Changing one's opinion

is a confusing element in human behavior.

Politicians are not the only ones who do that.

We all change, influenced by other opinions,

by the winds of time.

Sometimes it's a change from ignorance to knowledge;

sometimes a change from inconvenience to convenience;

sometimes from the truth to a lie.

Another day I was arranging my visa to travel .

The lady at the consulate told me to come back on Wednesday.

When I went back on Wednesday she exclaimed,

"I said Wednesday, but I meant Thursday!"

Opinions come with responsibilities.

Does a changed mind give us the right to step out 

of responsibilities? We can do it, but not without consequences.

Our character, integrity and trustworthiness are at stake.

"but a faithful man who can find?"

Proverbs 20:6

Our credibility will be in danger every time when 

the motivation for our changed opinion

is something less than the truth.

In today's climate personal opinions and rights are

encouraged more than the judgment between right and wrong.

We need to continue running to the Rock that is higher than us.

Psalm 61:2

"We are much more

than what we are allowed to be,"

said a young artist in her interview.

I could hear the frustration in her mind.

The dream of living a life without any

rules and restrictions lives in every man's heart.

That would work, if we were the only person

with a free will in this universe.The earth

is too populated for such a luxury. 

We are called to live on this planet together.

No man is an island.

Restrictions, borders and limitations define

relationships. Even though man has abused

them to an extreme, they are necessary.

Without borders there can be no defined goals.

When apostle Paul spoke about his own call

he used the word "separated unto the Gospel."

Romans 1:1

Strong's dictionary defines this word to mean

"to mark off by boundaries" and "to limit."

Drawing the line "in the sand" continues to be

a way to guard our values and to define our goals. 

"The lines are fallen

unto me in pleasant places;

yea, I have a goodly heritage."

Psalm 16:6

The lines that God has drawn for us are goodly.

Conservative

is a word that refers to a person who holds 

on to traditional values

and achievements.

Sometimes it’s misinterpreted to mean

 a non innovative, risk-free and stagnated person 

who is resisting all progress.

Jesus was a very radical conservative. 

Whenever he spoke things changed. 

He honored the given foundations for his own

nation and the mankind by bearing 

the burden and paying the price himself for others.

 He did not abolish the law, but fulfilled it.

He continually invited people to move on with the flow of life:

Seek, Ask, Knock! 

Don’t put the new wine into the old wine-skins.

Let the dead bury the dead.

Jesus never claimed to be conservative or liberal.

 He simply said,

“I am the Truth.”

John 14:6

Own ways, own words, own pleasures

are so difficult to give up (Isaiah 58:13).

The list could go on: own achievements,

 own ideas, own religion, own problems, 

own strength, own house, own life...

Even in his relationship with God man is trying

to possess him and fence him so that others could

not steal him.

When visiting Jeddah I was invited to visit Eve's grave.

Yes, they claim to possess the oldest sight in the world,

the grave of Eve, the mother of the mankind.

After walking in the guards asked me about my religion.

I told them that I'm a Christian and they kicked me out.

It was hilarious.

In tribal wars men were stealing

one another's idols. It's such a ridiculous thought

to think that somebody could steal your god.

A self-centered life is one of the greatest enemies

of a living faith.

Jesus said to the young, rich, ruler,

"Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor,

 and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,

follow me."

The man became very sorrowful,

 "for he was very rich."

He went away, rich, but sad.

Luke 18:22-23

Why do I believe?

Is it because of all the scientific evidence that clearly

points to a Creator?

Why do I continue to pray when it often feels like

I'm just talking to myself?

Why do I read the Bible daily even though I already

know the story by heart?

Do I believe because I'm afraid of the punishment ?

I believe because without the Savior I'm lost in

my own guilty mind. I cannot find rest in 

the vast universe without His leading.

He is the Shepherd of my soul.

His rod and His staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

"No one ever cared for me like Jesus."

Neighbor

Sixth Day

Fifth Day 

Fourth Day

Third Day

Second Day

First Night in a New Country

Yesterday Night's Talent Show!

Who are you?

Check-point business is growing fast in today's climate.

Travelling around the world is technically easier than ever,

but also increasingly annoying.

You'll end up queuing at the borders for hours,

for what? For proving your identity. Without the proper

documents you don't exist.

I was reading about a woman who said to have almost 

one hundred alter egos. She claimed to live a normal,

but different life. Daily she was navigating through 

different voices that came from inside. She even said that

her friends were so used to it that they have learned

to help her.

They call this  DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder.

With some definitions we all have it.

Our mind is filled with projections, demands, expectations

and lies about our identity.

The more the battle grows between different, conflicting 

identities, the more people need help.
 Many will be willing to give it 

for someone else to decide who they are. The market

for Identity Fixing is flourishing.

Jesus was teaching his disciples daily about their identity.

Finally He concluded, "I am in you, you are in me."

Who are you? I'm a CHRISTiam.

New thoughts

come with news words and with new ideas.

If we only accept the things that

we learned in the Kindergarten,

we'll end up limiting God and ourselves.

When Peter was given a vision to step

 out from his comfort zone

and reach out to the gentiles,

 his first answer was categorical no.

He later admitted that God's plan was bigger

than his own nationality and culture.

I remember listening to a preacher,

who said that he rejects every

book that starts with the word "new".

Just by looking at him you could tell

that he was living according to his message. 

He had chosen to park somewhere 

over thirty years ago.

God gives us new things,

 but he doesn't change.

He calls us to walk in the newness of life,
not in the old new life.

Romans 6:4

Reading people

can be confusing.

Some people, like open books,

welcome you into their lives,

others keep their books shut 

and their covers misleading.

Then there's the small text.

Very few people have enough

patience to navigate through that.

Often it's a good advice to stop reading

and start listening,

not on the phone or Skype, Facebook;
 not through other people,

but face to face.

But, who has time for that?

Yes, who has time for that?

Don't bite

the hand that feeds you.

You'll be hurting yourself.

The Devil knows that this is one of

his best strategies.This was his first

message to Adam.He sowed distrust

into man's heart. Dividing the best friends

is a success story in his kingdom.

When man despised

his creator, father and  best friend,

he lost his grip of love.

Angry, barking dogs are a sad picture

of the mankind that once was given 

the paradise.

The paradise was lost  from man's sight,

 but never from his heart.

God himself came to get us back.

The crucifixion seemed like 

an attack from man's

side, but it was actually 

the greatest expression

of God's unending love.

 You can bruise him

and cut him into pieces,

 but every piece of him

will continue loving you 

and embracing you.

None of the painful bites will stop him.

Doing Your Homework

has become faster and in the same time more

time consuming.You can google history, people,

science, neighbors, enemies, businesses, stones,

insects, gods, inner organs, yourself, 

yes, everything that man can think about.

In the daily searching process you'll end up trusting

less and less in your own discernment  and buy more 

and more into Google's omniscience.

Hey, what's going on?

In Google's dictionary the definition of the word

Google ends with a statement "Whether we like it or not,

we now live in a Google-centric world."

Can you smell something burning here?

Temporary Life

is very frustrating without

 a relationship with God.

It all comes to an end. 

Money will not last. Joy will fade away.

Muscles are aching, teeth are falling,

steps are getting shorter. 

All lights will be turned off sooner or later.

People go somewhere and never return.

Jesus was speaking about lasting joy,

 lasting fruit, everlasting life.

This helps us to laugh at our temporary trials.

 They are nothing

 in comparison with the eternal

sensations that cannot

 be discouraged by time.

No End To The Law

The law has no power to change man. 

It only can control his untamed behavior.

The more your control man,
 the more you have to control him.

Man's fall is a bottomless pit.
 The deeper you go,

the darker it gets.

New laws and restrictions are issued
 all over the world daily.

Control will obviously be the password
 for all the future societies.

The more laws the existing laws reproduce,
 the weaker  the law becomes and
 the more clear it will be to everyone,

that the law has no power to save man.

Christ is the end of the law.

Trust in  Promises Tested

A promise given without an appointed time

is one of the greatest tests for love.

Is it the same God?

Different religions are all attempting 

to worship the God of Abraham, the God

who spoke to Abraham.

They all want to worship the right God

(because of the witness of eternity in their hearts),

but many end up worshiping the god of this world

who hijacks them with the nets of ignorance.

Paul seemed to believe that some people in Athens were

worshiping the same God as he did, but in ignorance,

 Acts 17:23.

 He told them the name of the

God, whom they were already attempting to find.

Did Cain and Abel sacrifice to the same God?

Yes, but one did it right , the other one did it wrong.

It's possible that a lot of non-christian people 

actually worship our God,

but wrongly, ignorantly, imperfectly...

Isn't this the main reason why we are out here,

telling them His name and sharing with them that

this loving God had them in His heart 

even before the world was created.