Do you choose your own comfort over following Christ? What’s your excuse to not to surrender everything to God? Tough questions. But these were the questions that the Holy Spirit asked me while reading these verses from Luke: On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said. Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.” Jesus said to another, “Follow me.” He said,…
Is life worth living? Is there purpose for your life? The writer of Ecclesiastes seeks answers for these existential questions. And most of us ask them at some point in our lives. Why on earth are we here for? What’s there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes—it’s business as usual for old planet earth. The sun comes up…
We all know the the story of Jonah. We chuckle, we might find Jonah even endearing. We might marvel how God caught this runaway and especially how Jonah moved from being prayerless to praise-filled in the belly of the whale. Jonah experienced first-hand God’s mercy right then and there, probably for the first time in his life. Jonah knew God, we might even say that he had a relationship with God. But yet he was a stranger to grace. Suddenly…
One of the biggest reasons why people keep from truly following Christ is the belief that then life would be boring and, at least, all the fun would be cancelled. People are not ready to bury their dreams. It might seem that is what God wants us to do. But when you dig a bit deeper you find out that God wants to give us life and more life. God wants to bring our dreams into his service. That doesn’t…
You’ve probably heard the story of a little boy sitting in a church and asking his mom who were the people in the stained glass windows. She told him that they were saints. And after awhile the boy responded “Oh, I know who the saints are. They’re the ones that let the light in.” Exactly. The saints are the ones that let the Light in. Just like Jesus told us: “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be…
What is the calling of every Christian? God knows each of us uniquely and he has a particular plan for every one of us. But there is also a general call for every Christian. What could it be? Jesus answers: “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in…
If you’ve ever needed proof that God’s thinking is not the way the world thinks, here it is. Just read the story of the great commission and be amazed: Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing…
As I told in the recent Flowing Faith Newsletter I’ll be blogging a bit less during the summer months and the Weekend Prayer Wall is also taking a break until the fall. I will most likely be blogging at least Monday-Wednesday-Friday. I’ve been blogging every week day for quite some time now and I don’t know how I can keep myself from blogging next Tuesday. 😉 But I know this time for renewal and recreation will be a blessing, too….
The Bible is the Living Word of God and it does surprise us time and time again. Sometimes I wonder who has added a story there because I have missed it before. But the Word of God speaks to us when we are ready to listen. We pass things that puzzle us or are somehow irrelevant to us and later on we cherish exactly those verses like new gifts. The key into reading the Bible is prayer. We need to…
Do you remember the Bible story of Jesus coming back to separate people from each other like a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-)? At the first glimpse it looks like the reason why some are saved is based on their works when Jesus reveals ‘I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you…
