“GOTT IST TREU (GOD IS FAITHFUL),” is the title of a book written by Stephan Holthaus.

(I have two copies in German and I am quite happy to give them away. Please ask for a copy!)

“GOTT IST TREU”

It is the story of the Bible College in Germany I went to many years ago.

At the moment I am learning that it is important to be good stewards of our life stories. In fact the Bible teaches that God not only commanded the Israelites to teach their children His law, but also their family history.

The Lord worked in their behalf and it was the responsibility of the parents and grandparents to tell their children their stories. Please read the beginning of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament chapter four.

You have a unique story to tell, just as I have a unique story to tell.

DO OTHERS KNOW …

… what you believe?

… why you believe what you believe?

… the story of how you came to faith?

… how God has worked in your life to strengthen your faith?

… how God has helped you through doubts and disappointments? (Think about those questions and give an answer!)

Just as “God is Faithful” is the story of the Bible College I went to many years ago, I can say that “God is Faithful” is the story of my life.

Bible school BRAKE in Germany

Picture / Bibelschule Brake

Matthew 3:16

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.” – Matthew 3:16

AT THE BEACH

Pre-planning and preparing for the unexpected is very important.

“She’ll be right.” Is that your attitude?

“‘She’ll be right,’ won’t really cut it,” I am reading in an insurance brochure.

“They have an attitude of ‘she’ll be right’ when often that is not the case at all,” says Maritime New Zealand deputy director about people who ignore water safety rules like wearing a life jacket, letting people know where you are going, when you will be back and taking a communication device with you.

In Australia and New Zealand we say “she’ll be right,” the rest of the world says “that’s all right” or “not to worry.”

If pre-planning and preparing is very important for the unexpected, how much more important is it to be prepared for the expected.

(All of us are going to die, whether we expect it or not.)

“‘Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel,'” the Bible says in Amos 4:12

Are you prepared to meet God?

What is the most widespread disability in New Zealand?

That is the question I was asked today.

Do you know the answer? I did not and when I was told that the answer is hearing loss, I began to think …

(The question comes from the puzzle pages of a magazine.)

I think the hearing of everyone of us is impaired when it comes to hearing the voice of the Lord. What do you think?

The author of the Bible is God, the Holy Spirit.

The Lord is speaking to us through his Word, the Bible.

Have you heard of  George Mueller and  F. B. Meyer?

I found George Mueller’s and F.B. Meyer’s formula for finding guidance in the book ONE HUNDRED BIBLE LESSONS by Alban Douglas.

George Mueller:

1. Surrender your own will. Have no definite choice on the matter. Be absolutely neutral.

2. Seek the Spirit’s will through God’s Word.

3. Note providential  circumstances.

4. Pray for guidance.

5. Wait on God.

 F. B. Meyer:

“When the Word of God, the impulse of the Holy Spirit in my heart, and the outward circumstances are in harmony, then I am convinced that I am acting in accordance with the will of God.”

We have learnt that hearing loss is the most widespread impairment in New Zealand. But we want to learn also that hearing the voice of the Lord is not only the most widespread impairment in New Zealand but word wide. Tell me what you think, please!

“THE MOTTO FOR THIS YEAR MUST BE:

 ‘DEVOTE YOURSELVES TO PRAYER.'”

– Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Happy NEW YEAR to all”

“See the world,” it says on the Kiwibank brochure, I picked up today at the local Post Office.

When I read about seeing the world, a hymn in German comes to my mind.

Inside the Kiwibank brochure it says:

“Every month, well over 150,000 Kiwis head off for an overseas jaunt – but are they as prepared as they could be?”

For those who don’t know Kiwis are New Zealanders.

In the German hymn the author says in the first two verses that she has travelled the world and she thinks that the world is beautiful and big, but that she is homesick for her heavenly home.

The World is beautiful and big

In the second and third verse she says about the people of the world that they are looking for something and cannot find it.

The fourth verse and the last verse tells us about the rest we can find in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross.

I am from Germany, live now in New Zealand, have visited a number of countries and lived in Thailand for a good number of years, and I would also say what Eleonore von Reuss says about the world and the people, who wrote the hymn in German that comes to my mind when I hear and read about the world. Eleonore von Reuss wrote the hymn about in 1850.