What do you think is the goal of spiritual growth? Is it mastering spiritual practices? Or something much simpler? Your answer to this question tells the health of your spiritual life. Sometimes we do get carried away with our own plans. Hopefully this post can remind you of what matters most and direct you back to the very center of Christian faith. No matter how well we fast, how spiritually mature we are…it’s still God alone who saves. God alone…
You know that faith is a gift from God. You can’t earn it, you can just receive it. Just as spiritual gifts in general, also faith is inspired and brought to pass by one and the same Holy Spirit. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. (1 Cor. 12:11, MSG) If you have had the pleasure to receive the gift of…
Is it hard to believe that God is more interested in you than what you do? That God is more interested in who you are becoming than what you are getting done? So often we are so concerned about our (or other people’s) behavior that we forget what really matters. Psalm 1 declares that people who delight in the Lord are blessed. They are like like a tree firmly planted and tended by the streams of water. At the same…
Do you feel inadequate to be God’s disciple? Are you struggling with insecurities? Today’s post is for you. Here’s what Paul wrote to Timothy from jail. Suddenly Timothy had to take up a primary leadership role and he felt inadequate and maybe a bit terrified of the size of the task waiting for him. Then he receives this letter from Paul reminding him of a very encouraging fact in all of our lives: For God did not give us a…
Do you know that God waits to be gracious to you? That God is ready to show mercy on you? That God loves you so much that he wants to show his endless compassion to you? And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate,…
Do you blame yourself for past mistakes? Do you insist on labeling yourself as a loser? Are you stuck in a rut? It’s time to wake up to see yourself with God’s eyes. It’s time to embrace the freedom of Christ. It’s time to believe the good news of forgiveness and renewal. It’s time to let the bygones be bygones. It’s time to move on into new life with God. Kurt Bubna profoundly writes in his book Epic Grace, Chronicles…
I’ve heard or read the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well many, many times. I’ve been mesmerized by the living water over and over again. But somehow I have never paid much attention to the latter part of the verse until now. Or that’s how it feels this time. How about you? But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water…
There is no way around it: Love is the most important thing in our lives. Without love we are lost, broken and lonely. But God’s love and grace can change that. Like Kurt Bubna writes in his book Epic Grace, Chronicles of a Recovering Idiot: “Let me tell you from firsthand experience what I know about the love and grace of God. It’s ludicrous. It’s scandalous. It’s crazy. It’s ridiculous. It’s healing and restoring. And it always break my heart….
Are you full of regrets of this year? Are you mad at yourself not doing more, achieving more or enjoying more? Are you looking for a graceful exit? How about a grace filled exit instead? You see, hindsight is always 20/20. It is easy to say what one should have done. It is clear how things should have turned out. But life is not about hindsight. Life is about leaning on God and giving our messes to Jesus.We can’t see…
Are you on the way to meet Jesus? Like the wise men? Without waiting for 100% proof? The wise men must have been on the road to pay homage to the new born king for quite some time now. They most likely had known about the prophecy of Daniel and were familiar with the astronomy. But they were on the way to meet Jesus by faith. They did not wait for 100% proof before starting their journey to Jesus. It…
