On the dollar bill, we find the statement “In God We Trust.” That is quite a declaration, even more so, as it conjures a kind of hope that is beyond our grasps of understanding. In general, this is a very positive thought, but we need to ask who God is and why do we trust him. As Christians, for example, we believe in a God that is merciful and gracious, always willing to show us his love and make his dwelling with and in us. Moreover, God gives us hope because he has promised us the resurrection from the dead and eternal life if we believe and follow him. For this reason, we trust him. Now, one would think that … Read More
The Blessing Factor
Would you agree that today is easy to look around and see negativity, lacking, and suffering? I mean, of course, there is a lot of goodness and acts of kindness that happen every day. Still, in general, whether we keep up with the latest news, social media trends, or gossip within our family or any other groups we belong to, we can note behaviors that are more detrimental to life than sustaining. It is as if with each day that passes, we become more proficient in diminishing others. How has the world changed since I was a child? Or at least, I have become more aware of the ugliness and hurts. This is a tremendous challenge for the church. Even … Read More
What Do You Say? Thank You!
The Roman philosopher Cicero once said that gratitude is the parent of all virtues. It’s not difficult to see how this would be true. Gratitude is a virtue that contains many other virtues. For example, to be genuinely grateful to someone or for something, one must also be humble, generous, and kind. This is why, as parents, we spend so much time teaching gratitude to our kids. After you take your child out for ice cream, or to the zoo, or put dinner on the table, there is that familiar refrain: “What do you say?” The child, prompted, shouts: “Thank you!” One day, hopefully, they will not need to be prompted anymore. In the meantime, you solicit the “thank you” … Read More
Can’t Live Without You
Did you know that as a child of God, you have a very special relationship, a powerful connection with other people, particularly Christians? The apostle Paul speaks about and explains this in his first letter to the church in Corinth, saying, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” Without getting too much into it, the basic understanding of this verse is that through and in Christ, we are members of one spiritual family and we belong to one another together. This means I can’t exist without you; I can’t live alone. We are all interconnected, interdependent to each other, … Read More
Unmet Expectations
Isn’t it true that life does not always turn out the way we want it to? Maybe we don’t get that promotion we think you deserve, or we are struggling with our health. Or maybe our marriage doesn’t turn out the way we imagined or our parents or children have disappointed us. We have worked hard for all of this and done everything we possibly can to get things right yet they go in a different direction. Whatever it is, often we have expectations of what life is suppose to be or provide us, but we get disappointed. Our challenge is that we have a tendency to write out our own life plans and then expect God to make it all happen—or … Read More
