Are you ready to say goodbye to the old and hello to the New Year? There’s two Bible verses to help us deal with the change. The first one is very familiar and the second one little less so. But they help us to say goodbye to the old and hello to the new into our lives. First of all, we all mess up. No matter how hard we try we don’t quite succeed. The trick here is not to…
How was your Christmas? Did you have a good time with your family and friends? I hope so. But even the most joyous time of year can’t compare to what we have in Jesus. For real. Nothing compares to Jesus. Nothing. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! (Psalm 63:3, CEB) This little verse captures what really matters in life. God’s love and God’s grace are better than life itself. No matter how much fun…
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. Do we have a stable influence of Christmas 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…
If you’re not ready for Christmas, don’t worry. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Babies are born when they are born. Most often it is when everything is not ready yet. And no matter how much you prepare, a baby is always an unknown territory anyway. So if you find yourself in a situation that everything is not perfect, you’re celebrating Christmas the authentic way. Mary did not have much for Jesus either. So be merciful to yourself and concentrate…
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,…
I hope that this Christmas season you take time to do two things. They make or break your Christmas. First of all, welcome Jesus into your heart. He was born for you. Do you let him be born in your heart? Second of all, I hope you take time to reverently adore Jesus. That’s how we get the Christmas spirit. By welcoming Jesus and worshiping him. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord…
Are you trying to leave your problems in the past? I have a better idea. Do you know why? Your history is part of you, there’s no way you can leave your past behind you. But don’t despair. I really do have a better idea. Something that works time after time. Namely facing your problems, sins, any kind of emotional wounds with Jesus. With the words of Francis Frangipane “For the past cannot be forgotten, it can only be forgiven…
The world news seem to be getting more horrific all the time. Kidnappings, massacres, wars, murders, accidents. It all feels terrible, especially in the season of love and peace. How can we be merry? How can we rejoice when the world is full of tears and heart-break? But do we then forget what is the reason of the season? Do we forget why Jesus came into the world? The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord…
Preparation is a big part of any celebration. The bigger the celebration, the larger-scale preparations are needed. As human beings we need time to get ready. But also God carefully prepared the creation of the world and the way of salvation long before they happened: In the beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, AMP,*) How wonderful to know that God took time to prepare everything in the world, including you and me….
Far, far away in Siberia lived a good but poor king. He had always been told that when the Highest King would be born a star would proclaim his birth. As the poor king saw the star of Bethlehem, he knew right away that now the Highest King had been born. He chose the best things his country could offer: pearls, linen, fur, and honey to be his gifts to this new king and started his journey on his horse….
