Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Yes, alleluia! But what does it mean, right? What does it mean to you when you are struggling to make ends meet? What does it mean to you who is just beginning to understand God’s love for you? What does it mean when God seems to be silent? What does it mean here and now? What does it really mean? The first step into resurrection living is to let Jesus carry your burdens….
Have you ever been so broken, shattered into zillion little pieces, that you were sure there was no hope for you? Or are you heart-broken right now? There’s good news for broken people! In Jesus all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies! There’s hope because of Jesus’ blood that poured down from the cross! He [Jesus] was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the…
Peter is one of the Bible characters whose spiritual growth impresses me time after time. He was passionate for Jesus from early on yet he didn’t first really understand what it meant to live for Jesus. But Peter was willing to learn, first from Jesus and later on from the Holy Spirit. Peter’s story is an encouraging example of heavenly spiritual formation, what it really means to grow in grace. Just think…Peter was the one who cut off the ear…
Too often we just let life happen and we wander without thinking, even without praying. But then we are in danger to get where the flow takes us and not where we want to go. We need to put our faith in action. Because faith is not a sentiment, it is a call for action. We need to start our days by praying for guidance, for wisdom, for direction, for strength. Tommy Barnett explains “I’ve discovered it is not sufficient…
Even though the world around us is full of marks of death and dying we try to deny our own mortality. We like to live in La-La Land and pretend we are not aging and our life will go on forever. But the sooner we face the reality: we are dust and we will return to dust, the better we can embrace living fully. Like a parent feels compassion for their children— that’s how the LORD feels compassion for those…
A life filled with harmony, peace, and love is something we all want. And, yet, we can’t quite achieve it. Because harmony, peace, and love are by-products of living well, not things we can force to appear. But how could we live the way these things would naturally appear? How could we live in love? How could we create life full of faith, hope, and love? Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who…
Did you know that you are a very important person in God’s plans? For real. It does not necessarily feel like it or even look like it from your perspective. But when you look at the big picture or from God’s perspective, you see the importance of every person in the relay of faith. Just the same way we need to look at the big picture and not to be satisfied with partial truths when we are reading the Bible….
Do you feel that you are at the end of your rope? Don’t worry. As Woodrow Kroll points out “our quitting point is God’s beginning point”. When we are finished trying to manage on our own, God can step in. We can’t summon up strength on our own, but God is our strength. We can’t use yesterday’s manna, but there will always be new manna in the morning. We can’t store grace, but there will always be enough if we…
Are you afraid of the future? Do the predictions of the end of the world make you squirm? Have you lost your way? Don’t worry, finding the safe way to the future is easier than you think. “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place…
I just finished reading the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old testament. What can I say? I am very glad for Christmas this year. What an awesome God! What a pitiful bunch of people we are! How dare we to be so selfish, sinful, and shameless! God, have mercy on us! Despite everything God sent his only son to the world. Despite everything God displays his love to us in Jesus. Despite of everything Jesus died and rose…
