After years of theoretical preparation for Christian faith formation I have found extremely delightful to experience child rearing myself. To witness firsthand how a child forms his or her world view is a marvelous blessing itself. But I also feel that just seeing how a child constructs his or her view of God has really made all the knowledge come together. More than before I treasure how a child finds trust in God and how he or she collects information…
Often people think that they’d get more out of life if their goal was simply to satisfy all their needs and wants. But the opposite is true! It might first look like that people who pile up most material goods win. But that’s little short-sighted. When you grab all you can get, that’s what happens: the more you get, the less you are. (Proverbs 1: 19, MSG) Isn’t that the saddest thing? People who want to “create themselves” by buying…
Sometimes we think that our life is so small or simple that it is not significant. Maybe not if seen through the eyes of the world. But God thinks you are a Very Important Person. God created you, gave his only Son to die for you and through the resurrection of Jesus Christ made it possible for you to be made right with him. God waits to hear from you and rejoices when you bring your joys, sorrows, concerns, dreams…
I can’t live without prayer. I know some people rarely pray. They might even intellectually believe in the power of prayer but they don’t really practice it. Or they go through the motions of prayer but they don’t really believe in the power of prayer anyway. Somehow they can live without prayer just fine. But that’s not me. I can’t imagine going through one single day without praying. It is hard to explain why I can’t live without prayer but…
Have you experienced the transformative power of prayer? The book of Psalms is full of examples of transformation that happens while praying. How David started prayers full of self-pity or anger and ended up transformed during his prayer. Just compare the first and the last 10 verses of the Psalm 77 (MSG)! 1 I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. 2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night…
This image of making ourselves at home in God’s love just captured my heart today. Just think about it! God’s love is perfect. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes. God’s love never fails. And we are invited to make ourselves at home in God’s love! There’s nothing better on this earth that being at home in God’s love. “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my…
Is your faith an accessory or an addition to your life? Or is it the foundation of your life? Too often we push God and his will in the corner. Faith is nice and God makes us feel good but we leave it there. We go on with out lives without God and radical faith. “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words…
Do you have people telling you to splurge just because life is short? That the purpose of life is “to live a little, to enjoy luxury items, to get more toys, to have been there and done that”? “Because life is short and we live only once…why not to enjoy while we can?” That kind of talk leaves me confused. How about you? That kind of talk tells about emptiness and how utterly lost people can be. If we think…
How is your salvation-garden doing? I never thought of it this way before but reading the first chapter of James in the Message got me thinking. What if our lives really were meant to be salvation-gardens cultivated by God? Are we hindering God’s work? Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled…
Don’t let the world define you. You are a child of God. Your value derives directly from God. As a heir of Almighty God your value is beyond measure. It doesn’t matter whether you’re single or divorced. It doesn’t matter if you’re jobless or homeless. it doesn’t matter if you’re sick or handicapped. Don’t let those things define you. Let God take over your life and step into freedom in Christ! And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or…
