You don't have to walk in darkness

One more week and the days will be getting longer again! Yeah, I am an optimist 😀 In the meantime people are lighting up the dark days with Christmas lights and candles in their window stills.

👉Darkness doesn't last forever, it never does. After each night there is a new morning. After every winter spring comes again. Such are the seasons of life.

We might find ourselves in the night of our lives, with darkness closing in. Maybe because of an illness, loss, or pain. There can be many reasons why we feel like darkness is getting the upper hand.

But... darkness has no power over light, it does not have the last word! In the first chapter of the Bible we can read how God separated the light from the darkness and how He called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” We have this promise that after the night, a new day will come.

This is the promise of Christmas as described by the prophet Isaiah:

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine (Isaiah 9:2).

Even in our deepest darkness, a light will shine. So many people have gone before us and they wrote about their experiences. Their words are still a comfort for us today. David wrote in Psalm 18:28:

You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.

Jesus can and will do it, like no one else can. He is the light of the world. He calls every person to Himself with a wonderful promise:

⭐I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life (John 8:12).

A balanced Christian life

Extremism, radicalism, and polarization (whatever name we give it) seem to me a result of a lack of balance. Yeah, in every area of life, whether that is in politics, religious views, social issues, or ideologies.

Sometimes I read or hear stuff that makes me wonder how people got there, somewhat like the turtle on the fence post 😏

It seems to be getting more and more difficult to live a life of choices without being put in a box immediately. My goodness, it is possible to enjoy meat and vegetarian food, sunshine and snow, sports and reading, just to name a few.

It is horrific to see that even Christians struggle to find balance in life. We either act like everything is perfect while it isn't, or we cry over everything like there is no Comforter. Well, maybe it is just me...

The other day I was reminded of what is written in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8,

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.

I realize I am somewhat radical in my worldview and if it wasn't for the teachings in the Bible I would be all over the place, probably. 👉But knowing that God wants me to learn to live well under ALL circumstances helps me a lot. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13,

I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

I am curious, how do you keep the balance?

In, but not of this world (4)

It is our calling, no matter what the circumstances are, to shine like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people (Philippians 2:14-15) I wrote in my previous post.

Is that possible? Do we have God's promise that it is possible to shine in and so defeat the darkness?

Yes, we do. In 1 John 5:4-5 it is written: For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

We achieve victory over this dark world through our faith. Note that it says 'we achieve'. It is not something we can passively obtain. We must take action in order not to let this evil world influence us and eventually overwhelm us. 

We have to make daily choices in order to shine like stars. Conscious choices in our:

• THINKING - Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2)
• TALKING - Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone (Colossians 4:6)
• ACTING - Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God (Psalm 1:1)

Easy? Nope. Possible? Yep. Otherwise it wouldn't be asked of us. We simply cannot think like everyone else is thinking (fear, crisis, defeat, anger etc.). We simply cannot talk like everyone is talking (negative, fearful, repeating the news) etc. And last, but certainly not least, we simply cannot act like everyone else is acting (selfish, greedy, proud, lawless etc.)

The Bible clearly teaches us to live a different life, to be in this world but to not adapt its ways!

Rulers of this world

It shouldn't surprise us anymore that the rulers of this world mainly exalt themselves and thus ignore God. It has been like this for thousands of years, there is nothing new under the sun.

Rulers and leaders of countries (yes even tiny countries like the Netherlands, where I live) and worldly organizations have been given (or taken) positions of importance, even though one scandal after the other surrounds them, with no one taking proper responsibility.

Although the Bible says that, in general, authority has been given by God, many do not represent God or the people for that matter, but only themselves and their far-out ideas and world views. Thousands of years ago, the Psalmist figured out what was behind such attitudes:

Why are the nations in an uproar, the peoples grumbling in vain? The earth’s kings are taking positions, leaders conspiring together, against Adonai and his anointed (Psalm 2:1-2).

👉How foolish of leaders and rulers to plot/conspire against God in their endless pride. If we look at history, none of them ended well. King David (himself a leader) wrote about this:

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They deal corruptly, their deeds are vile, not one does what is right (Psalm 14:1).

Perhaps even more foolish is the fact that these 'rulers' can only continue to function as long as they can count on servile subjects, people who do exactly whatever they prescribe. We have to be alert and awake! We can serve only one lord: God or the world. This is a choice everyone will have to make at some point in life

This morning I was thinking of an old song: 'I Will Serve No Foreign God'. The Dutch version goes somewhat like this: I praise You Lord God of the universe; the Prince of Peace, who is to come. I bring glory to You, for You reign in me. And I serve no other lord; no idol and no king. I long for You only; my heart is your home. And with my heart, I raise my hands.

Ears to hear...

In my previous two blogs I wrote about directing our thoughts and enlarging our view by fixing our eyes on things  invisible. Someone wrote to me and said  'don't forget our ears.'

And indeed, our hearing… the Bible has quite a lot to say about that as well. Jesus said 'He who has ears, let him hear.' Rather logical, is my guess, unless you have a hearing impairment or are completely deaf.

We have ears to hear, to perceive sounds, to follow conversations, and therefore to listen. The question is: what are we listening to?

Not everything that comes to us within earshot is useful. Not everything is pleasant, pure, lovely, honorable, virtuous, and praiseworthy… yes, the very things that we should fill our minds with. 👉 Conscious listening means making choices.

Romans 10:17 says, So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. If you read that entire chapter, you will see that it is about listening to and obeying the gospel that is being preached. Faith comes from hearing the good news of Jesus Christ.

There are people who are always "preaching" bad news, whether on television, in church, or at work. That is not what builds our faith. On the contrary, it crumbles whatever faith we might have left in this difficult time we are experiencing on a worldwide scale. Remember: faith comes by hearing the word of Christ and His words are spirit and life!

Make sure you listen to His words. How? Read the Bible out loud! Listen to an audio bible! Listen to faith-based sermons! Listen to the Holy Spirit! Faith comes by hearing.

He who has ear, let him hear.

Annoyed... and anointed

The posts I share on social media are a positive mix of my daily life, faith, writing journey, and family, as most of you will have noticed by now 😀

Am I not concerned then, about world events, politics, current problems, and so on? Am I hiding my head in the sand, so to speak, when I ignore such topics?

Sure... I am concerned about such things, but I have chosen not to ventilate my thoughts (with some exceptions) on social media about current happenings, simply because I am quite annoyed with the direction my country and this world, in general, are going.

Annoyed, yes I confess it. And who wants to listen to an annoyed person?

At the same time, I know that I am also anointed... anointed to be God's faithful mouthpiece, to speak His Word, and to share His heart. 👉Anointed means I am called and confirmed by the Holy Spirit to open my mouth and use my pen and keyboard to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

My annoyance with today's politics, the lying and manipulating, the lawlessness and selfish gain, is real. So, I have to purposely make the decision each day to set aside my irritation over our godless society and magnify the goodness of God. He deserves my voice and my choice!

PS: I understand that some of you feel they just have to address such issues... please, go ahead. I appreciate your efforts.

Maintaining our freedom (4)

In the previous blogposts we have taken a closer look at biblical freedom. It is God's will that Christians should live in freedom. We are no longer slaves and we should not let ourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery... by nothing and by no one. Freedom does not mean we can say and do whatever we want (that would be anarchy), but biblical freedom means being free from sin, shame and guilt (and many psychological and physical problems that are often the result of this). That kind of freedom is only available through grace and our faith  in Jesus Christ.

Biblical freedom is also the freedom to choose. Galatians 5:1 says It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. It is somehow possible to become enslaved again. 2 Peter 2:19 clearly states that a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Let's ask ourselves what has mastered us: worries, depression, sickness, addiction? We are meant to live in freedom; to not be a slave of anything or anyone. The apostle Paul gives us the key: stand firm then. In other words: protect your freedom, stand in the gap for your freedom, because the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. Let me put it this way: the freedom Jesus offers us is a gift, maintaining that freedom is our responsibility. For that purpose God has created us with a free will, we must do our best to make choices in order to maintain our freedom.

Making the right choices actually means to live a 'holy life'. When I was younger I thought that people who lived so called holy lives were boring; we used to make fun of them. Thank God I have learned that holy living means I have to make choices: one time for Jesus and after that every day... I must choose to do what my old nature wants (also called 'the flesh') or what the Holy Spirit wants. The Holy Spirit lives in every believer and talks to every believer, but quite often we are not so trained in listening. We need to silence many other voices (radio, television, news paper, thoughts, talking etc.) to hear Him. We must learn to listen in silence.

In order to stand firm we must make the choice to live a holy life, this choice is two-fold:

• We must purposely separate ourselves from sin, and
• we must purposely seek fellowship with God

Separation from sin means: not doing what everyone else is doing, saying no when we need to, never acting without thinking, but asking for guidance and listening. Seeking a closer fellowship with God can be trough our heart (prayer), our soul (music, worship), our mind (studying the Word) and our strength (service). In order to stand firm and to keep our freedom, we need to make the right choices, every day!

In the next post we will take a closer look at freedom from guilt and shame.

Maintaining our freedom (3)

In this series we will be looking at freedom through a magnifying glass. Freedom as mentioned in Galatians 5:1, It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

It is not as easy as it seems to give a personal definition of freedom. If you struggle with an addiction you want to be free from that burden. If you have a sickness you want to be free from that pain. If you have continual thoughts about fear and worry, you want to be free to think different thoughts. Well, we can all fill in the blanks... From a personal point of view we can all come up with a definition of freedom, based on our own experiences. If we would ask any group of teenagers to give a definition of freedom, we will get a totally different response then when we would ask the same question to a group of elderly people. For young people freedom often means: doing whatever you want or feel like, saying whatever you want or feel like, living without rules. This is the freedom the world promotes. But if we are really honest we know, in our heart, this is not real freedom, but anarchy (chaos, misrule, state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority).

Biblical freedom is totally different from worldly freedom; it is freedom from sin, shame and guilt, but also the freedom to choose. As human beings we are created with a free will. God has put the freedom to make choices in every person, whether you are a Christian or not. The freedom from sin, guilt and shame however, can only be obtained through grace and by faith in Jesus Christ, by asking Him to come and live in us with his Holy Spirit. Don't ask me why this is the only way. God has decided so and I cannot add or change anything. The Bible keeps it simple with a wonderful promise: If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36). Who doesn't want that, who can refuse such an offer?

To be truly free and staying free... starts with making a choice for Jesus. We all have the freedom to do so. No one can force a person to make that decision, but we can surely encourage others to make this choice. If you desire to be truly free, ask Jesus to come and live in your heart. It is no more complicated than that. After we make that choice it is our responsibility to keep our freedom, to not be a slave again. More about that in the next post.

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds (Titus 2:14)