Do you feel like a has-been? Are you afraid that you will forever be just a wannabe? Do you feel like a failure? I have good news for you. There’s plenty of grace for has-beens and wannabees. In God’s eyes and in the ways that really matter you always are a star and you will be cherished forever and ever. Don’t take my word on it but see what the Bible has to say about God’s love for you. Scripture…
How to build our lives on God? That’s the question. By following the example of Christ is the quick answer. But let’s try to find some blueprints for building our lives on God. The sixth chapter of the letter to Romans give us some advice. For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him]. (Romans…
Are you trying to be holier than Jesus? A shocking question, isn’t it? But – Lord, have mercy – unfortunately a valid one. With the words of Brennan Manning “Christians have an unfortunate tendency to be preoccupied with the trivial”. When we occupy our time with being just right with every little trivial thing, we are trying to be holier than Jesus. But that is never possible. And Jesus did not have a condemning attitude. He oozed love and grace….
What do you think? Does God care what you do on your free time? Are there consequences for your actions? We would like to think that our body, soul, and mind are ours to do what we please. But the Bible tells us differently. If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us…
Living out faith seems fun and easy when things go well. But what are we supposed to do when things don’t go so well? Still keep going strong? But how is it possible? The trick here is….we are not to lean on our own strength…but on God’s strength. We are not to thrive on our own…but to let God empower us. Then it’s not about good times or tough times. It’s about kingdom living. It’s about Christ living in us….
There’s never too much grace. I love grace and I breath grace. It’s what sustains me and keeps me going. We should never take God’s grace granted and get too used to it. That’s why we need reminders of God’s abundant and amazing grace along the way. That’s why I was thrilled by the title of Kurt Bubna‘s book Epic Grace. Isn’t that true? Grace is not just amazing; it is truly epic. I’ve been waiting to get my hands…
Do you always want to have the last word in arguments? Why is it so difficult to not to be the one who knows best? Why does it seem to be so harmful to be weak and lowly? Probably because we think it is about us. Because we think we could solve the problems, that we should have power. But it is not about us. And we can’t solve the problems. And we don’t have anything lasting. If we don’t…
Spiritual blindness seems quite an extreme idea. Somehow we are quick to toss away that idea. If we know God, we are not spiritually blind, right? Not so fast. Look again. This is not an either/or matter. We are not either spiritually blind or have a 20/20 vision. We can also be spiritually shortsighted. What to do then? How can we ensure that we are not spiritually shortsighted? First of all we need to remember that it’s not about us…
Do you walk with God? Do you know how to walk with God? You know, walking with God should be the most natural state of being for a Christian. Just as walking comes naturally to human beings. But what could walking with God entail? How would you describe walking with God? When we are reconciled to God by grace through faith, our Christian walk begins. Walking with God means that we have an on-going communion with God, we abide in…
What if fasting is a blessing? The early church put fasting and prayer together as ways of seeking God’s guidance. Why don’t we? So they commissioned them. In that circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying, they laid hands on their heads and sent them off. (Acts 13:3, MSG) Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his famous book Cost of Discipleship reminds us of the importance of fasting as a part of discipleship ” If there is no element of asceticism in our…
