Did you know that some schools start already on Monday? Our kids won’t start until the 11th but it’s still almost here. Are you ready to get back to the grid? How are you approaching this new beginning? How could we being in such a way that would be life-giving and not just the same old, same old all over again? Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play…
Who do you say Jesus is? This is one of the most important questions you ever answer. Who is Jesus to you? Is Jesus a philosopher, a teacher, a radical social activist or something more personal, maybe even life-changing? This is what Peter answered to Jesus’ question: Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16, CEB,*) How about you? Is Jesus a savior to you? Do you think Jesus is the son of…
Is your faith an abstract collection of doctrines or do you have a resurrection faith? That kind of faith that drives any trace of fear out? That kind of faith that laughs in the front of death? That kind of faith that boldly declares like Paul: If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8, NRSV,*? When…
Do you have Jesus in your heart? Good for you. But do you have inside out faith? Does your faith get an outside expression too? Does the workings of Jesus in your heart get you also work out your faith? These are fundamental questions. When our faith becomes an inside out faith, we are truly experiencing the joy of salvation. Sure, we are saved only by grace through faith in Jesus. But that is not the end of it. We…
Some people assume that God tries to take our freedom and restrict our joy. But they’ve bought the lies of the devil and they could not be further from the truth. Because God made us free. But we have been abusing the freedom by making bad choices from the start. Like Philip Yancey has said “God’s terrible insistence on human freedom is so absolute that he granted us the power to live as though He did not exist, to spit…
Do you ever feel that you are not doing enough or accomplishing enough? Even in the realm of faith? It is time to step back and look at the big picture. Then hopefully you will be able to relax and rest in God’s grace. Because all is well. So then [God’s gift] is not a question of human will and human effort, but of God’s mercy. [It depends not on one’s own willingness nor on his strenuous exertion as in…
Do you know how to get to know God? Do you know how to take care of yourself? How does these two questions tie together? In a very organic way. We can’t know ourselves without knowing God first. We can’t be well if we are not made right with God. We are not flourishing if we do not know God’s will in our life. With the words of J.I Packer: “What were we made for? To know God. What aim…
Today – being Friday the 13th and all – I want to remind you to take up the shield of faith. Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Eph. 6:16, CEB) We are saved by grace through faith. But so often we forget that through faith we also receive God’s protection. God’s your Guardian, right at your side to protect you— Shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from…
If Christmas means ‘God with us’ and Easter spells out ‘God for us’, then Pentecost must be ‘God in and through us’. Okay, you say, but what does it mean? First God sent Jesus to die for us and make us right with God. Then he sent the Holy Spirit to live in his children: to guide, to protect, to inspire, to enable, to empower them to be all God wants them to be. The Holy Spirit really lives and…
Have you any plans to travel this summer? Where are you going? What are you taking along? A big part of any journey is planning and packing. It is important to have relevant gears with you. Not too much, not too little. And it is important to know where you are going and how to get there. Hence you need a map and possibly a passport. It is so also on the great adventure called faith. The revelation of God…
