Does grace fill your heart with joy? I hope so. We can already live the life of the Spirit here on earth. Do not settle for anything less. Because joy is a gift from God and it has nothing to do with circumstances. But it has everything to do with Jesus. Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine.The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!(Ps.16:5-6, NLT) The…
Nobody wants to waste his or her life, don’t you think? We all know life is precious because it is so short and fragile. So we are to embrace it and make every moment count, right? If you ask different people how not to waste your life, you get varied answers depending on their values. How would you answer? I would probably have said something along the lines of Jesus “If you try to hang on to your life, you…
There are valid reasons to guard your heart. You see, throughout Scripture, the heart refers to the very essence of one’s being. The heart includes your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers. King Solomon said it clearly: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV). If our heart gets damaged, we are damaged. And that’s as far from ideal as possible. So what to do? How can we guard our hearts…
Have you ever felt that if God hadn’t been there for you, you never would have made it? I have and I do. Without God, I am nothing. But with him, I can do anything he wants me to do. God makes all the difference in my life. How about you? If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it.The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, God, took hold and held me fast.When I was upset and beside…
For quite some time now I have started my day by surrendering myself, my life, and that particular day to Jesus. It has blessed me and taught me how to walk with God throughout the day. But something was still missing. God showed me I needed another habit to the end of the day. And that’s how I learned the bookends for any blessed day. What’s the other bookend then, you ask. It’s as simple as the one in the…
Our God is an amazing God. So generous, so loving, so kind. Yet, somehow, we live many times like orphans. Like we’d be left all alone in this world to get by the best we can. But that is not so. The Bible tells us so. Jesus lives in us. The Holy Spirit is always with us. So we are to live like beloved children, not like orphans. It’s time to live like an heir! How do we do that?…
Is it easy for you to accept God’s will for you? I think we all struggle with it from time to time. Even Jesus prayed hard at Gethsemane. But he knew better than insist to have his own way. So maybe also we should learn to see accepting God’s will as the ultimate best for us even when we want the very opposite. “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want…
Do you need some hope for the New Year? I think we all do. We’re starting a new year and now that we’ve reviewed all that needs to be done, the tasks seem a bit daunting. We need the courage to begin and hope to lift our spirits, right? So I was delighted to see this phrase by Päivö Parviainen on Facebook: “We never approach Jesus in vain.” How true, how encouraging, how uplifting. How so, you ask. Let me…
We have only a few days left of this year. How do you feel about it? It has been a tough year so saying goodbye is not a hardship, right? But we have no idea how the new year will turn out. So it’s a bit scary, am I right? But know nothing is scary with God. Without him, the future is scary. But the future with God is supreme. With God, I am ready for anything. You see, we…
How are you? I hope you’re doing well or, at least, you’re experiencing God’s peace. You know, it’s possible to experience peace even in the midst of the ugliest strifes. I know it’s hard to believe but once you’ve experienced God’s peace in the midst of chaos you know what I mean. God’s peace is ours if we want it. Because it’s not dependent on our outer circumstances. The Spirit of Peace is ours to be received no matter what….
