Are you tempted to skip Good Friday and hop straight over to Easter? I hear you. I think it’d be great to pretend that all the cruel things on Good Friday did not happen. And, especially, denying our part in it, right? But that’s not how God planned out our salvation. It does involve blood, suffering, and dying. All for our sake. Our salvation was costly. We can’t forget that. We can’t skip Good Friday. Otherwise, our Easter joy would…
What can we learn from the temptations of Jesus? Or are they inapplicable in today’s world? Sure, it is not just about big temptations, it’s about our daily choices. It’s about putting God first in everything. [My thoughts here on Matthew 4: 1-11 are inspired by Eugene H. Peterson’s sermon notes found in Conversations – the Message with its translator.] The core of the temptations is to put something else first in our lives and God second. The things can be…
Is your faith an accessory or an addition to your life? Or is it the foundation of your life? Too often we push God and his will in a corner. Faith is nice and God makes us feel good but we leave it there. We go on with our lives without God and radical faith. “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words…
The quickest way to unhappiness is the road the world thinks leads to happiness. Really. We tend to think if we only could satisfy our every whim and want we’d be happy. But we could not be further from the truth. When we focus on earthly and temporal things, we lose track of what really matters. Only when we focus on Jesus, we achieve what we were looking for from the beginning. For there are many, of whom I have…
Are you striving to perfect your faith? I have news for you. That’s not your job. That’s the job for Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of faith, not you. Sure, there are still things for you to do: You are called to run with endurance and active persistence. Your task is to abide fully in Jesus, not to strive to perfect your faith on your own. You are called to focus on Jesus and let him deal with…
What do you think? Does Christmas matter? Does it really matter that Jesus was born? Let’s see. It’s true that whenever a baby is born, it changes the lives of the parents. But one baby changed the whole history and the future of the humankind. That’s why Christmas matters, Jesus changed everything. The miracle of Christmas is earth-chattering. The wonder of Christmas is life-changing. The Holy Night indeed changed the course of history. Before Jesus we did not have any…
Have you ever wondered how do we know that Jesus is God? The quick answer is that the Bible tells us so. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20, NRSV, emphasis added) But there’s so much more to know….
Do you ever struggle with following Jesus without knowing where you’re going? It’d be nice to know where Jesus is taking you, right? It is hard to trust without any reservations. We might even doubt our own abilities to follow. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30, NIV) Taking up the…
Do you you feel inadequate somehow? Do you wish you’d be a bit different than you are? Would you like to be a bit less imperfect? I have good news for you today. Because of Jesus God accepts you as you are. And that’s not all of the good news. It gets better: When you are in Christ, you are made perfect. Outside of Christ you are imperfect, but in Christ, you are perfect. For in Christ lives all the…
I was searching for Bible verses including the word ‘green’ and got a spiritual jolt while reading the Message version of Matthew 3:10. How about you? Does this jolt you into awareness of your own responsibility for blossoming life? What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire. (Matthew 3:10, MSG) Is your life green and blossoming? Or is it deadwood. Or something in between? I think we all want…
