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,…
The world says losing is for losers. The Bible says losing is gaining. Which one do you believe? The world says you need to cumulate stuff, fame, wealth in order to be happy. The Bible says if you lose it all, you will gain everything in Christ. It sure sounds backwards. But it is the way to life everlasting. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside…
Have you given in after trying hard to please God and others? Are you so exhausted that you don’t care anymore? God just must lower his standards and have mercy on you, because you’ve done everything in your power. Do you know what? You’ve got it all wrong. You are not even supposed to do it all on your own or in your power. Actually, no one can do it. No one but Christ in us can live the Christian life….
Are you lost? Or have you lost something important or someone special? Or do you just have a hollow feeling inside of you wondering what’s wrong with you. This post is for you. I have good news for you. Very good news. Do you remember the story of the lost sheep? And the story of the lost coin? How about the story of the lost son? All these wonderful stories about lost things are proclaiming good news to all who…
Are you marked by joy? Is it evident in your life that Christ lives in you? If he lives in you, your life should be brimming with joy. Because God is joy. God is indeed the source of joy. All joy comes from him. When we stick close to God, joy is present in our lives no matter how dark the world around is. When we dare to embrace the cross of Christ, we are filled with overflowing joy. And…
After all the Mother’s Day hype I was happy to read this on Monday morning: As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied,“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11: 27-28, NIV) or like the Message version says it: “Even more blessed are those who hear God’s Word and guard it with their lives!” Happy are those…
Do you know that you’re called to bear witness? When you have come to know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and when you – by grace – believe it, you are truly free. But what are you supposed to do with this knowledge, this joy, this freedom? When you have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, you are, just like Peter, commissioned to move beyond yourself, to bear witness that Jesus is alive and God is at work among us….
God decided long, long time ago that he wants to adopt you into his family through Christ. God also decided that he wants you to be the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. God wants you to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by Jesus. All this is said so beautifully in the Message version of the letter to Ephesians: How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s…
Have you heard? Christ is risen! And with that everything has changed. Truly. Resurrection life is not business like usual. Jesus really died on the cross for our sins and he was buried like said but on the third day he was risen. But that’s not all, folks! Jesus was risen but sin stayed in the tomb. Christ conquered all the evil forces. Easter really isn’t “just” about being exited that our friend Jesus lives. God did not “just” rose…
Are you tempted to skip Good Friday and hop straight over to Easter? I hear you. I think it’d be great to pretend that all the cruel things on Good Friday did not happen. And, especially, denying our part in it, right? But that’s not how God planned out our salvation. It does involve blood, suffering, and dying. All for our sake. Our salvation was costly. We can’t forget that. We can’t skip Good Friday. Otherwise, our Easter joy would…
