Last week was pretty rainy. One evening of these wet, chilly days I was chatting with a wonderful person. She was marveling at the budding spring nature and my reply was “as soon as this rain is over we can really enjoy it”. It’s already been almost a week since and I am still embarrassed by my comment. I can’t be such a whiner!? We were surrounded by God’s lush greenery yet I was talking about how the sun is…
What do you think? Is gratitude another chore on your to-do list or is it something that blesses you? It might feel it takes more than you have but once we learn to count our blessings, it starts giving instead of taking. I’ve learned that gratitude blesses you. And when we learn this, we can’t live without it. First of all, it teaches us to pay attention to our lives. How else could we find things to be grateful for,…
Thankfulness might seem like a waste of time but it’s not. Quite the opposite, actually. Thankfulness blesses us more than we can imagine. How do I know this, you ask. I know by experience. Also, the Bible tells us so. Thankfulness welcomes God into our life. And when that happens, everything changes. Because the power of God is more than we can imagine. And this is the power that is not forceful. Instead, when invited, it brings peace and joy. And…
Gratitude is the most underused spiritual weapon. Often we don’t even realize gratitude or thanksgiving is a spiritual weapon. But it is. A powerful one. Let’s find out why we should use it. And then use it for the rest of our days. Not just for the benefits but because it’s fun and easy and it will bless us more than we can ever know. And the alternative is awful: For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as…
My heart is full of gratitude today. There’s so much grace that it will never run out. God’s got it covered, hallelujah. We are so blessed to have a loving God who has so much grace that it covers all our sins. We only need to run to Jesus. Hallelujah! So much grace is also a beautiful song written by Jonathan David Helser and Ed Cash. It reminds us of Jesus and what he did to give us so much…
We come to you, Lord, knowing that you love us no matter of what. That’s why we dare to come to you, knowing that you will help us. We put our hearts and souls in your hand. Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record. Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry. I know how bad I’ve been; my sins are staring me down. (Psalm 51:1-3, MSG) We ask for grace to…
Spiritual disciplines are nothing more than ways to connect with God in such ways that increase spiritual growth. They are ways that help us to get to know God deeper and deeper. They are ways that get us refocused on God. They are also ways that prepare us for service and mission. The deeper we abide in Christ, the more God can use us in his service. That’s why Christians have used spiritual disciplines from the beginning. Just like Jesus….
What is true Christian living? What is true worship? Martin Luther once said “true worship is the tenth leper turning back”. His remarks were based on Luke 17:11-19 (MSG): It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Taking a good look at…
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…
“Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning”, writes Karl Barth. I think so, too. There is nothing bigger or better in life than receiving grace through faith in Jesus Christ! G.K. Charleston has said “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.“ If we take time to wonder God’s mysteries in our lives we start to see God’s handiwork all around us. We need to cultivate wonder because wonder leads…
