Month: July 2015

The not-so-secret ingredient to gain quality of life

The notion of living an abundant life in Christ beckons all of us. But how do we get the kind of life Jesus wants to give us? Today a continuation of our study in James will reveal the not-so-secret ingredient. It’s a discussion you don’t want to miss!

In a Stranger's Home

It was late spring, 2004, near the end of my first year teaching English in Southeast Asia. As I rode my electric motorbike away from the university campus where I worked, I hoped that a night at the seaside would refresh me for the end of the semester. Dusty gray streets soon gave way to rice fields, bright and young,…

When We Lose Sight of God in Our Relationships

Recently, I was able to enjoy a work-free weekend and got to spend time with my boyfriend, Asiri. As a couple, we have our ups and downs, but by God’s grace, we have been able to work through our problems.

An Exchange

Jen sat on her patio pondering a scary question: Should she write a book? She had enjoyed writing a blog and speaking in public but felt God might want her to do more. “I asked God if He wanted me to do this,” she said. She talked with Him and asked for His leading.

She began to wonder if God wanted her to write about her husband’s pornography addiction and how God was working in his life and their marriage. But then she thought that it might publicly disrespect him. So she prayed, “What if we wrote it together?” and she…

Vacancies (UK Office)

We currently have no vacancies.

How God causes us to produce good fruit

Some grapevines need to experience stress to develop good grapes, and the same principle can be applied to the trials we have in our own lives. The unwelcome stress and struggle may be God’s way of pruning you to produce fruit. Don’t miss this conversation on “Discover the Word.”

My letter to “Sin”

Dear Sin, You keep on knocking on the door, tempting me in every way you can. I have broken my bondage with you, I have chosen to let you go; yet you keep coming back.

Be Near

My friend was going through some difficult challenges in her life and family. I didn’t know what to say or do, and I told her so. She looked at me and said, “Just be near.” That’s what I did, and later on we started talking about God’s love.

Many times we don’t know how to respond when others are grieving, and words may do more harm than good. Serving others requires that we understand them and find out what they need. Often we can help by meeting practical needs. But one of the best ways to encourage those who are suffering…

The most common tool God uses to build our faith

As Christians, we want to become more like Jesus. And if we’re honest, we’d like that process to be an easy one. Our special guest reminds us that struggle is the most common tool the Lord uses to build our faith. Join us for an encouraging conversation coming up in James chapter one.

The Day I Googled the Weight of a Cloud

Have you ever wondered how much a cloud weighs? It’s a strange question, I know, but it’s something that came to mind one Sunday as I was taking in one of my favorite sights from the window by my bedside—a blue sky dotted with puffy, snow-white clouds.

Faithful Service

Having served in World War I, C. S. Lewis was no stranger to the stresses of military service. In a public address during the Second World War, he eloquently described the hardships a soldier has to face: “All that we fear from all the kinds of adversity . . . is collected together in the life of the soldier on active service. Like sickness, it threatens pain and death. Like poverty, it threatens ill lodging, cold, heat, thirst, and hunger. Like slavery, it threatens toil, humiliation, injustice, and arbitrary rule. Like exile, it separates you from all you love.”

The apostle…

What I’ve learned from Minions

Some time ago, I went to the cinema with my friends to watch the antics of a bunch of cute, little pill-shaped yellow beings in blue jumpsuits. It was the movie Minions, a story about how these incompetent yet irresistible creatures met and entered the service of Gru, the reluctant hero of the Despicable Me franchise.

Eulogize the Living God

In 2005, when American civil rights hero Rosa Parks died, Oprah Winfrey counted it a privilege to eulogize her. Oprah said of the woman who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955, “I often thought about what that took—knowing the climate of the times and what could have happened to you—what it took to stay seated. You acted without concern for yourself and made life better for us all.” 

We often use the word eulogy to refer to the words spoken at a funeral. But it can also refer to other situations where we give high praise…

Poem: What is Life All About?

Dreaming, unfettered and free,
I recalled my daily existence.
From days past to life’s sunset,
Memories mingled with regrets,
Is this all that I can expect?