joy and strength

this morning I woke up with a certain scripture. After some research, I found it is written in Nehemiah. This is one of the rare situations that I like the German translation better than the English - it says something like "the joy in the Lord (or about the Lord) will give me strength".

So I started to think about what normally brings joy to a human being. It begins very early with birthday parties and Christmas - I think there's nothing like those days when we were little and someone gave us a a gift and it turned out to be something we wished to have for a long time.

I am very sure that this is not the kind of joy the Bible speaks about. Yes, we are happy and motivated for a certain time. I remember when we got games for Christmas, we could play with them all day long - but only for a certain time. And then to play with it got "normal" and wasn't as exciting as in the beginning. So that kind of joy gave some energy, but it was good or used for the subject itself and gone soon enough.

So what does it mean to be joyful in the Lord or feel joy about the Lord? It is a joy that doesn't revolve around my ego or comes from dreams that came true or desires that were fulfilled. It's not the joy about the blessings He gives me (I am thankful for those, though, that's not the point). Summarized, it is not the joy that comes from the things I recieve from God like forgiveness of sin, a holy life, gifts (of the spirit) and blessings. It is pure delight in the fact of knowing Jesus intimately and to only concentrate on Him as a person. I tried this today. Even if it hadn't had the side effect of providing an inner strength I didn't know before, I would like to encourage you to seek Him and get to know Him better! You will find a treasure unknown!

Time

There's this saying.
Everyone has the same amount of time. It just depends on what every single one makes out of it.


I admit. Sometimes I am wasting my time.


But something really bothers me and every time I overhear or spot it, it makes my heart ache. Maybe it is "holier-than-thou", arrogant, fundamentalist?


I can't help it: people who are reading books/watching movies that glorify witchcraft like "Harry Potter" are not only wasting their God given time, they worship God's enemy.


Take some time to think about it...

Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? (...) Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:
"I'll live in them, move into them; I'll be their God and they'll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
you'll be sons and daughters to me."

2 Cor. 6:15ff

post scriptum:
Jim encouraged me to add verse 14: Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war.and - as this was The Message translation - I will add a probably more familiar one:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

European Singles Retreat, April 2007

This afternoon I came back from the Spring ESS and there is a lot to post what I will do here the next few days. For today I only want to tell the theme: "Matching up your Life and Faith" and we heard and talked about how important it is to live authentic.

It works best if we strive for what is right in Gods eyes.
Trying to put this idea into practice it was our task (at one station of "the station game") saturday afternoon to create a poem based on Philippians 4 verse 8:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

So here I present what I made of that:

Brothers and sisters I want you to put,

all things in your mind that are true and good.

Keep to your thoughts what is worthy of praise,

and with things that are honorable fill your days.

If you stay in the ways that are pure and right

the Lord will help you to win the fight.