From very early on I was aware of the power of my choices. I realized I had to decide whether I wanted to add to the good or to the bad in the world. I had to decide how I was going to be remembered. I had to choose between the light and the darkness. The choice was easy then and it still is a no-brainer. I want to choose life-giving light. I want to be zealous for good. I…
Do you know the difference between grace and mercy? I was reading a prayer of Daniel and I was awed by the humbleness how he approached God. He realized we really don’t deserve anything from God. Yet he boldly approached God for appealing for his compassion. I was thinking that’s how we all should approach God: humbly yet boldly. It’s true we don’t have anything to offer God. But yet he is inviting us to come to him. It’s not…
Faith is a weird thing. You can’t see it. You can’t taste it or touch it. But you can sense it. You can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. You can see with the eyes of faith and you can know the truth. Yet it is very hard to describe to others. Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious…
Have you turned to God today? Or are you going on your own way? These questions right here defines your faith. Do you have a sunflower faith? A heart that follows God’s light all the time? Or are you focused on yourself and your problems? And then wonder why God feels so distant? There really is no other way to live abundantly than starting each and every day by turning to God. When we are focused on God, everything else…
Do you know why you are you and why you are living on this earth? It is hard to live without meaning and purpose. But only when we are made right with God, we find what is the purpose of our lives. Rick Warren writes “Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. When you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant. It proves your worth….
Is November getting you? It is incredibly gray and foggy over here today. So some uplifting and hope-filled thoughts seem to be appropriate today, don’t you think? It always helps when we remember who is our hope. Our hope is not a sunny weather, no matter how nice that would be. Our hope is not money or a new job. Those things are just temporary things, here today – gone tomorrow. But our hope is Jesus. And that hope is…
Do you remember when Jesus called Peter to follow him? Jesus asked him to let down his nets after a night without any success. When Peter did what Jesus asked him to do, they had a huge haul of fish. Peter was awestruck. And he asked Jesus to leave him alone because he could not handle that much holiness. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m…
We are told to be generous, right? How do you feel about it? How would you feel if someone told you to not to try to be more generous than God? I was puzzled for sure. Especially when it was Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – August 20, 1153). Read it yourself! What could it mean? “The man who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it…
I have been in love of Psalm 19 a few days now. I am going to share it with you and explain why it feels so precious to me right now. Read it and let the Holy Spirit read you while you are at it. This is how the Living Word of God works! The revelation of God is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of God are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of…
Do you dare to hope when there’s no reason to hope? Do you dare to hope when your life as you’ve known it has been taken over by a razing storm? Do you dare to hope when life has become bitterness and poison? I hope so. I’ve been there. Everything but God was taken from me. But God was more than enough. I can testify that God is faithful. That’s why I can assure you: God will also see you…
