Why should you (or why do you) seek God and his presence? Should we need any other reason that the Bible tells us so? Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually [longing to be in His presence] (1 Chronicles 16:11, AMP). Two things come to mind right away. Hope they will bless you and your relationship with Jesus. The more you experience God’s presence, the more your capacity to experience his presence grows. God wants to share…
I’ve always thought abiding in Christ is the most important task of a Christian. Everything else just details. Jesus himself invites us to remain in him, to linger in the presence of God. What could that mean in real life? Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:4, NIV) The Greek word used here…
Do you use your time wisely? That’s my prayer every morning. I say ‘Good morning’ to God and surrender myself and my time to him and ask him to guide me and enable me to use my time wisely. It’s not that easy on our own, you know. Sometimes using your time wisely is doing nothing at all. Let me explain. Managing your time effectively is not necessary the same thing as using your time wisely. I find it helpful…
Are you striving to perfect your faith? I have news for you. That’s not your job. That’s the job for Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of faith, not you. Sure, there are still things for you to do: You are called to run with endurance and active persistence. Your task is to abide fully in Jesus, not to strive to perfect your faith on your own. You are called to focus on Jesus and let him deal with…
How has the new year treated you so far? Do you have particular plans? Do you know the makings of a great year? If you do, then it’s easier to make it happen, don’t you think? So let’s see what are the makings of a good year. It shouldn’t be that complicated, should it? And it’s not, believe me. But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being…
One of the sweetest yet also most profound words to describe faith is dwelling. How so? Isn’t it wonderful to know God dwells in us and in whom we find a dwelling place? Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Cor. 3:16, NIV) In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8, NIV) But that’s not all why I…
Last night my new class called Faith in Everyday Life started. I had been anticipating, praying and preparing for it for quite some time now. The class was well attended and it was a huge blessing to see how much enthusiasm for learning and growing in grace there was. One thing always amazes me after a speaking engagement is that I feel myself so empty. Peaceful but empty. Blessed but empty. Fulfilled but empty. Today it’s time for my own…
Is Jesus your life or does something else hold the central stage in your life? This question made me pause as I read Hannah Whitall Smith’s book The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life. She writes “Most Christians understand the principle when it comes to salvation but lose sight of it in living Christian life. Then He was our Redeemer; now He is to be our Life” We need and want salvation. But how Christ can be our Life? We…
How does your faith affect your everyday life? Or does it have an impact on your day to day affairs? (I would love to hear your answers in comments). You see, there are studies that states that faith that is not connected to everyday life deteriorates easily. We wouldn’t want that, would we? What to do then? How can we connect faith to everyday life? So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary…
Do you trust God with all your heart? Or do you withdraw your trust when things start looking gloomy? That’s what we so often do. But trusting when things are going well is not really trusting, is it? Trusting starts when things get rough, don’t you think? That’s exactly when we need to decide to trust God. We are to live by faith and not by sight. This is time to put faith in action. Trust in the Lord with…
