Posts with the category “christian-living”

One of the most important lessons I have learned in my walk with the Lord is that holding on to an unforgiving attitude can be really harmful! Jesus taught this in the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:23-35. Peter had asked Jesus how many times we should forgive others; and from what Jesus told him, the answer may be more important than we think.Jesus told the story of a servant who...  Read More

When we lived in Africa my husband planted a grapevine at the edge of our patio. He hoped the vine would grow up to the roof poles where it would not only produce clusters of delicious grapes but also provide some much-needed shade. The vine did poorly, however; and no matter how carefully we cared for it, it remained more like a weed that never seemed to go anywhere.At that same time, our dog had...  Read More

December 29th is an anniversary I never look forward to. Seven years ago today Colin stepped into the presence of Jesus. Perhaps you wonder why I would choose this year of all years to publicly remember that, but in Scripture seven is the number of perfection or completion! Though nothing about this journey seems perfect (or complete) I think that it is a milestone that marks both God’s faithfulne...  Read More

Acts 4:11-13I was born in a very small, remote mining town in the middle of the African wilderness. Recently I tried looking for my childhood home on an internet map and even I struggled to find it! When I was growing up our house had seemed so large and so beautiful but when I found the old run-down dwelling on a dusty street it was very different to how I had imagined it. I am a nobody who came ...  Read More

After we have placed our faith in Christ, God calls us to die to self and live for Him. That’s what Paul means when he says in Romans 12:1 that “in view of God’s mercy” to us we are to offer our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” and that this is our “true and proper worship” of Him. It is as we continually die to our selfish desires and live according to Christ’s will that w...  Read More

After what has turned out to be a very difficult week, I am left thinking about how the deepest wounds so often come by the hand of a friend. There have been several instances in my life when relationships I was so sure about have not worked out at all as I envisaged, but I am comforted by the realization that Jesus perfectly understands how I feel — for He Himself has suffered in this very way. A...  Read More

I was thinking about the Easter Season the other day when a childhood memory flooded into my mind. I grew up in a non-Christian family, but my parents did send me to Sunday School at the local church for a while when I was little because they thought it “might do me some good”. Unfortunately, they didn’t let me attend for very long, but I remember how much I used to enjoy the classes and the Bible stories.  Read More

Jesus has the most remarkable way of saying in one short sentence enough to bring you up short and change the direction of your life! One of those sentences is found in Luke 9:62 where He says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”  Read More

Last time we began to learn wisdom from even some of God’s smallest creatures in Proverbs 30:24-28: “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.”  Read More

James talks about how vital perseverance is when it comes to facing the many different kinds of trials that come our way. In fact, he encourages us in James 1:2-4 to “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Read More

In Romans 12 Paul encourages us to “never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”He says we are to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”  Read More