Do you try to gain the esteem of the world? Are you concerned what others think of you? Would you like to please crowds? I think we all would like to be well liked. But how far are you willing to go to gain acceptance? These questions rose as I combined two very different writing prompts I received today: ‘remember’ and ‘crowd’. Not a very likely pair. But they got me thinking. What do we need to remember? Crowd pleasing…
One of the really great things about Christianity is that God does not force us to do anything. God invites us and waits for willing hearts to follow his leading. How is your heart doing? Are you willinghearted? I’d like to say yes. I desire to say yes. But when I read these words of Jesus I am left wondering: Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it…
Are you satisfied with your walk with Christ? Or do you long for more? Do you want to rekindle your faith? To be more like Christ? To experience more of God’s presence in your life? Good for you. Time for spiritual renewal is here: Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (today). Lent is an opportunity to imitate Jesus as he fasted forty days in the desert. Lent is an opportunity to make room for God in our lives and get closer…
You know that faith is a gift from God. You can’t earn it, you can just receive it. Just as spiritual gifts in general, also faith is inspired and brought to pass by one and the same Holy Spirit. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. (1 Cor. 12:11, MSG) If you have had the pleasure to receive the gift of…
Do you have a strong spiritual immune system? Are you robust in spiritual health? How do you maintain it? How can you boost your own spiritual immune system? Let’s continue our journey towards healthy spiritual immune system. In the first part of the series I presented a formula for spiritual health. We need to have a healthy diet and a good balance of exercise and rest. All that together equals as the spiritual immune system. God (the Spiritual Immune System)…
Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Finland as Friends’ Day. In some ways I think it captures the heart of Valentine’s Day even better when it does not exclude all but romantic love. And having friends is one of the best things in life, don’t you think? So worth of celebrating. But just think what it would be like to be friends with Jesus? And the best news is that’s exactly what Jesus wants to be with us. You are My…
Now is the flu season. The best way to avoid catching a cold is to boost your immune system. What do you think? Do we need to have a spiritual immune system? I think so. Life is hard, life is rough, life is difficult – even if we don’t talk about spiritual battles. Our faith is on trial every single day. In order to be able to feel spiritually well and live our lives according to God’s will we need…
Do you recognize God’s presence in your life? Or are you too busy to take notice of the divine intervention? These are the questions the Bible asked me today. I was reading the chapter 19 in Luke where Jesus is entering Jerusalem to be crucified. Jesus wept over the city because he knew they were not recognizing and welcoming God’s personal visit. This is how he prophesied: When the city came into view, he wept over it. “If you had…
There is no way around it: Love is the most important thing in our lives. Without love we are lost, broken and lonely. But God’s love and grace can change that. Like Kurt Bubna writes in his book Epic Grace, Chronicles of a Recovering Idiot: “Let me tell you from firsthand experience what I know about the love and grace of God. It’s ludicrous. It’s scandalous. It’s crazy. It’s ridiculous. It’s healing and restoring. And it always break my heart….
This year I want to really see the son of God. This year I want to put Christ above all else. This year I want to cleave to Jesus. For this is My Father’s will and His purpose, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day. (John 6:40, AMP) I want to…
