International Worship Service in Fredericia, Denmark

I just wanted to announce that we are starting an International Worship Service in Fredericia. The service will be in English and with an African touch.

The venue is Apostolsk Kirke (Apostolic Church), Vejlevej 12, DK-7000 Fredericia. The inaugural service will be held on September 4th 2010 at 7 pm. After the service there will be a chance to socialize over a cup of tea or coffee.

YouVersion

I have tried to read my bible from end to end but I seem to fail every time. I start off wel but then miss a reading at some point then try to catch up. Then I miss another reading and so on. In the end the back log kills my enthusiasm and I keep postponing my reading.



This is where YouVersion.com comes to the rescue. By creating a profile at YouVersion and selecting one or more reading plans and follow them. YouVersion will help you keep track of your reading and it also offers a community and journal system for your use.

Additionally YouVersion has apps for iPhone, Androids and other mobile devices. Thus You can read your readings on either your mobile device, the net or in your physical bible. When you use your mobile devices or the web, YouVersion will automatically keep track of your reading. When you use your physical Bible then you need to update your plan online.

There is a multitude of plans available ranging from 25 days to 2 years. And it is possible to read a multitude of Bible versions.

So now there is no reason and no excuse to not read :-)

"If You don't move - You don't have a brain"

I am listening to/watching a lecture video from the Singularity University (link to Harddisken - a Danish Tech Radio program - with the video: bottom of the page (about 2h). The Lecture was given by Astronaut and Engineer Dan Barry. He gives the quote that I used for this blog as a quote from a Biologists point of view.

I thought a bit about that in relation to my life. If I don't move - not in the literal sense but more the way that I act and react - I don't have a "brain". That relates to my life in general but also in my spiritual life. At times we might get into "autopilot" mode; we get up in the morning, wash, eat breakfast, drop off the kids, go to work, pick up the kids, go home, prepare & eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed. Rinse and Repeat. We might look like we are very, very busy and going somewhere in our lives. But are we really? Aren't we just automated robots?

This brings me back to LifeShapes and the Circle. If we do the above, and ignore the Kairos moments we will never move and in the sense above we have no brain - or at least we are not using our spiritual brains. So it's time to work out that "brain"! That goes especially for me!

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." (1. Cor. 13:11, NIV)

What Drives You? (Day 3 of 40 Days of Purpose)

What drives your life? What makes you go anywhere?

To many of us are driven by the wrong reasons and pressures.

It may be the guilt and regret of past decisions and actions. But we cannot change our past and Jesus has already paid the cost of our sins. We can only blame ourselves for the hurt on us and others from being driven by guilt and fear. Know that Jesus loves you and died on the cross for whatever sin, you think made you ineligable for a good life with God.

Or you might be driven by Anger and resentment. Someone did something to you and they are going to pay for it! But while the offender often has moved on, and maybe not even noticed, that you were hurt, you are the one paying for the anger and resentment on a daily basis. It destroys your mood, your relationships in general and especially with those you love. Let go of your resentment and hate, forgive the person, who offended you and move on. Jesus was killed due to our sins. Where would we be without His forgiveness and sacrifice on the cross?

Or fear might be the driving factor of your life. Fear of past experienes cropping up again. Maybe someone within your closest family reigned through terror and threats. Whatever the cause of your fear, you are now locked into the jail of your fears, missing out on opportunities and successes because you will not move into unknown or uncertain territory as it might lead to failures and repercussion.

Materialism, or "Keeping on with the Jones'es" was basically the foundation for this latest financial crises. When materialism drives you, you rely on the kick of buying and owning something for your happiness. But all material goods are a fleeting value and might deflate over night. And nothing on this earth will you be able to bring with you, when it is time to leave this earth. So invest in lasting valuables. The only lasting valuable, that will last beyond time and throughout eternity is the Love of Jesus Christ.

People are also driven by the need of approval. Of someone they know and respect or simply just by strangers. Often this might stem from childhood experiences of lacking attention from someone you loved. One failsafe way to fail is to try to please everyone. It is impossible and you will always offend someone. So stay with pleasing God. He will never fail or forsake you and we will never stop loving you even if you turn your back to Him.

You are not an accident (day 2 of 40 Days of Purpose)

Ever thought, you were out of place? That your life was a failure? That you shouldn't have been born? That your parents should never had had kids?

Your birth was not an accident. God planned your life, chose your parents, your place of birth, your race, your nationality, your social status, your genes. And he planned you for a special job, that only you can do.

You might think that sounds cruel and calculating, but God knew whatever choices and mistakes your parent would make and used that knowledge to create you, just as he intended.

You are here for a reason and through your parents genes and your personal experiences, God molded you into who you are, for his purpose.

40 days of purpose - post poned ...

It seems that days 2 and 3 got lost and day 4 is late ....

but they will be online shortly. Day 2 in about 30 minutes. Day 3 tomorrow morning, day 4 tomorrow afternoon ...

It all starts with God (day 1 of 40 Days of Purpose)

"It is not about you."

In this world everything these days is about me: How do I look? How do I succeed? How do I find a mate? How do I find a good Job? How do I find the right career? How do I find the purpose for my life? Where do I start?

We live in a Pick'n'Mix reality of anything and everything. All our choices are based upon what is good for me - or for my family at best. But we did not create ourselves. God planned and blessed our lives even before our conception. He created me for His purpose.

I can make my own plans, my own decisions and own life. But the purpose of my life, God planned long ago, even before my mother and father knew each other.

"Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him" (Col 1:16b, the Message)

40 days of Purpose - Purpose Driven Life

I have read Rick Warren's Book: A Purpose Driven Life before but never managed to do all 40 days. Now is the time to reach that goal. So from today I am restarting that project.

I will be blogging on each chapter hopefully posting something every day. Actually I want to end this on Easter Sunday. 38 days away from today (including today). Thus I need to do 2 double stints along the way.

The first line of the first day states "It is not about You". This is both scary (at least to someone like me) and reassuring at the same time. If it was all about me, then I would have to work my way to the doors of heaven. Which is nigh on impossible. But now that it is about God, I can put all my trust in Him. Because He will not fail, even when (not if) I will fail, dishonor or abandon Him. He was here before me and will be with me, and he will be here, when my time is up.

The first post on chapter/day one will be published later today!

How do we keep our spiritual focus?

Recently I saw the following quote on a friends status message on Facebook:

"Do we see the members as necessary to retain the structure and ministry of the church, or do we see the church as a place for equipping its members to live authentic Christian lives in the world?"

A thought-provocing question that was further supported by some of the comments he received.


In the history of the early church, the Acts of the Apostles, the church was clearly the latter, in my opinion.

Before Pentecost the 11 stayed together in Jerusalem as they were told by Jesus after his ressurection (Acts 1:4-5). They lived and prayed together with the newly elected Matthias (1:26) and met daily with the earliest church (1:15).

After Pentecost they continued to meet daily in the temple court as a family. They shared everything even their personal property and they continued to add to their numbers.



So was the early church the necessary structure or was it a place of authentic Christian living? As 'the Lord added to their numbers daily' (2:47), I would image that the latter was the case.


In my view this 1st generation church, just as later 1st generation churches, seem to be focused on the service and equipping. They seem to have something at stake that 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc generation does not seem to have. To these new churches their (spiritual) lives are at stake.


The 'old' churches seem to have more and probably too much structure. It seems too easy to be part of the pew warmers either physically or spiritually. The comfort zone is too comfortable. And 'we've been here for generations, so we will still be here'. They may be very active in their community, helping and caring, but their eyes, their treasure might be in someone else than Jesus. Maybe not out of spite or lust. But they simply lost their focus by trying to be a copy of Christ, rather than having Christ as the head of their Body (Col 1:18).



So how do we as Xth generation church revive that sense of that our spiritual lives and the spiritual life of our familiy, our church is at stake? How do we make that Christ have Supremacy in and with our lives?


Curtious Comments are always welcomed and encouraged!


Thank You, Henrik Andersen, that you allowed my to use your statement as a start for this blog post!

My name is NOT Muzungu!

Living in a village in Uganda for more than 8 months, everytime I went into or though that village either by car, by motorcycle or on foot the children would cry "Muzungu! Muzungu! Muzungu!"

That was nice the first couple of times but in the long run it became irritating. Not becuase of the attention but because of what was underneath that attention. And although the adults would often hush their children, they had a similar attitude.

'Muzungu' means 'The white man'. As a white man in Uganda at least but as far as I know all over Africa you are more or less a small 'Deity' because you have lots of money and power. Anybody associated with or working for a white man in himself gains importance just because of that.

This is regardless of who the white man is. You are just expected to have lots of money and power.

I am glad, that I had the experience of living in Africa and it brings a lot of good thoughts and feelings.

One thing I learnt is that it does matter, who I cling to. And how I present myself. I am a man, not a (semi-) God. I am imperfect, not perfect. Only Christ was and is perfect.

It is important that I accept that I strive to be the best person I can be, I am aware that I have to point to Jesus for the perfect example. Perfect Love, True in Nature and Thought, He gave his all by coming to us in a lowly setting and gave up his life to save us and cleanse us for our sins.

Paul says in Gal 6:14 "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

May I be a humble servant, fighting for Christ, my wife, my family and the town I live in. In that order!