Restored relationships (3)

Reconciliation: end of conflict, restoration of friendly relations, reunion, bringing together (again), restoration of peace...

Restored relationship is really the meaning of the word reconciliation and it is the foundation of the Christian faith. The restored relationship between God and mankind is the first and most important level of reconciliation.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [that is Jesus/Yeshua/Isa], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:19-20).

Maybe you are thinking 'what does it matter whether I have a good relationship with God or not, I can do without...' But, you know, a healthy relationship with the Creator is the basis for all other relationships we have. A healthy relationship with God means being sure that you are forgiven and loved. Yes, we can never say that enough: God loves you, He is not mad at you.

Living out of that perspective means we can live without bitterness, hatred, jealousy, fear, anger, doubt and shame. The Bible calls this living in freedom... We do not need to live a day longer under fear and condemnation if we:

• acknowledge that we have sinned
• accept His forgiveness and
• make the decision to turn our backs to our old life

That foundation (the restored relationship with God) will help us on a daily basis in developing and maintaining all other relations we have, whether it is our parents, children, partner, co-workers or friends.

Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul (Proverbs 27:9 MSG).

Being free and staying free

Apart from working on the Dutch translation of Respectfully Yours (about honoring our parents) and the release of the Italian version of Grace of Giving, I am preparing a series of teachings on the theme freedom.

Within two weeks we will leave for a trip to the Ukraine on behalf of our non profit Traveling Light. We have been invited to speak at the annual Teen Challenge conference in Kiev on the theme Freedom in Christ, based on Galatians 5:1. This past winter I posted the series maintaining our freedom on this blog. In preparation of this upcoming conference I had to look up certain scriptures and I became aware (again) how important this message is.

It is painful to see how many Christians do NOT live in freedom. Many are being tormented by addictions, fear, worries, pain, sin and shame. Did Jesus' mission fail? He came to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and to set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18). Wouldn't His heart bleed when He sees how we have become slaves of our television, gossip, pornography, self indulgence, medication, drugs and alcohol. We can and may live in freedom in the USA, and we don't do it... How can non believers or people from different faiths see that we have a different way of life?

When you have time this summer, please read the series maintaining our freedom once again (scroll down to the first post). Reach out for the freedom Christ has promised and keep it!

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

[Ephesians 4:17-21]

30 days of prayer

This week I will interrupt the law & grace, an uneven match? series for the announcement of the 30 days of prayer for the Muslim world.

Today is the start of the Ramadan, the fasting period for millions of Muslims worldwide. That period is being used by Christians all over the world to specifically pray for Muslims. You can pray on a small scale (for your Muslim neighbor or co-worker for example) and on a much larger scale (for the situation in Egypt for example). Using a digital booklet (that you can get HERE) will help you to pray for different people, countries and issues every day. The emphasis is on freedom for the Islamic countries. Freedom of speech and freedom to choose whether you want to be Muslim or Christian.

There is huge unrest in the Islamic nations at the moment, and no one knows whether things will improve or get worse for the people. But we can pray for our fellow men (Muslims and Christians in those countries) to receive the peace that surpasses all understanding. The peace that only Jesus Christ / Yeshua ישוע / Yasu' al-Masih يسوع المسيح can give.

Currently I am reading the book Prayer - The real battle by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen, wow, what a great inspirational book. It will really help you to pray effectively for Muslims.

Please, act now and join us worldwide in praying and fasting for a world in need!

(Choose any form of fasting; you can fast from sugar, coffee, alcohol, television, meat... anything)

Maintaining our freedom (6)

In my first post about freedom I mentioned that this series would be no more than a brief summary of the teachings we shared during the freedom conferences. I realize I am only touching the surface of this subject and I hope one thing will become very clear: in order to live in the freedom that Jesus purchased for us, we need to stand firm and not become a slave again... of anything or anyone.

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. That freedom is available for everyone who is willing to make a conscious decision to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow Him. Then... we need to stand firm and not let ourselves be burdened again. We can stand firm by 1) making the right choices (holy living), 2) receiving and giving forgiveness, 3) confessing our sins to one another and 4) understanding the power of Communion. That last thing is what this post is all about.

Jesus came to earth to set us free from sin, but (and this we find much harder to believe) He also came to set us free from sickness! We can read that in Matthew 8:16-17, When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” Jesus literally fulfilled that prophecy. He came to deliver mankind from sin, but also from sickness and ailments (which are often the result from the Fall of mankind in general). The Bible continually confirms this, for example in Luke 13:10-12, where it is written about a crippled woman When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Jesus declares freedom from her infirmity. He delivers her from her infirmity as He delivers us from our sin. The word freedom or deliverance is being used in connection with sin AND sickness.

When we take a closer look at the prophecy Isaiah uttered about the coming Messiah, we will see that he also described the liberating work of Jesus in detail. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5). All different aspects of human suffering are mentioned here: infirmities (physical), sorrows (psychological and emotional), transgressions (sin) and iniquities (immorality, often inherited). There is absolutely nothing that Jesus does NOT want to deliver us from. Another wonderful confirmation can be found in the Old Testament, and well in Psalms 103:1-5, ... who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases. Jesus wants to forgive and heal! Hallelujah. Personally, it brought me much joy and liberty when I realized that He came to save me from sin and sickness.

Maybe you are wondering what this has to do with Communion? I personally believe that the two elements of Communion (bread and wine) symbolize the two facets of salvation: deliverance from sickness and sin. If salvation is no more than deliverance from sin, then wine would be sufficient to symbolize the blood of Jesus that flowed for the forgiveness of all sin. So why the bread? Is there more than forgiveness? YES! The bread symbolizes Jesus' body, which was wounded for our healing. The apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:23-31 about celebrating Communion. The Bible tells us there that some people were sick because they did not properly recognize the body of the Lord, some even died... Is it no more than logical to conclude that we can be healed if we participate in Communion in a right manner? That we will receive healing when we recognize the meaning of the wounded body of the Lord?

This is also an important key in order to stand firm in our freedom from sickness and ailments. I truly hope this series have helped you to stand firm too!

Maintaining our freedom (5)

In this series we are looking at biblical freedom as through a magnifying glass; the freedom that Jesus promises us. This is not the freedom to do or say whatever we want, but freedom from sin, guilt, shame and legalism, but also the freedom to choose. This freedom is a gift from God, but it is our responsibility to hold on to that freedom. 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.

Stand firm, then! How do we do that? In the previous post I mentioned that holy living is an important key in order to maintain our freedom. Purposely choosing to obey the Holy Spirit and not our own will. If we practice this more and more, we will experience true freedom, because where the Spirit is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3;17). Another important key to keep our freedom is the receiving and giving of forgiveness and the confession of our sins.

Jesus has set us free from sin, guilt and shame, yet, we often feel burdened. We allow the enemy to enslave us again, sometimes without realizing this. Quite often our feelings of guilt or shame can grow so big that they become a real burden. This is the stick the enemy uses to hit us with, He wants to keep us feeling insignificant and guilty, so we are afraid to go to God. It is therefore very important that we absolutely know that we are forgiven. The next step is that we need to forgive others as well. If we refuse to do so we will be burdened again with a yoke of slavery. If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15).

Besides forgiveness there is also the confession of our sins, not necessarily to God, but to each other. Sin, forgiveness, healing, confession and deliverance... somehow they are all connected to each other. We don't need to understand everything in order to believe it. To be honest, I have enough questions of my own... But, let us take a closer look at James 5:14-16, Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. 

In these verses we can find wonderful keys that will enable us to stand firm, in order to keep our freedom. We can, yes, we must, forgive each other. And if we confess our sins to each other and pray... we will get well. Wow, that is awesome, who doesn't want that? I wonder why we don't practice this more often, in the church, but also in our small groups at home. We can take action today:

• Do you truly believe Jesus has totally forgiven you? Say it
• Are there people in your life you need to forgive? Give it
• Is there a person you can confess your sins to? Do it
• Pray together with that person. Ask it

PS: Is it truly possible to experience freedom from diseases and ailments and to stand firm? Did Jesus die for this too? We will talk about this in the next post.

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)

Maintaining our freedom (2)

Each time I start a new series on this blog it is exciting to see whether a subject has the reader's interest. Curious as I am, I checked the blog statistics after my previous post and I am thankful to see that many are reading with us.

We will take a closer look at freedom as the Bible mentions it. What kind of freedom is that and, to make it practical, how do we maintain that freedom in our daily lives? The basic scripture I am using for this series can be found 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 very clear from this scripture that it is Jesus Christ who offers us freedom. Not our relationships, not money, vacation, therapy or medication. Nothing or no one can give it like Jesus does. It doesn't really matter which subject is being discussed, everything starts and ends with Him. Everything starts with putting Jesus in the center of our lives, our thinking and acting. Therefore it will be useful to start this series with a proclamation, a statement, of who He is. Feel free to read aloud the following:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 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. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:15-20).

Jesus is not just someone we talk about or read and sing about. He is the Son of the living God and He wants to live in us with his Holy Spirit. In that way making our body his temple, his home... a place where He loves to live. Now, no one in his or her right mind wants to live in a prison, not us, not the Holy Spirit! That is why Jesus offers us freedom, real freedom, and He wants us to keep living in that freedom. The reality is, that maintaining our freedom does not come automatically. Often we find ourselves (sometimes without realizing it) again enslaved by sin, sickness and/or worries... Maintaining and enjoying our freedom starts with understanding what that freedom is all about.

If you sincerely want to think about this subject it might help to write down, for yourself, what real freedom means to you.

In the next post I will write some more about worldly freedom versus biblical freedom.

Maintaining our freedom (1)

Not too long ago my husband and I spoke at a conference in Germany about the theme FREEDOM. A week later we shared the same messages during a youth conference in Belgium. The responses to this theme were very positive, sometimes surprising and always moving. One thing became very clear: maintaining our Christian freedom does not happen automatically.

On this blog I would like to take a closer look at the theme FREEDOM. In the coming weeks I will share short, readable and understandable summaries of the five sessions that make up such a conference. The scripture we have used as a foundation throughout all sessions can be found 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. A remarkable scripture. At first sight I thought: Duhhh... for what else? Of course He has set us free for freedom. You don't need a degree in theology to understand that. But as I was reading along, it became clear that living in freedom is not to be taken for granted. It is possible to become burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Maybe you think slavery is not of this time and age. Maybe you think slavery is limited to addiction, or maybe you have no idea at all when thinking about that word. But, when we look around us, we can see millions and millions of people who are a slave of:

• money (whether having nothing or having too much)
• approval (being a people-pleaser)
• power (either manipulating and intimidating or being manipulated or intimidated)
• laws and rules (being legalistic and not being open to the Living Word)
• fear and worries (not being able to think differently)
• sickness and ailments (having given up on healing)
• television (watching what we don't really want to see)
• fantasy (living in a make-believe world)
• Nicotine, drugs, alcohol, medication (purposely destroying the body)
• pornography... and the list goes on and on

It doesn't matter whether you are a Christian, a Muslim or an Atheist, no one escapes the joke of slavery that tries to come on us if we are not careful. Yet, the Bible is very clear about it: we are supposed to live in freedom. In the next post I will take a look at biblical freedom versus worldly freedom and furthermore concentrate on the three words that link the first part of Galatians 5:1 with the last part: STAND FIRM, THEN.

It is my hope that you are willing to read along and that you will be encouraged by what the Bible teaches on the subject. We need it more than ever!