How do you deal with life’s imperfections? That’s what I’ve been thinking about today. How do you live with flaws? Because life is not perfect. Every house I’ve ever lived in has had some sort of flaw. Every job I’ve ever had has some down sides. Every person I’ve met has some habits that leaves room for perfection. And, last but not least, I have way to many flaws myself. What to do then? How to deal with all these…
Do you like putting puzzles together? I do. A couple weeks ago we finished a puzzle of 2000 pieces. And this past weekend we put 1000 pieces together. Puzzles are symbolic to life. We don’t know the big picture but all the pieces will eventually form a beautiful picture. No matter how odd pieces we see along the way. Perseverance is the key to puzzles and life as well. But that’s not what I want to share with you today….
Do you rush around like crazy? Trying this and trying that? And nothing really comes together anyhow? Have you thought about asking God in what you’re doing? Have you thought about beginning with a prayer? Or – this is even a wilder thought – have you thought about laying down your own agenda asking God what and when and how he would like you to proceed? Because that is how to build a beautiful life. Unless the Lord builds the house,…
It’s fun to break free from routines during holidays, isn’t it? Freedom from routines sure is a blessing. Time to wind down, rest and relax. But routines also bless us, they keep us on the right track. Also in our spiritual lives. Here are two questions to check your spiritual life in order to know if it’s time to re-embrace some of your spiritual routines. Are you getting easily irritated? Do your relatives, family members, friends drive you increasingly, uncharacteristicly crazy?…
Where do you put your trust? Yourself? Your job? Your bank account? Your country? Sorry to say but those are not worthy of your trust. Don’t put your confidence in things that aren’t eternal. Put your confidence in something that can’t be taken away. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. (Psalm 118:8-9, KJV) Nothing can keep you safe…
One of my all time favourite psalms is 91. I was especially in love with this psalm as a teenager when I was taking my first steps out in the world on my own. It felt good to know God is my protector. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of theLord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2,…
Would you like to become spiritually mature? I bet you do. I have very good news and very bad news. Let’s tackle the bad first. There are no shortcuts available. There’s no magic pill to take away the spiritual fat. There’s no fast track to skip the long lines of the obedience school. But here’s the very good news: spiritual maturity happens by grace when we stick to Jesus day in, day out. But grow in the grace and knowledge…
One of many temptations in life is to forget where our blessings come from. We explain blessings away by thinking things happened by accident or it was serendipity. Or we take credit for those blessings. Or we don’t recognise them. Sometimes blessings are hard to see or they come in disguise. Also, it takes time for a seed of blessing to grow into a tree and bear fruit. The middle verses of the Bible emphasise the importance of counting our blessings and…
Did you wait for summer so life could get a bit less hectic? But now you’ve found yourself running a busy summer schedule? Now you’ve wondering where did the promised restful time disappear? Where is your peace, right? It’s great to have many opportunities. It’s great to have a chance to try different things. But busyness does not bring peace or rest or rejuvenation, all those things that we were wanting from this summer. It’s time to cut back, don’t…
Do you know yourself? Even your dreams and desires? Sometimes we don’t dare to get to know ourselves because we are afraid of what we’d find. But denial is not the way to go. God has not meant us to burry our heads in the sand. Instead we are called to know ourselves and give our everything to God. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4, NIV) First and foremost we…
