We forget , because we don't remember.

Responsibility means

“A duty to deal with something”

“The state or fact to be accountable”

“An ability to act independently”

These all are Google definitions, not bad.

The beginning of responsibility is easier to remember

than it’s continuation.

When glamour and heroism fade away, and decorative

words demand action, you understand how difficult

it is to separate words from human hearts.

They go deep, reaching “the joints and marrow”.

Future surprises will help us to remember.

Sometimes we just need to sit down and

define our responsibilities again.

Spiritual Wickedness in High Places

Ephesian 6:12

Continuing tensions and conflicts between spiritual leaders

are actually  an oxymoron. Maybe they are not leaders.

Maybe they are not spiritual.

It’s a satanic master plan to attack all the blessings that flow

from the determined forgiveness and trust.

It’s embarrassing to see a leader not forgive another leader. 

Time is more expensive than money

The rich are those, who have the freedom

to manage their time.

After all,

time is the greatest resource and condition

for our lives to succeed.

When money ends, you take time to make more of it.

When time ends, your money will not be able

to help you.

Have a peace about it?

How much peace of mind do you want?

Yes, the problem is that we can survive

with so much less.

I am the life.

John 14:6

And life goes on, unhindered, apologizing to nobody, not asking

for a permission, not waiting for better times.

Life has no need to blame anybody. It just goes on before and after us.

Man sees it’s victorious rally, but cannot put his stamp of ownership

on it. He has it , but it’s not his.

Man can torture it, abuse and bury it,

but he cannot stop it’s never-ending story.

Nothing in the past, present or future can frustrate it.

No failure has power to kill it.

It’s a wonderful life.

It is God himself crowning us with his beauty.

Discipleship means caring.

Discipleship, serving others by laying down your life,

has to work hard to convince the modern man, who has

managed to stand on his own feet and has found his own

voice long time ago.

Then the refugees come and kick everybody back to the

first square, where you have to depend on others and get

back to caring again.

 Listening to God, really?

When God says “Discipline”, we say, “We don’t like Legalism”.

When God says “Restrain”, we forget, what that word means.

When God says “Say no”, we say,

“Hmmshambadambakindofnobutnotsure”

Dying is not common, it happens once.

Getting used with the strange agreement

 “not to talk about death”

is a crime against humanity.

We build our cities, collect our monies

 and fix our bodies as if we

would be living forever on this corrupted planet.

Why does death come as a surprise,

 when everybody knows that

their feet are running desperately to the grave

 and nobody can stop them?

What do you say to a dying man?

“We all die one day”,

 is not a great encouragement at the gate of eternity.

Jesus said, ”I am the resurrection and the life.

 He who believes in me, 

though he may die, he shall live.

 And whoever lives 

and believes in me shall never die.

 Do you believe this?” 

John 14:25-26

Something Bigger Than Us

Self-orientation is one of the greatest enemies of forgiveness.

It’s a lie to think that the world spins around

 my thoughts and desires.
Our “own worlds” cannot survive even a second

without God’s greater grace.

Thinking soberly about ourselves is possible,

but not on our own conditions.

We are free to forgive, even when we don't feel for it.
Forgiveness cannot be controlled by us.

Content but Needy

Paul had agreed that God was teaching him contentment in

all circumstances in Philippians 4.

Nevertheless, he made it clear that his contentment doesn’t

take away his need to be encouraged by the church.

The uncomplaining, happy, spiritually minded people also

need to be ministered to. Even the pastors need a continuing

ministry of care beyond words from other believers.

Absurd Atheism

I said to an atheist, “The only difference between you and me is,

that God lives in me and doesn’t live in you.” He got offended.

Useless Activity

The flesh, the fallen nature of man, profits nothing.

Yet, most of our time is occupied with the activities of the flesh.

The flesh gets offended, frustrated and angry.

 It’s never happy with God’s spiritual solutions, such

as forgiveness, humility and grace.

The flesh claims to be practical , but is actually non-believing,  

finding  it’s inspiration in negativity and self-righteousness.

When we choose not to submit to the flesh, God fills our days

with heavenly joy. We can see His eternal purposes beyond

failures and disappointments.

Boldness

Spiritual boldness comes from walking in the light.

Proverbs 28:1

 Win-Win

Why is it so much easier to forget about

 our own sins than

it is to forget the sins of others? 

Matthew 18:21-35

Our main problem in relationships is selfishness. 

The modern civilization has

 become a self-oriented community,

where relationships are evaluated

 as business-deals and

privacy is exalted as the highest

 goal for a living standard.

Forgiveness will never work as a fifty fifty arrangement.

It seems like bad deal for the one

 who has been offended,

but it actually is an win-win deal

 for all who dare to participate.

His presence will lead us.

Exodus 33:18

The more time, health and wealth you have, the more

opportunities you have to sin.

But the opportunities to glorify God

don’t depend on any of these.

Our priority is not to ask for more money,

but to ask for more revelation of His presence.

“Show me your glory”, Moses said as he understood

that without God’s presence he would be desperately

lost with a million people in the wilderness.

He understood that his leadership didn’t depend on his talents.

It depended on the visibility of God in their midst.

Boredom has to go

There are so many good things in the world that

steal our time from better things.

Sometimes believers live a good but eventless life.

They have forgotten

that they have the power to initiate

the joy of heaven on the earth.

When all things become common, they become

uninteresting. The sense of holiness makes life interesting.

Christ can bring a celebration to all our boredom.

Trust

A handshake is a strong symbol for trust.

I have no weapon in my hand.

I make myself approachable to you.

It’s not possible to work together without trust.

Trust can be lost in one second, but cannot be

restored in a second.

It will take hard work, a lot of continuing forgiveness

and a long time to bring back trust.

Restored trust is a supernatural gift from God.

Slow Faithfulness

Alfiya ushered in by her father on her wedding day.

pic by Eija

The power of love is manifested in faithfulness.

Faithfulness is not a feeling. It's a decision.

The more time you have, the more faithful you can be.

 Greater Love

John 15:13

In order for love to be manifested it must go through trials.

The greatest test for love is time.

"You love me, all right. How long will your love last, till my first failure?"

When married people say, after being married for twenty years,

"We just don't love one another anymore", they can be encouraged to

learn to love one another again. It will be different. Maybe it could

even be Greater Love.