UNLESS WE ARE LIVING IN CHRONIC DENIAL, we’ll have to admit that we are constantly facing battles in life. Whether we are battling financial struggles, chronic sickness, challenging relationships, painful disappointments, or discouraging outcomes, unwelcome surprises have a way of throwing our lives off-kilter and our emotions into chaos. 

Have you ever opened your home to a visitor, offered your guest a comfortable seat with a commanding view of your life, and then promptly excused yourself to get busy with the exigencies of life, returning only to ask your guest for more time, more resources and greater patience with you? If this sounds preposterous, consider Christians who, after inviting Jesus to make their hearts His home, prefer Him to sit quietly as a sponsor and spectator. Instead of paying attention to the things He nudges us towards, we go on with life pretty much our own way – with little change inside.

People spend an inordinate amount of time sitting. Once out of bed, we sit to have breakfast, sit on the commute to work, sit in the office, sit for lunch, sit for dinner, sit to watch TV and then it’s bedtime again.

Few of us pay attention to how we sit and what we sit on. During the lockdowns of COVID-19, many worked while sitting in bed, on couches and dining chairs which are not designed for adequate support of our bodies for prolonged sitting. However, over time, our preferred chair becomes second nature to us, and we conclude that living with aches and pain is the new normal without examining what we are relying on for support.

What sparks joy in you? Do you find yourself endlessly pursuing one self-gratifying activity after another only to find short-lived joy that is soon replaced by a feeling of emptiness in your soul? Or are you more inclined to invest your time and attention to things that are more sustainable though they demand, on your part, a continual reliance on God as He reveals a deeper and deeper aspect of His heart with you? In other words, are you happy just to catch natural phenomena like sunrise or rhythmic springs, or do you seek the pleasure of being in the company of the God who creates such wonders of nature?

According to psychologists, we rely on stereotypes or mental shortcuts about people to draw conclusions about their motives, character or behaviour. Thus, we may conclude that people with body tattoos are dangerous, or that older singles and divorcees are difficult people. At the same time, our behaviour is shaped by our imagination of how we appear in people’s minds and the reaction we think they have to their mental image of us (Cooley’s looking glass self). So, among Christian friends, we want to appear godly and austere. To people at work, we want to appear competent and hardworking. Empty-nesters want to be seen as rekindling their marriages when their children fly the coop. Those in leadership position want to be seen as powerful and important.

We all know that it takes more than the main actors and the movie director to get a movie from an idea to a finished product. Do you belong to the group of people who stay behind after a movie ends to read the credit roll and see the names of all the people involved? Or do you make a quick exit, thinking and talking only about what you see on the big screen?

An avatar is a graphic representation of our persona – real or fantasized. They invoke our imaginations about our realities and maybe even some super-power we would like to have to help us overcome our weaknesses. Some pick dog avatars for the unconditional loyalty they are known for; birds for the freedom they represent; snails for their ability to retreat into their shells and hide when they are uncomfortable; chameleons for their adaptability in the face of threats; butterflies for symbolizing transformation; or tortoises for being slow and steady in enduring long distances.

To say that something lasts a lifetime only describes the duration of a condition. Many things are seen to be beneficial if they last a lifetime such as product and service warranty, marriage, wealth or a passion for learning. But how about a lifetime of regrets, illnesses, relational deficits, loneliness, and broken dreams? How about the eternity that all of us will step into at the end of our human life? What kind of eternity are you preparing yourself for?

How do I live life? You may think that this question is reserved for people who struggle to see that tomorrow will be a better day, but it is really a question for all believers. Whether we are cruising along safe shores or hurled into the stormy seas, we can be just as distracted by life itself and forget how to truly live.

Counterfeits are fake impressions, things or identities that are like real. The trick is to be believable. Cybercriminals operate on making people believe that the text message or email they send asking for cash is from a legitimate source. Illegal businesses produce and sell knock-offs of branded products at knock-down prices. But do you know that there are also counterfeit Christians? It’s hard to spot them because they act and sound so much like true believers that even they are convinced that they are authentic!

Think of the last time you told people you were embarking on a new life direction, or starting a new job, or relocating to a different country. You likely received all kinds of well wishes - Godspeed, all the best, good luck, bon voyage – as you stepped into a future full of promises, confident that you could sidestep any problems and perils that might remotely emerge. Or so you thought.

With Christmas round the corner, a question returns each year: so what’s new about it? The usual biblical plot will be replayed with characters that both Christians and non-Christians are familiar with - Mary, Joseph, the Magi (the group of wise men), the shepherds and the owner of the barn where Jesus was born. Apart from living in the same epoch and appearing in the same bible story, what else did they have in common?

IT’S HARD TO FOCUS when we have difficulty keeping still. We’re not talking about personalities here but about our attitude – the ability to keep our anxieties in check in order to find God in times of uncertainty. To be sure, modern technology and smart devices today have become both a boon and a bane: while they allow us to access information at our fingertips, they also condition us with an unhealthy fear of missing out (FOMO) that underlie an obsession with the need for certainty.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” These words from 2 Timothy 4:7 were penned by the apostle Paul when he was facing his own imminent demise. In the preceding verse, he wrote, “and the time for my departure is near.” (v6). Here, the word ‘departure’ depicts a boat due to set out from the harbor; or soldiers breaking camp ready to be deployed somewhere for battle and possibly not return ever.

Are you one of those people who study the manufacturers' instructions on cleaning products, read instructions for appliance use or garment care, and follow the step-by-step guide for furniture assembly? Most of us tend to chuck instructional guides aside until something breaks down or malfunctions. As a result, we often run the risk of product misuse, product damage and even personal injury that is preventable because of our flagrant neglect of the instructions that are provided for our good.

Most commentaries about 1 Samuel 9 (the first book of Samuel, chapter 9) focus on the introduction of Saul as a good looker who stood out for his height and handsome looks, and how God revealed to Samuel that he would become Israel’s first king. By all accounts, it is one of those Bible stories which starts with an ordinary event (Saul on a donkey recovery mission) before it turns into a life-changing experience for the main protagonist (Saul).

We have all heard that knowledge is power. This idea was popularized by French philosopher, Michel Foucault, and has become a fact in today’s knowledge-driven societies. In fact, the human need for knowledge often surpasses the need for God because people have the impression that with greater knowledge, there’s greater certainty and control than waiting on God to change things. Humanly speaking, we all prefer certainty over the unexpected. Yet, greater access to knowledge has not made human life more predictable or certain. Bad news still dominate headlines and knock on the doors of our lives.

Christians are not often associated with being modern, open-minded, progressive or even sociable people. They are often accused of being resistant to change and for acting as though that God’s salvation gives them moral superiority. Admittedly, Christians are themselves conflicted between modernity and spirituality: how does one live a modern life while remaining faithful to God?

In this second-part study of Romans 12, we’ll look at verse 2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” The problem begins when we misread this verse and mistake it as a call to resist changes, reject all new information, and live as a social recluse in order to avoid moral contamination. Doing so can make us out of touch and ineffective.

Ask any Christian: where would you be today if not for God’s love, amazing grace, and salvation for you? In all likelihood, they will supply copious stories of how they experienced God’s timely goodness, intervention, and provision. These are impressive milestones that mark their faith journey. On a daily basis, however, most Christian life rolls back into the humdrum of human existence in which God takes a backseat in human conversations, decisions, and lifestyle choices. He is politely left out of the friendships He has blessed us with. He is not consulted at the jobs He gave us as His divine assignments. Our minds conjure God as one who is happy to step back until another setback emerges in our lives. We imagine that He is always ready to step in to help. Instead of a relationship, we treat God as a recovery and rescue mission.

Christians today have instant and constant access to teachings, interviews and sermons anywhere and anytime. We like sermons that feel less like instructional lectures and are inspiring with more relatable context. We prefer preachers who are eloquent in expressing their thoughts with a good grasp of whatever language they use. We grade sermons according to how they make us feel on any given day. Nothing wrong with these expectations.