Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
failing fathers
People train for so many years to become doctors,
lawyers and engineers.
In most of the countries they are not allowed
to practice these professions without a legal certificate.
I haven’t heard of any country where you need a training
of many years to become a father. Anyone can do it.
To become a father is very simple,
but to be a father is a life-long challenge.
Many parents fail. They have never seen good
mothers and fathers. Their parents failed, too.
Sometimes people just get tired of trying to do that
what they never were trained to do.
Two pitfalls of un-professionalism are the waste of
time and money.
Measuring the losses in relationships is more difficult.
The damage done by un-professional parents can be
devastating.
As a result of this corporate failure the world is filled
with lonely people who have chosen not to belong.
Psalm 68:6 says, that God sets the lonely in families.
The church is this family where people can be healed
from broken relationships. The church is a family
for families, too.
The best thing you can do as a failing parent is to
bring your family to the church.
Nobody needs professional parents anyways,
but everyone can be blessed by a spirit-filled family
member like you.
lawyers and engineers.
In most of the countries they are not allowed
to practice these professions without a legal certificate.
I haven’t heard of any country where you need a training
of many years to become a father. Anyone can do it.
To become a father is very simple,
but to be a father is a life-long challenge.
Many parents fail. They have never seen good
mothers and fathers. Their parents failed, too.
Sometimes people just get tired of trying to do that
what they never were trained to do.
Two pitfalls of un-professionalism are the waste of
time and money.
Measuring the losses in relationships is more difficult.
The damage done by un-professional parents can be
devastating.
As a result of this corporate failure the world is filled
with lonely people who have chosen not to belong.
Psalm 68:6 says, that God sets the lonely in families.
The church is this family where people can be healed
from broken relationships. The church is a family
for families, too.
The best thing you can do as a failing parent is to
bring your family to the church.
Nobody needs professional parents anyways,
but everyone can be blessed by a spirit-filled family
member like you.
Friday, July 25, 2008
the invisible me
John called himself just a voice in the wilderness.
He didn’t dare to compare himself with the prophets.
He made it clear that he is not worthy to even loose
the sandal strap of Jesus. John 1:23-27
Did he have an inferiority complex, a poor self-image?
Paul called himself the chief of sinners and
less than the least of all the saints.
Ephesians 3:8, I Ti.1:15
They both had found their spiritual identity in Christ.
They had stopped trusting their strong personality.
Spiritual identity means the absence of the self-life.
That’s the only way how man can be used by God.
The church is filled with different kinds of people
whose chemistry doesn’t even need to match in order
for them to function together.
God’s anointing, His ability in us, is released when
believers agree to be so well hidden in Christ that they
themselves become invisible,
unnoticed and offense-immune.
Isn’t that what John meant when he said,
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30
He didn’t dare to compare himself with the prophets.
He made it clear that he is not worthy to even loose
the sandal strap of Jesus. John 1:23-27
Did he have an inferiority complex, a poor self-image?
Paul called himself the chief of sinners and
less than the least of all the saints.
Ephesians 3:8, I Ti.1:15
They both had found their spiritual identity in Christ.
They had stopped trusting their strong personality.
Spiritual identity means the absence of the self-life.
That’s the only way how man can be used by God.
The church is filled with different kinds of people
whose chemistry doesn’t even need to match in order
for them to function together.
God’s anointing, His ability in us, is released when
believers agree to be so well hidden in Christ that they
themselves become invisible,
unnoticed and offense-immune.
Isn’t that what John meant when he said,
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Levites
Levites were called to minister in the tabernacle.
Maybe they were sometimes dreaming of being like everyone else.
Other Jewish tribes were busy with their business and their land.
Levites were the only tribe that didn’t have any possession of the land.
“God is their possession…” Joshua 13:33
It seems like they were the true guardians of the prosperity of the nation.
Everything was connected to them,
but they were free from all earthly duties.
As they were not given a designated slot in the land they were permitted
to be scattered among the other tribes. They received cities from others,
among these were the six cities of refuge.
Levites were the ones who moved the tabernacle from place to place.
They all camped around the tabernacle.
They were the only tribe that was not numbered.
Asaph was a Levite.
He had been appointed by King David as worship leader.
In Psalm 73 he discloses his moments of discouragement.
He could not reconcile the fact that “the wicked” seemed to be blessed,
while he himself seemed to have nothing but troubles.
“Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure…”
He questioned God’s justice until he came into the sanctuary of God.
“God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
Later prophet Habakkuk had the same kind of experience.
It ended with even greater commitment and desire to be in God’s presence.
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herds in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17
A nation without Levites will not survive.
Maybe they were sometimes dreaming of being like everyone else.
Other Jewish tribes were busy with their business and their land.
Levites were the only tribe that didn’t have any possession of the land.
“God is their possession…” Joshua 13:33
It seems like they were the true guardians of the prosperity of the nation.
Everything was connected to them,
but they were free from all earthly duties.
As they were not given a designated slot in the land they were permitted
to be scattered among the other tribes. They received cities from others,
among these were the six cities of refuge.
Levites were the ones who moved the tabernacle from place to place.
They all camped around the tabernacle.
They were the only tribe that was not numbered.
Asaph was a Levite.
He had been appointed by King David as worship leader.
In Psalm 73 he discloses his moments of discouragement.
He could not reconcile the fact that “the wicked” seemed to be blessed,
while he himself seemed to have nothing but troubles.
“Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure…”
He questioned God’s justice until he came into the sanctuary of God.
“God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
Later prophet Habakkuk had the same kind of experience.
It ended with even greater commitment and desire to be in God’s presence.
“Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herds in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17
A nation without Levites will not survive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)