Foundations of Life - Philosophy

What is Philosophy?

-the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline

-the study of the theoretical basis of a particular branch of knowledge or experience

-a theory or attitude held by a person or organization that acts as a guiding principle for behavior

The last one is particularly interesting to me. .....that acts as a guiding principle for behavior. Wow, what a statement. Unfortunately, there is something missing in this statement. It should say at the end or at the beginning for that matter - whose theory or attitude it is!

See, when we as human beings follow what we perceive as right and good, we are always left with a void. The void is God's Wisdom.
Our wisdom, perception and aspiring thoughts are not enough to keep this universe nor this earth in good shape.

I often heard people say: "Well, Germans are hard and harsh people....it may be so for some. But as I pondered this subject, I actually remembered something that I have seen Germans do and believe, something that  transcends all Nationalities and Cultures. I remember being intrigued by people who where striving to be different. Different from the status quo in whatever setting they found themselves. And often people would go to great length to establish that. Creating an environment that would help them to feel peaceful, tranquil and sometimes even looking for this extraordinary, exciting experience. Wearing certain clothes which totally separate from the norm, consuming only certain foods and drinks to stay fit and alert, listening to certain music to stay enlightened. Not that there is something wrong with any of it, but without God's wisdom it is still just a:
Philosophy: ..... guiding principle for behavior.

Philosophers (people) are often arguing their point of understanding, maybe because of a certain experience (as enlightened it may be) or shaping their view according to another person's view, out of admiration or respect. But once again, all this is a way to keep one's soul and heart protected, tranquil and stimulated

God has made us with a longing in our Soul, which David often speaks of in the Psalms.
There are people who are more interested in a lifestyle of beauty and tranquility. That often has something to do with which gifts and talents one is equipped. Musicians and artists are more likely to dream than an accountant. Not that an accountant doesn't dream, but they are more relating to logical matters.

This longing in our soul is something we are struggling with until we know why, who created it. God, in His infinite wisdom has given us a longing to connect. Not with just anything and anybody - but with HIM.

Often though when the philosophy of a person is not centered around God's will and ways.....it can become a tool for the enemy to lie to us about how and with what to connect. Therefore people will connect to just about anything and anybody to find harmony.

Harmony can only be found in Christ. Because He alone is our connection to God.
...so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Rom. 12:5
We are created to be ONE BODY OF CHRIST. Meaning that we need to connect to Him to connect to each other.
.....that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Eph.2:12

Meaning without God's philosophy (law and commandments) we are being aliens and strangers. Left to our own devices....which I have elaborated on at the beginning.
....that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love Eph. 3:17

being rooted and grounded in love is the a goal for the church. What we are actually striving for as strangers and aliens to God's kingdom is looking for THAT love.....looking to be connected and fulfilled. Looking to give our bodies, minds and souls the good things we are longing for.

Yes one can achieve a lot of good things in a life time. But what matters is the eternal value, the eternal destination. |We cannot take any of our earthly philosophies, things with us. Only eternally lasting values described in the Bible can be taken and achieved. This  soul of ours belongs to God and God alone!

With this new year starting - 2017, why not change our philosophies of life into the philosophies of God? Why not exchange our struggles to achieve what we are looking for, to the light yoke which God promises in His word. .....For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:30.

This is a thought not just for unbelievers but also for those who have struggled to find meaning and fulfillment in life after accepting Christ and being born again. Often we stop somewhere on the path of God, or make a wrong turn. But the wonderful news is: He forgives us and continues to lead us in the right direction. All we have to do is ask and repent! Turn away from our own philosophies. We can even ask for His help to ask Him.....isn't that wonderful. His Grace will enable us to do what is right in God's eyes.

Leaving you today with a prayer for all reading this to find the philosophy of God for their life's and a very Happy New Year......until next time.

Box - Be removed

Who can heal every pain? - Who could rise from the dead?

Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. John 2:22 

There are many scriptures in the Bible about healing and deliverance, this one is the basis for all. Without the resurrection of Christ there is no healing, nor deliverance.

Let's look at our box today, the box we live in and the one we put God in.
Yes, we are all living in a box of regret, hurt, indecisiveness, anger and unrealistic expectations at one time or another, more or less. We have an expectation as humans how our world should be run and maintained. We make all the decisions and are unable to see our shortcomings, inabilities.

Well, the good news is: There is a God who knows us intimately, knows everything...and I mean EVERYTHING about us. Why? Because He made us. No matter what we believe, this stands to be true. Jesus did rise again from the dead so that we can receive eternal healing and deliverance, even on earth today.

He knows what kind of healing we need and when. He knows how to re-direct our brain into a brain, functioning as it was supposed to function.
This subject is so fascinating: The Human Brain. No, I am not getting into all kinds of studies, even though they are very important.

I want to write of my experience with God as my Father and  Jesus as my counselor. He is the ultimate counselor.

The first 12 years of my life were meant to be the foundation of my adulthood and the wonderful fruit it should produce. All of us are meant to form a great foundation in the first years of our childhood.
Unfortunately, this was not the case in my life. The first 12 years were part of an evil plan to mold me into a human,  having nothing but destruction, anger and rage on my mind. S

Satan did not spare any expense and thoughts to accomplish ruin in my life, and therefore maybe ruin some other people's life along the way also, those connected to me. The kind of abuse and neglect one can walk through in life and come out better still on this other end is incredible. Literally, incredible but altogether possible.

How, does it happen for one to succeed anyway? By the Grace of God. By His ability to re-create what is broken and damaged for good. By restoring the original plan! By lovingly walking us through layer by layer of pain and hurt in order to remove these layers, deep in our souls.

Now coming back to the "box" we live in. This box is restraining us from believing that God can and wants to restore us. He alone, if we never see a human counselor, can restore, reshape and remove the painful experiences we have endured. Even the ones we perceive as wrongdoing and are nothing but the fiction of our imaginations. Not just the actual wrongdoing of others can hurt us if we let it, but the lies and deceptions we believe are just as hurtful. Leaving us scared with memories that we cannot overcome. Ending up using all kinds of substances to cope in life.

But God has helped me to overcome, by the blood of Jesus, shed for us as the foundation and by leading me lovingly from one step to the next. From Glory to Glory, high up the mountain of Joy, Peace and Love.

Fear and shame often keep us inside the box we live in. Fear of things getting out of hand if we dare to believe that God can heal every part of us. Fear of loosing something that we hold dear. Fear of loosing people, perhaps. But once again, this kind of fear is not of God. The kind of fear that cripples us and keeps us inside of the box is not God's intended fear for us.

When the Bible talks about: The fear of God, it means the respect that God deserves from us. The good kind of fear that keeps us away from danger and destruction. The kind of fear that shows us our true safety net. Jesus!

Why are we so afraid of letting go and taking a step closer to God for healing and deliverance? Fear - pride and rebellion.
Let go of it today and move toward God:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Prov 3:5-6

Make a move in your heart, in other words: make a decision, even if we cannot see how something can be accomplished. By faith, to step toward God.

Be still before the Lord and listen, listen to His direction for your healing, deliverance. Listen to His prompting on who to speak to, who to ask for counselling or just listen to Him for His counsel and truth.

In 22 years, God Himself has delivered me, healed me and spoken His truth to me, and now I am free indeed. And all by mostly sitting on my living room floor.

I pray, you would let Freedom be your goal today, Freedom of God not freedom of man.
Let His truth change you and mold you into the image of Christ, and re-create everything that is broken in your life. AMEN

There is no end to the wisdom of God and I leave you today expecting more for next time.

Farewell and good bye.

Wasteland of Men vs. The KIngdom of God

Nothing  is wasted in the Kingdom of God.....what does that mean?

I believe that nothing is wasted in the Kingdom of God. According to Romans 8:28 .. all things work out for those who love God and are called according to His plan...

I have heard many say: "I don't know what God's plan is for my life? What does He want me to do with my life?

God is a God of purpose and order. No chaos, no weirdness and I mean weirdness. That is not the same as uniqueness. So, when God does do things that we find unusual...it is because He is unique. His thoughts are higher than ours.
Coming back to what God wants from us. It is safe to look over our lives and see what we are good at, what we like to do, how we like to spend our days. Not in a selfish way but in a gifted, talented way. What makes us tick, what get's our attention? What angers us when it comes to social matters and so on.

Now take this and paint a picture of yourself, maybe by writing it on a piece of paper. Then step back and look at it closely. Before that, it would be seriously helpful to pray and ask God to show You what He is trying to say to you.

What picture do you see of yourself. For example: Mary was a young woman and God showed Himself to her in form of an Angel. She was told to give life to God's son, named Jesus. It definitely was clear about what her purpose was. I am sure she had some doubts at the beginning and maybe even later on. Her purpose was to deliver the son of God in this world. Now her circumstances could have been called weird. But they were not. She was uniquely created to fulfill this purpose and so were her circumstances.

Without God's purpose it happening this way, it could have been very dangerous to Mary. In these days, having a child without being married first was very bad.

Let's see, who else? John the Baptist. His purpose was to announce the coming of Jesus to this earth. Well, he did just that......but with a closer look at his life, we discover that he was a very "weird" individual....no, no not weird but just uniquely created to fulfill his purpose. Let's just mention that he ate locust and was dressed in animal skins....I really would not want to do that.

Throughout the Bible we find all sorts of funny, unique characters. Just read about the prophets in the Old Testament. Well, once again those characters were not really funny but purposely, uniquely created to fulfill their life in God's service.

Back to you and I, what is it that we find "weird" about us (or rather unique)? What do we like to do? Do we like to help others, teach others, try to heal through medical ways, encourage others to face life and overcome, build structures and so on. Whatever it is that makes us feel fulfilled and helps others in the same time, could be the very part of God's purpose for our live. Now on the other hand, let's look at the hardships and sorrows we face in life. Even those are very important to the call from God to our live. What is it that has caused us pain? That very thing may be the vehicle to thrust us into a job, volunteer position, ministry etc. that we need to fulfill.

When I look at my life, I can see every preparation, every pain and hurt forming into a call from God that is so powerful when entered with understanding and His wisdom, love and power.

Peter with his divine understanding was the very man that Jesus said, would be part of the pillar of the Church. Peter received revelation in his life directly from God and therefore obviously was called to be an Apostle and important man to the development of the Church then and as we know it now.

This power (the Holy Spirit of God) and wisdom is available for all of us. The Bible says: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams." Acts 2:17
So there you have it, you qualify also by being in Christ and Christ in you!

Once again write down all that you see about yourself, the good and the bad. Ask God to give you wisdom to understand the big picture of your life in order to know what God wants you to do with your life for the good of the World.

Don't forget to include what the Bible has to say about what a disciple of God is asked to do. Both should give you a pretty good picture about your call from God in your life. Then, present this picture to an elder in your church maybe, or someone you can trust and you know loves God. Have this person or even 2-3 persons pray with you about the actual manifestation of your call/purpose. Trust God to fulfill this call and you will see it coming to pass. There is not just one purpose, but many and they together will fulfill the overall call in your life. Then having and a definite assurance to know the purpose of God in our life, will keep us on the right path.

Again, at this time, I would like to ask God to help each one reading this to find their purpose and call from God and the ability to fulfill it.

So long ....until next time.

Surrender Servant

Surrender....Servant.....oh no, those are words we don't want to use or even hear.

While in the Bible more often the words surrender and servant are used in conncection to describe the situation of persons living in a live of the worst kind, for obvious reasons. The status of being a servant to God and Christ Jesus on the other hand is not comparable to that. Surrendering our lives and becoming servants of the God Most High is such a privilege.

James 1:1
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

One of three James' wrote the book of James and He confesses here that he is a servant of God. Also Paul said it when introducing himself to the churches he wrote letters to:

"I am Paul, a bondservant of Christ....."

Bondservant: a person who serves in bondage; slave; a person bound to service without wages.

Wow, there it is again. We don't want to hear this, we don't want to see ourselves in this kind of service.

But! We have to see the big picture. And the big picture is the Gospel. The Gospel offers us Jesus' surrender, sacrifice. He surrendered His life for us and therefore, we are able to receive all blessings from Heaven. Foremost, through an eternal relationship with God and our adaption.
When we then look from that perspective, we can see nothing but Love and Live coming to us from this sacrifice/surrender. Jesus became a servant to God and man in order for us to understand that our lives were never meant to be lived as servant to the kingdom of darkness. We are to live our lives as servants of God. Just like Adam and Eve had been intended to live in the splendor of heaven.

Summery: Becoming a "bondservant" of God is really a wonderful thing. Surrendering our lives and in return receiving Heaven in all of its fullness seems unfair. We have nothing to offer, nothing to exchange we think. Wrong again, we have us in exchange. Our Father in Heaven loved the world so much that He sacrificed His son Jesus on the cross. We can then turn ourselves to him and surrender ourselves to Him. We are worth much to Him.

He is a wonderful task master, kind and loving. Not like those masters in the Old Testament nor the New Testament. Our Father loves us so much that He has made this way for us to spend time with Him in eternity ......FOREVER. Let that sink into your heart and mind.

Now, we can see that these words: surrender - servant are something special rather than scary. This my friend takes a step of faith to believe and trust to be true. But Our Father made a way for that too. ASK HIM to help you believe and see. Yes, He will! It is a promise that He pours out His Grace to us in order to do what we cannot in our own selves.

I leave you today with my prayer; Lord help us to see us in Your service and surrender as you have intended for us to live. Covered by all of Your blessings and love. Wisdom to see us surrendering to You and knowing deep inside of our hearts, this to be a good and rightful thing to do.

God bye...until next time.

Trust or no Trust is the question.

TRUST.....in the Lord

They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. 1 Chronicles 5:20

In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. Ps 25:1

So many times in the Bible we are asked to put our trust in the Lord. Numerous times in the Psalms alone.

One of the shortcomings in my past life has been the ability to trust those in who's care I have been. A crumbling foundation, of lies, deceit and pain has made it almost impossible to be able to trust in anyone, but myself.

What is Trust:
-the obligation or responsibility imposed on a person in whom confidence or authority is placed
- reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence

The enemy's plan was to completely distort the above qualities of trust in my life, therefore, I have as many begun to look to myself. My own ability and my own understanding. My own defense.But despite the shortcomings in my early years, I was presented with an understanding of important issues in life, by my Grandmother and others. It has literally been a battle of good and evil in my life. And that is a fact in everyone's life, even if one doesn't see it.

The enemy thinking, he had full control of my life and the outcome of my future, didn't take into account that God had a PLAN. He used a grandmother who was willing to lay her life down for me and was willing to fight for me. By the power of God, I am sure.
She did the impossible. She taught me so many good attributes and ways of looking at life and people, which I did not value until I became an adult. Now in hinds sight, I can only be thankful for God's PLAN, defeating the enemy's plan of hatred, destruction and death.

Today, by spending time with my heavenly Father, I hear His voice whispering to my weary heart.

"Trust Me, trust Me and you will see the things you are waiting for. Trust me. "

This has tremendous meaning to me. Being able to trust in someone is such a gift to me. During my walk with God, I have, step by step been able to learn that I CAN TRUST GOD. He has been showing me His faithfulness, despite my doubt, fear and anger.
You see, these negative emotions have been allowed to rise in me because of the negative influences and experiences. But there comes a time in all of our lives, when we are held accountable. And that was then my responsibility......to maintain the Freedom that I have been given through Christ's sacrifice for me at a time, when I became aware of it. 

I came to the conclusion that I must trust in God with people too. Trusting that God can direct anyone's heart toward justice, mercy and kindness. Even if not, He is still God and is good.....to me.

Today, my prayer is for all reading this blog, to be able to renew their trust in God and find themselves experiencing God in a faithful, trustworthy way as never before.

So long and good bye.....until next time.

Fear, doubt, anger and being the extension of God

Today, I would like share further thoughts on this subject. We are made in the image of God, no doubt about that. But there is this element of human flesh that we still carry around. This flesh can and will trip us up from time to time.

Luke 4:13  When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

This verse is about Jesus being led into the wilderness by the Spirit. In other Words, Jesus was connected to God the Father and was "allowed" to be led into the wilderness.

Often we are taught the angle of Jesus withstanding satan, tempting Jesus to use His Power and the divine side of Jesus to get out of the calamity he is in. And this is true.
I see this passage also as an example on how to respond when being tempted, by using the Word of God.

But let's be real here for a moment. This flesh of ours is a shell and we carry it still with us. Dragging us into all kind situations we should not be in. So, as a mere human being, we walk daily to lay down this flesh (our will) in order to pick up the image of Christ.

Mark 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

If we were to be perfect after being saved (born again) , this scripture would make no sense. Why would we have to pick up the cross daily to follow Jesus? The cross was a symbol of death and resurrection. This also has to happen in our lives. We need to put to death our own will and being resurrected by the Power of God to be able to follow Jesus.

Let's look at this from the angle of the people around us. As we mature daily (hopefully) we are also to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, after loving God.

Matthew 12:31‘The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these!

In order to fulfill the commandment to become a disciple of Christ, we definitely need to fulfil the 1st and 2nd commandment. Loving our neighbor as yourself....wow that is almost impossible in our own strength. We may have some level of love to give, mostly with restrictions or expectations. So how then are we to be able to love our neighbor?

By being connected to the Power of the Holy Spirit and the Love of the Father. Jesus' teaching and example. Only by the Power of God are we able to love others the way He commands us to love. |The way He loves us.

If our brothers and sisters are displaying fear, doubt, unbelief, shame etc. our own ability to love is restricted. We cannot see into the heart of those, displaying these things. Only God can see in the heart of man! Only God can see what expression of Love is needed in any moment to bear the burden of our brothers and sisters. Now, this includes tough love, which is love nevertheless.

When someone around us is displaying a negative emotion, it is imperative to know how to respond correctly. The word of God clearly states that perfect love casts out all fear.  If one is gripped by fear, a response of anger toward this person is not helping. Nor is rejecting  this person helpful. It only takes a moment to connect with the Spirit of God to receive the Wisdom of God if we are willing and surrendered. The wisdom of God will help us to respond (minister) to the person in distress and therefore creates a lasting moment which then can turn into change for the person displaying wrong emotions. But the person in distress has to receive it too.

All to often, do we respond in our own weakness. For example: our preference on how our surroundings should be is often a factor on how we respond to others, wanting to control our surroundings etc. If we are flawed in any way, our response can never be perfect. But perfect love casts out fear...so which perfect love is the Bible talking about? It is the perfect love of God (Christ).

To summarize this, I would ask: As believers we have been given a supernatural ability to respond to this world in a way that is naturally impossible. But in order to possess the ability, we are asked to:

John 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

....remain in Christ!

Next time, we encounter a "difficult person",  let's just give God a moment to speak to our hearts and show us how to respond to this person. Better yet, lets step out of the way (metaphorically speaking) and let our loving Father respond. This should become a habit, like brushing your teeth in the morning. Good habits used regularly, become easy to continue.
By doing this, we do  NOT create chaos by assumption, nor broken friendships. We create the impossible: PERFECT LOVE.
And be become the true Church, the Body of Christ.


So long........ until next time.

Be still

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Ps. 37:7

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Ps. 46:10


How often are we needlessly getting into a state of anger, frustration, fear and impatience. ALL THE TIME, I say.

....Away, my needless fears
And doubts no longer mine!
A ray of heavenly light appears,
A messenger divine

Charles Wesley is the Author of this Hymn...or how about this one:

....Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Charles C. Converse wrote that one.

Throughout time, God has always been trying to get us to rest in Him. To understand who He is and who we are in Him. He is the one who created the universe....that is the first fundamental statement one needs to believe. Second: He created us! Third: He sacrificed His only son Jesus Christ for us!
It all hinges on what we believe. Believing happens first in our mind and then in our hearts. Once we believe with our hearts we lock what we believe in. It is secure. Now we need to guard our hearts and therefore what we believe with our heart.

The process of becoming a disciple of Christ will give our heart and mind a strong foundation and the key to keep our heart pure.

Let's look at it this way: even unbelievers still value order and are taught certain rules, ideals and trades to be a productive member of society. These patterns will never change unless we allow chaos and rebellion to take over.

So how more as believers are we in need to follow the rules of heaven for our own good. The rules of heaven are really wonderful, once we put away the notion that this God only wants to restrict us from a wonderful life.

Coming back to be still. Sitting (or standing) in the presence of God is such a wonderful action. There we receive peace, wisdom, understanding, love and even our emotions are renewed.  Just a few minutes to begin with every morning (day) will give us a perspective of life that is heavenly. Therefore, we will be much more relaxed with others, our day will be so much smoother because we KNOW we can count on our Father in Heaven, who loves us so MUCH. We can then love others with this Love of the Creator, which flows through us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. The King requests our presence daily and we are the recipients of all that the King owns. How marvelous that is......I want it all!!!

Be still before Him who created and owns the universe. Be still before the King in all His splendor. Be still for your own sake.......live in peace.

My prayer today is that we will NOT needlessly waste time in chasing negative things but rather receive the goodness of God and learn to be still before Him.

So long my friends.........until next time.

Fear: what is fear

An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Yesterday, I have experienced fear:
"the belief that someone likely to cause pain, or a threat"

Good that my first reaction was to cry out to God and then ask close friends to pray. Most of the day, I was ok....knowing from past experiences that God is a faithful God and that He would come to our rescue.

Then, out of nowhere, the darts came flying. The darts of the enemy, directed straight at my heart. Making my heart faint, and creating imagination of the most terrible possibilities. You see there is an enemy of our soul who is busy engaging evil spirits to interact in our life with destruction. This mainly happens inside of our minds. What we think and believe will ultimately decide what we experience.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Facing a situation that potentially can become very bad, what are our options:

- Crying out to God should be the first option. The psalms speak often of David crying out to God, even when his life was threatened. And God delivered him every time. Talk to God about how you feel and be honest. He knows what's going on anyway.

- Ask close friend, whom you trust to pray for you.

- Have courage (you can even ask God for that) and remember how He has delivered, rescued you in the past.

Then just go and face the threat, if necessary. Some difficult situations, we just cannot avoid. 

I am happy to say that God has been faithful and has been protecting us therefore, WE ARE SAFE.

Today, (next day) I spend time in the presence of God and something incredible occurred. I had been feeling so empty and exhausted. So, I came to Him this morning not really being able to connect. And then the most wonderful happened, I literally felt  the emotion, feeling of being wrapped by His arms and receiving the biggest hug. I felt it, I didn't imagined it....I felt it. And there I could let loose. I let go of all the emotions that I had bottled up yesterday. Wow, when God says He is EVERYTHING to us, he isn't lying. I also experienced  the feeling of sitting in His lap. And then Psalm 91:1 came to my mind:

 ..."Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."

When we have an intimate relationship with All Mighty God through Jesus, those are not just words but real experiences. He longs to be EVERYTHING to us. And why would we want to reject that.

Today, I ask of you, let loose in the arms of God the Father and leave your fears, pain, disappointments and anything else with Him. Allow Him to renew your strength and your heart again. Allow Him to take away your fear with His perfect Love. Sit in "Papa's Lap" allow Him to make your life less stressful, allow Him to show you that you CAN trust Him with everything. Today, I can face another day with joy and strength.


Leaving you with trusting that God will show Himself to you in a much deeper way.

So long......until next time.

Was Thomas wrong by doubting?

This morning, I have a subject on my heart that many of us dealing with: "Doubt"

Did I hear God correctly, am I making the right decisions, am I still saved, does God still love me? Or how about this one: am I having to deal with this problem all by myself, does God even care?

I am sure there are many more questions like those when it comes to our walk with God and even more questions when we don't walk with Him.

Scripture has different things to say about doubt:

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31.

This He (Jesus) asked right at the time when Peter had been walking on water, bidding Jesus to help him do this. then the wind was raging and because Peter took his eyes of Jesus,  Peter became afraid.

After spending so much time with Jesus, one should think they should definitely know what Jesus is capable of and should never take their eyes of Jesus. Nor doubt?

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” John 20:27

Well, here we automatically assume that Jesus rebuked Thomas for doubting....and in a way He does. But in the same time, Jesus is aware of our weakness and He bore it on the cross. So, our weakness is part of the reason He died on the cross for us.

We are all weak in some way or another. Weakness is one way that attracts God to us. Not that He would be attracted to boast with us in weakness but through our weakness. There, He can receive Glory (man can  see how great He is). It is good to acknowledge weakness and doubt. When doubt creates questions and we are seeking the answers by asking God, reading His word,  Not to wallow in doubt nor stay in doubt, but to give doubt to God in exchange of His Grace and Mercy for us. With His Grace and Mercy we then are able to continue to grow away from doubt.

There are many more scriptures about doubt and some are quiet serious. Doubt, nevertheless is sin. But this marvelous God knows our limits and He knows what it takes for us to understand it is sin and to surrender sin to Him and not being overcome by sin.

Jesus' sacrifice on the cross has so much meaning and touches every area of our lives if we let it. Jesus said that there is no sin to man that He does not know and surrendered on the cross. Therefore, we can be assured that there is no sin of men too big, too ugly nor too difficult for us to overcome by the Grace of an ever loving God. Believe is the opposite of doubt, believe today as you read this and be free from the clutches of doubt. Ask Jesus to help you believe. Ask Him to be the teacher of your heart, and the Lord of your life.

Doubt is part of life and it will creep up. Once again, having doubt is not the problem - staying in doubt and allowing doubt to move us away from God is the problem.!
Nurturing doubt will eventually destroy our faith and trust in God. So why not nurture God's word to us and a relationship with Him? Letting it grow into something prosperous and beautiful in our life. And don't forget: there are brothers and sisters in Christ who are willing and able to help us overcome any sin. That is the church, the real church, helping us to be restored to our Father in Heaven.

My hope and prayer for all reading this today is: If doubt arises let's be honest with ourselves and God, move beyond it by applying the Truth of Christ and build a stronger self in the Spirit. May we know the depth, the height and how wide God's love is for us. AMEN

So long......once again until next time.

What do I know....or don't

Psalm 27:7
Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

Romans 2:4
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance

We all have found ourselves at one time or another in difficult circumstances. I wish, I would have known then in the years of trouble what I know now. It could have prevented a lot of emotional rollercoaster rides. Well, better knowing late  than never, I say. 

The Bible gives several examples on how good it is to learn from those who have gone before us in life. I am convinced that the reason for that is to be able to live in safety and of course to get to know God. That is one of the reason why families are so vitally important. If the enemy (satan) can divide a family, he has a wide open door to hunt us down and make our life very miserable. And it takes one to know one, right? My life has been filled with evil intent by family members and there has been no safety. But God! He had a plan for me, He had a plan for my existence and He kept me alive and safe.

In both passages of scripture above, the Goodness of God has been displayed in different ways. David in the Psalm is crying out for God's Goodness and in Romans, Paul declares God's Goodness.

David expected God to deliver him because David knew God, and Paul preached deliverance he had experienced.
If we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, and we do cry out to God, we can expect Him to help. He is not a liar and He is trustworthy and faithful.

At this point, I would like to write about my own perspective on how God has helped me.
Many times, I found myself in very difficult circumstances. Fear of loosing my home, fear of loosing employment, etc. Fear has been a major problem for me. That was unhealthy fear. But often God did not remove the circumstances but removed the fear. that was overtaking me. 
The Bible says: Perfect love casts out all fear. His perfect love has definitely done that for me. So, instead of being delivered immediately from the circumstances, He supplied me with His perfect love, peace of Christ and His joy.....which the Word says, is our strength.

Trust in His Word, trust in His Power, trust in His being who He says He is. And trust in His goodness for you.

Praying for all reading this, getting to see Him in all that He is.

Farewell......until next time.

Are you weary and burdened?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Every time,  I read this passage it just calms me. "I will give you rest" ...what a profound statement. And however we look at it, it means
"I will give you rest."!

But there is a condition:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened..."

Now, why would we not want to come to Jesus and take up His rest? Sin would be the answer. Separation from God is caused by sin. Fear, ignorance, pride, foolishness...need I say more?

Some of us are so engulfed in what this life has to offer. Or like I used to think: I do it all by myself, I will let NO ONE into my heart, fearing pain and disappointments. These lies that we believe:  We are not good enough to be with God. He is so busy, He won't have time for my petty life.
Or how about this one: He doesn't even exist. Ouch....

Lies and unbelief. A killer for sure. The importance of parents teaching and exposing their children to the ways of God, who He is and how He does things in our life is so strongly important.

As a younger mother, I believed I should shield all problems from my children. Well, another lie. If they would never see the need we have for God, how could they understand how this gracious, loving God takes care of our needs? Not saying to bombard your children with every problem in the world. But let them see some of the struggles and teach them how to lay them before God, only to see the answers and miracles He provides.

So, why then would we not want to take up the rest of God. Perhaps you find yourself caught in one these lies, I mentioned earlier. Or you just don't know who this great God is,  I am writing about.

He is the God of the Bible, He is the Creator of the Universe, He is the Father to the fatherless and the helper to the widows and orphans. He is the Redeemer of our mess. He is the Alpha and Omega: Beginning and the End.....there are numerous names for God, showing His character, showing us His love and how much He cares for us.

Coming back to the scripture above. We NEED to come to Him to receive rest and all His benefits. Every time, I hear or read the word benefits, I am reminded to a very good friend of mine. She always prayed for me to receive God's benefits....what a wonderful request. It just stuck with me.

Coming to God and giving Him access to our life will NEVER be in vain. He so longs to be with us and to love us. We never have to believe the lies that He has no time for us. This is proven all throughout the Bible, His ears and arms are always open to us. Dirty or clean, He takes us of us if we give ourselves to HIM.

Now, I pray for those who read this, to be able to loose themselves in His presence and therefore to find themselves in His benefits.

So long....until next  time.

 

Proverbs

Purpose and Theme of Proverbs

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

² for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
³ for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair
⁴ for giving prudence to those who are simple,
    knowledge and discretion to the young—
⁵ let the wise listen and add to their learning,
    and let the discerning get guidance—
⁶ for understanding proverbs and parables,
    the sayings and riddles of the wise.

⁷ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

I have often told my children as well as my friends that my Grandmother has been the Queen of sayings. She had some nuggets of wisdom for any situation. Growing up in her house was living in a fountain of "Pay attention to what I say".
Of course, as children we don't value what our elders have to say. We downright are either embarrassed or annoyed. And overflow with "I know better". Well, she did know better, come to find out.

Throughout my years especially as an adult, I have somehow developed a philosophy of life which proves to have become very important.

"Staying away from the edge as far as I can, instead of trying to find out how close I can live to the edge before I fall."

It has saved me many times in hind sight, from falling over the edge. I have been very fortunate to have been growing up in my Grandmother's home. She has had a major influence on how I lived my life. Yes, parents should be exactly that to children too, but in my case it was an ordained blessing from God; since my parents would have not been able to, would I have been living with them.

Looking back, I can remember so many times when the wisdom of God has come through my Grandmother. She was not a "religious" person, She did only attend church on major holidays. But she lived her live according to God's ways and did the best she could. As I mentioned in earlier posts, the 60's and 70's have not been as free spirited there as here in the US. Her generation grew up with a more prudent and subdued way of life. I loved her so much and I am glad to have had her in my life.

Having a healthy fear of God did not have a correct meaning to me until I came to the US. Before that, I referenced God in my heart but I did not fear Him in a biblical sense. I did not know Him, being the authority in this universe nor my life. I did not understand that everything belongs to Him and I am merely a steward of what He has given me. Fear is good when it keeps us away from danger. Fear is good when it keeps us from sin. But fear induced by violence and sinful behavior of others is not good and knowing fear for those reasons have distorted my understanding of who God really is.

Seeing a picture in my mind's eye of God often had an undertone of punishment and anger toward me. I saw God the way I saw the male role models in my life and their behavior toward me. And no, this was not a pretty picture.

The faithfulness of God, by partnering with me, teaching me and delivering me from those sins of others and my own, has made me a different person. The person I should have been in the first place. The person that God had in His mind when He looked at me through Jesus. The person who had His attributes and was created in His likeness.

As the prophet Jeremiah got an earful of God: "I have known you before you where created in your mother's womb, I have set you apart....." meaning being set apart for His plan, we need to know so desperately who we are. That our heavenly Father has created us perfectly in His image for his purpose which becomes our purpose.

The image others around us put in is often not equal to the image of God in which we were created. Especially, the image produced in us in our early years of life.

But from my own experience,  I can say, it is never too late for God to change our image, change our way of life and fulfill the plan He has. It takes willingness on our side to allow God to do so.
By His Grace alone...not by our strength or ability, but by His power and love can we be changed into a follower of Christ. And it is true, once we taste the sweet life with Jesus, we don't want to go back to our old, own self. Where moths and rust destroys our life. But with Christ we have everlasting life and we never have to worry about decay. In heaven there is no decay, no tears. Only wonderful fellowship in the presence of God.

You see, you know, you love me Lord. Hallelujah

So long and good bye until next time. Praying for God to reveal His great image of you, to you.

Grace... amazing Grace

Grace, amazing Grace, that has set me free, for once I was blind but now I see......
John Newton; former slave trader repenting of his sinful doing and receiving God's Grace wrote this song.

Grace according to Miriam Webster :
unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification;  a special favor.

Grace (from the Greek New Testament word charis) is God's unmerited favor. It is kindness from God that we don't deserve. There is nothing we have done, nor can ever do to earn this favor. It is a gift from God. Grace is divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration/rebirth or sanctificatin; a virtue coming from God; a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine favor.

Grace in my life, simply has enabled me to get to the point where I am now. Being born in the 60's in Germany has been very different from being born in the US at that time.
When "becoming free" the Hippie way was the thing to do in the US, it had still been very stiff and hush-hush in Germany. Anything and anyone against the grain of life was to be treated as outcast.

Being born into a family with an absentee father, growing up with a grandmother was very much frowned upon. Therefore, my upbringing was centered around a lot of pain and hardship. What has made Germany great in business and has prospered the country was pride and a great work ethic. But part of that pride has hurt people to the extend that some ways of life where just too hard.

I remember one particular unwritten rule: Never ask for help unless there is NO other way. You see, that makes people and families lonely and hard of heart.

Grace from God in my life has given me the correct outlook on this world and specially people. Not that I always respond correctly but I have a "heavenly" standard now. God's Grace has taken my hardness of heart and softened me.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

Yes, I have good German qualities in my genes and thought process, but some of those thoughts where a stumbling block toward loving God's people and of course loving God with my whole heart and mind. He has changed it over the years.

In 1994, I first came to live in the US and it was the year that I dedicated my life to God again. Yes, it has been a long walk.  

That is part of the sanctification process, as we surrender ourselves to God's will in our live. Grace has helped me to obey God's commandments, walk away from unhealthy relationships, trust God and most important: believe God.

Grace has definitely been a gift from God to me. Looking back now, I just cannot claim any successful changes in myself and to my own strenght. This has only been happening by the Grace of God and His love for me.

One day, more than 15 years ago, I heard God's voice: "Are you willing to do what it takes to change the future of your descendants?" I immediately jumped up for joy and loudly proclaimed YES! Well, to be honest, if I would have known all that it takes to accomplish that, I would have NEVER signed up. But once again, looking back, it has been well worth it.

Many of you reading this may have had great relationships with their parents and I am glad for that. But many have not, and God's Grace can be such a gift in changing the past into a beautiful future, well worth living. There has been such chaos and sin running in my family and now my children and their children have a clean slate to live their lives for God. Being blessed and prosperous in their souls first and everything else added on. Isn't that exactly what we want as parents for our children? Well God is a parent too and He wants the very best for His children, which are you and I. Be blessed, I pray and enjoy the gift of Grace in your life.

Farewell, til next time......

LOVE of God

The subject of  Love has gotten my attention again these days. I will share my thoughts on this subject, hoping to encourage you to take action and show Love to others.

LOVE

1John 4:8

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love

When God deals with me, being in distress it is usually with Love. Because HE IS LOVE. I sometimes can feel Him as if He is giving me a hug. My heart always melts when I can sense His presence. He whispers with His small, still voice into my heart and ear.
Yes we are always in His presence, as David said: "Lord where can I go to NOT be in Your presence, even in Hell you are there."
(paraphrasing)
Even if we are not aware of His presence we are in it.

Love overcomes everything, Perfect Love casts out all fear, the word of God tells us. Love has overcome death in the form of Jesus, hanging on the cross, taking our place, dying for our sins.

Unless, I am in sin or disobedience and have to have correction, my experience is that God deals with me in a loving way. Assuring me that He is there for me, that He fights my battles and that He makes a way where there seems to be no way. Isaiah the prophet declared that. His goodness brings us to repentance.

So then how should we conduct ourselves with others, especially with our brothers and sisters? The Word says to speak the truth in love. Well in Isaiah 61 it also says to bind up the brokenhearted and comfort those who mourn etc. This is what was declared. That Jesus would to be doing exactly that when walking on this earth.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12

So, we should display greater things to others in distress. But not in our own strength. Only in the strength of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus can this be accomplished. We can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength, and by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus spent a lot of time with the Father and we also need to in order to become Christ like, bringing comfort to others. The key really is to spend time with God.

How does that look like, you ask?
Sitting at the feet of Jesus is what Mary did. His disciples spent a lot of time listening to Jesus.
So, sitting in a comfortable chair, on your living room floor or whatever place is available is good.
Listening to Praise and Worship music is what helps me to enter the presence of God, or rather make me aware of the presence of God. Thanking Him for whatever good has happened today, yesterday and so on.
Being still before God.....allowing Him to speak to our heart.

Sitting in the presence of Love is the greatest action/moment that can happen to us. Soaking up this love, letting it overflow, through our emotions, heart and soul. Allowing the Father to saturate us with HIM.

Take time today and allow Him to give to you of Himself. I promise you, you will never be the same, having experienced the Love of an almighty God who chose YOU to be HIS child.

Peace be with you.....til next time.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity^[and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”.....Jeremiah 30

Today is the first time that I have seen this: Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.....This is exactly what I do, writing everything down. And I have loads of notebooks.

Have you ever had the experience of finding yourself in the Word of God? It is such a great feeling of validation. I remember the first time that happened to me, was in the book of Ezekiel, many years ago. It almost seemed as if someone had been looking into my life and written those things down......in other words: someone was reading my mail??

Or how about this: You are sitting in church service and it feels as if the pastor surely has been looking into your life from somewhere. He knows everything going on in your life. Almost every word he says is about what you have experienced.?

Yes, that is God speaking.  He can see everything, knows everything and uses people, especially pastors to speak to us. It makes me feel very connected to God and in the end this is what our hearts are looking for - being connected to God without borders.

The tribes of Israel and Judah where somewhat disconnected from God at the time when God spoke this passage to Jeremiah. They had been disobedient and God had sent them into captivity.

Really, who wants to experience that. It so happens, most of us are at some point.
When we are restored to God by the blood of Jesus, we still have to go through a process of sanctification. Often it happens to be what some call a "dessert experience". It can be a dry season in our lives. Meant to produce a close relationship between us and  God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Paul in the New Testament, on his way to Damascus had this kind of experience. After getting to know Jesus on the road Paul was travelling (then he still was named Saul) Jesus blinded him physically. Now, not being distracted by seeing with his physical eyes, Paul learned to see Jesus with his spiritual eyes. This has produced total obedience to Jesus and Paul was, as I understand it, the most passionate and radical follower of Christ.

In my own life, I have experienced a very long season of dry and hard roads. But I can honestly say, it has opened my spiritual eyes and understanding of a relationship with Christ, which I could NEVER have established without it.
While going through trials, pain and suffering nobody really in their mind wants to say: Thank you God for this horrible experience. But you see, there is something called GRACE which is a marvelous gift of God......well this is a subject for another time.

My prayer today: Father, surround us with Your grace in times of dry roads. Bring us out of the desert by You love and kindness.

Auf Wiedersehen......so long, until next time brothers and sisters. May your road today be fruitful and blessed.

Beauty for Ashes

Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy  instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a  planting of the Lord  for the display of his splendor.


The book of Isaiah is THE love letter to the church and contains many promises to the church from a very loving God.

When I first entered the US, I could not have known the impact this move would have on my life. I was one of those wandering hearts walking away from my first love.

As a child in Germany, I have had many marvelous experiences in the presence of Jesus. Therefore, I definitely knew who Jesus was.  But throughout the years, I made choices to forget and put this loving Jesus on the back burner. All though there have been many circumstances coming against me, causing my walking away, still my awareness of God did exist as a young adult. I chose to ignore Him. I will write more about this subject at a later time.

This passage of this scripture in Isaiah is a great promise of restoration and redemption. Restoration and redemption is God's main purpose for our life. He longs to restore us back to Him, but also longs to restore to us what was lost or was stolen by the enemy (satan). Let's look at this closer:

What does it mean to have lost something or something has been stolen from us?

Not only items, money or people can be destroyed around us or taken away from us. In my case it was more a theft of peace, acceptance, being well cared for and security. Which in return caused many things to be lost. Now counsellors, phycologists would tell you that this is a recipe for disaster....and yes it has been a disaster for me.


But God promises in His word that He restores and repairs the church. That He makes something beautiful out of the ashes in our life. You may ask: "Who is the church?" Well, you and I if we have accepted Jesus in our heart as Savior and Lord.

Therefore, you and I  have a right to receive the promises of God and in the same time, protection from an enemy who steals, kills and destroys

John 10:10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!!

This is what I have mentioned in my last blog as 'Greener Pastures of God'. They are indeed greener on the other side.
Today may be the day you ask yourself: How and why?
Well, eternity is a very long time and He (Jesus) paid the price for us to be eternally restored to our First Love.....a very loving God.....who longs for us to be with Him for eternity. But this God is also jellously pursuing us. Ask Him today into your heart and accept Him as your Lord and Savior and you shall be saved. Able to receive His promises.


For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
The angels in Heaven rejoice when we are saved and born again.....Just picture that for a moment.....Glorious. All the angels are joyful and happy that we are now inside the Kingdom of God.....being adopted by a very loving Father, God HIMSELF......wow. I can hear the choir of angels singing.


Father, save us, we are Your people.

That is what I had on my heart today.

Farewell,  until next time brothers and sisters. Enjoy your day.