Do you feel God’s nearness? Is your faith flowing? Or are you wondering how on earth did you end up with this penalty loop once more? Faith journey does not have to resemble the Israelites’ journey through the desert. That’s not Biblical living. The journey to the Promised Land could have lasted just a few weeks but it lasted 40 years because all the penalty loops they took. Because they did not obey God. They grumbled instead. They took idols…
Do you have a positive identity?Do you know that you are beloved? One of life’s most amazing experiences is finding yourself in God. If you don’t yet know that you are God’s beloved or if you keep forgetting that you are God’s treasure, this message is especially for you. This post was inspired by Jason Gray‘s fabulous song called “Remind Me Who I Am”. It’s about the struggle we face when we forget whose we are, what is our true…
Too often we downgrade the importance of prayer. “We can’t do anything but pray”, you hear people saying. What? When we pray, we invite God to step into our problems, into our lives. When God gets into the equation, anything is possible. Like Oswald Chambers has said “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you…
Do you ever wish you had more faith? I have good news for you. Your faith is beautiful. It is a gift from God. You don’t need more faith. What? That’s what Jesus said. The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.” But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could…
The Bible is very clear that we are all called to be holy like God is holy. It does not happen without effort but by God’s grace it is possible. To be holy is to be transformed into the image of Christ. What bothers me is the fact that people think that holy people are boring, repressed, stiff-necked,and self-righteous. But Jesus was not at all that kind of person! What’s gone wrong here? We are called to be like Jesus,…
Whenever you feel small… …remind yourself that God thinks the world of you. Whenever you feel down… ….remind yourself that God things you are to die for. Literally. God sent his own son to die for your so you had a way to spend eternity with him. Joyfully. God did not save you grudgingly. He saved you in his joy. Lovingly. God loves you. He is not going to take his love back. There’s nothing you can or leave undone…
Today – being Friday the 13th and all – I want to remind you to take up the shield of faith. Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Eph. 6:16, CEB) We are saved by grace through faith. But so often we forget that through faith we also receive God’s protection. God’s your Guardian, right at your side to protect you— Shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from…
There is a fine line between being totally surrendered to God and letting lazily go. I always struggle when a person tells me that they don’t need to plan anything ahead because God will guide them. Don’t get me wrong. I truly believe in God’s guidance. I truly believe in surrendering to God. I truly believe in doing God’s will. But… Faith does not mean letting the world decide for us. We need to be purposeful. We are on our…
Rest assured, God really knows you inside out. He knows what you need before you do. Are you open to God’s care? Or do you insist on going all the way alone? Today I’ve been reading about Elijah (1 Kings 17-21) and I am in awe of God’s gentle care of him. After Elijah delivered a message to King Ahab God sends him to rest in solitude. God knew Elijah needed the time away. God made sure that all his…
Are you marked by joy? Is it evident in your life that Christ lives in you? If he lives in you, your life should be brimming with joy. Because God is joy. God is indeed the source of joy. All joy comes from him. When we stick close to God, joy is present in our lives no matter how dark the world around is. When we dare to embrace the cross of Christ, we are filled with overflowing joy. And…
