This world seems to think being in control is the best thing ever or, at least, something everyone should strive to have. But I dare to disagree. Being in control is not my goal, releasing control to God is. Some of you now think I am a lunatic. I understand. If you have not found God to be a loving and caring parent, you most likely don’t want to have anything to do with him. Then also releasing control to…
Do you rush around like crazy? Trying this and trying that? And nothing really comes together anyhow? Have you thought about asking God in what you’re doing? Have you thought about beginning with a prayer? Or – this is even a wilder thought – have you thought about laying down your own agenda asking God what and when and how he would like you to proceed? Because that is how to build a beautiful life. Unless the Lord builds the house,…
Are you a perfectionist? Have you made ideal your idol? Sometimes we try so hard to make everything perfect that ideal really becomes our idol. But perfectness does not save us. Perfectness is an illusion that deludes us. The best way to deal with perfectionism is to learn to live in grace. Because grace is a game changer, eye opener, freedom-releaser. We can quit trying to be perfect and embrace trusting. The fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God…
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…
Life can be demanding. The world can be harsh. Yet I hope you choose to hope and believe no matter what. The last word is God’s. And that word is good for all who choose to hope and believe in Jesus. Hoping against hope, Abraham believed…(Romans 4:18, NRSV) Likewise we are invited to believe even when things look sad, bad or otherwise discouraging. Our hope is not in perishable things. Our hope is not set in philosophies or positive or …
Are you a control freak? Or an occasional control freak? You are not alone. It is hard to live carefree. It would be nice to be able to control things, wouldn’t it? But that’s not how life works. Control freaks ultimate desire is to feel safe. That’s the reason why they want to be in control. So that everything would be fine in their lives. They try to achieve this peace on their own. But control freaks are looking for…
Do you know how to live carefree? Would you like to live carefree? I think we all do. Stress-free living would be lovely, don’t you think? But most often we think carefree living is meant for children only. That’s not true. At least, if we think of childhood as a stage of life. But it is true for God’s children who learn to trust God’s care. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you. (1 Peter 5:7, MSG,*) Trusting…
Change is inevitable. Change happens all the time, sometimes we are able to notice it, sometimes not. Yet it happens all the time, it’s part of life whether we like it or not. Change can be overwhelming and frightful because we can’t control it. And that seems to be the root of all fear. We don’t want to lose control. What to do then? Paradoxically, the way to cope with change is to surrender all control to Jesus. When we…
We’ve all been in situations that seem hopeless. We just can’t see how things can ever work out again. And sometimes this period of fogginess lasts weeks, months, even years. Kurt Bubna writes about this in his new book Epic Grace, Chronicles of a Recovering Idiot “Our perspective is so limited. Our vision is so imperfect. Our ability to see the bigger picture is incredibly restricted and inadequate. We live so often in a fog. The hills are still there,…
Why does God test us? What do you think? The Bible is pretty clear about this. This is how Moses answered: The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. (Deut.13:3-4; NLT) Kurt Bubna states in his new book Epic Grace, Chronicles of a Recovering Idiot “God will…
