“Reden ist Silber, Schweigen ist Gold,” is a German saying (proverb) I remember. I am translating it into English like this: “Talking is silver, but being quiet is gold.”

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where we find it indeed very difficult, and I mean very difficult, to be quiet, not to open our mouth and reply something.

Have you ever been in a situation like that?

From long ago, maybe even from the time I believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, I remember reading in in the Bible Isaiah 30:15, where it says, “…, in quietness … is your strength, …”

This morning I managed not to open my mouth in a very difficult situation and keep quiet.

Should I be surprised?

No, I should be thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ is helping me to learn a very important lesson, a lesson I should have probably learned long ago.

Let’s remember that gold has more value than silver.

“The health of nations is more important than the wealth of nations, ” said Will Durant.

First of all we want to remind ourselves that there is physical health and that there is also spiritual health.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

Our local paper is reporting recently that one doctor succumbed to burn – out, because of the shortage of General Practitioners. We are also reading that newcomers to our area, the Far North of New Zealand, are told, that no surgery will enroll them.

“HEALTH [PHYSICAL HEALTH] ISN’T EVERYTHING, BUT WITHOUT IT EVERYTHING IS NOTHING!” – Dr. Hans Diehl

SPIRITUAL HEALTH

Fewer …

That we have 13% fewer adults, 22% fewer teens, 26% fewer children in our churches compared to a decade ago reported the New Zealand Baptist statistician not long ago. And she reported also that less than 10 children are recorded in 30% of the Baptist Churches in New Zealand.

Let us remind ourselves again also that SPIRITUAL HEALTH is more important than PHYSICAL health.

“But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” – Genesis 45:7

“And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” – Genesis 45:5

“An Gottes Segen ist alles gelegen,” is a saying, a proverb, I remember from Germany. It even rhymes and I translate the proverb like this: “Without the blessing of the Lord everything is nothing.”

And not long ago I found out in a special way that that is really true.

There is a Bible verse hanging on the wall in the room where I am usually working in. The framed verse is really old. If I remember correctly I saw the verse for the first time in a dwelling in Auckland. That must have also been the place where I took the picture at the top of this post. I have also been told that someone wrote this verse for someone as a birthday present. It was the twenty first birthday of someone. And that was about 80 years ago.

The framed verse has been hanging on the wall in my room for quite some time now, but it is not many days ago that the Lord really blessed me by looking at the framed verse and reading it. And what a blessing it is. I have memorized the verse and can easily find it in the Bible. Here is the verse in modern English:

“YOU WILL KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE HIM WHOSE MIND IS STEADFAST, BECAUSE HE TRUSTS IN YOU.” – Isaiah 26:3

Let me say here first of all that for the first 18 years of my life I did not really know the real meaning of CHRISTMAS, like so many people!

Food Stalls, Christmas Carols, Entertainment, and Giveaways at Jaycee Park.

“Jesus said to her, ‘I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL LIVE, EVEN THOUGH HE DIES, AND WHOEVER LIVES AND BELIEVES IN ME WILL NEVER DIE. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?'” – John 11:25,26

“They replied, ‘We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you.” – Genesis 26:28