Do you live your life from an eternal perspective? I highly recommend it. Because it changes everything. It gets met pondering on the eternal value of things and letting go of things that do not have eternal value and doing more of things that will last forever. Today I want to talk about a new way of looking at heaven and eternity I got while discussing John 14 online with my Bible study group. In the vision, fixer-upper goes to…
Good Friday always leaves me in awe. I’m in awe of God’s patient love. And how far he was willing to go in order to save us, to unite us with him. The crucifixion did not form a pretty picture for sure. Yet it is the most beautiful picture of sacrificial love. For us. For free. It does not make sense to us to get such an amazing gift – salvation and eternal life – for free yet that’s how…
Lent has lasted now for six weeks. Have you learned anything new? I’ve come to understand more deeply it’s all about God. My contribution to my salvation is my need to be saved. God has provided everything else. It’s God’s grace from start to finish. We all need God and his grace. There has not been, is not, and will not be a human being who does not Jesus to save him. Just think about Peter who had a fundamental…
The fear of COVID-19 has made many people rethink their views on eternity and many are earnestly seeking spiritual well-being. They want boldness to live (and die) but they don’t know it does not come separate from grace and peace. Wanting boldness without faith is like putting the cart before the horse. Grace, peace, boldness belong together. Because together they equal fearless living. Positive thinking does not kick the fear of dying out of the picture but God’s grace does….
Do you tend to get stuck in negative thoughts or feelings? I have good news for you. The antidote to negativity is found in prayer. Truly. We are welcome into God’s presence with any kind of desperation. Transformation happens when our feelings meet the Holy Spirit in prayer. So it’s not us, it’s the Holy Spirit. And that’s why it is so effective. The journey from desperation to transformation is short. It’s only a prayer away. So don’t try to…
At first sight, this text has nothing to do with undeserved grace or does it? I was astonied by this year’s (B) lectionary reading. Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging…
How do you respond to your computer’s update requests? Do you delay them? An hour? Until tomorrow? Next week? I keep doing it. Pushing the inevitable to a later date. Then I got thinking, do we do that to our faith too? Do we delay the needed conversion or updating of our faith? Has your faith become an I-do-it-later kind of faith? Do you delay going to God until you have got your act together or when you have more…
The difference between religion and faith is huge. They might look a lot alike at first but they could not be much more different. People who practice religion try to become good on their own. And people who practice faith know they can’t become good on their own. Hence they surrender to Jesus daily and by doing so let the Holy Spirit work in them. And that’s all God needs. He needs an opportunity to enter our lives. Then he…
How do you relate to the double love commandment? What kind of feelings does it arouse in you? When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first…
This is a gentle reminder of remembering to pile our troubles on God’s shoulders and not our own. That’s what God wants us to do. Really. So let’s not keep on trying to manage on own. Self-reliance hinders our spiritual well-being. So cast your burden on the Lord and let him help you out. Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.(Ps. 55:22, NRSV) I know we’ve taught to carry our own burdens but that’s not the Christian way to…
