BUT A POOR REFLECTION: Thoughts for Pentecost

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Thoughts for Pentecost

“So many people are searching for truth and integrity. Jesus never told us that our doctrines are the truth. He did say, ' I am the truth.' And he said more than that, because he said, 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.'
Now you and I, together with all other followers of Jesus, can become a mighty army for God’s Kingdom. An army consisting of people that want to follow and serve their Lord wherever he leads. That army consists of different legions and these legions are not exchanging friendly fire, but they are fighting the enemy side by side. That army is not wasting energy and fire power to convince its own troops, but all soldiers give everything they have in order to gain territory for the Master and his Kingdom. This will be a conquering army, because its power comes from Jesus’ victory on the cross.”

Quote taken from Volg jij Mij (You follow Me) - a challenging book written by Dutch author Hans van der Lee. I published this book in Dutch, but how can I share these inspirational thoughts with you if you can't understand my funny language? Well, either you all start learning Dutch, or I translate some thought-provoking words for you, which I did now. To return the favour, you can pray this prayer for Pentecost with me - all around the world!

Thank you for Pentecost, Lord Jesus. Please give us more from your Spirit, reunite us and help us to understand each other's hearts and languages, so that we can stand together as your unbeatable light force. Amen

Every God-begotten person conquers the world's ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world's ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4 - The Message)

3 comments:

jonboy said...: I agree with your thoughts about the importance of Christians standing together.
I'm not sure how things are in your part of the world, but over here, it seems as though Christians and non-Christians are becoming more polarized every day. The scary thing is, many Christians and various churches and denominations still refuse to work together toward the common goal.; 5/25/2007 4:21 pm
Anonymous said...: Docturines are not truth Jesus is. That is wise words. Sometimes we get caught up following our docturines that we forget about the one we should be following.; 5/26/2007 2:46 am
Paul said...: @ jonboy - sorry for the delay in replying to your comment.
In the Netherlands Christians are more outspoken than, let's say, 10 years ago. In the national media, pop culture and politics Christians speak up, participate and get noticed. I know that our country has an image problem abroad, but I see some positive signs.
There are still many divisions among the many churches in our country, but I do believe that young Christians are not as shy or as polarized as their parents.
I do pray that God will send us revival. Hopefully Christians will start to appreciate their differences in style and culture and start doing the work that our Lord told us to do: share the good news in words and deeds!; 6/04/2007 9:42 pm

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God loves us

Have you ever wondered why God gives so much? We could exist on far less. He could have left the world flat and grey; we wouldn’t have known the difference. But he didn’t. He splashed orange in the sunrise and cast the sky in blue. And if you love to see geese as they gather, chances are you’ll see that too. Did he have to make the squirrel’s tail furry? Was he obliged to make the birds sing? And the funny way that chickens scurry or the majesty of thunder when it rings? Why give a flower fragrance? Why give food its taste? Could it be he loves to see that look upon your face?

Max Lucado - He Chose the Nails

Sadhu Sundar Singh

I do not condemn theologians wholesale, but it is unfortunately the fashion in Western thinking to doubt and deny everything. I protest this tendency. I never advise anyone to consult theologians, because all too often they have completely lost all sense of spiritual reality. They can explain Greek words and all that, but they spend too much time among their books and not enough time with the Master in prayer. It is not that I oppose all education, but education without life is certainly dangerous. You must stop examining spiritual truths like dry bones! You must break open the bones and take in the life-giving marrow.

Oswald Chambers

In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were never any clouds in our lives, we would have no faith. "The clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nahum 1:3). They are a sign that God is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow, bereavement, and suffering are actually the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near us without clouds— He does not come in clear-shining brightness. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 29th)