Living as pilgrims in this world

Today the thought came to me that we are all pilgrims in this world, just passing through.

I have traveled all over the world and I have always been amazed at how easy it is for me to feel at home... just about everywhere. Just as long as there is food on the table and a pillow to rest my head on, I am happy.

It makes life easier when we are flexible, in a sense. The Bible says:

For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come (Hebrews 13:14).

This world is not our permanent home. So, how come we act as if it is? We want to control everything that is happening, but we can't. Yet, we get restless when things are shaken, we feel uneasy when things change, we have this need to defend what we believe belongs to us...

It is all understandable, of course. We want stability, we want security, we want peace. When there is turmoil in the world, we feel it in our hearts, we feel it in our souls. It is like bleeding inside. We are hurting because we cannot stop the world from turning... and turning.

If we could only learn to live as a pilgrim. I don't mean being homeless or without possessions; but being able to move on, despite circumstances. Being able to look forward to the surprises waiting around the next corner.

We can learn a lesson from Abraham. By faith he made his home in the promised land. Yet, he lived like a stranger in a foreign country. Hebrews 11:10 says: He was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

We should take care of this world, it is our assignment to subdue and cultivate the earth and to evenly divide her resources. But we should also look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where every tear will be wiped away, where there will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:1-4).

Let's get our focus right, while passing through.

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.

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 (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!

Peace in a world of violence

This past week I emailed back and forth with a Spanish publisher regarding my book Grace of Giving. That's always fun and exciting. Just thinking about the new readers I will reach with this message of generosity makes me jump for joy.

A few years ago, while working on my book Grace of Giving, I studied the parable of the good shepherd in John 10 extensively and ultimately John 10:10 became the foundation scripture for the book. While studying however, my attention was also drawn to John 10:9. Jesus says there: I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.

For the longest time I wondered about the coming in and going out. Once we belong to Jesus and have entered his Kingdom, who wants to go back into the world? With Him, without Him, going in and out, that would be stupid, right? That would be like the ancient Israelites wanting to go back to slavery in Egypt for the simple reason that the meat was better there! No, the going in and out had to be about something else.

Jesus is the gate to eternal life and we can only enter through that one gate; which certainly narrows our choices down! We will come in, that is: we will enter his Kingdom, a spiritual realm where God's will is being done. The Bible says the Kingdom cannot be seen, but it is within reach or within us (Luke 17:21). We will go out, that is: into the world. We are not of this world, but we still live in it! And then... we will find pasture!

Wow, we will be able to find green pastures and quiet waters amidst the trouble and turmoil in this world (Psalm 23). That is a very comforting thought. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. It is possible to enjoy safe pasture despite all the unrest in this world, despite all the bad news and the uprisings, despite political and economical unstability.

We have to trust God to provide that safe pasture for us. We must not engage in negative talk about this world but continue to proclaim His promises and bless all people! Jesus said in John 16:33, In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world! Take heart! Be encouraged! The world cannot invade the Kingdom, but we must bring the Kingdom into the world and share our peaceful and safe pasture with others, so they will get a glimpse of what a life with Jesus is all about!

Happy weekend!

Now is the time

My times are in your hands

One of the things I bring before the Lord quite often, is the aspect of time. Probably my biggest struggle in understanding God is understanding His view of time and the times we live in. I believe that all the promises in God's Word are true and amen in Jesus Christ but I also realize that I will not always see them come true in my time! God answers my prayers for sure, but I simply do not always know when.

As human beings on this earth we are limited by time, we have to live within the rythm of 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week etc. God however is not confined by time, He is eternal, He is the great Now! 2 Peter 3:8 says, With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. God views time totally different than we do. I am currently reading through the book of John and I noticed that Jesus demonstrated this often when He spoke. He asks Philip on one occasion: "Don't you know me, even after I have been among you such a long time?" (John 14:9) Such a long time?? We are speaking two, three years at the most, here! Can you imagine how it would feel if He would say that to us today? 'Hey, how long is it going to take for you to understand Me, you've been a Christian for 3 years now, for crying out loud... ' Three years is nothing on the scale of a lifetime. So, this passage clearly shows that God's idea of time is different than ours. Further on in the book of John the disciples ask among themselves: "What does He mean by a little while?" (John 16:18). They couldn't figure it out, they struggled with it, like we sometimes do when a prayer doesn't get answered or when God is silent.

While reading through the 16th chapter in the book of John I noticed that Jesus talks past, present and future as if everything is now. He tells His diciples "... a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language..." Right after that his disciples proclaim: "Now, you are speaking clearly..." Jesus said the time would come and when He said it it was right there! In verse 32 he does it again, He says: But a time is coming, and has come... The moment He says it it is done, it is there. I find this very fascinating. In the 17th chapter Jesus prays to His Father. He says: I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world... (verse 13).

I don't blame the disciples for not always understanding the time and the times they lived in. In Acts 1:7 Jesus told them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. We can try to grasp His eternal character, His timeless being and His endless love, but I don't think we will be able to fully do so until we leave our earthly time frame behind to be with Him forever! There are, however, a few things the Bible teaches about time. They can offer comfort and hope in our present day troubled times:

• There is time for everything... a time for war and a time for peace (Eccl. 3:8)
• The time is short (1 Cor. 7:29) It doesn't say how short, but please don't wait any longer before surrendering your life to Him if you haven't done so yet!
• Now is the time of God's favor (2 Cor. 6:2) Any moment is a good moment, God is waiting for you!
• My times are in your hands (Psalm 31:15) When you belong to Him, you can feel safe, no matter what the time will bring!

I do not know whether you ever wonder about God's timing, but let me close with another word from the Psalmist, Trust in Him at all times, O people! At all times, good or bad. At all times, whether we deal with past, present or future situations.