by Elyn Schranz | 31. May 2026
It’s wonderful to sit down with a good friend and learn from them. It’s just as valuable to be encouraged to take on a challenge or to be reined in and asked to reconsider the path I’ve chosen. A true friend usually has my best interests at heart.
Through healthy relationships, we flourish, discover our potential, are refined, and move forward. We are social beings who depend on connection. Without community, we wither inside. The Creator designed our souls for relationship. He wants to shape us because that is part of His plan. This is His gift of love to us. Jesus modeled community for us.
How do you nurture relationships? How do you live out your friendships? Is God at the center of them?
The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
Genesis 2, 18
Weekly text: 1. Samuel 18, 1–5
by Elyn Schranz | 24. May 2026
Many people base their image of God on their own image of their father. So it’s no surprise that many incomplete and absurd ideas about God are circulating. As a pastor, I have encountered many broken family relationships that deeply disturb me. How much more does this affect children or spouses—those directly affected! Will you be able to see the perfect, loving Father in heaven in the right light and trust Him?
The Lord has thoughts of peace, the future, and hope for every person. He has a plan tailored just for us, because He is the one who created us. He is the answer to all of life’s shortcomings. He fills every void when we open ourselves to Him.
Do you think he means well?
For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29,11
What does God think of you?
Weekly text: Ephesians 3,14–21
by Elyn Schranz | 17. May 2026
Too often I forget to thank my wife for the delicious lunch and her wonderful support… So much of my life revolves around me and my own problems. Everyday acts of kindness quickly become the norm. Demanding more and more—and even “complaining” about it—quickly becomes the standard.
Encouraging, grateful interactions are “pick-me-ups” and motivate us to achieve even more. This triggers positive mini chain reactions. – Malice, on the other hand, poisons everything.
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5,20
The forgiving love of Jesus brings me happiness and gratitude. It fills my heart with indescribable joy whenever I experience His cleansing forgiveness.
How do you experience your personal relationship with God?
How do you experience gratitude?
Weekly text: Ephesians 5,10-20
by Elyn Schranz | 10. May 2026
I’m walking around Vienna with a large suitcase. The escalator leads upward from the subway station. “Be careful,” someone just advised me because of the luggage—“That can’t be a problem,” I think to myself, but no sooner had I thought it than I nearly lost my balance. I struggle to keep my balance, but I can’t stop myself from falling. Backward, sideways—I let go of the suitcase so I can brace myself, but I’m only going backward! Brace myself? Impossible…
I fall backward and suddenly realize: There are hands holding me. Behind me and beside me, people have reached out their hands and literally saved me from a serious fall.
An unforgettable experience: I am not alone. I am being held. There are people around me—they catch me when I fall.
And deep inside I feel: Ultimately, it is God, the strong, loving Father, who holds me, who carries me in life and in death.
For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29,11
If you fall—who will catch you?
Weekly text: Psalm 91,1–16
by Elyn Schranz | 3. May 2026
I love talking about God’s “unmerited gift.” This new life that He wants to give us shows just how boundless His love is. God gave His only Son, who died for our sins.
You no longer have to atone for your wrongdoing or earn God’s favor through good works. Jesus has already done that for you. His grace cannot possibly be earned.
On this foundation, we are called to “do good.” The new life, sustained by God’s love, bears the fruits of gratitude and generosity. This is God’s plan and purpose for our lives.
You are a beloved person created by God. The people around you can see this when you listen to God and do what He reminds you to do as a plan or a mission.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2, 10
What if “doing good” weren’t a moral effort, but simply a natural consequence of who you are?
Weekly text: Ephesians 2, 1-10
