How are you doing? Hopefully great! But sometimes life is hectic and you feel you’re running behind no matter what you do. Do you get stressed? How do you handle that? I think this is a very important life skill that all should have. I know there are a plethora of self-help tools available but I know of something better. And I am not talking about handling stress, I am talking about taking on strength like no other. He gives…
When you walk with Jesus, you can’t hide your inner joy even though the world around you might not recognize the source of your strength, peace, and joy. If people are happy with superficial living, and just splashing on the surface, they will never find the treasures of deep grace diving. That’s a shame, don’t you think? Mainly because they can never find the pearl of deep-sea, Jesus. If you keep my commands, you will live in my love, just…
Do you know why people are turning their backs to God? I have a hard time figuring this out. You see, to me, God is alive and powerful. I am constantly in awe of how he moves in our lives, how he loves us. For me, God is the source of all worth having. Hence he is the last thing I would let go of. Faith is a gift from God and it is offered to everyone. But God does…
Sometimes I wonder if we just believe to get to heaven. In that case, we see faith as an insurance policy. We repent and become forgiven citizens of heaven but then we go back to live like we always used to do. But that’s not what Jesus wants us to do, is it? Faith is lived in Christ. Not away from Christ. Faith is meant to be so much more than an insurance policy for the afterlife. [And I am…
Are you united by faith with the Word of God? This is what I was pondering on after reading the fourth chapter of the letter to Hebrews. The writer states the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith in God by those who heard. God’s Word needs to be merged with us so it could affect and bless us. Those who are united by faith with the Word of God are one with…
Before we can work out our faith, God needs to work salvation in us. It’s always God first, then we are able to respond. God enables our faith. We are not even authors of our faith. God is. He is the miracle worker, not us. We can’t make ourselves worthy of God’s love or grace. But God can and he is continually at it. Let’s let God work in us freely. Then we can work out our faith for his…
How do you respond to your computer’s update requests? Do you delay them? An hour? Until tomorrow? Next week? I keep doing it. Pushing the inevitable to a later date. Then I got thinking, do we do that to our faith too? Do we delay the needed conversion or updating of our faith? Has your faith become an I-do-it-later kind of faith? Do you delay going to God until you have got your act together or when you have more…
I’ve always marveled God’s willingness to wait for us to get ready to do his will. Willingness in faith is not self-evident, it’s a choice. God does not force us against our will. It’s called love. Yet we so often abuse that love. But when we finally are ready to accept it, we are amazed by its sweet power. I’ve come to understand God’s will for us is the ultimate best. Yet we rebel. We are not willing to surrender…
Do you ever wonder how you can remain a faith-filled Christian in this post-modern, post-Christian world? If we focus on the culture around us, the task is quite daunting for sure. But if we focus on faith and the Giver of Faith, we will be just fine. Because faith is much more than a bunch of dogmas. Faith is about living out Divine power. For you have been born again [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart…
Do you know how to live your faith out? This is not a trick question but it is a very basic question. If you believe in God, live it out. But how to do it? That is the question. How do we live out faith in the middle of rush hour or at work? Or when we are frightened or completely exhausted? How do you do it? Jesus guides us this way: ‘Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly)….
