Silent Time

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...

What gives you distress? What do you fear and worry about? People of different times and in different places, have different kinds of worries and fears. People who live in good times, in wealth, in freedom, they may have relatively smaller kinds of worries and fears. But one thing is same for everybody: we all know that one day there will be a time, when this earthly life will come to an end and t...

When we work in the garden or outside, cutting the hedge, it may happen, if there are thorns, they may cut our skin. It may hurt. How much more the thorns of which the crown was made by the soldiers by that time that was put onto the head of Jesus. But not only the soldiers of that time. We all bear responsibility for the pains of Jesus. He suffered on our behalf and has won the victory for us.

Does it have relevance for your life? Does the message of the bible apply to your life? Many of its statements do not sound familiar. For example “the punishment is on him, so that we may have peace”. What is it all about?

What did Mary think when she stood at the empty tomb? Sadness, fear and worries filled her heart. The resurrection seems to be impossible and too good – and yet it is true and real. What does your heart fill today? What a joy it must have been for Mary, when she understood.

Distance and proximity. Do you also know both in your life? At times, we want to come close to the Lord. And many other times we are drawn away from him by various things of this world, its glamour and so forth.

What is the purpose of the mouth and the lips?

What is your slogan of life? Usually people will reply with their dreams and goals. Or they define oneself by the group they belong to. Or someone might say “I try to become a better person”. But hardly anybody would describe oneself as “dedicated”.

Do you get harmed by other people? Do you suffer from their behaviour? Or do others at times suffer from your selfishness? Even in good times, people harm each other. Let alone the severe injustice in crises, such as war times. Yet, “Love is patient and kind, not irritable”.

Holiness – what comes to your mind? Is it something old fashioned? Is it something only for special people? Nobody can become holy by oneself. We are all far from perfect. But God in his holiness is patient. And in Jesus the victory over all evil has already been won.

Is it better to be religious or not? What would you say? The bible reports of times, when the air was filled with incense and many altars available. The people were very religious. We would expect that God was pleased with the people of that time. The decisive point is not about the outside but about the inside. Not about how many religious practices we follow. Rather, what is the priority inside...

In everyday life, the need to persuade others is quite common: Sales people need to persuade customers to buy the product or service. Managers need to persuade the employees of new structures. And in so many other situations, people need to convince others. By contrast, the bible does not try to convince us. It is different than the structures in the world. There is no attempt to persuade. It simp...

Where do you stay? In your home? Or far from your home? In a certain way, we are all far from home. Wherever we live on the earth, our soul lacks a real home, as long as we are far from God. We try to find input from all kinds of sources and opinions of others and get even more confused and disappointed. Real peace can be found when returning to the Lord.