God Wants to Comfort You

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Mt 5:4 NRSV

Who can expect comfort from God?

According to some commentaries, this only applies to people who are sorry for their sins and want to repent, or to Christians who mourn in a close relationship with Jesus because of the sins in the world.

It is undoubtedly true that God forgives and comforts us when we hate our sins and want to repent.

It is also true that Jesus weeps over the sins of the world. When we weep in close communion with him, we experience the comfort of his tender love.

But can we only expect God's comfort when we mourn over sin?

When your child or sister dies, are you happy? No. You are devastated. This has nothing to do with sin, but God is love. He loves you deeply and wants to comfort you.

If your beloved dog dies, do you think your grief is not important to God?

I appreciate good Bible commentaries. I've been an avid student of the Bible for years.

But beware of pious sermons that focus on sin with a narrow religious view.

This religious mindset all too often leads to a critical attitude when dealing with neighbours and colleagues.

With a narrow focus on virtue and sin, one can become unconsciously judgemental, like the Pharisees in the Bible.

This way of thinking also often leads to unloving religiosity in congregations and painful guilt complexes in Christians who want to be holy.

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Lk 12:1 NRSV

He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NRSV

Whatever your reason for suffering, Jesus wants to comfort you. If you choose to believe in His love and trust Him, you will experience His comforting love.

Am I saying that your sin is not an issue for Jesus?

God forbid! Jesus died to take the punishment for our sin. Jesus feels your pain; He loves you unconditionally just as you are, but He not only wants to forgive your sins completely, He also wants to remove them.

He wants to help you live a whole new life and enjoy His loving friendship.

God's Plans for Young People

 In many churches, we see almost only older people or perhaps a few children. Where are the young adults?

Many are walking away from God, some as teenagers and others in their 20s.

This is nothing new. Jesus told us about the prodigal son.

As a grandfather, I sometimes wonder what I have done wrong.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the father was perfectly loving and unblemished, like God Himself, but I must acknowledge with shame that I am not a perfect saint.

When my children were young, I was often legalistic or overwhelmed by my personal problems.

Step by step, I had to learn to recognise my mistakes and understand God's ways better, but in the meantime, my children were often frustrated by my mistakes.

Thank God I am teachable and my adult children now realise this.

If you want teachable teenagers or adult children, you must be teachable yourself.
Nothing is more off-putting to teenagers than parents and older people who are opinionated and inflexible.

In the old Christian culture, the priests, pastors and parents were always supposed to be unquestionably right. Right was right and wrong was wrong. Preachers and parents were supposed to know everything and always understand everything better.

But this tradition no longer works.
The world has changed drastically. People with old ways of thinking can no longer cope with the new reality.

Should we simply throw holiness and justice overboard? Many do, but God has not changed.

Jesus is our guide and is always ready to solve our problems.
How does Jesus appear in the Bible?

The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jn 1:17 NRSV

God's truth is eternal. Jesus himself is God's truth.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jn 14:6 NRSV

God's truth is indispensable, but Jesus first revealed grace and only then the truth. Jesus appeared as an itinerant preacher who demonstrated God's grace through kindness and miraculous healings.

Only later did he reveal his true identity, that he is the Son of God.

We need God's grace and wisdom so that we can understand how to apply God's truth in new situations.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. Jas 1:5 NRSV

But God himself is at work. A recent survey in Germany showed that the young age group, i.e. those under 30, are more faithful than older age groups.

But we older Christians must learn to accept a different Christian culture, because God himself expresses himself differently to young people than he does to us.

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Is 43:18–19 NRSV

For many older Christians, today's culture seems like a desert where nothing can flourish, but God has wonderful plans for the new generation.

God's Wisdom in Hard Trials

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Jas 1:2–3 NIV

How can you find joy in very hard situations? When God deals with your situation, you will be happy about it. It is a challenge to be happy in advance, very hard.

Corrie Ten Boom was in Ravensbrück concentration camp with her sister Betsie because they had spared Jews in Holland.

It was terribly cold in winter and they were hungry. They were also itchy because of all the bedbugs.

They hated the bedbugs, but they wanted to obey God. They read in the Bible that they must be thankful in all circumstances.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Th 5:18 NLT

They forced themselves to thank God for the bedbugs. Then they realised that the cruel guards usually didn't bother them in the dormitory because they also hated the bedbugs.

In difficult trials, God wants to help us to gain new insights, but this is often not easy. We must often resist our tendency to fear and bitterness.

In the Middle East, many Muslims are converting to Jesus. For hardcore Muslims, this is a terrible crime that deserves the death penalty.

There were some ex-Muslims in prison because of their conversion to Jesus, where they were brutally beaten daily.

After a few months they realised that they had not forgiven their tormentors. They must simply forgive, but it was very difficult. They resolved to forgive as Jesus did on the cross.

When they then began to pray for their tormentors with new hearts, a miracle happened. They were freed from prison.

Are you being bullied in your family? Or at work, or in your church?

How can you pray? You need wisdom from God.

Is your boss cruel? Should you stay and learn patience, or look for another job?

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Jas 1:5 NIV

Wisdom from God in the End Times

 The stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Mk 13:25–26 NIV

Do you understand this prediction of Jesus that the stars of heaven will fall? Neither do I, but if we only believe in what we can understand, then we no longer believe in God, whose wisdom is much higher than our limited understanding.

Jesus says that he will come back from heaven bodily and visibly. If we don't want to believe this because it seems too strange, then we limit ourselves to our small human minds.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Is 55:8–9 NIV

In this time of crisis, many Christians want to hold on to familiar, conventional Bible teachings. We must not abandon our biblical faith, but when our conventional theology is inadequate to explain current events, we need to seek God's wisdom in the Bible.

It will not help if we only look to the Bible for confirmation of our favourite conspiracy theories, or if we only study with our human minds. Only the Holy Spirit can be a reliable guide in confusing times.

Will Jesus come again? He has promised so many times. But do you understand how, where and when he will appear?

We must seek wisdom from God and trust God Himself in our uncertainty.

God Can Rescue You

 How can Jesus save you from your troubles? You don't know. But with God, nothing is impossible. He has a plan for you.  

They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.

But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. Lk 4:29–30 NIV

How did Jesus escape the angry crowd? A mystery.

How can Jesus save you from your misery? You don't know. It's a mystery, but He can.

How did the Holy Spirit plant the holy seed in Mary's womb so that she became pregnant and Jesus was born nine months later?

It's a mystery, but with God nothing is impossible.

Gaby Wentland is a preacher in Hamburg who was once a missionary in Africa. She now has a different mission in Germany. She helps asylum seekers and enslaved prostitutes.

She says there is more prayer in brothels than in most churches.

A German evangelist heard God's still small voice whispering in his spirit. He was told to go to a brothel. He was shocked, but he wanted to obey.

In the brothel he found a decent woman from a distant country who had been enticed to come to Germany to find work to help her poor family.

The evangelist was able to help her escape from the brothel and return to her family.

God has ways of helping His children. Don't you see a way out? God has good plans for you.

He is waiting for your cry for help. Right now.

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NIV

Your Time Will Come

Have you been a believer for a long time? Do you read the wonderful promises of fruitfulness in the Bible? Are you fulfilled and satisfied, or is your Christian life just a religious routine?

Maybe you have already broken out of the religious routine, but you can't see any fruit. You love God and you have a close friendship with Jesus.

You want to win disciples for Jesus. You want to lay hands on the sick and see miraculous healings. Maybe you love Jesus, but you haven't received a miracle healing yet, even though you desperately need healing.

You love God and your trust in God is real and strong, but your hoped-for miracles are not appearing. And you need these miracles because you are disabled by illness, because your relatives are not yet believers, because you must wrestle with financial problems.

In the Gospel of Luke, we find an elderly woman who served God with a faithful heart for decades. She had prayed for children since her marriage, but she never had a single baby. Yet she never became bitter.

Had God abandoned her? Not at all. God had a marvellous plan. She was to experience a miracle, but without the long years of disappointment, God could not bring about this miracle.

Her husband Zechariah was a priest serving in the temple when an angel of the Lord appeared and shared an amazing message.

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. Lk 1:13 NIV

Elizabeth was to be the mother of John the Baptist, the great prophet who would announce the coming of God's Son.

Everywhere in this chaotic world there are faithful disciples of the Lord who are waiting for the second coming of Jesus. Some are well-known prophets, good pastors, or well-known evangelists, but there are also many unknown saints who are frustrated because their prayers seem to be unanswered.

Are you one of them? Take courage. God has not forgotten you. God has prepared a spiritual army that He will release in the great end-time revival. Hold on to your hope. Your time is coming.

I prayed for years and God healed my depression.
I prayed for years and God saved my parents on their deathbed.
I prayed for years and .... I am not disappointed.

“Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labour; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the LORD. Is 54:1 NIV

God's Mysteries

 Are you a child of God? Are you a beloved son or daughter of the great Creator?
Or are you a lost orphan in a confusing world? Are you not sure where you will end up after you die?

God has a secret that he wants to share with you. It is well known and by no means hidden, but it is a secret because it is only revealed to those who want to love God with childlike trust.

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 1 Cor 2:9–10 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

If you respond to the sacrificial death of the Son of God is given a whole new spiritual life, with the ability to perceive and receive the spiritual gifts of God.

Does this world need saving? Environmental activists warn us that our planet is perishing. We are like children who soil our own bed.

God will restore this planet in the end.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Rev 21:1 NIV

But God doesn't just want to restore his creation. He has a plan to save you and me, to give us an imperishable future.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Jn 5:24 NIV

The key to God's new world is faith, but what is faith?

You may have been taught Biblical doctrines as a child, but faith is not just agreeing with facts. It is personally trusting in God and experiencing God’s presence in your life.

Father God did not send his eternal Son into this world just to start a religion.

When Jesus was 30 years old, he began to proclaim the love of the heavenly Father, but not just to preach, but to save people from impossible problems.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 NLT

Yes, there is a devil. The cruel horrors in this world do not come from God. We have an enemy, an invisible enemy, who makes us sick, who wants to deceive us so that we blame God for our sickness.
But then sceptical thoughts arise. This is too radical, too extreme. It's too good to be true?

Where do these thoughts come from? Perhaps from the no longer Christian world, but perhaps from the religious Christian tradition, from a watered-down version of the gospel.

Are you perhaps not sure what to believe? Why don't you ask God himself? He is not deaf and not dumb.

“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.

For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Mt 7:7–8 NRSV

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NIV

Your Calling and Mission

 Jesus came to purge you and me of our sins. What should our lives look like afterwards?

Jesus didn't just come to cleanse your life of offences so that you could continue your everyday life without dirty sins. God wants to use you to set other people free.

When the first people believed the devil's lies and rebelled against God's commandment, they gave their God-given dominion over this world into the hands of the enemy.

Jesus defeated the devil with his sinless life, his death on the cross and his resurrection from the realm of the dead.

Shortly before his return to the Father in heaven, he instructed his disciples to take back the lost world for God.

We find the final instructions to his disciples in four biblical passages.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Mt 28:19 NRSV

And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mk 16:17–18 NRSV


But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV

When we read these passages carefully, we see a heavenly calling to a dramatic mission, but the enemy has been misguiding us for centuries.

We have thought this mission was only for a few especially holy ordained preachers and missionaries.
We have thought that the dramatic spiritual gifts in Mark chapter 16 were only for a short time 2000 years ago.

But when we read all these passages together, we see that Jesus has called us to a supernatural mission ‘to the ends of the earth’. (Acts 1:8)

This mission is still a work in progress. You and I are called to play an important role. God is at work in your life.

Don't stay where you are. Let the Holy Spirit give you a new revelation of your heavenly destiny.  

Start seeking God's path for your life today. Do something new. How can you act differently today? Start small. Move forward step by step.

God Made You for Love

 You are made for love. How can we say this when we see so much hatred and cruelty around us?

Where does the love between mother and child come from? Why do we long for love when we don't know how to find it?

Our human tendency to love is often corrupted and twisted, but not destroyed.

Who is the source of true love? Only God, who invented motherly love.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Is 49:14–15 NIV

Jesus often spoke about love.

He spoke of the limited love of natural, flawed human beings and the unlimited love of God.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Mt 5:43–45 NIV

Love is generous.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Mt 7:9–11 NIV

True love is always practical. He who does not want to give does not really love.

God is love. God's heart is open to you. He wants to help you and bless you with many good gifts.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Jas 1:17 NIV

Do you not know God's personal love? You can come to know God today.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

God Wants to Help You Today

 God never stopped loving his unfaithful Hebrew people.

When they had to suffer under foreign rule because of their many sins, God's prophets did not just give warnings and rebukes. They told the suffering people that God would not abandon them in spite of everything.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lam 3:22–23 NRSV

The steadfast unfailing love of the Lord never ceases. So it is with us Christians today. No matter how far we have strayed, Jesus wants to bless and restore you with mercy and love.

We often need correction because without God's wisdom and loving guidance we are often unable to see our mistakes, but God does not want to humiliate or belittle you. That's what cruel people do in the world and unfortunately sometimes in religious communities.

God has something very special for you today, especially today and especially for you.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Jer 29:11 NRSV

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NIV

God has a good plan for your life, but not just for your whole life. God has a good plan to help you today.

For he says, “In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation. 2 Cor 6:2 NIV

You Can Know God Personally

 You only need to browse the internet to see that we are going wrong. Whether you take the mainstream media or conspiracy theorists seriously, you see a sick world around you.

What does religion have to say?

If you are an obedient religious Muslim, your virtue will outweigh your sin. Then hopefully you will escape the flames of hell after you die.

But the poor Muslims have no peace because they never know if their virtue is enough to escape hell.

What do the Hindus and Buddhists say? If you live virtuously, you will be reborn in the same ruined world after death, but you will have a better quality of life.

A Christian woman was a faithful missionary in Burma. The Buddhist women admired her Christian character very much. They said she was such a good woman that she would surely be a man in her next life.

And what does the Christian religion say? You hear different ideas. Many Christians try to regulate their lives with strict rules and fit into some church or denomination.

But Jesus was different. He came into this world as the Son of God, who had been in heaven with the Heavenly Father since eternity.

Jesus did not come just to found a new world religion. He came to undo the devastating damage we have done through sin.

There is a devil who has led us astray and ruined our lives. Jesus came to restore us.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Jn 10:10 NRSV

Who is the source of abundant life? Only God, the source of all life.

Should we therefore expect, as some Christians preach, to always enjoy prosperity, health and success, without problems, without disappointments, and without persecution?

Jesus is our role model. He was persecuted and misunderstood from an early age, but his life had a purpose and a goal. He was in close fellowship with Father God throughout his life.

He experienced many disappointments, but he also experienced marvellous success.

He gained the trust of disciples who often failed, but after the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, they were transformed by the Holy Spirit of God.

If you trust Jesus, you can also live in intimate communion with God.

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Jn 17:3 NRSV

Knowing God is quite different from knowing about God. God loves you and me better than the best mother or father, but we often doubt his love.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! Is 49:14–15 NIV

What does Jesus say to you and me today?

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Mt 11:28 NASB95

God's Secrets

 God wants to take you on a journey. He wants to guide you with love. He wants to let you look into your own heart, but not as a harsh judge, but as a loving counsellor or therapist.

Sometimes we are afraid to look into our own hearts because guilt and pain are hidden there, but God sent Jesus to bear our guilt and all our pain on the cross.

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Ps 51:7 NLT

I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Is 44:22 NIV

But God not only wants to reveal your own heart, he also wants to take you on a journey into his own heart. He wants to reveal his own heart to you and share wonderful secrets from his own heart with you.

The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them. Ps 25:14 NRSV

The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning. Ps 25:14 AMP

Don't Let Cruel Abuse Destroy You

Joseph was his father Jacob's favourite son. Jacob spoiled him and gave him a splendid robe. This aroused the envy of his brothers and they hated him.

They wanted to kill him, but instead they sold him as a slave.

These men were the fathers of the twelve Hebrew tribes.

These tribes formed the chosen people of God, but their behaviour was anything but holy.
Joseph was prophetically gifted but unbearably proud and arrogant.

His brothers were hateful and cruel.   

We Christians read the history of the Jews in the Bible and we are often proud that we are supposedly better.

We read in the New Testament about the heroic faith of the apostles and the love and virtue of the first Christians, but not everything in the first churches was beautiful and good.

There were good but also evil church leaders.

Paul teaches us that we should not passively accept cruel treatment from preachers and leaders.

For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. 2 Cor 11:20 NASB95

But surely there is no such brutal leadership these days. Yes, there is.

We often read terrible reports of Catholics who were sexually abused as children in the church.

In America, there are also many reports of sexual exploitation of young women in evangelical churches.

A Christian journalist in Australia has researched the stories of harassed wives of pastors. These women told how they were enslaved and often raped by their outwardly respectable husbands.

Jesus warned his apostles that they were not immune to hypocrisy either. We can all fail. Where can you find a Christian who has never been hurt by other Christians?

There are two tragic mistakes that we must avoid.
Some victims learn never to resist, to see themselves as inferior, to give up all hope.

When some husbands read in the Bible that their wives should submit, they demand slave like obedience. They don't allow access to a bank account. They always give orders and humiliate their wives all the time.

If the woman seeks help in the church, she is blamed because she is supposed to submit even more. There are women who put up with all this for years.

The other mistake is the strong reaction, whereby the injured victim escapes and then becomes an aggressive, bossy bully.

Joseph was the spoiled and proud son of Jacob. He was abducted by Arab slave traders and sold in Egypt. He suffered unjustly for years as a slave and then a prisoner, but he never gave up and never became bitter.

Joseph was finally freed from captivity. The strange prophetic dreams of his youth were astonishingly fulfilled. He became the head of the Egyptian government and then he was reconciled with his family.

Perhaps you have had to endure terrible experiences in churches, as I have myself. Please don't give up. Jesus was also persecuted by God's people. He understands your suffering and he loves you.

God has a way out for you, not unconditional submission, but not resentment and revenge either.

Of course this does not mean you cannot publicly call out for justice. Of course it is right to report rape to the police. Of course it is right to denounce abusive church leaders. Jesus and Paul publicly denounced bullies in pulpits.

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you greatand mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NASB95

Experiencing God Personally

There are Christians who hold on to biblical truths, but they are not enthusiastic about spiritual experiences or strong emotions.

It is true that our feelings cannot be a reliable basis for our faith, but God is love. Without strong feelings, love is just an abstract theological idea.

The foundation of our faith is the Bible. The Holy Scriptures are from God himself. We must understand the clear theological statements in the Bible as authoritative, but it is a big mistake to focus only on theological statements.

In the Bible we also find the experiences of faithful Jews and Christians who loved God. These experiences are just as important as theological statements. They belong together, like flesh and blood, like truth and love, like light and life.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Ps 42:1–2 NIV

When we try to separate feelings and experience from truth, we go completely wrong.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control… Gal 5:22–23 NIV

This is a theological statement. Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are not feelings, but virtues.

Love is also a virtue, but not just a virtue. Love without feelings is not love.
Peace without feelings is not peace. Joy without feelings is not joy.

In Psalm 42, the psalmist speaks of his longing for God's presence in the services in the tabernacle or in the temple. Where God reveals his holy presence, we experience something.

There is a big difference between a map and a beautiful fertile landscape. Theological statements are our indispensable map, but God's direct presence is our promised land.

I have experienced wonderful blessings in church services. Hopefully you have too, but we no longer live in the Old Covenant. In the Old Covenant, God's tangible presence was mostly found in the temple, but 50 days after his death on the cross, Jesus sent us his Holy Spirit from heaven.

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jn 7:38–39 NIV

It's wonderful when you experience a fresh refreshing of the Holy Spirit in a blessed worship service, but sometimes it's even better when you can feel and enjoy God's glory in your daily life at home or on a walk in the park.

Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Rev 3:20 NRSV

This is not just an invitation for the unconverted, but an invitation for Christians to enjoy a tangible communion with God in our everyday life.

Guidance of the Holy Spirit

 How can you perceive the thoughts of God?

I once drove a young man to church every Sunday. The teenager was immature, unstable and unpredictable. It took all the patience I could muster to help him.

One fine Sunday morning, I was driving him to church when he suddenly lashed out without warning and hit the dashboard hard with his fist. Without even a second's hesitation, I ordered the devil to leave.

Was the young man offended? Not at all. Peace and quiet immediately prevailed.

I have never reacted in this way in similar situations. This was not my usual approach and had no time to consider the situation.

This was the spiritual gift of discernment of spirits. God moved my spirit immediately. My thoughts were not involved. I only analysed the situation afterwards.

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 1 Cor 12:8–10 NASB95

Many people zealously try to detect false prophecies or fake tongues, but we must also be even more eager to know when gifts are genuine.

Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 1 Cor 14:1 NASB95

The discernment of spirits often works quite differently.

I was in a house group. A very religious man pretended to worship God with over dramatic gestures. He looked really ridiculous and I was irritated. I told the religious spirit to stop his comedy, but only in my head, without saying a word out loud.

The theatrical performance stopped immediately. The man looked confused and scratched his head.

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Lk 10:19 NASB95

Of course discernment of spirits also involves perceiving the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit. This is even more important than perceiving demonic activity.

It is so important to know which people to trust and when to distrust people.

There are apparently highly gifted preachers who will lead you astray. On the other hand, God can connect you to people who will be open to the gospel or who will help you on your way. 

When Samuel had to choose a king to replace Saul, God showed him that the young boy David was the chosen one.

Choosing a church to join involves spiritual discernment, how to let God show you where to go and who to trust. 

The Bible is our map book but the Holy Spirit is our guide. We need truth but also God’s direct personal guidance.

Being Led by the Holy Spirit

 You love God. You experience his love in his presence. The Holy Spirit is not just a theological term for you. You know Him personally, but you are perhaps sometimes misunderstood in your congregation.

You may hear teachings in church that don't sit right with your intuitive spiritual mind.

Preachers and church leaders are flawed people, just like you. They study the Bible and theological teachings and they do their best. Even if they want to learn directly from the Holy Spirit, just like you, they can make mistakes, just like you.

It may be that you hear a teaching or a prophecy from God himself in the church, but you sense that God wants to lead you a different way. God has a unique plan for each believer.
 
Is your personal conviction wrong then? Maybe you have misunderstood God's guidance in your life, but maybe not.

A few years ago I was in a very good church where the leadership followed the leading of the Holy Spirit. I attended a very good meeting every Friday evening.

After the service, the pastor took to the streets in the nightclub neighbourhood. Many others also joined in. They spoke to many people on the street about Jesus. That was undoubtedly from God and I went along too.

But I was tired after my work and the next day I was tired too. I prayed about it. I was supposed to preach the gospel, but how and when?

I realised that I could communicate God's message best on the Internet. I needed peace and quiet and time to pray, read and write.

I continued to attend the wonderful Friday night service, but I stopped going out on the street.

I know Christian women who visit brothels to help prostitutes. I know a woman who came out of the brothels through her ministry and is now very faithful and active in God's service.

Are you called to do this? I also met a preacher who once visited a brothel because God sent him to save a woman. Not everyone can do that and not everyone should try.

What do you hear from God? How can you best follow Jesus?

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NASB95

It is very good if you can find a good church where the leadership serves with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but it is even more important that you are familiar with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your own life.

Your Life is a Work in Progress

 God is our creator. If you have achieved some things, who gave you your talents?

For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 1 Cor 4:7 NIV

Do you have a very good knowledge of the Bible? There is always someone who understands better. Who gave you a mind to understand?

We cannot understand anything of God's truth without the grace and revelation that comes only from the Holy Spirit.

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. Ps 127:1 NIV

Imagine you're working on a building site. The architect is a genius. His plans are available, but you want to design everything yourself. A bit silly, isn't it?

Your life is a building site. We are all a work in progress.

Paul, the great apostle, knew that he had not reached God's holy perfection.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Php 3:12 NIV

God has given you his plans. You have the Bible, the Word of God. But how can we understand God's deep wisdom in the Bible? God has given us his Spirit.

If you have given your life into Jesus' hands, He has given you His Spirit. Do you know the Holy Spirit personally? Or is the Spirit of God just a theological concept for you?

“If you love me, keep my commands.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— Jn 14:15–16 NIV

Without Jesus we are lost and without God. If you trust Jesus and want to follow him, he will forgive your sins. Firstly, Jesus says that he wants our love. If we love him, we will obey his commandments.

But what Jesus is asking is impossible. It's like telling your five-year-old son to build his own house, get married, find a job and have children.

That is why Jesus promises in the next verse that He will give us His Holy Spirit as our counsellor, who alone can enable us to live a life with God. The Holy Spirit can do this because He Himself is God.

The first disciples could only follow Jesus because Jesus was with them.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1 Jn 1:1 NIV

Jesus wants to give us an experience of God's presence that is just as tangible as the fellowship of the first apostles with Jesus before the cross and then after his resurrection.

Have I come that far? Not yet, although I have wonderful experiences with God.

Like Paul, I can say.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Php 3:12 NIV

Don't Let Abuse Cripple You

 Joseph was his father Jacob's favourite son. Jacob spoiled him and gave him a splendid robe. This aroused the envy of his brothers and they hated him.

They wanted to kill him, but instead they sold him as a slave.

These men were the fathers of the twelve Hebrew tribes.

These tribes formed the chosen people of God, but their behaviour was anything but holy.
Joseph was prophetically gifted but unbearably proud and arrogant.

His brothers were hateful and cruel.   

We Christians read the history of the Jews in the Bible and we are often proud that we are supposedly better.

We read in the New Testament about the heroic faith of the apostles and the love and virtue of the first Christians, but not everything in the first churches was beautiful and good.

There were good but also evil church leaders.

Paul teaches us that we should not passively accept cruel treatment from preachers and leaders.

For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. 2 Cor 11:20 NASB95

But surely there is no such brutal leadership these days. Yes, there is.

We often read terrible reports of Catholics who were sexually abused as children in the church.

In America, there are also many reports of sexual exploitation of young women in evangelical churches.

A Christian journalist in Australia has researched the stories of harassed wives of pastors. These women told how they were enslaved and often raped by their outwardly respectable husbands.

Jesus warned his apostles that they were not immune to hypocrisy either. We can all fail. Where can you find a Christian who has never been hurt by other Christians?

There are two tragic mistakes that we must avoid.
Some victims learn never to resist, to see themselves as inferior, to give up all hope.

When some husbands read in the Bible that their wives should submit, they demand slave like obedience. They don't allow access to a bank account. They always give orders and humiliate their wives all the time.

If the woman seeks help in the church, she is blamed because she is supposed to submit even more. There are women who put up with all this for years.

The other mistake is the strong reaction, whereby the injured victim escapes and then becomes an aggressive, bossy bully.

Joseph was the spoiled and proud son of Jacob. He was abducted by Arab slave traders and sold in Egypt. He suffered unjustly for years as a slave and then a prisoner, but he never gave up and never became bitter.

Joseph was finally freed from captivity. The strange prophetic dreams of his youth were astonishingly fulfilled. He became the head of the Egyptian government and then he was reconciled with his family.

Perhaps you have had to endure terrible experiences in churches, as I have myself. Please don't give up. Jesus was also persecuted by God's people. He understands your suffering and he loves you.

God has a way out for you, not unconditional submission, but not resentment and revenge either.

Of course this does not mean you cannot publicly call out for justice. Of course it is right to report rape to the police. Of course it is right to denounce abusive church leaders. Jesus and Paul publicly denounced bullies in pulpits.

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you greatand mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NASB95

God Wants to Help You

 Jesus wants to bless you a lot, not just a little here and there. He wants to help you. You may have read this idea in the Bible or heard it in a sermon. 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Jn 10:10 NASB95

You are a believing Christian. You believe in the Bible, but somehow you experience blessings here and there, but also frustration.

Today God wants to encourage you. He wants to refresh the dry areas of your life.

Imagine you have fruit trees. Some are thriving and bearing fruit, but others are just leaves.

At home you find love, but at the office you find frustration, or maybe vice versa.

In your private prayer time you find joy and peace, but in church you find stress.

Everything in your life matters to Jesus. Nothing is unimportant because God loves you completely.

God wants to help you in the difficult areas of your life.

He is waiting for your cry for help.

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NASB95

God Transforms your Past

 Not only Jesus himself, but also John the Baptist lived a holy life from an early age.

When the priest Zechariah was serving in the temple, he was visited by an angel who announced the birth of John the Baptist.

... he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. Lk 1:15–16 NIV 

If you have lived close to God from an early age, you can praise and thank God for that, but that is not my story.

But God has planned my life. He has also woven the failures and missteps of my childhood and youth into his plan for my Christian life. That's his way of doing things.

Milly Bennitt's parents were deeply committed Christians, but she was a rebellious party girl.

When she was about twenty years old, her father was dying. She came home to say goodbye. Then God miraculously answered her parents' prayers.

As her father passed on to the next life, he raised his arms and his face shone with the glory of God. Milly was deeply touched and became a believer.

She fell in love with Jesus, but Milly still had no time for rigid religious conformity.

She often sat in the garden, smoked a cigarette and had loving conversations with Jesus. One day Jesus said to her, ‘You don't need those cigarettes anymore,’ and she was able to give up smoking without much difficulty.

She loved Jesus with all her heart, but she was not a conventional young Christian. She was passionate about driving her sports car, but she was much more excited about heavenly visitations and miracles.

God had a plan for this party girl. He sent her as a missionary to a tourist island in Thailand where there was no church and no mission.

She didn't plant a church. She was just friendly. As a former party girl, it was not difficult for her to make friends with all kinds of people, whether Muslims, Buddhists or secular tourists.

Her mission was so successful that Muslims became Christians. Then she was harshly persecuted by strict Muslims. They wanted to murder her. One day she was ambushed. She stared death in the eye, but instantly became invisible.

Is that biblical? Yes, it is.

When Jesus preached in his hometown, he was cruelly rejected.

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.

They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff.
But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. Lk 4:28–30 NIV

I once went to an excellent Christian conference where the senior pastor was converted in prison and the outstanding guest preacher had been a gangster and a pimp.  

A very sinful woman was devoted to Jesus. How did He respond?

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Lk 7:47–48 NIV

Does your past still trouble you in some way? 

 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28 NIV

 

Hiding from God

 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Gen 3:8 NIV

Adam and Eve had believed the enemy's lies and betrayed God. They were ashamed and afraid of God, but they still believed in God.

We are all in the same position, whether we believe in God or not. We hide and look at God as if from a distance. We can be so far removed from God that we deny God completely. We can become atheists, witches or Nazis, but Adam and Eve were not that far away.

Eve ate the forbidden fruit first, but Adam was no better. He was by her side and said nothing.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Gen 3:6 NIV

If your husband or wife makes a terrible decision and you go along with it in silence, you are equally guilty. A husband should restrain his wife from sin and a wife should restrain her husband from sin.

Adam and Eve immediately recognised their guilt and were ashamed.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Gen 3:7 NIV

Shame is a direct consequence of sin and sinful human nature. We no longer see our sexual nature as innocent and beautiful.

Many religious people believe that a celibate life is better and holier than a Christian marriage. Some theologians have invented the idea that sexual procreation only came after the fall of man, that sex was somehow God's plan B and was only meant to produce children.

Such absurd theological ideas are just symptoms of the shame that resulted from the Fall. These theological traditions are just fig leaves that do not help us find reconciliation with God.

When God walked around in the garden, He of course knew what Adam and Eve had done. Nevertheless, He came to restore the broken loving fellowship with the first couple.

• No matter where you hide, God still loves you.

• Are you hiding in your job, or in your busy domestic routine?

• Are you hiding in drugs or alcohol or occultism?

Are you perhaps hiding in religious traditions or theological studies?

No matter where you have chosen to seek refuge, God is seeking you out. He already knows where you are and He is looking for you right where you are.

He understands your heart and your wayward ways, but he does not want to punish you. He is looking for your trust so that you can have heart-to-heart companionship with him.

God knows that we are intimidated by his greatness, his holiness and his omnipotence.
He knows that we are afraid of his judgement.

That is why he has made himself small. He sent his eternal, almighty Son to earth as a human being in order to live and suffer with us as a human being.

Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our unfaithfulness upon himself.

On the cross we see God's broken heart, not only because we have gone wrong, but because he had lost loving fellowship with us, and also because you and I had lost this fellowship with him.

God wants this tender friendship with us as his children back. It is the longing of his heart to have our fellowship back and to give us the blessing of his friendship.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

God Cares for You

 Maybe you feel wounded and torn. Sometimes you don't know exactly why you feel down, but there is someone who sees and knows, and he is for you, not against you.

One of the best-loved passages in the Bible is the Shepherd Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Ps 23:1–3 NKJV

How often your feelings are torn and confused and you don't understand exactly why. But God understands, and he wants to heal the wounds in your heart.

He wants to lead you on the path that is best for you, but when you feel confused and wander in a fog of discouragement, you can't see clearly which way to go.

When you're in a fog, you can't see the light. How can you know which way to go if you can't see clearly?

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Ps 23:4 NASB95

Shepherds in the Middle East had a stick or club to ward off wild animals and a staff to pick up sheep that were stuck and could not get up on their own.

If you can't see the way, trust in the Good Shepherd of your soul.

God sent his eternal Son to be the good shepherd for your soul.

Before he became a king and a prophet, David himself was a shepherd. He was a humble farm labourer, but he knew God as his shepherd.

‘The LORD is my shepherd.’

When Jesus preached to the Jews, he boldly said that he was the good shepherd, the Lord and God of David.

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. Jn 10:14–15 NASB95

If you are wounded and upset and cannot see clearly, ask Jesus to pour his healing Holy Spirit into your wounds.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Ps 23:5 NASB95

When the sheep had cuts and scratches, the shepherd rubbed the wounds with soothing oil.

You can find rest in the presence of God. Ask him to anoint your head with the healing and soothing presence of his loving Spirit. You can invite him to pour his oil into your cuts and wounds.

When you entrust your life to Jesus, you can be sure that his loving care and mercy will never be taken away from you.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Ps 23:6 NKJV