8.5.24

Hamas cannot agree to be destroyed.
Israel cannot agree that Hamas will not be destroyed.
There is no diplomatic solution to this.

Continue reading Israel october war 2023 →

Jesus says: ‘Eternal life has already begun. Whoever comes to living faith has eternal life (John 6:47).

The surprising thing is that eternal life begins when we connect with Jesus.

We are not followers of Jesus in order to be with God one day. Rather, God wants to be with us and share life with us now. We are building a relationship with God now that will last for all eternity.

So our present life is not there to obtain eternal life with God. It is about divine life being revealed and experienced in the here and now.

In the temple, the first followers of Jesus took part in the public prayers and readings (Acts 2:46-47). At that time, there were no Bibles for individuals. So reading the Holy Scriptures together was an important part. Even today, reading the Bible together opens up new perspectives.

They celebrated together in their homes. These were probably Continue reading Together on the way →

Jesus goes to the heavenly Father (Acts 1:9-11) and thus clears the way for the direct work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7). The heavenly Father determines the time of his return (Acts 1:7).

With his ascension, Jesus has completed his first mission on earth. He has gone in the flesh to a real, otherworldly place. He promised to prepare dwellings there for his followers (John 14:2). Jesus has not vanished into a spirit world, but is seated at the right hand of the heavenly Father (Acts 7:56).

The two angels make it clear to the disciples that they should not dwell on the past, but live with the vision of the coming reign of God (Acts 1:11).

• You will be my martyrs 17. February 2024

At the end of the year, we take stock.

Jesus once said: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

This is where we draw up a profit and loss account and compare the two. What is profit? What is loss?

There is hope. One who balances the books. One who saves damaged souls and gives new life: Jesus Christ. He says: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest“ (Matthäus 11,28). No matter what the balance of your life looks like at the moment.

Before the end of the year, it is good to take a time out, give God our loss, surrender to God and start into the new year with God’s help.

Rashi, a Jewish scholar, made it clear: “When a person is judged, he stands alone before his Creator. He has no one to whom he can transfer responsibility (for his actions) or to whom he can hold himself accountable for his mistakes.”

What matters is not where we stand, but in which direction we are moving.

In the Torah, God promises a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18,18-19). What this prophet says has a normative value. Anyone who does not keep his words will be called to account by God himself.

Moses is not yet the promised man who can defeat evil (Genesis 3,15). There are many prophets in the Jewish Bible (Tanakh / Old Testament), but none became as important a figure as Moses.

In Exodus 34,10-12, personal relationship with God, miracles and signs are listed as characteristics of Moses.

Jesus says of himself that he has a relationship with the heavenly Father like no other (John 10,30) and that he hears the voice of God (John 8,28). His close relationship with the heavenly Father enabled him to work miracles. He is the first since Moses to heal a Jewish leper (Mark 1,42). He feeds thousands with loaves and fishes (Mark 6 / 8). He calms the storm and thus, like Moses, has power over nature (Mark 4). The honour and will of God are more important to him than his own life (Matthew 26:39). He says: Whoever sees him sees the Father (John 14,9). He is a deeply humble man (Philippians 2). He met Elijah and Moses (Matthew 17,2-3).

Jesus is like Moses, even more so. He explains the context of the Scriptures to his disciples. His message is revolutionary. So Jesus, with his deep relationship with the heavenly Father and his miracles, is the prophet like Moses promised in Deuteronomy 18,18-19.

Continue reading A prophet greater than Moses →

A strange story is told in Genesis 22: Abraham takes his son Isaac to Mount Moriah to sacrifice him at God’s command. At the last moment, God interrupts the event and provides Abraham with a sacrificial animal.

How can God command such a thing when He Himself has said: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed” (Genesis 9:6).

In Genesis 22, we read that Abraham trusted that he and his son would return: Continue reading Life through a sacrifice →

When we give Jesus what we have, he increases it to show people that there is enough for everyone.

John 6:9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”  …   11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. … 12 “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” … 13 So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”

The miracle becomes visible when the loaves are collected. In thanks we become aware of what God is doing in our lives.

Psalm 23:2 – Summer Impulse 2023

The word translated “still” has the Hebrew word for “comfort” in it, so restful, comforting waters.

This expression reminds of Isaiah 8:6-7: „Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks.”

In John 9:7 the name Siloah is interpreted messianically as “the sent one”.  The meaning is “water channel”.

We are invited to refresh ourselves with Jesus and his word.

Psalm 1:3 says, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”

Psalm 23:2 – Summer Impulse 2023

The Good Shepherd causes me to stretch out and lie down in pleasant grass or pastures.

The word translated as green has connotations of pleasantness, loveliness, something to be enjoyed.

It is the image that the Good Shepherd invites us to lie down in beautiful places.

The Hebrew word for Shepherd shares a root with the word for companion, or close friend.

Whatever happens in the future, good or bad, God will be there to look after me. I shall not lack anything.