​In the mid 60s, Hervanta (part of Tampere city) was originally intended to be built as a garden city. This great idea was messed up and destroyed by multiple different plans and desires. But do you know where this garden city idea came from in the first place?
It's God's idea! In the Bible chapters Gen 1-2 we find the original plan for humans; the image in which they were created and the environment in which they were planted. The conditions were perfect at first; People enjoyed life and fellowship in all its fullness without any inkling of evil or corruption. They lived together in peace and harmony. Not only was their physical condition perfect, but also their mental health and capacity was excellent. A life without worries or physical or mental distortions. WOW! And not only that, their environment was also perfect and produced everything they needed for life and enjoyment. Can you imagine? This was the original plan, the GARDEN that people still long for.
 
WHAT DESTROYED THIS PERFECT PLACE? 
The short answer is the Fall of men. The first couple, Adam and Eve, fell into the temptation by the lie set by the father of lies, Satan. First couple wanted to define for themselves what is right and wrong. They decided to disobey their Creator and create their own rules and lifestyle. This lead to great suffering, corruption and even death, not only for their lives but for all future generations. Even nature was corrupted and has been suffering ever since. As a result, Adam and Eve were sent into exile from this beautiful garden. They could not live in that perfect place because they were now imperfect, marred by sin and disobedience to their Creator. They carried death within them. 
 
Now comes the bad news: you have inherited the same problem! We humans also live in exile, as refugees trying to survive in this broken world and make the most of it while we live. But nothing in this broken world can satisfy our inner beings. We have eternal souls within us and nothing perishable can satisfy that. God has placed in our hearts the desire to seek something that will last and fulfill our inner longings. The OT book Ecclesiastes chapter 3:11 puts it this way:
He 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.
 
So we are all looking for something that we actually lack and living conditions where there is no more death or impermanence. Our inner longing is to strive to fill this void. The problem is that we cannot solve this problem with by our own efforts. Many have tried with different religions and worldviews, bringing even more destructive results to this world. The sin problem can’t be resolved by any human effort. We need someone who is not part of this problem and is able to deal with our toxic nature. We seek the way home. The Apostle Paul puts it this way:
Rom 8
19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
 
IS THERE ANY REDEMPTION TO THIS TRAGIC SITUATION?
BIG YES. God, the Creator, promised to solve this problem by sending a seed that would incarnate into a perfect human being (Gen 3:15). This perfect man would live a perfect life and fulfill all that the first men could not do and live. He would not only live, but die for mankind! By dying, he paid the penalty and redeemed people from their guilt and debt. As the Old Testament foretold in many places, this perfect God-man would not only suffer for the people, but also rise from the dead. So yes, there is redemption for men, but how can it be obtained?
 
RETURN
To get back to God's original plan for you, He is calling you to make a U-turn, to start going in the right direction toward God. The key is to turn to the One who made the Way and means to be recreated as a new you. He is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He holds the keys of life and death and victory for those who come to Him. This applies not only to your life now but also to your future life, your eternity.
 
THE GARDEN CITY
What about that original plan, the Garden? God has prepared a new world, the Garden City, that is free from all the corruption we experience here on the fallen earth. This is the place we long for and wait for. The door is open to those who come there through Christ Jesus. There is no other way, and therefore your greatest need is to come to Him and ask for forgiveness of your sins and let Him guide you in this life and in the life to come. Have you heard the call to become a member of this new citizenship that surpasses all other kingdoms and countries?
 
The most important knowledge you can get here in this broken world is that the door to God's eternal Garden, Heaven, is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Do you already know Him?
 
Revelation 21
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

1 Cor 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
 
The mirror is relatively impolite gadget because it shows us how we are, not what we would like to be. The mirror reflects who we are and that's all, but there is a gospel mirror that shows us much more. This mirror reveals not only what we look like on the outside, but also what is inside. At first it's not a pretty picture! It reveals our true state and reality that we previously didn't even know existed, and not only that, but it allows us to see behind the mirror to the other side.
 
When it comes to spiritual things we are really in the dark. There is a veil between the natural man and God. This veil prevents us from seeing aright, whether it is God himself, us or others. A natural man is a blind man that only someone from outside can remove the veil. This is not a rival matter but very costly and concerns man’s eternal future. Natural, that is, a fallen man has no ability to sense eternal things, but only by feeling vaguely the need for something more; the eternal soul finds no fulfillment in perishable things but only in those that will last. 
How can you get that new ability to see another side, which is invisible to the natural man, to see even eternity and God’s purpose for your life? 
 
Even in this natural world we need light to see, but there is a greater and brighter light that the natural man cannot see at all, he cannot perceive it by natural means, it is beyond the reach of his vision. What is the great light that gives light to mankind.
 
THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL IS THE GLORY OF CHRIST
2 Kor 4:3-4
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
 
The light of the Gospel is what we humans need every day! It is a light that not only reveals the path we can take, but it also reveals:

1. who we are and 
2. who we are meant to become. 

It actually transforms us into new beings, it brings life into our souls. But as we can read in the text, not everyone wants us to partake of this glory! There is an archenemy, Satan, whose main purpose is to prevent that from happening to you or anyone else. He wants to keep you out of that redemptive light, and he's succeeded in doing so with an unfortunate number of people.
 
But who is this amazing "outsider" who can remove the barrier to see what is behind that curtain that hangs between perishable and eternal life? Who can give us the kind of vision that enables us to receive that transforming light?
 
2 Cor 3:12-18
12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
 
If there is a key that opens all the doors in the world, would you want it? What about the key that opens the doors to eternal life (some people picture that eternal life is just a continuation of living here in a broken world. That is not what the eternal life is about.)? “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” This is the Gospel = the Lord Jesus Christ, who has the keys of life and death (Rev.1:17-18). Our eyes are not accustomed to this brightness of the gospel that shines through that veil. We don't have what it takes to receive that ray of light that can transform us into something new. We need help!
 
Martin Luther said:
This the natural man cannot see: but the spiritual man only discerns the person from the Word, the veil of God from God Himself. Now this veil of God is every creature. Moreover, God here in this life deals not with us face to face, but veiled and shadowed from us; that is, as Paul saith in another place: “We see him now through a glass darkly: but then face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). [1]
 
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.”
This turning to the Lord is the answer. Christ said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15
 
This repentance means that you TURN to Jesus, you confess your separation from the holy and good God, that you have gone in the opposite direction against God and now you turn to Him. In short, you confess that you are a sinner – that you have completely missed the mark and lived outside of God's will. This U-turn begins a process of change that you never knew or could imagine. It opens your eyes to see beyond the veil, beyond what the human eye or mind can comprehend. The veil is removed by your Creator Himself!
 
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
 
This change does not happen just once, when you first turn to the Lord Jesus. But it will continue as long as you look at the glory of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And how do you do that? Often a first reaction is that a natural person tries to clean up his life and make him a religious person, showing some interest in godly things, but repentance is not about a person's own power to change or becoming a religious.
A real Gospel change happens by deepening your understanding of the Gospel and applying it to your daily life. But you might say, I've tried. True, many of us believers have experienced this, for too often we turn back to the ways of the natural man and turn away from the Gospel to man-made beliefs. This happens so easily, instead of looking to the grace of Christ we put our hope and faith into our own performance, good or bad. We judge ourselves by our performance and try to fulfill the faith of Christ by our own efforts, in doing so we actually reject the grace of Christ and tire ourselves with useless religious performances and ceremonies. This is how we build the religion and self-righteousness of fallen man, which is an abomination to God and a trap of pride for us. 
 
Paul is saying here that we should have UNCOVERED faces, nothing between Christ and us! It is amazing that we are allowed to see the glory of the Son of God and even that holy God enables us to do so. When we are exposed, it means that we are completely naked before the Lord, no pretense, no cover up, nothing to hide behind, bare souls before the Lord Almighty and the King of Kings, UNCOVERED! In that nakedness we can see and turn to Christ, who has the power to transform our broken images into His likeness, from glory to glory, from good to better. This is our ongoing sanctification done by the Holy Spirit. Enjoy!
 
One more question remains. Why would Jesus do that? What makes Him the holder of the key of life and death or how can He change broken people and make them new creations? Good that you asked because firstly He has shown that He lived a perfect life and met all the requirements that we humans could not meet due to our sinful nature, secondly He suffered and took the burden of death for us and thirdly He rose from the dead on the third day which shows, that He defeated the last enemy, which is death. That’s why He can do that! He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. 
A man recently said to me after hearing this, "It's not fair, I have to be responsible for my own mistakes." He is right and wrong. Yes, you are responsible for your life, but neither you nor any man can undo the punishment you face. Only God Himself, Christ Jesus can, is worthy, is so loving that He came for you and took that punishment upon Himself. That's why HE IS GOOD NEWS!
 
Let's look daily to Him who already knows you completely and the sufferings you are going through in this broken world. He is the Gospel = good news, His all-encompassing love shines through the veil that separates us from eternity, look to Him.
 
“The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.” 
― John Calvin, Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life


[1] Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 104.

Gal 1:15-16
15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…
 
What do you think makes a Christian share the good news? Quite often, some church leaders try to get their flock moving by appealing to the duty and commission that the believer should fulfill. Others try to hold motivational speeches and events so that the crowd gets excited and gets going. All of these methods are not wrong in themselves, but this is not the way the New Covenant believer is called to serve God. So what moves us, or should I say, moves us to live a gospel life in front of our neighbors and the people we meet every day.
 
THE GOSPEL IS MORE THAN YOU KNOW
 
Too often we have a very narrow understanding of the gospel. A baby Christian knows that he has been forgiven through Christ's sacrificial death and that he has become a new creation through Christ’s resurrection victory. This is the foundational truth for all believers. But sometimes you hear the saying that the gospel is milk for a little Christian, but now he needs proper food, meat to eat in order to progress in the faith. The truth is that the Christian's diet must always consist of the Gospel, or else he will not be able to digest other spiritual foods at all. The reason is that the Gospel is the A&O of Christian life and growth. It fuses heavenly wisdom into his life and causes a new creation to grow in him. A Christian is supposed to grow in knowing God and His grace.
 
2 Peter 3:18a
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
 
The problem we face is that we all suffer from old man amnesia and have a rebel in us who keeps turning to man-made options and different religious exercises instead of deepening our understanding of the Gospel and applying it to our daily lives.
 
Martin Luther comments in his commentary of Galatians:
This is a righteousness hidden in a mystery, which the world does not know, yea, Christians themselves do not thoroughly understand it, and can hardly take hold of it in their temptations. Therefore it must be diligently taught and continually practiced. And whoso does not understand or apprehend this righteousness in afflictions and terrors of conscience, must needs be overthrown. For there is no comfort of conscience so firm and so sure, as this passive righteousness is.[1]
 
The gospel of Jesus Christ covers all Christian life and living: It is wisdom from the perfect place, heaven, it is the passive righteousness or in other words "borrowed" righteousness that the believer receives as an undeserved gift, it is grace, and not only that, he is constantly sanctified, separated and purified from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18), bought free from his old fallen life.
 
1 Cor 1:30
And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
 
THE GOSPEL ENABLES YOU TO GLORY GOD
 
Gal 1:15-16
15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…
 
Paul, like every believer who grows in the knowledge of God's mercy and grace in Christ, wants to please his/her Redeemer and proclaim saving truth to people. When we understand God's grace, it inevitably changes our attitudes and inner desires to worship Him to whom all glory belongs. It changes our priorities and gives us perspectives we didn't have before. It actually empowers us to live a new life because the Gospel is the power of God.
 
Rom 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
 
This is a heavenly mystery, a mystery that has been fought against throughout history because it reveals our true condition: fallen nature and glorifies the redemptive power of Christ to save us unconditionally, by grace alone. This is contrary to our sinful nature because it reveals our inadequacy to save ourselves. Fallen man is a rebel living in sin, who tries to establish his own paradise without knowing God and his saving grace in Christ.
 
The Gospel = the Good News makes all the difference.
​Do you know it or better: Do you know Him?

[1] Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 22.

In the mid 60s, Hervanta (part of Tampere city) was originally intended to be built as a garden city. 
This great idea was messed up and destroyed by multiple different plans and desires. But do you know where this garden city idea came from in the first place?
It's God's idea! In the Bible chapters Gen 1-2 we find the original plan for humans; the image in which they were created and the environment in which they were planted. The conditions were perfect at first; People enjoyed life and fellowship in all its fullness without any inkling of evil or corruption. They lived together in peace and harmony. Not only was their physical condition perfect, but also their mental health and capacity was excellent. A life without worries or physical or mental distortions. WOW! And not only that their environment was also perfect and produced everything they needed for life and enjoyment. Can you imagine? This was the original plan, the GARDEN that people still long for.
 
WHAT DESTROYED THIS PERFECT PLACE? 
The short answer is the Fall of men. The first couple, Adam and Eve, fell into the temptation, the lie set by the father of lies, Satan, and wanted to define for themselves what is right and wrong. They decided to disobey their Creator and create their own rules and lifestyle. This leads to great suffering, corruption and even death, not only for their lives but for all future generations. Even nature was corrupted and has been suffering ever since. Adam and Eve were sent into exile from this beautiful garden. They could not live in that perfect place because they were now imperfect, marred by sin and disobedience to their Creator. They carried death within them. 
 
Now comes the bad news: you have inherited the same problem! We humans also live in exile, as refugees trying to survive in this broken world and make the most of it while we live. God has placed in our hearts the desire to seek something that will last and fulfill our inner longings.
The OT book Ecclesiastes chapter 3:11 puts it this way:
He 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.
 
So we are all looking for something that we actually lack and living conditions where there is no more impermanence. This can be seen in many ways as we seek to fill this void. The problem is that we cannot solve this problem with human efforts. Many have tried with different religions and worldviews, bringing even more destructive results to this world. The sin problem can’t be resolved by any human effort. We need someone who is not part of this problem and is able to deal with our toxic nature. We seek the way home. 
The Apostle Paul puts it this way:
Rom 8
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
 
IS THERE ANY REDEMPTION TO THIS TRAGIC SITUATION?
God, the Creator, promised to solve this problem by sending a seed that would incarnate into a perfect human being (Gen 3:15). This perfect man would live a perfect life and fulfill all that the first men could not do and live. He would not only live, but die for mankind! By dying, he paid the penalty and redeemed people from their guilt and debt. As the Old Testament foretold in many places, this perfect God-man would not only suffer for the people, but also rise from the dead. So yes, there is redemption for men, but how can it be obtained?
 
RETURN
To get back to God's original plan for you, He is calling you to make a U-turn, to start going in the right direction toward God. The key is to turn to the One who made the Way and means to be recreated as a new you. He is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He holds the keys of life and death and victory for those who come to Him. This applies not only to your life now but also to your future life, your eternity.
 
THE GARDEN CITY
God has prepared a new world, the Garden City, that is free from all the corruption we experience here on the fallen earth. This is the place we long for and wait for. The door is open to those who come there through Christ Jesus. There is no other way, and therefore your greatest need is to come to Him and ask for forgiveness of your sins and let Him guide you in this life and in the life to come.
Have you heard the call to become a member of this new citizenship that surpasses all other kingdoms and countries?
 
Revelation 21
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”