Are you ready for Christmas? Or are you secretly hoping for an extra week? Thankfully, Christmas does not depend on our mindset or feelings or how perfectly prepared we are. The journey to Christmas joy starts slowly and it is more than okay to come as you are. No preparations needed. Just come and meet Jesus. You can walk to the stable at your own pace. There are no requirements. You can come empty-handed and heavy-hearted. Yet you don’t ever…
Christian hope is a different kind of hope. It’s not based on wishful thinking or false hope. Christian hope does not depend on our own positivity and we are not hope-makers either. Instead, Christian hope is based on Christ and what he has done for us. Jesus is our hope. And that hope never lets us down. How freeing it is to realize that God is the source of hope. He is always the same. Hope is also not something…
I don’t know about you but I feel I am so far behind in my Christmas preparations. I don’t even dare to tell my American friends how behind I am. It’s not the first time either. The first year I was teaching at Concordia College (at Moorhead, MN) I bought my gifts – other than from the college bookstore – at the airports on my way home. I just had been so busy with teaching and grading and everything else…
Do you wish there was more time in a day? I do. The demands of everyday life are great. Sometimes I do wonder how we all manage to get by with all the things we are asked to do. Juggling seems to be the style of living for many of us, especially during these last weeks of the year. Life is meant to be enjoyed, people cherished, and God worshiped. How can we accomplish that when we rush through things…
Are you craving for unity and peace? Yet you don’t know how to go about it? Especially among your own extended family or workplace? Isn’t it sometimes so hard? And don’t let me start talking about world peace or the lack of it. Or how about the unity among believers? Sigh. My response is ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ and I realize that Jesus really is the answer to unity and peace. How to go about it in our everyday life? We…
One of the blessings Jesus gave us was the direct access to God. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be made right with God. Hence, we are welcome to draw near to God. Our sins have been and will be forgiven so we can boldly approach God. There’s nothing that can ever separate us from God but us. If we do not draw near to God, we will miss out all the good things. We can choose to stay away…
Hearing God’s voice or experiencing his presence is beyond wonderful. But there are times in all of our lives when God is silent and feels distant. It’s not fun but it does not mean that God would not love us anymore. We need to know that the promises of the Bible are valid each of us every day. Not just on those days when we can feel it but also – especially – when we feel desperate and alone. That’s…
Sometimes we overlook things that we are familiar with. We are more excited about things that seem to be exotic. Like Christianity might feel boring to you if you’ve grown up with it. You look into mindfulness to look for peace and you forget that the prince of peace is Jesus himself. You forget that he gave his all that we could have all. That’s the best bargain of all. You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich…
Thanksgiving is not something we do once a year, it’s a way of life for Christians. Every breath we take is a gift from God. Hence, thanksgiving prayers are a natural part of communicating with God. Our prayers don’t need to be eloquent but sometimes we are looking for some depth or inspiration and then the prayers uttered by saints gone before us can do the trick. Here I have my favorite thanksgiving prayers for you to enjoy and share….
Wednesday night I was teaching a class about how faith can help us in tough times. While I was teaching I realized how much we really miss out if we keep on making excuses for why we are not getting to know God better. God can be everything we ever need and more. Yet, we prefer to struggle on our own. Why is that? It’s our loss for sure. But, also, living that way does not prepare us to heaven…
