Church in a Dialogue with God’s Word
I must have been only seven or eight years old when my grandmother, who had become a Christian a few years earlier, told me in a very serious fashion that the Bible is not effective if it is closed. The Bible only works if it is kept open, she said.
True repentance
Only when we start to see our sin as God sees it will we genuinely have “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart” (verse 17). It is then that we can ask God to create a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within us (verse 10) and to restore the joy of our salvation (verse 12). In fact, the more we understand what our sin really is, the more we understand the depths of God’s amazing love and mercy towards us
When you need a boost
In Japan, many people use bikes to get around. People cycle to the station to catch a train to work; mothers put their children into special child seats to take them to nursery; high school students cycle to school each day; baskets on the front and back of the bike enable people to cycle to do their grocery shopping.
The treasures of darkness
Most of us experience periods of darkness in some form, times when life is particularly difficult, and it can be hard to see a way forward. If given the choice, I suspect that many of us would prefer to avoid dark times and the feelings that go with them. And yet, there are some things that we can only see, learn or experience when we are in the dark – the treasures of darkness.
How to not finish well
May God help us to learn from the pitfalls these three men fell into, and by his grace enable each of us to finish well, so that we can say, as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Not what was expected
This holy week, may we be amazed afresh at what Jesus accomplished for us by his death and resurrection and may many people hear and accept the invitation he still gives to follow him.
Prepared for action
To be prepared for the spiritual battle, we need to ensure that our loins are girded with truth. Do we have our belts firmly fastened? This is a question it is good to reflect on with God regularly. Are there areas where we need to grow in our understanding of God’s truth? Are there any areas in our lives where we are not actually living out what we know to be true? Then we can be prepared for action.
Follow Daniel’s God
As I spoke to middle schoolers, I was excited to challenge them to follow Daniel’s God—to know this amazing God and look to Him for the strength they need to live with integrity in a culture full of opposition.
What are people asking?
I learned an important lesson that day. Although some parts of the Bible may indeed be easier for seekers to understand, God can use any part of his word to speak to people and open their hearts. Rather than focusing on what we want to communicate, it is important to try to understand the needs and questions of the person listening so that we can share in a way that speaks to them.
