About
Hello. My name is Tommy André Strand, and this is my story.
I was born in Norway in the year of 1980. Basically, I lived a life for myself. I was content with doing what I thought best, enjoying life and doing whatever I wanted, or at least could get away with. I had good experiences, and I had bad experiences. Then something happened. And that something changed my life completely. In fact, it is correct to say that it turned my life around… You see, as time went by, I realized that I wasn’t as good and perfect as I had previously thought I was, and had earlier proudly claimed to be, and I was starting to discover that it was not within mine, or any man’s power to be good. The more I lived, the more I discovered that life was harsh and seemingly random, and meaningless. But I did not only see that I was a victim of the cruelty of the world, I very much knew that I was part of the reason it was so messed up. And honestly, I hurt. It was then, in this broken state of heart and mind that God revealed His love for me. God showed me that He Himself became flesh, in the man Jesus Christ, and lived a perfect, sinless life. Then he was killed and left to die on a cross. He died, but rose from the dead after 3 days, conquering death. This Jesus who died, but now lives forever, is the only one who has lived a sinless life. And when He died on the cross, He didn’t do it because He needed to. He didn’t do it because He couldn’t stop it. He died on the cross willingly, to pay for the debt that I owed God for my sinful life. The penalty of which is an eternity away from God, in other words, Hell. And the sin that I had commited my whole life, was the reason that I didn’t see and know the God who created me. When Jesus died in my place, I was allowed to turn away from my previous evil, and receive His gift of love. By my acceptance of His work, He cleaned me from all the wrong I had done, made me a new creation, made me His brother, a child of God. He gave me everlasting life. But He didn’t stop there. God moved into my heart, giving me His Spirit, and is now walking with me daily while I live on this earth, on my way home where I will live with Him and countless other forever. Jesus saved me. And the Bible tells us that He “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9b)
If you haven’t guessed it already, I am what is known as a “Christian”, a “disciple of Jesus”. Now, I know that there are many people who call themselves “christians” today. But I have something to say about that too. You see, simply calling oneself a “christian” does not make you one. Jesus said that there are some people who will come to Him and say “Lord, Lord…”. Then Jesus goes on to say that He will tell them “Why do you call me Lord, and DO NOT what I say?”… In this story Jesus tells us that from all the people who call themselves by His name, “Christians” or “followers of Jesus” or whatever word they may use, He will only accept those who have followed Him in truth. There are those claiming to be christians, and there are those who are Christians. The difference is not always easy to see for us humans, as everyone can make mistakes, but God knows all the secrets of our hearts. If you have a heart that is earnestly wanting to honor God, and live for Him, then you are off to a good start. The book of James in the Bible says that real faith, will produce works proving that faith.
Finally I come to the end of this introduction. The purpose of this blog is for me to share with you what is in my heart. I pray that as you read these posts, you will keep an open heart yourself and think about what I am sharing with you. If you disagree with me, please allow a moment for thought about what I am really saying, and try to see if what I am saying is really true or not. It may very well happen that you will agree with some parts of what I write, while seeing other things in a different way. Whichever conclusion you come to, I welcome you to leave your every sincere thought in a comment. I promise you that I will do my very best to respond. I do not keep this blog to honor myself, nor get anyone’s praise nor attention. My wish is that I can be a witness of what God has done in my life, unto whoever will hear me. I am not perfect, and I will never have full understanding of any issue. Neither will anyone else but God in this life. But what revelation I have, I will try to share with you. God bless you, in whatever way that means. He knows our needs, even before we do ourselves. If anyone have any questions to comments, do not hesitate to leave a comment here, or contact me via mail or phone.
