23th February 2025
The Book Without Words
”Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be
whiter than snow.”
Psalm 51:7NIV
A little girl at school gave me a tiny little book. The book had no words,
but each page had its own color that told its own story.
The first page was black and represents all our sins. We sin daily in word,
thought and deed.
The second page is red. It represents the blood of Jesus, which washes us
clean when we repent and ask Jesus to forgive us.
The third page is white. Now we have been forgiven and are whiter than
snow, as it says in Psalm 51:7.
The fourth page is gilded and is made of gold. It represents Heaven, where
the streets are made of gold.
The front page is green. It represents growth. The grass and trees are green
and the idea is that we should grow in our Christian lives. And we do that
when we read the Bible, the Word of God, and go to church and Christian
meetings.
Effie Campbell
Blessed Words
”Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ”
Rom.12:14NIV
Blessing one another is not merely empty words, it is releasing God's
goodwill upon the person God wants to bless! Why are we so barren
towards one another? Why not speak well of one another instead of
criticizing and speaking badly of others, where we hurt one another. Many
people walk around with unhealed open wounds that the devil and the
world have inflicted on them.
Dear Christian friends, we live in a tough world. We are up against super-
intelligent monsters in the spirit world. That is why we must help one
another.
In my Bible, I see that the Lord says that we are to bless one another!
Bless and do not curse! Bless!
The blessing is stronger than the curse, because it is founded in the grace
of the Lord, which lasts forever, while the curse belongs to the law. When
you bless a person, you embrace him with the Lord's favor. The Lord will
take care of the problem and you truly release that person from the
captivity and curse that he is somehow bound by!
Let us confess our sins before Jesus Christ and promise that from this day
forward we will not speak a single evil word about any brother in the
Lord! Then we will see what the Lord will do! God has forbidden people
to touch His anointed.
Translated by Effie Campbell
How to turn a bad day into a good day?
”“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. ”
Matt.11:28NIV
We all know it. The day starts badly, the children are troublesome, the
spouse is stressed, the demands at work are great and seem hopeless. A
colleague complains and the situation worsens, and we almost think that
everything is a great burden - a burden we are barely able to lift. We find
no meaning in anything. Everything is wrong! In short, a so-called day of
misfortune.
“What do you do, what do you do when everything has gone wrong,” sings
the Danish singer Peter Belli in one of his songs. There is only one thing to
do and that is to put everything on the one who is able to transform a
hopeless situation into something better, namely Jesus. If we turn to him
rather than just continuing on the same course, then we will know a
change. We feel a wonderful peace sinking into the soul. We try to find
solutions rather than create problems.
Jesus says: ”“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. ” Jesus is the solution to even the worst difficulties. Just
thinking about Jesus, praying to him is in itself a solution. We do not feel
alone with our problems. Often I have experienced that just when the
situation seemed most hopeless, I found the solution, as I sought Jesus in a
silent sigh or went to him in prayer. Jesus is an incredible inspirer and a
good comforter when the outlook is miserable. He is always there. We do
not even have to wait for him to have time. He is just there.
So therefore: Do not forget Jesus in your daily life, regardless of whether
you are doing well or badly. One thing is certain: the best day begins with
a conversation with Jesus and he is able to change darkness into light.
Therefore, begin the day with Jesus, and you will be in safe hands no
matter how hopeless everything seems.
Ebbe Jensen, “Danish European Mission”. Translated by Effie Campbell
The plusperfect does not save anybody
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God
chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
1.Cor.1:27NIV
I have heard of a man called Nylin who came from Närkeskil. He was a
simple man. Some considered him too ignorant and encouraged him to
enroll a Bible school.
As said so done. He enrolled in a Bible school and began his studies, but
when he came across various strange concepts such as "plus-kvam-
perfect", and he had heavy problems pronouncing the word and it was
generally difficult for him to follow along, however much he wanted to.
After some failed exams, he had finally made up his mind. He said:
"No! The plusperfect (it is a word from the grammar and means past tense)
saves no one! Now I go out again to the work of the Lord.”
He won more souls and led more sinners to the Lord Jesus than even the
very best students who attended that Bible school. Did the Lord do this to
shame the wise?
E.Campbell translated
God's Word about the Day, Life and Death
”Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father
will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ”
John 14:23NIV
This means that we must hold on to, well cling to what Jesus has said. "We
- both God the Father and God the Son - will come to them and make our
home with them." This happens through the Spirit of God, who is invisibly
present.
And when we say "the word of Jesus", we can also say with a clear
conscience all the words of the Holy Scripture, because Jesus lived and
breathed in the words of the Bible, and because he said to his disciples:
"“Whoever listens to you listens to me ..."
Luke 10:16NIV
What is it like in the morning, when you wake up and get up and a new
day lies before you? It is written: ”The Lord himself goes before you and
will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be
afraid; do not be discouraged.” ” Deuteronomy 31:8NIV
Hold on to the Word! Then the Spirit will take it and give it to you.
How do you feel when doing your daily work, at home or at work? Hold
on to the Bible Word! Then the Holy Spirit will take it and give it to you:
”Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for human masters, ”
Col. 3:23NIV
And when you talk to people you meet: ”“Whoever acknowledges me
before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ”
Matt.10:32NIV Jesus said that.
Or when you are sad? Then hold on to Jesus’ words. Then the Spirit will
take what is His and give it to you: ”“I am the good shepherd; I know my
sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know
the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ” John 10:14-15NIV
When you miss someone who is no longer with us? It is written: ”Then I
heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die
in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their
labor, for their deeds will follow them.”” Rev. 14:13NIV
And when you get the opportunity to rejoice? Then hold on to the Bible.
The Holy Spirit takes it and gives it to you: ”Every good and perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who
does not change like shifting shadows. ” James 1:17NIV
When you are tired: ”Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign
Lord comes escape from death.” Psalm 68:20NIV Then hold on to the
Bible and the Holy Spirit takes it and gives it to you.
When we get sick and old: ”Therefore we do not lose heart. Though
outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by
day. ” 2 Cor. 4:16NIV
When evening comes and you go to bed. ”In peace I will lie down and
sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. ” Psalm 4:8NIV
And when you are about to die. Then cling to the words of the Bible. Then
the Holy Spirit takes it and gives it to you: ”in a flash, in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be
raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ” 1 Cor. 15:52NIV
And Jesus said: ”... These words you hear are not my own; they belong to
the Father who sent me. ” John 14:24NIV
E. Campbell translated
More to Heaven
”“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything
they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ”
Matt.18:19NIV
God loves people who pray for souls to be saved. It was for sinners that
Jesus died. It is the saved sinners who are the reward for the pain that his
soul has endured. Therefore, we should constantly pray for sinners to be
saved. Let us enter the “world of prayer.”
Take God at His Word, you too! Keep praying! God is closer to you than
you can imagine, and the answer to prayer will be given to you at the same
moment you have made the decision to pray with all your heart until you
see a spiritual breakthrough. Jesus says that the smallest unity in prayer –
two people – is enough to strengthen the prayer so much that we get
whatever we agree to ask for (Matt. 18:19). This is something quite
unique. Just imagine what this means in spiritual warfare! One shall win
over a thousand, and two shall put a thousand to flight! Hallelujah!
The only condition for us to see sinners come and seek salvation is that we
become broken and humble before God. He cannot entrust “newborn
children” (i.e. the new converts) into the hands of a statue! No, God seeks
a warm mother’s embrace to place His newborn child in. Some churches
are as cold as morgues. How can we invite newborn children of God into
such a community?
We must have more with us to heaven, we must have more with us home.
For the gates of the city await (Rev. 22:14), and the angels wait and desire
to be allowed to welcome them home.
Effie Campbell translated
He who trusts in the Lord
”For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came
down, and the mountains trembled before you.”
Isaiah 64:3NIV
But trusting and waiting is not always easy. To endure waiting and calling
on God, to struggle in prayer and still not see help coming. To wait all
while days turn into years without an answer, when the heavens seem
closed. To wait for summer and winter while the answer to prayer seems
even more distant. The shadows lengthen, the darkness comes, hope fades
and the discouraged sigh:
“Oh, God, how long?”
But beneath all this, the divine living power is at work for the tried and
discouraged soul, and God himself is behind everything that happens. We
would most like to have an answer to prayer immediately. But God’s ways
are not always like that. God must prepare our heart to receive the answer.
On the other side of the heavenly veil sits the Master, shaping and
caressing the answer to prayer, so that we may be able to receive it, while
our hearts become ripe for the blessing. A God and Father who works for
his child, who patiently waits and waits and trusts in him—how glorious!
Be assured, child of God! Your cause is not forgotten. Let the words of
Isaiah 64:3 sink deep into your soul, for then the turbulent waves will be
stilled. It will quiet your complaints and your discontent, which can easily
come upon your lips. It will fill your heart with a blessed joy in solitude
and give you the peace that surpasses all reason.
Just have faith in God and wait comfortingly on Him! Feel secure in your
faith in the skillfully worked hand! Trust in the good heart that smooths the
way and in the great certainty that always gives the best in the right time.
Believe and wait! Trust in God!
T.D.H translated
Prayer for the unborn child
”For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s
womb.”
Psalm 139:13NIV
Annette Vestergård
A short time ago we had a lovely, well-formed girl.
As expectant parents, it is a great blessing to place the unborn child in
God's hands and know that it is safe there. We have experienced this as a
married couple - and I as a mother - already.
Even before our child was born, we, our family, friends and the prayer
group we are a part of, have prayed for the child. For us, it is a way of
placing the main responsibility on the one who creates all life. Every day
before the child was born, we prayed for it. We have prayed for the birth,
that the child was to be healthy and well-formed, that it would learn to
know God and that God would bless us in our job as parents.
One day, shortly after I became pregnant, I came to prayer. The priest who
prayed for me spoke directly to my situation, even though he knew nothing
about me or that I was pregnant. He said that even though I had not wished
a child at that time, I should know that it was a gift from God.
The birth itself went very well. I felt safe and happy the whole way. Our
little daughter is so happy and gentle.
Even though I have been extremely stressed and have had my struggles, it
has been wonderful to know that our child was a gift from God and not
just a coincidence. It has been an extra blessing to be able to pray for my
child before it was born.
“Focus on the child”. E. Campbell translated
Fully given to the work of the Lord
”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ”
Eph.2:8NIV
For by grace you have been saved... the gift of God... then it becomes the
grace of God that we can do something for Jesus. And it goes on to say:
”For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do. ” Eph.2:8 and 10NIV
”who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify
for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ”
Titus 2:14NIV
And in the third chapter of Titus, Paul continues: ”This is a trustworthy
saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have
trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.
These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. ” and ”Our people
must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order to provide
for urgent needs and not live unproductive lives. ”
Titus 3:8NIV and 3:14NIV
Jesus has promised to bless us when we give to His work. ”Give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use,
it will be measured to you.” ”
Luke 6:38NIV - ”Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may
be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I
will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much
blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. ” Mal.3:10NIV
Compare also Deut.28:1-13 and Matt.23:23
In 1 Cor.12:28 Paul says: ”And God has placed in the church first of all
apostles ... teachers ... miracles ... gifts of healing ...of helping ... ” helping
is included among these giftes. Helping in every way.
When you give to the work of God’s kingdom, you are helping to win
souls for Jesus Christ. God will richly bless you in time and in eternity.
”I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous
forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and
lend freely; their children will be a blessing.” Psalm 37:25-26NIV
”“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and
call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor
me.”” Psalm 50:14-15
”“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each
person according to what they have done.” Rev. 22:12NIV
”Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move
you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you
know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Cor.15:58NIV
Effie Campbell translated
Cancer doctor, professor Dr.med. Carl Krebs:
”“ ‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the
Lord. ”
Lev.26:2NIV
"When I was preparing for the first part of the final medical university
examination in the spring of 1913 and testing my utmost abilities, I
carefully kept a log of every time I sat down to study anatomy and every
time I stopped reading. The weeks when I had completely free time on
Sundays, I could read an average of 60 hours a week, but on the days when
I had read on Sundays, I could never get over 54 hours on average all 7
days a week.
Remember to keep the day of rest holy! You will be glad of that when you
are under maximum pressure and when you have to use all your strength
and give the utmost of what you are capable of."
God's righteousness
”For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of heaven. ”
Matthew 5:20NIV
A man told me that for many years he kept away from the Sermon on the
Mount because its demands put him in a hopeless situation. The Pharisees
and scribes did more than most to learn God's will and follow it.
Whether the demand is a righteousness that is far greater than theirs, then
everything is hopeless, because then no one can honor the demand,
because "As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;" Romans 3:10NIV
One of those who has gotten stuck in this is the former Pharisee, Paul, who
confirms that if it is the only way to salvation, then he must say: ”What a
wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to
death? ”
Rom.7:24NIV
The way to heaven is closed if everything is in our works. This is also
acknowledged by Jesus: “... No one comes to the Father except through
me. ”
Paul also realized this. But what became his happiness was that Jesus
stopped him, and that he came to believe in him as his Savior. In this faith
he can therefore exclaim his joyous cry: He (God) made him to be sin on
our behalf who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of
God in him.
Here is the righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees.
And it is given undeservedly to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ,
who has born all our sins.
He is the way – the only way – into the kingdom of God.
Look to him
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with
shame.”
Psalm 34:6NIV
We do not honor our gracious Lord when we sit under a cypress tree, hang
our harps on the willow branches of mourning, or trot about in the shadow
of death and hopelessness.
"I will not be unhappy," said a good old man of God, "I want to praise Him
and exalt His name with a smiling face and happy life."
The bride of the lamb will not only be spotless but have a lovely face. We
must stand ready in our life's task when old age, impermanence, even
weariness befall us, so that they will not be able to prevent us from
rejoicing in the Lord.
We should be able to walk through fire without the smell of sweat being
emitted to our surroundings from our clothes, or walk in high heat without
complaining, or dry up and wither and not bearing fruit.
It is not natural, but nothing in the Christian life is natural either. In Jesus
Christ there is an abundance of grace to fulfill the old promise to us:
“I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of
Lebanon he will send down his roots;” Hos:14NIV
If we want to be fresh, we must turn our backs on our past days and
instead turn our faces towards the coming morning. We need new
inspiration every morning, otherwise it becomes heavier for the spirit.
Yesterday's air has become too old. The sight I saw yesterday is too narrow
for us.
Look forward to new ideas and the Lord will lead you from
one mountain top to the next. Woe to us that we no longer look forward,
but instead think we have maintained our views and carried out our ideas!
The tree that no longer sprouts and blossoms also bears no fruit and it
receives the judgment:
"... Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’"
Many Christians are exhausted because they lack food. They simply
experience time and time again the limited, Christian feelings and
experiences. They lie on their spiritual experiences right up until they have
lost all nutritive power and sap.
Rather, they should delve into God's word if they want spiritual joy. They
should let the word of Christ dwell abundantly in wisdom among them, for
otherwise everything weakens and dies. And above all let us keep our
communion alive with Christ himself, we in him and he in us; for without
him we can do nothing at all.
T.D.H translated
Living with Christ
”Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ”
Rom.6:8NIV
To be baptized into Christ means to be baptized into his death. We are
baptized to share in everything that Jesus has won for us by his death. We
are redeemed from the power of sin and death. This does not mean that we
live a life without sin, but a life in which Christ our Lord has won over the
power of sin and death and shattered it.
But we are not only set free from something, but also set free to
something. We have been given the opportunity to live our lives in
communion with Christ.
We are baptized to share in his resurrection. Not only sometime in the
future when Jesus returns, but already here and now he will make us a part
of the new life with him.
We belong to Christ and have a share in his life. And just as Christ lives
for God, so He also brings us sinners into communion with God when He
becomes our Lord and Savior.
”In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus. ”
Rom.6:11
Baptism is therefore something that is lived. Christ brings us into a life for
God. In the same way, those who belong to Him should also live for God
and in service for Him.
You must plow before you sow!
"... You shall break up new ground and not sow among thorns."
Jer.4:3NIV
Jesus once told the parable of the sower (Matt.13:3-9), who went out to
sow. The sower is the Son of Man (v.27). The seed is the word of God
(Luke 8:11). The field is the world (Matt.13:38). The earth is the human
heart (Matt.13:23). The harvest is the end of the world (Matt.13:39).
In this parable, only the sowing is mentioned in detail, but the plowing is
also alluded to and the great significance of the plowing is pointed out in
the verse that tells us that the seed fell on hard (unplowed) ground, "by the
wayside". This seed was trodden down (Luke 8,5)
In the spiritual world, plowing is done with prayer. The sowing is the
ministry of the Word: preaching, teaching, witnessing, etc. The Lord’s first
sower followed the Lord’s heavenly sower, for he said from the beginning:
”and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” ” Acts
6:4. Note the order: prayer first.
What cultivation and plowing means for sowing in the field and in the
garden, prayer means for the ministry of the Word.
Is there a farmer or gardener who begins to sow before the soil has been
plowed? No! ”... For the people of this world are more shrewd ... than are
the people of the light. ”
Luke 16:8NIV
The children of light – those who toil in the Lord’s field (Matt. 9:37-38)
scatter most of the seeds without first plowing. They sow among thorns.
They emphasize the importance of preaching. They fill their minds and
thoughts with the truth and pour it out without first preparing the soil.
They are too busy to pray (to plow).
The house of God, which was once “a house of prayer” (Matt. 21:13), has
now become a place where Christianity is preached, taught, and instructed.
But without prayer to penetrate the hard soil—the sinful, selfish human
heart—it is in vain sowing the seed of the Word. The Word alone cannot
penetrate. Does the farmer hope that the soil will be cultivated if he only
scatters the seeds? No, but we who do not bother with the work, we hope
so!
Lately I have had to admit that for many years I have been spreading a lot
of good seed without seeing even a fairly tolerable harvest, all because of
the great disparity between the time spent in prayer and the time spent in
the ministry of the Word. Perhaps we have spent a hundred times as much
time preaching and teaching as in prayer. It is to be the other way around.
And as for me, I have now changed my work schedule. Prayer is to have
the first and greatest place for me from now on.
Let us emphasize: prayer is as important to the ministry of the Word as
plowing is to sowing. When we preach, teach, or witness with cold,
prayerless lips, most of the good seed will be wasted. Remember that the
evil one comes and snatches away what is sown by the wayside (Matt.
13:19).
Sometimes prayer can be hard work, but preaching the gospel to a
congregation that has hard hearts and is indifferent is even harder. Where
much prayer has been done beforehand, preaching is also easy. Where the
foundation of the heart has been prepared through prayer, comparatively
fewer words are needed to convince people of the truth of the gospel.
In southern India there was a small village where the chief and the people
opposed the missionary and the message for twenty years. Finally, the
missionary and his helpers set aside twenty days for prayer and asked their
friends to pray with them. Immediately afterwards the missionary went out
again to the village, and now something happened. After a short time the
chief and many of his fellow citizens accepted Jesus, and a small Christian
congregation was subsequently established there.
Many examples from the Acts of the Apostles show how a few words of
God led to salvation when the work was prepared with much prayer. Some
who put preaching before prayer often say: “After the outpouring of the
Spirit at Pentecost, Peter gave a sermon that led to 3000 souls being led to
the Lord.” Where does it say that? Not in the Bible?
On the other hand, it says that before Pentecost, about 120 people had
gathered in prayer to the Lord. Solidarity and persistence for ten days. So
when the day of Pentecost finally arrived, these praying disciples were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and set out to witness to the crowds. After
waiting on the Lord in prayer for ten days, a single hour of preaching was
enough to harvest this great multitude.
Just as plowing is harder work than sowing, so prayer can sometimes feel
much harder than preaching. And just as plowing the field before sowing
requires several days of hard work, while sowing takes a short time. So it
is with prayer and with the ministry of the Word. In the same way, the seed
sown in plowed soil will yield a harvest many times greater than that sown
in an unplowed field. The same is true in the kingdom of God. There is no
human heart that can receive the word of God without first being prepared
through prayer and the movement of the Spirit.
But it is not enough to simply plow and sow if the seed is to bear fruit.
Rain is also required, and whether it falls as natural rain on the dry soil or
the water is carried or brought out to the field, the field cannot do without
water. The same is true of the spiritual harvest. The Lord’s field is as dry
as the Sahara Desert. It is always easier – for the farmer as well as for us –
to plow when the soil has first been softened by the rain.
But what is the rain that will soften the hard human heart? The answer is:
TEARS. ”Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those
who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them. ”
Psalm 126:5-6 Effie Campbell translated
Written in the Book of Life
”And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.
The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the
books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave
up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to
what they had done. ”
Rev.20:12-13
”“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is
willing, but the flesh is weak.” ”
Matthew 26:41NIV
The hour is coming when the Lord of life shall raise up all that sleep in the
earth and in the depths of the sea. If they are written in the book of life,
they shall be justified and shall go unto the throne of God and of the
Lamb.
“Who are these, and where do they come from?” we ask, and the answer is
that they are they that came through the great tribulation, and are cleansed
in the blood of the Lamb.
They came across all dangers and to their rightful home, the city above,
with his power, in which they believed and worshipped. "Watch and pray,"
he said, - but there were many who forgot this commandment.
When Jesus was born into the world, he was already expected by many
Jews. The evangelist writes about old Anna how she told about Jesus,
those in Jerusalem, who longed for him. But a long time after Jesus' birth,
Matthew tells us that all Jerusalem was afraid when they heard about the
king who had been born. (Matt. 2,3). People had fallen asleep again and
were afraid.
This is how it will be when Jesus comes for the second time, and the cry is
heard that he is near. Those who then watch and pray are ready to receive
him. Their names are written in the book of life.
Eat the Bread of Life
”I am the bread of life.”
John 6:48NIV
Many people read very little, if anything, in God’s Word, the Bible, and then they have no
comfort or help to draw from. Why is that?
Because the word from Jesus and the word about Jesus have not become “the bread of life” for
them. They do not live in an atmosphere where God’s Word is the daily food that we must live
on and consume.
In a hymn it says: “God, let us live by your word as daily bread on this earth.” Many can
probably remember that it was like that in their childhood home once. They remember back to
those days with joy. But what is it like in our homes now? Is God’s Word our daily bread that
leads Jesus closer to us?
“A Word Along the Way.” E. Campbell translated
The victorious faith
”“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.”
Mark 11:22NIV
It is not easy to write about.
It does not seem that many have it.
We can talk about the searching faith, we know that, and we can talk about
the fighting faith, because we possibly know it even better, but the
victorious faith!
No, most of us remain silent. We know so little about it.
I am reminded of the man who came to Jesus. For him too, it was the need
that drove him to the Master. He received a word from Jesus and it is
written so aptly about him that "... The man took Jesus at his word and
departed. ”
The victorious faith. Someone had it and this man was not deceived.
But you and I, who know almost nothing about this, you and I, who fight
daily and often lose the battle! Is it any use for us to hope to get that far?
We understand Jesus' disciples very well when they came to him with the
prayer: "... Lord, give us more faith!" There are undoubtedly many of us
who would gladly join them and make their prayer our prayer.
Or do you remember the father who cried and said to Jesus: "... “I do
believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” " in Mark 9? But he was helped
anyway.
And then Jesus received the disciples' request for help, even though their
faith was small, well, they also received help.
But it was the victorious faith we were talking about. How do we get there
to acquire it?
It seems to me to be a continuation of the fighting faith. When you fight
your arduous battle against unbelief and hopelessness and sin, you who do
not give up the fight, but continue and persevere, you eventually reach a
higher level and gain more and more of the victorious faith. You may not
see it yourself, you may think it is so unimaginably far away, but He can
see it and He rejoices in it, so that you will live more and more under His
blessing.
“Have faith in God...” says Jesus.
May the Lord help us to persevere in faith until our last blessed hour.
Chr. Hoej
Fear not
“You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way.”
2 Sam. 22:37NIV
The well-known American woman Joni Eareckson tells somewhere about
an event from her growing up years. Me, my siblings and parents once was
to go on vacation to the Rocky Mountains.
As we crossed the border between Nebraska and Colorado, I looked
expectantly to the west and shortly thereafter the mountain massifs
towered from the flat landscape like mighty deterrent ramparts.
We had an old car in bad condition and I feared if we would ever get up
under these huge and high rock peaks that we could now see out there in
the distance. The road meandered and soon turned south and then north
again. The engine wailed and groaned violently as we pushed further and
further westwards. Would we be able to complete the journey and reach
our destination? And what if we got all the way up there and the engine cut
out!
But I was greatly astonished, for when we finally reached the top we could
look out over an immeasurably vast highland. As far as the eye could see,
we could see vast green expanses of grass, small farms and grazing cattle.
We drove west over the fierce and mighty mountains and vacationed in
this beautiful area for the remaining days of the vacation.
Such is the Christian life. Our trials are like high threatening obstacles in
our path. We can see the dangerous road twisting up through and along the
steep slopes and imagine what will happen if we go over the slope!
Worried, we imagine what will happen when we get all the way up there to
the goal and then the road turns downwards again, because that won't be
any less dangerous. But when we by God's grace are at the destination we
realize that the obstacles have been overcome and that we have come "on
higher ground". This experience will show us the scripture above.
If trials tower before you. Don't lose heart! It's not as bad as you think. The
Lord will guide your steps and you will not fall down on the other side.
Your life will continue up there.
Lord, let me experience today how "... you provide a broad path for my
feet, so that my ankles do not give way." If I get scared, then show me the
beauty that awaits me up there.
Patience
“always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
Eph.5,20
“Surely, God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire
household. You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness; my
gauntness rises up and testifies against me....All was well with me, but he
shattered me; he seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me
his target;”
Job 16,7-8 and 12
Have you ever heard of Job's patience? However, there is something I
don't quite understand. For the book of Job is a long series of lamentations.
Job was not the man who meekly simply received the sufferings. He
Scolded God. Even his friends were horrified by his anger and how he
spoke to God.
But God was neither offended nor bitter. Instead, he lets Job's godly
friends go and talk to him.
Job was just a man. His patience is well and clearly expressed when he
refuses to curse God and die. But it was the Lord who gave the best
example of what it means to be patient. It is written in Isaiah: “A bruised
reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out...” God
even forgave Job.
Job's patience? I think we should rather talk about God's patience. The
God of Job—your God—protects the afflicted, renews courage to the
downtrodden, and listens to the lamentations of the afflicted.
Maybe He doesn't give you a ready-made answer, but He always, always
answers your questions with His own patience.
Merciful and patient God, I thank you for being so patient with me and all
your children who always have a tendency to complain. Lead us patiently
through our trials until the song of praise breaks out and is born on our
lips.
Thank you for the joys I know,
Thank you for sun and blue sky,
Thank you for the trouble you send me,
Thank you for the grief you put on,
Thanks for hard testing times,
Thank you for the help you gave me,
Thank you for every day that suffers,
Thank you for comfort against horror and grave!
August Storm
In the cemetery
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me
should stay in darkness. "
John 12:46NIV
Two men were standing in a cemetery.
One stood by the grave of his daughter who had died aged 25. It was a
great sadness for him, but he had the firm belief that Jesus would raise her
from the dead on the last day.
The other man was standing by the grave of his wife, who had just been
buried. The father then goes over to him to comfort him with the
resurrection belief. The father seems very surprised and therefore asks if
he believes in the resurrection.
Well, for him there was no resurrection - the grave was eternal darkness
and therefore he cried the cry of hopelessness for his wife.
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me
should stay in darkness. " John 12:46NIV
Ruth
”He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your
daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons,
has given him birth.” ”
Ruth 4:15NIV
In the book of Ruth we meet two young women who both faced a decisive
decision on the same day. Their names are Ruth and Orpah. They both had
the same opportunity to choose the right, for their lot was the same.
Naomi, their mother-in-law, belonged to the people of Israel, but because
of the famine at home had gone to the land of Moab with her husband and
both sons.
But first the husband died and then also both her sons, who had taken
Moabite wives, and she now sat alone. When she then heard, "... that the
Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them " she
decided to return to her country followed by the wives of both her sons.
Having traveled a good distance, she told them that now they should return
to their own people and kindred, so that they might be well. But because
they loved their mother-in-law very much, they both cried loudly and said:
"“We will go back with you to your people.”"
But when Naomi told them that she could not assure them good temporal
conditions, Orpah chose to return and remain in her own land.
Despite the fact that through her association with the Lord's people she had
come to know the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, she still
turned her back on Him.
She chose to be with people who worshiped idols rather than stick to the
Lord and His people.
How tragic it is to begin on God's path and then later choose to leave it!
Ruth, on the other hand, was completely different. She had grasped love
for the Lord and was not to be moved. We see her before us, as she speaks
with clear and decisive words about the decision of her heart where she
says to her mother-in-law: "But Ruth answered: “...“Don’t urge me to
leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you
stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
"You must not force me to leave you and return. No, where you go I will
go, where you live I will stay; your people are my people and your God is
my God. ” Ruth 1:16NIV
Now that Noomi understood that Ruth was not to be moved, but that she
wanted to go with her, these two then continued to the Holy Land.
They arrived in Bethlehem at the time when the barley harvest was about
to begin and before long had passed, we find Ruth out in the field,
gathering ears of corn from behind the reapers without allowing herself
any rest.
Boaz, who owned the land where she was, was gentle and kind to her, and
when he understood that because he was related to Naomi, he was bound
to marry Ruth, he then married her. They had a son, "And they named him
Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David..."
We see here that the Lord richly rewarded Ruth for her faithfulness. She
married a wealthy man, and she became the great-grandmother of King
David, and from David's line came Jesus. Now the question is whether you
and I are an Orpah who turns her back on God or a Ruth who leaves
everything to follow Him?
E.Campbell translated
Gems only
“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud
voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.”
John 7:37NIV
An Arab struggled through the desert, exhausted by hunger and thirst. He
then spotted a bag there in the sand. Eagerly, he grabbed the bag and tore it
into pieces. Then he threw the pieces away as a scornful reaction and
remarked in a disappointed and annoyed tone, “Oh, it was merely gems. I
thought it was dates.”
The whole human race is chasing after everything that sparkles and
glitters. What glitters has an overwhelming attraction. Blinded by it,
people go after power, honor and praise. Many also reached it but were
disappointed for what they were actually looking for, well that they did not
find.
Their pursuit of happiness turned into a big disappointment. Instead of
satisfaction, it turned into emptiness. They expected to come to an oasis
but instead found themselves in a desert.
Such a day comes in every man's life. Everything that sparkles and
shimmers loses its radiant shine. Gems are useful at parties and in shops
but are worthless to a hungry soul.
Wasn't there more to find and get? Did the world have anything more to
give than a bag of gems? Can the world not provide food for the soul and
peace for the heart? And wealth, honour, praise and power responded to
that: No – we cannot.
All that this world can give is a shortlived pleasure of sin. The world and
its lusts perish in a desert of emptiness, disappointments, hatred and
hopelessness. Here, glimmering in the sun won't do. The man was looking
for dates! Indeed, there are dates to be found in the desert.
Jesus calls out to the weary soul: "... "Let anyone who is thirsty come to
me and drink."
To come to Jesus is to confess your sins to Him. Believe in God's offer of
mercy for all your sins for the sake of Jesus alone, and you will see the
desert become an oasis.
Sin turned Paradise into a desert. The forgiveness of sins turns the desert
into paradise.
Therefore, do not grasp for the glitter of the moment but grasp eternal life
right now!
God loves you
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16NIV
Christ opened the gate of heaven. And instead of looking into the stern and
hard face of God that men thought they would see—the face in whose light
they were terrified to death—we are instead permitted instead to lower our
flickering and feeble gaze into an eternal, infinite forgiving mercy.
Here we have the main goal of the gospel: God loves you!
A simple sentence, easy to learn, easy to repeat. The truth of all truths, the
first and the last thing a man needs to know to live and to die. But a truth
that is difficult to hold on to in the face of all our internal and external
protests. They cause irritation, annoyance and unrest. Peace blows out of
the heart, anxiety lies in wait ready to push and rush in to take up
residence where there used to be peace.
But thank God we are not left in the lurch as victims of our emotions.
Because then we would have no chance. No, Jesus came to give us the
certainty of God's will. Whatever our feelings may tell us, whatever the
world and our own publishers may imagine, we do not need - if we stick to
the truth - to let go of the certainty that is above all other certainty, that
reality, which surpasses all reality, the truth that has once and for all been
revealed and made visible to us in Jesus' own person, in his preaching, in
his work and on the cross: That God lives and that his being is love and
salvation.
With this certainty Martin Luther attacked sin, death and temptation. Yes,
he even went so far in his victorious faith that he saw in the discord of the
heart a proof that peace can be found behind discord, even though the
enemies of peace would not allow a poor heart to enjoy the sweetness of
peace and know the blissful security of God's peace.
