View the story “The Cross & Dying to Sin or What Grace Is All About” on Storify] Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it…
One of the most quoted Bible verses is Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God!” Too often we just think of it as an invitation to silence. But it is an invitation for a whole new way of thinking. It is an invitation for a peace-filled way of life! Let’s explore! The Message Bible paraphrases Psalm 46:10 this way: “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above…
Does faith and luck have anything to do with each other? Not if we think that luck has nothing to do with God. But if we see God as a giver of luck or blessings, then faith and luck are closely related. Even the beatitudes could be translated “Lucky are those”. The Greek work used here is ‘makarios’ and it means “the ones to be congratulated” or “the ones who are fortunate”. Jesus starts his sermon on the Mount with…
Salvation is readily available for everyone. We don’t need to wait until heaven to experience the presence of God. We are all called to a God-filled life right here, right now. How do we do that? By repenting and asking God into our hearts. By getting back on the altar. Day after day.God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how…
It’s great that we trust God. But we are also called to follow Christ. We can’t omit the cross and Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer states “Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ.” As followers of Jesus we can’t dictate our own terms or decide what we are willing to do. We can’t write our own program to suit our whims and wants. We can’t limit our following to our comprehension. In the Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer shares the timeless advice…
Spiritual amnesia is one of the great dangers on our faith journeys. Forgetfulness of God’s goodness pushes us easily into a downward spiral towards spiritual emptiness. This happened time and time again for the Israelites on the wilderness. And it happens to us if we forget God’s graceful ways, either in biblical history or in our personal history. How could we avoid this spiritual amnesia? Spiritual disciplines have always been ways of keeping spiritual amnesia away. The most common ones…
Ignoring God leads to an empty life. We can try to fill our lives with different things. But because we were created to God’s image we long to be with God. That’s why we can’t find happiness outside of God. Like Blaise Pascal has said “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” The stronger the dissonance between…
Do you wholeheartedly believe that God Almighty loves you dearly? If you have any doubt of God’s amazing love for you or if you just want to be reaffirmed of the glorious fact devour this passage from Zephaniah: The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. (Zephaniah…
We all think Abraham is a great hero of faith. But even he did some stupid things. He bought the thought that he needs to help God to give him and Sarah a child! How often we do something for God because we think that’s a great idea instead of waiting for God? We would like to prove ourselves for God but that’s not the way it goes. Human connivance never achieve things God’s way. Tell me now, you who…
Do you ever wonder why on earth Jesus gave such a hard time for Pharisees? They were decent folks, weren’t they? Here’s how Jesus saw it: Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy.” He then called the crowd…
