Today I’ve been inspired by some thoughts on waiting and I want to share them with you. May they encourage you on your faith journey as well! We who have hope in Christ are able to wait because we know God is good all the time. For in [this] hope we were saved. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For how can one hope for what he already sees? But if we hope for what is…
Do you know how to be dressed in readiness? Then I want to hear from you. My word for the year 2015 is ‘readiness’ and I am trying to figure out what readiness means for me and how I could practice it more fully. Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. (Luke 12:35, NASB,*) We are all called to be ready for Jesus. But readiness for Jesus means more than ‘just’ being saved. And that’s what I will be…
Are you looking for happiness? Most people are. My heart cries out for all the people who are looking for happiness in all the wrong places. How people are so lost and don’t have any idea where to find what they’ve been looking for all their lives. This is nothing new under the sun though. When you read through the Bible you realize people were acting exactly the same way thousands of years ago than they do now. People are…
Today I’ve been pondering on giving. What it is and what is is not. I don’t think we need expensive gifts but I do think we need extraordinary generosity. Material gifts do not bring happiness. But love and caring do. Because when we love each other, we are touched by God. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. (Luke…
Have you ever read a novel with a protagonist who just doesn’t get what s/he needs to learn in order to succeed/find happiness or balance in his or her life? You as a reader just can’t understand why s/he does not get it. The protagonist struggles with the same thing over and over again until finally s/he gets a break through and things start looking better. It is so easy to know what’s good for the protagonist while you’re reading…
One of the most famous Bible verses is Psalm 119:105 (AMP): Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. There are songs about it and almost everybody – it seems like it – knows it by heart. I’ve always loved it too but today I read it in the Message paraphrase and saw it very differently afterwards. By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path….
Have you turned to God today? Or are you going on your own way? These questions right here defines your faith. Do you have a sunflower faith? A heart that follows God’s light all the time? Or are you focused on yourself and your problems? And then wonder why God feels so distant? There really is no other way to live abundantly than starting each and every day by turning to God. When we are focused on God, everything else…
We are told to be generous, right? How do you feel about it? How would you feel if someone told you to not to try to be more generous than God? I was puzzled for sure. Especially when it was Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – August 20, 1153). Read it yourself! What could it mean? “The man who is wise, therefore, will see his life as more like a reservoir than a canal. The canal simultaneously pours out what it…
Do you know how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God’s love is? I hope you, at least, have had a glimpse of it. Even a glimpse of God’s love will knock your socks off. There’s nothing like it. And there’s nothing better. Don’t take my word for it. Read what David wrote in one of his psalms: 3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! 4 I will praise you as long as I…
Do you know how to live carefree? Would you like to live carefree? I think we all do. Stress-free living would be lovely, don’t you think? But most often we think carefree living is meant for children only. That’s not true. At least, if we think of childhood as a stage of life. But it is true for God’s children who learn to trust God’s care. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. (1 Peter 5:7, MSG,*) Trusting…
