Are you alive in Christ? Do you trust in the Risen Christ? Do you feel the joy of his resurrection in your heart? Great! From this point on we are called to live not for ourselves but for Christ. And that is a game changer for sure. Because the cross of Christ is a vantage point. The world looks different with the eyes of Christ. People look different by divine standards. And so do we. Even God looks different from…
Don’t worry if you can’t understand the suffering of Jesus. You can still embrace Jesus. Don’t worry if you can’t figure out the mystery of faith. You can still enter the mystery of faith. Don’t worry if you can’t analyze the happenings of Good Friday. You can still trust that Jesus carried your sins on the cross. Carrying his cross by himself, he went out to a place called Skull Place (in Aramaic, Golgotha). That’s where they crucified him—and two…
Today is Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday when we commemorate the foot washing (maundy) and the last supper of Jesus Christ. During the meal Jesus institutes the Eucharist by the words of sacrifice: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take and eat. This is my body.” He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from this, all of you. This is my…
What do you think? Are you responsible for Jesus’ death? Your answer is important. It defines whether you are ready for Easter or not. We aren’t able to receive God’s grace before we have a need for it. We aren’t ready for Easter before we embrace Good Friday. In order to do that we need to see that Good Friday’s happenings are for us. But we aren’t able to do that if we don’t see our part in the crucifixion….
What is sacrificial living anyway? Why should we live that way? And what’s in it for me? Let’s find out. Jesus showed us by his example what it is to live sacrificially and we are called to be like him. Suffering and sacrificial living are not very appealing at the first glimpse. But could there be something deeper in it? Could there be some hidden blessings somewhere? Because… When we embrace suffering, we enter into the mystery of God. When…
The commercial adds try to tell us what is essential for Easter. But only one thing is essential for Easter: a ready heart. Has your lenten journey readied your heart for Jesus? There’s still time to do it. We are not to rush ahead to Easter. Rather, we need to work on readying our heart. Have we surrendered our selfish hopes and false expectations? Have we confessed our sins and repented them? Are we ready to die with Jesus? Search…
The world thinks authenticity is about expressing yourself, being true to yourself. But the Bible tells us quite the opposite. David F. Wells states “Authenticity, theologically speaking, is not simply about being true to ourselves or about being satisfied with ourselves. It is about being true to who we are in Christ”. This means that if we want to live authentically, we need to be true to who we are in Christ. But we can’t find our identity in Christ…
As we approach the Holy week my mind has started swirling around the sacrifice of Jesus. I am in awe of vastness of God’s love. And then I think if God loved us so immensely … how should we respond to him? We can’t save ourselves but we can’t help but love God in return. How could we love God more and more? So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a…
God called Jeremiah to be his prophet. Right afterwards God gave him on the job training: The LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “A branch of an almond tree.” The LORD then said, “You are right, for I’m watching overmy word until it is fulfilled.” (Jeremiah 1: 11-12, CEB) There’s a word play going here in Hebrew. The Message translation catches the humorous zest between Jeremiah and God so well: God’s Message came to me: “What…
Everything starts with God. It’s always God first. He comes to us. He pours out his love and grace. He calls us. The LORD’s word came to me: “Before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I made you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5, CEB What will you do when God calls YOU out? Because he does have a plan also for you. “Ah, LORD God,” I said,…
