How are you doing with you Lent resolutions? How is your fasting going? Are you experiencing any hardship yet? Have you been tempted? That’s part of the process. What do you do when temptations rise? To give in or not to give in, that’s the question. Jesus was tempted by the Devil right after he was baptized. Read Luke 4:1-13 (the Message). Jesus did not give in. Instead, he quoted Scripture back to the Devil: ‘Man does not live on…
What do you think? Is Lent biblical? Let’s see what we can find out! Job repented in dust and ashes (Job 42: 6) but there is more to Lent than just imitating that. Jesus himself spent 40 days in desert fasting: Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. (Matt 4.1-2, MSG) The number 40 is…
Today I want to share with you the Message version of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5: 3-12. This paraphrase took me by surprise. I had never thought the Beatitudes this way. Read yourself and let me know what you think! (My prayer responses are in between the verses.) 3″You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. God, let me decrease and you increase! Less of…
Are you a friend of grace or a stranger to grace? I don’t know anything more liberating, more exhilarating and more exuberant than God’s abundant grace. In grace the whole salvation story comes together and starts to bloom. Grace is so wonderful, amazing, powerful, wild but gentle that it tames me over and over again. It embraces me and woes me for God time after time. It surprises me, it encourages me, it corrects me, it renews me, it treats…
The news from Japan have left the whole world in a stupor. The news are devastating and almost surreal. Our hearts and minds go out there and we pray unceasingly. Life is fragile. God, have mercy on us! This Lent I’ve been reading the gospel of Matthew. Somehow I think that the whole idea of Lent is about living out the sermon on the Mount. Meditating, pondering, reflecting, praying and then applying it to our own lives for good. Life…
It’s the first Lenten Melodic Monday. Today’s song is Cry In My Heart by Starfield. Such a powerful worship song to lead us to reflect on the things that matter. Listen, pray, reflect, worship, and be blessed! There’s a cry in my heart For Your glory to fall For Your presence to fill up my senses There’s a yearning again A thirst for discipline A hunger for things that are deeper Could You take me beyond? Could You carry me…
Each year I approach lent a bit differently. Some years I have given up sweets for lent. Some years I have given up or taken on a habit. Last year I decided to not to do anything. In fact I ended my relatively healthy regime for Lent. Just because I could. I know God was smiling on me. This year I had none particular plans. But somehow I got a tummy bug and involuntary 24h fast right before lent. Divine…
Don’t let the fear of religious rituals keep you away from experiencing the blessings of Lent! The fear is needed to keep us on toes when it comes to practicing piety. There are great dangers in empty religious rituals. Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. (Matthew 6:1, MSG) But the solution is…
God cares about sin with fiery passion. Sin kills. We are all doomed. But this is not the end of the story. We are called back to God! We are called to repent! To turn around from our sinful ways. To turn back to God and embrace his ways. Because God has better things in store for us. God has prepared a path back to his presence in Christ Jesus. Because of Jesus we can by repenting our sins be…
It’s the first day of the Lenten season. Are you excited? Or are you wondering why on earth do we need lent anyway? That is a good question. Why do we need lent? Lent is indeed for life not just for chocolate. Lent is to create space for God in us and in our lives. Lent is to remind us to prepare ourselves for Eternity. Too often our busy lives come in between us and our God. “The weight of…
