Silent Time

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...

Are you sometimes puzzled by the behaviour of people? Especially if we do not know someone yet, we might be surprised by their reactions. Everybody has different backgrounds, other education and contacts. But God knows everything, even what is hidden in darkness. And he is surrounded by light. His light is available to everybody.

“… , they are new every morning.” What will you fill into that sentence? Many people will say “the pains”, “the troubles” or “the bad news”. But that is only part of the truth. The mercy of God, his love and faithfulness are new every morning, beyond our imagination.

What happened in the time between Jesus was born and the time of his active ministry? Not much is reported and easily we may rush over it. Yet we can learn a lot from the few things, which are reported.

A lot of things had happened in Jericho. Over the time, a lot of darkness had come up, robbery, worship of idols, wrongdoing and sin, curse and all its negative effects. In such a sense, the city can be a symbol for the world: over shadowed by darkness. But Jesus approached the city. How many people in the city understood who Jesus is and the relevance for their life? Similarly in the world, also...