No one else can choose for you. No one else can think, feel or act for you. We each must choose for ourselves who we will serve (Joshua challenged the people of Israel with this choice). We each must choose for ourselves how we will live. When circumstances are especially difficult and we ask theContinue reading “No one else can do it for you”
Category Archives: Christian Life
What shall we receive from God?
“Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” – Job 2:10 There seem to be four things in our lives that are complex in how they are intertwined together and yet collectively they seem to account for much of the stress, fear, anxiety, doubt and discouragement in our lives. These four things are: *Continue reading “What shall we receive from God?”
Wandering, seeking
So often in life we find ourselves wandering. Wondering. Seeking. Questioning. “What is next?” “What went wrong?” “What should I do now?” These are legitimate questions. And they come from a place of brokenness and desperation. This might feel like a dark and depressed place to be, but it actually might be the most perfectContinue reading “Wandering, seeking”
Our desperate state
We are so completely dependent. Though we think we are autonomous, self-governing, independent beings, when we boil it all down: we are desperately needy for … God. We are not merely in need of a few blessings or provisions from His hand. No, we are desperate for His glory, His face, His Spirit, His presence! Joy isContinue reading “Our desperate state”
Life and the Presence of God
What is this life really about? Have we forgotten? Have we ever really known? Is this life about feelings and experiences? Is it about love and friendship? Is this life about making something of it? These are all small parts of the much bigger whole. Each of these things are snippets of the full lifeContinue reading “Life and the Presence of God”
A resolution of consecration, surrender, waiting and obeying
So it’s that time again. The time when we make resolutions: we resolve to do something we have not done before (or at least not recently or well). And yet I myself am curious and wary about these resolutions. Why do we want to do certain things now? Why haven’t we been doing them before?Continue reading “A resolution of consecration, surrender, waiting and obeying”
On our desperate need for God
My mind (and heart and spirit) keeps returning to thoughts of the glory and beauty of God and our desperate need for Him. I simply cannot get away from the nothingness that we are apart from Him and how pitiful and pathetic our gestures are apart from Him. We were made by God, for God and intendedContinue reading “On our desperate need for God”
What we need for Christmas
We each have our lists of what we want for Christmas. And perhaps some of us are the responsible types that only ask for what we ‘need’ on our Christmas list. But I want to take a moment to talk about what we really need for Christmas: We need the Lord. We need His presence.Continue reading “What we need for Christmas”
What am I thankful for?
I am thankful for many things: some big, some small. But I want you to know that I am most thankful for the love and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ! He has made us, He calls us, He thinks thoughts of love and hope and purpose for us, and He pours out His SpiritContinue reading “What am I thankful for?”
We need Thee, oh we need Thee!
What a desperate need we have for Jesus Christ! We think we know how to approach life. We “know” how to make plans, organize lives, get things done, set goals, develop ministry strategies and yet we fail again and again in personal lives and in ministry. As Scripture says about us: unless the Lord buildContinue reading “We need Thee, oh we need Thee!”
Pastor Michael Johnson 