People try to fill the emptiness they feel inside with so many different things without succeeding. One way to avoid feeling emptiness is to stay extremely busy and connected with the world all the time. Hence they don’t have time to ponder why they are so restless and unhappy. But if you don’t take time to sit still, you can’t really hear God. And like Augustinus has said it so well “God, you have made us for yourself, and our…
Don’t worry if you can’t understand the suffering of Jesus. You can still embrace Jesus. Don’t worry if you can’t figure out the mystery of faith. You can still enter the mystery of faith. Don’t worry if you can’t analyze the happenings of Good Friday. You can still trust that Jesus carried your sins on the cross. Carrying his cross by himself, he went out to a place called Skull Place (in Aramaic, Golgotha). That’s where they crucified him—and two…
Do you believe in the forgiveness of sins? Do you have hard time believing that you are truly forgiven? We proclaim -often without thinking- in the Apostolic Creed “I believe in the forgiveness of sins”. But do we really, really believe? Do we live in the joy of forgiveness? Because being free is what Christian living is all about. If we are still carrying the burdens ourselves, we are not truly trusting God’s grace to do its job. We have…
One of the most important questions in life is: Who is Jesus to you? The answer to that question shapes our life and destiny like no other. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God, our Lord and Savior. There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a payment to set all people free. (1 Tim. 2: 5-6, CEB) We find freedom in Jesus. There’s nothing better in…
Do you know how to overcome temptations? Because it is not about growing your moral muscle! The main thing to remember is this: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13, NKJV) The Amplified Bible says the same verse this way: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me.” We have strength for all things if we are in Christ who empowers us. Okay, you say. But how to do it? How to…
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…
What does John the Baptist have to do with Christmas? First of all, his life was fully intertwined with Jesus. He was only few months older than Jesus and he was called to clear the way for Jesus. John knew his place in God’s salvation plan. He had dedicated his whole life for serving God. His message for us this advent season is: prepare your hearts for Jesus. What needs to go that we’d be able to fully concentrate in…
Last week we talked about how Zachariah doubted God’ ability to give him a son. Because of this he was unable to speak until the day of the circumcision of his son. He got his voice back after he had written on a tablet “His name is to be John”. Oh, how Zachariah praised the Lord! “Bless the Lord God of Israel because he has come to help and has delivered his people. He has raised up a mighty savior…
This time of year the hunt for the perfect Christmas gifts is on. I find this hectic shopping season a bit ironic. Because I strongly believe that we can’t buy the perfect Christmas gift. It is free for all. We can find what ever we’ve been looking for only in Jesus. This free gift of Jesus is bigger and more life-giving than we can ever imagine. Jesus is not just a sweet baby at Christmas. Jesus was crucified on the…
Why is Christmas such a big deal? Does it really matter that Jesus was born? Yes, it does. Without Jesus we would live our lives in dark without hope. Without Jesus there wouldn’t be a chance to be made right with God. Without Jesus we would still stumble in the dark. Christmas matters because YOU matter to God. The birth of Jesus was promised hundreds years before it happened: Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman…
