Flower Carpet

Last weekend was a special event in Brussels. I had totally forgotten that every summer, a flower carpet is spread out on the historic Grand Place in the city center. I found out about it in the German news, and so I decided to go there on Sabbath after church. Well, I wasn't the only one who had this idea, so we went with a whole group of church members. It was impressive to look at the myriads of flower petals nicely arranged in a beautiful pattern. However, it never lasts longer than a few days, and given the rain we had on Sunday, I was glad that I made it there before.

Everything hand made!

Another view

close view

People watching from the balcony of the town hall

This is a picture from a previous year - I wasn't able to get that view!

Getting ready for vacation

It is still quiet at work and I'm enjoying this time to the fullest. Whenever my hierarchy is out of office, the most senior desk worker is in charge and signs everything on behalf of the head of unit. This week it's my colleague John from the UK who is very easy going. He attends to everything promptly, which is a nice change of course :-). However, it also tends to get rather boring, but I've been trying to keep myself busy.

Last week, I had the opportunity of having lunch together with a former co-worker of mine from Greece. We used to work together in a research institute of the European Commission in Germany. This was my first work place after I had finished my training and education. He transferred to Brussels some time before I came here, and somehow, we managed to keep in touch throughout the years. This time, our conversation took an interesting turn, as he asked me about the differences of my church to other denominations. So we ended up talking about the Sabbath, baptism, and unclean foods. He seems to be very open, but as usual I'm wondering how I could take this further. I really need the Lord's guidance here.

Next week, I will finally go for a short summer vacation, which promises to be filled with spiritual blessings. I'll be attending a camp meeting in the "Westerwald", a beautiful area in the mid-west of Germany. It is organized by "hoffnung weltweit e. V.", a supporting ministry of the church founded by lay people. I was called to become a board member after I returned from the US, and I've been since acting as secretary for this ministry. These camp meetings take place every summer, and some of this years' speakers will be Derrol Sawyer from the US and Juan Campos from South America. After this, I will be back to Belgium right in time to attend the yearly spiritual retreat of the International Church, which will take place the last weekend of August in a beautiful rural seeting in the south west of the country. So I probably won't write again until after I'm back.

I'm still pondering about my futile efforts to change my job, and how the outcome is a reminder that the Lord is in charge over my life. The One who numbers the hair on our head and who knows all the stars by their names certainly knows what He is doing in the lives of each of His children. He may say "wait" sometimes, but this doesn't mean that He is not fully in control. Indeed, He has given me peace and acceptance with this outcome, and although I cannot see the big picture right now, I know He will reveal Himself to me in this matter whenever the time comes. There is a quote on page 331 of Desire of Ages that spoke to me in particular:

Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3

Antwerp

Since it is nice and quiet in the office these days, I decided to take Tuesday off and go to Antwerp, which is about 45 minutes north east of Brussels. I had never been there before, and it was interesting to explore this town. Of course the old architecture is quite similar to Brussels, but the fact that it is a seaport gives a special touch to this place. However, after having visited the major tourist places in my adopted home country, I came to the conclusion that there is no place as charming as the little town of Bruges. If you ever come visit me here, I would be glad to take you there! Anyway, I had a good day away from work, and even the sun was shining nicely.

The railway station

The clock at the station

Cute architecture

Fountain

Interesting Statue

The houses of the Guilds or corporations. There are many of such historic buildings in Brussels as well

The town hall

The "Groete Markt"

Small alleyways

And somebody playing the piano in front of a department store

Final Spurt

August is approaching, and this is the prime holiday time for most Eurocrats here in Brussels. My hierarchy is busy finishing up things before leaving on their well-deserved vacation. Today, my head of unit proudly drew my attention to his desk, which indeed looks very clean now! I still don't like it that he keeps piling things up until last, but what can I do. However, as of next week we will be taking it easy here :-)

Last week, I decided to send a message to our new General Conference President, Ted Wilson. I thought he might remember our talk at the GYC in Kentucky last winter, and I just wanted to send him my best wishes and let him know that I'm praying for him. I didn't really expect a reply from his side, since I assumed that GC Presidents have other things to do than responding to e-mails of individual church members. Well, this is what he replied to me still the same day:

"Greetings, Daniela. Thank you so much for your encouraging email.  What a privilege to serve the Lord at this time in earth's history as part of the mighty Advent movement.  Certainly the unfolding of the Great Controversy Theme is coming to a climax.  Jesus' return is imminent.  Let us humbly submit ourselves to Christ and seek revival and reformation through the power of the Holy Spirit so that the Lord can pour out the latter rain and Jesus can come.  Let us proclaim God's grace and the three angels' messages that focus on Christ and His righteousness.  This precious Seventh-day Adventist message, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is to turn people back to the true worship of God.  The Lord will bless your special efforts for Him.  Let us work together through the power of the Holy Spirit as we fulfill God's unique evangelistic mission entrusted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.  May God bless your special work in Brussels for Him as you lift up Jesus and proclaim His soon coming!  Regards.  Ted."

This was very encouraging to me and motivating to go forward doing the work the Lord is entrusting me here in Brussels. It looks like things are falling into place for a possible evangelistic series with Amazing Facts, as I was able to arrange for the Hargreaves' to come here the first weekend of September. They will be in Europe anyway around this time, and thus the church members will be able to meet them and hopefully get motivated. It seems that the Lord is opening one door after the other.

This bible verse has been an encouragement to me lately:

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15:16)

Baptismal anniversary

This past Friday was kind of a special day for me, as it was exactly 15 years ago that I got baptized into the Seventh-Day-Adventist Church. Well, that's quite a number, and I'm very thankful for God's leading in my life.

It was already in 1990 when I gave my heart to Jesus, in a group of sincere Christians within the German YMCA. However, I wasn't really part of a church, yet I was searching and praying. Then, in the beginning of 1994, I was invited on the street to attend a youth meeting at the local SDA Church. From then on, I started coming to church more and more, followed by my decision to get baptized and the break-up with my boyfriend.

My baptism took place in a beautiful lake near my home city. I always like to look at these old pictures.

At this occasion, I have been reminiscing a bit, and my heart is filled with gratitude for all the wonderful people the Lord has placed into my path since I joined this church - here in Europe, over in the US, as well as in other places. People who blessed me with their love, friendship, and time. It's impossible to name them all, but if you are one of them, please feel hugged today!

There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Immanuel's veins;
and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains

The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
and there may I, though vile as he,
wash all my sins away

"...there is joy in in the presence
of the holy angels of God
over one sinner that repenteth"
Luke 15:10

July 21

Yesterday was the national holiday in Belgium. Since in the past I've always been out of the country on that day, and given the fact that we don't really have such kind of spectacles in Germany, I decided to go and see the military parade that was taking place around the King's Palace. I only know that Belgium celebrates having a democracy since 1945, so this was actually the 65th anniversary. Many people came to cheer, but it was quite a long wait until it started. Only one ambassador after the other passed by in their fancy cars, as they were all special guests to the Royal family for this event. But then they started the procession with military horsemen trotting in large groups, which was followed by a short intervention of the street cleaning vehicles (since all the other military groups were following on foot, so they didn't have to walk on the horse droppings!) Below you can see a few impressions in pictures and little video clips.

Anyway, it was good to have the day off. Being back at work today, I thought I would finally hear about my potential new post, but still no news. They are keeping me on hold, and so I'm just trying to put up with it!

Military on horses

The marine corps

The parachutists

I think those inflatable crowns sold very well that day!

Passing by in front of a government building - I couldn't get near the King's Palace,

as this area was reserved for special guests 

People lining up at the street

Patience

My job search is still keeping me in suspense. I only got another negative reply for one of the posts that were not on top of my list. The head of unit even called me to tell me that I had been their second choice out of 15, and he gave me a tip how to do things better next time. I found this very thoughtful of him. So in principle, things have been going according to the plan. However, I thought I would know by Friday whether I would get the post I'm interested in, but I was told that they had two more candidates to interview on Monday, and that they would call me back afterwards. So there is nothing I can do now but wait. I know that the Lord can make things happen. The One who can move a King's heart can also impress this man to hire me if this is where He wants me.

Interestingly, the pastor of the French speaking church preached about patience today. This motivated me to do a word study on this topic. The Bible clearly points out patience as one of God's characteristics (Romans 15:5, Revelation 3:10), but there are a lot of references on the importance of it in our lives. According to Romans 5:4 and James 1:3 patience is the fruit of our trials and tribulations, which was also true for Abraham, who obtained the promise after he had patiently endured (Hebrewes 6:14). It's a characteristic that we should definitely strive for (Colossians 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:11). But is this easy to accomplish nowadays? Well, I guess it has never been easy for human beings to be patient, but today we are living in a society where we can have everything immediately. There are fast-food chains, high-speed trains and airplanes, high-speed internet; and if we send out an e-mail to somebody we could get an instant response. However, the problem is that life doesn't give us always immediate answers. Sometimes we have to wait for just a little while, sometimes it may take longer. I don't know if I can say this at my relatively young age, but I guess that life is actually a chain of situations where we are in uncertainty of something, eagerly wait for a prayer to be answered or a desire to be fulfilled. Nevertheless, we have a God who loves us and who wants to come through to us in all these trials; and I'm sure He can reveal Himself to each of us in a special way if we only let Him.

Some of the French hymns really touch my heart, like the one we sung today. It doesn't sound nearly as good in English, but underneath is my feeble effort to translate it:

Trop souvent je murmure

Quand la route est obscure:

"Oh! Ma foi faiblira"

"Oh! Ma foi faiblira"

Et pourtant, la promesse

Est là pour ma faiblesse:

"L'Eternel pourvoira."

"L'Eternel pourvoira."

Si mon impatience

Demande avec instance

D'oú le secours viendra? 

D'oú le secours viendra?

Par ta parole sainte

Tu réponds à ma plainte:

"L'Eternel pourvoira."

"L'Eternel pourvoira."

"Too often I murmur, when the journey is dark. Oh, my faith gets weak. And yet, your promise is there for my weakness: The Almighty will provide, the Almighty will provide. If my impatience asks with pleading, where does my help come from? By your Holy Word you answer my groaning: The Almighty will provide, the Almighty will provide."

Aching muscles

Yesterday, I attended a "Pilates" class. This is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by a German named Joseph Pilates. The program focuses on the core postural muscles which help keep the body balanced and which are essential to providing support for the spine. My chiropractor warmly recommended this to me, so I have been trying to regularly follow a class, usually at my gym. But given the fact that they suspended the evening Pilates class there for the summer time, I decided to invest in one of the classes offered for the EU officials at the European quarter. Of course being trained as an exercise physiologist, I could also establish an individual program for myself to do at home, but I found that this doesn't work for me. I don't know how people can be so disciplined and torture themselves while nobody is forcing them to do so. It's pretty hard work, and my shoulders and legs are hurting today.

My job search is still keeping me in suspense. Today, I got a negative reply of one of the posts that I wasn't really interested in anyway, so everything is working out so far. I hope by the end of this week I will know if I will get the one on top of my list.

Since the soccer world cup spectacle is over by now and my favorite German channel is aired again via satellite, I've been able to watch news again. But I don't know if this is good news, as there are lots of bad news anyway. This morning, I learned that a trial for two 18-year old German boys had just opened. It happened last year in a suburban train around Munich when they pressed a group of young teenagers for money. They wanted 15 Euros from them, but a man got in between, protecting the youngsters. However, the perpetrators decided to punish him for this and they beat him very hard, so the man later died. So was his life worth 15 Euros? This makes me think of the passage in Romans 1 this morning, which was part of the weekly Sabbath School lesson:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, coveteousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventers of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only to do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1: 28-31)

Indeed, history repeats itself over and over. There is nothing new under the sun!

Hot Summer Days

Brussels has been a hot place lately. It went up to the mid-90's in the last few days, and then it usually doesn't cool down at night properly. On Friday night, there were about 85 degrees in my apartment, so I couldn't sleep very well. Waking up the next morning, I felt like somebody had knocked me over. Thus, I was contemplating if it wouldn't be better to transfer my bed into the bathtub or in front of the open refrigerator! Yesterday, we had some strong thunderstorms with hail in the afternoon, which brought some relief. Today, it has been hot again. However, since it's hard for me to abstain from my favorite domestic activity, I added to the heat in my apartment by making pizza. Afterwards, I was dripping!  These are the moments when I'm rather back in the US with air-conditioned houses. Usually, such high temperatures don't last very long in this country, but we are not even in the middle of July yet, and this worries me a bit. Well, last month at this time it was actually too cold for the season, so you never know what will happen.

I've been trying to find another post within the European Commission. I finally came to the conclusion that I can't work with my current boss in the long run. His setting of priorities is just unacceptable to me. We get so many inquiries and complaints from individual consumers in our unit, which we normally would have to reply to within 15 working days. However, they keep piling up on his desk without him anything doing about them for months and months. I'm fed up with this procrastination, as there is not much I can do to improve the situation (I've tried hard, but of course I cannot change him). I think it's time anyway that I move on to another sector. Thus, I recently had three job interviews, two of which took place at our Directorate-General for External Relations. I've always been intrigued with this policy area, and one of the posts is of particular interest to me. The interview went well, and the head of unit, a German, was very nice. He said they would let me know by the end of this week, so I'm waiting and praying that the Lord will make it plain and clear if this is where He wants me. I only want to be where I can serve Him best.

Like in many other places, Brussels is crazy about the soccer world cup taking place in South Africa. Since this city is so cosmopolitan, you will certainly find a group of people supporting each of the teams. They also make it obvious from the outside world for whom they are cheering (see picture below taken out of my balcony). Since I'm not the least bit interested in soccer, I usually learn about the results from my colleagues or on the internet. Currently, I can't even watch the news, as I receive the two main German public channels via satellite (and not cable, since I mainly watch 3ABN), and for the duration of the cup they don't air via satellite because of the broadcasting rights. But I must say I haven't missed watching news at all!

One of them could be utterly disappointed after the grand finale tonight...

Knights in Shining Armour

When I went to the church meetings last week, I noticed something unusual happening around the big square nearby. They literally transformed this place into a medieval village. I found out later that they are doing this every year at this time, and it's a revival of the glorious and majestic procession of Emperor Charles V, which took place in Brussels in 1549. I'm wondering why some people would want to resuscitate those events of the past, but no doubt such happenings give a special touch to the city life.

I think the emperor was supposed to be in this carriage

The women walking without a man are supposed to be the "ladies in waiting" 

Tournaments... 

with the knights in shining armour

There were several groups of people gathered - all in different costumes

I was only able to capture this procession for a few seconds, as a bus was approaching which would have taken the view

The Clearest Gospel of All

I mentioned in my last blog that Pastor Jack Sequeira from the US would come to our church for a special program. This week of spiritual emphasis just ended today and it was very well received. He talked about the book of Romans, which he considers the clearest gospel of all. He expounded on quite a few hot topics, like legalism and cheap grace, and I liked the way he presented it. Did you know that Romans 5:1-11 explains why we are saved, and Romans 5:12-21 how we are saved? I realized how important this book is and indeed how clearly the gospel is presented here. I also enjoyed Sequeira's numerous stories from his almost 20-year long mission service in different African countries. The attendance was much better than I had anticipated. Our brothers and sisters from Ruanda, who form their own group here in Brussels, were also invited and the messages were interpreted into their language. This of course stretched the program, but on the other hand it made it easier to absorb the message.

Coming home this afternoon, I was still able to watch Ted Wilson's sermon at the GC session in Atlanta. I really liked his clear message, pointing to the nitty-gritty in the current situation of our Advent movement. I remember talking to him at the last "Generation of Youth for Christ" conference in Kentucky, and I think he is a very humble man and a leader appointed by the Lord.

Indeed, we are facing interesting times, and I really appreciated Jack Sequeira praying over and over again for our "little church" here in Brussels, that we may turn around this country and share the gospel with a dying world. I still have no idea how this is going to happen - in Belgium, Germany, or any other place in this world. I only know that I have a deep heart desire to do my part to accomplish this, yet I often feel so weak and powerless. I can't help thinking that something supernatural needs to happen to finish the work on this earth, but it's so hard to imagine. Well, I'm open to whatever the Lord has in store for us, and I pray that He may clearly show each one of us which role He wants us to play in these final events of earth's history!

Pastor Sequiera preaching

Just Rambling

Business has been rather slow for me today, so I thought I'd just ramble a bit. I could certainly do some filing, but this is the task that I usually keep putting off until the very last. Yesterday, I was sorry for not having brought my camera with me. There was a very official ceremony taking place in the courtyard of our building. It was the inauguration of a stele in memory of Karel Van Miert, one of the former Competition Commissioners who died exactly one year ago. I followed everything from my office window. Commission President Barroso was present and gave a speech in honor of him, as well as Van Miert's three successors. There was a red carpet spread out and they played the European anthem. I'm sure the man would have liked this!

Also yesterday, we adopted a big and important decision pertaining to one of our cases. It's about a cartel in the sector of bathroom fittings and fixtures. There are several companies in Europe, especially German ones, who agreed on prices and thus infringed competition laws. Now they have to pay fines with the money that they don't have in this time of financial crisis! In the afternoon, I helped taking four language versions of the 500-page decision to the main Commission building. There, we got the bad news that the individual versions for each company would need to be ready as well by next morning, but they weren't! So the core team had to take a night shift until midnight to sort things out and have everything ready on time. Things always tend to get crazy here when it comes closer to an adoption!

The weather is becoming summer-like now. Today it's very sunny and about 77F; towards the weekend it's supposed to be in the lower 80's even! Well, that's certainly enough to make my bedroom uncomfortably warm. The sun only sets almost at 10PM these days in June, and this makes it hard enough for me to go to sleep early. But even though they have air conditioning in Alabama, I wouldn't want to be there right now!

This coming Friday, we will start a special church revival with Jack Sequiera from the US. I have never heard of this Pastor before, but it promises to be interesting. I'm just curious how many church members will attend outside Sabbath hours. It will be hard for me as well to come every night, but I will try to be there as much as possible. More about it later!

EU Summit

Today it's quite chilly again; too cold for the month of June. But it's the Sabbath and I'm thankful for another day of rest. There was supposed to be communion service at the English speaking church, but they had to cancel it due to the absence of the Pastor. However, I didn't want to miss out on it, and so I decided to worship with the French speaking church where it was also on. They also had potluck there, and I thought this would be a nice change, as many of my English speaking brothers and sisters are still after the flesh pots of Egypt. They call it more elegantly "Auberge Espagnole" in French, but to my disappointment there was lots of fish and fowl. And this after our Sabbath school lesson on nutrition in the bible! Well, the fellowship was nice anyway, and who knows, maybe one day I can convince them of a better diet. May the Lord help me.

This past week, there was another EU summit here in Brussels. This is when all the heads of governments come together to discuss the future of Europe, and it usually happens every three months. As far as I gathered at first glance, they were talking about the so-called "Europe 2020 strategy", which stands for boosting growth and creating employment. They also warmly welcomed the proposal of Estonia being part of the Euro zone from 2011, which means they would introduce the Euro as an official currency there. Another item of the agenda was the aspiration of Iceland to become an EU member state and the decision to open accession negotiations with them.

So they keep working here on a prosperous, united Europe, striving for "unity in diversity". But how long will the iron and clay hold together? Well, the Lord knows. May His Kingdom be established soon.

They have very strict security parameters during EU summit - nobody can walk by the Council building during this time, except the EU officials

A lot of press in front of the Council building - doesn't it look like a "bunker of power"?

The red banner is advertising the current Spanish presidency of the EU

Sunshine and Rain

Although yesterday was a Sunday, I exceptionally went to Church for a women's prayer breakfast. It was supposed to start at 9 AM, but I didn't take the "African time" into account, and so my Filipino sisters and I eventually decided to start eating until the rest of the participants would arrive (which was close to 10 AM). Later on, I gave a presentation on the frontal lobe of the brain, and another sister shared a spiritual thought before we ended the meeting with prayer. It was well received, although the overall attendance was a bit low. But unfortunately, this always tends to be the case if there is anything happening outside regular church services.

On my way home, I witnessed a crime. Well, it was not a terrible, life-threatening episode, yet I was stunned. There was an elderly couple sitting with me in the tram and they were about to exit at the second door of the vehicle. I also exited, but at the first door next to the conductor. Stepping down, I suddenly heard loud voices shouting. There was a young man who had been trying to pickpocket the elderly man, but an attentive woman had seen him and she blew him off. I only saw the thief shouting and running away, leaving the man behind totally baffled with the wallet in his hand. This taught me again that I really need to be attentive here in Brussels - no matter what time of the day it is or what location I'm at.

And then finally, walking the short distance from the metro stop to my place, I got pretty wet. The sun had been shining in the morning, but as so often in the past, I hadn't observed rule number one of living in Belgium: "Never leave the house without an umbrella!"

Indeed, there is sunshine and rain in our lives, literally and figuratively. It was also yesterday morning when I received very sad news from the US. Cindy, my former roommate at Uchee Pines, lost her 23-year-old daughter Brittany in a tragic accident. She had been living with her at Eden Valley Institute, and due to a very unfortunate incident, her daughter drowned in the canal located on campus. I feel so sorry for Cindy and the rest of her family. This shows me again how fragile life is, and that I really need to pray more for the safety and divine protection of my family members and friends. It also shows me that it's high time for Jesus to come back to bring an end to all this suffering. I really like one of our early Advent hymns called "Lo, what a glorious sight appears", and in particular one of the stanzas:

"His own soft had shall wipe the tears from every weeping eye,
and pains and groans and griefs and fears and death itself shall die."

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4)

Faith and Power part 2

I wanted to add something to my previous post, a story in the Bible which I found rather impressive. It's found in 2 Chronicles 20, and it's the story of King Jehoshaphat. In this episode, the people of God find themselves in great distress, as they were facing a battle they didn't consider themselves strong enough to withstand.  


Notice first how the Lord encourages His children:

And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle [is] not yours, but God's. (verse 15)

Ye shall not [need] to fight in this [battle]: set yourselves, stand ye [still], and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD [will be] with you. (verse 17) 

Indeed, He knows our frame! He is actually the One who is fighting for us in every battle with sin. Only by His strength we can gain victories.

Next, something very interesting is happening:

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with [his] face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.  And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. (vs. 18-19)

They started praising the Lord even before they went into battle! The same way, we should not only ask the Lord for the victory, but at the same time we should thank and praise Him for it and claim it for ourselves!

See what followed in this story:

And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 

 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy [endureth] for ever. 

And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (vs. 20-22)

Singing and praising the Lord, they went into the battle, and He acted on their behalf! 

I found this a very powerful lesson. Never should we wait to claim the Lord's victory on our behalf until we are actually tempted. We can strengthen and increase our faith by not only asking, but claiming victories in advance - and then trust that the battle is indeed not ours, but the Lord's!

Faith and Power

I've been learning more about overcoming lately. Do we need to learn how to overcome as Christians? Most definitely. I'm not only talking about these besetting, habitual sins that are even prevalent amongst believers, and that we usually don't even dare to admit. What about undesirable traits of character, laziness, lack of diligence, being quick tempered, given to appetite, just to name a few?

Well, I found a program that works for all of them. I'm sure most of us have experienced that if we try to overcome anything by our own strength, we most certainly fail. It's only by the power of God that we can have victory. And this power comes through faith only. In Matthew 9:29, it clearly says: "According to your faith be it unto you". And according to Romans 10:17 faith comes through the hearing or reading of the word of God.

So abiding in the the Lord through His Word seems to be the key, because this is the only way for us to sustain our faith. But we also need to ask God for the victory and know that it is ours through faith in the promises found all over in the Bible.

I decided to commit the following verses to memory:

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)

Note that we can be actually partakers of the divine nature! And 1 John 3 clearly states that "whosoever abideth in him SINNETH NOT"!

Then it is essential, after asking, to thank God for giving us the victory and claim it in the name of Jesus. Our deliverance from whatever besets us is not in the future, it's available NOW! But as soldiers, we have to prepare for the battle by gathering faith through the Word on a daily basis. In Ephesians 6:16, in the context of the armour of God, it says: "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

See how important our faith is? Without it, it is impossible to please God (Romans 11:6), and through faith, our forefathers "subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises,..." (Hebrews 11:33). Yes, all promises that we find in God's Word are also available to us today, including the ones pertaining to victory over sin. May this be your experience today and in the future!

This is a short summary of the concept. If you are interested, you may look it up in detail under www.faithpowerministries.com.

Sowing more seeds

Life is back to normal here in Brussels. I'm enjoying a long weekend (because of whit sun Monday) and the weather is giving it's very best - sunshine, sunshine, sunshine!

I'm thankful for some little opportunities to share literature that opened up recently. I have one colleague who is currently working with us as a trainee. She is from the French part of Switzerland, and we happened to talk about my experience in Hungary. Obviously, she was interested in health matters, so I gave her a flyer about the 8 laws of health as well as a French Signs of the Times that especially deals with this topic. Furthermore, I recently found out about a book/DVD swap that is taking place in our Directorate-General for Agriculture. As they informed me that they would be happy for donations, I decided to give them some of the Spirit of Prophecy books that I have in different EU languages. Although this is not a very personal way to share this kind of literature, at least it guarantees that they will be read by people who are really interested in them.

Another exciting development is the possibility of having an evangelistic series with Brother Lowell Hargreaves from Amazing Facts in Brussels. So far, there hasn't been any rejection by the church responsibles I've talked to. My pastor, who is also the Conference president, is in favor, as well as the elders both from the English- and the French speaking church. The only challenge might be the finances, as the first few weeks of the campaign would have to take place in a secular setting (since not even some Christians would ever take a step into an SDA church), and this is very costly in the city of Brussels. We would also have to start up with a health seminar to make people come in the first place. So many things to consider, and so many hands needed! But I'm praying for God's leading. If it's His will, I'll be ready to invest my time and strength into this endeavor.

We had a baptism at our church yesterday. The candidates were seven young people, mainly youth from the church. Of course I'm happy that they decided to follow the Lord and not to go out into the world, but it would be nice to baptize more first generation Adventists. If the evangelistic series will take place next spring, this could be an opportunity to help achieving this goal. May the Lord lead in His wisdom and power to reach the unreached in the city of Brussels.

The baptismal candidates

Last Sabbath in Germany

Below are some more pictures I have taken this Sabbath day. It was good spending time with family and church members while at home. But everything comes to an end, and so I'll be headed back to Brussels this coming Monday.

My home church in Karlsruhe

Sabbath school

The church has about 200 members

With my baptismal brother Andrej

Going home by tram

A cat in the neighborhood

My parent's home - the right upper chamber used to be my abode

I never get tired looking at the forget-me-nots!

Springtime in Germany

I safely made it to Germany, and I'm glad to be able to spend another week here before I have to go back to work. The weather conditions are not so typical for May though, but nature doesn't care! I will try to upload a few more pictures before I leave.

Mother's day bouquet

Everything is so green!

Daisies

Lilacs

The little ducklings in the pond

With my cousin Antje

Thou will keep him in perfect peace

Originally, I was going to write on a different topic, but I changed my mind today. Although I'm not a preacher, I can relate to those servants of the Lord who have a tendency to mainly speak about things that personally concern them most at the moment.

I think nobody can claim that they have never been discouraged in life. After all, life is not always a bed of roses, and things may not always work out the way we would like them to. But how do we deal with those feelings?

Yes, I've found myself discouraged lately, and the main reasons were some situations at work that unsettled me. I thought "O Lord, why – why do I have to go through this? Why did I end up in this particular unit?" I don't want to go into details, but I believe I do have good reasons to be frustrated. However, should this take away my peace in any way?

Isaiah 26:3 says:

"Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

So should we focus our minds on the circumstances? No, definitely not. We need to be anchored in the Lord, and staying my mind on Him means dwelling in His Word and believing His promises. This is the only way we can build real faith in Him.

In one of the talks of Dr. Nedley, he would sing a little song about feelings. Googling it up, I got the complete quote and I found out that it's actually by Martin Luther:

"Feelings come and feelings go,
And feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God--
Naught else is worth believing.

Though all my heart should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart
Whose Word cannot be broken.

I'll trust in God's unchanging Word
Till soul and body sever,
For, though all things shall pass away,
HIS WORD SHALL STAND FOREVER!"

How encouraging! I'm so thankful for God's unchanging Word, and that He is actually the one who is in control of our circumstances as well as our feelings. Whenever you feel dismayed, keep looking up, for the Lord is the One in charge!

This Friday, I'll be headed to Germany for a ten days vacation. Of course I look forward to this break and to spending time with family and friends. Maybe I can take some nice pictures there, provided the spring will be coming back by then!