Month: June 2019

kingdom of God

Living In The Promise Of The Kingdom – Part 1

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It had been hundreds of years since the time of the prophets. They had prophesied that one day God would establish his holy and good rule in the land of God’s people. The Jews were quite aware that their ancestors had constantly strayed away from God’s goodness and that their society had became degenerate and destructive. But in spite of that God was going to establish the pure and joyful kingdom he originally intended in the Garden of Eden and for the Jewish people. The prophecies were in the dim past, but devout Jews still waited for God to fulfill his promise of a coming utopia. In summary, “The prophets looked forward to a day when God’s saving promises would be fulfilled, his kingdom would come, the new covenant would be inaugurated, a new exodus from Babylon would be realized, the Spirit would be poured out on Israel, and Israel Continue Reading →

dark night

Dark Nights Are Opportunities For Deep Purification

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In dry times and dark nights when God seems distant, God wants to go progressively deeper in order to purge the corruption we can’t see. In a dark night God shines his light on our impurities so we can see them and let go of them. John of the Cross (b. 1542 – d. 1591) illustrates this with the image of sunlight on a window. If the window is clean then the sun can illuminate the glass and the window shines like the sunlight. If the window is dirty then the window can not shine. The sunlight is the same in both cases; the issue is the cleanliness of the window.[1] Likewise, God’s light can permeate and illuminate us only to the extent that we are “clean”. This echoes Jesus’ teaching: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8, NIV). Throughout our life, God continually Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

We Don’t Need to Exalt Ourselves – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:14 (NIV). Jesus said the same thing at Luke 14:11! This time Jesus said it after he told the parable of the Pharisee who praised himself and the tax collector who prayed for mercy because he was a sinner. Thus, Jesus’ point is that those who imagine that they are good enough on their own that they deserve honor before God are sadly mistaken. They exalt themselves now but God will bring them low one day. On the other hand, those who admit that they are weak and have faults will have a different fate. One day God will exalt those who humble themselves and they will be the ones who live a blessed life. We may not exalt ourselves with public statements but we are still tempted to exalt ourselves in Continue Reading →

suffering

How To Suffer – Part 3

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This week is the third in a series on how to suffer. The first post presented ten suggestions as well as the second post. This week we present the last twelve suggestions. Accept your unwanted feelings and attitudes. After you have done what you can about your inner life you may still have anger, fear, sadness, impatience, and many other undesirable traits that you did not have much of before the suffering. This can be devastating to those who truly want to mature in Christ. But do not give in to the temptation of beating yourself up about it. You need to accept your lack of maturity and treat God and others the best you can. In other words, learn to “sit with your weeds.” Meditate on Jesus’ sufferings especially his last days up to the Cross. Troubles are temptations to doubt God but “he will not let you be Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

A New Formula For Blessings – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“When you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. Luke 14:13-14 (NIV) This is another example of God’s promise to make everything more than fair one day. People naturally focus on the benefits they will receive in this life. Those who are wealthy or influential or talented usually receive more benefits than others. But Jesus promises that God will repay our good deeds with eternal rewards. This destroys all natural human calculations! Instead of trying to gather prominent people around us and receiving the benefits from that, it is better to bless people who are not prominent and can’t bless us. Thus, we are all free to bless anyone without wondering if it’s worth it. It is always worth it. The Wonder Of Our Future Oneness Continue Reading →