God fulfills his promises. We know this. But we often struggle to see how. Because the promises God makes and the promises we would like aren’t always the same. His wisdom is not ours.
“God’s strength becomes available to us when we are rooted and established in his love. In what other things are you tempted to root yourself? What in your life makes you feel secure and established?”
“This is the second difficulty of praying ‘Thy will be done’ – that God’s will for one moment will become our idol in the next.”
Some years ago, I learned that a name is a powerful thing. For example, while working to complete my undergraduate degree in education, on various occasions my professor would observe us as we taught lessons in classrooms at nearby schools as we prepared for the time when we would have our own classrooms. On one particular occasion, I was teaching
Where will you go this week that you will be grateful to have God’s presence with you? What difference will it make to have God with you in that place or situation? When you are discouraged or terrified, how easy is it to make the choice to be strong and courageous?
There is safety in being God-conscious at all times. Before decisions are made, seek the mind of God.
And the soldiers—the protectors of civil order— decide to bury the truth. They take their bribe and the promise of protection from Pilate’s wrath, and they toe the party line. They protect the power of a broken world.But the women—the ones with little influence, the ones who are least likely to be believed—they run from the empty tomb with great
And in our gospel passage, Mary of course – like all of us on this side of death – is not yet fully awake. She makes first contact with the resurrected Jesus, and it’s about as awkward as Peter embarrassing himself by trying to pitch a tent on Mount Tabor. Mary’s problem is that she thinks Jesus is dead, and
In my leadership role with World Methodist Evangelism, I frequently preach and teach in international environments, depending heavily on the skills of translators and interpreters. These are gifted people! I recall teaching on evangelism in Vladivostok, Russia a few years ago. I was trying to make an important point, which in English is not difficult to understand. It’s the idea
At times it seems that people who come from Wesleyan Methodist backgrounds have an “arm’s length” relationship with the idea of providence. At its most basic level, providence is the activity of God working out God’s redemptive plans for his creation. It’s God working out a rescue plan for creation, and the idea that God is working behind the scenes
Waiting is hard. Many of us are tempted either to wait passively, like the foolish bridesmaids, or to take over and attempt to save ourselves by our own effort. Advent challenges both our complacency and our self-sufficiency.
Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.
So, while we can and should sing of Christ’s return throughout the year, Advent presents a key opportunity to declare with clarity this crucial doctrine in our faith. And as Wesleyans we have a gem in Charles’ hymn, “Lo! He Comes With Clouds, Descending.”
By establishing the habits of observing other people’s sufferings, of taking time to notice the pain and fear around them, we teach our children a genuinely Christian ethic. And in this, my hope is that they become adults who care about justice and equality for everyone. My hope in conversations like this is to sensitize my children to the lived
Following Jesus is always easier when there are angels around. We have a significant spiritual experience. We make a commitment. We’re bold and excited. We think, I can do this. I believe this.
There may be others around us who are feeling that same way. They’ve taken on a new spiritual challenge. Made a new commitment. Maybe even their initial
One of the things that I love most about God is how God can take our small efforts, the things in our life that we don’t believe are good enough, and make them truly amazing. He can take our small, human efforts, and perform divine miracles with them. He can make the impossible, possible. Listen to what happens in John 6:
It’s so easy to forget. It’s so easy to lose touch with the source of life…how we got to where we are; all the blessing that have been poured out upon us. It’s easy to think that we are where we are today because of our own efforts.
As in every age, there is a need to speak truth to power. There is a need to reflect Jesus into the lives of others. There is a need for Christians everywhere to more fully become Godbearers, making the kingdom life visible, tangible and real.
The land where I did not want to be was becoming the land of my blessing.
In 1903, Evan Roberts was 25 years old. He was a Christian, coal miner, and student who began to pray for God to fill him with the Holy Spirit. In the midst of this season of prayer, Roberts found himself at an evangelistic event where a man named Seth Joshua was preaching. Roberts heard Joshua pray, “Lord, bend us,” and
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