It is funny how bad things seem so permanent and good things seem so transient. Maybe it’s because we tend to avoid pain and associate all pain with negative outcomes. We may ask, what good can come out of an event that decisively disrupts our lives. As believers, we can become prone to using our faith for quick fixes to life problems. We expect instant healing. We activate prayer groups and everyone wants to see undesirable situations turn around quickly. We evangelize with the hope of instant salvations. We believe that powerful testimonies must demonstrate how swiftly God works on our behalf.

When children hear parents and teachers use the word ‘until’, it is often received as a threat that is intended to instill fear and hopefully, result in compliance. When God uses the word ‘until’, it is both a condition and a promise.

The word ‘despise’ means to loathe, scorn, reject and feel contempt towards someone or something. We can despise a person or group of people, ideas and beliefs, some professions, or certain attitudes and behaviour.

We keep our eyes on what's important to us. This includes poll results during an election, the stock market indices, our individual or organisational key performance indicators, our children’s academic progress, suspicious-looking people in our neighbourhoods, the weather when we are planning travel, and the list goes on. We want to watch things and people closely to stay informed and avoid undesirable outcomes. Whether they appear on our device screens or in front of us, we tend to act on visible cues because we simply hate surprises.

David was running for his life, away from a jealous king who wanted to make him disappear from people’s praises and their perception of military leadership. The narcissistic King Saul would not allow himself to be upstaged by anyone – even those loyal to him.

The adage that biblical hindsight is always 20/20 applies not only to Jesus’ followers, but also to many of us today. From Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday, three significant events remind us of lessons that marked the fulfilment of Jesus’ mission on earth.

It is common to see people posting or posing for self-promoting images skilfully crafted with only photos and clever captions. People pay greater attention to photos taken with influential people they meet than they care about their relationships with them. Superficial signs make grabbing headlines because people love optics more than they are interested to discover deeper meanings. It therefore goes without saying that we now run the risk of making misinterpretations because of our over reliance on visuals to understand situations and stories.

Many believers today lead busy lives pursuing individual goals and ambitions. Increasingly, we find the rituals of human connections impractical and unnecessary. If we can help it, we skip in-person celebrations and gatherings. Notably, prominent classical sociologist Emile Durkheim found that there is a moral remaking that takes place when people gather for events like birthday celebrations, wedding ceremonies, and communal events. Such events bring people together in the upholding of shared values, and strengthen our bonds with each other.

SOME PEOPLE PREFER TO TEST WATER before they make an important commitment. In a community, this means they like to take their time to see how well the community supports their goals and aspirations. While it makes perfect sense to put in time to explore our new environments, if we are only ever dipping our toes in the water, we put ourselves in danger of being trapped in our own narratives of what works for us and what does not.

Is it possible that the Christian prayer life has become more like an activity than it is actually a way of life for us? We have all the tools we need – the Bible, prayer guides, prayer journals, faith in the Word of God – but we pray only when we need safe travel, successful deals, and happy personal outcomes. Our prayer life becomes centred on needs rather than relationships, expressed as obligatory “amens” or emojis in chat groups rather than faith-building God-centred words of exhortation. Even earnest prayer requests often turn into a display of prayer one-upmanship with long verbose prayers that sound more like demands with bible citations than faith-infused conversations with God!

Are you among the global travellers who prefer to stick to familiar brands no matter where you go. You stay at the same hotel under the Marriott chain, head to the iconic golden arches of McDonald’s for meals, and to Starbucks for coffee because your past experiences with these businesses have shaped your expectations of service, quality, and comfort? Sociologists refer to this phenomenon, largely driven by globalization, as cultural homogenization where people all over the world are experiencing  somewhat similar lifestyles.

When we read of how Jesus walked along the shores of the Sea of Gallilee, called out to a few fishermen who were preparing their fishing nets, “Come, follow Me!” and how they abruptly dropped their nets and followed Him, it is easy to conclude that Jesus was always calling perfect strangers to join His ministry.

Relationships regulate our behaviour. Whether the relationships are familial, romantic, friendships, or professional, they come with pretty clear social norms and expectations that guide how we should behave. In professional relationships, there are expectations around timeliness, integrity and productivity.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus gave us an open invitation to come to Him for rest when we feel overwhelmed. But we often feel that nothing is ever so bad that we need to respond to Him just yet. Surely, He doesn’t need us to prove our commitment to Him when we are in a bind or a flux. He clearly knows how deeply we trust Him and how much we depend on Him though we hardly ever respond to His invite to rest in Him.

More people now are involved in the circular economy, forming online and offline communities that are committed to extend the use-life of many products. Instead of being discarded, preloved products are refurbished to like-new condition, repurposed and eventually rehomed with a new lease of life.

What do people who know their God look like. Will we be able to recognize who they are among us? Consider a father’s unwavering hope for his child to land a professional ballet contract while supporting her through a process that seems to have no end in sight. Yet, he continues to provide her with the leadership that she needs to keep her aspirations alive. What about a young widower facing the reality that this new year will not be the same as any other as he battles the waves of grief and the new norm that arbitrarily show up in his life.

We can easily fall into the trap of familiarity with God when we no longer look for new things to unpack in our relationship with Him. This happens when we let our preferences and priorities dictate how much we want to engage Him to know Him better. Instead, we rely on what we already know about God and what He had done in the past to predict what He will do in the future (not unlike crystal-ball gazing), and we keep looking for familiar signs as evidence of His involvement in our lives. Over time, we begin to lose all awe and wonder of God.

Just because something has not changed for you does not mean you should remain in the status quo or that the status quo is the best that God has for you.
The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years before God miraculously set them free by dividing the Red Sea and had them flee on foot through a dry passage while the Egyptian chariots that pursued them drowned. (Exodus 12:40). Afterward, they wandered in the desert for 40 more years before their leader, Moses, died. Then, God said to Joshua, “Moses my servant is dead.” It was a strange statement of fact because Joshua clearly knew Moses was no longer alive, yet God chose to state the obvious.

Most of us think of time as the 24 hours we have each day and how much time we have for this or that. We think about tasks that need to get done, situations that need our attention, and routines that loop from day to day, month to month, and year to year. We tend to focus on the here and now, and less in terms of what God prioritizes and values.

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS. Is it a folklore about a baby named Jesus who was born in a stable and laid in a makeshift crib from a manger? Surely, Jesus is not still living that we are celebrating His birthday. Except that it was not an ordinary story, about an ordinary baby born, who lived an ordinary purpose.