A relict of the God fearing swiss people, found in a fire station. Thats what I miss nowadays, people fearing and respecting God. God is basically ignored or even despised today.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
1 Kings 13, 1-5
God asked 'a man of God' to speak directly to Jerobeam at the time he was standing by the altar to sacrifice to idols. What a boldness it must have taken to speak in presence of the king to the altar words like 'On you priests will be sacrificed and human bones will be burned on you'. Do I have the boldness to talk about the Gospel?
Also I like the fact that in that bible verses no name is mentioned. To the man who brought Gods message is just referred to as 'a man of God'. I, we, could be one of that kind. No big name, but a humble 'man of God' who obeys Him and is not afraid.
The man was not afraid to talk to the king and he must have trusted and known that God is with him. And God was. Jerobeam commanded to seize him - immediately his hand shriveled up and he couldn't pull it back. God answered and interferred in the right time. Do I trust that God will deliver me in time of trouble? Do I believe that God has a perfect timing?
Also I like the fact that in that bible verses no name is mentioned. To the man who brought Gods message is just referred to as 'a man of God'. I, we, could be one of that kind. No big name, but a humble 'man of God' who obeys Him and is not afraid.
The man was not afraid to talk to the king and he must have trusted and known that God is with him. And God was. Jerobeam commanded to seize him - immediately his hand shriveled up and he couldn't pull it back. God answered and interferred in the right time. Do I trust that God will deliver me in time of trouble? Do I believe that God has a perfect timing?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Romans 8, 1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those, who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Holy Spirit, who gives life sets us free from the law of death and sin.
How important it is to grasp these truth daily. We are set free, we died from the law of death and sin. God payed a price for us! Especially if we face temptation that's our most powerful weapon. God bought us for a price, we are His!
How important it is to grasp these truth daily. We are set free, we died from the law of death and sin. God payed a price for us! Especially if we face temptation that's our most powerful weapon. God bought us for a price, we are His!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Authentität
Wie autentisch bin ich? Wenn ich lache, meine ich es ernst? Wenn ich freundlich bin, wie ist meine Herzenseinstellung? Erneut kann ich mir ein Beispiel an Daria nehmen. Als kleines Baby kann sie sich noch nicht verstellen, ist sie müde oder fühlt sich nicht gut - so schreit sie. Lächelt sie oder quitscht sie, so macht sie das von ganzen Herzen und drückt so ihre Fröhlichkeit aus. Dadurch ist sie authentisch und glaubwürdig. Werdet wie die Kinder...
Saturday, April 9, 2011
No prejudices
Our daughter now gets very interested in anything around her. This is especially noticable in a public place like in a shop or a plane. She doesn't stop looking at people and also smiling at them. I remember an incident in Migros where I noticed an odd looking couple which also didn't smell very pleasant. I kind of ignored them - our daughter did the opposite: she smiled at them! They immediately smiled back and waved at her. What an example what a smile without any prejudice before can do! In general our daughter seems to make all people around us smile... I thought about why and I think it's because people know that this innocent baby doesn't think bad about them, doesn't have any prejudices - she just smiles and is honestyle happy about seeing someone that interacts with her. And people respond the same way! How often do I meet people with this attitude? Another time Daria showed me what God means that we should be like the children.
God our father
In February my family and I spent a week in Moscow, Russia. It was the first big trip together with our 4 month old daughter.
The limited time we had we mainly used to see friends and to visit her relatives. My knowledge of Russian is not yet good enough to understand and join all the conversations so I had plenty of time to enjoy my daughter. And God has used this opportunity to reveal to me more about Him. Up until now I called God mainly God, Lord, rarely did I use the word “father”. One reason was that my relationship with my earthly father has never been particularly personal and profound. But through God’s wonderful creation, our little daughter, I got to understand God as a father figure much better. I want to share the following three experiences:
Each time we went to visit someone in Moscow our daughter was the center of attention! Everyone wanted to talk to her, hug her, kiss her, play with her or just to watch her. The parents were the second priority. In the evenings I actually missed my daughter even though I had spent the whole day with her. But what I missed was not her being ‘around me’, but her being just with me, sitting on my lap and giving me some moments of her full attention.
At the same time, I started to realize how little 'quality time' I dedicate to my heavenly Father. My life is full of distractions and activities and I tend to forget the most important thing: to just sit on the lap of my Father and to focus on Him alone.
Due to the time change and the new environment, it was not always easy for our daughter to fall asleep. In such moments she would turn in bed nervously and cry asking for the pacifier. Once it was in her mouth she would immediately spit it out and continue crying. Another thing she would usually do was to accept the pacifier but then remove it herself with a clumsy hand movement. It would of course be followed by crying because the pacifier was no longer in her mouth!
After ten or more rounds like this I found it very difficult not to lose my patience and understanding and to continue loving my daughter unconditionally.
But it made me aware of how many times I protested against my heavenly Father and complained afterwards. Too often I made wrong and selfish choices and spat out God’s ‘pacifier’. As a result I moaned in prayers about the results of my own actions. What I should do instead is to just accept his loving care in faith and to stop trying to do it my way.
One of the best experiences during our holidays was to see how secure our daughter felt in the presence of us, her parents. Whether it was in the plane, in a snow storm of -15 degrees, in a car in the Moscow traffic jam or in a new apartment she didn’t know - as long as our daughter knew that her mother and father were with her she was happy. It touched my heart to look at her eyes in those moments: on the one hand, her look was full of surprise, attention and a bit of anxiety, but at the same time focused on her parent and full of trust.
Again I had to humbly admit how often I fail to look with such eyes towards my heavenly Father. Instead, I tend to be afraid of difficult and challenging situations and to concentrate on the problem itself. But God is almighty. He is the King of kings, and a father who would never let something happen to his children.
I now have a different, a better understanding of Jesus words in Matthew 18, 3 "Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. As reborn Christians we are children of our heavenly Father! He is our refuge, His love and patience have no end, and His deep desire is to fellowship with me, us. What a wonderful Father we have!
The limited time we had we mainly used to see friends and to visit her relatives. My knowledge of Russian is not yet good enough to understand and join all the conversations so I had plenty of time to enjoy my daughter. And God has used this opportunity to reveal to me more about Him. Up until now I called God mainly God, Lord, rarely did I use the word “father”. One reason was that my relationship with my earthly father has never been particularly personal and profound. But through God’s wonderful creation, our little daughter, I got to understand God as a father figure much better. I want to share the following three experiences:
Each time we went to visit someone in Moscow our daughter was the center of attention! Everyone wanted to talk to her, hug her, kiss her, play with her or just to watch her. The parents were the second priority. In the evenings I actually missed my daughter even though I had spent the whole day with her. But what I missed was not her being ‘around me’, but her being just with me, sitting on my lap and giving me some moments of her full attention.
At the same time, I started to realize how little 'quality time' I dedicate to my heavenly Father. My life is full of distractions and activities and I tend to forget the most important thing: to just sit on the lap of my Father and to focus on Him alone.
Due to the time change and the new environment, it was not always easy for our daughter to fall asleep. In such moments she would turn in bed nervously and cry asking for the pacifier. Once it was in her mouth she would immediately spit it out and continue crying. Another thing she would usually do was to accept the pacifier but then remove it herself with a clumsy hand movement. It would of course be followed by crying because the pacifier was no longer in her mouth!
After ten or more rounds like this I found it very difficult not to lose my patience and understanding and to continue loving my daughter unconditionally.
But it made me aware of how many times I protested against my heavenly Father and complained afterwards. Too often I made wrong and selfish choices and spat out God’s ‘pacifier’. As a result I moaned in prayers about the results of my own actions. What I should do instead is to just accept his loving care in faith and to stop trying to do it my way.
One of the best experiences during our holidays was to see how secure our daughter felt in the presence of us, her parents. Whether it was in the plane, in a snow storm of -15 degrees, in a car in the Moscow traffic jam or in a new apartment she didn’t know - as long as our daughter knew that her mother and father were with her she was happy. It touched my heart to look at her eyes in those moments: on the one hand, her look was full of surprise, attention and a bit of anxiety, but at the same time focused on her parent and full of trust.
Again I had to humbly admit how often I fail to look with such eyes towards my heavenly Father. Instead, I tend to be afraid of difficult and challenging situations and to concentrate on the problem itself. But God is almighty. He is the King of kings, and a father who would never let something happen to his children.
I now have a different, a better understanding of Jesus words in Matthew 18, 3 "Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. As reborn Christians we are children of our heavenly Father! He is our refuge, His love and patience have no end, and His deep desire is to fellowship with me, us. What a wonderful Father we have!
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