Author Archives: Bert Hielema

IT IS VERY GOOD. When God started creating, actually, when God started speaking, (Psalm 33: 9 simply states: “God spoke and it came to be), when God started doing the human impossible, started acting beyond our ken, started stopping, yet … Continue reading →

ON (MY) AGING Some personal observations.                                                                         There is that parable of the farmer who planted grain. Some of which fell on rocky ground, some on soil with little depth, and some on a fertile patch, with predictable results. Matthew 13 … Continue reading →

MARANATHA I am a forward-looking person. My favorite word/concept/prayer-word is MARANATHA. The word is derived from Aramaic, a language closely related to Hebrew, and is composed of “Maran” (our Lord) and “Atha” (come or has come). When I was still … Continue reading →

“GREAT EXPECTATIONS”. “Great Expectations” is the title of a novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1860-61. The book relates the coming-of-age story of Pip, a young orphan, against the backdrop of 19th-century England, exploring themes of social class, ambition, love, and … Continue reading →

PROPHETS AND PREDICTIONS. In my ‘religion-dominated’ youth I was taught that every Christian was supposed to be ‘a prophet, priest and king’, a core Calvinistic concept. I can see myself as a priest, praying at mealtime, praying at bedtime. At … Continue reading →

PONDERINGS ON A PARABLE. What is a parable? My dictionary defines it as a simple story used to illustrate a certain truth. Off and one for decades I have tried to make sense of the Parable of the Ten Virgins. … Continue reading →