Do you remember the story of Jesus and the woman of Samaria at the well? It is quite the story, isn’t it? Every time I read it I gain a new understanding. I won’t go into every detail here, instead, I just want to share what spoke to me loudest this time around. Meeting Jesus changes you, my friend. When we encounter Jesus, our fears disappear. The fact the Samaritan woman was at the well in the middle of the…
At the beginning of a new year, we’re all looking for direction. What should I do with my life? What paths should I take this year? Finding the right direction is especially hard if we feel we are living in a perpetual fog. What to do then? How to find direction when you’re lost? Let’s find out. As Christians, we know who is our guide: Jesus. Hence we need to turn to him for guidance. Believingly. We need to believe…
How do you adapt to changes happening in your life? Change is hard and because life is nothing but change we need to somehow adapt to change. Some people have better ways to cope than others. At least, they are less destructive ways to adapt to changes. But learning to adapt to changes is a very important life skill. Or faith skill as I think of it. Learning to adapt to change… I’m sure you’ve realized that change is inevitable in…
Facing the truth is sometimes very hard. Accepting the blame is not fun or easy. But it is necessary in order to live authentically. How about you? Do you accept the reality of your sinfulness? Sure, it’s one of the hardest things to do. But it is also one of the things that bless us the most. Because when we come to terms with our sinfulness, we are ready to receive the only effective remedy for sin known to humankind:…
Have you asked God to show what this year is all about? How has God responded to you? Or have you asked yourself how you should change this year? How have you responded to that? Too often we try to run our lives without consulting God. We try to decide ourselves what needs to be done and then we proceed to change ourselves according to our plans. And we forget God out of the equation. When God is not part…
Change is inevitable. Change happens all the time, sometimes we are able to notice it, sometimes not. Yet it happens all the time, it’s part of life whether we like it or not. Change can be overwhelming and frightful because we can’t control it. And that seems to be the root of all fear. We don’t want to lose control. What to do then? Paradoxically, the way to cope with change is to surrender all control to Jesus. When we…
Have you changed a lot in the last 10 years? I bet you have. So have I. Do you think you will change as much in the future? According to a research people tend not to believe they will change that much in the future. But they will and we will. Change is inevitable. But we can decide into what direction we will change: God-ward or away from God. Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a…
We are fast approaching the Holy Night. The night that changed everything. 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. The Holy Night changed everything. The miracle of Christmas is earth-chattering. The wonder of Christmas is life-changing. Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy…
The Bible is very clear that we are all called to be holy like God is holy. It does not happen without effort but by God’s grace it is possible. To be holy is to be transformed into the image of Christ. What bothers me is the fact that people think that holy people are boring, repressed, stiff-necked,and self-righteous. But Jesus was not at all that kind of person! What’s gone wrong here? We are called to be like Jesus,…
“We have learned to live with unholiness and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing.” wrote A.W. Tozer. I find this to be too true these days. Anyone who tries to lead a holy lifestyle seems to be ridiculed. But Tozer died almost 50 years ago! We tend to think this unholy living is recent history. But no. Tozer talked about this and the Bible talked about it all the time. Just think of King…
