Silent Time

Did you ever have to flee? Sometimes God guides his people in ways that seem to be strange at first. Saul had persecuted the people of God, he tried to eradicate the church. But on his way to Damascus he got converted and shortly after that, he began to preach, to proclaim Jesus as the saviour.

For what do you use your hands? To bless others and to help them in their individual needs? Or to act in selfishness and greed, destroying others or taking away their honour? Or to lift up things on a higher level than God, making them idols? Human hands can do many things. They can do a lot of good but can also do a lot of evil.

False testimony: When a wrong statement is given, then the law foresees punishment, for example if by purpose wrong numbers are shown in the balance sheet in accounting. As an individual, we may not be punished in that sense for giving a false statement in private life. Yet how many times do we talk bad about others, taking away the honour for example of absent persons? How many times do we hurt o...

Do you at times complain that you are lonely? Or the other way round, do you feel too busy and crowded? It is precious if we have family and friends. When one person is in a difficult situation, family and friends may give new ideas and courage. Let’s give thanks for each beloved person and help them to build up their lives, also interceding for each other.

Even when the child is strongly crying, it may find wonderful comfort by the parents. In some situations of life, other people can not comfort us. God is the highest comforter. He also knows what we need. He can help even in extreme situations of life, where no one else can help. Jesus has won the victory over all that harms us. He also provides healing.

In which stage of your walk with the Lord are you currently in? It might be that in the beginning there was a lot of excitement about the good news in the initial stage of following the Lord, the heart was burning about the salvation that God offers us. But now there seems to be so much trouble, hardly any songs of praise, the heart is no more burning. We might be disappointed about other people a...

Let no one rob you of your price. How about your personality? Do you strongly pursue your targets? Or do you easily get influenced and distracted by others?

How many kingdoms where there throughout the history of humanity? Some lasted quite long. But all were based on human leaders. The kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom based on the almighty eternal holy God.

Where are the people usually happy? One might say “on vacation”. Yet a lot of our time we need to spend working. What, if we could enjoy the work?

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...