This fall I’ve been learning about stress-free living. I have more and more speaking engagements and teaching opportunities that need a lot of preparation and prayer. Of course, I try to find time for blogging and my ministry on line. Also, I am an active member at my church for various committees and programs and so forth. On the top of all this I have a husband and two active kids who also need my attention and time. All this…
Watchman Nee has said “The Christian experience is, from start to finish, a journey of faith”. I couldn’t agree more. First of all, we are on our way home. But also our faith is hopefully not stagnant but evolving throughout our lives. Your faith journey is an adventure Faith gives meaning and purpose to our lives. Most of all, it give us an eternal perspective. And that changes everything. This life is not all there is, there are better things…
Spiritual amnesia is one of the great dangers on our faith journeys. Forgetfulness of God’s goodness pushes us easily into a downward spiral towards spiritual emptiness. This happened time and time again for the Israelites on the wilderness. And it happens to us if we forget God’s graceful ways, either in the biblical history or in our personal history. How could we avoid spiritual amnesia? Spiritual disciplines have always been ways of keeping spiritual amnesia away. The most common ones…
Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the Wittenberg church door 499 years ago today. He was worried about the church’s way and wanted to call the church back to the grace of God. My favorite of all the 95 theses is #62 “The true treasure of the Church is the Holy Gospel of the glory and grace of God.” When the body of Christ remembers this, all is well. And this goes to each individual member too. That’s why…
Do you read your Bible every day? Or do you save it for special occasions? Your answer reveals the health of your faith. Because the Bible is meant to be nourishing daily bread, not fancy cake for special occasions. We are to eat the Word of God daily. “Don’t waste your energy striving for perishable food like that. Work for the food that sticks with you, food that nourishes your lasting life, food the Son of Man provides. He and…
Do you ever feel that you are not enough? Don’t let the enemy discourage you. He does not want you to believe that you are loved, you are enough just as you are. Because if you dare to believe that you are enough and dearly loved by God, the devil has lost. God’s love is so powerful that the enemy does not have any chance against it. You are worthy of God’s love Self-doubt and self-hate are the enemy’s methods…
It’s Monday. Hence it’s time to remind us of the things that really matter and keep us going no matter what. It’s time to held our two hands open to receive all of the Lord as Alan Redpath describes faith. It’s time to believe that this Monday morning blues is not all there is. I’ve always said there are always lots of reasons to praise the Lord anytime. These two verses from the first letter to Thessalonians sum up them…
Today’s word for the Five Minute Friday blog challenge is park. I love parks but I don’t want to write about parks. Instead, I want to urge you to position yourself in God’s presence. Once you’ve learned to establish yourself in a sense of God’s presence, put up a sign stating “Park yourself here”. Because there’s no better place than that. In God’s presence is fullness of joy. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is…
I saw this DaySpring eCard on my Facebook feed this morning. It has a quote by Tony Evans stating “Faith doesn’t make sense. It makes miracles.” What a beautiful thought. It gives us permission to relax in God’s grace. Faith doesn’t have to make sense. It is not of this world. But what really matters: faith makes miracles. Faith makes miracles It sounds a bit outrageous first, don’t you think? How could we produce miracles? Well, we can’t but God…
Bob Dylan won the 2016 Nobel prize in literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” I’ve been touched by the faith-filled lyrics of Bob Dylan. He might not be the most typical Christian but he is a powerful example of the power of God’s grace. With the words of C.I. Scofield “Grace is not looking for good men whom it may approve, for it is not grace but mere justice to approve goodness. [Rather]…
