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Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. “How is your heart?” I remember the first time someone asked me this question; I wasn’t long a Christian and was confused by what my friend was getting at.  “It’s still beating,” I cheekily replied, stuck for anything more profound to say. The state of our hearts matters to God.  The Lord twice commands the prophet Ezekiel to tell the Israelites that He will “remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” […]

As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart. When I read this Proverb I can’t help but think of Narcissus – the hunter from Greek mythology who was known for his beauty and who became so full of pride that he actually fell in love with the reflection of his face.  Of course, it is from this character that we get the word ‘narcissism’. I doubt many of us reading these verses today can completely relate to Narcissus, but I am sure that we have all experienced narcissism.  If we are thinking […]

Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them. In last night’s interview with Ivan Ivanović, writer, poet, and academician Matija Bečković talks about people who: “They don’t know anything, but they know that there is no God. These are people who, therefore, know what no one knows. Those same people, when you ask them how much is 9×8, they answer, – where to find it, that’s the most difficult.” – continued Bečković jokingly. I hope we can all agree that it is very […]

Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. It has been said that patience is not just about the waiting process, but how we behave during the wait.  At various points in the Psalms, David commands us to wait on the Lord with strength and courage (Ps 27, 31, 40).  Paul regularly comes back to the idea of ‘standing firm’ in our faith (1 Cor 15:58, 16:13, Eph 6:11-13, Phil 1:27, 4:1). Patience is a theme that runs through the entire Bible.  The Israelites weren’t very good at […]

Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice. Oh the shame I feel when I read this verse!  There is something so deliciously delightful about seeing an opponent lose or struggle, especially if they have been gloating or rubbing their skills in our faces.  And there seems to be something in human nature which longs for revenge or to smuggly say the words „I told you so.“ Jesus warned Peter that Peter was going to deny him three times before he was crucified – Peter promised Jesus […]

Do not let your hearts envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. When sharing her testimony, one of my friends always says „Life became more difficult since becoming a Christian.“  Sometimes we can find ourselves looking at the lives of our friends or relatives outside of the church and think „Look how easy they have it – their standard of living is much lower than mine / they have no obligation to respect the […]

Humility is the fear of the Lord; it’s wages are riches and honour and life. I wonder what you strive for, hope for, or dream about? If you are anything like me, you long to be recognised, respected and honoured.  Perhaps you long for the security of riches, or to have greater control over life and death? None of these desires are in themself wrong. What is often wrong is the way to them, or our expectations of how reality will unfold.  Life with God is contrary to life in this world.  Yet how much […]

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord. Have you ever come across someone whose actions do not match their words? This Proverb is a clear example of how Solomon did not practice what he taught. In Deuteronomy 17:16 the Israelites are forbidden from importing horses and using them for their own gain. Yet Solomon imported 40,000 horses during his reign as king.  Reliance on horses for safety was ascribed as vain (Psalm 33:17). While it is not wrong to make use of material things, we need […]

Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? We all can fall into the tendency of thinking of ourselves as better than we actually are.  We find ourselves making promises that we cannot keep; a pact to keep a secret and then two days later we find ourselves passing the information onto someone else; a declaration of trust „I will never hurt/betray/leave you“ that is broken sooner than we ever saw possible; marriage vows that seem so easy to say and yet so hard to keep. Our intentions are good, […]

Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. “Hasty feet lose the head,” – my grandmother used to tell me. Once I was in such a hurry to get to the train station in Stockholm on time that I arrived too early and therefore got on the wrong train on the right platform. Fortunately, I didn’t lose my head, I ended up going in the wrong direction and got a funny story to tell my grandchildren. David’s nephew Asahel lost his head because of his zeal and haste. Without need and without orders, he […]