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…
God is love, right? Just like the Bible tells us. But that’s not the end of the story. Actually, that opens up everything. My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. (1 John 4:7-8 ,…
How was your Christmas? Did you have a good time with your family and friends? I hope so. But even the most joyous time of year can’t compare to what we have in Jesus. For real. Nothing compares to Jesus. Nothing. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! (Psalm 63:3, CEB) This little verse captures what really matters in life. God’s love and God’s grace are better than life itself. No matter how much fun…
One of the great things about the Bible is that people are mentioned by their names. There are lists after lists telling us the names of the people involved. What does that have to do with you? Everything. Just like the people gone before us, also you are special. God knows you by name. God knows all of us by name. We are not just numbers. We are persons with names and each of us have a different life story….
Do you believe that you’re very dear to God? Truly precious and beloved? Good for you. Do you believe that you are always loved and cherished? That is a bit harder to believe, don’t you think? Because we don’t so easily love unlovable ones ourselves. Because we don’t always love even those who are dear to us. Because we are incapable of altruistic and unconditional love. But God is not hindered by our in-capabilities. God is God and he is…
Have you ever felt – or do you feel right now – that God is silent? Do you know what to do when God is silent? It is an important faith skill. Because too often we worry about if we have done something wrong when God feels distant. The silence of God is part of salvation life. Sometimes it lasts few days or weeks, sometimes the silent period lasts months or even years. But it doesn’t mean that we would…
Do you remember when Jesus called Peter to follow him? Jesus asked him to let down his nets after a night without any success. When Peter did what Jesus asked him to do, they had a huge haul of fish. Peter was awestruck. And he asked Jesus to leave him alone because he could not handle that much holiness. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m…
Do you know how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God’s love is? I hope you, at least, have had a glimpse of it. Even a glimpse of God’s love will knock your socks off. There’s nothing like it. And there’s nothing better. Don’t take my word for it. Read what David wrote in one of his psalms: 3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! 4 I will praise you as long as I…
When I was a child, there was a TV ad for oat meal declaring “truth is found in oatmeal”. Since then I have been on the quest for truth. I’ve learned that truth is not found in oatmeal after all. No matter how much more nutritious it is compared to corn flakes. But I’ve learned pursuing truth is in itself valuable. Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor. (Proverbs 21:21, NRSV,*) In the process of pursuing truth…
Few years ago I read an interview with a retiring bishop. He was asked what he would like to be remembered by. He said that it’s not important that he would be remembered. But he hopes people would remember that God is good. Amen to that! It’s not really about us, it’s about God! Because God is good – all the time! God is all mercy and grace— not quick to anger, is rich in love. God is good to…
