My godfather was buried last week. The verse I chose to him was 1 Corinthians 13:13: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. That tells you a lot about what kind of man he was. But even I was in for a surprise at the funeral. All his neighbors were telling stories after stories how he had helped them. How he had served them. How he had loved them. I was floored…
There is a need within each of us to know God. We search to know God whether we realize it or not. There are a lot of New Age stuff going on that offer different ways to find God. But the Bible tells us that there is only one way to God: Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me,…
It is great to live in a free country. It is great to be independent. But even that is nothing if we have not been set free by God’s grace. People don’t think they are slaves in a free country. But if you just have to have that new gadget or you can’t live out without the new cute outfit in the mall, you are a slave. If you just have to watch the latest Hollywood production or you just…
Worrying seems natural to many of us. Worrying might even seem like the only way to go. But, let me tell you, it doesn’t have to be so. There is a way to say goodbye to worries. But it’s nothing we can make happen. But Jesus can. Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming…
Our heart is the place where we meet our God. Hence it is the most precious place. That’s why we need to watch over our heart with everything we got. Because without a heart responsive to God we are not alive anymore. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:3, AMP) When our heart is sensitive and responsive to God, all is well. But,…
I know the title gives a tall order for this post. But that know-how is necessary for spiritual growth. In order to bear fruit we need to be pruned. But we don’t like it. We don’t like to get hurt. So we resist it. But that leaves us in spiritual limbo. And that is not a desired state of being. Not from our point of view and not from God’s point of you. What to do then? Any branch in…
God’s word is a mirror. We just need to dare to look at it. What do I mean? We could take, for example, any story Jesus told to his disciples. If we dare to ask the Holy Spirit to read our heart and show us what we need to know, God’s word will be a mirror for us. The picture that we see in our hearts is God’s message for us. Keep this in mind when you read the parable…
Are you in a place where hope is in short supply? Are you about to lose your way? Are you struggling to survive? Take a deep breath. No matter how dark your future looks like… No matter how rough the wilderness around you is… No matter how desperate you feel… There’s always grace. Even in the wilderness. You might doubt it, especially when the circumstances speak otherwise. But with God anything is possible. With God we do find grace even…
Today I found a Bible verse that felt brand new to me. I’ve read the Bible and especially the New Testament many times. Still I find something new all the time. It is because the Bible is the Living Word of God which means God speaks through it. When we prayerfully approach the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes to see what needs to be seen, God will speak to us. And this does not…
Fear is one of the most awful things in the world. When we live out of fear, life is not what it’s meant to be. Fear cripples us. Fear steals the joy of living. Fear paralyzes our inner beings. Exactly the opposite what God designed for us. Every bad decision I’ve ever made can be traced back to fear. Whenever I’ve made a decision out of fear it has led to a disaster. Whenever you say yes because you fear…
