they will unconsciously absorb the ideas of today’s culture. (pg. 76)

Those who know my story will know that I came out of the 90s/2000s American youth group culture that was characterized by apostasy en masse. It wasn’t until my early 20s, when I started studying apologetics from the inside of a jail cell that I came to my senses about Christianity. One book in particular that stands out among those that helped me return to Christianity was More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell, which was later updated by his son, Sean McDowell. So, when I saw that Sean had co-written a book specifically about “Preparing Young Christians for a Challenging World,” and was looking for reviewers, I volunteered with enthusiasm.
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Guest Post on Rabbinical Judaism

I’ve recently had some good discussions through email with my friend, John Schumacher, on the origins of Rabbinical Judaism. He has done a lot of research on this topic and has some great insight, so I asked his permission to include some of his thoughts on our blog.[Read More]

A Tale of Two Houstons

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. It was the 1960s, a time which ushered in what sociologists would identify as “The Consciousness Revolution.” America was due for an awakening. Just as 80 years prior had been the “Third Great Awakening,” which followed the “Second Great Awakening,” decades prior and the first “Great Awakening” of the 1720s-30s which eventually formed the basis of the American Revolution. Every generation of Americans goes through some kind of an awakening. Perhaps this trend began with the “Puritan Awakening,” which itself came from the previous generation’s “Protestant Reformation” in Europe.

For centuries before and after the American Revolution, these awakenings seemed to revolve around the Christian worldview. When I look at the Reformers, Puritans, and missionaries who came out of the previous awakenings, I recognize that, on many issues, we aren’t on the same page, but at least we are all generally reading from the same book. This is not true of the Consciousness Revolution of the 1960s. For some reason, America was breaking its long held tradition of Biblicism and we are paying that price today.[Read More]

Pendulum of Grace

One way we can consider a doctrine is by comparing it with other doctrines that answer similar questions. In the above picture, I have drawn a pendulum with five views of salvation. In the middle is a view, which in the 80s-90s, was called, “Free Grace.” This is the view that I adhere to and it teaches that salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone. The further the pendulum swings to the left, the more the doctrines teach that faith is insufficient, that is, the more works are required on our part. The further the pendulum swings to the right, the more the doctrines teach that faith is unnecessary, that is, the more we are saved apart from faith in Christ.[Read More]

Mark Twain: I once robbed an aged and blind beggar-woman of four dollars

When I was a kid, my father took me to see a Mark Twain impersonator. He recited various excerpts from Mark Twain’s writings and it was a real good time. I still remember it to this day. There was one particular story he told from A Tramp Abroad that has stuck with me as the way he delivered it was just perfect. Anyhoo, I am reproducing it here, mainly for your entertainment, but also because I’m trying to test a new feature on the site.
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