It is important to say ‘I love you’ yet those three words are not ones that change everything. They might change your marital status or bring otherwise happiness into your life. But the three words that I am talking about can change the eternal status of every single person ever lived. Talk about life-changing words. One of the most powerful Bible verses reveals these words that change everything: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is…
If Christmas means ‘God with us’ and Easter spells out ‘God for us’, then Pentecost must be ‘God in and through us’. Okay, you say, but what does it mean? First God sent Jesus to die for us and make us right with God. Then he sent the Holy Spirit to live in his children: to guide, to protect, to inspire, to enable, to empower them to be all God wants them to be. The Holy Spirit really lives and…
What do you think? Is there such a thing as one-size fits-all faith? Yes and no. Yes because Jesus died for all of our sins and his blood covers everyone’s sins. Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation. (Hebrews 9:27-28, MSG,*) There’s nothing…
God is everything and he offers everything for us. Are we ready to fully embrace God and his promises like David Livingstone stating “Without Christ, not one step; with Him, anywhere!” Because God’s love should make us bold. Nothing can separate us from God. Not even death. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the…
Have you ever wondered what it means to bless the Lord? Many, many times in the Psalms we are told to bless the Lord. What are we supposed to do? The Amplified Bible gives us an eye-opening answer: Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits. (Psalm 103:1-2, AMP, emphasis added,*)…
Nobody wants to be empty, right? Empty means poor, sad, lonely. Empty means cold, old, dead. We don’t want to be associated with those things. We don’t want to be empty. We try to fix it. But we mess up. We don’t become full-filled on our own. What to do then? “God gives His gifts where He finds the vessel empty enough to receive them” writes C. S. Lewis in Williams and the Arthuriad. We are not called to be…
Sometimes we think we need to be perfect before God can use us. We try to hide our imperfections or paint over our brokenness. We think if our lives were flawless, we would attract people to God. But that’s not how it works. It’s not about us. It’s about the light in us. And that’s what attracts people to God. The fact that we don’t have to be perfect in order to be accepted by Christ. The fact that the…
Have you accepted the reality of your sinfulness? Are you willing to admit that because of you Jesus died on the cross? Or do you deny your need for Christ? We would like to think we are not sinners. We would like to think it’s not our fault that Jesus died on the cross. But we could not be further from the truth. If we do not accept this fact, we are living in a lie. Then we either live…
On Monday of Holy week Christians traditionally read and contemplate on Jesus praying in Gethsemane. Luke concentrates on Jesus’ prayer and not on the failings of the disciples. Let’s see if there are any blessings hidden in the story. Let see what we can learn from Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane. And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to…
Spring is here. I especially love how there is more and more light. It does invigorate us – at least me – so much. But there is a problem. You see, here in Finland we get light around the clock in summer time. Yes, it is wild. Yes, it is wonderful. But. It is hard to sleep when it’s so bright all the time. So what do I do? I block the sunlight out. Then it’s nice and dark and…
