And what is truth?

Signing the book 'Duch Pravdy' 

And what is truth? Pilate asked Jesus that question. The very Truth stood right in front of him, but he doubted. He was influenced by the crowd ... by people who didn't know the truth and were just repeating words of others without thinking.

And what is truth? I find it an intriguing question and I have used it as the foundation for my book Spirit of Truth that was published back in 2016. Two weeks ago that book was published in the Slovak language and we traveled to the beautiful city of Bratislava for the presentation. How exciting!

Preaching on Sunday morning

We were invited to speak about this theme during a youth evening at the Faith Baptist Church in Bratislava. Around forty(!) young people were present and we spoke about truth and twisted truth. Later that weekend I spoke on Sunday morning in that same church about the attack on truth nowadays, much like  it was attacked when Jesus stood before Pilate.

We also spoke at the Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation home in Sered about the importance of knowing the truth and about the lies that keep people imprisoned for years. "You always remain a user," "you need drugs or alcohol," "you will never be anything." Lies the enemy whispers.

The truth is that Jesus wants to set people free, truly free! He said to Pilate: In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth (John 18:37). That is quite something.

And what about us, what is expected of us now that Jesus no longer walks the earth? We must also testify to the truth and for that reason we receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. And that's what the book is all about!

Beauty-full thoughts

It is always a joy when one of our fellow bloggers comes out with a new book! When Jeanette Levellie asked me a while back whether I wanted to be part of her book launch team, I said yes... of course 😁

Jeanette has a good sense of humor and excellent writing skills and I really enjoy reading her blogs. About two years ago I interviewed her for my series Bloggers@work. 

Last week her new book Hello, Beautiful! was released and I had the privilege of receiving an advanced reader copy (lucky me). I found myself immediately glued to the pages. Hello Beautiful is a joint effort of Jeanette and her friend Beth Gormong and it is an interactive devotional journal for women.

Apart from the theme (finally love yourself just as you are)  the set-up of the devotional is worth mentioning, 👉it has everything I love about a devotional:

Beth and Jeanette

• short stories that I can (mostly) relate to
• a question to ponder, which helps me as a reader to make it personal
• a quote to remember (who doesn't love quotes?!) and...
• room to write down your thoughts (or those of the Holy Spirit for that matter)

I found the devotionals very encouraging and uplifting, easy to read yet very inspirational. Some of my favorite chapters are courage through failure (16) and encourage me, please! (29).

I believe the theme (self acceptance) is a hot topic among believers and non-believers alike. We cannot give heed to God's calling to love others, as we love ourselves, if we have a problem with who we are or how we look. Low self esteem, negative self image and doubts about identity are issues many, many girls and women struggle with today. I believe Hello, Beautiful! can help to set things straight!

You can read more about her new book on Jen's weblog.
You can order the paperback and e-book on Amazon.