At the beginning of the letter Paul said that he was praying for the readers, the people of Thessalonica. Now he puts it in practice: 23May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our […]
Read moreMy daughter’s friend enters with a joke: How do two prophets greet one another? “You are doing well. How am I?” LOL! I think in pictures and can just imagine the two prophets giggling together when they do it. Today prophets aren’t as common as in Old Testament times when there were more than 133 […]
Read moreThe Lord has never spoken to me in an audible voice. I’ve never heard a deep voice saying: “Gerjo Ben, you must do this or that”. I often say this, because it’s true and I envy the people to whom God talks like that. But God often talks to us through his Spirit that is […]
Read moreGiepie, a policeman from Oshakati in Oshana, Namibia, wrote to me: One morning my arm hurt. I went to the State hospital where a young Army doctor was on duty and complained to him about my arm. Then he invited me to walk with him. He took me to the casualty ward where patients were […]
Read moreLike it happens in all marriages, my wife and I sometimes also argue. Often about the smallest of things and then a cold war threatens. No one enjoys it. Then one of us will make a weak joke and when the other one can’t help laughing, we raise the white flag. I’ve thought about this […]
Read moreGod’s idea is that we should walk through life filled with joy. We shouldn’t walk around with long faces. That is not how God meant it to be. But we struggle. We struggle to find our joy in all the hardship. We struggle to make Paul’s command part of our lives: 16Be cheerful no matter […]
Read moreWe are emotional beings. God made us that way. That is why we are so easily influenced emotionally by our circumstances. It is difficult for me to be joyful when someone close to me is in pain. I can’t laugh when I know my friend is hurting. I feel depressed when my cash flow looks […]
Read moreI get goosebumps over my whole body as I listen to Elana’s (not her real name) story: My husband and I were married for almost 30 years when my daughter discovered that my husband was planning to marry another woman. While we were still married! Shortly after that I found out that the cancer in […]
Read moreI learnt a big lesson about forgiveness from Tertia (not her real name): Three years ago, I met some people. I am so grateful that with grace from Above, I could guide them to make a choice for Jesus. A close and loving relationship developed between us. They became like my own children. Inexplicably, the […]
Read moreI wonder why we are so impatient. Is it part of the fall into sin? You know, if you stay in a town where the traffic is bad, you must be on the lookout all the time. No time for sleeping on the job. If you want to turn right at the traffic lights and […]
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