We own nothing and yet...

'You'll own nothing and you'll be happy'.

It's a slogan ascribed to an elite group's ideology (I'll spare you the details). A group whose members don't include themselves in their slogan, they are above it. 'You' instead of 'we'. I hope you get the point.

Whether the slogan is really theirs doesn't really matter. One of the predictions on their agenda is that by 2030 all products will have become services. Think about that, whatever you need someone will provide for you. At first, it sounds great, just snap your fingers and it will be brought to you. 

But in reality, it will make us very dependent on the people who provide those services. In reality, it is rephrasing the slogan I started with. A slogan straight out of the mouth of Satan. Why? Because it is twisted truth, it is a deception. 

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:10, Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

Now this, dear friends, is the truth. Everything belongs to God, the Creator of the Universe. So, in that sense we own nothing indeed, we never did. If it wasn't for the breath in our lungs that the Lord gives us each day we wouldn't be able to work for money to buy a car or a house.

Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 10:14).

God owns everything and we get to take care of it, which makes us stewards. This goes for the earth and all that is in it as well as for spiritual riches entrusted to us (believers). It all has been given to us to take care of as long as this earth exists.

👉We can do so joyfully, honestly, and productively (no matter how great or small our influence is) and that will make us happy indeed because we will bring glory to God!

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all (1 Chronicles 29:11).

Antidote to frustration

While the age-old battle between good and evil, between darkness and light, intensifies... one might wonder whether we have any influence at all on happenings around the world. How can our voices be heard? How can our responses be of value?

A few thousand years ago, the philosopher sighed: History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Well, I would be a fool to contradict him. In general, humanity does not learn from the past. On the contrary, I would say. Humanity forgets the past rather quickly and conveniently and acts as if every happening is a new issue.

I was reading Psalms 9, 10, 11, and 12 the other day. David cries out to God about the increase of wickedness and chaos in his time. In Psalm 11:3 he asks the following question,

👉The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?

Such a great question! Such a timely question for us today. What can we do as believers? How should we respond? What is it, Lord, you want us to do in such a time as this?

I believe prayer is the answer. Specific prayer that is! Personally, I don't think that praying for 'things to turn back to normal' will be effective. There are larger things at stake than our comfort. Remember: We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

Once we truly realize that we are not in a natural battle between people, but a spiritual battle between powers and principalities, we can target our prayers and aim for God and His angels to move on our behalf. We should pray that:

• the evil plot will be exposed, and thus lose its power
• the truth will be revealed
• deception will be replaced with discernment, and
• love will be our language

I truly believe that targeted prayers are the antidote to frustration about the current world crisis.

The Power of God

During the past few weeks I have posted on The Will of God, The Plan of God and The Voice of God.

We learned that the will of God is not so much something we should ask for, but something we should do. It is a general instruction for the Believers. The plan of God is more specific for each person, depending on your character and circumstances, and will be revealed step by step. About the voice of God we noticed that it is much more than spoken words. This week I would like to take it a step further and share some things about the power of God. 

When we decide to live God’s will (in other words, to obey His Word) He will slowly begin to reveal His plan for our lives. Learning to hear His ‘voice’ is absolutely necessary in this stage to be able to follow His instructions. But that’s not all. We also need His power to work with us and through us. The power of God is an unlimited source that supplies anything and everything we lack in our lives at a certain moment. The power of God is available to us through the Holy Spirit. Please, note that the Holy Spirit Himself is a person, not a force.

When the Holy Spirit lives in us, He is there to help us, hence His name The Helper. Often we only think of Him as a help in trouble, but He is also there to help us in our daily lives, with our daily chores. (Think about Adam and Eve complimenting each other.) When we do all we can in the natural we need to rely on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to make our work effective. Many things can be done and accomplished by sheer will power, but only the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit can change our efforts into effective work for His Kingdom. The Bible clearly shows that God wants to share His power (through the Holy Spirit) with us: 

• Acts 1:8, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you
• 2 Peter 1:3, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness through our knowledge of Him. 
• 2 Timothy 1:7, For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind (or self discipline). 

When we think of God’s power displayed, we often think of the opening of the Red Sea, the sun standing still at a believers request or Daniel surviving the lion’s den. Wonderful examples, but most of us don't see such things happen every day. Although the exact same power is still available today and can have earth shaking results we will, for practical reasons, focus on His power in a smaller context, namely our daily lives. 

We are in need of God’s power every day, not necessarily to move mountains and open up the seas, but to overcome tough situations, to learn new things, to discern trouble and to do our work. God's power displayed on a smaller scale doesn't mean we have to yell, to jump, to push or to swing the chandeliers (although that can be fun) to make it happen. It means we have to call on the HELP of the Holy Spirit when needed, instead of doing it all by ourselves. Let me give some examples of the power that is available to us on a daily basis: 

• The power to resist temptation
• The power to endure
• The power to proclaim
• The power to overcome
• The power to save 
• The power to heal 

His power can be evident in every area of our lives but we have to ask! I would call for Believers everywhere to start uttering breath prayers all day: Holy Spirit I really need your help with this or that...

The Holy Spirit is our Helper and He  desires to display God's power through us, so we can be witnesses... until the ends of the earth!