You might ask what money and spiritual fruitfulness have in common. I used to question that myself. I’ve always thought that giving is good and we need to take care of each other. But I did not see what it had to do with spiritual fruitfulness. Martin Luther has said “There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind, and the purse.” For a long time I did not particularly like this quote. But now I see its…
I’ve always thought the Bible is valuable and precious. But the more I read it, the more I cherish it. The Bible is priceless. The salvation plan of God, which is revealed in the Bible, is beyond amazing. The Bible is a treasure map to God’s heart. That’s why the Bible is such a huge gift. Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction so that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of…
Don’t you just love how strongly God can speak to you through his Word? Just this morning – like pretty much any morning – I was reading my Bible and suddenly Numbers 11 reflected back my own attitude. The riffraff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt—and got it free!—to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and…
Do you feel God is distant and not interested in you? In that case don’t trust your feelings. God is near and very interested in you. But let’s see why we could feel that way. First of all we need to know that God is not hiding. God is waiting to be found. So if we are spiritually unsatisfied it has something to do with us. Do we rush through life so stressed out and busy that we don’t have…
Christians are citizens of two worlds: God’s kingdom and the world we live in. Sometimes it is a struggle to balance out these two. We don’t want to be worldly yet we are meant to live to the fullest. How should we balance life and faith? It’s important to note that the secular world does not necessarily mean an atheistic world. The secular world is a world that has no special religious connotation. C.S. Lewis has stated “Christianity was never…
View the story “The Cross & Dying to Sin or What Grace Is All About” on Storify] Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it…
One of the most quoted Bible verses is Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God!” Too often we just think of it as an invitation to silence. But it is an invitation for a whole new way of thinking. It is an invitation for a peace-filled way of life! Let’s explore! The Message Bible paraphrases Psalm 46:10 this way: “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above…
Do you believe that God loves you for real? Have you let that sink in your heart? Or is it only a nice, intellectual concept for you? God’s monumental love for us is a fundamental fact of Christian faith. If you don’t yet fully embrace it ask God to enable you to believe it. When you really grasp this lovely fact it opens you up to be fully human and fully alive. Because your value comes from God: you are…
Salvation is readily available for everyone. We don’t need to wait until heaven to experience the presence of God. We are all called to a God-filled life right here, right now. How do we do that? By repenting and asking God into our hearts. By getting back on the altar. Day after day.God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how…
It’s great that we trust God. But we are also called to follow Christ. We can’t omit the cross and Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer states “Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ.” As followers of Jesus we can’t dictate our own terms or decide what we are willing to do. We can’t write our own program to suit our whims and wants. We can’t limit our following to our comprehension. In the Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer shares the timeless advice…
