Where is your fixation?

Have you ever met someone who had a fixation with diet, fitness, shopping, or shoes, for that matter? People with an obsessive interest in something.

All they can think about, talk about, and spend money on is the very thing they have an obsession for. It can be funny, it can be worrisome.

I am not pointing fingers, we all have been there in one way or another.

Nowadays, fixation goes much further than wanting a certain pair of shoes. It plays out on a grander scale, a global scale even. Obsession with political and socio-economical matters, the climate, world population, ideologies, wars and rumors of wars. There is no end to the issues of life that are crying out for our attention.

Although all these issues can be more or less important to keep life on this planet enjoyable, they can also divert our attention, our fixation if you like, from what really matters!

👉The Bible tells us quite plainly how to stay focused and how to keep the peace (or: how not to go crazy):

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! (Isaiah 26:3).

I like that. I must keep my thoughts fixed on God, not on circumstances, not on the news, not even on tomorrow. When I pray, meditate, or read the Bible, I keep my thoughts fixed on Him.

Do I know what is going on in the world? Yes, of course I do. But my fixation is not there. The apostle Paul wrote about this exact same issue in 2 Corinthians 4:1,

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Think about that. It sounds crazy to fix our gaze (our eyes, our fixed look, our thoughts) on things that cannot be seen. From a rational point of view that seems impossible, if not foolish. But from a spiritual point of view, it is quite normal. Paul again (I believe he got it):

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

I'll do my best!

Divine sustainability

Fashionable words, we all know them, don't we? They pop up like mushrooms in newspapers, magazines, and online.

You don't remember reading or hearing them quite as often before, but suddenly they're trending on X, and using them in any essay or article guarantees a successful reading.

Such a word is 'sustainable'. There is sustainable energy, sustainable fashion, sustainable development, and sustainable economic growth. I am sure you can come up with more.

I remember I had to look up the meaning of the word 'sustainable' when I first read it (as English is not my first language). It means as much as: 'To be able to continue or maintain something at the same rate or level for a period of time.' Hhm, quite a nice definition.

It comes from the verb 'to sustain' which means to assist, comfort, continue, encourage, help, preserve, or save. A good meal sustains us. Hope sustains us in difficult times. But someone can also sustain (suffer) injuries.

Now, words like sustainable and sustainability may be trendy in our time, but they are certainly not new. 👉God is a sustainer by nature!

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me (Psalm 54:4). 

Yes, He is the One. Not the government, not a program, not legislation, not ideology. God is the One who assists me, comforts me, preserves me, and saves me. Not just once or twice, not just more or less... but He maintains His care for me at the same level!

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you (Isaiah 46:4).

How wonderful. I love these promises in God's Word. Talking about sustainable energy! His Word revives me and holds me up. And this goes so much further than just personal encouragement, it is global. About Jesus, it is written:

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command  (Hebrews 1:3).

Jesus sustains everything by His Word. In Him all things hold together, even if it seems the world (your world maybe?) is falling apart. Now, that is what I would call divine sustainability!

Are you a treasure seeker?

Job seekers, thrill seekers, freedom seekers, truth seekers... they are everywhere. What about treasure seekers? 

There was a time when we were backpacking all over the world. I found joy in collecting rocks, stones, and sea shells. I would fill my backpack with such treasures and then complain that it was too heavy to carry 😏

Most of the time I ended up tossing my treasures, lightening my load, and realizing life was easier that way.

I know, I know what the Bible says about collecting too much stuff: Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20).

How do we store up our treasures in heaven? Why? Isn't heaven full of treasures? Maybe I will get the answers one day, who knows.

One thing I do know: God is not against treasures. Jesus is God's greatest treasure, and He sent Him down to live among mankind. He shared His greatest treasure with us. And I discovered that God wants us to go on a treasure hunt! Seriously.

The Bible says about Jesus: In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). I don't know about you, but I can't really grasp that truth. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus.

In a world where wisdom and knowledge have degraded to nothing more than a false pretense, I want to be a treasure seeker for the wisdom from above! Simply because stuff will lose its value and disappear but wisdom will last forever.

↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠↠

COMMANDMENT

You shall not covet

BOOK

My Neighbor's House

CORE VALUE

Wisdom

We do not desire the things of this world but seek after spiritual virtues such as wisdom.

How much is love?

Isn't it wonderful, all the Valentine's Day messages we get to see on social media today? Hearts, chocolates, and of course lots of red and pink.

Why not a blue or green heart, I sometimes wonder. Let's not limit our love expressions to red. After all, love is infinitely great. Yeah, and at the same time, as we all know, human love is limited, it is not faultless, and certainly not always reliable.

On Valentine's Day specifically, many people feel sad because they have not yet met the love of their life or because their love has left. There is grief over unfaithfulness, divorce, as well as loss because of death and illness. Love is no bed of roses, we all know that.

Despite disappointments, love is at the center of our lives. We were made to love and to receive love. Yes, to be loved. Let's face it, without love, humanity cannot survive.

When I wasn't yet a Christian, I wondered why people sometimes said to me, "God loves you, Jesus loves you." What does that matter? Why is that so important?

Well, thank God I know! God is love and because He is eternal, trustworthy, and good, so is His love. His love is the core of our existence. Knowing we are loved by God, despite our mistakes, despite our fears and failures... that is the starting point for everything!

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins [you can read this in the Bible, in 1 John 4:9-10].

Travels, Jesus, and other gods

Last week I posted two pages from chapter one of my new book 'No other gods' on Facebook. Why?

First of all, to kindly introduce potential readers to my not-so-complicated writings 😁 Second of all, to give potential readers a taste of the journey they will travel when reading that book.

Each chapter in 'No other gods' starts with a memory from my own travel experiences over the past decades. India, Thailand, Egypt, Peru, and Bolivia.. each country with its own specific culture and religion (s).

And then there's the Bible. A book that describes a lot of traveling as well. Travels of the ancient Israelites throughout hostile lands, each with its own specific culture and religion(s).

In 'No other gods' I have woven all of this into a story about God, the Creator of the universe, the God of Israël. 'A warm story of truth', as someone on FB called it.

I am not saying anything negative about other cultures and religions but... I am saying a lot of positive about our God!

👉And then, I posted a giveaway last week. I collected your comments on FB, Instagram, and other social media outlets. The winner is: Colinda.

I will send you a free copy of 'No other gods' and I hope the book will encourage and inspire you in your own faith walk, for we are all sojourners, aren't we?!