Building Bridges.....

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...

  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...