Is receiving the grace of Christ an amazing race or amazing grace? It is a relief to know it does not require to be the winner of the amazing race to receive the grace of Christ. There is nothing we can do to earn the grace of Christ. It is the amazing gift from God; it is amazing grace. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when…
Are you trained in greed or a creed? One alphabet makes a big difference, doesn’t it? The difference is as big as between day and night or life and death. How do you live your life? Are you becoming an expert in greed or are you training yourself in God’s ways? What are you teaching your children? Greed or a creed? They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! (2 Peter 2:14b, NRSV) This verse got my attention this morning….
How was your Christmas? Did you have a good time with your family and friends? I hope so. But even the most joyous time of year can’t compare to what we have in Jesus. For real. Nothing compares to Jesus. Nothing. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! (Psalm 63:3, CEB) This little verse captures what really matters in life. God’s love and God’s grace are better than life itself. No matter how much fun…
Do you know the difference between grace and mercy? I was reading a prayer of Daniel and I was awed by the humbleness how he approached God. He realized we really don’t deserve anything from God. Yet he boldly approached God for appealing for his compassion. I was thinking that’s how we all should approach God: humbly yet boldly. It’s true we don’t have anything to offer God. But yet he is inviting us to come to him. It’s not…
Last week I read an online article about how we should not do things we love every day. Like if you love ice cream, you should not eat it every day if you don’t want it to become just an emotionless habit. But there’s one exception to this rule, I think. The rule does not apply to Bible-reading. Because ….the more we read the Bible, the more we desire to read it. The more we digest the Word of God,…
I know many of us are in great need of physical healing (Right now I have several people on my prayer list). But let’s not forget the even greater need for spiritual healing. Because through spiritual healing we are not given just life in this world but also life after death. If we don’t have spiritual cleansing from inside out, it does not matter how healthy we otherwise are. Because then we are walking in the land of death. We…
I didn’t realize the word ‘hold’ is such a hope-filled and faith-saturated one. I was doing a search at Biblegateway.com and found an abundance of faith-affirming and uplifting verses that had the word ‘hold’ in them. Here are my favorites: Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands. (Matthew 10:28, MSG, emphasis added*) We…
‘Go tell it to the mountains’ was the first thing that went through my mind when I learned this week’s Five minute Friday prompt was ‘tell’. We are indeed commanded to go and tell everyone that Jesus has come for each of us. But are we really living out this command? How does is show in our everyday life? Ouch. “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this…
Lately God has been waking me up (literally) to see my sinfulness. God has reminded me of some choices I have made in my life and led me to repent for them. Even though during that time of my life I did not even think they had been questionable. I did not know any better then. Selfishness does not produce good fruit. Selfishness paves the way to destruction whether we realize it or not. Go home and wash up. Clean…
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…
