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 ====== Crucified ... ======
-Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
+Wednesday, March 27, 2019. Sometimes people think that faith is a matter of belief. It is about
+an opinion or conviction. And yes, what I believe with my complete life is very important here.
+But belief is just my attitude towards something or someone. If my belief is not based on
+facts, the story would be different. I can believe that someone has brown hair, but if he is
+blonde my belief is not linked to reality.
 {{2019:2019_03_27.jpg }}
-** Text from 500 years before ... **
+** Not based on nice Words ... **
+In his first letter to the Korinthians, the apostle Paul insists that the way he presents the
+gospel is not important. His own strength is not important. It is even not the most important
+that we have all the arguments sorted out completely. But what is important? Let us listen:
 <color #aa0000>
 And I, when I came to you, brothers,1 did not come proclaiming to you the testimony2 of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
 </color> (from 1 Kor 2)
+Faith should be based on the power of God. It is the power of the holy spirit. It is his
+work, he is the one who brings people to Christ!
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-** Resurrektion and Salvation ... **
+** ... but on God's Power ... **
+You can discuss this on many layers, looking at you personally, your own search and your
+path of faith. We could also discuss activities in the Christian church and communities. What
+is our focus? What are we struggling with? Is our faith based on the power of Christ? Or
+are we basically trying to follow some particular image of a realization of what we think
+a life full of faith should look like?
+Paul said he came in weakness and fear, with much trembling. He said he did not speak in
+plausible words. We could, of course, ask why someone who was with Christ in such an exceptional
+way still was full of fear. You could use biblical words to tell him that there is no fear
+in love. But that is not the point of Paul here. He wants to clarify completely that faith
+comes through the holy spirit, through the power of God!
+We should not look necessarily think of particular miracles here, but when Paul talks about
+the power of God, he mainly refers to the work of the holy spirit in humans. The spirit shows
+to us our own life, our sin, our struggle, our desires, our hopes and dreams. The spirit
+enables us to clearly see the difficulties deep within our own life. It is a power of knowledge
+and wisdom which comes from the purity and clarity and wisdom of God himself. And the spirit
+looks at all of this with the mercy and love Christ. He does not have to condemn us -
+since we are reconciled through the crucifiction of Christ. Instead,
+he wants to heal us and offers himself as a companion and guide, the ultimate lover.
 (Roland Potthast)
 [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/topics_collection_ix|... further texts]]