Do you live as a child of God? Or do you still insist on passing on God’s gifts to you? This might sound funny, but we often refuse God’s blessings because we either think we don’t deserve them or don’t dare to receive them because others might be jealous of them. Crazy, right? Who are we to refuse anything God wants to give to us? God knows best so we should say “yes, please” to anything he suggests for us….
Do you love to see a play or a movie after you’ve read the book? I do. It’s like comparing notes with another reader. Sometimes I feel like the production team has unearthed the characters according to my notes and it makes me feel a bit giddy. Of course, I might be a bit annoyed if they have not fully understood the complexity of the characters as I did. This week I got another kind of giddy reaction. I ran…
How amazing it is that faith is receiving. And not trying, trying, and trying. Faith is always and forevermore receiving. It is always God first. Again and again, God pouring out blessings upon blessings on us. Faith is receiving God’s gifts: his love, his grace, his peace, his joy. Once we’ve filled to the brim with God’s grace, only then it is our turn to reciprocate and love God and others. But it is always God first. We love, because He…
Have you ever experienced the sweetness of God? You know, that is the essence of God. We only get little glimpses of it at this side of eternity it’s real. It’s real, sweet, and wonderful. It’s God. Knowing God is to know his sweetness. Being loved by God means being enveloped in his sweetness. Living in the Spirit is about enjoying the sweetness of God. The sweetness of God is meant for all It is readily available for all his…
It was wonderful to soak in God’s goodness during the celebration of Christ’s birth, wasn’t it? But what now? How are we to go about our lives with this knowledge? How can we bring the joy of the Lord into our everyday lives? That’s the question, isn’t it? How can we hold onto God’s goodness as the festivities end? Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice in your…
I didn’t realize the word ‘hold’ is such a hope-filled and faith-saturated one. I was doing a search at Biblegateway.com and found an abundance of faith-affirming and uplifting verses that had the word ‘hold’ in them. Here are my favorites: Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands. (Matthew 10:28, MSG, emphasis added*) We…
Sometimes I wonder why we try so hard to be perfect and blend in. Because perfect is boring. It would be very bland if we all looked alike. It would be very boring if there were not any variety. And not just that. We would also know so much less of God. You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented…
