The second day of Christmas is a national holiday in Finland and many other European countries. This day is a good day to reflect what Christmas means in our everyday life. It was great to celebrate baby Jesus and welcome him to the world. But what does it mean to us that Jesus was born 2000 years ago? It is time to put Christmas into practice! It is time to put our faith into action! The fact that God chose…
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…
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…
“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…
I have always loved words. The power of painting pictures, describing feelings and atmospheres just by a word or two seems like a miracle to me. Being able to share thoughts and ideas with people around me is a way to understand life and its meaning. Isn’t that one purpose of life itself? Anyhow, words truly are magically powerful. According to Simon Peter (John 6:68, NIV) it is Jesus Christ who has the most powerful words, words of eternal life….
