The core element of faith is surrender. Some people don’t think so but Jesus told his disciples that all who want to come after him must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. That is what faith is all about: surrender. And not just once but daily. Because there’s always something new to surrender. As A.W. Tozer has said, “Faith, as Paul saw it, was a living, flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ.”…
Christmas is not a day for Santa to bring gifts to well-behaved kids. It’s a day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Actually, the birth of Jesus has such a huge impact on our lives that we celebrate it for 12 days. So, Happy Second Day of Christmas, all! Jesus is better than Santa in so many ways. For the starters, Christmas without Christ is just a big mess. Not something we want to celebrate for days for sure. But…
Are you ready for Christmas? Or are you secretly hoping for an extra week? Thankfully, Christmas does not depend on our mindset or feelings or how perfectly prepared we are. The journey to Christmas joy starts slowly and it is more than okay to come as you are. No preparations needed. Just come and meet Jesus. You can walk to the stable at your own pace. There are no requirements. You can come empty-handed and heavy-hearted. Yet you don’t ever…
I don’t know about you but I feel I am so far behind in my Christmas preparations. I don’t even dare to tell my American friends how behind I am. It’s not the first time either. The first year I was teaching at Concordia College (at Moorhead, MN) I bought my gifts – other than from the college bookstore – at the airports on my way home. I just had been so busy with teaching and grading and everything else…
One of the blessings Jesus gave us was the direct access to God. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be made right with God. Hence, we are welcome to draw near to God. Our sins have been and will be forgiven so we can boldly approach God. There’s nothing that can ever separate us from God but us. If we do not draw near to God, we will miss out all the good things. We can choose to stay away…
Hearing God’s voice or experiencing his presence is beyond wonderful. But there are times in all of our lives when God is silent and feels distant. It’s not fun but it does not mean that God would not love us anymore. We need to know that the promises of the Bible are valid each of us every day. Not just on those days when we can feel it but also – especially – when we feel desperate and alone. That’s…
Do you have a lot of questions about life and faith? Are they keeping you away from God or are they bringing you closer to him? Don’t fight your questions, give them to God. He will answer them when you’re ready. Meanwhile, embrace your questions, live them and praise God in advance for answering you when the time is right. Instead of worrying about the answers, use your time more usefully: spend time in God’s presence. That’s from where all…
What do you think? Does faith work or is it just a collection of meaningless religious rituals and a collection of outdated dogma? Too often people make their minds about this without testing it. Because if you do test-drive faith in Jesus, you will soon realize: it does work. How does faith work? It is a mystery. We don’t know how God operates. I find it wonderful that I can’t put God in a box. God is God and still,…
When you’re exhausted you don’t want to be pushed and told to try even harder. Especially when we are down we need grace. Jesus is calling to him all who are weary. He will not urge us to try harder, instead, he gives us rest. And when we have rested, he will empower us with his grace to do what we can’t do on our own. I see Christianity as grace and that’s why it’s difficult for me to understand…
Do you love God more than anything? And do you surrender to Jesus daily? Your will, your strength, your heart, your mind, your body, your soul, your spirit, your everything? That is a tall order, isn’t it? Are you truly willing to give up your own children, even your own life, to follow Jesus? Because that is what he expects you to do. Are you ready to give up everything to follow Jesus? With the words of Jesus: Simply put, if you’re…
