SPEAKING OF LIFE


Anticipation and anticipation

I will never forget the answer that my wife Susan gave when I told her that I love her very much and that she could imagine marrying me. She said yes, but she would have to ask her father's permission first. Fortunately, her father agreed with our decision. The anticipation is an emotion. She waits longingly for a future, positive event. We also waited with joy for our wedding day and for the time ...

Who is Nicodemus?

During his earthly life, Jesus attracted the attention of many important people. One of the most remembered people was Nicodemus. He was a member of the High Council, a group of leading scholars who had Jesus crucified with the participation of the Romans. Nicodemus had a very different relationship with our Savior-a relationship that completely changed him. When he met Jesus for the first time, he insisted ...

Bear good fruit

Christ is the vine, we are the branches! Grapes have been harvested to make wine for thousands of years. This is an elaborate process because it requires an experienced cellar master, good soil and perfect timing. The vineyard pruners and cleans the vines and observes the ripening of the grapes to determine the exact time of harvest. There is hard work behind it, but if everything fits together, it was the ...

All people are included

Jesus has risen! We can well understand the excitement of the assembled disciples of Jesus and the believers. He is risen! Death could not hold him; the grave had to release him. More than 2000 years later, we still greet each other with these enthusiastic words on Easter morning. "Jesus is risen indeed!" Jesus' resurrection sparked a movement that continues to this day - it began with a few dozen Jewish men and women who…

To be too good to be true

Most Christians do not believe the gospel - they think that salvation can only be achieved if one earns it by faith and morally impeccable life. "You do not get anything in life." "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is not true either." These well-known facts of life are inundated by each and every one of us through personal experiences. But the Christian message is against it. The…

It's not fair

It's not fair!" – If we paid a fee every time we heard someone say this or say it ourselves, we would probably get rich. Justice has been a rare commodity since the beginning of human history. As early as kindergarten, most of us had the painful experience that life is not always fair. So, no matter how much we resent it, we adapt, deceived, lied to, cheated on...

Sin and not despair?

It is very surprising that in a letter to his friend Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther admonishes him: "Be a sinner and let sin be mighty, but more powerful than sin be your trust in Christ and rejoice in Christ, that he is the sin, has overcome death and the world. At first glance, the call seems unbelievable. To understand Luther's reminder, we need to take a closer look at the context. Luther does not designate sinners ...

Jesus said, I am the truth

Have you ever had to describe someone you know and had trouble finding the right words? It has already happened to me and I know that others did as well. We all have friends or acquaintances whose description is difficult to put into words. Jesus had no problems with that. He was always clear, even when it came to answering the question "Who are you?". I especially like a job, where he works in ...

Come and drink

One hot afternoon I was working in the apple orchard with my grandfather as a teenager. He asked me to bring him the water jug ​​so that he could take a long sip of Adam's Ale (which means pure water). That was his flowery expression for fresh still water. Just as pure water is physically refreshing, God's Word enlivens our spirits when we are in spiritual training. Notice the words of the prophet Isaiah: «Because ...

Is there an eternal punishment?

Have you ever had reason to punish a disobedient kid? Have you ever stated that the punishment would never end? I have some questions for all of us who have children. Here comes the first question: Was your child disobedient to you? Well, take some time to think if you are not sure. Okay, if you answered yes like all other parents, we come to the second question: ...

Identity in Christ

Most who are over 50 years old will remember Nikita Khrushchev. He was a colorful, stormy character who, as a leader of the former Soviet Union, slammed his shoe on the lectern when speaking to the United Nations General Assembly. He was also known for his explanation that the first man in space, the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, "flew into space, but saw no god there." As for Gagarin himself, ...

The medium is the message

Social scientists use interesting words to describe the time in which we live. You probably heard the words "pre-modern", "modern" or "postmodern". In fact, some call the time we live now a postmodern world. Social scientists also suggest different techniques for effective communication for each generation, be it the Builders, the Boomers, the Busters, the X-ers, the Y-ers, Z-ers. ...