Saturday, June 08, 2019

The Holy Spirit introduces Himself

Most of you may have heard about me and I suspect some of you have even read books about me and have thoroughly studied my actions. I am glad that you do not deny my existence and I am grateful for the special place that I have received in your life.

Strangely enough, the fact that I live in your house does not mean that you know me personally. For many people, I am unfortunately no more than a mystery guest. That saddens me because I want more. I want attention!

Simply, because it is the Father's plan that you and I develop a close relationship. Your pastor knows about this, because every week he sends you home with the blessing from 2 Corinthians 13:13, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. By that fellowship (unity) He means the community or intimacy that should be between the two of us and other believers. Perhaps your reluctance to have this intimate relationship with me stems from the fact that we do not communicate so often.

It has come to my attention that many of you have a somewhat distorted image of who I am. In fact, I have even heard that some spread rumors of me being a mystery, rather vague and somewhat elusive. I have no idea where such ideas come from, but I do think that people have developed a certain opinion about my personality based on metaphors.

Yes, on comparisons that describe me as a fire, wind, a dove, or heavenly power. Those comparisons are certainly true, but that is not who I am. That is just what I can be compared with. Just as Jesus is not a vine, piece of bread or water well, those are comparisons that say something about who He really is.

Even though I was personally sent to the earth by Jesus Christ, when He sat down at the right hand of our Father, that was not my first trip. I was here from the very beginning. You can read in the Bible how my presence affected creation, how I empowered people to do extraordinary things, and how I was present at the conception of the Son of Man. All those stories about the past are powerful of course, but to be honest, my current position is crucial for today's church.

I know about your difficulties and struggles and I know sometimes you wonder where it will end up with all those empty pews and church buildings. But let me encourage you: if you don't stop or restrain me, you'll see great things happen.

I am the helper, comforter and teacher and would appreciate it if you would come to me with your questions. I will show you the way to the complete truth. I will convince you of sin and justice. I will dare to tell you things about the future and will always honor Jesus in everything I do. Moreover, I will bring back to you every word that Jesus has ever spoken, for that reason alone you should desire to get to know me better.

To be honest, I don't know if it is necessary to entice you even further, but I would still like to give you some gifts, spiritual gifts. Those gifts are freely available and it is my desire that they will visibly work in you, for the benefit of the common good of course.

You can reach me by calling me by one of my beautiful names. Yes, I have many names, just like the Father and the Son. Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Christ, Holy Spirit of Promise and Eternal Spirit to name but a few. Let's agree that you no longer call me mysterious, foggy, or vague. On the basis of mutual respect, I am happy to enter into a close friendship with you. Listen, I am calling you by name!

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Ever been stuck in Luke 6?

I have been there before and I am there again... Luke 6. How in the world does one get past such a chapter?

I do not want to leave, I want to linger just a little longer and savor the wisdom and the words of Jesus. This past week I have been reading the same words again ... and again each morning.

Love your enemies... yeah, right. We know that verse, we can quote it. But do we know how that verse (35) continues? 

Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting  to be repaid. Then your reward will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 

Lend to our enemies without expecting to be repaid? I'm not sure how that works out in real life, but I do not know of anyone who ever did this.

He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. Excuse me? God is kind to the wicked?

It feels like I have to push the reset button of my faith and start all over again, because the more I read the Bible, the more I realize I do know not anything :)
have you ever been there?

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

30 Days of prayer

This week marked the beginning of the Ramadan, the fasting period for millions of Muslims worldwide. That same period is being used by Christians all over the world to specifically pray for the Islamic world.

You can pray on a small scale (for your Muslim neighbor or co-worker for example) and on a much larger scale (for the situation in the Middle East or Africa for example).

Using a booklet (that you can get HERE) will help you to pray for different people, countries and issues every day. The emphasis is on freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

You know, watching the evening news in horror and reading/sharing all the bad things that are happening in our world is not going to change a thing. As a matter of fact, it will sow fear and hatred. Let us pray for our fellow men (Muslims, Jews and Christians) in countries where there is no peace or freedom to receive the peace that surpasses all understanding.

The peace that only Jesus Christ / Yeshua ישוע / Yasu' al-Masih يسوع المسيح can give.

Please, act now and join us worldwide in praying (and fasting) for a world in need!

Monday, April 29, 2019

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!

Monday, April 08, 2019

Beauty-full thoughts


It is always a joy when one of our fellow bloggers comes out with a new book! When Jeanette Levellie asked me a while back whether I wanted to be part of her book launch team, I said yes... of course 😁

Jeanette has a good sense of humor and excellent writing skills and I really enjoy reading her blogs. About two years ago I interviewed her for my series Bloggers@work

Last week her new book Hello, Beautiful! was released and I had the privilege of receiving an advanced reader copy (lucky me). I found myself immediately glued to the pages. Hello Beautiful is a joint effort of Jeanette and her friend Beth Gormong and it is an interactive devotional journal for women.

Apart from the theme (finally love yourself just as you are)  the set-up of the devotional is worth mentioning, 👉it has everything I love about a devotional:
Beth and Jeanette
  • short stories that I can (mostly) relate to
  • a question to ponder, which helps me as a reader to make it personal
  • a quote to remember (who doesn't love quotes?!) and...
  • room to write down your thoughts (or those of the Holy Spirit for that matter)
I found the devotionals very encouraging and uplifting, easy to read yet very inspirational. Some of my favorite chapters are courage through failure (16) and encourage me, please! (29).

I believe the theme (self acceptance) is a hot topic among believers and non-believers alike. We cannot give heed to God's calling to love others, as we love ourselves, if we have a problem with who we are or how we look. Low self esteem, negative self image and doubts about identity are issues many, many girls and women struggle with today. I believe Hello, Beautiful! can help to set things straight!

You can read more about her new book on Jen's weblog.
You can order the paperback and e-book on Amazon.