How do you feel about repentance? Should we call each other to repent? Or do you think everything is forgiven anyway so why bother with repentance? The latter type of thinking seems to become more common these days even within church. We might ask for forgiveness but we don’t repent. But the Bible is pretty clear about our need of repentance in order to be saved. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from…
Rise and shine, folks! Don’t forget that Christ is risen and if your are his, you are on the victor’s side. Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! (Isaiah 60:1, AMP,*) There you have it. Arise from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you….
Lately, we have had a lot of heart-breaking diagnoses and deaths in our extended family. So much that it forces you thinking and praying. How should we live in the shadow of death? I think this is one of the most important questions in life, don’t you think? It is a matter of life and death after all. It determines how we live and for what we live. And what happens to us after our death. The sad thing is…
Friendship is a beautiful thing. Having a close friend is a real blessing, don’t you think? One of those things that makes life better for sure. But being friends with Jesus is even better! How come? It is divine! I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. (John 15:15, NLT) What does being friends with Jesus mean? It means…
Am I the only one that has ever wondered what ‘offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving’ means? And if that really honors and glorifies God, how could we do it in today’s world? He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me. (Psalm 50:23, AMP) The sacrifice of thanksgiving is mentioned many times in the Old Testament. It is a voluntary sacrifice that is motivated by thanksgiving. It was also shared with all the worshipers. Because of…
Are you looking for Jesus? Good for you. Just know the empty tomb is the only place you can’t find Jesus. You can find Jesus anywhere but in the tomb for he is risen. He is not there for he is indeed risen. Jesus rose victorious. But sin, death, and darkness are still in the tomb. Don’t go after them. We are no more bound to them. Go after Jesus and abundant life. The angel said to the women, “Do…
Good Friday is here. It reminds me of how blessed we are to have a God who did not spare expenses to reach us, to make us right with him. If you want to get a good grasp of the message of Good Friday, start by reading chapter 53 in Isaiah. It’s a long one but so worth it to read it. Read it slowly and marvel the fact that this was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born….
The longer I live, the more grateful I am for grace. Because the older I am, the better I know myself. And that picture is not pretty. I am hopeless at making myself better. I am clueless to make anything happen. I am powerless to help myself. That’s why I am so thankful for Christ who doesn’t wait for me to get my act together. Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for…
On Mondays I’m blogging through Mary DeMuth‘s and Frank Viola‘s brand new book The Day I Met Jesus: The reavealing diaries of five women in the gospels. The woman of the third diary is found in John 4:1-42. It’s the story of the Samaritan woman meeting Jesus at the well. This encounter at the well is the longest personal conversation reported in the gospels. It gives us all hope.Frank Viola points out “Consider this, dear reader. If your Lord could…
God is so good. God’s Word is so good. Any time I open it, I am in awe of God’s loving kindness. I am not surprised God is taking care of me. That’s his promise for all of us. I am now days expecting it and looking forward to it. But I am always surprised how he does it. How simply, how effortlessly, how gently he does it. How easily he refreshes me. I am always blown away, always in…
