Do you feel worn out? Beaten? At the end of your rope? Just know that God has reserved a place for you in his arms. I just love knowing that the downcasted will be treated with extra special care. For the weakest God has reserved a place closest to his heart. Doesn’t that comfort you? You don’t need to handle everything. You don’t have to be strong and knowledgeable. You can come as you are. God will cherish you. You…
Have you ever thought you could be Herod? The jealous king who killed innocent babies just to make sure there would not be any rivals for him. I used to say no. I used to think he was way out there. Not like me. But then I looked deeper into the text. I looked deeper into my heart. I looked deeper into the eyes of Jesus. Lord, have mercy. I am Herod! How come? you might ask. Let me explain….
Life can be really hectic and even chaotic. I am not just talking about having too many hobbies or busy holiday schedule. I am talking about worries and burdens like severe illnesses, family feuds, depression, burn out, excess work load or lack of work, aging parents, and financial struggles. Sometimes we just don’t know how to make it through the day. What to do then? How do we manage when there is too much on our plate? For me there…
Do you know that God knows you by name? To God you are not a nobody. To God you are his beloved child. To God you are a very special person. Hosea put it well: I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved. In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!” they’re calling you “God’s living children.” Isaiah maintained this same emphasis: If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered…
The daylight is getting shorter and shorter, the darkness is all around us. This is the time of year when the Bible verses telling us that Jesus is the light for all people are even more precious. Or maybe it is easier to understand how much we need Jesus in the midst of all this darkness. Because of Christ the darkness will not have the last word. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and…
Black Friday is the craziest shopping day in the U.S.A. But no matter how many hours people spend shopping, the best deal ever can’t be bought. Because it is free yet so precious. It was shed and given on Good Friday almost 2000 years ago. It is valid every day until the end of the world. By dying on the cross for our sake Jesus gave us the best deal ever: we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus….
Are you exhausted, ready to quit? Do you feel lost or weak? Are you tired of waiting? The darker it gets outside, the harder it is to believe that there is light, there is purpose, there is God. Sometimes life seems like a desert. But no matter how we feel, God is real. No matter how things seem, there is hope. Sure, there are periods of time when God seems distant. Sure, there are periods of time when nothing happens…
Prayer is such an awesome gift for us. We just neglect it too often. We somehow don’t believe enough in its power. But can we afford not to pray? I don’t think so. I have written a post about my reasons why I can not live without prayer. Prayer simply invites God into our lives. Hence prayer enables us to be human and leaves everything else to God. Prayer is also an antidote for anxiety and a power tool in God’s…
People who don’t know better think believing in God is just about rules, regulations, and religious behavior. If this was true, I’d be the first to quit. I am not drawn to religiousness. I am drawn to God. And not to a statue somewhere. But to the Living God: personal, relational, active. Christian faith is not about keeping alive a bunch of rituals and commemorating a fairy tale. Christian faith is celebrating the freedom we receive by grace through faith…
Sometimes we think that God calls only impressive, competent people into his service. But I think we could not be more wrong. God is looking for willing people whom God would like to bless and equip for his service. Moses is a great example of this. Moses objected, “They won’t trust me. They won’t listen to a word I say. They’re going to say, ‘God? Appear to him? Hardly!’”(Exodus 4:1, MSG) Moses could not believe that he would be able…
