How are you going to live this new year? Are you planning to better yourself or make things better for yourself? Or what would you say about giving everything to God and letting him decide what’s best for you. If this is something you’re interested in doing, then we need to figure out how to give everything to God, right? Let’s do it. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather…
We are told to rejoice in the Bible. Many times. Why is it so important? Why should we bother? Well, being joyful is better than the alternative, isn’t it? But maybe there’s some blessings hidden in joy for all of us. Could Nehemiah be right? Could joy be strength for us? Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10, NIV,*). Joy Is Strength? If joy is strength, it changes how we see the Bible verses…
Do you think God’s promises are unrealistic? That it’s impossible to think you could ever overcome anything just because of Jesus? I have news for you. The name of Jesus is more powerful than anything in this world. How do I know this? The Bible tells me so many times over and I’ve experienced it in my life myself. Christ is the source of strength for anyone who wants to be his. Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The…
We are only a couple of days into Lent but we feel like we’d been trying to do this for weeks, right? It is hard to realize how dependent we are on some of our habits or sugar or something else we’re trying to stay away from. It really has been only a couple of days and we already feel like we’re fast approaching our limits. What to do now? No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the…
This is a gentle and hopefully encouraging reminder that you are not alone in your troubles. No matter how you feel, no matter how chaotic your life seems to be right now, you are not alone. God is our ever-present help. He will not leave you nor forsake you. You can stake your life on that promise. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the…
Today I want to talk about weaknesses. We all have them even though we don’t want to admit them. We use too much energy to cover them up. But that’s not wise. We will then miss something beautiful and profound: God’s strength in us. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my…
How are you doing? I’ve been pretty exhausted lately. Nothing major, just too little sleep and too much to process. Thankfully, I know where my strength comes from. My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2, NIV). Especially now spending time with God is essential. Otherwise I would not make it. Often people say God does not give you more than you can bear. But life is not fair, things happen, and, suddenly, we do…
Reading the Old Testament can be very rewarding. And I am not talking about the most popular places there. For example, this morning I was reading Zechariah 10:6-12 . What a powerful yet different way to hear how God cares for his flock. As you read it, be amazed how many times God says “I will” (13!)! It’s like God’s saying “I’ll do what needs to be done for them”. God is having compassion, gathering, signaling, guiding, answering, bringing his…
It’s no secret I love quotes. There are quotes that capture my heart right away and then there are quotes that puzzle me and I need to let them sit for awhile and ask God to reveal the true meaning of them. This quote of Martin Luther is one of the latter kind. Not that I did not like it from the very beginning. But it left me wondering anyhow: God created the world out of nothing; so as long…
Prayer is such an awesome gift for us. We just neglect it too often. We somehow don’t believe enough in its power. But can we afford not to pray? I don’t think so. I have written a post about my reasons why I can not live without prayer. Prayer simply invites God into our lives. Hence prayer enables us to be human and leaves everything else to God. Prayer is also an antidote for anxiety and a power tool in God’s…
