Building Bridges.....

  Christmas is, first and foremost, about Love, God's Love. How much does God love us? God loves us so much that God gave us the most precious gift imaginable, Jesus, God's own Son. That's the heart of Christmas. (John 3:16) Christmas is a time of renewal, of fresh starts and coming together. I hope that this Christmas will bring you joy and peace. I hope that if you are travelling that you will stay safe and enjoy your days of travel. I pray for all of you who are staying, at home,  that you will enjoy the light of Christmas in your own place, that you belongs to a community of believers and that you can meet and have a great time together. May Jesus fill your existence with adoration and may you be honored with unlimited motivations to grin and cheer.  Happy Christmas.

  Celebrating Advent involves spending time in spiritual preparation. The word advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning "arrival" or "coming," particularly the coming of something of great importance. No one is really sure when Advent was first celebrated but it dates back to at least 567 when monks were ordered to fast during December leading up to Christmas. Not all denominations celebrate Advent, however, more and more Protestant and Evangelical Christians are recognising the spiritual significance of Advent. Advent is NOT: ▪ Shopping ▪ Parties ▪ Stressing Advent is: ▪ Waiting ▪ Preparing ▪ Expecting ▪ Praying ▪ Hoping Not waiting for Christ to be born but for Christ to be back. When we prepare for Christmas it is a very likely that we think of Luke. Luke helps us to see the whole picture of history. From creation all the way to the "new" creation. Jesus is the center of it all. Luke help us to see what it was like in the very first century. Lu

  For many years, the number of small birds in our residential areas declined.  Nobody really knows why. Could be pesticides, habitats for the birds, etc. But then a few years ago the small birds came back.  Last year we had a record number of nesting pairs of tawny owls, blue tits, chaffinch and house sparrows. Also a lot of robins. Last winter these flocked around our bird tables. Great fun and useful for biodiversity. For many years, our condominium association has not done much about the vegetation in our area. It has looked messy but these little birds have benefited from it. But this year, replanting has been started. Most bushes and small trees have been dug up. It looks neat, maybe a bit spartan, but the small birds has disappeared.  This is also true for rabbits and hedgehogs. I don't know what to say but the clearing has gone into overdrive. There is a lot of talk about the environment and climate and that is good, but how about well-being for the wildlife. Let's hope

I don't want to be snarky, but even more shootings. The title is shootings 4, but it's not at all shooting no 4 in Sweden. The number is way higher. I don't have the exact number but I think 47 people are shot dead this year so far. Every day when you open your ipad to read the news, you are met with terrible images. Yesterday, a mother and her five-year-old son were shot while they were out playing. Damaged by bullets not intended for them. when you scroll, you read about an explosion outside a medical center. Knife fight at a school etc... It's election year this year, politicians don't talk anymore, act!

Now it has happened again. Another person shot dead in my town. Unfortunately, it happens daily in Sweden, but this time it was unfortunately a step further. A man was shot dead, on a Friday afternoon in a crowded shopping center. The perpetrator was only 15 years old. A passing tourist was hit and is seriously injured. 100's of people became witnesses and many of them are shaken. Many need therapy. Where is our once peaceful and safe country heading? Even though our government has said that they are doing everything they can, they want to break down the gangs, nothing seems to be happening. What everyone needs is Jesus.

Nobody is knocking at my door. When I was a child, the doorbell rang often. Neighbors who needed to borrow sugar or flour. Friends who wanted to go out and play hockey or football.  Often it could be salespeople. Vacuum cleaners, insurance, art, etc.  It also happened that Jehovah's witnesses knocked, and once there were two well-dressed guys who spoke bad Swedish but who wondered if we believed in the Bible and if we wanted to go to heaven. But today nobody is knocking at my door.Nowadays we have door codes, etc., but there are perhaps changes in our behavior. A week or so ago the doorbell rang. My dog ​​was barking like crazy and wouldn't stop even when I opened the door.  Outside stood two women who wanted to hand over some information and it turned out that they were election workers for the Socialists. They very much wanted to talk politics, and they were very clear that they were indeed the only option and the others were not a good pic. They also said that people in an a

  I love old churches. The history, the architecture, the art and the people behind the church itself and the society there and then.   In Sweden and Skåne county we have many medieval churches. Many have unfortunately been demolished or rebuilt to accommodate a growing congregation. This happened especially in the 19th century. Unfortunately, the Reformation also meant a lot of changes.    Much of the medieval art has been destroyed. Paintings were burned or painted over. Many wooden sculptures have been burned or used for other purposes.   Still, there are many interesting churches in our vicinity. Lund Cathedral, Dalby Church, which is the oldest building in Sweden, built in 1060. and many, many others.   Relatively recently, we visited the Nordics' oldest brick church in Gumlösa. built in 1192. A purely architectural masterpiece.   Churches are very special buildings and they often do not leave people unaffected. In Genesis 28:16 we read about Jacob placing a stone at the holy

When I went to school, just like now, we had religion teaching, not Christian teaching like when my parents went to school. In the relatively few hours during a school year, today's students will devote these hours to all the major religions. I have noticed when talking to younger people that they lack basic knowledge of what Christianity stands for, what the Bible says and it is not so strange.  Unfortunately, these people are negatively affected as much of the history of Christianity in Sweden has laid the foundation for much of the Sweden we see today. I read an article some time ago that addressed the teaching in school and how incorrect the teaching was, especially when Christianity was to be reported. Among other things, it said that Evangelical groups are considered radical, some of the sacraments so sacred that no one really understands them, and that it could be that Jesus married with Mary Magdalene. Some of these views are completely incorrect as well as some mere specul

Right now there is a debate in Sweden  about "Religious schools" should be  allowed  or not.   In Sweden so called religious school are not that religious, they need to follow the curriculum and other laws. But there are some religious schools that are a problem, but as usual instead of dealing with them, they judge all schools as equal bad. Almost all political parties in Sweden is for a ban in order to stop some schools. Only one political party makes it clear were the problem is. I was on twitter the other day and I send an article to one politician who clearly is for a ban, and  surprisingly  he answered my tweet. He said something like: Religion is important I know, but a private thing in Sweden 2022. Well Pauls letter to Titus clearly tells us that we should not get involved in meaningless debates and I totally agree. This is what Paul writes in Titus 3:8-9,  I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have put their faith in God may take care to be energeti

  I rather recently read an article  by one of our best known historians here in Sweden named Dick Harrisson, who also used to be my sons professor in History at Lunds university.    The headline was :"There is a militant anti-Jesus current in our society"  Some say that he never existed. He is a fairitale figure.   Harrisson has just written a book about the Historical Jesus and to say that he never existed is ridiculous.   I also read that there is a change in the attitude towards Jesus, especially among young people. Many will say that they believe in God and are even open to the idea of the Holy Spirit.  But increasingly, Jesus has become the stumbling-block. They say things like, ‘I don’t get the Jesus bit.’    ‘The battle today is around Jesus.’   Yesterday I listen to the actor  Peter Stormare, well known for many Hollywood movies.    He said he has faith, not a religious person but a spiritual one, he mentioned Jesus but avoided the obvious facts about him.    Fear !?

Sad to say but recently we had riots here in Sweden. A right wing politician from Denmark, came  to burn the Quran. Many people were angry and the results were burning police cars, injured police officers etc. Freedom of speech is very strong but in order to reach muslims, burning the Quran is not the way, even though throwing rocks is not the way either.  Some say that burning books and offending religion should be banned and I am not questioning any point of view, but no media in Sweden are talking about the massive persecution against Christians in the middle east, parts of Asia and Africa. If you have the opportunity, talk to a Christian who fled Syria, Afghanistan, Libanon etc. Why do they flee? How was their situation? For them it was not just the Bible that was burned, it was their homes, churches, people etc. In the year 2020, around 4750 people were killed for their faith in Christ, and over 300 million people were discriminated against for their faith in Christ.. I am not phy

 The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian Faith, it proves that Jesus is God.   Paul writes: (I Cor 15:14, 17, 20) 14 and if the Messiah hasn’t been raised, our royal proclamation is empty, and so is your faith.  17 and if the Messiah wasn’t raised, your faith is pointless, and you are still in your sins.  20 But in fact the Messiah has been raised from the dead, as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep  If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then the Church is a fraud and Faith is a sham. But if Jesus really did rise from the dead, his message is true!  All the basic doctrines of Christianity are founded on the truth of the Resurrection.  “Jesus is Lord; He is risen!” (Rom 10:9)  We need to stay faithful to His words, we need as induviduals and as a community of belivers stay grounded on the word of God. We need to have faith in Him.