What are your biggest fears? We might fear losing our home, losing our job or losing people that we love. But we are not to build our lives around our houses, jobs nor people! We are to build our lives around Jesus Christ our Lord. Then we will never be sorry. When Jesus Christ is our cornerstone of our lives we are never homeless, we are never jobless, we are never…
It’s the first day of the Lenten season. Are you excited? Or are you wondering why on earth do we need lent anyway? That is a good question. Why do we need lent? Lent is indeed for life not just for chocolate. Lent is to create space for God in us and in our lives. Lent is to remind us to prepare ourselves for Eternity. Too often our busy lives come in between us and our God. “The weight of…
C.T.Studd has said “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him”. I agree wholeheartedly. But I also agree with Dr. David Livingstone asking “If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?…People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. It is emphatically no…
This week my heart’s been crying out for all the people who are looking for happiness in all the wrong places. How people are so lost and they don’t have any idea where to find what they’ve been looking for all their lives. This is nothing new under the sun. When you read through the Bible you realize that people were acting exactly the same way thousands of years ago. Don’t be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the…
I hope you didn’t come to read this blog post in order to find a quick formula for becoming holy. Because then you will be disappointed. There is no such quick-fix formula. But we are not out of hope, either. Because God gave us the Holy Spirit to do his work in us. Through prayer we can approach God and state our willingness to be changed, to become holy like the Father God. But we have also been given another…
I had a perfect plan what I was going to write about today. But God had other plans. It all started yesterday when I felt God telling me “Be yourself, Mari-Anna! Be boldly yourself!” That felt good but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do/think about it. Last night I had this strangest dream. I was meeting with an agent at a pre-conference event and the discussion was going well. I was almost having a deal when my…
You’ve been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you’ll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take…
Why on earth would we need spiritual strength-training? The Merriam-Webster dictionary tells us that few definitions of strength are capacity for exertion or endurance, power to resist force, and power of resisting attack. These are all qualities needed in spiritual life! God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil…
On Saturdays I share some of the links on the Internet that I have found interesting or that have blessed me during the week. This is my way to count my Internet blessings and pass on to you the good I’ve encountered. I will be doing this every Saturday if this is something that readers will find useful. So, please, let me know if this is worth of doing (or not!). Here are the best of this week: You Know…
As we learn to live in God’s will it is important to learn to let go of our worries and let God transform our lives as he pleases. That might sound scary but it really works. We can either worry or pray. There is not room for both of them in a Christian. This is easier said than done but praying without ceasing is one of the most important survival skills for Christians. If you have a lot on your…
