New Age of the "Knights of the King's Communion"

 

Yesterday during a prayer time I repeatedly saw (with my spiritual eyes) the image of the round table of knights who put their swords on the table, with the ends of the swords pointing towards the centre. I also heard the words "One for all, all for one".

This morning as I sat with God at home, the whole imagery came back to me so strongly. I then did a bit of "superficial" research and found this:

"A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a monarch or other political leader for service to the monarch or country, especially in a military capacity. Historically, in Europe, knighthood has been conferred upon mounted warriors. During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight

The next image I saw was the disciples sharing the last supper with Jesus before He was crucified. Very often, paintings of the last supper show a long, square-shaped table around which the disciples are sitting with Jesus. But what I saw was, again, a round table, with the disciples and Jesus sitting together.

I'm sensing that God is now ushering in a New Age of "Knights of the King's communion" - a fellowship of believers who are - and see themselves and each other - completely equal with their brothers and sisters in Jesus, their fellow knights! The only reason we are able to be one with Jesus and each other is the gift of grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus! There is nothing we can really do to "be" united as only the blood of Jesus can achieve this - and it already has! We just need to wake up to it and allow Holy Spirit to renew our minds and heal our spiritual sight so we cease to function with unhealthy hierarchies, and do away with a linear approach to everything, putting ourselves and other people into limiting boxes. 

There is a reason why Jesus prayed the following prayer right before He was killed. He knew full well that He Himself would become the answer to this very prayer - by the cross:

John 17:11

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

We ARE one! Jesus is the head. We serve one King, who knighted us when we said "yes" to Him, and we are His commissioned communion, united through grace in love, and it is time we claim the earth back for our King! Tradition or ritual does not make us one... Jesus does - and already has!

Ephesians 4:4-6
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

'The Message' translation

"You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness."

Playing ping-pong... I am engaged!

 As the years have gone by in my walk with Papa God, I sometimes wondered why there wasn't more "ping-pong" action going on, more closeness, more togetherness. I was longing for this constant connection, this close walk and not the occasional bumping into each other shortly and then getting on with life (on my own, as it often felt).

Then I realised the secret about playing ping-pong! When the ball comes "pinging" towards me, I have to "pong" it back! I became aware that God was actually giving me so many signs and hints along the way... sometimes a word through someone else, a sign in nature, even a dream at night... And what did I do with it most of the time? I got excited that God had thrown a ping-pong ball at me and held on to it, as if I was scared to lose it again, instead of playing it back to Him and engaging with Him through it! 

Papa God is so relational! He loves to be close to us, walk with us and speak with us all the time as we are walking in His purposes for our lives. He will keep playing the ping-pong ball to us, longing for us to play it back so we can enjoy a game together! Playing ping-pong is just a metaphor here really. God longs to communicate with us, every day, all the time! And there are so many ways He longs to do this! He is very inventive and create, you know! :-)

So next time a ping-pong ball from God is flying my way, I want to engage! I want to play it back and see what happens! I want to ask questions. I want to search it out. The more I will do this, the more skilled I will become in playing ping-pong, I'll have more amazing and thrilling games with my Papa in heaven. And when I decide to start a game of ping-pong with Him, I know He'll respond. And as I'm doing this, I will realise that, rather than God engaging in my life, I am engaging in HIS life!

Our being engaged with God shows we are preparing for a wedding, after all! :-D

Pink pelican

 When I went to school, I was an outcast. I was hated, despised, ignored, ridiculed and abused. If you are asking me at which of the schools I went to, I have to reply: All of them! I am not one of those who think back of those "good old school days" nostalgically. I hated school, and it felt like prison to me.

Now... what does this have to do with grace? 

I find that God is the best at healing even a painful, ugly and shameful past that can't seem to be made undone. Especially not the heart-wrenching memories that sneak up on you at will.

Just as I was reading through the blog of a lady that has inspired me in my walk with God over the years, I stumbled across something that might mean nothing to most people. To me, it was a healing God-nudge. A gentle touch of grace.

The lady blogger put a picture on her blog of herself petting a pink pelican. While thinking that this was a really cute picture, I suddenly stopped - and remembered. 

I remember that day at school. I was giving an answer to my teacher in a context I don't remember, but I do know that I meant to say "pink flamingo". For some reason I mixed up birds in my head and said "pink pelican", and the whole class exploded in mocking laughter. "Pink pelican, hahaha! How stupid..." Now, if you're wondering why I was so "touchy" - a silly 'mistake' like this would be thrown in my face for weeks or months on end, to point out how terribly stupid I was. This was only one of many occasions, but it was one more puzzle piece to a very sad picture of my everyday life as a school girl.

Now I was sitting here, staring in unbelief at the pink pelican picture. And to make sure I wasn't looking at a plastic bird by accident, I googled "pink pelican", and - lo and behold - they do exist! :-)

Yes. I do feel laughter arise! While thinking I had mixed up the two birds, said something wrong by accident and made a fool of myself (yet again!), I was saying something right. Pink pelicans do exist! My God was watching the scene those years ago, smiling knowingly because He knew I was right and they were wrong. I don't feel like executing revenge on those kids who were just looking for another reason to mock the class fool. (Had the class fool been someone else - I might have done the mocking myself!) 

Nope. No revenge. I'm just feeling like Papa God hasn't forgotten that little, yet painful memory. I can see Him smiling so warmly at me. He looks at me and sees no fool. He looks at me and loves me. With one little gesture He has deleted yet another sting in my heart. May all mockers and former class fools experience that loving grace. It's releasing joy and peace. I'm so rich.

Born to fly!

 In the last days, we could hear increasing screams from our rooftop just above our little flat. As we live only 5 walking minutes away from the sea, we realized that a seagull baby was living on our roof, fast growing in size and volume. We hear its little feet go "tap-tap-tap" as it's walking around on the roof, sometimes it even chooses to sit on our bathroom skylight, which reveals the "baby" is actually relatively grown up, only the colour and the voice is still quite distinguished from proper adult seagulls. It's so interesting to observe how the parents, who cared for their baby so well for a while, keep flying off for longer periods of time - not so much to find food for their child anymore, but actually to encourage it to be brave and making an attempt to fly so it can leave the roof it has known for about six weeks now. The cries of the baby sound quite desperate at times, I'm sure it must feel abandoned and doesn't quite get why the parents who have so wonderfully looked after it all this time are now refusing to feed it and leave it to it's own devices on that roof more and more.

But - there is a whole big world out there! A world full of adventures, beautiful views from the air, a sea full of delicacies to feed on... and the parents know this! They know and they don't want their child to miss out! After all, they can see it's now big enough to use those amazing wings. The wind is ready to do its part to lift the little grown-up and carry it higher and higher...

Do you feel like God is abandoning you where you're at, and that the spiritual food you were used to is no longer being provided in the measure it was in the past? Maybe Father God can see how you've grown and matured with excitement, and now He is taking off and beckoning you follow Him, to leave your very familiar spot on your "roof" to see what more He has to show you "out there". You may feel like the roof you're on is the safest place in world, as far as you can see now, the views from that spot are pretty good - why risk loosing what you know in trying to use wings you have never used before? After all, you might fail! You might fall! What if you do and can't get back up on your roof again?...

When Father God calls you and encourages you to fly, He only does this because He knows you are capable of flying, and because YOU WERE MADE TO FLY! Will you spread your wings and let the wind of His Spirit take you out to sea? Out to see? Leave the familiar... leave what you have known! It's time to fly!

Say good-bye to "Independence Day"

Times are changing. We are walking into a new day. People in many different nations have been celebrating the "Independence Day" over many years. The impression has come that God wants to pronounce a new day for the church (especially in the western world) - a "Dependence Day".

Many Christians have been living their lives mainly by and for themselves. They have put God on the sideline of their lives, treating Him like a hobby, a feature, an "interest" next to many other activities and interests in their lives. Independence has been equated with freedom. We have not lived our lives in obedience to and for the glory of God, we have instead lived in obedience to our own convenience, comfort and selfishness. Our own glory has been our main drive and goal. This is a dangerous state to be in.

What is true freedom?

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

What have we been set free of? Sin. And - our own mastery! 

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." 2 Corinthians 5:14

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:4

If we believe that it's "normal" and "fine" to live for ourselves, we are deceiving ourselves.

"For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Romans 14:7-8 

We need to embrace the truth if we want to make our lives count for something.

"(Jesus says:) I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

It's time to embrace a new day - the "Dependence Day". It's time to submit ourselves to God fully, to make Him our foundation, our only source of security and provision (instead of our jobs, family, friends, health insurance, the government etc.).

The shaking around the earth will increase rapidly. Everything will be shaken that can be shaken. Only if we are learning to be fully dependent on God, we will be able to stand. It starts with a choice.

Made for eternity

Made for eternity - big words.

Reality is: Our day-to-day lives are very present to us. All the stuff that our "here and now" is made of, is always before us: Our family, our job, school, hobbies, our health. We feel save and are happy if it's going well (when the bills get paid, we are successful, we get to enjoy life, we're healthy and fit), and we struggle if it's not going too well. Our efforts are concentrated on making it go well as far as we can, so the here and now is good as possible.

At the same time, reality is: Things that seem very big to us, very dramatic, significant, even essential, are sometimes smaller than they seem. To us, we are the centre of the universe in our lives, but how much time have we got on planet earth? What in our lives is going to last?

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4, 13-14

In our relationship and walk with God, things that can seem insignificant, pointless and futile at times, mean so much more than we often realise.

At times, when we pray, we wonder: "Where, after all this time, is the answer?"

When we worship, we sometimes ask: "Where is the glory? Is His presence really here?"

When we give love, time and time again, we might think at times: "Where is the appreciation? Does it even matter - the word of love I speak, the gesture of love I make, the heartfelt love I invest?"

To not lose our hope and set our priorities right, we need to always maintain a heavenly perspective. If we don't learn to live our lives out of a heavenly mindset and with an eternal perspective through the Holy Spirit, we'll continue to shovel precious gifts like our love, time and resources into a bottomless pit.

How do we keep a heavenly perspective, then?

This heavenly perspective is necessary on three levels: concerning our life on earth, and concerning our position and destination.

"For we live by faith, not by sight." 2. Cor. 5, 7

 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Col. 3,2

If we know Jesus and have received the gift of eternal life through Him, planet earth is not only just a temporary place to be, but we have a parallel position we need to be aware of:

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." Eph. 2,6

In order to set our priorities right in the visible and invisible, in the present and for eternity, we need to remind ourselves what will remain when all is said and done:

  God - and people.

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17,3

Knowing God is eternal life. We can know God more every day, by talking to Him, listening to the voice of His Spirit that lives inside of us, by reading His word (Jesus is the living Word!) and by sharing every part of our lives with Him.

"...‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.'" Luke 10, 27

The first commandment needs to come first in our lives, always. Everything else has to submit to this command - otherwise we're missing the point and purpose of life completely.

"....He has also set eternity in the human heart..." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Eternity is in our hearts right now, no matter how hard some people will try to deny this and insist that with death, nothing will be left of us and we will be non-existent. Every person chooses where he or she will spend eternity - in the presence of God, or away from Him, which is hell.

As born-again believers, our Spirits have come to life, eternity has begun, no matter if we feel it or not. Our life doesn't need to be a meaningless, empty blob, spiralling downwards, without purpose.

Touching God with our worship, words and our love is like touching eternity, as He is the one filling us with His eternal Spirit.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20

Whatever we invest into God now, and into loving others, is our eternal inheritance. And God - who is perfect love impersonated - will be our greatest reward. We are made for eternity - let's live accordingly.

Back to base camp

I'm on a journey. For me, living this life is more than an endless chain of getting up in the morning, eating, working, eating, going to bed at night, and the same the next day. It's not a stroll through the park, feeding the pigeons and going back home - walking in circles. Instead, for me, life is the journey up the mountain.

It's a constant way upwards. And the climb up the mountain is challenging. It's thrilling, exhausting, sometimes painful, yet exhilarating. The very fact that I'm moving upwards doesn't mean it feels good all the time. The higher I climb, the thinner the air gets. It takes the body time to adjust to every new stage of height, and that, apart from the effort of climbing, isn't very pleasurable.

But the higher I climb, the view gets better. It gets more amazing, and the higher I am up this mountain, the further I can see. Every success gives me a boost to move on. Every breath-taking view promises more beauty to see as I keep going.

But what do I do if the weather gets bad? Or if I'm getting too tired, too worn out? What happens if I have trouble breathing?

If I'm facing the rock in front of me for too long, that is all I see. Grey, hard stone. The higher I climb, the lesser flowers and plants I get to see. But I need to face the rock wall because if I'm not in a secure place yet, looking backwards in order to see how high up I've come can cause me too stumble and fall.

But what if I have lost my way? I mean - seriously lost it? I don't know where my position is, where I need to go and if I have enough strength or air to do the next step and climb any higher. My head is full of the theory of the mountain and climbing it, in my mind I've got it all figures out, but my body simply can't do any more. I'm lost. Completely exhausted and lost.

When that happens, there is one thing I must do: Go back to base camp.


That doesn't mean I'm giving up. And it doesn't mean I'm not going to reach the top of the mountain eventually. But if I don't go back now, I could seriously risk of never reaching it and dying on the way up!


So - back to base camp, now.


God - is - love.
God - loves - me.
Jesus - died - and - rose - for - me.
I - belong - to - God - through - Jesus.


That is where the journey began. If I rest in that place, long enough, and then start again, knowing that this remains true all the way up, I might just get a little further the next time.

The essence of life

What is the essence of life, the very substance of our existence?

It must be more than mere matter, more than wood, stone and glass. It must be more than light or darkness, gravity or air, blood or skin. Deeper, higher, richer in content than everything touchable, and yet untouchable for our hands.

The things that matter most to us, are shapeless - love, pain, joy, passion, compassion - and yet they shape our souls, express themselves without a clearly defined image, still so undeniably.

Putting God - the Creator and the very essence of life indeed - into a shape, box or frame - is absurd and reflects our human foolishness, puts it on shameless display.

God is beyond - and yet so close. Higher, greater, stronger, holier, more loving, more compassionate, more of everything... and yet His breath flows through us, inside of us... beyond oxygen and carbon dioxide... our spirit already knows this.

It was made to love Him.

God doesn't want employees, but children!

When you're looking at a job advertisement, most of the time the first thing you read is the description of the position. Then you'll find the essential requirements that are necessary to fulfill the role, and without which you don't even need to consider applying.

For some reason, sometimes we do slip into acting like employees towards God, thinking about all the requirements we need to fulfill, especially when we are watching other "super Christians" who seem to "have it all".

Putting it into a job advert form, we could picture something like this:

Description of position: Being a Christian, respresenting God in this world at all times, 24/7, being an embassador of Christ, holy, perfect and righteous in every way.

Requirements:

• Friendly, loving, kind, patient, joyful, humble
  
• Always striving for peace
• Hard-working, praying at all times
• Healing the sick, raising the dead
• Always putting everybody else first
• Preaching the gospel at every opportunity
• Being thankful in every circumstance
• Denying yourself and taking up your cross daily

If you're like me, you'll probably think: I will NEVER meet these requirements perfectly as long as I live on this earth. I don't match up with those high standards, I'm not able, I'm not worthy...

But hey - wait a second:

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...

(John 1:12)

Wow... this sounds good. So much better than being an employee!

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends... (John 15:15)

Amazing, I'm a friend of God? That reminds me that - even in the job world - you sometimes are lucky enough to get a position you don't qualify for, when you have a relationship or personal connections with the boss. And this is how it works with God. You don't get to be His child by "matching the requirements", which you'd never ever meet anyways, but Jesus has made the way so you have the privilege of relationship!

And yes, a boss wouldn't necessarily let His employee come very close to Him and inform Him about all the confidential stuff... But a friend, or a child gets to know all the secrets, and receives insights employees could only dream about!



How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1 )

Ok. So - this is what I need to remind myself of. I might not be a perfect child, but I'll make every effort to be a better child every day so Dad is even more proud and happy. But if I do fail, I know I won't get "fired" - because I'm still a child who is loved, and I get another chance!

I'm a child, not an employee! And that's good, really good!

Be who you already are!

There may be times when we feel like we are not performing as well as we think we should.

Maybe, we can't help but think:

"God has done so much for me, but I'm failing so many times... I just don't deserve his forgiveness. I need to do better, try harder, so I'm worth being called 'a child of God'."

But listen, Ephesians 2:8 says: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

You can not earn being a child of God by performing well - it is grace! Pure grace!

You might be a "work in progress", and yes, there might be some things that God needs to change in you - like in all of us - but right now, just as you are, you are a child of God, if you have accepted the sacrifice Jesus made for you on the cross.

So, just stop for a moment and simply BE - be what you are already:

God's child, fully loved.

Buy now, pay later!

Nobody is perfect when it comes to finances, and we can all improve the way we spend our money. Of course we should not be tight and hold on to our money as if it were the ultimate protection shield to save us from any kind of crisis. On the other hand, we need a lot of wisdom and calculative sensitiveness on how to spend every single quid - it all adds up.

One thing which I never felt comfortable with is the way how it is possible in our western culture to spend even the money we don't (yet) have - and we are not talking about the "smaller" stuff here! We're talking about TV's, computers, cars and even houses that are bought with money that is not yet in our hands. Sign the contract - feel powerful! And don't bother reading the small print, just the usual formalities! Buy now - pay later!

Isn't it strange that in such cases, we will always end up paying more than the actual value of what we purchased in the first place? I am not intending to boycott today's methods of purchase and sale, but it made me think further.

When we see stuff in this life - even non-material things - that we really want to have, the last thing we need is an invisible, but tempting tag that comes with it: Buy now, pay later...

I do feel like rolling my eyes when I hear yet another sermon on "resisting the pleasures of this life", presented in a religious, dusty language, but this is about the real stuff in life! I have come to learn that, as I am not the most patient person on planet earth, I have often been in such a hurry to want certain things without bothering to think about the price plus interest - but sooner or later, I was being confronted with the contract I signed when getting the thing I wanted here and now.

Buy now, pay later... When your "later" becomes your "today", it is often a bitter pill to chew on, when you wish you could just swallow and get it out of the way. We can't change the past, but we can from now on choose to ask God for the wisdom and patience to rely on His timing for the things we desire.

Maybe we should ask ourselves:

Why do I want this particular thing so much? Why do I feel like I can't wait? Do I have the expectation to live a happier and more satisfied life if I am getting this thing now, which means: Do I rely on having this thing now for my happiness, instead of finding joy, peace and satisfaction in God's love?

The wall and the sledge hammer

As I sat in church some weeks ago, I had a conversation with God. I told Him about some circumstances that seem like a massive wall in my life at this time, blocking the way to bigger things I want to do with and for God. As I sat there, desperate and passionate at the same time, I said to God: "Lord, I am so desperate about this thing. This wall seems too big and strong and tall - I wish I could just take a sledgehammer and break it all down violently! I just want to move on and I don't want to wait any longer!"

Suddenly, before my inner eyes, the whole scene changed, as God was whispering His response into my heart.

"There is another way to get rid of this wall. And it is an even better way! If you let me, I will help you take this wall down, brick by brick, piece by piece. If you're using a sledgehammer, you will destroy all the bricks. But if you will work together with me, we will take this wall down, which will take a lot of energy and patience. But when we've done that, you will see that there is a rift right behind where the wall once stood! Then, we will use the bricks to build a bridge, a stable and strong one that you can walk over to cross the rift. But that is not everything - there will actually be other people who will be using the same bridge that you and I have built together!"

Sometimes, all we want is to escape the difficulties that seem to stand in our way, because it's just been too long, and this wall really looks so big! But if we allow God to take over, He will create something useful and very strong out of the very thing that seems to hold us back right now!

How does prayer work?

Don't we sometimes wonder, what prayer really does, if it works, and - if so - how? When our prayers are answered quickly, we don't take the time to think much about it. At times we might thankfully receive our answer, help or solution and praise God for it. But, if you are like me, many of your prayers won't be answered right away. And I am not saying that there is a way we can understand prayer fully or define it clearly. Most of all, it matters that our prayers are pointed to the right person, rather than the words we are using, or whether we are standing, sitting or kneeling. Jesus is a person, and He is the one our prayers are to be addressed to. Prayer is not a method or a religious ritual, it means "talking to God", basically. But prayer is more than mere conversation! It activates God to move on our behalf. If our lives belong to God and our hearts are genuine, He will do everything to work out the best for us. Prayer allows God to get involved in our lives and take over, and to answer the prayer in His way - which is always the best anyway - and His time. And God's timing is perfect. I have had times where I prayed for the same thing over and over again, without seeing a result. And I wondered: Does it make any difference at all, if I keep praying for this issue? Does God not listen? Sometimes, when we are praying, it's like cutting a key into the right and perfect shape to open an specific door. It's a process that can take many steps and quite a long time, depending on how complex the lock is. Some doors need brand-new keys because they were never opened before! As we keep praying without ceasing as the Bible says (1.Thessalonians 5:17), we don't always see the process with our human eyes because it's happening in the spirit! But our prayers do have an effect, and if what we are praying for is a) the will of God and b) good for us and / or others, we will one day hear God say: "My child, the key is ready! It has got the right shape now! I am putting it in the door for you, and all you need to do is use the handle - and the door will swing wide open!"

Faith needs expectancy!

Philemon 1:22 "And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers." 

When Paul writes these words to Philemon, he is behind prison bars, not the most pleasant place to be for a mighty man of God. For sure he must have felt limited or down at times, he didn't even have a TV, newspaper or anything else to entertain him there. But this statement that he makes here is quite amazing. Although his circumstances are not looking very positive, he puts faith into the prayers of his fellow brothers and sisters, and he hopes and expects to be released as the answer to their prayers. So, he asks them to prepare a guest room for when he is going to come. There is no place for "in case God doesn't move, what are we going to do then..." 

Faith doesn't have power if it's focused on chance, or on people, or feelings. But it is amazingly powerful when it's invested in God who created heaven and earth. And it becomes even more powerful if we are putting action and expectancy into it. We are doing our part, we are taking the first step, because we are expecting God to move and answer our prayers, and the prayers of others. This doesn't mean that we are trying to make things happen ourselves. But it shows God that we are counting on him, not just with our words or thoughts, but with our whole being. And it releases God to respond to our trust, and to move in power. 

Where does your faith need some expectancy added to it?

"Tiredness can kill - take a break!"

Here in England, every once in a while you see a road sign next to the motorways, which says: "Tiredness can kill - take a break!" It probably caught my attention in a special way because in Germany, my home country, or other countries I've been to, I had never seen such a sign. It is quite a strong statement, but it is very true. 

Some people, especially truck drivers and those who are on the road on a regular day basis and for long travels, are in constant danger of falling asleep, even if it's only a second or two, getting themselves into big danger, as well as others. You cannot function properly when you are tired. You cannot keep yourself out of danger when you are exhausted, worn out and suffer from a lack of sleep. On the road, and elsewhere, too. 

 Last week, I did not get the amount of sleep I needed in order to feel comfortable, fresh and energetic at work. At the end of the week, I was very tired, annoyed with everyone and every little thing, and I bet it wasn't that nice for the others to be around me as well. 

If we are extremely busy, rushing here and there, doing one thing, then making a visit, doing our work, taking care of our homes etc., we need to take out times to rest, to relax and upload our batteries. You can make your time of rest even more complete and effective, if you unload your worries, stress, frustrations and tensions at God's throne, His mercy seat, so you can receive inner peace, strength, comfort and healing. 

 Without times of rest, and without letting God restore you on a regular basis, you can become so worn out in the end, that it can make you sick - and eventually kill you, spiritually and otherwise as well. Don't let this happen. Enter God's rest, focus on Him, and you will feel the difference. And be sure, people around you will, too. 

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God." 

  Hebrews 4:1 "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it."

Watching others graze

 

How does it feel when you are standing in front of a green, lush meadow, smelling the sweetness of all the flowers growing there - you are standing there and you just want to walk right on. Suddenly you realize that there's a high fence between you and this wonderful meadow. You are trying to climb over it, to remove it somehow, you are sweating, making efforts and wearing yourself out, just trying everything to reach this meadow... 

While doing that, you see others simply walking on it, filling their empty stomachs, lying down on the meadow, enjoying the sun shining down, the soft breeze on their skin. You can see their happy faces. Their satisfaction, their joy. You want that, too! You want it so much! You are wondering: "What entrance are they using? How did they get there? Why are they allowed to enjoy this and I can't?" 

 This is just a picture of how I felt for a long time. I had a dream. I had a vision. My heart desired to move forward for God, to serve Him, to step out of the ordinary and just to make a difference, advancing His kingdom. While I was trying to get involved in all kinds of things I thought would fulfil exactly that goal, I was watching others doing exactly what I wanted to do. I saw them enjoying it, I saw them working in the areas I really wished to work in. I saw them traveling, exploring new territory geographically, spiritually... and all I could do was: Watch. Watch. Sit. Wait. Watch. It was a hard place to be in. 

Hardly anyone could understand how I felt. I believe today with all my heart that God has a reason for everything. He knows when, how, what, with whom etc. He knows which lessons we need to learn, and which training is the best for us to be a useful tool in His hands once He is moving us on. We might not always understand. 

I don't fully know all the things I had to learn, the reason why I was just able to "watch from a distance" for quite a while. But God knows. He's all-knowing. He doesn't mess things up. We're too precious for Him! And where ever we see ourselves right now: Watching and waiting, being "right in there, doing the stuff", God doesn't keep a distance to us. Never ever. He'll be close to us, while we are "on the shelf", and He'll stick with us while we're "in use". 

I think the mistake I really made was, focusing too much on the meadow I couldn't approach, focusing too much on the fence, while Jesus was beside me all the while, waiting for my attention, waiting for me to learn the lessons, to listen to Him, to receive from Him right where I was. 

While on the shelf: I want to use the time to focus on Jesus, to enjoy the time with Him, which will make it much more endurable. When I'm "in use": I want to make sure I am not getting too involved and too busy not to spend time with Jesus, because that'll make me weak - too weak to give my best for God. And it might even result in putting me back on the shelf!

Coffee Evangelism

I'm a German, living and working in the UK. We Germans have strange habits, such as eating "hard, heavy bread" and drinking "strong, black coffee". When it comes to coffee, I am not willing to make compromises. I especially love the all famous (at least in Germany :-) ) Senseo coffee pads (no worries, I am not getting paid to say this). Nothing compares to the fragrance that spreads around the room when the coffee slowly fills the cup. Once the cup is full, the creamy top just invites you to take the first sip while being flooded with the delicious aroma and taste. I just LOVE it! After one cup, all tiredness is gone, I feel refreshed, satisfied and a biiiig smile settles on my face. Oh yah, that is what good coffee can do. It gets even better if I am able to share the coffee with a close friend, having a nice chat, talking about the silly or deep things of life.

As there is a Senseo coffee machine in the office (God MUST have inspired someone to buy it JUST for me in advance, I am the only one who is using it), I am always going to the Marketing department, getting my treat for the day. And as the weeks went by, I slowly got more people wanting to have a "real" good German coffee, not this instant, tasteless stuff... The good stuff!!

What made people want to try my coffee? They wouldn't know in advance how good it is! And what makes them want to have more once they tried it?

Well... This is what we call "coffee evangelism"! First there is someone, doing something odd. Using a weird looking machine. What would that be for? And these strange coffee pads... Hm. Then, when the coffee is prepared, they smell the aroma... Hmmmm. Wow!! That smells just wonderful! So intense and good and... then they see what's in my cup. Looks delicious too. Creamy top, tempting. And then they see the effect the coffee has on me. Puts a biiiiig smile on my face, revives me, refreshes me, gives me this special look in the eyes... And if I just add a few comments about how much I enjoy it, they're nearly there!

And when they are tired in the morning or after a heavy lunch, all I need to do is remind them that I have this really delicious coffee that would surely wake them up and help them - besides the fact that it is sooo yummy!

Finally, the first colleague said: "Ok, I'll try." And she tried. And said: "Hm... You were right. Wow. It's so good!!" And of course I had to prepare an extra coffee for her the next day! And this is how it really happened, in the end I needed to prepare coffee for quite a few colleagues, but I was happy to do so, because I knew the coffee would do for them what it did for me.

Sounds a bit overdone to you? It's just coffee!!

Well, absolutely right. But I am pointing something out here!

This is how it's supposed to work with us Christians, too! Spreading the sweet aroma of Jesus! The fragrance! Showing what Jesus does in our lives, how He affects us and how He helps us and puts joy into our hearts. Adding some words of truth and encouragement in the right moment... And be sure people are going to be drawn by what we have!

Let them come!

Let them come!

Oh you shaky knees
stand firm, will you!
What do they have
against you?

Your massive fears
are only placebos
stop wasting time
it's just not real.

Sound a barbaric clamour
let them come!
Those who are marching out
against you
they are marching out
against the LORD of hosts!

And oh no, it's not
because you're good or strong
it's not what you own
neither anything you could have earned
achieved, deserved or learned

but it's just for the LORD's great mercies
His love and patience for you
and what He did through His SON

so don't you tremble
don't you fret
hold your head up high

and when they're here
you simply say:

"I belong to the SON
so let them come!"

Isaiah 42:13 "The LORD will march out like a mighty man, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies."

"Kiss me when I'm clean"

Today when I wanted to go take a shower, I went to the bathroom passing by my hubby who already had his shower. He was smelling fresh and nice - other than me ;-) . When I was walking by him, he sent me an air kiss - and feeling "unworthy" of a kiss before getting clean myself, I smiled and replied: "Kiss me when I'm clean." 

Just when I had spoken the words, something happened. Maybe it was Jesus whispering a bit of wisdom into my heart. Don't know about you, but I sometimes feel like I need to fix everything and be all sorted out and "clean" and nice before getting close to Jesus. Maybe it's because of certain teachings I heard, maybe it's because I just don't want to be embarrassed in front of God because I am still a sinner, still full of mistakes and failures. In Luke 15 we're reading something else, let's see how the father received the prodigal son: (v. 20 - 22) So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.' 

If we are reading the whole story, we know that when the father kissed the son, he just came back directly from the pigs. Not the most pleasant fragrance. And surely the son didn't look clean either. The father could have said: "Son, nice to see you, I'll forgive you and kiss you, but please take a shower first, no idea where you've been but you stink!" 

When Jesus tells us to come to him, he says it knowing that he's the only one who is capable of really cleaning us. So there's no sense in even trying to clean ourselves - we can't. Jesus doesn't want us to be all fixed and clean when we come to him. 

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

walk on it - a poem

walk on it 

when jesus found me 

i was drowning

in the waters of despair

he sent his love down

and pulled me up

into his loving care

just to put me back

into the waters

deeper and deeper

step by step

so i would learn to swim, to dive

his holy spirit leading me

instructing me teaching me, reaching me

when i was in danger or drifting too far

when jesus taught me

i was scared and thought

that i would fail

but he kept cheering me on

until he lifted off the veil

when i learned to swim, to dive

and thought "wow, this is great"

ready to lean back and relax

cos i thought i'm through

the lesson is learned

now i'm fianlly there

but suddenly i heard his voice

calling me to the waters again

and when i asked,

"what's left to do"

the answer was:

"now walk on it"