Building Bridges.....

6 a.m A wet and very dark morning in the middle of December. A young man drives his car, perhaps to fast. He might be a bit late for work. He drives on the rather badly lit road. Suddenly from nowhere a person shows up. To late. The impact on the car must be enormous. The windscreen is crushed. I can only imagine the panic the driver must feel. 6 a.m, A young woman, a colleague is stepping of the bus. heading for work. She wears dark clothes as very popular these days. She crosses the road. The car that she probably sees, seems not to stop to let her cross over, the car she think will stop for her might not see her.The car she sees might drive to fast. The impact is hard, it is brutal. Almost immediately her life is lost. A mother, sister, brother loses a child, sibling .Lots of people lost a dear friend. A death so tragical effecting so many people, easily could be avoided by reflectors, low speed, bright street lamps or speed bumps. It must feel hard for the closest to her ...

I love to listen to Christmas music. I have my favourites and I bet you have that as well. When we listen to the lyrics at one of the Christmas songs we can hear this: Silent night, Holy night All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin, mother and child Holy infant, tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace. First, Mary was in labour, there were blod and amniotic fluid everywere. Mary was pretty young, perhaps as young as 12-13 years old. No experience. Mary and Josef was not in a sterile hospital with a number of nurses around. King Herod was ruling the country at this time and he let his brutal soldiers killed every little boy child up to two years old they could find. The soldiers big needle-sharp swords chop the little baby's to pieces. It was a horrible time and it was in the midst of this God became flesh. It was not Silent, it was not in peace

Dare to dream Do you have a dream ? I think we all have dreams in our lives that some of us will fulfil or already has, but in many cases the dreams stay just dreams. When you have a dream and keep it for yourself and not doing something about is then I'm pretty sure nothing is going to happen. Things can change when we: * Acknowledge that you have a dream *Pray. *Dare to tell others about the dream. *Plan around your dream. *Take actions. I heard a story about a small church in Guthenburg Sweden. It was a nice church, but a dying one. The Pastor and his team had dreams about the church. They Prayed together, but they didn't dare to tell others about the dream. Therefor they did not plan or take actions. So they were on square one all the time. One day they realised that they had to tell others about the dreams they had. People got excited. They prayed, they planed and they took actions. In just a few years they went from around 40 people to 1000 people...

There are many things we can talk about, discuss, argue about. Many things we can have different oppinions about. To have that is actually healthy for us , for an organistation or church, but there are fundamental things. When the rather new archibishop in Sweden adressed that " there can be many different ways to God", then she steps in to a pit. Jesus clearly tells us in "John 14:6" Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus in not one way he is THE way! Rather clear....

Last Saturday I took a walk with our small Chihuahua puppy. Hardly no wind, sunshine but a bit misty, around +18C and time around 10 a.m. Near by our house there were some people and at the near by football field just the same, but just around 1 km away from our home, I suddenly discovered that we (the dog and I) were totally alone. We live in the third biggest city in Sweden and yes we live at the outskirts but still, a city with around 300.000 people and you can be alone The only thing I could hear was our footsteps and some birds in the trees. I saw some rabbits, magpie, a hare, and even a pheasant. I felt such an inner peace and I started to pray out loud thanking God for this beauty. Job 12:7-9 - But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

Do you pray for your family? Recently, my friend Pastor Tom had a sermon in our church about "How to pray for your family" In order to successfully pray for your family you not only need Pastor Tom's 10 points that are: Ask God to soften their hearts. Ask God to send a spirit of conviction. Ask God to send a spirit of revelation. Ask God to bring His Word to their remembrance. Pray prayers of forgiveness. Pray for laborers for the harvest. Pray for a revelation of Eternity. Resist the enemy Solicit others to pray in like manner. Pray for a revelation of God’s love You also need to: Have patience and persistence. Pray with a humble, repentant heart. To nurture your own personal relationship with God Remember, no matter what God really loves you and your family That when you can't talk to your family about God, then talk to God about your family. Start praying!

Ive been out in the streets and in the big department stores and I can see people with crosses around their neck and other Christian symbols. I don't know if they have a faith or not but still they carry Christian symbols and they dare. I see people on the streets wearing Muslim symbols, I don't know how religious they are but still they carry it, with no problems. I see people wearing t-shirt or bags with the American flag, some wearing the Union Jack. I don't know how patriotic they are, but still they carry it, like a normal thing. I see people carry political symbols, I don't know how interested and how involved they are in to politics, but still they carry it. What I don't see though some wearing Jewish symbols or flags, why? They cant, they don't dare. isn't that scary!? Whats even more scary is that no one seams to care....

Have you ever been angry? Do you have a "hot temper" Have you sometimes been told that it’s not a good idea being angry? Well if this is you I'm pretty sure you are not alone. To be angry does not help you in many situations in life. I know that in anger you many times say things you really did not want to say, and later on you need to apologise. But there is a righteous anger, a so-called "godly anger" that we need to be aware of. If we can’t get angry at the mean and false things happening to us and around us, we have no way to stay against Satan. The Bible clearly is telling us that: "Be angry but sin not" Ephesians 4:26 The first person to be angry in the Old Testament is found in Genesis 4:5, was Cain. Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.” The first person to be angry in the New Testament (Mt 2:17), was Herod. In Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years ...

When I'm writing this we have just been celebrating Easter. For many people Easter means some days of vacation, good food and time spend with friends and family. Nothing wrong with that. During this Easter I have had four days of, had some lovely food and spend time with nice friends. But! On Maundy Thursday, Jesus is having the last supper with his disciples. Jesus washes the feet of his disciples and commands them to love one another. Later on during the night at the garden in Gethsemane Jesus is betrayed, caught and interrogated. On Good Friday, Pilate makes the decision that Jesus should be put to death by crucifixion. Nails are hammered in to his hands and feet and after six horrible painful hours Jesus dies on the cross. On Easter eve, Saturday the disciples are terrified and are hiding. They really don't know what to believe anymore. Sunday morning, resurrection Sunday when the women are coming to the temporary grave where Jesus is placed, they n...

I meet rather often people from different backgrounds, sex and ages, who all are for the freedom of speech They stand up for people who have different opinions, thoughts and Ideas. When I then say to these people that I believe in Jesus Christ, that he died on the cross for our sins, they cant really cope with that. They start arguing, question me, in a very aggresive way. They start joking and asks me silly questions. I then wonder, Why do they suddenly change their opinion, tolerating another opinion? Jesus words are true, they cut like a hot knife in butter,perhaps thats why!? Jesus himself said: And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Mark 13:13) Amen!

Saul who later on changed his name to Paul was once a dangerous enemy to Christians. He did almost everything to hunt them down. Saul was a cruel man, responsible for the stoning of Stephen. In my view and in many others he deserved to be treated the same way, he deserved to die. But God had another plan for his life. God wanted him to serve as an example of grace (1 Timothy 1:13-16). Jesus reached out to Saul in a direct and startling way (Acts 9, 22, 26). Saul came to realise that the Gospel was true. He recognised the seriousness of his crimes against God On the road to Damascus Jesus revealed himself to Saul who was stunned and afraid but he did what Jesus told him to do. Blind for three days he waited. Imagine how terrified he must have been not be able to see. Not to be able to really understand what was going on. Once so feared but now so vulnerable A man named Ananias was sent by Jesus to lay hands on Saul and when he did so Saul did three specific things that ...

We recently finished a sermon series at church from the book of Ruth. I have read it some times before and yes I liked it in the same way I liked the book of Esther. I know the story and I understood that for many people it is perhaps their favourite book in the Bible. Our friend Kirk did a good job preaching 4 sermons from the book of Ruth and he gave us lots to think about. One day back home I read the book of Ruth again alone in the kitchen... Ruth was such an important story that it was read every year during Passover. For the Jewish community it was a story that everyone knew. The amazing thing about this book is that it is not about a Jewish man; it’s not even about a Jewish woman. It is about a Moabite, a woman from a people who were considered enemies of God. Jews were not supposed to have any contacts with Moabites: “No Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.” (Deuteronomy 23:3) I read ...

For several days now I have been listening to a song named "You're the only Jesus" A friend of ours is singing it on a CD we got and the lyrics are really powerful. (chorus) "Cause You're the only Jesus some will ever see You're the only words of life, some will ever read So let them see in you the One in whom is all they'll ever need You're the only Jesus, some will ever see" Wow powerful, and Jesus is calling every one of us today, and he is saying: “Just as the Father send me so I’m sending you.” He is asking us to go out in to the whole world to be his hands and feet. He is asking us to go out and “faithfully preach the truth. He is commanding us to go out and heal the sick, raise the dead, fight for the poor, make disciples, and perhaps the most important thing, teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. He is asking us to go out and love , give selflessly,and serve, because we may be the only Jesus some will ...