Love
My Struggle with the Story of the Canaanite Woman
Matthew 15:21-28 The incident with the Canaanite woman was one of the hardest things for me to read and grasp in the Gospel accounts. Jesus‘ response to this woman was, from my perspective, completely out of character. I searched many commentaries to gain a better understanding. But the unrest in my heart was not pacified. [...]
The Resurrection of Jesus brings Uncountable Blessings
Scripture Reference: Isaiah 54 Isaiah 53 speaks in detail of the future suffering and death of the Servant of the Lord. The next chapter bursts through the darkness of death with the glory of the light of life: “Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy…” (Isaiah 54:1) [...]
Jesus’ Arrest: A Kiss, A Sword and Perfection
Scripture Reference: Matthew 26:47-56 Looking at the scene of Jesus’ arrest, it quickly becomes clear that He had more to deal with than just the arrival of an armed crowd. One of His friends betrayed Him with a kiss and the other one decided He needed a violent rescue. Yet, through all this, Jesus portrayed [...]
God Loves You and Understands You
Suggested Reading: Psalm 31:7-8 It is difficult to be interested in the emotions of someone we don’t care for. On the other hand when we love someone, we are sincerely interested in their emotions. Today, when someone’s emotions are consistently invalidated, it is called a kind of emotional abuse. We all desire to be understood [...]
Merry Christmas!
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, [...]
When “I will” replaces “Thy will”
Suggested Reading: Isaiah 14:12-23 Nowadays, believers in God are often mocked as being weaklings who need a crutch. They are told that they should learn to take control of things and be in charge of their lives; write their own destiny instead of waiting the hear what the will of an “imaginary Being” is. These [...]
How God Deals with our Lack
Suggested Reading: Mark 8:1-10 This is not exactly what I have planned. I like to plan my blog posts long in advance, and this post was definitely not supposed to be published today. At least not according to my plans. But, God, in His infinite wisdom, will sometimes interrupt our plans with His –or that [...]
The Weapons of Jesus
We cannot defeat the enemy with weapons of which he is the father. He will be a master at their application. He is the father of lies, arrogance, pride, hatred and discord, to name a few. Jesus defeated the enemy with weapons he knew nothing about. Weapons of: truth meekness humility love peace We would [...]
Remember Me According to who You are, Lord
Suggested Reading: Psalm 25:6-7 This is a profound prayer by David. It says so much more than meets the eye. He is asking that God thinks of him not according to his sins and rebellious ways, but that God remembers him according to who God is. He says that God is good and if God [...]
What Does it Mean to Follow Christ?
I think I should first say what following Christ does not mean: I doesn’t mean a pursuit of fame and money with a Christian label attached to it. To follow Christ does not mean belonging to a social club with a Christian label either (aka as church). It is good to attend a church as [...]
