Are you a joy-warrior? Would you like to be? I hope so. That’s who we are called to be here on earth. We are called to love God above all else and others like ourselves. It’s not as easy as it sounds but the benefits are out of this world. Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Cor.13:11, MSG) A joy-warrior is…
Do you know how to be dressed in readiness? Then I want to hear from you. My word for the year 2015 is ‘readiness’ and I am trying to figure out what readiness means for me and how I could practice it more fully. Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. (Luke 12:35, NASB,*) We are all called to be ready for Jesus. But readiness for Jesus means more than ‘just’ being saved. And that’s what I will be…
Preparation is a big part of any celebration. The bigger the celebration, the larger-scale preparations are needed. As human beings we need time to get ready. But also God carefully prepared the creation of the world and the way of salvation long before they happened: In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, AMP,*) How wonderful to know that God took time to prepare everything in the world, including you and me….
Do you believe that you’re very dear to God? Truly precious and beloved? Good for you. Do you believe that you are always loved and cherished? That is a bit harder to believe, don’t you think? Because we don’t so easily love unlovable ones ourselves. Because we don’t always love even those who are dear to us. Because we are incapable of altruistic and unconditional love. But God is not hindered by our in-capabilities. God is God and he is…
It’s getting dark very early these days. Even the days seem gloomy. We yearn to have more light. We try to get rid of darkness by putting up Christmas lights. But no amount of Christmas lighting can take away darkness of our lives. Only God can do that. Psalm 36 verse 9 has been giving me comfort and perspective as it gets darker and darker around us: For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see….
Have you ever felt – or do you feel right now – that God is silent? Do you know what to do when God is silent? It is an important faith skill. Because too often we worry about if we have done something wrong when God feels distant. The silence of God is part of salvation life. Sometimes it lasts few days or weeks, sometimes the silent period lasts months or even years. But it doesn’t mean that we would…
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…
Have you turned to God today? Or are you going on your own way? These questions right here defines your faith. Do you have a sunflower faith? A heart that follows God’s light all the time? Or are you focused on yourself and your problems? And then wonder why God feels so distant? There really is no other way to live abundantly than starting each and every day by turning to God. When we are focused on God, everything else…
Do you remember when Jesus called Peter to follow him? Jesus asked him to let down his nets after a night without any success. When Peter did what Jesus asked him to do, they had a huge haul of fish. Peter was awestruck. And he asked Jesus to leave him alone because he could not handle that much holiness. When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m…
Do you dare to hope when there’s no reason to hope? Do you dare to hope when your life as you’ve known it has been taken over by a razing storm? Do you dare to hope when life has become bitterness and poison? I hope so. I’ve been there. Everything but God was taken from me. But God was more than enough. I can testify that God is faithful. That’s why I can assure you: God will also see you…
