Grace for New Life

Two people can experience the same thing but have vastly different opinions about their experience depending on whether they are an optimist or a pessimist. Which is the right way to view things, with optimism, or with pessimism? Both are correct, depending on what you are looking at. When looking at the present state of ourselves or the world, we should be pessimistic, for on our own we are lost...

The darkness in our lives can take many different forms, but all those forms have this in common: We are in big trouble, we are facing that trouble all alone, and there is no hope of the situation getting any better. Jesus came into this world to shine his light into our darkness. As we make him our leader, he gives us a new life where he brings his wholeness to us and all creation. (Based on Isai...

Tonight is the reason we celebrate! God’s love came into the world in a baby in a manger in Bethlehem. But this isn’t just news from the ancient past, it is also Good News for us today. As we reflect tonight on several passages from throughout the Bible, we see that Jesus is God’s long-promised Messiah sent to give us a new life with him. Jesus is God-with-us!

Research tells us that having joy in our close relationships is the best predictor of having a long and happy life. But how do we have joy in our relationships when our circumstances have turned against us? The answer is Jesus. He is the humble King who came to restore our relationship with God, and will come again to heal, redeem, and restore us. Through our relationship with Jesus, we can have d...

Many of us love to cheer for the underdog, but very few of us would prefer to be an underdog. Having formidable odds stacked against us can lead to despair. The Good News is that God loves underdogs like us and sent his Son into the world to bring peace to our heart now and peace to all creation at the end of time. It takes humility to trust in the humble King who has come because, from the world’...

When times are tough, it is difficult for us to have hope. We want things to get better, but there is nothing in our circumstances to indicate that they will. Yet we hear this story from long ago of a humble king who came to a dark and desperate world. Why would that make any difference in our lives two millennia later on the other side of the world? He came to give us hope. (Based on Isaiah 2:1-5...

Imagine a stream of fresh flowing water that brings nourishment, life, and direction to an otherwise parched and barren land. That is what your soul is to your life. But who or what is the source of the water that flows from our soul into the other aspects of our life? That is the critically important question. When the source is God, the water he pours into our soul brings abundant life to our he...

We need to be connected to and supported by others. Because of human brokenness, our supportive relationship circles inevitably break down and we are left wounded by the rejection we experience. By identifying the toxins in our relationships and applying the love of Jesus to the wounds that cause those toxins, we are able to experience healing, and then bless and support the people around us with...

We might not be aware of the key role our body plays in our spiritual life, but it is essential in our spiritual life for we cannot engage with the world around us without it. God meant our bodies for good, but the corruption of our body by sin means that our body can lead us away from God. Thankfully, God the Son, Jesus Christ, came in a human body to redeem our human body. With the forgiveness J...

The human will is both precious and problematic. It is precious because it gives us the freedom to choose. It is problematic because, in its natural state, our will is splintered & entangled in many things which draw it away from God. Thankfully, our Savior Jesus said to his Father, “Thy will be done.” With his selfless obedience to his Father’s will, Jesus won forgiveness and healing for our...

On our own, our thoughts and feelings lead us away from God and into bondage to our own selfish, self-centered desires. But Jesus came into this world to heal our mind with his forgiveness and love. As we let God be God in our lives, he will give us new ideas and images to think about and help us to create the conditions for God-guided emotions to arise within us. (Based on Romans 12:1-13.)

When we buy something, the only way we know if we made a good deal is if what we bought is worth more to us than the money we exchanged for it. But how do we know we are choosing correctly when making life-changing decisions? When we see the ruined nature of our life apart from God, and the great value of the gift Jesus offers us of rich, full, abundant life with God, the decision becomes clear. W...

When repairing something, it is really important to know how it works, because you (usually) can’t repair something without first understanding it. It is the same with human life. We need to understand it so that we are better able to enter into a process of renovating human life, a process that Jesus does in, through and for us. (Based on Mark 12:28-34.)

The personal challenges we face & a quick survey of world news tells us that human beings need a renovation of their hearts. But how? Jesus offers hope through the spiritual transformation that only he can give. As we receive his love into the depths of our being, we grow in becoming more like him. (Based on Proverbs 4:18:27.)

Jesus’ earthly mission is all about the coming kingdom of God. As we read in Mark 1:16-34, it begins in Galilee with a series of dramatic words and deeds. He calls his first disciples, he casts out demons, and he heals the sick. Who is this person and what is he doing? Well, Jesus is doing a dramatic new thing to rescue and renew a needy world. And this “new thing” involves a new order, covenant c...

It is easy for us to get distracted in life, but being distracted while under stress usually leads to poor decisions. However, Jesus came to give us a better way to live. As we live with genuine faith in a personal relationship with him, Jesus will carry us through to the joyful fulfillment he will bring about for us and all things. (Based on Hebrews 12:1-13.)

With all the pressures of starting a new school year & new activities in September, it is easy for us to get overwhelmed and off-track. Thankfully, Jesus has given us the gift of eternal life with him. As we train ourselves in living eternal life with Jesus, we are able to better live out our eternal life in the stresses of everyday life in this world. (Based on 1 Cor. 9:19-27.)

When tough times happen, it is natural for us to consider an easy way out. But sometimes the easy way is not the way of faith. When that is the case, we remember that Jesus has already paid the full cost for a great ending for all creation. Confident in his saving love, we welcome trials because they help us persevere toward the amazing ending Jesus has for us and all creation. (Based on James 1:1...

Rae-Anna Hedlin shares a report from the Church in Japan. "We have been worshipping together daily, being changed by God's Word, and sharing meals and life together. People are being freed from shame, being freed to thrive in unhindered fellowship with God and other believers." (Based on Hebrews 10:19-25)

When the wind blows from the opposite direction you’re going in, do you have anxiety or trust? If your tendency is toward anxiety, how do you handle it? Let’s explore what the Lord Jesus tells us about how to handle the anxiety that we experience. (Based on Matthew 6:25-34; 7:7-11).)

When we are overwhelmed by great challenges in life, we often don't even know what to do and our usual sources of information cannot help us. Jesus is inviting us to live in a new way, where we fully trust in God's wise and loving action in this world to make all things work out for good in the end. (Based on Proverbs 3:1-14.)

All of us need salvation of our souls, but our human efforts to save our own soul will never work. Thankfully, by going to the cross, dying and rising again, Jesus has opened the door for our soul to be saved. We walk through that door by dying to the things of this world and transferring our trust to Jesus. It is through losing our life for Jesus that we find our true life with him. (Based on Mat...

It is easy for us humans to think that we are all on our own in this world and we need to control everything we can to make all things work out well. But doing so is a hopeless quest because, as the finite and broken creatures that we are, our efforts to control don't work and, worse yet, we hurt ourselves & others in the process. Like a shepherd that lovingly cares for their sheep, Jesus...

​​We sometimes think of faith as a magic power that enables us to do things we could not otherwise do or make things work out in a way that we desire. With such thinking, doubt is seen as a weakness that diminishes faith and makes it less likely to reach our goals. But Jesus paints for us a much more hopeful, life-giving understanding of faith and doubt. Faith is resting our entire life—including...

All of us, at various points throughout our lives, will make plans and those plans may or may not work out as we hoped. But what do we do when our plans fail, and life seems to spiral out of control? We remember that God has a plan that is far greater than ours and his plan is to give us a hope and a future that is far better than anything we could ever imagine. (Based on Jeremiah 29:1-14.)