You never know when an Aha moment arrives. I was reading a Christian chick-lit book “Queen Esther & the Second Graders of Doom” by Allie Pleiter (Steeple Hill, 2006) for entertainment purposes only and unexpectedly came across with a thought-provoking analysis. Pastor Mark in the story said after a church disagreement: “I am just happy to get them to care at all. Opinion is not my enemy, apathy is.” Indeed!! Opinion is not my enemy, apathy is! I’ve always struggled…
When I was a student at the University of Helsinki a German tourist stopped me on the street. First he asked me if I spoke any German and all I could mutter was ‘JA’. Then he asked where the cruise ship possibly would be and all I could do was point and say ‘DA’ (there in German). He thanked and was on his way. First I was embarrassed how little I had been able to speak German. At least I…
Martin Luther’s famous quote “Sin boldly” has been way too many times misinterpreted. That easily happens when we don’t take the whole context and frame work in consideration. Luther did not ever encourage to purposefully sin. According to Luther we are not to use the precious blood of Christ in vain (cheap grace if you will). Martin Luther intended to say that we are not to be fearful when it comes to living. We are to live boldly in Christ…
Last week I attended a women’s conference with my mom. We got there at the last minute and the only available seats were at the back. Not the ideal place to see and hear everything but it had to do. After the presentations the buffet was surprisingly opened right behind us and suddenly the first were last and the last were first. It was such a powerful first hand experience of “The last will be first, and the first will…
Nobody wants to be empty, right? Empty means poor, sad, lonely. Empty means cold, old, dead. We don’t want to be associated with those things. We don’t want to be empty. We try to fix it. But we mess up. “God gives His gifts where He finds the vessel empty enough to receive them” writes C. S. Lewis in Williams and the Arthuriad. We are not called to be empty. But we are called to be empty enough. God wants…
“Most Christians understand the principle when it comes to salvation but lose sight of it in living Christian life. Then He was our Redeemer; now He is to be our Life” writes Hannah Whitall Smith in her book The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life. What does it take to live out Christian faith? We need and we want salvation. But how Christ can be our Life? First of all, we need to remember that faith is a gift from…
Have you ever wondered what’s God’s particular calling for you? Of course, you have. Once we have learned to know God and his love for us we naturally want to response to his calling to share his love with others. We start praying for clear wisdom to see what God has intended us to do. Just too often we think too little of ourselves or God. Have you done that? We think that we are not capable of doing great…
Oswald Chambers talks in his book “My Utmost for His Highest” published in 1935 about self-consciousness versus Christ-consciousness. Nothing could be more relevant for today’s Christian navigating his/her way in today’s world. As we struggle to thrive in the midst of all the demands of our lives the only compass that we can trust to get us through everything is Jesus Christ. When we stress out we are self-centered, self-conscious. When we bring our worries to Jesus we are changed…
Last week our family moved 500 km south. There still are too many boxes around, misplaced items and the unpacking process is far from finished. But it feels good to be here. Our Heavenly Father has guided us here: into this house that my father has built. I can feel the loving hands that have built this house. I can feel the loving people who have inhabited this before us. It feels good to be in my father’s house. This…
How would you answer these questions? Here are my ponderings. What is joy?Joy is an essential spice in life. Without joie de vivre life would be boring. Joy is the spark in the eye, the belly-laugh, the worriless well-being. Joy is contentment through hardships, hope when there is no visible reason for it. Who is Christ?Christ is the risen son of God who wants to re-connect us with our Creator and has made it possible through dying on the cross…
