Have you tried to change your habits or get back into gear? Isn’t it hard? After our 2-week vacation I have had really hard time of getting back to routine of going for my meditative prayer walks at 6am. I managed to get up yesterday but missed this morning. Sigh. Larry Lea has said “Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and discipline before it becomes delightful. There is always the agony of choice before the promise of change.”…
Do you feel that you are at the end of your rope? Don’t worry. As Woodrow Kroll points out “our quitting point is God’s beginning point”. When we are finished trying to manage on our own, God can step in. We can’t summon up strength on our own, but God is our strength. We can’t use yesterday’s manna, but there will always be new manna in the morning. We can’t store grace, but there will always be enough if we…
How are you doing? Do you need a little TLC? Once in awhile we all need a little TLC. Fortunately, God specializes in giving us tender loving care. So, we are in good hands. God has promised to take care of us until the end of the world: 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 them in the name of the Father…
When prayer is a struggle, do not worry about the prayers that you cannot pray. You yourself are a prayer to God at that moment. All that is within you cries out to Him. And he hears all the pleas that your suffering soul and body are making to Him with groanings which cannot be uttered. ~Ole Hallesby Intercessory prayer is the sweetest prayer God ever hears…. The more your prayer is like Christ’s, the sweeter it will be…. Intercessory…
Do you honor Jesus? If yes, how do you honor him? Today we are celebrating the twelfth day of Christmas. Epiphany means ‘to make known’, ‘to show’, or ‘to reveal’. The kings revealed Jesus as the Lord and King to the world. But they also showed us how to approach him. Let’s see what we can learn from the wise men.After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from…
What is God whispering to you this new year? Has he given you a word, a phrase, a verse? Would you, please, share with us what God is doing in your life? The word God has given me is DEVOTION. I feel called to devote my heart and mind to God. Not just theoretically but enthusiastically. We have an awesome God but too often we don’t really spend time in his presence. We have an almighty God but too often…
Winter is not my favorite season. But I’ve learned to appreciate it and to see it as a necessary part of life. Waiting is not my favorite thing, either. But I’ve learned to appreciate it and to see it as a necessary part of the renewal process. Nonetheless, the LORD is waiting to be merciful to you, and will rise up to show you compassion. The LORD is a God of justice; happy are all who wait for him. (Isaiah…
Do you know your own spiritual gifts? Are you using them for the best of the body of Christ? There are a lot of ways we can be in His Majestic Service, God’s own special agents in this cold world. If you are interested in finding out your own spiritual gifts, there are a lot online assessment tools and books available. Discover your spiritual abilities and then build up the body of Christ! We have many parts in one…
Our family celebrated the birth of Christ in Lapland this year. We boarded an overnight train in rain. And the following morning we arrived to the Arctic Circle and it was all white! Snow everywhere! After a dark and rainy fall snow felt like grace! I was reminded of “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18, CEB). Right then and there I was wrapped in grace. The love of Christ controls us, because we…
Happy New Year, dear fellow pilgrim! Let’s start 2012 by listening what God has to say to us: Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you won’t be scorched and flame won’t burn you. I am the LORD your God, the holy one of Israel,…
