Crush that serpent!

Psalm 91 is one of my favorite Psalms, I must have read it hundreds of times. The words always encourage me, boost my faith, and ease my worries.

The best thing is that I still find new insights while contemplating the ancient words of wisdom. The other day verse 13 caught my attention:

You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

This verse is, of course, about spiritual warfare. This verse is about us silencing the voice of the enemy (in the Bible Satan is depicted as a serpent and compared to a roaring lion). This verse is calling all of us to take action. I have read it many times before.

But this time the word fierce stood out for me. We will not just crush any lion or serpent, but fierce ones! That are ferocious, vicious, aggressive, brutal, and relentless ones. No matter what kind of attack the devil brings our way, we will set down our foot and crush his stupid efforts.

Jesus said to His followers: I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you (Luke 10:19). So, the writer of Psalm 91 must have had a prophetic vision about the ins and outs of spiritual warfare. I love that Jesus refers to what was already written in the Tanakh (what we call the Old Testament).

Throughout the Bible we see people dealing with the issue of spiritual warfare, don't be mistaken. The apostle Peter has quite a serious warning for all believers. Let's take it to heart.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith (1 Peter 5:8-9).

We are called to stand firm against the enemy (not people, but the devil), to trample and crush him under our feet! Think about that if you are feeling attacked by godless situations and circumstances. Jesus gives the orders, not the enemy!

Teach me (4)

In my previous blog post we looked at David's prayer as recorded in Psalms 27:11: Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me.

Whether we find ourselves in a military war (as David did), a spiritual war, or an emotional war... it is good to pray David's prayer. We often do the opposite, we pray for the enemy to go away... the pain, the hurt, the sickness, the fear.

But the enemy will pop up somewhere else or in a different form. 👉Asking God to teach us HOW to live, despite the enemies in this world, requires a different level of faith.

When we ask the Lord to teach us, we open ourselves up to do life His way instead of our way and that brings us to another one of David's psalms.

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you ( Psalm 86:11).

Awesome! That I may live according to God's truth, not according to the lies the world is hurling at us day after day! I don't even want to hear them anymore.

And then David adds a very personal request. The request for purity of heart, something that honors God. Oh, may it be our prayer as well. Let's get rid of the energy-draining contamination of the world.

Teach us Your ways!

Teach me (3)

'What if we would fill up on spiritual truth instead of earthly knowledge?' I asked in my previous blog. Earthly knowledge can be acquired through reading, listening, learning, and experiencing.

We receive spiritual truth basically through revelation upon reading, hearing, believing, and doing the Word of God.

Could this be the difference between 'tell me' and 'teach me', I wonder? When we say 'tell me what I need to know, tell me what I need to do, tell me what to say', we expect pre-packaged answers and quick (easy) instructions.

When we say 'teach me how to live' for example, we cannot expect a short answer, we rather prepare to commence on a journey. We can find the cry 'teach me' numerous times in the Psalms. For example in Psalms 27:11,

Teach me how to live, O Lord. Lead me along the right path, for my enemies are waiting for me.

Now David was involved in military warfare as well as spiritual warfare. So, however we look at this, I believe we can still learn from the cry of his heart. No matter whether we find ourselves surrounded by enemies of flesh and blood, by powers and principalities, or both... we need to be led along the right path, so we won't perish.

Enemies are waiting for us, all the time. We can pray for them to go away, but they'll pop up somewhere else or in a different form. Let's pray as David prayed: Teach me how to live, O Lord!

Teach us how to live in a crazy world that You loved enough to share Your precious Son with, our Prince of Peace.

Our viewing is too small

My previous blog 'Managing our thoughts' reached quite a few readers. Apparently, the content spoke to you.

Today I'm writing a follow-up, because it's not only important what we think about, but also what we look at, because that's pretty much where it all starts.

The people behind the mainstream media understand this like no other. It doesn't really matter what an article is about, as long as there is a suitable (stock) photo that attracts attention. 👉After all, images speak louder than words.

Just ask yourself what it is that gets your attention first when you open a page, whether in the newspaper or on the Internet.

Yes, of course, headlines by themselves do scream. However, the combination with an image that touches people emotionally makes the story complete! An image can be etched in our memory, an article not… just think about that.

It probably won't surprise you that the Bible tells us to purposely direct our eyes as well as our thoughts. In 2 Corinthians 4:18 it says: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Fixing our eyes on unseen things... That's easier said than done. The things we see around us are the reality of every day. No one will deny that. But those things are also temporarily... they pass! (sometimes you wonder what we're all so worried about)

The things we cannot see, are truth and therefore eternal. Love, grace, forgiveness, breath, God himself. Read through all of that chapter 4 and you will see how the writer compares everything he experiences with eternity.

Our viewing is too small, I think that often. The distance between our eyes and a screen or newspaper is at most 60 cm. It would do us good to step outside regularly to view the infinite starry sky. A simple step that can put everything back into proper perspective.

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? (Psalm 8:4).

Journey through Psalm 119

We live in crazy times and if it wasn't for the warnings in God's Word, we would be caught by surprise and probably without hope. Thank God for His Word, thank God that we are the people of hope in a world gone insane.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure (Hebrews 6:19a).

With news stations blaring 24/7, it might be difficult to concentrate on the Word of God. I would like to invite you therefore to join me on a contemplative journey through Psalm 119.

That's right, Psalm 119. It is the longest psalm and also the longest single chapter in the entire Bible. With 176 verses in total, it is quite a long read. But do you know that this psalm is actually chopped up in 22 paragraphs, so-called stanza's, of just eight verses each?

Now that makes reading a lot easier. In this new video series we will read 8 verses a day. Each video meditation is just 2 minutes, so it won't take a lot of your time.... but what a way to start (or end) your day.

👉As a bonus, we are going to learn the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, as each paragraph in this psalm corresponds with a letter of that alphabet. How cool is that? Spiritual and practical food in one bite.

So, find a place of silence, invite the Holy Spirit to teach you, get your Bible and notebook, watch the introduction video and you're ready to go on a journey.🔥You will be blessed, encouraged, and inspired. I promise!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel, watch on Instagram TV or follow on FB, Mewe, Twitter or Gettr.

150 short devotions on the psalms

I can't believe I did it, but over the past months, I recorded 150(!)🤩short (two-minute) video devotions, one on each psalm, and posted them on my YouTube channel and IGTV.

As I mentioned before, my one word for 2021 is connect, and to make that practical I started this project, #apsalmaday. The thoughts in the back of my mind were: 'We all need encouragement and we need to stay connected to avoid isolation. The Word both encourages and connects.'

So, I began taping short messages on the psalms. Unedited, raw, spontaneous, and simple thoughts, encouraging the viewer to read the psalms for themselves and to ask the Holy Spirit for fresh insights. My friend Martin Podolák provided English (and Slovak) subtitles👌which made it easier to follow for people who have English as their second or third language.

I can highly recommend a journey 👣through the psalms, especially in this time we live in. You will be able to relate to so many thoughts, prayers, and emotions. You will be blessed, your faith will rise, I promise! And the best thing is, you can start any day or just pick a random psalm, however you want to do it.

📌Link to the playlist

For such a time as this: #apsalmaday

When I started the #apsalmaday video project back in February, I had no idea it would inspire people from all over the globe to read the psalms with renewed interest. 'Refreshing and enlightening', are comments I receive regularly. I have collected many other comments, messages, and emails, and I like to share a few with you.

Rasa Klein (Lithuania) is very faithful in sharing the videos on FB, she wrote to me:

I listen to your #apsalmaday videos every day and I like it very much. You know, I am sharing them on FB because I think they are very valuable and it is a great encouragement for every day.

I read the Bible every day and spend some time in prayer. 👉Your short encouragement message helps me to find the strength for everyday life. So I am glad to know you and to have the possibility to listen to your encouragement. God bless you!

Martin Podolák (Slovakia) helps with the English subtitles and also provides subtitles in the Slovak language. He is such an encouragement to me. He wrote:

A #psalmaday is such a good project for these days. We Christians know that the Bible is the living Word of God, but here it is so encouraging to see it in practice. 👉Marja's daily messages show that it is possible to get a fresh message from God's Word every day.

Her messages often give me light for the day, lead me to prayers, and motivate me to read the Word on a more personal level. Such reading is the basis for a deeper relationship with God, therefore I encourage you to join this journey and be touched by the Word of God.

Kenny Edmunds (Michigan, USA), whom I have never met in person but only know through mutual friends in Ukraine on FB, consistently shares the videos each day. Sharing is caring! He sent me this message:

The Psalms are powerful songs, that apply to any situation in life. 👉Reading them aloud, my heart is calmed and filled with praise and thanksgiving.

Sylvia King (Texas, USA) has been responding to the daily videos on YouTube, picking a verse and sharing her thoughts. Although I do not know her personally, I am encouraged by her comments. She wrote:

#Apsalmaday stays with me all day. 👉I Love giving myself more time to not just read the Psalm, but let it, as you say, speak to me. And, fun to see which verse speaks to you and others. I was telling my husband Terrence, who does YouVersion every morning, what a plan your Psalm-a-day would be on that platform! Just the way it is on YouTube. Perfect!

Needless to say that such comments make me happy and thankful. Although most of us are not traveling at the moment, we are on this journey together... a journey through God's Word, the journey of a lifetime!

If you want to share what #apsalmaday is doing for you, let me know!

Oh soul, disturbed within me

Now that I reflect daily on the psalms for my video project #apsalmaday, it strikes me once again how appropriate in this day and age, how recognizable, how timely they are.

One day, as a reader, we can identify with the joy of the psalmist, the next day with his grief or frustration. 👉Whatever the case, crying out to God is the common thread running through all psalms.

The other day we arrived at Psalm 42, a very well-known psalm but at the same time so refreshing! Verse 3:

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God ...

Oh, I recognize that, it is the cry of my heart! Don't get me wrong, God knows me and I know Him. He is in my life, He is in my heart. But that only increases the longing, the desire for more of Him, for more of His Spirit, for more of His Father's heart. The crazier the world gets, the more I seek Him, the more I want to learn from Him, the more I listen ...

The psalmist asks a good question: Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Do you experience this disturbance, this restlessness in your soul? I do. But I also learned (by reading the Psalms, among other things!) that it is nothing to worry about. That restlessness, that thirst in our soul might be a sign,

• that we should spend quality time with the Lord, He wants to speak to us
• that we are in a season of change and God wants to show us new things or the next step
• that we should schedule a time to fast in order to regain our focus
• that God is revealing Himself to us in a new way, in other words, that we are going to learn something new about His eternal character
• that it is time to refresh our worship practices
• that we should pick up or pursue praying in tongues again

Hopefully, this list will help you. I am curious... is there anything particular that appeals to you in Psalm 42?

A psalm a day...

In my previous blog I wrote about my #oneword for 2021: connect.

To be honest with you, I find it quite difficult from time to time to stay in close contact with people during these crazy times ... family, friends, readers of my blogs and books. Some people want to connect, others don't;  you have to be careful these days and try to feel and understand where people are in this crisis.

I often pray about it, "Lord, show me what I can do, how I can keep encouraging others and myself." Well, that's how we started our small group at the end of September which is such a precious and joyful time with several ladies.

And that is how last weekend I got the idea to record a series of videos about the psalms. For years there was a sign in our kitchen with the saying: 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'. I once brought that over from America. And suddenly the thought came to me: 'A psalm a day ...' 

Why not encourage people to read a psalm a day and get something personal out of it? A bit like an antidote to all the negative news. So I now post a very short encouragement (2 minutes) about a psalm every day and with it the challenge to read that psalm out loud and see which verse appeals to you.

Since my personal reflections are in English, people from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Ukraine, Slovakia, and the USA have already joined me in reading through the psalms.

You can follow the video series on my YouTube channel, my IGTV, Facebook, Twitter, and MeWe. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel!