This week our children were asked “How would you describe yourself?” as part of an assessment in their kindergarten. Our daughter answered “I am beloved and I don’t pick on my brother”. That got me thinking. If I felt this delighted to hear that my child knew she was loved…how much more our Heavenly Father would be delighted if we truly embraced his love and grace? How wonderful it’d be if all God’s children could say with confidence “I am…
Spiritual hunger is a very unpleasant traveling companion. As pilgrims we have a long way to go and our path will not always be easy. So we need to make sure we are as spiritually healthy as we can. In order to prevent spiritual starvation we need to stay close to God and bask in his presence. When we are spiritually well fed it is so much easier to take any rough patch on the road. If we include God…
Do you want to live fearlessly? Good for you. Because fear cripples and cramps joy out of living. And joyless living is only surviving from day to day. We are meant to thrive, to enjoy the days we’ve been given. How then can we achieve the state of fearlessness? The first step: PRAYER! 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…
Are you in need of life-giving, life-nourishing words? Do you feel dragged down? You’ve come to the right place. I want to share with you a gem in the Bible: the chapter 55 in Isaiah. We need to read and re-read this every time we feel spent, tired or over-whelmed (or all three at once). Because here God offers you love, grace, and joy. All three at once. “Hey there! All who are thirsty, come to the water! Are you…
Waiting is -as we all know- hard. But if we see it as an art form or a spiritual practice it gets easier. Not easy but easier. I find it helpful to use the distinction found in the New testament between chronos time and kairos time. We are familiar with chronos time, something we can measure with clocks and calendars. But kairos time is more essential when we learn to practice the art of spiritual waiting. Kairos is the God’s…
Grace invites us to try on a new kind of wardrobe. One that God has chosen for us: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Did you just audibly sigh? Don’t worry, I know. The godly wardrobe doesn’t quite fit! But I know a Master Taylor who can help us: The Holy Spirit. When we invite Jesus to live in our heart the Holy Spirit starts working on our new kind of wardrobe. Gently he keeps on working on us and…
Living in grace is liberating and empowering. Grace gets us into the loving presence of God and it validates our existence. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is in relation to God: We are God’s children and we love because God loved us first. I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure…
You have heard the good news of Easter: Jesus is risen. And you have heard of the general resurrection of the dead in the future. What’s going on between the resurrection of Jesus and the promised resurrection of all? This is no time of zero activity! God is active and at work in us. Christ is resurrecting his children every single day. My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received…
“Remove Christ from the Scriptures and there is nothing left”, states Martin Luther. That is so true. Without Christ there would not be a way back to God. Without Christ there would not be life and more life to come. Without Christ we would be lost. That’s why I agree wholeheartedly with Paul writing: For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified…
Are you flirting with the world? Are you cheating on God? Sounds like the questions are getting even tougher today. But this is not just about motivation any more. First unthinkable becomes thinkable, then suddenly it’s doable. Slowly worldly things creep up on us. Are you all for God? Or do you still play the field? Do you suppose God doesn’t care? This is a spiritual form of adultery we are talking about here! You wouldn’t think of just asking…
