Silent Time

How would you complete the sentence: “A person who has done wrong, needs to be …”? Punished? Praise the Lord, that he uses another logic. God does not want to punish us. He calls us back. He calls us back with words of love. Despite we have done wrong and walked away from him.

Under which conditions do you live? Do you have enough? (for example sufficient variety of food for a healthy body) Or do you live in scarcity and need? Or do you even have more than enough? St. Paul writes about food and joy “for the heart”. Should it not read as “... for the body”?

“Fighting against God” – it sounds strange. What do you think about it? The bible reports that people of all times were fighting against God. Long time ago the people tried to build a huge tower in order to be better than God. And in the end times, people unit with the enemy of God. And all of us by our human nature easily do not like the guidance of God. We do not respect his authority. We do not...

There are very few tribes left on the earth, who still live an original lifestyle as our predecessors did several hundreds of years ago very close to the nature. Supposed someone offered to them a huge amount in bank notes or digital money, they would most likely not understand its worth. In the same way, we often do not understand the value of heavenly things, of spiritual blessings. Most people...

The good news should be proclaimed via all channels. But we as humans do not want to hear, we do not want to listen to God. We have lots of excuses. Still, the good news is available to everybody. God offers life in its fullness.

What consequences do you take for your life, as it is announced that the king of kings is coming? Do you take a moment to think about it? Do you welcome and receive the Lord in your heart? Many do not pay attention and try to keep themselves continuously busy with things that will ultimately turn out to be much less important. Still, the sovereign Lord offers amazing gifts to every human individua...

In the modern world, there is hardly a time of real silence. All around the clock noise from cars, motor bikes, airplanes, constructions works, … It would be interesting to experience the silence and listen to the angel choir, which was revealed to the shepherds by the time of the birth of Jesus. The great song of praise. Are those songs still available nowadays?

When hiking in the mountains, there is sometimes only a narrow path with the risk of falling off on both sides, like on a double cliff trail. In life we also have the risk of falling off on either side: Either to get satisfied, proud and arrogant, rejecting the love of God as if it was not required. Or remaining in despair in feelings of guilt and shame, assuming that what we have done is too bad,...

What happens to those, who lived long time, before Jesus was born? And how about those who never in their lifetime have the chance to hear the good news? Even long time before the love of God was revealed in Jesus, it was already available. Abraham put his trust in the Lord and it was counted as righteousness to him. No matter where we are and in what times we live, we can turn to the Lord.

Who impacts your mind? As we all know, nobody is perfect. But the question is, how do we handle our failures? Either with extreme thinking of either guilt or of pride. Or do I let Jesus be my great advocate? Do I let his grace impact my mind and learn from him?

What consequences does it have for your life, that Jesus came into this world? First of all, let’s be joyful about the victory that Jesus has won over devil, death, sin and hell. He offers to save us from all evils. But then the question is: what do we do with that fantastic news? Do I want to stay as I am or do I want to change and to become as God wants me to be?

Do you also long for justice? Some people pressure us, they act in injustice, they hurt us, they persecute us. If we are honest, we are also not perfect. Praise the Lord that the chain of punishment, revenge and hatred is broken. A new beginning has started that brings life, freedom and justice.

What are you currently struggling with? How does the world aggregate you? It may look discouraging, yet take courage: The victory is already available. It may well be that the devil may torment us for a while, might take away our health, our peace, our friends, our possessions. Yet, even in all such situations, we know that in all things God works for good in those who love the Lord.

Some self-declared spiritual leaders talk about “being enlightened” and give false promises to the people who follow them. They may even use words about God and the Holy Spirit. But do they really mean it? Who is a hypocrite? Find out, who has good and who has bad intentions.

How would you react, if the Lord called you a “dog”? If you asked the Lord for something, and all you get is a rejection? It sounds insulting at first. By our nature, we do not want to listen to such corrections. But it can help to find out our real innermost attitude: Do we rely on ourselves? On our own accomplishments and strengths? Or do we really humble us under the word of God? We are not cal...

What situation of life are you currently in? Do you face a lot of trouble? There is the risk, that we see only the trouble and we do not see any hope anymore. Hopefully, it will rather lead us to prayer. On the other hand, if everything is calm and seems to be comfortable, there is the risk that we do not really seek God anymore. Our faith might become weak, similarly as the body becomes weaker, i...

Is it a challenge for you to believe in God? Many people have that idea of a remote God, whom we cannot approach. Or they think of God as a big brother watching, who watches out whether we do something wrong in order to punish us. But that is not the case. God is at the same time almighty, all-knowing as well as all-loving and always near. The holy trinity: God as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit....

Are there enough scriptures to explain us what is relevant? The rich man thought that it is not enough. But all info that is necessary is available. The question rather is: what do we do with all the info from the holy scriptures? Praise the Lord, that it is not complicated. Anybody who is interested can receive the great gifts and wisdom from God.

Who are your enemies? You may say “I have no enemies”. Or you may think of some persons who make your life burdensome. But let’s think again. Who are the real enemies? They are inside us, such as destructive thoughts that destroy our future. And evil spirits that try to harm us, and that inspire negative thoughts in us and in others. Let’s fight against the real enemies, not against people. And mo...

In what do you put your trust? Into your own good deeds or into the saving love of God? Many do not believe into reconciliation and the salvation that God offers. It means they only have their own accomplishments and what this life offers. Nothing more. Yet God’s amazing offer is available to everyone. It is offered in Jesus, the cornerstone. Greater than anything we can imagine.

What is your foundation? Is it basically trust or doubt? In good time, it is easy to join in worship songs and to praise God. But how about in times of trouble? By nature we easily doubt and complain or even tend to give up when difficulties come up. The best way forward is to overcome such situations in faith and patience.

A sports-person who thinks of oneself to be the best in class, to be the fastest or strongest, may reduce the level of exercise and will fall behind. Assuming to have the victory in the future for sure may make the person careless or negligent. In the same way, one of the biggest risks for a believer is to assume to be perfect already. We have not reached the goal yet. It is a lifelong process to...

Are you a child of God? Or a child of this world? To whom do you want to belong to? It might often be, that if you are a child of God, if you take his word serious, you may feel as if you have a lot of disadvantages. The commandments seem to limit us. Persecution and other troubles. Others, who do not follow God and rather the patterns of this world, seem to be more free. They take advantage of ot...

Do you mainly think about the past or about the future? For sure it is important to spend our time and energy mainly into things that concern the future. Nevertheless, it sometimes also makes sense to take a moment to think back, and consciously overcome the past, for example if guilt, shame and devil try to accuse and condemn us. If we humbly confess what we have done wrong, God forgives us, his...

When we have heard and understood the Good News about God’s mercy, that our salvation does not depend on our own good deeds and rather on God’s grace, then for sure we want to tell on that good news to other persons. To whom are we called to tell on that good news? Basically to all people. Only in very few occasions are we warned to be careful. For example we need to be careful of the persecutors...