When the apostle Paul moves from his explanation of the gospel to drawing out the practical implications in Romans, he starts with this: I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Rom. 12:1 ESV) …
I love Facebook and Instagram. I hate Facebook and Instagram. Sometimes I love and hate social media at the same time. I am sure I am not alone. I signed up for Facebook a very long time ago. In the early days, it did seem fun and a good tool to connect with people, especially …
Everyone tells me that they are busy. It has become the standard response whenever I ask anyone how their week has been. It doesn’t matter what their life situation is, whether they are a working single mother or a long-term retiree, it is a badge of honour to claim busyness. If we are busy, we …
I had a bad flu recently. I am sure you know what that feels like. I went from running a high fever to having shakes and chills, going along with headaches, a runny nose, and a sore throat. The worst of it only lasted a few days, but it seemed a lot longer. One of …
In Malachi chapter 1, God pointed out a major problem with the worship that the people of God were bringing to him. The people of Judah had returned to their homeland after many years in exile. They had rebuilt the temple and the walls of Jerusalem and had resumed the worship required in the law …
When we are in the middle of being tempted towards sin, it matters how we think. It helps a great deal if we are prepared in advance as to how to respond. This is true of all kinds of sins. Perhaps you are alone on your computer and you are tempted to click to sites …
It is easy to slip into thinking of God as owing us something. We can get upset if we have worked hard to be faithful, we have been generous, we have served God, and then we don’t get something we prayed for or wanted. We can think that we have a right for God to …
Religion can be described as doing the same things over and over. We often use it in the context of spiritual matters, like praying every day or going to church religiously. Yet we can do other things religiously as well. We might eat dinner at the same time every day, or always go shopping on …
Many people think of Christians as people who like to follow rules. There are a range of things Christians do that others do not, like going to church and praying. There are also things Christians avoid doing that many others think as normal, like drunkenness and lying. It sure looks like rule following or religion! …
God works in mysterious ways. We know that. There are so many things that happen to us and around us that we would never have predicted and which we do not understand. Yet sometimes we are privileged to see a series of events that reveal a little of God’s unexpected kindness to us. I can …