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Month: December 2011

The Best of 2011

The Best of 2011

It’s time to wrap up the year 2011 and prayerfully approach the new year. It’s time to thank you, my fellow pilgrim, for accompanying me on this faith journey. It’s time to select the best of 2011 at Flowing Faith. There’s a season for everything    and a time for every matter    under the heavens: a time for giving birth    and a time for dying,    a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted, a time for killing…

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The Safe Way 2 the Future

The Safe Way 2 the Future

Are you afraid of the future? Do the predictions of the end of the world make you squirm? Have you lost your way? Don’t worry, finding the safe way to the future is easier than you think. “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? When I go to prepare a place…

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How to Be Ready for 2012

How to Be Ready for 2012

All these self-help articles of how to prepare for 2012 have left me empty. No matter how much planning I’d do for the new year, it does not solve the problems. If I have not ended this year well, the new year will be same old, same old. So the best preparation for the future is to deal with the past. When we have a clean slate we are ready to move on. But how can we get past the…

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God Is Not A Cosmic Bellboy

God Is Not A Cosmic Bellboy

Some people wish that God were like Santa. He’d give us what we want. But the problem is: we don’t know what is best for us. Some people do think God is like Santa. And when they don’t get what they want, they throw God over board. But God is not like Santa. Or, like Harry Emerson Fosdick has stated, “God is not a cosmic bellboy for whom we can press a button to get things”. But if you think…

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Reclaim, Recover, Remain!

Reclaim, Recover, Remain!

The best thing of Christmas is as true today as it was on the birthday of Jesus: Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Because of Jesus we have hope, we have grace, we have joy. The free gift of Christ keeps giving. Grace will never be old-fashioned or out of touch. We can’t do anything that gets us out of reach of grace. We just need to remember to turn back to God. We need to reclaim grace…

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A Stable Influence

A Stable Influence

The second day of Christmas is a national holiday in Finland and many other European countries. This day is a great day to reflect what Christmas means in our everyday life. Does Christmas have a stable influence in our lives? It was great to celebrate baby Jesus and welcome him to the world. But what does it mean to us that Jesus was born 2000 years ago? It is time to put Christmas into practice! It is time to put…

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The Night that Changed Everything

The Night that Changed Everything

We are fast approaching the Holy Night. The night that changed everything. It’s true that whenever a baby is born, it changes the lives of the parents. But one baby changed the whole history and the future of the humankind. The Holy Night changed everything. The miracle of Christmas is earth-chattering. The wonder of Christmas is life-changing. Then Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen since I haven’t had sexual relations with a man?” The angel replied, “The Holy…

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The Darker the World, The Brighter We Shine

The Darker the World, The Brighter We Shine

It does not matter how dark it gets outside. It does not matter how dark the world is. What matters is that you have Light inside of you. Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, CEB) Claim the joy of Christ to be yours today and every single day of your life. Keep your light lit no…

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Readiness 4 Radical Obedience

Readiness 4 Radical Obedience

The Bible is full of stories of obedient and faithful men and women of God. I truly appreciate that we have these saints gone before us. We can learn from them what it is to live out our faith in the midst of challenging life events. Today I want to talk about Joseph, a central character in the Christmas story. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they…

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Are You a God-Bearer?

Are You a God-Bearer?

Mary had already everything-that-is-needed-for-Christmas on her way to Bethlehem. Do you have everything-that-is-needed-for-Christmas in your heart? Do you have Jesus? Are you a God-bearer?God-bearers are people who have surrendered their lives to Jesus. Then it’s not us anymore who directs our lives. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in my body, I live by faith, indeed, by the faithfulness of God’s Son, who…

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