Ten Core Values for the Christian life (9)

We are nearing the end of this blog series.

In the introduction I wrote; "It is one thing to say we don't steal, but are we generous? It is one thing to say we don't bear false witness, but do we speak truth when we open our mouths? Going from commandment to core value is, in essence, going from theory to application."

Let's continue with the ninth commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16).

Of course, if all is well we will not lie, cheat, or falsely accuse others. But the real question is: Do we speak truth when we open our mouths?

One of the most famous questions ever asked in the history of mankind, was the one Pilate desperately confronted Jesus with: ‘and what is truth?’ That question still lingers in our courtrooms. As a matter of fact, it lingers in our homes, schools, political arenas, businesses, and even in our churches. What is truth? A very relevant question for today.

As in Pilate's time, we also live in a world that is made up of accusations, lies, and gossip. We are constantly bombarded with stories about people cheating, lying, and accusing others of being the reason for the mess they are in. Such practices even have entertainment value. It seems mankind hasn’t moved up the ladder of integrity very much.

Can we answer Pilate’s question with a certainty that would settle all dispute, all error, and all doubt? It is now more important than ever before, that we live and speak truthfully and discover how to stand up for biblical values and principles in a troubled world that seems to have taken a free fall into lawlessness. 

👉The core value I have attached to the ninth commandment is TRUTH

We will stand up for truth and boldly proclaim the values and principles of the Bible.

🕂🕂🕂🕂🕂

For more on this topic, read my book 'SPIRIT OF TRUTH' (Finding certainty and standing firm in a troubled world). This book is available on Amazon in your country.

The value of listening (5)

Father God is calling you and me today to listen, just as much as Salomon called his children to listen thousands of years ago.

Every time I read 'Listen' in the Book of Proverbs, that's what I do. I stop reading and I listen. I wait before reading on, quieting my mind. 

Oh, we have such a tendency (I know I have) to read too fast, almost hurrying through the pages. Well, with the Book of Proverbs, you can't. Let's take a look at Proverbs 8;6-7,

Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right, for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception.

Wisdom, Jesus Christ the wisdom of God, is calling us to listen. He wants to share important things with us. How wonderful, how exciting! I whisper a short breath prayer before moving on... Holy Spirit, talk to me.

We could walk through all 31 chapters of Proverbs and find more benefits of listening, of tuning our ears to wisdom. But you get the point. The value of listening is just as big as the value of reading. Let's practice both!

Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful (Proverbs 16:20).

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).

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.

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 (2)

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.

I love that verse (Psalm 90:12)! In order to grow in wisdom, the cry of our hearts must be 'teach me!' This basically means admitting that we do not have the answers to all of today's issues and problems.

Society today expects us to have strong opinions, to take sides, to understand complicated matters, and to know the politically 'correct' responses to every occurring problem.

Despite all the drama and confusion in our world today, many people do not believe the Bible could be relevant and useful in order to keep us on the right path. But what was written two thousand years ago has eternal value. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 👉God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

This earth could be filled with good, benevolent works (which would make it a much better place if you ask me) if we would be open to the instructions the Bible gives us. We need to be taught to do right, because human nature wants to do wrong.

Just look at little children... we often regard them as innocent, but parents have to teach children to do right, while the wrong things come naturally (being jealous, selfish, disobedient, etc.). This is because we are born with a sinful nature, in desperate need of forgiveness and change!

What if we would fill up on spiritual truth instead of earthly knowledge? What if...?

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).

The fear of the Lord (5)

As we have seen in the previous posts the Bible calls for believers to fear the Lord, which means to have respect and reverence for Him. First of all, because He is worthy of respect, and second because it will bring many blessings!

There is one more benefit that I like to highlight. Fearing God brings health to our bodies!

Say what?

Let's read Proverbs 3:7-8 where it says: Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Amen! I want that, I need that. Who doesn't?

Maybe you have read this blog series and you wonder how exactly do we make this practical? How do we fear the Lord on a daily basis?

The Bible teaches us how to fear the Lord in Psalm 34:12-14: Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,

• keep your tongue from evil and
• your lips from speaking lies.
• Turn from evil
• and do good;
• seek peace
• and pursue it.

Hello! If that isn't clear, I don't know what is. Fearing the Lord has a lot to do with our words, our actions, and our pursuit. Now this is truly the foundation of wisdom. Let's go back to the basics, as believers, as a church, as a worldwide movement. Sometimes we have made God's Word too complicated if you ask me.

Let's speak truth, do good, and pursue peace!

The good armor (5)

Truth, righteousness, and the willingness to be a messenger of peace, I mentioned these weapons in the previous blog posts about the spiritual armor.

Let's read a little further in Ephesians 6 until we arrive at verse 16: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. The TLB translation says: In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.

Flaming, fiery arrows of the enemy? Faith as a shield? So, how exactly does this work in our daily lives? Faith is the assurance of things we hope for and the evidence of things we cannot see (Heb. 11: 1). Faith basically means that we do not doubt the existence of God, that we accept the Bible as His Word, and that we know He keeps His promises. If we can see that kind of faith (assurance) as a shield, we will understand that it will ricochet everything that brings doubt or goes against God's Word.

Everything yes, because flaming arrows are fired at us on a daily basis; thoughts that suddenly enter our heads or our hearts ... Is it all true? Does God Really Love Me? Have I been forgiven? Is the Bible actually true? etc. etc. We can extinguish those fiery arrows (meant to set our thoughts and feelings on fire) with faith.

The kind of faith that makes us say aloud: Jesus is the truth, God loves me with an everlasting love, Jesus has completely forgiven me of all sin, and His Word endures forever. I dare you to raise that shield when all kinds of lies and doubts about God and His Word are coming your way. Go right against it, proclaim the truth. This is how we fight the spiritual battle.

The good armor (2)

Thank you for joining me in this new blog series. Spiritual warfare, oh my goodness, such an important topic.

There are different ways to arm oneself in the battle between good and evil. Some people opt for aggression, others for cynicism, and still others for campaigning. Defense, attack, or run away, it is all possible.

The Bible also speaks of armor that we can reach for. His weapons are of a completely different order, a spiritual order.

You can find the basic text for this series in Ephesians 6:10-13. It will help you to read it regularly, as a reminder that 1) there is a spiritual battle, 2) God gives us weapons, 3) we do not fight against people and 4) we can stand firm (yeah!).

If we continue reading in Ephesians 6, we come to verse 14, which is a strong appeal: Stand ready, the Good News translation says. In other translations: Stand firm! Be prepared! The message is clear: get off the couch!

The first weapon God gives us is TRUTH, to wear as a belt. We must gird ourselves with truth. To gird means to encircle or bind with a belt or band, to surround; enclose; hem in, frame, encircle, encompass.

We live in a world where the opposite will happen if we are not careful, we are surrounded (girded) by lies. I hear it almost daily in conversations ... who speaks the truth? How do I know if this is true? Why do people lie under oath? etc. etc. In order to have a somewhat clear understanding of the thousand things that come our way each day, it is crucial that we are enclosed by the truth, that we have embraced truth.

When we are encircled (girded) by truth, we look to the outside as through a filter. A truth filter. And you know what, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Apart from Him, apart from the truth, we cannot stand in battle. If you believe in Him, He will give you the Spirit of Truth, who comes to live in you and will be with you always. 👉 He gives truth counsel.

PS: In my book Spirit of Truth I go deeper into the root cause of deception, which is twisted truth. I believe it is a must-read for such a time as this. Kindle and paperback are available on Amazon.

Power games

In Him we live, we move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).

One of my favorite Bible texts. Such depth in a few words! The 'Him' being Jesus Christ Himself.

For the biggest part of my life (well, up until now) I did not know or understand this. I thought I was the master of my life and my future. I had one life to live and wanted to make the best of it. Nothing wrong with that of course, but without the Giver of life... such goals are unattainable 😉 I know now!

No matter how good and lofty our intentions are to make life great, we will find opposition, we will encounter immense struggles. As long as we do not acknowledge the One who holds the universe in His hands, we will keep bumping into obstacles in our limited little world.

In my previous blog I wrote I wrote about and commented on the vicious battlefield we find ourselves in nowadays, whether we like it or not. We are seeing immense power games in our world today. Political leaders, nations, organizations… all acting as if the world would stop to function when they are no longer there. Such arrogance and misconception.

The truth is: the whole world exists because of Jesus, the whole universe is sustained by Him and by His powerful Word. This is our foundation, this is our hope for today and the future. The world may crumble, but the powerful Word stands forever. I love how it is written in Colossians 1:15-17,

Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things. For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place.

👉We do not need to learn more about the world, we need to learn more about the Word!

Why do conspiracies exist?

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about conspiracy theories and just as many warnings to stay away from them because they mostly fall in the category 'fake news'... well, so we are told.

The more information that is available, the harder it gets to filter true and false stories. It seems that with every secret revealed, a contra-theory rises up. It is a vicious battlefield we find ourselves in, whether we like it or not, whether we follow conspiracy theories or not.

May I point out that the Bible speaks clearly about conspiracies. 👉The question thereby is not whether a conspiracy is true or false, but rather why it exists. Let's take a look at one of the most intriguing questions in the Bible, as found in Psalm 2:1,

Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?

It could be a question asked by many people today. WHY do nations (corporate level) and peoples (private level) engage in plots and schemes? Why can't we live in peace together? Why all this uproar? David answers the question in verse 2: The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.

In the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) it is written like this: Why are the nations in an uproar, the peoples grumbling in vain? The earth’s kings are taking positions, leaders conspiring together, against Adonai and his anointed.

Kings are taking positions, leaders conspiring together against Adonai, against God and against the Messiah (Messiah means anointed one)... Somehow David received this insight, that all the violence, wars, and uproar of nations were acts of rebellion against God. I mentioned it in one of my previous blogs: ultimately this is all a battle between good and evil, between light and darkness, between God and satan. It would be dangerously ignorant to deny this, simply because it plays out right in front of our eyes, every day!

Yes, there is an evil plot to overturn all that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and praiseworthy. Yes, there was, is, and will be a plot against Jesus and what He stands for: love, grace, righteousness, peace, forgiveness, purity, and joy. The early believers acknowledged it: Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed (Acts 4:27).

The other day I saw a picture of an individual in a big demonstration. He was holding up a sign that said, 'if Jesus comes back, kill him again'. The sheer hatred against the Son of God who went around doing good and healing all who were sick and oppressed, plays out on an individual as well as a corporate level. Yes, there is a conspiracy (a huge one), there is no denying it.

Our reaction? We should pray as the early believers did (Acts 4:29-30): Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

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.

This troubled world

Last week I received a message from a friend in northern Italy. Shortly after the government restrictions were imposed, she lost her job. 'Can I translate another book for you,' she texted, 'that will give me something to do.'

I proposed the translation of Spirit of Truth to which she responded: 'Boy, do we ever need that now!' And so she went to work on that one. When I picked up the book from my library, I noticed the subtitle... almost as if for the first time, since the book came out 4 years ago:

Finding certainty and standing firm in a troubled world.

A troubled world? Back in 2016? You gotta be kidding, right? Wasn't life a picnic back then? Well, no, not exactly. 2016 was a year full of disasters, from deadly earthquakes, terror attacks, life-depleting droughts, devastating storms, to unceasing wars. Many thought the end was near. But here we are...

Up until now 2020 is no picnic either. We are still in this troubled world, trying to make sense of it all and, who knows, trying to find truth in it all. Four years from now, we will find ourselves facing new challenges in a world that knows no lack of trouble. 👉We better get used to it.

Jesus said: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33). You will have... so, let's not try to escape, let's try to cope.

I think this is the art of faith... having peace in perilous times, trust while in trouble, and joy when all we know and have is in jeopardy.

Together with Jesus, we can overcome the world. Why refuse His outstretched hand? We have nowhere else to go.

And what is truth?

Signing the book 'Duch Pravdy' 

And what is truth? Pilate asked Jesus that question. The very Truth stood right in front of him, but he doubted. He was influenced by the crowd ... by people who didn't know the truth and were just repeating words of others without thinking.

And what is truth? I find it an intriguing question and I have used it as the foundation for my book Spirit of Truth that was published back in 2016. Two weeks ago that book was published in the Slovak language and we traveled to the beautiful city of Bratislava for the presentation. How exciting!

Preaching on Sunday morning

We were invited to speak about this theme during a youth evening at the Faith Baptist Church in Bratislava. Around forty(!) young people were present and we spoke about truth and twisted truth. Later that weekend I spoke on Sunday morning in that same church about the attack on truth nowadays, much like  it was attacked when Jesus stood before Pilate.

We also spoke at the Teen Challenge drug and alcohol rehabilitation home in Sered about the importance of knowing the truth and about the lies that keep people imprisoned for years. "You always remain a user," "you need drugs or alcohol," "you will never be anything." Lies the enemy whispers.

The truth is that Jesus wants to set people free, truly free! He said to Pilate: In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth (John 18:37). That is quite something.

And what about us, what is expected of us now that Jesus no longer walks the earth? We must also testify to the truth and for that reason we receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. And that's what the book is all about!

Each one his or her own truth?

Have you heard it in a conversation lately: "You have your truth and I have mine ..."?

A strange idea actually, because if everyone has his or her own truth, truth has become a variable. Friends today, enemies tomorrow. Taboo today, acceptable tomorrow. Truth has become rather confusing in our society today. It is no longer regarded as a foundation upon which we can build our worldview.

Do we find the truth somewhere in the middle? Is it possible to find truth in the midst of many voices, views and opinions? What is wrong with having our own personal truth? Ethical questions that are interesting enough to dig into, and I did ...

In my latest book Spirit of Truth I have taken a closer look at three statements by three different people:

• Pilate, who proclaimed three times that he could not find any fault in Jesus
• Peter, who said three times in a row that he did not know Jesus and
• Jesus, who announced three times the coming of the Spirit of truth

Three men, each portraying their 'own' truth. In Spirit of Truth I am taking the reader to the courtroom where Jesus stands in front of Pilate, while Peter was outside denying his friendship with Jesus. Pilate confronts Jesus with a direct and desperate question: What is truth?

We are being challenged to answer that question!

Spirit of Truth is available on Kindle and Kindle unlimited for only $2.99.

The questioning of truth

"Imagine a court room. A humble, quiet man has been brought in. He is being accused of a crime. No one seems to know exactly what kind of crime, even the judge doesn’t know for sure. What he does know however, is that all kind of charges and complaints have been filed against this man. He is trying to sort things out. Justice must prevail!

During the trial several people come forward to tell lies about the defendant, who appears particularly quiet and peaceful during this ordeal. His sad but friendly eyes drift around the room only to rest for a mere second or so on some of his countrymen. They look back with hatred and spit in his direction as if to silence his kindness..."

So begins my new book Spirit of Truth. Looking back at the events in the courtroom, where Jesus stood before Pilate, we can see a desperate cry emerge. A cry that still lingers in our courtrooms today. As a matter of fact it lingers in our homes, schools, political arena, businesses, and even in our churches: 'And what is truth?' 

In Spirit of Truth the reader is being challenged to answer Pilate's question, not just inside the courtroom... but where it matters most: in our daily lives.

'A delightful book, well thought out and relevant to us today... A book you will certainly read often.'

Reader's Favorite USA

The message in this book is very inspiring and encouraging, especially if you find yourself struggling from time to time to stay hopeful and positive in a world  that has taken a free fall into lawlessness.

The paperback edition will be published and distributed in Europe (where I am residing), but there is also a Kindle edition which is now available at Amazon for just $2.99.

Spirit of Truth is the sixth book in a series about the Ten Commands in the 21st century. The message is related to the 9th commandment: 'Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor'.