How can Jesus be our everything? That’s the key question in Mary DeMuth‘s book Everything. Mary’s answer is simple yet life-changing: “Jesus is the pathway to the Everything life. That’s why an Everything life has more to do with surrender than personal triumph.” We can’t achieve the everything life. It’s all grace. We only need Jesus for abundant life. And Jesus is God’s gracious gift to us. God gave his only son to die for our sins that we could…
“What is it that you want? Do you want an easy life? Or do you want what’s best for you? Do you want to fit in with the crowd? Or do you want to abide in Me?” Can you hear God challenging us this morning? “So, Jeremiah [insert your own name here], if you’re worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can’t keep your wits during times of…
Spiritual disciplines are nothing more than ways to connect with God in such ways that increase spiritual growth. They are ways that help us to get to know God deeper and deeper. They are ways that get us refocused on God. They are also ways that prepare us for service and mission. The deeper we abide in Christ, the more God can use us in his service. That’s why Christians have used spiritual disciplines from the beginning. Just like Jesus….
Outer motivation does not work in the long run. We need inner motivation to get things done. This psychological principle is surprisingly true also in faith matters. If we are told (outer motivation) to behave or believe in certain ways, we are unlikely to meet those expectations. But if we have personally encountered Jesus (inner motivation), we follow his guidance with gladness. That’s why we should not force rules and regulations on others. We should let Jesus change people according…
We are called to have an intimate and organic relationship with Jesus. We are called to abide in the tree of life. How can we do that? Only by faith. Only by grace. We can read about the Tree of Life throughout the Bible. We are first introduced to the tree of life at the Paradise (Genesis 2:9). But the most fascinating vision is found in the book of Revelation: The Tree of Life was planted on each side of…
As nights are getting longer and darker I am reminded of the battle of darkness and light. Thankfully we know that God has won the battle on the cross. Gratefully we realize that darkness has no say over us. Blessedly we acknowledge that in Jesus there will always be light.
Are you frustrated, anxious, angry? It’s time to spend some time with Jesus! I’ve come to experience this time after time. Whenever I find myself off-kilter, I realize I’ve not spend enough time in prayer and scripture reading. Maybe this is what had happened to Martha, too?
Failure is something that we try to avoid at all costs. We think it will be the end of the world. Or, at least, the end of our personal world. But kingdom living IS upside down living. Failure is not the end in the kingdom of God. It is the beginning. Because when we have reached the lowest point, we are open for God in our lives. Then we are, like apostle Paul, ready to trust God and not our…
Do you think upright-living is uptight-living? Did you know that upright-living does not mean joy-less living? It means joy-filled living instead. Because upright-living is God-honoring and God is joy. But, sure, we do need to stick to Jesus with patient endurance. We do need to seize the word of God and hold on no matter of what. We do need to be sincere and honest in our beliefs until the end. Because if we don’t, we don’t mature. If we…
Who are you listening to? Who has the authority over your life? These are more important questions than we might guess first hand. But our lives are what we believe. If we love lies, we practice lies. If we love truth, we live in light.
