Silent Time

In a very old movie, which shows an “end-of-the-world-scenario”, people get asked “what would you do, if you had only 3 hours left?”. It is quite shocking how much negative behaviour people favour: taking drugs, trying to enjoy to the maximum, doing all kinds of strange things. When Jesus knew that the time of his earthly life in human form would soon come to an end, his priority was to give honou...

What do you seek in life? What do you ultimately look for? Many people look for success, for recognition, for influence and so on. For the moment it might make us happy if we achieve such things. And yet it does not really fulfil us. Life can be complete: everybody is invited to turn to the Lord, who knows what is really good for us. He can fill our life with fulfilment and provide all that we rea...

A lot of people know about the good news, having heard about it. But they do not go, they do not apply the good news to their life. The shepherds, they went. They heard the good news from the angels and they went to find out for themselves. And whoever else throughout history walked the path of faith, they were not disappointed. Do you only know, or do you go?

What is your refuge amidst the troubles of life? Do you look for refuge from your home? Your family? Your friends? God is our ultimate refuge. He protects us. And he is the almighty, all-knowing, loving God. Since we have such a great refuge, we can go forward with confidence and boldness.

What are your burdens? Health issues and pains? Or not enough time with too many things to do and not enough rest? Or being persecuted? Or having done wrong in the past and now suffering from its consequences? There are so many forms of burdens. Whatever your burdens are, Jesus invites us: “Come to me, all of you who are tired of carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest.”

Guests may stay for a while in the house. But the family members - parents and children - stay permanently. The guests may participate in certain activities, such as to eat. But the family members fully participate in everything, such as taking decisions. The children are also heirs. They fully belong to the family. Do you belong to the family of God?

Do you feel weak at times? There are so many challenges and demands in life.

Do you worry about things in life? About the future? Or do you involve God? There are many things to worry about, every age, place and person has specific worries. Worries of health, worries about safety, etc. But instead of worrying, we may put our trust in God. He may not fulfil all our wishes, but he knows all that we really need.

Where are you along the journey of life? Along the journey of life with God? It is good if someone understands that the own accomplishments will ultimately not be sufficient, and if the person therefore turns to the Lord. God is full of grace. He invites everybody.

Being proud or being humble – what do you target? There seem to be so many advantages of being proud. Yet the bible tells us not to be proud over others. Neither between generations, nor between hierarchies, etc. God resists the proud but shows favour to the humble.

Has your life ever been at risk? Few times we may notice it, for example if we almost had a serious accident. Many more times we may not have noticed it, how we have been at risk. Praise the Lord for each day we are still alive and more or less healthy.

Watched over by parental love – imagine a playground: the parents watch over their children, the children are safe. And in the same way, God watches over his people and protects them. Nothing can seriously harm us, even as we go through suffering and have to bear various burdens, God still has a good longterm plan for our life. In all things God works for the good of those who love him.

People may forget, what they have created: Children who had set up their small play area outdoor e.g. in the forest, they may later have other interests, and may gradually forget that area. A young person may have created a simple computer program, but years later it might be outdated, no more required and over time gets out of the mind. But not so with God. God never forgets his creation. He care...

How long – O Lord? Have you also asked that question? How long will the suffering endure? How long will the injustice last?

To whom or to what do we give honour? Everyone can easily check one’s priorities: What do you spend your free time on? What do you spend your energy on? On what do you spend the major part of other resources?

How comes that certain organisations develop in a certain direction, while another comparable organisation may develop in a totally different direction? 2 comparable companies may look totally different 10 years in the future. Same for 2 associations who look similar today, they may be in totally different shape some years into the future. And even societies may develop in different directions. Be...

Good sleep with nothing to fear – would that not be wonderful: to have good rest, to get enough strength for the tasks ahead, to have good concentration on the following days? All too often, the reality looks different: there is not sufficient time to rest. Or fears, worries and other things keep us awake. But the Lord wants to give us such peace.

Do you at times lack the strength and energy you need? There is so much to do but we only have limited energy.

Do you see the connections between different topics in your life? We often regard things separately: one matter only relates to the mind, another thing only to the body etc. And yet, it all belongs together. Not only modern medicine finds out more about these connections, the bible already knows about it since long.

“I have kept all promises that I ever made in my life, I always did 100% what I promised” – can anybody claim that? Probably the person who claims that is a liar. Yet there is one, who has never broken any promise.

How about your opinion? If we look at the situation in the world, there would be many reasons to fear or to give up hope. When we think about all the injustice going on. The problems in the world. The difficulties in our own personal lives. So many reasons to give up. And yet, there is that one reason not to give up. The Lord has done great things! He has won the victory!

When you hear the word “love”, what comes to your mind? The romantic love? Or the hobbies that you love to do? Or caring love, parental love? Good parents want the best for their child. They continuously care for the longterm well-being of the child. Through all happy and sad times, they have the best intentions for their child. God’s caring love is greater than we can imagine.

Have you ever been really thirsty? Not just the regular desire to drink water, but an extraordinary situation. If the body seriously lacks water, it easily gets to its limits. Luckily, most of us usually have enough water or other beverages to drink every day. Once we are in a real need, then we understand how much we depend on  having sufficient water. And once we are in a real need, then we unde...

What is your biggest target in life? Is it to be successful? To have a better life? Since God has made the way free for us and offers reconciliation, so we have the choice of how we set our targets and we have the free decision: do we follow God and give him the first priority in life? If we follow God, then we are also called to do good to others, to build up their lives, to forward the love that...

At times, things which we are not aware of, can make a big difference in life. It may seem small or negligible and yet they are relevant. For example someone who has an allergy but does not know about it: once the person gets to know about it and avoids that kind of food or ingredient, the quality of life may improve a lot. Or the other way round: as long as there is a lack of certain minerals or...