Grace for New Life

In times past, the surrounding society supported and encouraged faith in Jesus. But not anymore. In times of pressure or persecution, we may forget the power of the Gospel and be tempted to hide our faith to preserve our life in this world. But there is more power in the Gospel than there is in us. The Gospel message about Jesus has the power to create faith in our hearts, and through that faith w...

Human life is like a funnel. When we are younger, we have lots of opportunities to make choices. As we grow older, our opportunities to make choices narrows up to the point that, at the end of our life, we have almost no opportunities left. Without help, we will inevitably have regrets at life's end. But Jesus forgives us for all our failures, redeems our mistakes and gives us the Holy Spirit...

In our part of the world, we live in a time where Christianity seems to be in decline and there is resistance to the Christian message. But God has placed within each culture a connecting point for the Gospel message. So we nourish ourselves with the true Christian faith and also learn about the surrounding culture. With the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, we can build bridges with our non-...

There is no one who is beyond God's grace. Even Paul, a former enemy of Christians, was transformed by Jesus to become the most prominent Christian missionary in New Testament times. Regardless of how deep or dark our sin may be, Jesus invites us to come into the light of his forgiveness. Like Paul, it is there that we find new life, new hope and new purpose. (Based on Acts 9:1-19.)

For some of us, having someone tell us not to worry is like telling us not to breathe. It is so ingrained into our lives that we cannot imagine life without it. What is needed is a shift in what our heart ultimately trusts. Worry happens because we trust in ourselves or our circumstances to preserve and protect our lives. Jesus invites us to live in a new way where we live in moment-by-moment trus...

Confirmation Sunday is an opportunity for young people to publicly confess that the faith into which they were baptized as infants is indeed their own personal faith. This is a momentous occasion in the lives of each of these four young people for, from this moment on, they will be taking responsibility for the Christian faith in which they were nurtured at home and in this community of faith. Thi...

We live in a time of great change and uncertainty, a time when the foundations of the institutions and shared beliefs that used to support society have started to crack and crumble. In a search for "salvation," most people take an individual perspective and focus on themselves. But Jesus brings salvation in a communal sense, for love always finds its fullest form in community. (Based on...

As Jesus got ready to leave the world, he prepared his followers by making them aware of the persecution that will come. The Source of strength and truth that will help them endure will be the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised to send to them. As Jesus' followers share his love with the world, the Holy Spirit will do the inner work of convincing people of their need for a Savior. (Based on Joh...

Before Jesus went to the cross, he assured his followers that he would send another Advocate, a Helper who would continue the work of Jesus by dwelling within his followers and reminding them of all that Jesus had done and taught. That Advocate is the Holy Spirit who fills us with overflowing life, love, joy and peace from God. With our spirit attuned to the Holy Spirit, we have courage and peace....

All human problems tend to be rooted in our bodies or our spirits, and sometimes both. Left to our own devices, there is no way for human beings to fully resolve and heal the problems we have. But the God-human Jesus has. His suffering and death on the cross, and his resurrection that followed on the third day, point to the culmination of our journey of faith with him, a journey that is initiated...

Because we are deeply rooted in this world, it is easy for us to primarily hunger for the things of this world. Sometimes we even try to use Jesus, with his power and authority, to get the things that we want. But Jesus went to the cross, died and rose again, to satisfy much deeper hungers in our soul. With him as our king, for now and forever, more of his grace and love shines through us into the...

Without new life from the Holy Spirit, we prefer to live in darkness instead of the light of God's Kingdom. But Jesus died on the cross and rose again to pay the cost of a new and eternal life for us. Through trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit brings that new life to us personally. Living the new life the Spirit has given us, we live by God's truth and walk in his light. (Based on John 3:1-...

We are so used to looking at life through the framework of the world, that we miss seeing Jesus at work in our lives and in the world. But when we become willing to humbly receive, then we can see Jesus and what he is doing. Therefore, with our eyes on him and confident of his love and redemption, we are able to live our lives with the hope and joy of the resurrection. (Based on Luke 24:13-35.)

We all need to make value choices. But how do we make those choices?  By what gives us status, power or money? Jesus shows us that none of those valuations will secure our life forever. Instead, he invites us to make him, the rejected one, the chief cornerstone of our lives. In his eyes, we are living stones which he will build into a beautiful home that glorifies God. (Based on Luke 19:45-20:18 &...

Far too often our actions indicate that we underestimate what God can do in our life & in the lives of others. So we use the resources and opportunities he gives us to try to keep ourselves safe. But that self-made security will be stripped away before God when we have to answer for what we did with what God gave us in this life. Jesus is offering us a better way to live. Through his interacti...

Sometimes the sins of others are so offensive to us that we consider them to be beyond any redemption. It would be unfair, we think, if they enjoyed life with God when we, who consider ourselves to be good people, deserve it far more than they do. But Jesus died and rose again for the sins of all people and the Kingdom of God is open to everyone who trusts in Jesus. God's grace is for those w...

Far too often, the lives of Jesus followers don't look any different from those who don't follow Jesus. Like the women who went to Jesus' tomb, we expect to find death instead of life. But Jesus' resurrection changes everything for us. Not only has Jesus defeated death for us, he also invited us to join him on his mission of redeeming and restoring all things. Clothed with his...

Many in the city of Jerusalem missed the opportunity for peace because they did not recognize that God came to them in the person of Jesus, and the sorrow over what had been lost caused Jesus to weep. But Jesus' compassion for humanity is our security of salvation, for Jesus continued beyond Palm Sunday to the cross, where he made our peace secure in him. (Based on Luke 19:28-44.)

The radical nature of God's grace can seem offensive. When those who seem to be less-deserving get a greater blessing from God, our hearts cry out, "That's not fair! I have been more faithful for longer than they have ever been!" But none of us are deserving of God's grace. We don't need fairness. We need mercy. And in Jesus Christ, God has mercy, and grace, for all....

There is a lot of emphasis on identity these days, and rightly so, for everything we do flows from our identity. But what if we are wrong about our identity, or fail to live up to the identity we have set for ourselves? The possibility of such identity failure leaves us with a tinge of fear. However, through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus gives us a new identity as new creation people. As...

We human beings make plans for our lives, but it is God who directs our steps. Because he is a good, gracious and loving God, we know that he is directing us toward a good ending, an ending which he has prepared in advance for us to enjoy, an ending which is far beyond anything we can ever ask or imagine. Therefore, we can trust in God for today, tomorrow and forever. (Based on Ephesians 3:14-21 &...

We think that we are free, but most of us are addicted to having some kind of power over others by either dominating them with control or manipulating them to gain approval. Our power-focused approach to life only harms ourselves and others. Jesus shows us a better way to live. By suffering & dying in humility, Jesus set us free to live life in him. Secure and satisfied in Jesus, we gladly hum...

We can't always see it, but sin-based systems and powers force people to live in bondage and we cannot free ourselves. Jesus is the God-human who came to overthrow those demonic structures and set humanity free with his forgiveness. Freed and given new life by Jesus, we live according to God's will and let our light shine before others so they too may know Jesus & the freedom he give...

Purpose and direction are very important in life and all of us learn our direction and purpose from somewhere, but we often aim too low and settle for much less than God wants to give us. Jesus rose from the dead to give us a totally new life with him and we learn how to live from him and show others how to do the same so all of us can have a rich, full, abundant life with God. (Based on Matthew 2...

When tough times come upon us, it can seem to us as though all, including God, have abandoned us. But humanity’s greatest problem is not a lack of good times, it is the lack of a relationship with God. And Jesus chose to go down a path of betrayal, abandonment and suffering for us so we could have the steadfast presence of God in our lives. Jesus has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. (Bas...