Give me a B

[Samaritan woman at the well by Zambian muralist Emmanuel Nsama]

In my Bible alphabet blog series B stands for Believers.

The word comes from the Greek verb πιστεύω or pisteuó which means to believe, entrust, have faith in.

The first group of believers mentioned in the Bible [are NOT to be found in the book of Acts!] were actually the people of the Samaritan town Sychar. 

Jesus spoke with a woman from that town and because of her encounter with this Jewish man, many of her own townsfolk became believers. John 4:39-41: Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.

So, believers are people who have put their faith (trust, confidence) in Jesus Christ and believe His Word. In Biblical times the believers were known for their communal living as recorded in Acts 4:32, The believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

The Bible further mentions how new believers modeled after each other, a process that is still going on today! The apostle Paul writes about the Greek believers in Thessaloniki: You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia... (1 Thessalonians 1:6-7). And more than that, it went worldwide. Paul writes that their faith in God became known everywhere.

I want the same to be true for the faith of modern day believers!

Give me an A

In my Bible alphabet blog series A stands for Apostle.

It is a word that only appears in the New Testament. Jesus intro-duced the term when He appointed (or ordained) several of his disciples as apostles.

In Mark 3:14-15 we can read what was expected of them:

He appointed twelve[a] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.

[a] Some manuscripts twelve—designating them apostles—

Disciples of the Lord Jesus that were appointed as apostles had a clear calling and function:

• they had to be with (close to) Him
• they had to be ready to be sent out
• they had to preach
• they had to use their authority

Were there more than the twelve apostles Jesus appointed? Yes! Paul, for example, was probably the most famous one after that time. Do apostles still exist? Yes! They are still being appointed today for the benefit of His church world wide. Ephesians 4:11-12 says it like this: So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...

The five functions as mentioned above are given by Jesus for the building up of the church (the body of Christ on earth). Most churches today still recognize and have evangelists, pastors and teachers, but to a much lesser extent apostles and prophets. That is weird if you think about it, because they are needed to equip (new) believers for work in service of God!

Christ gave them to us until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Well, I am sorry to say, but we are not there yet. So we must ask the Holy Spirit to continue to appoint apostles for the benefit of the church.

If you have a clear calling on your life (a desire, a passion, an inner conviction) to be with (close to) Jesus, to go out and preach (in your street or the other side of the world) and to use your God given authority, then that is a calling from Jesus Himself. Don't let ANYONE stop you to answer that call!

Give me an A

On my Dutch blog I have started a summer vacation series on Biblical words. Kind of like an ABC on Christian basics.

The posts are short and clear and fun. Each letter stands for a word that we use quite often, sometimes so often that it has lost its meaning. I know you all don't have time to read long blog posts, but yet you want to be encouraged...

So, please join me as we go through the alphabet in the coming weeks. I will make each post up as we go, so I have no doubt it will be a refreshing blog series :)

I will do my best to share great, inspiring, uplifting and sometimes funny posts. I hope you will read along and share 'm with your friends and family when you think a post is fitting and timely. Are you ready?

Give me an A!

Restored relationships (8)

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

This blog series about reconciliation turned out to be a little bit longer than I intended it to be. And even then I barely scratched the surface of this interesting topic. There is so much to learn and read and do and write about it :)

Reconciliation simply means 'restored relationship' and that is the foundation of the Christian faith.

It shows the heart of God: He desires HEALTHY relationships on various levels: Reconciliation between Him and mankind, between Him and Israel, between Jewish people and Gentiles and.... between you and me and the people around us!

God desires friendship with all people. An important Scripture about the heart of God in this can be found in Colossians 1:19-20, For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [that is Jesus], 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.

That is good news. God is not mad at mankind, He reconciled all things to Himself and made peace. The problem is that we are the ones who often refuse to take His kindness as an example. We often hang on to bitterness, anger, jealousy, hatred, slander and gossip. God does not want this. He loves mankind and He wants us to love one another and to live in peace.

Romans 12:18 says: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Is that easy? Nope! Should we try? Yep.

It is not an option. We have received the assignment to tell others about the possibilities of reconciliation and we should desire to restore relationships, wherever we go. Corinthians 5:18-20 says it like this:  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

We all have the ministry, this message, of reconciliation which, by the way, does NOT mean that we should only TALK about restored relationships... of course we must ACT this out as well, on a personal level.

Would the world look different if we did so, what do you think?

Is there a relationship that you could mend?

Restored relationships (7)

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

'As far as God is concerned, the friendship has been restored' I wrote in the previous blog post. Reconciliation simply means 'restored relationship'. The Bible shows that concept on various levels: God and mankind in general, God and Israel specific.... 

And what about us... how do we relate to one another? What can be said about the reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jewish people)? Currently we can see a worldwide anti-Semitism rising up again, with severe hatred in Europe and the Middle East. Have we not understood God's plan of reconciliation?

Why are the Jewish people different from all other people on earth? Did they ask for that? Did they make it up? No! God wanted it that way. In Leviticus 20:24B He says: I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations. Israel and the Jewish people were set apart because they would bring forth the promised Messiah. Jesus (the Jewish Messiah) acknowledged this fact in His discussion with the Samaritan woman when He said that salvation would come from the Jews (John 4:22).

Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a Jewish mother. He lived and worked in Israel. He came to bring reconciliation between God and all of mankind, starting with the Jewish people! He said: I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24).

The apostle Paul explains it again in Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Until the time of Jesus it was forbidden for Jewish people to mix with other peoples/nations (and in some orthodox circles it is still so). It drastically changed when the apostle Peter began to understand Gods grace through a vision (Acts 10:28). The good news of reconciliation is now for everyone! (Acts 10:34-36).

Through our faith in the Messiah our relationship with God has been restored as well as our relationship with the Jewish people, we are now brothers and sisters of one Father. Romans 10:12 explains it like this: For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

God's specific plan with Israel (also called the olive tree) is still standing. The gentiles (non-Jewish people) are branches that are being grafted into this tree. We will grow together and bear fruit!

Think about it: reconciliation = end of conflict! Wouldn't it be great to see that happening in our world today? It starts with this question: Have you fully accepted His plan of reconciliation?