Ten Core Values for the Christian life (6)

How do we go from Ten Commandments to Ten Core Values? In other words, how can we go from just following rules (Law) to living by convictions (Spirit)?

That's quite a question, isn't it? I hope you are enjoying this new blog series. Let's continue with the sixth commandment: You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13).

We don't need higher education to understand this. Surely, we are not killers. The true question is: Do we value life?

As human beings, we are made in the image and likeness of God. We are uniquely designed triune beings: spirit, soul, and body. We are made in the image of a loving God who is the source of all life.

We are made in the image and likeness of a God who, at the right time, became like one of us... this is the mystery of the Christian faith.

Jesus showed us what God is like. He gave His life for us, to save us from a life of sin and self-destruction. He offers us abundant life!

Maybe they have called you an accident, an incident, even a mistake, or simply illegitimate. Whatever the public opinion; conception is no coincidence. You are wanted and cherished by God, the Creator of the universe.

Life doesn't start with conception and it doesn't end with death. Our existence is eternal, that's the way God designed it. All of life is valuable to Him and it should be to us!

👉The core value I have attached to the sixth commandment is LIFE.

We advocate the protection of life, from life in the womb to the life of the elderly.

🕂🕂🕂🕂🕂

For more on this topic, read my book 'Breath of Life' (A journey into origin & purpose of spirit, soul, and body). This book is available on Amazon in your country.

How much is love?

Isn't it wonderful, all the Valentine's Day messages we get to see on social media today? Hearts, chocolates, and of course lots of red and pink.

Why not a blue or green heart, I sometimes wonder. Let's not limit our love expressions to red. After all, love is infinitely great. Yeah, and at the same time, as we all know, human love is limited, it is not faultless, and certainly not always reliable.

On Valentine's Day specifically, many people feel sad because they have not yet met the love of their life or because their love has left. There is grief over unfaithfulness, divorce, as well as loss because of death and illness. Love is no bed of roses, we all know that.

Despite disappointments, love is at the center of our lives. We were made to love and to receive love. Yes, to be loved. Let's face it, without love, humanity cannot survive.

When I wasn't yet a Christian, I wondered why people sometimes said to me, "God loves you, Jesus loves you." What does that matter? Why is that so important?

Well, thank God I know! God is love and because He is eternal, trustworthy, and good, so is His love. His love is the core of our existence. Knowing we are loved by God, despite our mistakes, despite our fears and failures... that is the starting point for everything!

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins [you can read this in the Bible, in 1 John 4:9-10].

The source of my happiness

Earlier this year we were traveling in Portugal and we came to this small village where we wandered through the sun-scorched streets until we came to a little square with an 18th-century fountain. A great place to fill up our water bottles.

Most towns and villages in Portugal have water fountains, but this one caught our attention because of the cross on top. It reminded us that Jesus is the source of living water. Living water yes, and so much more than that. I think you will appreciate this reminder:

• 
  You are the source of all life, and because of your light we see the light (Psalm 36:9)
• I will go to your altar, O God; you are the source of my happiness (Psalm 43:4)
• You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope (Psalm 119:114)
• The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength (Isaiah 45:24)
•  And he will be the source of peace (Micha 5:5)
• The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people (John 1:4)
• And God, our source of peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet (Romans 16:20)
• God, the source of hope (Romans 15:13)
• God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3)
• Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (Hebrews 5:9)

Why go somewhere else to find peace, hope, comfort, life, and happiness if we can find it all in Him? Let's be careful not to fill our buckets with muddy waters that will do nothing but harm us in the end. 

👉Jesus wants to give us living water so that we can become fountains! John 7:38, Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’

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!

In, but not of this world (2)

In my previous blog post, I mentioned the prayer request of Jesus: I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one (John 17:15).

It is God's will that his disciples/followers are in this world, but at the same time... not belong to it (John 17:16). I hope you took the time to read John 17:10-20 a few times. It is such an interesting prayer.

Maybe you are thinking 'Well, I never belonged to the world. I was born in a Christian family, and I've always been to church.' Whether we belong (or not belong) to the world has nothing to do with the way we grew up but everything with God's calling.

In John 15:18-19 Jesus told His disciples: If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Jesus called the disciples out of the world into His Kingdom and He is still calling people today. 👉As a matter of fact, Jesus has chosen all of mankind to come out of this wicked world and enter His Kingdom. All we have to do is say yes to Him and to His plan of salvation.

Is it that simple, Marja? Yes, it is. Let's take a look at Galatians 1:4-5 where it is written, Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

This is the rescue plan! It is possible to live in this world (as long as we're breathing) but at the same time belong to the Kingdom of God. Yeah, with our feet on the ground and our head in the clouds, so to speak 😁

Vanity and grasping for the wind

In my younger years, my friends and I often philosophized about the meaning of life. We regularly closed such discussions with the sigh: 'For all is vanity and grasping for the wind.'

We took those words from the Bible book of Ecclesiastes, in which the writer experiences that all human efforts, hard work, and pleasure ultimately lead to nothing; after all, we all have to die. It even made him depressed.

So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:17).

There is nothing new under the sun indeed if this describes a phase in life you are currently experiencing; a phase many people go through. Chasing the wind is exhausting and yields nothing of value, we will all discover that at some point.

But how then, will we live the years that have been given to us? The desire to do something with our lives is surely in our blood. We don't want to spend our lives on the couch, do we?

Well, I can reassure you. The Bible clearly provide answers to the questions of life as they are exposed in the book of Ecclesiastes. For example in Psalm 34:14,

👉 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (go after it).

I read in that Psalm a call to repentance.... turn away from evil. But also to a new way of life... do good, do the right thing. And very specifically that means… seek peace. That is in reality a challenge to go on a quest to get to know Jesus (Prince of Peace) and His teachings better.

And that is not all. We are called to seek peace AND pursue it, chase after it. Now, that is an adventure much more satisfying than chasing after the wind!

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another (Romans 14:10).

It is true!

Has it ever happened to you that you didn't believe something at first and later you did? That you first doubted something and later you knew for sure? It is not unthinkable, is it?

In fact, this is exactly what happened around the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We see it already happening at the cross.

When Jesus died there was a huge earthquake. Matthew 27:54 then says: The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!” Suddenly they believed exactly what they denied at first!

Jesus was buried in a tomb, but He got out of the grave. Some women were the first to discover this. In Luke 24:9-11 we read:  So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 

Jesus came out of the grave? Nonsense! Today there are still many people who hold the same view. But the story continues. Two of Jesus' disciples also have an encounter with Him after His resurrection. They wanted everyone to know that wonderful truth.

In Luke 24:33-34 we read:  They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

It is true! It is true after all. I hope that one day everyone gets that revelation. Why? Because it will change everything in your life and because you will get hope for the future.

Living by the Book in 2022

Before I was a believer, I thought that living according to biblical principles and values would be hard, that most fun things would be forbidden, and that life would be predictable and boring....

Oh, how wrong my thinking was! The opposite is true. Of course I had to renew my thinking on thousands of topics, followed by corresponding words and actions.

This new life turned out to be a completely different adventure than the ones I had lived until then, and I had lived many adventures, believe me.

The Christian life has many ups and downs and the Bible even warns us to expect trials and tribulations!  Which, by the way, will strengthen our faith and build endurance. But in a certain way 'living by the Book' has made my life easier.

Yeah, really. How? Well, there is no need for me to join every new hype and fad the world can come up with. Sticking with the Word of God means that opinions I have about creation, the climate, mankind, marriage, family life, work ethics, and so on, and so on, are based on that very same Word. They are not mine, they are His and that makes them eternal and thus extremely valuable.

👉What has living by the Book brought or taught you?

The good armor (6)

In my previous blog I described briefly how we can use our faith as a shield to ward off the attacks of the enemy, actually to ricochet them.

Let's read on in Ephesians 6, verse 17a.

And you will need the helmet of salvation ... Most translations say: 'Take the helmet of salvation'.

👉A helmet offers protection against head injuries. So actually this is not a weapon, but none the less part of the armor. Kind of like a musician who cannot properly play without his sheet music. Although not an instrument, sheet music is essential for performance.

The helmet of salvation, how should we see it? The Bible speaks of being saved from eternal death that was the result of sin. But God's mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been saved (Ephesians 2: 4-5).

God's love and grace exceed our shortcomings. He offers us eternal life in His presence if we are to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. Being 100% sure that He has rescued us from darkness and brought us into light protects us from every other thought ... Thoughts that we are not worth it, that we are lost, that it is not for us, that we did awful things ...

In that same chapter of the letter to the Ephesians, it says in verse 8: For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.

Receive that gift and let it guide your thinking, it can save you a lot of headaches!

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!

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?

Give me an L

In my Bible alphabet blog series L stands for Love.

Love. What comes to mind when we think about that word? Being kind to one another, tolerance, being in love, motherly love, charity ...?

We probably think of these different forms of human love, but Biblical love is supernatural love. That's not being in love, not a feeling, but love as choice.

God has made that choice: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

He therewith demonstrates the most beautiful and most difficult love there is, that is,

• loving your neighbor as yourself
• loving your enemies and bless them
• loving those who persecute you
• loving unto death

God desires to transfer this heart-rending love to mankind, to you and me. If we look around us, it seems impossible to treat God and each other that way .... but the Bible says love never fails!

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven (1 John 4: 7-10).

We can discuss it, debate it, sing songs and write poems, but the big change starts with our acceptance of His love!


Up next, giveaway of my new release Spirit of Truth!

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).

Prayer for change

One morning, earlier this week, I was reading through the prayer booklet that was published specifically for the week of prayer 2015. I found these words:

God of life, 

Let our strength

not be the result of violence,

but of love.

Let our prosperity

not be the result of possessions,

but of sharing.

Let our path

not lead to ambition,

but to righteousness.

This is what we ask

in the Name of Jesus,

Your Son.

Amen.

Born again ABC (5)

In the previous blogs on the subject of being born again, we have seen that the Bible clearly speaks about two different kind of births. The spiritual birth is not the same as the natural birth. But, why is it necessary for a human to be born again, or: to become spiritually alive?

The fact that we need to become spiritually alive, implicates that by nature we are spiritually 'dead'. In Colossians 2:13 we can read: When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. The Bible speaks about living people who are 'dead' because of their sins.

Being not physically, but spiritually 'dead' means there is a barrier between man and God. Ephesians 2:1 (Good News translation) says it like this, In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins. Sin stands between God and mankind and makes us spiritually dead for communication with Him. I always had trouble accepting this, I used to believe in the goodness of mankind. But one look at today's headlines tells me the opposite is true.

It is easy to see this in little children, we must teach them to do GOOD, the bad comes naturally. Every human being is born with a sinful nature. Kind David wrote: Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5). This is why we all need to be born again! This is why we need to accept the forgiveness that Jesus Christ offers, and turn our back to sin.

There is so much more to be said about the born again experience, about the new life that we can receive, but the most important thing is to admit that we need it! Why not accept what He wants to give us (Ephesians 2:5): to be alive with Christ! That acceptance is the most important decision we can make in our entire life.

Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for other believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart. For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal (1 Peter 1:22-23)

Born again ABC (4)

When reading through the previous blog posts on this subject, it turns out that the term 'born again' is not as strange as many people think it is. The Bibles speaks about it in several places.

That the term being born again raises curious questions is understandable. It is after all something we cannot really grasp with our human (limited) mind. Even a scholar and learned man as the Jewish leader Nicodemus didn't understand it: How can someone be born when they are old? Nicodemus asked. Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born! (John 3:4). I do learn from his question that being born again happens at a later point in life. This can be when we're 10, 20, 30 or 80, it doesn't really matter.

Nicodemus did not understand the difference between the natural and spiritual birth. All he knew was the new life that came forth from a human being. The Bible, however, speaks about the new life that comes from God. We are not being born again of a human being, but of God! How that works exactly, I don't know, but I do know that it works. In 1 John 5:1 it is being described as follows: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God... Well, that is not too complicated, isn't it?

The main question therefore is: do you believe that Jesus is the Christ (the anointed one, the Messiah)? This is a question of epic proportions since millions and millions of people all over the world are looking for the answer, especially within the Jewish and Islamic religions. It is a very important question that can only be answered with yes or no. If your answer is YES, you can and will experience the spiritual rebirth. Dare to say it out loud: I believe that Jesus is the Christ, He is the Son of God. If you sincerely mean this, it will without a doubt change your life forever!

In the next blog post I will take a closer look at WHY we need to be born again, namely the blockade between God and mankind: sin.

Born again ABC (3)

In the previous blog about spiritual rebirth we have seen that Jesus is pretty clear about it; there is more than a natural or human birth, there is also a spiritual birth. These are two different happenings. We could say that the Bible speaks about a natural birth and a super natural (spiritual) birth.

The first chapter of the gospel of John describes how Jesus, the Son of God, came to the earth. Some people believed in Him, some people did not believe in Him. It is still the same today. The Bible says: Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (John 1:12-13).

The first time we are born in a natural way (out of our parents) and the second time in a supernatural way (out of God)... that is, IF we decide to believe in Jesus and to receive Him (in our life, in our heart, in our mind). The natural birth is not our choice, the supernatural (spiritual) birth is! After all, we have been given the free will to NOT receive Jesus, to NOT believe in His name and thus to NOT become a child of God... and so miss out on the rebirth.

The New King James translation says it like this: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Wonderful, isn't it? We can simply say this: I receive you Jesus, I want to believe in You. That sounds very simple, but such a prayer (and that is what it is) has life changing consequences!

Born again ABC (2)

The previous blog post ended with a question: why do we often talk and act so difficult, complicated or even vague when it comes to the need of being born again, especially within the church...? I honestly do not know the answer, if there is one. I am glad Jesus kept it simple and said: You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ (John 3:7). Do not be surprised! It is normal.

The Bible shows us that prior to these words Jesus spoke to Jewish scholar Nicodemus, He said: Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. Well, duuhhhh... that is kind of logical, right? You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand that. Not exactly what we expect to hear in a discussion about important matters between the Son of God and a theologian. But you know what we can learn from His words? There is more than a natural or human birth, there is also a spiritual birth. Those are two different happenings.

Well, that makes life a bit less complicated, doesn't it? We enter this earth through natural birth, which was not our choice, but the choice of our parent(s). Then there is something like a spiritual birth. Do we have a choice in this or not? Read it in the next blog....

Born again ABC (1)

In our home group we are currently going through my book Frisse Kijk and these past weeks we discussed chapter ten: rebirth. We had interesting discussions about 'being born again', but at the same time I noticed that not everyone present was so sure about what the Bible says about the subject. I decided it would be useful to write down some basics in a new blog series. So, here we go....

In most churches there is not a lot of teaching on this subject. Maybe because in some denominations it is considered normal (give your heart to Jesus and you are born again) while in other denominations it is not part of the theology (we have inherited a Christian tradition). Yet, I believe every Christian should understand what it means to be born again (also called new birth or spiritual birth) and be able to explain it to someone else.

There are several places in the Bible where we can find scriptures about 'being born again', but the most famous and most used verses are written down in John, chapter 3. Jesus is speaking about the subject with Jewish scholar Nicodemus and tells him (verse 3): Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. See the Kingdom of God... can you see it? Do you understand what that means? We cannot see (or understand/grasp) the Kingdom* (which Jesus spoke about very often) unless we are born again. Wow, that's pretty straight forward talk. It shows how important it is to be born again.

Jesus is talking about the opening of our spiritual eyes so we can SEE (understand) His Kingdom for what it is: not a place or a country, but a spiritual realm where righteousness, peace and joy reign, with power. Why do we often talk and act so difficult, complicated or even vague when it comes to the need of being born again, especially within the church...? In verse 7 of the same chapter Jesus says: You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ Do not be surprised! It is normal.

* See the Kingdom basics series

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?