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You can have lots of questions about life, faith, God and Jesus. Some people ask questions yet never wait to hear the answer. Do you want find real answers? Listen to Jesus’ reply. When I was young, a teacher once forbid me to ask a question. That sounds strange, of course, because the schools should stimulate people to ask questions, don’t you think? Asking questions is always good!? But… the reality was, that I was asking questions all the time, while I was not really paying attention. I was just hiding my own attitude of being distracted by asking ‘smart’ questions. In the story of Jesus’ life, we see people asking questions to Jesus, but Jesus sees the real heart behind it. The teachers of Israel ask Jesus a question about a man, who was born blind. People think about punishment. Blind...

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.” The Pharisees said to him, “Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing.” “No,” Jesus answered, “even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going. You make judgements in a purely human way; I pass judgement on no one. But if I were to do so, my judgement would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me. It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my...

We all judge people for making mistakes yet we all make mistakes too. In this story Jesus protects an adulterous woman for the condemnation of her community. Why? It happens to me all the time. I try to blame people for the mistakes that I make. “Where were you? I was looking for you!” While I left home too late. Shame on me! Someone told me once: When you point your finger at someone,  three fingers are pointing back at you. In Jesus’ life, people were often trying to catch Jesus on a mistake. This time, they caught a woman who committed adultery. A huge crime in those days. Strangely enough we don’t hear about the man, who should have been involved surely. The spiritual leaders ask Jesus what to do. According to their law, the woman should be given the death penalty. It is clear tha...

The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering these things about Jesus, so they and the chief priests sent some guards to arrest him. Jesus said, “I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I shall go away to him who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me, because you cannot go where I will be.” The Jewish authorities said among themselves, “Where is he about to go so that we shall not find him? Will he go to the Greek cities where our people live, and teach the Greeks? He says that we will look for him but will not find him, and that we cannot go where he will be. What does he mean?” On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scriptur...

You may have heard many stories and opinions about Jesus. In the end it comes down to the question: what do you think about him? I have had many discussions with people about Jesus. He seems to be a good man for many people. Inspirational. Who do you think Jesus is? Just a good man? C.S. Lewis, the writer of Narnia, said this: “When you hear Jesus say that he is God ,one of the following must be true. Jesus is a: Lunatic: Jesus was not God, but he mistakenly believed that he was. Liar: Jesus was not God, and he knew it, but he said so anyway. Lord: Jesus is God. In this part of Jesus’ life, people are also having debates. Who is Jesus really? We try to get real proof of everything. We only believe what we see, and even then we doubt. Authorities deny that Jesus is the Messiah. People who s...

Maslow’s pyramid is well-known. We have our primary needs. In Jesus’ life we get another perspective. Maslow’s pyramid is well-known. We have our primary needs. If not fulfilled, we struggle. Hunger and thirst. They are primary elements of our daily life. They determine our everyday rhythm. We live from meal to meal. And if we don’t eat and drink, we’ll die. We cannot even think about the next level of Maslow. In Jesus’ life we get another perspective. Jesus knows this is crucial for our bodies, but he opens our eyes for other things. His view and perspective of life is broader and larger. Even beyond the level that Maslow talks about. Jesus looks beyond death, our body etc. He shows that food and drinks help to maintain our bodies, but they will never fulfill forever. We will be hungry ag...

As humans we are limited by laws and forces of nature. Jesus however breaks through those limitations and challenges our thinking. When I was young, I imagined a game in which there was no gravity. I could jump from a chair and fly through the room. The shock was big and the crash was hard when I ended up on the floor 😉 Daily, we’re dealing with our own limitations. Gravity keeps us ‘on the ground’ we cannot fly. Speed has its limitations. Forces of nature cannot be changed. The wind blows and will not stop in a moment’s time. In fact, it is hard to deal with things we don’t understand. Does prayer make a difference? If we cannot explain it, how could it change something? Can sick people be healed without the right medicine? We cannot imagine this. Much less, believe in life after death. I...

Faith is believing that things can happen that you cannot imagine. Bigger than your imagination or explanation. Jesus challenges our belief by doing miracles. How often have you dealt with things you couldn’t imagine, but happened anyway in the end. Like with a magician.When I was younger I ruined my friend’s bike one day. What was I going to do? I could never fix this or cover the costs. How was I going to get myself out of this trouble. But I had an idea. My father could repair it. I had faith in him. I don’t know how he did it, but he was able to fix the bike really well. Faith is believing that things can happen that you cannot imagine. Bigger than your imagination or explanation. This is what happens in this story of Jesus’ life. A big picnic. 5,000 men. Many women and children. Let’s...

“I can do nothing on my own authority; I judge only as God tells me, so my judgement is right, because I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants. “If I testify on my own behalf, what I say is not to be accepted as real proof. But there is someone else who testifies on my behalf, and I know that what he says about me is true. John is the one to whom you sent your messengers, and he spoke on behalf of the truth. It is not that I must have a human witness; I say this only in order that you may be saved. John was like a lamp, burning and shining, and you were willing for a while to enjoy his light. But I have a witness on my behalf which is even greater than the witness that John gave: what I do, that is, the deeds my Father gave me to do, these speak on my behalf a...

People have different opinions about Jesus and most are positive. You can see Jesus in various ways. But the question is how does Jesus want you to see him? Once I was on the street interviewing people. Asking them their opinion about Jesus. Who do you think he is? What are your thoughts about him? I assumed I would get a negative answer by asking people, but the reality was the opposite. What I found out was that most people like Jesus. And that seems a generic opinion. Even atheists like his character and find his life inspiring. Jesus is a great inspiring example for many people. Muslims have him in their Koran. I guess when we do a survey that almost everyone on this planet would appreciate him at the least.. During the time Jesus lived on earth, he was doing great miracles. Changing w...