Try this for a good start of the working week...
(Click on this image if you want to read more)
I've been blogging less recently. There are plenty of things going on that are worth telling you about, but I have to cut back my time behind the pc. My body is giving me some signs that I have to pay more attention to my physical condition and less to the virtual world of the blogosphere.
We had some wonderful days with the family recently, but we miss my dad ('Opa Bob' for our kids) terribly - especially during these 'happy' days in December. We know that he is in a perfect place right now and that he is celebrating for ever - but we miss him so much down here!
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On my birthday (12.12) I've been to prison. Not because I did something wrong, but because I was involved in something good. Every year we publish a special prison diary that is distributed freely among all inmates in the Netherlands. The 2006 edition (19th edition; 32 000 copies) was presented in the prison of Breda and I was impressed by all the testimonies and reactions from the prisoners. Maybe you think that nobody needs a diary in prison, but several inmates told me that this little diary with a Bible reading plan, quotations, poetry and drawings is very important to them. It was quite an experience to be inside a prison (this was my second experience; I also attended the presentation of a special prison Bible edition earlier this year in the Amsterdam prison). Please pray for the people in prison. Most of them deserve to be there and they know it - but still, it is a lonely and sad place to be, especially this month. Jesus told us to visit prisoners and I am sure He meant business. Please don't forget these words:
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Matthew 25)Watch this video and/or this video about the presentation of the prison diary 2006 (both are in Dutch, but you'll get the picture...)
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2 comments:
Hi Jørund! Great to hear from you again, my friend! You know, it doesn't matter to God what we used to be. Paul used to be Saul - look how the Lord has used this man. Everyone needs God's grace and you are a living testimony - showing that the Word is true: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) Look what the Lord has done! Talking about extreme make-overs... Only God is able to change someone from the inside out!
Yeah - Jesus has many friends in prison too. Outside prison many people think that they are decent people and that they don't need God's forgiveness. But in fact most of us are self-righteous, proud, selfish and too blind to see how lost we really are in this dark world without God. Many of us 'free people' live in the prisons of our minds (drugs, alcohol, money, pornography, status - you name it, they're all stupid idols). Praise God for your words, my friend. You've made my day.
Blessings for Christmas and 2006. Keep the faith, fight the good fight, we've teamed up with the Champion of the Universe so let's claim his victory!
Hi Paul! Gos bless you. Im reading your blog in México now. Its interesting, congratulations for your good actions for give others the fruit of your Gods Faith...
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