Hope is not dead. Hope is very much alive. No matter what the world wants you to think. No matter what you are experiencing. No matter what is going on in your life. Sure, we must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope like Martin Luther King, Jr. put it. Hope is not dead. How do I know this? Because the Bible tells so. Hope is not dead because the tomb was empty. Hope is not dead because Jesus…
Every time I come across this quote by Jim Elliott I cringe. Does this convict you too? “Unwillingness to accept God’s ‘way of escape’ from temptation frightens me what a rebel yet resides within.” When we pray that God would help us….that God would rescue us from our temptations…..and then do exactly the opposite even when God is providing a way of escape….that is rebellion against God. The God-rebel tunes in to sedition— all ears, eager to sin. He has…
I hope you are taking some time this summer to enjoy God’s creation around you. Don’t sleep walk through your life. Don’t forget to appreciate God’s handiwork. Don’t miss the gifts God is giving you. Seize the day, look around and be amazed. And don’t forget to shout praises to God. Blessed be your glorious name, exalted above all blessing and praise! You’re the one, God, you alone; You made the heavens, the heavens of heavens, and all angels; The…
It is great to live in a free country. It is great to be independent. But even that is nothing if we have not been set free by God’s grace. People don’t think they are slaves in a free country. But if you just have to have that new gadget or you can’t live out without the new cute outfit in the mall, you are a slave. If you just have to watch the latest Hollywood production or you just…
Do you know how to be generous? Or are you stingy with time, money or possessions? We are naturally selfish; being generous is foreign to us. We think we will ensure our well-being if we store money or keep stuff. But that’s not how it works. We are not in control of future. We are not in control of happiness. We are not in control of well-being. But blessedly that’s not the end of the story. We are not doomed….
Worrying seems natural to many of us. Worrying might even seem like the only way to go. But, let me tell you, it doesn’t have to be so. There is a way to say goodbye to worries. But it’s nothing we can make happen. But Jesus can. Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming…
Our heart is the place where we meet our God. Hence it is the most precious place. That’s why we need to watch over our heart with everything we got. Because without a heart responsive to God we are not alive anymore. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:3, AMP) When our heart is sensitive and responsive to God, all is well. But,…
Some people turn away from God when going gets rough. But then we should do precisely the opposite: run to God. But how to do it when we are angry? How to approach God when all we have is bewilderment and questions? The Bible, once again, shows us the way. Habakkuk is a minor prophet in the Old Testament that shows us what to do when we are angry with God. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,…
You hear so many stories of how people turn away from God when they have experienced some heart-breaking difficulties. Somehow they’ve learned to think that if you believed in God there would be no hardships anymore. But that’s not what Jesus promised for his followers. He promised something much more amazing and important. All this can be found in this one Bible verse with the words of Jesus: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may…
This post is for all who have had disappointments, who is in limbo or waiting for new things to take root in their lives. God is not interested in your achievements; God wants you. Because he loves you and he is the author of real life. I have had two well-known but ever-powerful metaphors speaking to my soul this week. The metaphor of a grain of wheat is found in John 12: “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is…
