In Mark 11:12-26, the Bible reports how Jesus searches in vain for fruit on a fig tree. Jesus then says that the tree will never bear fruit again and withers. A bizarre story. What is Jesus trying to say?
The story only makes sense if we understand it as a symbolic action (parable / symbol) by Jesus. Continue reading The withered fig tree
Jeremiah 17:5.7-8 is a call to wisdom.
Our decisions have consequences. We are challenged to think from the end and to stay with the source despite all opposition.
In the face of a hopeless situation, Jeremiah finds in God what sustains and nourishes him.
Those who trust in God will have everything they need to live, even in drought, even in difficult times.
The understanding of church has changed. Alternative models are currently being proposed. But church is more than just a meeting place for generations. In our church, we have discussed what motivates us to attend church services.
First and foremost is the presence of God. Jesus promised in Matthew 18:20 that he is among us. Something in the church service speaks to us. We are encouraged by conversations, singing together, prayers and friendly encounters.
For us, the focus is the Bible. Looking at the contexts and backgrounds opens up a new perspective on God, the world and ourselves.
The third point is the exchange after the service. Seeing each other regularly, asking questions or praying for challenging situations is a help for everyday life. Sometimes you get a advice on who you can turn to. Continue reading What motivates the church service
Paul and Barnabas go directly to Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:14-52). This is the first sermon by Paul that we know of, and it shows what is important to him.
Paul shows that through Jesus our lack has been overcome. The law does not cancel out our failing (sin) (Acts 13:38), but through reconciliation with God we receive forgiveness.
After a week of good dialogue and contact, jealousy arises. Paul and Barnabas are negated. Not for theological reasons, but out of pure envy.
Joseph’s brothers in the Old Testament were also envious and no longer had a kind word for him (Genesis 37:4, 11).
Paul quotes Isaiah 49:6 and announces that they will now turn to the gentiles (Acts 13:47).
Those who can rejoice in God despite opposition will be filled more and more with the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52).
more from Acts: https://jesus-news-israel.net/tag/acts/
Suddenly, the Holy Spirit (and not the church) called Saul and Barnabas to a new ministry. They went to the homeland of Barnabas in Cyprus.
In the Roman provincial capital, they were warmly welcomed by the governor Sergius Paulus. Cyprus thus became the first country in the world to be ruled by a Christian.
Elymas, the governor’s counsellor, shows how Satan wants to divert people from the path of faith. As a deceiver and enemy of all righteousness, he perverts the straight path of God (Acts 13:10). The movement of Jesus’ disciples was called “the way” at that time (Acts 9:2; 24:14).
Elymas earns what he is spreading: Darkness. Paul performs the first miracle. Now the name change takes place (verse 12). In resistance Saul becomes Paul – in resistance we are formed. Paul does not become proud, but small. Saul means the one who is prayed for. Paul means the little one.
more from Acts: https://jesus-news-israel.net/tag/acts/
January 6th is Epiphany. The day is also known as Theophany. This day is the second oldest Christian holiday after Easter. Before the calendar reform, it marked the beginning of the year.
Today, the revelation of Jesus’ divinity is celebrated on this day. Depending on the region and church, this day commemorates the birth of Jesus with the worship of the Jewish shepherds, the adoration of the wise men, the baptism of Jesus or the first miracle at the wedding in Cana.
We remember the story from Matthew 2:1-12.
There it is not written that the men were kings. The number is also unclear.
It is striking that only the astrologers knew about this star, but not the people in Jerusalem. Therefore, it cannot have been a comet.
If Jesus was born in 7 BC according to the meeting of the planet Jupiter and Saturn, Herod had the opportunity to meet the wise men and try to kill the child before his death in 4 BC.
The three gifts ensure the family’s survival as they flee to the Jewish diaspora in Egypt.
God knows what we need and when. Help came out of nowhere at just the right time.
God’s timetable is not always comprehensible to us. He does not protect us from difficulties, but he helps us through them. God’s timing and his help are what make up the Christian faith.
Why does the angel announce the good news of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds first?
In Luke 1:32, the angel says to Mary: ‘The Lord God will give him (Jesus) the throne of his father David’.
David was a shepherd in Bethlehem around 1000 B.C. In his insignificant task, his trust in God grew. David described the good shepherd in Psalm 23. Jesus said in John 10:11: ‘I am the good shepherd.’
The shepherds of Bethlehem mainly reared sheep for the sacrificial service in Jerusalem. They therefore had to make sure that the sheep were spotless. Now the experts come and discover the true Lamb of God.
The shepherds are the first witnesses that God’s word can be relied upon. It is worth listening to God, even if some things seem illogical at first glance. By addressing the shepherds, God shows that his salvation is for all people.
Sometimes we think that God should speak through people who are better suited for this. But God loves the testimony of ordinary people. The many small miracles are often more appealing than lofty theological thoughts.
In Luke 1, verses 28-30, the angel Gabriel says to Mary: ‘Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you! … Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.’
In Mary’s language it was probably: ‘Shalom (peace to you). God has chosen you. The Lord is with you. … Do not be afraid, you afflicted one. God is merciful to you.’
Mary first receives a promise from God. Her name is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam, which means ‘bitterness’ or ‘affliction’.
As she has to register on the tax list in Bethlehem and had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem despite her pregnancy, she could have been an heiress daughter (Genesis 36:8). This means that Mary would have had no brothers and would have been the owner of a family property. Perhaps the parents gave their daughter the name Bitterness because the son they had hoped for, did not come.
It is precisely with a young woman who grows up in difficulties that God wants to write history. The message is: however difficult your life may be, God looks at your heart, not your circumstances (1 Samuel 16:7).
In Luke 1:20, the angel Gabriel says to the Jewish priest Zechariah: ‘You will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things (the birth of your son) take place, because you did not believe my words’.
Decades of praying and hoping (verse 13) make Zechariah a realist. He knows that they are too old for a child. The angel’s words are surreal for him and come far too late. Like Sarah, Abraham’s wife, he considers it impossible to have a child. But that is precisely the point. John is a miracle of God. Miracles happen where our possibilities are at an end.
Zechariah becomes silent. This reminds us of the prophet Ezekiel, who also became silent so that his prophetic message would be all the stronger (Ezekiel 3:26-27). God can make something out of everything for his glory (Romans 8:28).
John’s birth at an impossible age is reminiscent of the promise to Abraham: ‘In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’ (Genesis 12:3). This is now fulfilled in the birth of the Messiah Jesus, whose forerunner John will be.
God acts illogically. He takes the failed and outcast (Luke 1:25) so that his power becomes all the more visible. Thus God says to Paul: ‘My power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9).
That gives us hope. It is precisely through my inability that God receives his opportunities. During the nine-month retreat, Zechariah finds his prophetic praise (Luke 1:68-79). Storms cause trees to take deeper root.
Who are these mysterious beings?
Angels are messengers from heaven. They are often invisible. In 2 Kings 6:17, Elisha asks God to open his servant’s eyes so that he can see the heavenly hosts around them.
In the spiritual world, there is a battle between the angels and the angels who have fallen away from God. This is what we read in Revelation 12:7 and in the book of Daniel chapter 10.
Angels always open a new chapter in the history of God’s salvation. God sends the Saviour to earth.
Even today, God speaks through the Bible, through people and through angels. Angels are fellow servants. This means that we do not focus on the angels, but on God. We talk to God and he commissions the angels. An angel will only do what God says.
It is exciting to think that God also wants to use us as his messengers (angels) by encouraging others, building them up and pointing them to God.
Perhaps sometimes an angel has to step in because there is no human messenger available at the crucial moment.