Have you given in after trying hard to please God and others? Are you so exhausted that you don’t care anymore? God just must lower his standards and have mercy on you, because you’ve done everything in your power. Do you know what? You’ve got it all wrong. You are not even supposed to do it all on your own or in your power. Actually, no one can do it. No one but Christ in us can live the Christian life….
Are you missing God in your life? Good for you, it’s the Holy Spirit at work in you, wooing you back. God is always there but, sure, we can choose to ignore him or the world can lure us away. But there’s no wholeness or profound well-being without God. O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You; My soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You, In a…
We are called to be one in Christ…but we are not succeeding very well, are we? Living in unity seems like a balancing act sometimes. How can we who are so different live in harmony? How can we respect everyone and allow each other freedom in Christ? These are the questions I’ve been mulling over lately. Blessedly I learned five things about how to walk in love from Romans 14:13-23. 1) We need to stop criticizing at once. Everyone we…
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…
Our daughter’s home work the other day was to check that all the fire alarms of our home were in working order. That got me thinking: How are our spiritual fire alarms? Are they in working order too? Are you tuned in the Holy Spirit? Or is your life so noisy that you can’t hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit any more? It’s truly time to check our spiritual fire alarms powered by the Holy Spirit. This is what…
Do you know what’s the difference between spiritual fruit and spiritual gifts? Do you know how or why they appear? And which one is more valuable, spiritual fruit or spiritual gifts? Let’s find out! But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23, NIV) The amplified Bible explains spiritual fruit to be the result of His presence within us. We can’t produce spiritual fruit. It just happens when we abide…
Lately, I have been contemplating on wholeness. It seems to be the goal for every person on earth. According to Victor Frankl meaninglessness in our lives is a hole, an emptiness, in our lives. Whenever there is a vacuum we rush to fill it with things. We keep on trying one thing after another – shopping, money, work, sex, drugs, entertainment, relationships, hobbies – but nothing fills the hole. But God. Look at that man, bloated by self-importance— full of…
Grace invites us to try on a new kind of wardrobe. One that God has chosen for us: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Did you just audibly sigh? Don’t worry, I know. The godly, spiritual wardrobe doesn’t quite fit! But I know a Master Taylor who can help us: The Holy Spirit. When we invite Jesus to live in our heart the Holy Spirit starts working on our new kind of wardrobe. Gently he keeps on working on us…
Did you know that Jesus did not die only for our salvation? According to the Bible he also died so that we would ‘die to sin and live to righteousness’ (1 Peter 2:24). Being saved by grace is not the end. It is the beginning of holy living. God hasn’t invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside. (1 Thessalonians 4:7, MSG) Grace does not excuse us from…
Do you pray without ceasing? Do you spend enough time with Jesus? Here’s some incentive to pray more. I was reading the fifth chapter of The Revelation to John when I came across this “they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. (Rev.5:8, NIV) Our prayers are honored more than we can ever know. They are lovingly brought to God by angels. Our prayers join the eternal worship of God. Our prayers matter….
