Once I overheard a discussion between two successful young professionals on a train. It sounded like they had graduated together from a graduate school a while back with big dreams. And they had gone and achieved them all right. A good job. A beautiful wife. Wonderful kids. A comfortable house. A fast car. Extensive travels. Yet they were asking: Is this all there is? We think we can find happiness on our own. We think we know how to find…
Robust peace might sound a bit odd first. That’s because we’ve learned to think of peace as of lack of something. Peace is a lack of hurry or lack of pestering people. The peace the world ever is able to give is this kind of peace: a removal from busyness or a subtraction of something from our lives. But this kind of peace is not lasting and it diminishes our lives. This kind of peace is not robust peace. This…
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. Because life is no picnic. It is a life-or-death fight. We need to be ready. 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…
Last week our seven year old son said something after the Lord’s Prayer that I have been thinking ever since. It was nothing earth-shattering but profoundly true nonetheless. He said that the Lord’s Prayer was a practical prayer. Indeed! I just had never thought about it that way. Jesus wanted us to pray practical prayers. “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you…
What’s the big deal of the Holy Spirit? Why do we need the Holy Ghost? Why should we be excited about the Spirit of God? I’ve collected here my big five reasons why the Holy Spirit is an essential part of spiritual life. 1) The Holy Spirit is a person. For real. The Holy Spirit is not just an abstract thought or impersonal wind. The Holy Spirit is a person who hears, speaks, feels and thinks. The Holy Spirit loves,…
Where are you? Are you ashamed, addicted, alienated? Or are you trapped, anxious or defeated? Or powerless, hopeless or frustrated? I have good news for you. You don’t have to be stuck in the mud. You can be accepted, valued and loved. You can be healed, strengthened and empowered. You can overcome. Not on your own. But by God’s grace. The only way of letting go of weaknesses is surrendering them to Jesus. Self-help does not work. Believe me, I have…
What’s the point of Ascension Day? (Other than getting a day off in Europe?) Why would we be excited about following the cloud? Why would be excited about Jesus leaving us? Let’s find out. He [Jesus] told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria,…
Life is extremely messy and complicated. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming. How could we live abundantly in the midst of everyday chaos? The answer is not the most popular in this self-centered world. Yet the answer remains the same and -what’s most important- the answer really works. Jesus is the answer to the messiness of life. Jesus is the answer to the chaos of life. Jesus is the answer for everything. I was reading John 8 this morning and was…
Faith is a daring adventure. It might not look like it. But that’s because we can’t see everything with our eyes. Like George Eliot has said it “Adventure is not outside man//It is within”. The biggest battles are fought within. The greatest adventures are experienced within. The hardest battle of all might be to believe that God exists and that he wants amazing things for every one. The enemy will do everything in his power to keep us from receiving…
Fear is one of the most awful things in the world. When we live out of fear, life is not what it’s meant to be. Fear cripples us. Fear steals the joy of living. Fear paralyzes our inner beings. Exactly the opposite what God designed for us. Every bad decision I’ve ever made can be traced back to fear. Whenever I’ve made a decision out of fear it has led to a disaster. Whenever you say yes because you fear…
