I have always wondered why people insist that Christianity is about being good. That all decent, good people are going heaven. Hence our salvation would be based on works or our behavior. But the Bible is telling us the polar opposite: You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith.This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus…
Even Christians don’t always understand why Jesus had to be born. Couldn’t God just love us without fussing about old sins? There really wasn’t other way to make us right with him. God is holy and he wants us to be holy, too. We needed a redeemer and it had to be a human being. But nobody could do it. So God sent his only son to the world. Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was…
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…
We have entered the Advent season. It is time to make sure there is room in our Inn for Jesus. Join me this December to prepare our hearts and minds for Jesus. Let’s see what Mary can show us about being ready for God. Gabriel brings Mary a promise, an order, and a prophecy: When Elizabeth was six months pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a virgin who was engaged to a man…
I’ve always thought the Bible is valuable and precious. But the more I read it, the more I cherish it. The Bible is priceless. The salvation plan of God, which is revealed in the Bible, is beyond amazing. The Bible is a treasure map to God’s heart. That’s why the Bible is such a huge gift. Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction so that we could have hope through endurance and through the encouragement of…
It is very important in life to get the right perspective. Only then can we gain the right perception. Just think of the story of David and Goliath. The Isralites all thought “Goliath is so big we can never kill him.” But David thought “The giant is so big I can’t miss.” We also need to discern whose perception we trust. The world tries to convince us that only the knowledge that can be perceived through five senses – and…
God has a master plan for the world. The whole history of mankind is about unfolding God’s story. God uses strategy of grace to advance his master plan. God wants to touch everyone with his redeeming love. It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith,…
I love the Bible. But it does condemn me pretty much on every single page. What to do then? Do I have any chance 4 eternity? Do you remember the story of the rich man who asked what he needs to do to get eternal life? Jesus lovingly told him to sell everything, give it to the poor and follow him. The man’s face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with…
Do you sometimes wonder whether God is late? Do you sometimes ponder whether his timing is off? It is hard to wait for God’s timing. It might seem God’s timing is off. But we can rest assured God knows what he is doing. When we read the whole Bible we get a better glimpse of what God is doing in the world. Jesus came into the world exactly at the right time. The world was not ready for the Messiah…
Persistently people assume you need to do something bad in order to end up in hell. They are very surprised when I tell them “all that’s already taken care of”; they don’t need to do anything and they will end up in hell. Yes, humankind lost its innocence back in the garden of Eden: 1The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not…
