Is it easy for you to keep calm in every situation you face? There have been a lot of fun “keep calm” posters, keep calm and do this or that. They are fun to look at. But the thing is: there is no way anyone can truly keep calm without inner peace. And that’s not a thing you can force upon yourself. Or anyone else for that matter. What to do then? How can we find that peace and claim the…
What’s your life story? Are you happy with how you’re life is going? All our life stories are different and all our stories have chapters that are lighter than others. But are you generally happy how your life has turned out? Have you achieved what you’ve set out to achieve? Reasonably well, I believe. Yet, too often we overlook something when we plan out our lives. There is a way to live a life greater than you. It might not…
A few days ago, I was reading an older translation of the Finnish Bible and encountered something beautiful in the last verse of Psalm 5. It declares ‘You will cover them with grace like a shield’. My heart rejoiced to know that we are covered by the shield of grace. How wonderful is that? We are safe under the shield of grace! I was so thrilled about the shield of grace that I immediately wanted to share it with you….
Do you doubt God’s willingness or ability to take care of you today? Is it difficult for you to trust God to meet your needs today? It might feel a bit absurd for sure. We can’t see God. Hence, we doubt. But, let me tell you, God is real. He is alive and active and loves interacting with his children. God wants to take care of you and he wants you to delight in him. We are called to depend…
Our God is so awesome. We are so blessed because our God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We can count on him to do what he has promised to do. God is faithful in all he does. Did you hear that? God is faithful in all he does, the Bible tells us so. For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. (Ps. 33:4, NIV) The Lord is trustworthy in all he…
Today’s word prompt is ‘accept’ at Five Minute Friday writing group. I was ready to write about accepting God’s gifts – the first thought that entered my mind – but then I stumbled upon Biblegateway’s verse of the day that had the word ‘accept’ woven into it: Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:7, NIV,*) This changed my take on the prompt. Do you know how to accept others just…
Do you want to be happy? I think we all do. Too often people think that God would not want them to be happy. Like God’s goal would be to make you unhappy. That doesn’t ring true, does it? Quite the opposite is true in fact. God wants you to be happy with him. You grant him blessings forever; you make him happy with the joy of your presence. (Psalm 21:6, CEB) With the words of Charles Spurgeon “Man was…
When things go south who or what does support you? Having a support system is one of those things in life that make a huge difference. There are times when we need support. When we are down or weary, we need someone to lift us up. Who does support you? What kind of support system do you have? Does it work? Human support systems fail My experience is that any human support system – no matter how good and dedicated it…
Do you have a lot of questions about life and faith? Are they keeping you away from God or are they bringing you closer to him? Don’t fight your questions, give them to God. He will answer them when you’re ready. Meanwhile, embrace your questions, live them and praise God in advance for answering you when the time is right. Instead of worrying about the answers, use your time more usefully: spend time in God’s presence. That’s from where all…
What do you think? Does faith work or is it just a collection of meaningless religious rituals and a collection of outdated dogma? Too often people make their minds about this without testing it. Because if you do test-drive faith in Jesus, you will soon realize: it does work. How does faith work? It is a mystery. We don’t know how God operates. I find it wonderful that I can’t put God in a box. God is God and still,…
