Christmas: God and Sinners Reconciled

Hark! the herald angels sing

Glory to the new-born King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!

- Charles Wesley

Christmas is for sure a time for God and sinner to reconcile. Jesus did not come to reunite Himself with mankind 2,000 years ago as a one time thing. He is available to us every day. We Christians realize that. However, I believe there is a special grace around Christmas time for God to reconcile Himself to the lost ones around us who have not yet been united with God. Maria Lundqvist, the wife to Pastor Joakim Lundqvist of Word of Life Uppsala, opened my eyes to this fact. At the same time of growing secularism in the western world you can still here Christmas songs in stores singing about Jesus. This gives us Christians a chance to pray that as people listen to these songs their attention may be drawn to Jesus. May their curiosity be awakened! May they through prayer come to realize that there is someone who lived and died on earth for them through pure love so that they might die sin and live again with Christ.
      Recently, I have been reading angry arguments from people saying that children should not be sent to their local church by their own choice during school hours to learn about why we celebrate Christmas. These people have already had their way in having authorities to agree to discontinue distributing New Testaments to 5th grader as had been the norm for many years. People feel very much threatened by Christianity. People claim that in order to have religious freedom people, especially Christians, should not pray or say anything Christian near a non-believer lest they start to force their believes onto them. The truth is, there will never be freedom to religion in this way. Not until people learn to tolerate different people with different personalities and religions. Things will not start to change until we start to pray for the people and for our countries. Paul says in 2. Corinthians 4th chapter that our gospel is veiled to those who are perishing. The enemy has blinded

the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the Glory of Christ. That is why we see people time and time again quote biblical passages in a hateful, out-of-context manner. They read it with different glasses. The enemy has shut their eyes, so they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot understand (Isaiah 44:18). The lost ones need the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth as He as guided us.
      As much as we need to pray that God give sight to the blind we need to bring Jesus to people in actions. As much as non-believers fight with their words I have from experience come to realize that fighting back with Word of truth are of little use. C.S. Lewis said: "Such people (non-believers) put up a version of Christianity suitable for a child of six and make that the object of their attack. When you try to explain the Christian doctrine as it is really held by an instructed adult, they then complain that you are making their heads turn round and that it is all too complicated and that if there really were a God they are sure He would have made "religion" simple, because simplicity is so beautiful, etc. You must be on your guard against these people for they will change their ground every minute and only waste your tune." This is why we need to be creative in find ways to show people love in actions. We need to go out of our way in doing it. Christmas is SUCH a perfect time for action evangelization. It's a time of giving and blessing others. You can do anything from baking cookies for someone or buying a gift to smiling and saying "Have a wonderful holiday" to a customer stressed in the midst of Christmas shopping. We are lights in this dark world. As Lisa Bevere says: "Sometimes the most powerful words are the ones left unspoken." If you're close to God your face will shine with such a radiance that it will be hard to go unnoticed. In schools and work places I have been at it never takes people a long time to figure out that there is something different about me. I don't have to say one word. 
      I have seen many people arguing that Christmas derives from a pagan feast held by the vikings in honor of the nordic gods and that gifts, Santa Clause and christmas trees have nothing with Christianity to do. As I mentioned in the beginning, yet, they have not let go of Christmas songs that

have Jesus song all over them. I must quote C.S. Lewis again for he put the hammer directly onto the nail when he says:

"You will find this again and again about anything that is really Christian: every one is attracted by bits of it and wants to pick out those bits and leave the rest. That is why we do not get much further: and that is why people who are fighting for quite opposite things can both say they are fighting for Christianity. "

People want the good parts of Christianity but not the rest of it. Yesterday I thought about the different things people celebrate every years and all the time, such as: Christmas, Easter, Weddings, Confirmations, St. Lucia, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day... All of this has its roots in Christianity! Whether it is traced back to the Bible or people that were heroes for their faith in God. But, everyone wants some holidays from work, presents, good food, which is understandable. But let us remind people that God is the beginning and the end of everything, including the holidays we celebrate. Since Christmas is my holiday of focus in this post I will focus on the Christian aspects of it. Yes, it is true that what we call "jul, jól, yule..." is initially the name of a pagan holiday. However, when Christianity spread across the world this name was take and used for what we call "Christ-mas", the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christmas is about Jesus. We give presents as a symbol of God giving His son to us, the greatest gift of all. Nothing is more worth and everlasting than the gift of salvation. There are different stories concerning the symbolism of the Christmas tree. One of them is that it's triangular shape reminds us of the Holy Trinity, Father, son and Holy Spirit, and how it points to heaven. Many Christians see nothing Christian about Santa Clause. However, Santa, who also goes by the name Saint Nicholas, was a historic 4th century Christian saint in whom God performed many miracles through his intercession. He was also known for secretly giving gifts and putting coins in shoes of people who left them out for him. Everything starts with Christianity.

As I mentioned in the beginning Christmas is a time for God and sinners to be reconciled. God can meet people through Christmas songs, acts of love and words from our hearts. Me and you might be the only "Jesus" someone meets. Christmas is a time where we celebrate love, salvation, truth and life entering the earth because of love. Let us reconcile ourselves to Jesus and He will resurrect our hearts to Him and His steadfast love. He will also stand behind our backs in our prayers for the lost ones. 

Merry Christmas to all and a happy time of prayer as well!

-Sahara Rós Ívarsdóttir

Overcome Your Fear of Reading the Bible!

Reading the bible used to be very challenging to me. Not that it was difficult to understand, but I was afraid of being condemned by the word and even more condemned when I didn't read the word due to fear of condemnation. Deep? Maybe, but it is a reality for many and that's why I decided to write this post. How do you overcome your fear over the bible so that you can find peace and enjoy reading it?

    First of all, we need to realize that there is an enemy that works hard to keep us away from the bible and spending time with God. Our feelings are given to us by God and they can be good but they are nonetheless one of Satan's main target. He whispers lies that make us feel discouraged, scared, condemned... if we let the pain of those feelings overwhelm us and control us they will keep us away from the very thing that takes all negative thoughts and emotions away. Satan tries to keep us away from the solution of all our problems. One of my bible school teachers said that most of our problems arise due to the lack of prayer and spending time in God's presence and word.  John 10:10 affirms this by saying: "The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." See?! The enemy wants to take everything away from us but God wants to give us abundantly, in great quantity.

    Yes, the bible will make us realize how "bad" and sinful we are but we can't become better persons if we don't realize that with God's help we can become better. Instead of feeling criticized by the word you can see it as a challenge. If you really want to become better you will do anything to become better. The bible leads us, guides us and teaches us how to become more like Jesus. After all,  B-I-B-L-E does stand for: Basic instructions before leaving earth. To be honest with you, as I overcame my fear of reading the bible I realized that it was more fulfilling, full of love, hope and encouragement than ever criticism. Remember how Jesus said that He was the way the truth and the life? (John 14:6). Don't you agree then that Jesus=truth? How do you respond to the fact then that Jesus said: "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:21). 

God is love (1. John 4:8).                                           There is no fear in love (God), but perfect love (God) casts out fear. (1. John 4:18). In other words; there is no fear in God. He's the one that actually casts out our fears. 

God is the word (John 1:1).  He is the truth (John 14:6). 
If you abide in my word (God), you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth (God), and the truth (God) will set you free. (John 8:21). 
In short; if you abide with God you will get to know Him and He will set you free.Jesus also said: "Sanctify them in truth; your word is truth (John 17:17). As I understand, God = love = word = truth.This is all coming from the bible we're so scared of. Funny, huh?

Don't get me wrong and think that you need to read many chapters of the word a day now in order to be problem free. Start easy. Here are some tips to help you start, and as you start you will soon overcome your fear of the word!

1. Read inspiring christian books or listen to preachings through podcast. There you will read about normal people like you and me and how they have overcome the same challenges we have with God's help. We can learn from other people! And what's even better is that good christian authors always back up their stories and teachings with bible verses. Look up those verses in your bible and underline them. Soon you will be overwhelmed with so many good and encouraging bible verses that you won't understand your fear anymore. I recommend authors such as Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen and Ulf Ekman.

2. Look up bible verses about love, joy, hope etc. and you will get all the good stuff. (The bible is ALL good stuff).You will break the ice by reading just one verse from the bible!

3.  Pray. All good changes start with a prayer. 

4. Each book in the bible has a theme. Start reading a book in the New Testament about less complicated issues. 1. John is a lot about love. It's short and so encouraging.Other good books to start on are James, Romans, Hebrews...

5. START now!!! 

I hope with all my heart that this will encourage you to overcome your fear of reading the bible. I want you to experience the joy and fulfillment of reading the word. It's too good to miss out on.


With peace and love,

Sahara Rós

Persuading with Perfection

I tend to think very deeply, especially about ways I can prove to others with just a bit thinking that God exists. On my way to finding answers I think of questions. To be honest, in the Bible alone I have been able to find answers to all my questions, no place else. I want to share with you some questions I ask myself and what answers I find to them. It would be too much to share them all at once so I will need to do it step by step through my blog. Let us start with my first question:

What is perfection?

According to an English dictionary perfection is a perfect embodiment or example of something. When we speak of perfection in the imperfect world what are we comparing to? What is our perfect example? I honestly do not know what people's role model of perfection is. As I read the bible I am constantly in awe of the perfect God I read about. God wants us to become more and more like Him and reach perfection. In Mathews 5:48 Jesus says: "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." I know for sure that I am not perfect. I am not as confident as Jesus Himself to call myself perfect. Why? Well, because I don't always say or do the right things even if I truly want to all the time. When I compare myself to Jesus I realise that I am far from perfection. As king Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:20: "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and
never sins." I have to agree with him. I have not yet found a perfect person. Since I am not perfect I find one reason of many for my need of God.
    When I think of perfection I think of a world where there is no more pain, no more suffering, selfishness, hatred or abuse. A perfect world is governed by love, full of harmony, happiness, peace, freedom, no limitation and is where all speak the same voice. I am sure that most people, regardless of religion or faith, have the same idea.
    How can my mind imagine a perfect world if it does not exist? How can I imagine and have an idea of what perfection is if it does not exist? It is hard, well impossible, to imagine this world coming from something that came from something that came from something and all the way to something never ending. The only logic for me is that there is a Creator who has always existed and who created everything we can see.
These following verses say it all:

Colossians 1:16-17...

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and and for Him. And He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.


1. Corinthians 8:6...

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 


Hebrews 11:3...

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Perfection cannot be created from someone who is not perfect himself. It involves good things only and love is the source of all good things. God is love according to John 4:8 so God is the source of perfection. Perfection is good and God is good. Perfection comes from God alone. We all long for perfection, something that is above ourselves. Unfortunately, not everyone realises that God is actually what they are longing for. Creation longs for its creator. We will never know who we truly are or be fulfilled until we get to know our Creator.
    Another final though regarding all this is that everyone fears death and no matter what people try to tell you, all long for eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says: "He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." I believe that God has put this desire in us so that we would find Him. Only through God can we receive eternal life. He gave His only begotten son so that creation could be with Creator for all eternity (John 3:16). My favourite author and writer of the Narnia books, C.S. Lewis, said: "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world". 
    With limited minds like ours we can never fully understand eternity or God or find all the answers. As the last verse I quoted mentioned, we cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. But we can still have faith and believe in God and we can always find peace in knowing that our Creator knows the answers to all the questions we have. If we knew everything, we wouldn't need faith or God. God wants us to trust Him, depend on Him and need Him. Well, of course God already knows we need Him but we ourselves need to realise that we need Him. God is waiting for you to find Him and one of the clues He has already given mankind is its desire for eternity and perfection.

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My Prayer for You with R H Y M E !

I believe that you who are reading this now needs this prayer and encouragement  E V E R Y  day.

May the love of our Lord lead your way,
More so today than ever yesterday.
Cause others to find their Father and Friend,
Who feels their hurts, cures them and mends.
May all your smiles shine through souls,
Show them God's grace that ever flows.
May praise and worship be your first choice,
As you listen to His perfect voice.
Your battles are won, you are blessed,
Pursue His peace whenever you're stressed.
Your dreams are desires He shall fulfill,
Just follow His directions and do His will.
When you feel small, remember who's not.
God loves you so much, in case you forgot.
These are my thoughts as I prayed for you today, 
May they embrace you and brighten your way.

All love that comes from Jesus and flows straight to you!

- Sahara Rós Ívarsdóttir

Getting the Message A-CROSS

Today in bible school Joakim Lundqvist, the pastor of Livets Ord, had an ecouraging teaching about stepping out of our comfort zone and daring to trust that the Holy Spirit is always with us. In one of his testimonial stories he told us about a conversation he had with a nonchristian girl. During the conversation she told Pastor Joakim that she didn't realize that we Christians actually believe in a LIVING God! Surprised at her statement he asked her what she thought Christians did every Sunday during church meetings? She answered him that she thought they simply came together to reminisce

Jesus and all the good works He did.
      When I heard this story I was so surprised. I was so surprised that the wheels in my mind start turning so fast that you could almost see the smoke coming out of my brain. I started thinking about how we Christians could have inspired such a misunderstanding as believing in a "non-living" God. As for now, only one thing comes to mind. We Christians diligently emphasize that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and sickness, which is true. If Jesus had not died we'd still be hopelessly fighting sin and sickness unto eternal death and we wouldn't have a gospel to preach. However, as much as we speak about Jesus' death which became life for us, we need to stress the fact that Jesus Himself is still alive, active, powerful, loving TODAY as He was 2,000 years ago and has always been. He needed to die AND conquer the death in order for us to gain freedom from death through Him and gain a living relationship with Him.
      The fundamental symbol of Christianity is the cross. Of course we as Christians understand the meaning of the cross but do the nonbelievers around us? As Pastor Joakim also mentioned, we have our own "christianese" language that we use while communicating with our brothers and sisters in Christ, but if we use that same language to non-christians I am sure they will not have a clue on what we are talking about. I would never walk up to a nonbeliever and tell him, "Because of the final sacrifice of the Lamb your transgressions can now be forgiven you." We need to simplify our message and be clear about what we believe in.
      I am pretty sure that a cross is one of the first things a person thinks of when He hears about
Christianity. I see Christians post a lot of photos of the cross (and other Christian symbols too of course)

on Instagram and Facebook along with bible verses or other encouraging messages, so of course it is

normal that people who haven't heard about the gospel connect the cross to Christianity. I have the tendency to wonder if those pictures are more there to inspire us Christians or to give us an opportunity to share the gospel with our friends and followers. To avoid misunderstanding, I think those pictures are beautiful and the messages encourage me a lot. But my main point in this article is that there is a need for us Christians to be more clear on what we believe in and most importantly that Jesus IS ALIVE!
      I am not encouraging anyone to stop talking "christianese" or posting bibles verses or pictures of crosses, but that it is important for us all to stand together in unity and bring God's WHOLE message to people in a simple way. We need to be creative and put ourselves into their shoes of understanding. We need to find ways in every area of our lives to speak of the gospel in an understanding way so that we are prepared when the chance presents itself. 1. Peter 3:15 says that we should always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us. Be simple, be creative and be READY!

Finally, let us get this message a-cross; Jesus is ALIVE! So simple is that.

Journal of Joy!

      A couple of years ago during some of the biggest valleys in my life I started my journal of joy. What is that you may ask. It's a journal where I write inspirational quotes from books I am reading,

song lyrics, important memories, prayers and most importantly scriptures that have nurtured my heart and that God has given me. I don't believe I will ever stop keeping a journal like this. Writing down things makes it easier to remember them and if you ever go through a tough time, or if you are simply having a bad day, you can always go back to your journal and be encouraged. 
      There have been days I really needed encouragement and when I looked into my journal I got the joy I was lacking since everything I read was something that had personally encouraged me before!
I highly recommend you to keep a journal for yourself. You will always be encouraged and as the years pass you will see every journal you kept as a jewel. It's always fun to look back at what God has done in your life and see you much you have grown as a person. 

The Little Forget-Me-Not

Forget-me-nots are my absolute favorite flowers, the prettiest ever. It is easy to create heartfelt symbolic meanings with them and I have done that many times in my own personal writing. I think forget-me-nots are quite underestimated; often referred to "just" being tiny weeds. But if you put in the effort to take a closer look at them, they are just perfect; the beautiful rich blue color, and what seems like a yellow crown in the center, symbolically the crown of life, and they stick to you no matter what!

      Faithful flowers they are indeed. I also love the fact that when they are developing, but not fully bloomed, they are purple. My favorite color. These flowers remind me of myself, to be honest. There have been times in my past where I felt like a little forget-me-not; easily looked past, small and tiny, fragile and different. The world may see me as a weed; different, old fashioned when waiting for true love, my godly standards, my choice of giving up my life so it may be lived for God… but "that's all right," I thought. I am in this world, but not of it. I should be different! I should contain things the world is looking for. They should yearn for the God living in me. 

      And I should be small and tiny; like a forget-me-not. That way God can grown strong and big in me and His strength in my weaknesses will be a testimony to all. The more time I dwell in God’s love and stick to Him, the bluer I will get and in the end I will fully bloom in Him.
I always imagine when the right man comes along, he will notice me, the little forget-me-not above all the other flowers, even the roses. When he picks me, I will stick to his heart forever. And God inside me should attract him. God always leads his men to pick the right flower.

     Out of this idea of the personification of the forget-me-not this poem was born. 

He found a flower by the sea,

Its fragrance called his name.

"My love, I am your destiny,

My heart is for your aim."

Reaching for the tiny flower,

He pressed it to his heart.

With so much beauty to devour,

His senses fell apart.

Forget-me-not tiny and blue,

Cried with tears from the rain.

In his hands a different view,

A world with no more pain.

Above all roses it was picked.

Rejoice! The day had come.

Never again by thorns was pricked,

True strength hardships came from.

He found her waiting, woman fair,

His true beloved one.

He placed the flower in her hair,

Her heart was aimed and won.

Pick Jesus and the right guy will pick you. God never forgets you and picked you before you picked Him!

Your sister in Christ,

Sahara Rós