How do you know whether you are a legalistic or not? Mike Taylor provides us a simple test to check whether you are prone to a legalistic thinking: “ask yourself, “How does God feel about me today?” If the answer is anything other than, “He is passionately in love with me,” then you are falling into the trap of thinking that God’s attitude towards us is determined by our performance rather than by his essential loving character. In other words,…
Just today I was asked on Twitter “Why does God offer glimmers of hope only to yank them back ???” and felt that this is a question that deserves a little longer answer. I believe this is a real sentiment of many people in today’s tough economic climate. But I assure you: God is not a deceiver. What God says, goes. What God promises to us will be fulfilled. Times change but God doesn’t. God is the same yesterday, today…
Sometimes we think that our life is so small or simple that it is not significant. Maybe not if seen through the eyes of the world. But God thinks you are a Very Important Person. God created you, gave his only Son to die for you and through the resurrection of Jesus Christ made it possible for you to be made right with him. God waits to hear from you and rejoices when you bring your joys, sorrows, concerns, dreams…
One of the dangers of any relationship is taking the other person for granted. Then we fail to appreciate the value of the person. Then we assume certain amenities for granted. It is bad enough when we do that with our friends of family. But sadly we also do this with Christ and the amazing grace. Lord, have mercy. Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace…
I can’t live without prayer. I know some people rarely pray. They might even intellectually believe in the power of prayer but they don’t really practice it. Or they go through the motions of prayer but they don’t really believe in the power of prayer anyway. Somehow they can live without prayer just fine. But that’s not me. I can’t imagine going through one single day without praying. It is hard to explain why I can’t live without prayer but…
Are you tired, weary, exhausted? Are you asking what’s the point of all this? Are you feeling just terrible? The psalmist is right with you. Here’s a scripture prayer – a mighty energy drink – for all the weary pilgrims: I’m feeling terrible—I couldn’t feel worse! Get me on my feet again. You promised, remember? When I told my story, you responded; train me well in your deep wisdom. Help me understand these things inside and out so I…
One of the many temptations in life is to forget where our blessings come from. We explain the blessings away thinking things happened by accident or it was serendibity. Or we take the credit for ourselves. But the middle verses of the Bible emphasize the importance of counting our blessings and remembering them. And giving credit where credit is due. O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t…
The secret of starting your day right is not about getting the right hot drink just as you prefer it. The secret of starting your day right is in practicing surrender in slippers. What? The most important act in the morning is to surrender your whole life to God. If we try to carry all the burdens on our own shoulders, the day will not get the right start and will not get any better either. But if we lay…
Have you experienced the transformative power of prayer? The book of Psalms is full of examples of transformation that happens while praying. How David started prayers full of self-pity or anger and ended up transformed during his prayer. Just compare the first and the last 10 verses of the Psalm 77 (MSG)! 1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night…
Picking up your cross is not popular. This world talks about everything but the cross of Christ. Even Christians would like to take the good and easy parts of the gospel and leave the tough ones out. We all would just like to hear about God’s love and leave the carrying your cross part for others. Francois Fenelon asks us a hard question: “He asks nothing but death, and you desire nothing but life. How can you put up to…
