The Bible is a treasure. The more I read it, the more I marvel God’s perfect plan. Just take the prophecies of Jesus. Every single one of them came through. Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, CEB) Also there are so many parallels between the Old testament and the New testament. Just think of Abraham and…
You might ask what money and spiritual fruitfulness have in common. I used to question that myself. I’ve always thought that giving is good and we need to take care of each other. But I did not see what it had to do with spiritual fruitfulness. Martin Luther has said “There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, mind, and the purse.” For a long time I did not particularly like this quote. But now I see its…
Sometimes people ask me “Why should I believe in Jesus?” or “What’s so special about Jesus?” Or they ask “Do we really need Jesus?” or “Couldn’t we just be nice? Or choose whatever would suit us best?” The one thing they are all asking “Is there power in the name of Jesus?” Let’s find out! The whole concept of God is abstract until we meet Jesus. Because Jesus is God with us. What sets Jesus apart from any other teacher or…
Christians are citizens of two worlds: God’s kingdom and the world we live in. Sometimes it is a struggle to balance out these two. We don’t want to be worldly yet we are meant to live to the fullest. How should we balance life and faith? It’s important to note that the secular world does not necessarily mean an atheistic world. The secular world is a world that has no special religious connotation. C.S. Lewis has stated “Christianity was never…
Life is a journey. With the words of Billy Graham “My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world”. This life is not everything there is. God is waiting for us to get home. Life is a gift. It’s fragile and it’s precious, and it’s over before we know it. We need to be mindful how we use our time here on earth. But if God is the center of our lives, then everything gets meaning. Then even…
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…
God has a master plan for the world. The whole history of mankind is about unfolding God’s story. God uses strategy of grace to advance his master plan. God wants to touch everyone with his redeeming love. It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith,…
Are you a sinner? Do you need grace? I am and I most certainly do. We’d like to skip the reality that we are sinners. We’d like to escape from all the ugly stuff in life and live in a la-la land. But it doesn’t work. There is no way around it: we are all sinners! And only the blood of Jesus can save us! So, yes, we do need Jesus. Our lives depend on God’s grace! Lord, have mercy!…
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…
