This troubled world

Last week I received a message from a friend in northern Italy. Shortly after the government restrictions were imposed, she lost her job. 'Can I translate another book for you,' she texted, 'that will give me something to do.'

I proposed the translation of Spirit of Truth to which she responded: 'Boy, do we ever need that now!' And so she went to work on that one. When I picked up the book from my library, I noticed the subtitle... almost as if for the first time, since the book came out 4 years ago:

Finding certainty and standing firm in a troubled world.

A troubled world? Back in 2016? You gotta be kidding, right? Wasn't life a picnic back then? Well, no, not exactly. 2016 was a year full of disasters, from deadly earthquakes, terror attacks, life-depleting droughts, devastating storms, to unceasing wars. Many thought the end was near. But here we are...

Up until now 2020 is no picnic either. We are still in this troubled world, trying to make sense of it all and, who knows, trying to find truth in it all. Four years from now, we will find ourselves facing new challenges in a world that knows no lack of trouble. 👉We better get used to it.

Jesus said: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33). You will have... so, let's not try to escape, let's try to cope.

I think this is the art of faith... having peace in perilous times, trust while in trouble, and joy when all we know and have is in jeopardy.

Together with Jesus, we can overcome the world. Why refuse His outstretched hand? We have nowhere else to go.

The thief and the Giver

When my brothers and I were little children, my parents purchased a record-player. Well, not exactly like the one in this picture, but it was in the early sixties. On our knees before the speaker, we listened to the same Bible stories over and over.

👉There was always someone in trouble, there was always an enemy, and there was always a way out!

I still love the Bible stories. And in a way, I have kept the childlike faith... With God all things are possible! Over the past several weeks I have been doing a lot of thinking, meditating on the Word, and asking God about the current happenings in our world.

He reminded me of the words of Jesus as recorded in John 10:10. The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.

I love that verse! It clearly speaks about the trouble, the enemy we have. The Bible calls him a thief, the devil, or satan. But it also clearly speaks about the way out, Jesus Himself. I know there are plenty of theories, ideas, and explanations about what is happening in the world right now. Some are downright nonsense, some are quite interesting. From a biblical point of view, however, I truly believe things are quite simple.

The thief is at work. He steals people's joy and peace, he kills people, and he destroys our societies and economies. We see it happen all around us. No point in blaming God, the Chinese, or the president of your country. The thief is at work on a global scale. Let it be no surprise, Jesus announced it. But Jesus did not stop His speech there, for He is also at work!

We just celebrated Easter. He came to give us life. Not just an ordinary life, but a life in all its fullness. That life is available for anyone who believes in Him and that life does not change because of what the enemy is doing.

I can only speak for myself of course; but I have decided that 2020 will not be the year to be remembered as the year of corona, the year of cancelations, loss, lack, fear, worry, doubt, or whatever. NO! It will be the most creative and productive year I have had so far. I refuse to be a victim of the thief's schemes. I am victorious in Christ. With God's help, I can scale a wall!

Good times, bad times

It is quite interesting (and quite irritable as well) to see that every time a disaster, drama, or crisis occurs, experts' arise, shouting whether or not it was punishment from God, whether the end of time is near and whether or not Jesus will come back soon.

With the passing of time, things quiet down on the battlefield of doomsday thinkers, prophecies, conspiracy theories, and global plots. Until the next catastrophic event of course ... then everyone dares to speak up again.

What I often miss in their messages which (much to my annoyance) pop up everywhere in Christian Facebook groups and forums, is some form of love, grace, and hope. Anyway, each his own thing.

Looking at the history of humanity, it is quite obvious that there have always been good and bad times. Times of peace and war, of abundance and hunger. Yes, the so-called fat and lean years. The world didn't end and life resumed. Usually with people being full of renewed energy, confidence,  and many good intentions.

In bad times, we will often see a massive search for God, while in good times a general idea that we are doing just fine by ourselves is quite common. I don't really know if there is a healthy balance in this, maybe it is such a curve that keeps us alive, the ups and downs, the mountains and the valleys, the periods of great creativity and innovation and the times of indifference and consumption.

Every person on the face of this planet experiences times of joy and sorrow, of blooming and withering, of letting go and starting again. As a matter of fact, we see this happening on a larger scale as well. We see it in our country, our economy, our earth ... there is always that curve, called 'seasons'...

👉 As for the return of Jesus. He had something to say about it:

So be ready all the time. For I, the Messiah, will come when least expected (Luke 12:40, TLB).

I have often wondered what kind of moment that will be. A moment when He is least expected, don't you think that is interesting? I wonder if the 'experts' take that into account when they write their end-time scenarios. Basically, we do not know! The key is to be ready to meet God, all the time. Then, and only then, can we truly live a quiet life, no matter what happens.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

Fear of dying

Actually, I don't feel like blogging about it at all ... But the other day I thought of something that I would like to share with you. Hopefully, it might be food for thought or at least a good conversation starter.

I was wondering what is behind the massive fear of the #Coronavirus. I believe, in essence, it is the fear of dying. I can't think of anything else. Can you?

Let's be frank. What is the worst thing that can happen to you if you have this virus? That you die from it. So, the fear we see rising all around us is actually the fear of dying.

That reminded me of a song by blues guitarist Albert King: "Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die." A song, written by Loretta Lynn, if I remember correctly.

Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die. How true is that. I can't speak for everyone, of course, but as Christians we should not fear death. Romans 14: 8 says: If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

The crucial question here is: do you belong to Him or not?

The apostle Paul went even further: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21). Ouch, I am not there yet. I want to stay on this earth for a while longer. But I also want to be able to speak as Paul did, simply because I have given my life to Jesus as well.

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

[John 11: 25-26]

And, oh yes, here's the Albert King song.

Think big, start small

The tragedies of this world are coming at us at cosmic speed. Sometimes in such massive waves that it seems impossible to see through it, in search for light. Many people find themselves paralyzed by fear, unable to move on... in search for light.

Images, headlines, words and relief efforts are passing us by in a never ending scream to get our attention. Yet, in the midst of all chaos and disorder  one question remains: how can I make a difference, where do I start?

My answer is simple: think big, start small. Sort of like God. For God so loved the world [now, that's big thinking...] that He... what? Send an army of angels? Organized a massive demonstration? Decided to clean up this planet with one move of His hand? No! He sent one person, His Son. Now, that is thinking big (loving the world and seeing the need) and starting small (one person with  an assignment).

I truly believe it still works like that. We cannot solve all the problems in this world, but each person can do something in order to touch someone else and help that person to get a new life. That is in short the philosophy behind our non profit organisation Traveling Light. Offering help on a small scale basis (one person at the time) and by doing so changing lives, families, streets, villages, cities, nations... and yes, eventually the world, in preparation for the coming King and for the glory of our heavenly Father... who might have more pain about the present state of the earth He created than we can imagine.

Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

We just finished a fundraiser (two of our volunteers raised almost $5,500) for the construction of a small home for girls and young woman in Moldova, who have been rescued from human trafficking, the youngest girl being only twelve years of age. If you want to know how they did that, check our weblog HERE.

My question for you is: Do you let yourself be paralyzed by fear or do you decide to get up and let your light shine?

Remembering the 1953 flood in Holland

My friend placed some pictures of the flooding that happened here in Holland in 1953 (now sixty years ago) on her quilt blog Sweet Home Ala Marja. One of the pictures shows our house, all the way in the lower left corner.

Our town is situated on a dike that is supposed to keep the water out (remember that most of our country is below sea level). But on January 31st in 1953 the dikes broke in several places and parts of the country flooded and thousands of people were killed. Many survivors remember that horrible day all too well.

Sometimes the water in the river still rises to dangerous levels, especially during a storm and full moon. 

I was born ten years after that national disaster, but I remember looking, together with my brothers, through the book The Battle of the Floods. We were filled with fear and sorrow when we saw the pictures of people in boats, of houses covered in water and of dead animals. We even recognized some parts of 'our dike' in the book. We really hoped nothing like that would ever happen again in Holland.

Natural disasters are not new, they have always happened. Noah witnessed the earth being under water for 150 days. In the Bible we can furthermore read about storms, droughts and earth quakes. The battle between mankind and the elements is a battle of all times. Cold, heat, drought or floods... they come and go, as do the opinions about our climate changes. Too cold, too wet, too warm or  too dry... Do we have to worry?

The Bible says:

As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.

(Genesis 8:22)