THANK YOU

Today people wish "Happy Thanksgiving" to everyone, not realizing that many recipients of this joyful and well-intentioned wish will not be happy because their thoughts and emotions are clinging to the memory of someone they have lost. Whether it was a few months ago or a few years ago, it doesn't matter. Loss is not a wound that heals, but rather a scab that breaks open every time you touch it.  And today is one of those days.

But thank God, days like this don't have to be just a reminder of what we've lost, but they can be a reminder of what a great blessing we've received.  Even if it didn't last as long as we would have liked.

Those who have faith in Christ know that our relationships aren't just for a little while, but for all eternity.  God may have temporarily interrupted our physical connection with those we love, but He has promised a reunion with them in the future.  His promise is meant to give us hope, peace, and strength right here, right now.  

Whatever pain we experience, this is not the end of the story! I believe that this is a good reason to be thankful for today.

It may not be a "Happy" Thanksgiving, but it can still be a day of gratitude, where tears of hope and joy replace despair. We are "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10).
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

SUFFERING

Suffering and death are the harsh realities of this world and this life.  They are an inseparable part of our existence, and no amount of wishful thinking can change that fact. 

Biblically speaking, it is the consequence of sin, which infiltrates every aspect of our lives. A truth that cannot be sugarcoated.

The only hope amidst this suffering is that those who have faith in Christ, will realize that our human existence is very brief in the grand scheme of eternity, and that only through Christ we can see and accept, that this world is not our home, and that our trials and sufferings serve a divine purpose, because there is a greater plan at work.

With this perspective, we are able to face every trial with joy, peace, and hope, and we can develop a healthy, but sincere longing for the life to come.

IS GOD EVIL?

“You are an omniscient, omnipotent Creator of the universe.  You created some people, tied them up, placed them on a railroad track and make a train hurtle towards them. You promise to save them if they accept that You are the creator of this situation. Are You evil?”

Someone posted this on Facebook a few days ago and I wondered if these people were serious or if our culture is now displaying its stupidity with pride.

These are “gotcha” arguments often made by individuals who lack knowledge about God, the story of God, the story of humankind, or the story of salvation. They oversimplify their anti-God sentiment by creating a distorted image based on their irrational perception of what they believe God to be. 

But how do you respond to such nonsense?  And 'yes' I call it nonsense, because these arguments are rarely intended to initiate a genuine and enlightening conversation. Instead, they are used solely to prove a point and win an argument - a typical, flawed strawman argument.

But often it is the silent, curious observer who eagerly awaits a response to this accusation. And as a believer, we better have a compelling one.

First of all, what's wrong with this metaphor is the ‘tied people on the track’.  God did not tie people up and put them on a track to make them believe or go to hell.  No, He told them not to go near the track, but if they felt they had to, they certainly could, because they were created with free will.

God did not create evil, nor is He evil.  God created man into perfection, but man sinned and messed everything up because of their free will. God's creation chose evil, and evil was passed down from generation to generation, destroying the world itself.

We are born into sin and God has offered and not forced the opportunity to be saved from that sin by accepting the gift of salvation that comes only through Jesus.

When we came into this world we were already dead.  But God who loved the world so much wanted to give us life, and He paid a price for that - Jesus. 

What are we going to do with this gift of life? And who is truly the embodiment of evil in this world?

FEARS & WORRIES - WILL THEY EVER GO AWAY?

My fears and worries can be overwhelming at times.  They can feel like a terrifying monster lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce at any moment.

I'm aware that I have to realize that the reason I'm afraid is because I don't consider that God's presence is with me. Once I realize that God is indeed with me, my fears and worries will subside. With God's presence, I also gain access to the comfort of His promises, His peace, His protection, and His provision.  

God knows me from the inside out, and His desire is to inspire me to find my courage and strength in Him alone. But my fallen humanity is stubborn and wants to hold on to its independence and self-sufficiency. It makes it hard to let go of myself and completely fall into the arms of God.  But that's what I must do.

We are given permission to let go of fear because God assures us that there is no need to be afraid when we are with Him. (Isaiah 41:10)

AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO NEVER HEARD OF JESUS ?

I’ve often asked myself: What happens to people who have never heard about Jesus? That seems like such an important question—one that has a lot to do with God’s justice and His nearness to us, no matter where we live or who we are.

It is comforting to know that God doesn’t hold people accountable simply because of what they don’t know. Instead, His judgment is based on how we respond to the truth we already do know (Luke 12:47-48).

Every human being carries deep within their heart an awareness of God. We often sense it unconsciously—in the beauty of nature, in the order of the world around us, and in the quiet voice of our conscience.

But there is a challenge: many people make the choice to ignore this awareness and close their eyes, even though deep inside they sense that God is real. That isn’t carelessness or a mistake—it’s a deliberate decision to reject the truth.

Romans 1:20 says that such people are “without excuse.” They cannot simply claim they didn’t know, because God has already revealed Himself through creation enough for them to recognize Him. Choosing to reject that truth leads to an eternity apart from God—which means the absence of all that is good.

But what about those who live on a remote island, people who have never heard the name of Jesus—the Messiah, the way to God and eternal life?

I firmly believe that God reveals Himself to those who sincerely seek Him and follow the hints He has placed in their hearts. Jeremiah 29:13 promises: “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Today we hear many moving testimonies, especially from the Muslim world, of people who encountered Jesus through dreams or personal experiences.

God gives every person the opportunity to find Him. This assurance should encourage us to seek Him with all that we are, to embrace the knowledge we already have, and to stay open to the ways He points us to Jesus.

Jesus Himself said that He and the Father are one (John 10:30) and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). This means that Jesus is God Himself, and the only way to eternal life with God—a life overflowing with love, joy, and every good thing.

When we follow Jesus, He promises us an unshakable foundation of hope and faith, one that strengthens and sustains us for this eternal fellowship with God.

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I WILL NEVER FORSAKE YOU

For the most part I "walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7), but too often, to my embarrassment, I seem to perceive God's faithfulness only in retrospect, and rarely when I look forward. And I ask myself, do I have faith in God only for what He has done for me?  For what I can see and evaluate, but not for what He has promised? 

Where is my faith that shows confidence in what I hope for. Faith that has assurance for the things I can't see? (Hebrews 11:1).

 

God assures me that He will never fail me, that He will never abandon me (Hebrews 13:5). Scripture is filled with God's positive promises, and I believe every one of them, yet my faith sometimes seems so small.

I guess the world with all its terror and lies can certainly distract and confuse me. That's why I have to constantly remind myself who God is and apply the things He has done in my life to the things He will do. 

 

He will never leave me and never forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:8). This is His promise, and I believe Him.

“All the promises of God find their Yes in him [Christ]. 

That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”
(2 Corinthians 1:20)

GOD IS GOOD - ALWAYS

 "Why trust God when he tortured Job, just to win a bet with Satan?"

Someone asked me this question a few weeks ago and I had to try to find an answer. For him, but also for myself.

The problem with finding a satisfying answer to the problem of suffering is that we are trying to figure out who God is by our own human standards of what is good and just.  

I am a follower of Jesus and I have objections and questions especially when it comes to suffering. For some of these unanswered questions that bother me as a mere human being, I will eventually find an answer, but for many other unanswered questions, I won't.  
I have to come to terms with the humbling truth that my knowledge is limited, and admit that "I don't know God, and I'm never going to figure Him out" - at least not in this life.

But here comes the thing that is beyond human understanding - Faith.

When I sum up what God has done, and what he is doing for humanity, I can only come up with the stereotypical Christian phrase: "God is good - always". Because He provided a way out of this present darkness, by suffering Himself.   This, of course, is not satisfying to those who seek to answer the never-ending questions of *why*.

The bottom line is that this life is nothing compared to what comes next for those who have found God, or rather Jesus. This life is a breath, a blip in the grand scheme of eternity. It is over as soon as it begins.  Should we risk waiting to find out if what is written, prophesied, and promised in the Word of God is true, or should we live with the hope, assurance, and joy that there is indeed an eternal life of bliss waiting for those who have walked in God's way?

There is a reason why the book of Job is in the Bible.  It tells us that we will suffer greatly in this life, emotionally and physically, but that God will restore and heal.

The inspired men who wrote the Bible weren't stupid, otherwise they would have removed all the parts that would cause objections, questions, and doubts. But questions and doubts are necessary to find answers, even if the answer is simply to trust in God (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Despite my lack of understanding of God and my many unanswered questions, I still say, "God is good - always".

A SAD GENERATION

This is a generation that cannot deal with the past and therefore cannot see a future.

A generation that claims to live in the moment, but hates the moment it lives in.

A generation misinformed about itself and its human depravity.

A generation that has never understood the power of overcoming and moving forward.

A generation that is now being forced to open its eyes to a terrible reality and its inept efforts to change the world.

A generation that will repeat history because they weren't taught to learn from it.

 

Yet - 

this is also a generation that craves authenticity and despises hollow clichés.

A generation fierce in its convictions, yet fragile with deep sensitivity, 

haunted by a profound sadness.

And still - 

a choice remains:
to turn bitterness into wisdom,
brokenness into humility,
longing into truth.

And in that truth, 

rests the seed of a hope that never fades -
a hope that reaches out and touches
the hand of something greater than themselves.

I BELIEVE IN EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE

Someone told me that as a former Christian whose faith has waned over the years, he now believes in empirical evidence and sound logic rather than "myths" and "wishful thinking".

When I hear such statements, I always doubt the person's claim to have been a Christian at all.  The definition of being a Christian is very narrow and doesn't leave room for interpretation.

First, it is important to distinguish between being "a Christian" and being "a Jesus follower", which can be two completely different things. The latter usually has occasional doubts, which is a normal part of being human, but in the end, their faith is unshakable.

On the other hand many honest "Christians" might write touching sermons or songs, devote themselves to church, do good deeds, and so on, but they may never have experienced the faith that comes from the hope of eternal life that Jesus promised. A faith "in Jesus" that not only hopes for the good things he can give me in this world, but also anticipates the suffering he allows, and despite the prospect of suffering, finds joy in my walk with him. A faith that doesn't need all the answers the world tries to find.  A faith no matter what. (Hebrews 11:1)

When that faith is not there, it's easy to walk away and side with "empirical logic," which seems convincing but has even fewer answers to our existence than faith can give.

If you ask such Christians if they think they will go to heaven, you usually get the answer "I hope so" rather than "absolutely". 

Faith is not dependent on empiricism, it is dependent on Jesus. (Romans 10:17)

SEARCHING - AND YET ALREADY FOUND

Lately, I’ve been looking back at my very first attempts to find God, and I had questions about why an unsaved sinner could be "in the presence of God."

I wondered why God would even reach out to someone like me—a lost being trying to figure out who God was or if He even existed at all. But maybe, the fact that I was searching for Him made Him want me to find Him even more  (which may not be perfectly theological, but it’s close)—Jeremiah 29:13.

And so now, as a born again believer, I find myself asking God why I could be important enough for Him to notice me, even when I was so unworthy, rebellious and far away from Him.

Then, in my spirit, I heard God say these words to me:
"Sin doesn’t surprise Me. I’m the One who let you live in it—but I’m also the One who loves you too much to just let you die in it." (Romans 3:23–24)

Looking back, I’m grateful that God didn’t wait for me to be "perfect" or have all the answers. He met me right where I was, in my questions and my doubts. And if He’s willing to do that for me, I believe He wants to meet anyone who’s searching—even if you’re still unsure or feel unworthy. That’s the kind of love and grace that changed my life, and it’s available to all of us.

If you’re on that journey too, keep looking—He’s closer than you think.

INTO THE HEART Of GOD

Ever since my wife died a few months ago, I feel like I tripped, and fell into the heart of God.
He is comfort in a seemingly never ending discomfort.
He is there with me just as He promised to be.
Not to prevent all of my calamities, but to carry me through them.
I love You Lord!

PEACE

Have you ever experienced the peace that comes from Jesus?

A peace that surpasses all understanding?  Philippians 4:7

Peace from the man who claims to be God, the person that says before Abraham was even born - I Am!   John 8:58

What is he saying?

He is saying that He was always there, even before the world began. 

He is saying: 'I am God, and I give you peace!'  John 14:27

                         Take it!

IF YOU DON'T

Last year I went through many doubts, hopes and fears, so that I had to surrender yet again and say: "Lord, forgive me! Whatever Your will is in my life, I will still love You, and praise You".  

So I wrote this song "If You Don't", which is inspired by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - (Daniel 3:17-18), and talks about the possibility of suffering and loss etc. but still praising God for who He is in spite of it.

I believe that this year, God tested my claim that I would praise Him no matter what, when He unexpectedly took my wife home to be with Him.
 

I still praise and worship God, even though I am sad that I am no longer with my wife. But heaven is my goal, and my hope has been lifted a thousand miles higher.

 

TEARS & TRUST

My wife unexpectedly went to heaven two weeks ago. I'm in shock, disbelief, and extreme depression. Many well meaning people are trying to encourage me by saying that I just "need time to heal". But I'm thinking what is this even supposed to mean - "healing from what?". My wife is etched into my heart and soul. We both knew that we were a gift from God to each other.  Now God has taken her home, away from me, for reasons that only He knows.

But I embrace my heavenly Father’s plan, which He is revealing only as far as I can see in the dark. I trust Him, and I hope He lets me live with an ever growing love for my wife so that I don't lose the depth of my longing to be with her again. I want my urge to be in heaven with Jesus and her to intensify, so that when God calls me home, I will have truly lived, with His strength and His guidance, for that moment.

Life will never be the same, which doesn't mean it has to be full of sadness. I'm maturing into the person God wants me to be in the end, and that's a good thing!