on jesus being alive

Christ is risen – he is risen indeed.

Jesus is alive!

We’ll never need to fear falling out of God’s favour, because we are a part of the living Jesus, and God will always delight in Jesus and those in him.

Our faith is about relating to a living person, not about performance, rules or regulations.

We remember Jesus not out of sentiment, but because he is alive. Our faith and our lives are accountable to one who has the authority and the power.

We do not need to be pitied, because Jesus is alive. If he were dead our faith would be a lie, and Christians would be the most pitiful people on earth.

We follow the commands of Jesus because we love him, because he saved us, because he is alive. We are not following the commands of a concept, or an idea, or a long-dead preacher.

Our faith has direction, because Jesus is alive. He is alive, and he will come back one day and judge all people. And that shapes the way we relate to him and what we do with our time on earth.

Jesus is alive!

[More on this here]

06/17/2013 0

on low self-esteem and burning questions

There are two types of doubts that have come at me recently. One is an old friend while the other is a more theoretical doubt, one I am less passionate about but still floats around my head sometimes.

Regarding the first doubt: low self-esteem is a constant problem for me. I can do most things more or less competently but certain recurring failures, or an occasional, spectacular cockup, will bring me crashing. Continue reading “on low self-esteem and burning questions” →

05/24/2013 0

on connections

One of my good friends is an entrepreneurial, go-getter kind of marketer guy. I love the man dearly but there are a few areas where our ideologies are very different. He’s a dynamic, risk-taking kinda guy, I like to play it safe; he likes organising, I like following, etc.

So once when he explained the importance of knowing the right people, of connections, you can guess what I thought. It was something along the lines of “Pah! A man shouldn’t have to rely on connections, he should work for things!” Continue reading “on connections” →

05/01/2013 0

on what christians are best at

We are the Church. We are the bride of Christ. We are a light to the world, a nation of priests, a royal people who were brought out of darkness so that we could share the light with other people. We are God’s people, we are the children of Abraham, we are the co-heirs of the Son of God, we are the ones who can see in Christ the very image of the invisible God.

Yet how far short we fall! Continue reading “on what christians are best at” →

04/03/2013 0

on being a good man

Remember that scene at the end of Saving Private Ryan? An old James Ryan, having remembered all the hardships and sacrifices that were endured to bring him home, kneels in front of the grave of Captain John Miller, the man who saved his life. It seems Miller’s dying words to him, “earn this,” have stayed with him all his life.

Ryan turns to his wife and says “tell me I’m a good man.”

What if the answer had been “no”? What if Ryan had tried but failed? What if he had never tried at all? Continue reading “on being a good man” →

03/21/2013 0

on confidence

The phrase ‘girls like a guy who’s confident’ is something I’ve been hearing a lot recently. I’m sure most of you guys have heard it at some point in your life, either from your dads or older guys.

My gut reaction whenever I hear that phrase is “I’m confident, I make decisions all the time!” But I’m starting to realise that being confident and assertively putting your foot down are two different things (and those of you who know me would probably chuckle at the thought of me putting my foot down). Continue reading “on confidence” →

03/10/2013 0

on seeing

There’s this really awesome moment in 2 Kings chapter 6 when the prophet Elisha and his servant find themselves surrounded by Aramean soldiers, on orders to bring them alive back to their king. The servant wakes up one morning and finds the city encircled with horses and chariots, and so he goes to Elisha and asks “what do we do?” You can almost hear the panic in his voice. Elisha then prays that his servant’s eyes will be opened, and then and there the man sees – he sees the armies of the living God surrounding the Arameans. The latter, of course, fail their mission. Continue reading “on seeing” →

02/28/2013 0

on alexander the great and broken cisterns

The historians tells us that Alexander the Great was driven by great yearnings. He had a yearning to cross into places his people had never gone before; he had a great yearning to know and understand the world around him; he had a great yearning to live up to his ancestor Achilles and always be the best at everything; he had a great yearning to conquer and explore. Continue reading “on alexander the great and broken cisterns” →

02/21/2013 0

on lessons learned

Some things I learned this past year:

• The importance of empathy cannot be overstated. Uncaring cold-heartedness, bullying and generally being a shithead can be cured in part by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Continue reading “on lessons learned” →

01/01/2013 0

on godly jobs

It’s probably true to say that in church circles, the sacred enjoys a premium over the profane. I’ve heard more than a few people express the thought that pastoring or ministry or even bible study leading is a higher calling than playing music, setting up and welcoming.

Non-Christians seem to think we think this too, and maybe it’s because we privilege church-speak and hyper-spirituality over more mundane things such as getting to know people, social justice and caring for the poor. Recently when I objected to what people were talking about during a wedding I was at, my friend thought my objections were based on the fact that not enough people were talking Jesus-talk and sprouting halos (when in fact my objection was based on the fact that everybody in the congregation was so sickeningly successful and not enough of them were telling fart jokes). Continue reading “on godly jobs” →

12/13/2012 0