Easter comes and goes every year for me. I start Lent off with great intentions to fast, or read through a book or do something pointedly looking towards that glorious Easter Sunday when I can finally overload on chocolate or feel pride in getting past page 4. Continue reading
Author Archives: paulrobinsonwrites
What do you worship?
We’re all the Rich young ruler. We’re all unwilling to give up that which is in our way of truly being alive. 
What do we worship? Do we worship God or do we worship ourselves? Do we worship being right about God or about theology? Because if we exclude people because they think differently than us, that’s exactly what we’re doing. And if we do indeed worship God, why? There is enough pain in our lives to know that there is often not much for us to be grateful for. The unexpected accident, the job loss, the miscarriage, the husband announcing to his wife he had cheated on her.
So why should we worship God when He allows so much pain in our lives? Continue reading
A Confession for Easter.
Today is a day just like any other. I mess up. I screw my best friend over. I cheat. I lie. I put someone else down to try and build myself up. I can’t stop doing that one thing.
Yet, painfully and slowly I am learning that my sins are not an accurate indicator for who I am. I want to be known and I can’t be known unless I am fully honest. If I hide the true part of me that I am ashamed of then I know that the me that people love is not fully or truly me.
Their love is to me at least, fake. Continue reading
When Christians miss the point. (How God’s Got This)
Do you remember when Rob Bell wrote Love Wins? Do you remember how it destroyed the Christian faith and led millions to Hell? Oh you don’t remember that happening? That’s because it didn’t.
Ah…but do you remember how Noah brought about the end of the Bible and thousands of years of respect for an ancient Holy Book? Continue reading
Identity, forgiveness and Peace (Ourselves and themuns)
We want to be perfect now? Why? Because we want to be able to experience God fully now in these moments, because we want to be used by God somehow?
Or because it sucks to be you right now? Because today you are acutely aware of who you are not and how far you are from who you want to be? And it feels horrible.
Grace is difficult to offer other people sometimes. But not nearly as hard as it is to offer ourselves. We constantly point to our sin rather than to the freedom that is already ours. You wouldn’t even imagine doing this to someone else (or maybe you would) but yet it’s so easy to beat ourselves up.
Why is this? Why do we choose to live this way? Continue reading
Why I’m not a Christian
I’m not a Christian because
of what I believe about gay marriage, what I believe about predestination and election, whether I believe in evolution, whether I think Adam and Eve actually lived, I hate most worship music, what I believe about the end of the world, I said a Sinners prayer, I believe or don’t believe in an eternal pit of fire when you die, whether I identify as an Evangelical or not, which denomination I belong to, the average number of times I witness to someone a week, I smoke, I drink, I read the ESV, I go to 20 Christian conferences a year, I can’t stop looking at porn, I have a degree in theology, I think Rob Bell brings God to life for me, I think he’s a false teacher or I know the correct Christian lingo.
I’m a Christian because I believe that Jesus is up to something on Earth right now, today in the midst of all the beauty and ugliness. At work to bring Peace and Grace and love and fullness of life to everyone.
And I want you and I to be a part of that together.
I’m a Christian because of this, not that.
How to Noah you are a true Christian.
Inspired by my friend Craig Gross’s blog about Noah I have decided it would be really helpful if we had some way of telling who is really a Christian and who isn’t based on your opinion of the movie “Noah” and also the newly released “God’s not Dead.”
As many people have pointed out on blog posts, comments and Facebook statuses, ones opinions on these movies are critical in telling whether you are a true Christian or not. So throw away your books on predestination and election, don’t waste your time loving your neighbor. Those are all just facades to the true indicator of your faith; my fool proof, only slightly heretical, certified by no one in particular and snappily named,
“Are you really a Christian, really? Because I saw your Facebook status about seeing Noah and now I think I might have to turn all John Piper on your ass and bid you farewell” true Christian quiz.
Let’s go.. Continue reading
Nuts magazine closing: How the Church should respond.
On Monday, Nuts, the lads magazine announced that they were considering bringing their publication to a close and ceasing operations. I read a few tweets celebrating this fact and I’m going to admit it will be better for there to be one less magazine on display in shops which depicts women as just objects for men to masturbate over. Because let’s be honest nobody buys these magazines for the in-depth and insightful movie reviews.
But will it really make much of a difference? 
A Christian Survival Guide To April Fools.
Are you serious? Christian April Fools? Telling an April Fool is paramount to lying and lying is clearly a sin. Also calling someone a fool is the worst sin out there. Don’t believe me? Then check out Matthew 5 v 22. It’s right there. So basically April Fools is just a sinners paradise. You can condemn yourself to Hell for all eternity, break one of the most important 10 commandments, and all before lunch.
On the other hand, it can also be really, really funny.
So with that in mind hear are a few ideas for how to enjoy April Fools without becoming a heretic.
Continue reading
The Day I took part in the Hunger Games.
Imagine the scene. 100 or more 8 to 10 year old kids seated around a large room on the floor. In the middle of the room sits a piano with the scariest teacher in the school peering over his music. One by one pupils get up from around the room and walk what feels like a never-ending path to the middle of the room. All eyes are on the person in the middle. They stand there isolated, in front of all their peers and sing in a room where the only noise is the nervous rustling of other people but predominantly just their trembling nervous voice and a quiet piano. The teacher dismisses each pupil some without even letting them finish or looking up from his piano. Everyone can tell who has made the school choir cut and who is out.
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