Silent Time

How comes that parliaments and governments often debate for many hours, weeks and years but they do not really get to the point? Frequently they miss the topics that would be relevant for the people, whether directly or indirectly. Often time of highly paid politicians is wasted on irrelevant short term side-topics that are then proudly announced via the media, but rarely any major results that wo...

Have you ever reached the limits of your own energy? Worn out and so tired that you cannot accomplish the tasks that you want to do? Tried to do good, but evil is coming out? As long as we rely on our own strength alone, sooner or later we will reach our limits. But if we put our trust in the Lord God Almighty, the Saviour, then he can help us with his eternal power, which is available to everyone...

What gives you guidance? There are so many choices we need to take, in which we cannot know upfront what will be the best for the future, for example: which education, which profession to choose? Few big decisions of life, but also many more small decisions we need to take every day. Of course there is valuable support and experienced people can give good recommendations. But nobody knows everythi...

What will you answer, when one day you have to give account in front of God the judge? By that time it will be not sufficient to refer to our own good works and deeds. But we can refer to Jesus, he has won the victory on our behalf. Whoever believes in him has sufficient to pass the judgment.

What are your circumstances of life? If you can live in peace, then give praise and thanks to the Lord every day. Often however, throughout history and same today, true believers can not live in pleasant conditions and rather face persecution of various kinds. But no need to give up, even among challenging circumstances, the promise of God remains true and valid: “I give you strength to resist. Th...

The brothers of Joseph came in a humble attitude. Therefore, Joseph was kind to them, forgave them and helped them. Every person of any background can come in a humble attitude to God. The Lord offers kindness, forgiveness and help.

Have you ever wondered why – as a believer – you need to go through so much trouble and pain? Often it seems as if those who do not care about God are better off. Still, as children of God, we are best-off, because God educates his children in love and guides us throughout this life towards his kingdom.

Do you know situation in which your mood is not in for praying? You might feel as if it is not a suitable time or you may feel guilty or not skillful or you may worry that you do not find the right words to pray. Do not postpone it. Because exactly that is the best time to pray. And we can even make it a prayer “Lord, teach me to pray. You know all in my heart”.

Do you build your life mainly based on facts or primarily on impressions and feelings? Probably we all need to learn more to base our decisions on facts rather than emotions. The Lord already has won the major victory, let’s remember that fact, no matter what life’s situations may look like, no matter what the feelings may currently tell.

Do you need guidance in any regard? Apart from human teachers and preachers, God can also talk to us via many other ways directly, for example when we study his word. The Holy spirit can guide us like a teacher.

What do you do in times of troubles? How do you handle it? Jonah prayed to the Lord in distress. Even when Jonah had acted against the will of God and travelled in the opposite direction that the Lord wanted him to go: when Jonah was drowning in the sea, he prayed to the Almighty, and the heavenly Father intervened: by the most unlikely way he saved Jonah and brought him back on track. Jonah had d...

Which life’s situation are you in – do you complain or do you trust? There are a lot of situations in life that make us complain or even to give up hope. For example the Israelites did not see any hope when the sea was in front of them and the army of the Egyptian army chased them. The people almost gave up. But Moses did the right thing: he brought the matter to the Lord in prayer. And God made a...

The world is filled with injustice, sometimes we are aware of it, sometimes not. Nobody is perfect. How can anyone be saved? How can justice be restored? Especially if we consider that on the other hand the almighty Lord, the creator of the universe, is holy and nothing unjust can approach him, so how can we approach him? How can justice be restored? We can not do that by ourselves. We can not app...

Which signs and symbols do you use to show that something is important to you? For example the follower of a sports team might dress up in the colours of the team, might buy, show and expose various souvenirs of that team in order to highlight the relevance of following that team. Another sign is to come together celebrating and remembering the team’s victories. A Christian might show and expose t...

The law and the grace. What is “The Law”? What is “The Grace”?

The golden art. Wow. Hardly any material has been fascinating so many people over so many centuries. Even more if it is put into fine art. Even more amazing than the finest art created by skillful artists is to understand the good news of incarnation, to recognize the significance that on our behalf Jesus was tormented in order to redeem us. Us, who do not deserve his grace. The son of God suffere...

To whom or to what do you open the gates of your heart? Often we fill our lives with matters, that hinder real joy to come in. There are so many tasks and duties, worries and troubles, anger, pleasure and leisure, that often we are too busy to think on the important things in life. When we welcome the Holy Spirit of the eternal, sovereign God into our heart in faith, then the grace of the Lord wil...

Is your life at times dry like the sand in the desert? Drinking water in the desert – precious and valuable. How can we find it for our life? Flows of living water can be found in Jesus: the Holy Spirit.

Who is ready for the final day?

If we pray, then we easily pray for our own needs in life. But there are also other elements of prayer such as to give thanks to the Lord, to praise him in his glory, to ask God for his guidance, to listen to his word, to humbly request forgiveness, as well as to pray for others, to intercede for them, for their current specific needs in life as well as for their salvation.

Do you know such situations? You may have to correct someone who has been going on a wrong path. Especially parents might at times need to correct their children. Or good friends may – with the best intentions – if necessary correct their friend who has chosen an evil path. It is not easy, but important is to be aware of the good purpose. Also God in his caring love needs to correct us at times. I...

Is there peace in your place? In your place of living? In your family? In your place of work? Even nowadays in our modern world, we can learn from what God told via the prophet Haggai.

Who has the biggest influence? We might think of rulers, presidents, parliaments, political parties. Or we might think of the leaders of organisations and companies. Or we might think of the richest persons and their influence. It is amazing how much impact some have. Yet the final saying remains with the almighty eternal God, the sovereign Lord.

Do you seek to learn more about the good news of God? Same as for many other topics, it is good to continue to learn, as well as to share knowledge with others.

If you think of a typical day in your life – do you wish others more good or mainly bad? By our human nature we easily compare ourselves to others, often without noticing it, we want others to be worse off. But in the end everybody is better off, if we wish good rather than bad to others.