Do you know how to overcome temptations? Because it is not about growing your moral muscle! The main thing to remember is this: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13, NKJV) The Amplified Bible says the same verse this way: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me.” We have strength for all things if we are in Christ who empowers us. Okay, you say. But how to do it? How to…
Do you feel that you are at the end of your rope? Don’t worry. As Woodrow Kroll points out “our quitting point is God’s beginning point”. When we are finished trying to manage on our own, God can step in. We can’t summon up strength on our own, but God is our strength. We can’t use yesterday’s manna, but there will always be new manna in the morning. We can’t store grace, but there will always be enough if we…
Our family celebrated the birth of Christ in Lapland this year. We boarded an overnight train in rain. And the following morning we arrived to the Arctic Circle and it was all white! Snow everywhere! After a dark and rainy fall snow felt like grace! I was reminded of “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18, CEB). Right then and there I was wrapped in grace. The love of Christ controls us, because we…
All these self-help articles of how to prepare for 2012 have left me empty. No matter how much planning I’d do for the new year, it does not solve the problems. If I have not ended this year well, the new year will be same old, same old. So the best preparation for the future is to deal with the past. When we have a clean slate we are ready to move on. But how can we get past the…
Some people wish that God were like Santa. He’d give us what we want. But the problem is: we don’t know what is best for us. Some people do think God is like Santa. And when they don’t get what they want, they throw God over board. But God is not like Santa. Or, like Harry Emerson Fosdick has stated, “God is not a cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get things”. But if you think…
The best thing of Christmas is as true today as it was on the birthday of Jesus: Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Because of Jesus we have hope, we have grace, we have joy. The free gift of Christ keeps giving. Grace will never be old-fashioned or out of touch. We can’t do anything that gets us out of reach of grace. We just need to remember to turn back to God. We need to reclaim grace…
I just finished reading the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old testament. What can I say? I am very glad for Christmas this year. What an awesome God! What a pitiful bunch of people we are! How dare we to be so selfish, sinful, and shameless! God, have mercy on us! Despite everything God sent his only son to the world. Despite everything God displays his love to us in Jesus. Despite of everything Jesus died and rose…
What does John the Baptist have to do with Christmas? First of all, his life was fully intertwined with Jesus. He was only few months older than Jesus and he was called to clear the way for Jesus. John knew his place in God’s salvation plan. He had dedicated his whole life for serving God. His message for us this advent season is: prepare your hearts for Jesus. What needs to go that we’d be able to fully concentrate in…
Last week we talked about how Zachariah doubted God’ ability to give him a son. Because of this he was unable to speak until the day of the circumcision of his son. He got his voice back after he had written on a tablet “His name is to be John”. Oh, how Zachariah praised the Lord! “Bless the Lord God of Israel because he has come to help and has delivered his people. He has raised up a mighty savior…
Why is Christmas such a big deal? Does it really matter that Jesus was born? Yes, it does. Without Jesus we would live our lives in dark without hope. Without Jesus there wouldn’t be a chance to be made right with God. Without Jesus we would still stumble in the dark. Christmas matters because YOU matter to God. The birth of Jesus was promised hundreds years before it happened: Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman…
