These tough economic times provide an ample playground for coveting. It is easy to see what we would like to have instead of looking at (and being grateful of) what we have. Are you a hostage of ingratitude?We’d like to think that coveting or craving what others have is not a sin. But the Bible is very clear about this. Just read what these two modern translations of the 10th commandment proclaims: Do not desire and try to take your…
You might ask what money and spiritual fruitfulness have in common. I used to question that myself. I’ve always thought that giving is good and we need to take care of each other. But I did not see what it had to do with spiritual fruitfulness. Martin Luther has said “There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind, and the purse.” For a long time I did not particularly like this quote. But now I see its…
I’ve always thought the Bible is valuable and precious. But the more I read it, the more I cherish it. The Bible is priceless. The salvation plan of God, which is revealed in the Bible, is beyond amazing. The Bible is a treasure map to God’s heart. That’s why the Bible is such a huge gift. Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction so that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of…
Let us pray, and as we pray, let us make room for Jesus in our hearts. ~D.L. Moody If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all…
Sometimes people ask me “Why should I believe in Jesus?” or “What’s so special about Jesus?” Or they ask “Do we really need Jesus?” or “Couldn’t we just be nice? Or choose whatever would suit us best?” The one thing they are all asking “Is there power in the name of Jesus?” Let’s find out! The whole concept of God is abstract until we meet Jesus. Because Jesus is God with us. What sets Jesus apart from any other teacher or…
Don’t you just love how strongly God can speak to you through his Word? Just this morning – like pretty much any morning – I was reading my Bible and suddenly Numbers 11 reflected back my own attitude. The riffraff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and…
Do you feel God is distant and not interested in you? In that case don’t trust your feelings. God is near and very interested in you. But let’s see why we could feel that way. First of all we need to know that God is not hiding. God is waiting to be found. So if we are spiritually unsatisfied it has something to do with us. Do we rush through life so stressed out and busy that we don’t have…
Christians are citizens of two worlds: God’s kingdom and the world we live in. Sometimes it is a struggle to balance out these two. We don’t want to be worldly yet we are meant to live to the fullest. How should we balance life and faith? It’s important to note that the secular world does not necessarily mean an atheistic world. The secular world is a world that has no special religious connotation. C.S. Lewis has stated “Christianity was never…
It is very important in life to get the right perspective. Only then can we gain the right perception. Just think of the story of David and Goliath. The Isralites all thought “Goliath is so big we can never kill him.” But David thought “The giant is so big I can’t miss.” We also need to discern whose perception we trust. The world tries to convince us that only the knowledge that can be perceived through five senses – and…
He who has learned to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life. ~William Law Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and…
