This is not a trick question. But by answering it you will realize whether your life has the right perspective or not. What is most important today? It’s not finishing your Christmas shopping. It’s not clearing your to-do list (even if it is full of good and holy deeds). It’s not championing your life, either. The most important thing is to abide in God and feel his loving presence. God loves you and you need to abide in Him. If…
Jesus was not just any teacher. Jesus came so the dark corners of our lives could be restored. Jesus came because without him we would not be whole. His life, death, and resurrection changed our destiny. Yet many of us still live in darkness. Jesus arrives quietly, humbly, and in peace. Do we recognize Jesus in the middle of our Christmas celebrations? Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion. Sing aloud, Daughter Jerusalem. Look, your king will come to you. He is righteous…
The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God’s standing challenge, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!” ~J. Hudson Taylor LORD my God, listen to your servant’s prayer and request, and hear the cry and prayer that your servant prays…
How much should we pray? Seriously. The Bible tells us “Pray without ceasing!”, “Devote yourselves to prayer!”,” Pray diligently!” and “Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time!” That’s a lot of prayer, don’t you think? How much should we pray? Leonard Ravenhill has said “To be much for God, we must be much with God. Jesus, that lone figure in the wilderness, knew strong crying, along with tears. Can one be moved with compassion and not know…
Why is Christmas such a big deal? Does it really matter that Jesus was born? Yes, it does. Without Jesus we would live our lives in dark without hope. Without Jesus there wouldn’t be a chance to be made right with God. Without Jesus we would still stumble in the dark. Christmas matters because YOU matter to God. The birth of Jesus was promised hundreds years before it happened: Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman…
Why do we year after year fall into the same trap of consumerism and busyness? Why do we let the lies of the world consume our thinking and feeling so much that there’s not much space left for anything real? Why do we stress about performing a perfect Christmas? Don’t ruin everything and make an idol for yourself: a form of any image, any likeness—male or female— or any likeness whatsoever, whether of a land animal, a bird that flies…
The Bible is a treasure. The more I read it, the more I marvel God’s perfect plan. Just take the prophecies of Jesus. Every single one of them came through. Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, CEB) Also there are so many parallels between the Old testament and the New testament. Just think of Abraham and…
We have entered the Advent season. It is time to make sure there is room in our Inn for Jesus. Join me this December to prepare our hearts and minds for Jesus. Let’s see what Mary can show us about being ready for God. Gabriel brings Mary a promise, an order, and a prophecy: When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man…
Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. (Romans 12:11-12, CEB) When I go aside in order to pray, I find my heart unwilling to approach God; and when I tarry in prayer my heart is unwilling to abide in Him. Therefore I am compelled first to pray to God to move my heart into Himself,…
“Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning”, writes Karl Barth. I think so, too. There is nothing bigger or better in life than receiving grace through faith in Jesus Christ! G.K. Charleston has said “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.“ If we take time to wonder God’s mysteries in our lives we start to see God’s handiwork all around us. We need to cultivate wonder because wonder leads…
