After a short break, the Up! devotional is back for 2019! (It's great to see you.) Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? However you respond, a lot of us are thinking about how to strengthen our faith in 2019. But when it comes to that word “faith,” we can easily miss something important. A lot … Continue reading As you stride into 2019
God
For a healthier and better grounded you
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about mental health. According to the Canadian Association of Mental Health, mental illness affects people of all ages and backgrounds. Suicide accounts for 24% of all deaths for 15-24 year olds. And by age 40, about fifty percent of people in my country will have or have had a … Continue reading For a healthier and better grounded you
Give God the credit
If your friend fixed your garage door for free, and then someone came over the next day and complimented it, what would you do? You'd give your friend the credit. Why don't we do the same for God?
A daytime disconnect?
Many people feel “disconnected” to God from 9 to 5. Generally speaking, that’s when you’re at school, or at work, or going about the random tasks of life. (I realize that some of you work shift work but just go with me on this one.) Maybe you feel it’s hard to feel close to God … Continue reading A daytime disconnect?
Like water off a duck’s back
“You never do it right.” “Your priorities are always messed up.” “You always say the wrong thing!” How do you respond when people unduly judge and criticize you? If you’re like a lot of other people (including me), probably not very well! So I stand in awe of the apostle Paul when he says, “I … Continue reading Like water off a duck’s back
Proving that you’re somebody
Lately I’ve been talking about “Keeping up with the Joneses.” It’s an expression that has to do with how you think you’re measuring up (and keeping up) with the people around you. It has to do with comparison. And do you know what? It’s an exhausting way to live. In an incredibly honest interview with … Continue reading Proving that you’re somebody
“I just don’t see God working in my life”
Over the years I’ve spoken with some people who have told me something like this: “I just don’t see God working in my life.” Because of that, they stop looking, and they stop expecting him to be working in their lives. So let me offer some advice: When you do the work of God, you … Continue reading “I just don’t see God working in my life”
Hurting trumps busyness
Writer, speaker and scientist Alister McGrath says that “To love God entails loving what God loves.” So who does God love? God loves the emotionally needy. God loves the braggart. God loves the one we overlook. God loves the forgotten. God loves those who are struggling. 1 John 3:18 says, “let us not love with words or … Continue reading Hurting trumps busyness
In the shadow of a stingy God?
Theologian Kosuke Koyama once said in a speech that “every Christian must decide whether we serve a stingy God or a generous God.” I wasn’t in the audience when he said that. But my guess is that he was talking about how our understanding of God impacts how we treat other people. If we think … Continue reading In the shadow of a stingy God?
How to be wealthy (without any money)
According to Mother Teresa, the spiritual poverty in the western world is WORSE than the physical poverty in Calcutta. She said, “You in the West have millions of people who suffer such terrible loneliness and emptiness… These people are not hungry in the physical sense, but they are in another way. They know they need … Continue reading How to be wealthy (without any money)
