How does the rest of the world see the evolution of Europe as it goes?
It seems much like USA, Europe now has a president too, Mr Van Rompuy!

As a Belgian, I can say in the time when he was president, Belgium went through a good economy, much like USA went through when Bill Clinton was president.
Van Rompuy, when being Prime Minister of Belgium, as far as I remember, was not involved in any scandalous affairs, and lead the country with a good hand. People where content under the reign of his office.
I think Van Rompuy will continue to lead Europe as well as possible on a global scale. Europe which originally started as the BeNeLux (Belgium,Netherlands, Luxembourg), had chosen a priminister from the starting countries of Europe, very fitting I'd say!
BeNeLux quickly spread to France, Germany, and now has about 27 countries united, UK included.
The man chosen for the job seems a honest and good man, but what bothers me is that the world is unifying.
Can you see that happen?

In light of the Bible, does that tell you something? Are you concerned about this new development?
Let us know!

We all know MURDER and KILLING are wrong as a christian!
But some situations are harder to determine!
Read following 3 scenario's, and tell me in each of the scenario's if killing was right, and what the person should do:

Scenario 1:
Imagine there's a war in your country.
You and your family are sitting inside your house and all of a sudden the door breaks in, and a soldier known to be your enemy storms in your house.

You have a wife, and 2 children to protect. Not protecting them could lead to them cutting off your arms, raping your wife and childeren before your eyes, before they murder you, and your wife, and take your children with them to become slaves in a faraway land.

War is gruesome, and there's noone to help you. Crimes are being committed everywhere!

What will you do?

If I would have posted this question where you where by yourself, most christians would let themselves be shot, refusing to murder or kill an enemy.
But if it comes down to protecting your wife, which you have sworn loyalty to on your wedding day to protect her, and take care for her all the days of your life, will you protect her by taking a soldiers life, or will you refuse and see it all happening?

Scenario 2:
You are hiking in the mountains when all of a sudden there's a mud slide, and you and your 2 friends fall down a cliff.
Right before losing your baggage, you managed to grasp the root of a tree, and see your 2 friends passing you by in front of your eyes.
You grasp!, and miraculously your hand grasps the hand of your friend.
Here you both are hanging on a tree's root,looking down and seeing how your friend crushes his skull on the rocks beneath you, blood splatters... You both know he is no more!

Thoughts race through your mind, if you'd only grasped to the left instead of to the right, you might have been able to save his life!
You knew you could have! But then the friend you are holding on to would not have made it.
You crawl up, franktically run down what still remains as a path on the mountain, to find your friend.
Once there what you thought, seems true! He is no more...
None of you have a cellphone, and it will be a good 3 hours hike to the nearest town..
Your friend decides to run towards the town, while you stay behind.
He leaves and in slow motion, everything replays again and again in your mind... Frustrated, for not being able to do something....

What do you think of this person? Did he disobey the 6th commandment "thou shalt not kill"?

What if this person (you in the story) would have grasped the tree root with both of his arms, to make sure he'd be safe, while not reaching out for any of his friends?
It's in a matter of seconds he need to make the decision to either grasp for his friends, or hold on for his life to the tree roots... Would he have committed murder or is he responsible for not preventing the death of someone?

Your thoughts!


Scenario 3:
A nation goes to war.. Your nation.. And you've been called from the military. You're in platoon A, specialized in infiltrating local gangs, drugdealers, enemy soldiers, and suicide bombers.
You along with some peletoon members storm into a facility that's in the process of manufacturing highly illegal drugs.
As you storm in, some local tough guys pick up guns, hide behind barrels, and a gunfight starts!
In cooperation with the local police you had cornered them, but the last thing on their mind is giving up!
They're well prepared, have plenty of weapons, and even gas masks.
There's no other alternative than to take out the enemy, and disable him.

It's been 3 hours, and you and your team have successfully taken out 25 men, by wounding them.
15 of your men have been wounded as well!
The remaining 25 men of the enemy seem all the tougher, bent to fight 'till the death...
You find no openings to their methods, and they are not open for communication.
Now's your chance! As a sniper you have a clear headshot of the main man!
Within the next 2 seconds, you will need to pull the trigger!
You know taking out the main man will scatter the rest, and will ease the fight!
If not, the fight will continue to grow the number of wounded people, and possibly deaths on both sides..

What will you do? Will you take his life or not?
And will you have broken the 6th commandment if you did take the shot?


Do you think Christians can have their place in the military, or cops,knowing full well a situation can exist where you will need to use firearms,and possibly kill a person?

this morning in the shower I was talking to God, and God brought to my mind how missionaries go to countries, bring the gospel to people and how some are touched by God and get saved.
Usually it all starts small. A small group of one or two believers.

They grow,and usually it is that minister that starts a church as it grows.
Being the pastor, doing nearly all by himself and with his family, often they go through hard and barren times.
There are no second opinions. The congregation often is in danger to end up as a religious group, and the people that get added often get added because of the physical benefits the church offers...
As soon as the first generation makes it through church, and the second generation enters (often the children of those people, born and raised in the church), they take on their responsibilities (or bore their socks off, and leave), but if they do understand the importance of their eternal salvation, I noticed often they will bring in their talents in the church.

The church grows from an evangelist with a home group, to the evangelist becoming a pastor, and a small church being supported by that pastor (and his family), to becoming a church that has people of the congregation bringing and building the kingdom together.

In Europe we've had too long a 'pastoral' church season. (It lasted from about as far as the Catholic church made itself manifest somewhere in the dark ages, all the way to around 1980, when I got born).

It where seasons where the pastor or priest did everything in the service; a one man show.
But that is changing.

One of the phases the Belgian church has to go through, (as well as many beginning churches that are founded in deserted area's or missionary fields) is the phase of corporate anointing.
A place where God's kingdom is no longer only manifest through the pastor, but people of the congregation.

The kingdom of God desires to grow, and will continually grow.

We all know what the kingdom of God is, and how it manifests, but in terms of growth it copies itself from one person to another.

In full glory, the kingdom of God can be seen in the full congregation, out into the world.
God's love, healing, deliverance, freedom, expression, talents, etc start combining in one large majestic web of people who are ALL manifesting in these gifts.
There is no such thing as a 'healer', 'teacher' or a 'prophet' in the kingdom of God!
We should have only one healer, and one prophet and one teacher. And if we follow in His footsteps, we will do the things He does; because everything, every healing, every prophecy, every teaching comes from God, who can bring the revelation to anyone who is willing to listen!

The kingdom of God does not fully come until all (or lots of) members of the congregation start to have a living relationship with the Lord in their daily lives; and until we see all manifestations on earth as they are in heaven, and as they manifested on earth in the time Jesus walked the earth!

John wrote:
"And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

From that relationship, each in their own field, will start to develop skills and talents.
So far the only talents acknowledged in the church is a preaching, teaching, praying, worshiping ministry.
People can understand that some people are there to bring a message of God
Others teach from the word of God,
Others use their skills as musical vessels, by playing the instruments, or singing,
Others are skilled in handling kids,
Then there are others who are very good with budgets, and numbers!

In it's fullest glory, each person will receive their rightful place; and the church moves from a pastoral anointing place, to a corporate anointing place.

The church can be well compared to a company. A good company will benefit from working together in unity!
It will grow faster, and bear more fruit.
But if you take the central focal point away (which is God, and doing all for the Glory of God), the structure won't hold, and the company collapses.

On earth we have money to represent blessing. The more you work, the more you earn. The more you do work noone else does, the more you'll earn!
In the spiritual realm the same is true as well.
The more you do a task which noone else does, and the better you invest your time and energy in the task you do for the Lord (with a right and correct heart), the higher you will experience your blessing...

A couple of years ago, I wondered what was most important for me to do, and a friend answered "To love God, and to love eachother".
So I answered, yes, but what is love? You can have a positive feeling about all people, and that won't change anything!
Love needs to be expressed in works, much like faith without works is dead too. It needs to be expressed differently in each individual.

We need to discover how we can express that love. In the past there have been many forms and expressions of that love.
Seasons where men of God, preachers and pastors, felt led by God to clean the toilets and scrub the floors.
Others went to study music, and invested their time learning an instrument.
Again others started bible school, so they could meet the answers they get bombarded with in their bible study groups!
Others just where 'send ones', send to corners of the earth to tell about the goodness and importance of Jesus to those who never heard these messages before!

But there is more!

One of the latest talents, laid aside not for everyone, is painting, dancing, and other forms of art.
There are even churches where DJ's share the worship service.
Lightmasters, composers of musical pieces or drama's, actors, camera men, sculpture artists, flag and dress/costume makers, marketing analysts in charge of the electronic equipment purchases of the church, building architects and building masters, mechanical engineers, language translators, video editors, web masters, ...
Again it's not for everyone.. But there's so much more.
Things that we right now couldn't even imagine may become standard in a church 5 years from now!

Churchlife is not a life of musicians and preachers only!
The challenge is how to express God's love through the talents you've gotten,and how to truly glorify Him with these talents; AND work together in a unity creating a community that starts producing fruit!

The bible writes about how Jesus will come back when the bride is ready,
Perhaps this is what He was talking about, when man has realized and performed all he could do.

We are entering an age where men and woman of all kinds are forced and forged together again.The time where people stayed behind their TV's and away from society and other people may pass. The economy of the '70's where each man worked hard, to earn money is passing. A new time is coming with hardships that where not there in a good economy!
A time is coming where people will start sharing and interacting again.
What this society has created is individuals that are so unique, but could not work together. Many of them focused their lives on work work and work only!
Now that they lose this assurance or certainty, they will have no other choice.
A lot of the darkness that was bred in the darkness, can not manifest or remain unexposed in congregations, and in unity...

Think about these things!