Do you love to see a play or a movie after you’ve read the book? I do. It’s like comparing notes with another reader. Sometimes I feel like the production team has unearthed the characters according to my notes and it makes me feel a bit giddy. Of course, I might be a bit annoyed if they have not fully understood the complexity of the characters as I did. This week I got another kind of giddy reaction. I ran…
Do you believe that God loves you? Sometimes we believe it in our head but not in our heart. Yet truly believing this deep down is essential for our spiritual well-being. Only then we want to hang out with God. And that’s how we grow in faith. That’s how we can experience God’s smile upon us. So let’s learn to soak up every moment with God. God told them, “I’ve never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!…
Yesterday, one of my all-time favorite theologians Eugene Peterson died. As Christianity Today wrote, he completed ‘his long obedience into the same direction’ just as one of his most popular books was titled. Most people know him as the author of the Message Bible. I fell in love with the paraphrase of the Bible as well as his other books. But what I loved him most about was his authentic love of Jesus and how he lived that love out. He was…
We spend a lot of our time and energy in trying to find out who we are and where we belong. Marketers want to influence us by showing us possible identities – and stuff that goes along with that image. We are told to make something of ourselves. So we try to be successful, to be something, anything, really. Yet, we might miss our true identity altogether if we pass God’s invitation to come to him. Henri Nouwen has said, ‘Jesus came to…
How are you living your life? Are you aware of your overall purpose here on earth? At least, I hope you know you are not an accident. There is a reason why you were born. God created you and has called you to live at this exact time in history. Sadly, too many people live their lives these days like their sole purpose in life would be to entertain themselves. But entertainment is not the purpose of living. It’s far…
Storms are inevitable in life. So one of the most important life skills is to learn to handle those storms. Storms are also, maybe even especially, inevitable in Christian’s lives. In fact, I think it is a faith skill to learn to handle storms. I believe we can handle anything with faith. Without faith, we are lost in the storms of life. With faith, we are secure in Christ no matter what happens and no matter how devastating the storm…
Do not forget the joy of the Lord. Really. It has been given to you as a gift and it is meant to be used. Hence do not forget to take it with you wherever you go. If you tend to forget the joy in the midst of everyday chaos, write down reminders to save your day. Because the joy of the Lord makes your day. Every day and always. So don’t forget the joy of the Lord. It makes…
Sometimes we don’t want to share because we are afraid of not having enough left to ourselves. Does this sound familiar? We might not even realize it but our instinct is to look merely out for our personal interests. Not much sharing then. And when we do not share, we are not fully living. Because life is about compassion and caring not about cumulating stuff and resources. Dare to share. Because we are called to do so. Therefore if there is any…
Are you aware of a place where you can be restored, renewed, and recharged? We all need such places in our lives. Our lives are so hectic these days that we need places where we can rest and rejuvenate. Even more important is to know a place where we can be spiritually restored, renewed, and recharged. And we should know how to get into that place whenever we feel like it. Do you know how to get to the sweetest…
Most people seem to think it’s up to them to reach their full potential. They think it’s about will-power and dedication and, yes, those are good qualities. Yet life, success, and reaching your full potential is not at the end about you. And even if you would do everything in your power to reach your full potential, you would still have not reached all you can be. Because just as some parts of our identity is hidden in Christ, so…
