We own nothing and yet...

'You'll own nothing and you'll be happy'.

It's a slogan ascribed to an elite group's ideology (I'll spare you the details). A group whose members don't include themselves in their slogan, they are above it. 'You' instead of 'we'. I hope you get the point.

Whether the slogan is really theirs doesn't really matter. One of the predictions on their agenda is that by 2030 all products will have become services. Think about that, whatever you need someone will provide for you. At first, it sounds great, just snap your fingers and it will be brought to you. 

But in reality, it will make us very dependent on the people who provide those services. In reality, it is rephrasing the slogan I started with. A slogan straight out of the mouth of Satan. Why? Because it is twisted truth, it is a deception. 

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:10, Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

Now this, dear friends, is the truth. Everything belongs to God, the Creator of the Universe. So, in that sense we own nothing indeed, we never did. If it wasn't for the breath in our lungs that the Lord gives us each day we wouldn't be able to work for money to buy a car or a house.

Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 10:14).

God owns everything and we get to take care of it, which makes us stewards. This goes for the earth and all that is in it as well as for spiritual riches entrusted to us (believers). It all has been given to us to take care of as long as this earth exists.

👉We can do so joyfully, honestly, and productively (no matter how great or small our influence is) and that will make us happy indeed because we will bring glory to God!

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all (1 Chronicles 29:11).

Womb story

The abortion debate has been flaring up again, more vicious than ever before if you ask me. Arguments for and against are coming from the democrats, the republicans, the churches, the pro-choice and pro-life organisations and so on and so on.

It is a shame that we all raise our voices over the ones that have no voice... yet. What if the child could speak from within the womb? What if the child had a message for us... from above?

In 2008 my book Breath of Life was published by Tate Publishing in Oklahoma, USA. A precious story about creation, as seen (and told) through the eyes of the unborn child. In 2011, a Dutch translation of the book was published in The Netherlands and later German and Italian editions followed.

The American publisher is no longer in business and right in the middle of a nasty court case on charges of money embezzlement (not necessarily an ideal situation for new and emerging authors). In the meantime my stock had been reduced to a minimum, so I decided to publish a revised paperback edition for my European audience and a $2.99 Kindle edition on Amazon. And you know what? It couldn't be more timely!

Simply, because the story in Breath of Life is timeless. I wrote this book in order to give the unborn child a voice. I wanted to give him a chance to tell his side of the story. Let's be quiet and listen to the pure wisdom of a child who is still very close to the Father's heart. Who knows, maybe we can learn something.

Don't miss out on this precious story. It might change the way you look at life.

God, a mystery revealed (5)

'Jesus has always been there, He is the eternal God and in union with Him all things have their proper place' I wrote in my previous blog.

It was a referral to the section in the letter to the Colossians that we are looking at in this blog series, a section that deals with the supremacy of Christ.

Let's take a look at Colossians 1:18, it says:

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Wow, so much revelation about who He is in one sentence, great! Jesus Christ is the head of the universal Church (all churches in the world), also called His body. His body on earth, as He walked around two thousand years ago: doing good and healing (Acts 10:38). That is the mandate and blueprint of the Church!

He is the beginning! Yes, He is the source of our existence, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Nothing exists without Him. The universe is being held together by Him, as we can read in some translations.

He is the firstborn from among the dead. This is interesting. When reading the Bible we find out that people had been resurrected from the dead before Jesus... but they had to die again one day. So, this verse does not mean that people can physically raise from the dead. I think that Paul (the writer of the letter to the Colossians) is referring to the words of Jesus: I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die (John 11:25). Jesus promises eternal life for those who believe in Him!

In everything He has supremacy! In everything ... whatever we do or invent, He preceded it. Without Him we would not even exist. I hope that He may also have supremacy in your life.

God, a mystery revealed (4)

Not too long ago I had a conversation with someone who did not believe that Jesus is God. Such opinions can lead to very interesting discussions and I certainly do not avoid such talks. However, let's not forget what the Bible has to say about it.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. This is how the passage begins that we are examining in this blog series (Colossians 1:15-20). It is a section in which the apostle Paul writes about the superiority of Jesus. The more often we read that piece, the more we learn about Him. Just do it.

We are coming to verse 17 where Paul lifts the veil a little more. I just love 💗 the Good News translation:

Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place.

Jesus has always been there, He is the eternal God and in union with Him all things have their proper place. That tells me if something or someone is not in union with Him, they are not in their proper place... kind of being lost. In union with Him we find our purpose, our existence will begin to make sense.

Somewhere else in the Bible that connection (union) with God has been described as follows: ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ (Acts 17:28). In Him we live and move and have our being, if you decide to believe and accept that, a totally new world will open up for you. And then (sometimes at once, sometimes step by step) that mysterious God suddenly comes very close. Awesome, isn't it?

God, a mystery revealed (3)

In this blog series I want to focus on Colossians 1:15-20. We have already seen the awesome truth in verse fifteen: Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things.

We cannot see God, but Jesus made Him known during His life on earth in the things He did and said. There were thousands and thousands of eyewitnesses and many of them have passed on their experiences from generation to generation and later entrusted these stories to paper. Reading the Bible is one way to get to know God.

As we continue in that first chapter of the letter the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colosse (which is now in Turkey), we read the following:

For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him.

My Dutch translation says 'everything was made for His glory'. Pooh, what went wrong, you may wonder. There have been quite some world rulers and governments who have made a mess of it, even up till now. As a matter of fact, it seems to get worse instead of better. Dictatorships, evil regimes and suppression ... that can never bring honor of God, right?

No, of course not. Personally, I read in those words that no one and nothing can ever exist without Jesus decision to create. And He has created everything and everyone (including leaders and people in authority) with a purpose, namely to honor Him as Creator of heaven and earth. So, it definitely goes wrong when people do not acknowledge this and put themselves above God by ignoring Him or denying His existence.

That arrogance has led and still leads to horrible situations in which personal gain and power are elevated above the welfare of a people. It should not be so. Psalm 2: 10-12 says: O kings and rulers of the earth, listen while there is time. Serve the Lord with reverent fear; rejoice with trembling. Fall down before his Son and kiss his feet before his anger is roused and you perish. I am warning you—his wrath will soon begin. But oh, the joys of those who put their trust in him!

Maybe those words sound a bit harsh, but apparently every leader and every government [and ultimately every person] has a choice to make!

God, a mystery revealed (2)

"If there is no God, there is no reason for our existence and if there is no reason for it, there is no hope," I wrote in my previous blog post as an introduction to this new blog series in which we examine the supremacy of Christ. .

The Bible passage that I use for this series is Colossians 1:5-20. Verse 15 begins beautifully: Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. In that one sentence we find the key to believing in God or not ... Jesus Christ has made God visible, has made Him known. We must go to Him with all our questions about God, eternity and the purpose of our existence.

That same verse continues like this:

He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things.

Some translations say: the firstborn over all creation. Jesus as always been there. His time on earth (about 2000 years ago) was only a very small part of His eternal existence. As if we were allowed to peek inside his life. He is and will always be superior to all created things.

Shortly before Jesus was taken prison, He prayed to the Father for all believers and said: Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world (John 17:24).

What a great prayer! The love of God was there before anything came into existence! Which makes perfect sense when we consider that the Bible says that God is love. It is with that same love that He loves the world (all people) 💖 ... yes, even if you reject him!

Give me a U

In my Bible Alphabet Blog Series U stands for Universe.

Despite the fact that we live with an estimated 7.49 billion people on this earth, people often feel lonely. On a bigger scale many even feel lost, knowing that this earth is only a speck in an endless universe.

Thousands of years ago musician and poet David wrote a song (Psalm 8) about such thoughts and feelings...

When I consider your heavens,

    the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

    which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

    human beings that you care for them?

Trying to find our tiny place in a grand universe is not a fatalistic effort, it will bring us to a place where we will be amazed about God's love and kindness towards His creation. It will ultimately bring us to the realization that we will always be lonely and lost without Him, to the confession that we need Him and to the revelation that He cares for us.

And then... the journey of discovery will begin and He will show us WHY we are here on earth!

What are you waiting for? Take that journey!

Give me an M

In my Bible Alphabet Blog series M stands for Mankind.

Yes, mankind making a mess of this world, mankind cursing God and exalting himself above the Creator of the Universe, ... yes, the men and women forming the entire human race.

The Bible says that God made mankind in His own image. He thereby decided to distinguish between two different sexes, male and female, So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27).

What an awesome honor to be created in the image of a triune God (Father, Son and Spirit, and yet one God) and to resemble Him whether we are male or female (spirit, soul and body, yet one human being). David wrote about the creation of mankind: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well (Psalm 139: 14).

The same David lived in great amazement about the insignificance of man in comparison to the greatness of God, but acknowledged certainly God's purpose with the creation of mankind: what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet... (Psalm 8: 4-6).

God created mankind and gave us the earth as a residential area where we could rule over the things God had created [not over each other!]. If you have visited other countries, you must have noticed how every nation has a unique place, culture and atmosphere of its own ... sometimes land was taken by force, but that should not be necessary. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands (Acts 17:26).

Throughout history we can see over and over again how mankind became prideful and figured they could do things better than God. The Bible calls this sin or disobedience. In some way or other we have all sinned, but there is also forgiveness for everyone! Romans 5:19 puts it quite simple: For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. That "one man" is the Savior of the world, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

God loves the work of His hands, He saw that is was very good! He loves mankind, He loves you and me and I am sure His heart hurts when He looks at the mess we are making of this world. It is His desire that all people will come to the knowledge of an important truth, for there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people (1 Timothy 2:3-6).

Give me a G

In my Bible alphabet blog series G stands for God.

Duhh... you might be thinking, of course G stands for God in a Bible alphabet. You don't need to be a scientist to figure that out. But let's make sure there will be no confusion about the identity of this God.

He is the God of Israel! He is the God who shows favor and love to Israel and the Jewish people. This might be politically incorrect, but it is Biblical.

He is the God of creation. He created the vastness of the universe and the smallness of humanity. Because He has the overall picture, He alone is able to give us purpose and meaning in life.

He is the God of love, because no matter what we have done (or failed to do) He is waiting for our friendship. Only His love and forgiveness can truly fill the emptiness that we often try to fill up with substitutes (whether chocolate or drugs).

He is the God of peace who wants His followers to live in peace with everyone. His peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And by the way...

He is not the same God as Allah, because he has a Son who is called Jesus Christ, the Messiah, Savior of the world.

Trees can talk

Well, yeah... it's the month of December. That calls for rummaging through old notebooks and journals... just for remembrance sake. It also calls for short blog posts, because no one has time to read them.

I just LOVE going through old spiritual journals. Reading the old entries takes me back to the excitement of being a new believer. It takes me back to discovering truth and reading the Bible with eyes open for the first time. The other day I was going through some of my musings and found something that, I believe, is worth sharing...

The few lines I wrote down that day capture the essence of fresh faith: being surprised and excited about everything that can be learned from His Word! And that excitement captures the birth of this weblog Fresh Insights on Ancient Truths as well.

March 7, 2005

"Lord, what do I know about you? What do I really understand about everything You created? According to your Word stones can listen (Joshua 24:27) and trees can talk (Judges 9:9). That goes against everything I know to be the truth. Just because I never heard a tree (or a donkey for that matter) speak, doesn't mean it is impossible. Everything is possible with God!"

Just being curious:

Do you use this month to look back on the past year, and do you ever go through old journals?

Take time to pause

Yes, in the middle of the week

Visions of earth

He spoke and it came to be...

It is almost 25 years ago since I met my husband. During those years we have seen many different parts of the world, since we both share a love for traveling and a curiosity for cultures, languages and people. Much later we found a new love: traveling through the Bible! My first Bible with cross references was the NIV and a whole new world opened up for me! I no longer regarded the 66 books of the Bible as separate accounts of individual writers and poets, but as a huge puzzle. It was up to me to find a fitting piece each day and discover that all those people, eyewitnesses, prophets, writers and poets are connected and share an awesome story, even through the ages of time!

I am learning new things all the time and one of my favorite subjects to meditate on is Creation. It fascinates me, although my human mind is way too small to comprehend the vastness of the universe. Yet, The Bible offers me triggers that provoke my thinking. Hebrews 11:1-3 for example teaches me the following:

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

I think this is an awesome verse and a great starting point for one of my travels through the Bible.

Many centuries before these words the psalmist had a revelation about God's creating power. He wrote in the 33rd song, verses 6 and 9,

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth...For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm!

The psalmist knew that the visible nature around him came forth from the invisible word that God spoke.

My journey doesn't end there, it takes me to the writings of the prophet Isaiah, who listened to God's voice all the time. He received insight about the power of God's words when the Lord gave him an everyday example from nature in the 55th chapter, verses 10-11;

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what i desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

I love this! All those pieces fit in the puzzle, they form a picture in my mind that is getting clearer and more beautiful and more perfect! May I end this blogpost with the words from the beginning...

And God said:"Let there be light." And there was light.