27th July 2024
Teach us to number our days
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Ps. 90:12NIV
He who can count his days has wisdom in his heart. This truth of life the
psalmist realizes.
This is not to be understood in the sense that with fear and trembling we
must watch days and years quickly disappear and be horrified that our
lives are getting shorter with each passing day. We only have this fear as
long as we live at a distance from God and do not have the blessed peace
that comes from being God's child. While we live in sin, God's wrath is
upon us and then we have every reason to fear, indeed, we perish from
God's wrath, because He always has our sin and unbelief in mind. We can
hide nothing from God.
“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Ps. 90:2NIV
“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and
we fly away.” Psalm 90:10NIV
Well, compared to God we are dust and our lives short and poor.
But if we learn to take our lives from His hand, and if He can teach us to
count our days under His protection and refuge, then our fear and
trembling will disappear, and we will gain the wisdom of life in our hearts.
Then it will be our great joy to be in communion with God. Then we can
realize that God has a plan for our lives. Then our lives gain value for
other people. And then we know the joy of life. Let us pray with the
psalmist: Lord, you have been our protection generation after generation!
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
Ps. 90:12NIV
Fill us with your mercy in the morning, let us rejoice and be glad all our
days!
The grace of the Lord our God be upon us! What our hands do, you do for
us! Indeed, you do the work of our hands!
Frozen human soul
“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
On a farm in Sweden, one day a farmer was found lying dead in his bed.
He was frozen to death. Later it came to light that the farmer not only
owned his farm debt-free, but that apart from this he had a lot of money
standing in the bank. Even so, he had died of cold inside because he could
not "afford" to put anything in the oven. The worst thing about this man
was that he was frozen from the inside, because he was a slave to the
money.
Indeed, mammon is a hard master to serve, many have had to admit that.
Money is a good servant, but a hard and cold master. But alas! It's not
merely money, people are unwilling to spend. Just think of all the cold
people who can never afford a friendly smile or a welcoming word, or
never pass a child without having to scold one or the other.
It teems with cold and frozen human souls. What is miserliness but greed
and covetousness. Others must not get anything, you want it all yourself.
He who toils his way through life is also envied by the miser, because he
fears that there will be too little left for himself.
Poor person who has never learned that the more you give and allow your
neighbor, the richer you become yourself and the greater joy and wealth
your own life will have.
Wasn't it just that Jesus said: Give, and it will be given to you! The one
who realizes that everything we have and possess here is borrowed
property or a household that we have been given to take care of. We can
afford to help others who got less, and we can afford to rejoice with others.
Give, and it will be given to you!
A.J
What quenches the thirst of our soul?
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6NIV
It was Moody who said in one of his books that if you throw a handful of
sawdust into the yard, not so even one little bird will so much as squint at
it, but if you throw away a handful of breadcrumbs, then the little birds
are immediately there to eat up the crumbs.
When we think of spiritual food, a true child of God knows the difference
between the sawdust of the world and the bread that comes down from
heaven, Jesus Christ. His word is the only thing that can quench a thirsty
soul. Do not drink from the world's many muddy pools, but rather quench
your thirst with the clear, pure spring water that Jesus has to give you, his
own word.
Throughout the summer, mundane activities are organized on the
weekends, indeed, there are sometimes two or three different ones to
choose from. But when the clamor and noise is extinguished, joy is also
extinguished, for you cannot find joy in noise. The Faroese word for
hilarity is "stuttleiki", which is exactly what it means: "Short game".
No, Jesus offers the real thing. He fills life with meaning and content.
When we receive him in faith and invite him into our hearts, he gives us
the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, peace and true joy.
He is the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one can acquire all this
without surrendering to Jesus. He is waiting for you and wishes all the
best for you.
For money you get everything...?
“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their
soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Matthew 16:26NIV
Money is not the greatest treasure we can get. However, there are many
people who believe that. It is impossible to eat them. We can have our
pockets full of money and still starve, thirst or freeze to death if we cannot
get hold of food, drink or clothing. Money in itself is worth nothing, but it
is a good gift to the one who uses it rightly.
"For money you get everything," they say. No, it is not like that. A poet
says:
For money you get:
Food, but no appetite
medicine, but not good health
bedding but not sleep,
education, but not wisdom and reason,
finery, but not beauty,
diversion but not joy,
friends but not friendship
servants but not fidelity,
gray hair but no honor,
calm days but not peace,
The superficial casing of everything you can get for money, but the core is not sold for gold!
"Message from the Kingdom of Grace" Effie Campbell translated.
He had been found
“And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ”
Luke 15:5NIV
Every year a mission meeting is held in Basel, Switzerland. For such a gathering, ten young men
were once to be consecrated as missionaries, who were then to be sent off to heathen countries.
They all stood in a row and a priest walked past them and asked each one of them: "Have you
found your savior?" And each time the priest got the answer: "Yes!" But then one suddenly
answers "No!" - The priest was completely surprised.
"No!" repeats the young man crying: "The Savior has found me!"
N. translated
Only a step
"But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I
have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must
not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as
you live, there is only a step between me and death.” "
1.Sam.20:3NIV
It is David who says these above words to his friend, Jonathan. King Saul
sought to kill David. Although Jonatan had time and again succeeded in
saving David's life, he understood that his life hung in the balance. "there
is only a step between me and death."
But it was precisely through adversity that David had learned to
understand the emptiness of the world and through his own falls he learned
his own powerlessness. This is expressed in many places, including in
Psalm 103:15-16: “The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a
flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place
remembers it no more.”
But also through the tribulations he had learned to seek God. There is
hardly a place in the Bible that breathes more confidence in God than the
psalms of David. He had learned to lean into God's fatherly heart in his
need, and there he experienced that God was his strength and that the God
of Jacob was his firm fortress.
Only a step. Do these words not fit as a heading for every human life? For
yours and mine? It seems to me? Our life course is from cradle to grave.
For some it is short, for others a little longer. But when all is said and
done, we must recognize that life is short. And our lives take different
forms. Anyone who is allowed to experience a number of years can hardly
avoid encountering some of the world's hardships, sorrows and worries.
But the heaviest burden to carry is the burden of sin. No one knew this
better than David, and therefore he too, when he had experienced the
forgiveness of sins, could rejoice in his soul and say, “Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” Ps. 32:1NIV
You too, who are toiling under the burden of sin, can experience the same
joy. Jesus says: ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28NIV
If anyone reading these lines should find it difficult in any way, be it sin
that grips, sickness, deprivation or loneliness, let it be said to you: you are
not alone, Jesus sees you! From there lay down with all that weighs you
down to his savior heart. Then he will forgive you - and he wants you to
trust him in faith: - My friend, it is finished, also for you"
Cl. Eliassen
Why do we pretend it's nothing?
“And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister
secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. ”
John 11:28KJV
The priest had come to visit a man who was in the hospital. Suddenly, an
alarm bell goes off all over the department. The priest is quite startled,
because there must be something very wrong. The doctor sitting at the
patient's bedside pretends nothing happened and neither does the nurse
who is also in the patient room. But the alarm continued unabated its
hideous din.
A moment later the entire ward was filled with a thick, greyish mass of
smoke. The fire had caught at the exit and there was no emergency exit.
During the hour it took to get the fire under control, the priest wondered
why people don't take it seriously when an alarm bell rings. How can you
just sit completely unaffected and be almost indifferent when the alarm
goes off right in front of your ears that a dangerous situation has arisen?
Part of the answer is probably that the doctor and the nurse didn't act like
nothing happened, but then, why didn't I do anything myself?” thought the
priest.
Today, a warning bell is ringing in our conscience. It makes it clear that it
is urgent that you get your relationship right with God. He rings a warning
bell that wakes you up so that you are wide awake, so that you can see that
you must take God seriously. Hear what he says: "The Master is come, and
calleth for thee."
I don't usually scare people because I don't like being scared myself. But
both you and I would like to be warned when there is danger on the way.
The Bible does not hide the seriousness that meets us when we die and
enter eternity. Those who believe in Jesus and the forgiveness of sins are
saved. Those who do not believe are lost.
"The Master is come, and calleth for thee." This is a serious warning shot,
a warning alarm in your conscience, and at the same time an invitation to
become a Christian.
You who proclaim peace,
you a savior, I a sinner
you with amen, I with prayer,
you with the grace, me with the shame,
alas, how we two fit together,
you, God's anointed, God's son!
Man has said no to God, not to have other gods, but to be godless.
Eliot
A true disciple is free
"Jesus now said to the Jews who had come to believe in him: "If you abide
in my word, you are truly my disciples."
John 8,31
The word freedom originally means "free neck", i.e. neck without a
wooden ring.
In the old days, slaves wore rings around their necks, but the free man had
no ring around his neck.
During the Faroese sloop era (the sloop was a single-masted sailing ship
used for fishing 1880-1940) it often happened to the fishermen that the
apron rubbed marks on the shoulder and back of the shirt. This
phenomenon was jokingly called the slave brand.
This is how work and social conditions leave their mark on people.
But our outlook on life, our upbringing and our lives also leave their mark
on us: the ungodly and the God-fearing, the immoral and the well-
educated, the scoffing and the overbearing - we all get our character from
what we are.
Then the question is simply whether we are free where we stand or
whether we are slaves. Are we that, we are out of our own free will or as
forced?
People are easily bound by habits, desires and vices. Then they are slaves.
The Lord said to Cain: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires
to have you, but you must rule over it.”” Genesis4:7NIV
When the misdeed dawns on Cain, he says: ““My punishment is more than
I can bear.”
Cain had become a slave to his envy of his brother and in his need he flees
far away from God and will not talk to him about forgiveness.
When it dawns on the disciple Peter, sitting in the courtyard, that he had
denied and failed his Lord and Savior and had abused his freedom as his
disciple, then Peter regrets it and weeps bitterly. This led to Peter being
forgiven and becoming a better and better disciple in the service of Christ.
Peter remained in the Word.
This is often the way to the truth, which is Christ: Through mistakes and
falls. But with Christ one learns the truth of life, and this truth frees from
slavery and gives repentance, wisdom, courage and joy, which slavery in
sin does not know. The psalmist testifies to this when he says: “Great
peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them
stumble.” Ps.119:165NIV
The fire purifies and creates pain - but also gives warmth and light
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become
rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful
nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”
Revelation 3:18NIV
Fire is of vital importance to our existence. Man has throughout all ages
made use of fire, but also feared it.
God's word is like fire, we read. This means that the Word has the same
seductive properties as fire. It exposes, creates pain, purifies and ignites all
that can burn that is not real in the human mind. It illuminates and warms
– depending on how we are when we encounter God's Word.
We humans want others to think we are such and such, even though we
may not be like that at all. But with God, this kind of thing does not work
at all.
His Word reveals us - and it is not a pleasant experience. But we have to
get through it. Not because God is curious. He never sheds light on our
inner man to reveal, but to purify and lead us out into light and warmth.
But as long as we prefer to live in the dark, the light will always seem
creepy to us.
But we will discover that the Word is like fire that settles upon us. We
understand so well the man who, after a hard sermon, asked the priest:
"Who told you about my life?" This is how it can feel when God's Word
burns its way through our mind, behind our facade and into all hidden and
narrow corners.
But this is only one side of the work of the Word. When this is over, the
same Word that scared me creates security, warmth and light. God's Word
has many properties, just like fire. It requires all or nothing, and no one
can hide from it.
But it also comes with forgiveness and grace from the One who has the
loving heart, the One who loves us so much that He gave His only
begotten Son so that we could be saved.
Then it's not as dangerous as we thought. Naturally, there is a cost to
standing before God's all-seeing eyes and to give Him justice. But
afterwards the mind is filled with an abiding certainty of full forgiveness.
It is right to seek the kingdom of God first
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well."
Matthew 6:33
It is right to partake of God's word every single day. It is right to seek
God in prayer at all times. It is right to hold on to fellowship with all
believers and not stay away when the congregation is missed. It is right to
tithe and gifts to the work of God's kingdom from what we administer
over. It is right to go to altars and be reminded of the most essential in our
faith. It is right to live in forgiveness and to forgive others, just as we
ourselves have been forgiven. It is right to pass on the gospel of Jesus to
all people in our world, and it is right to send out others who put their
heart into passing it on.
There are many different things that are essential to stick to regardless
which times we live in. In this way the faith is passed on from one
generation to the next and this will continue even though times change
and there changes take place that can be experienced as demanding and
challenging.
Moses continued as if he saw the invisible (Heb.11,27). We are
encouraged to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer of faith and
completes (Heb.12,2), and through all this faith cannot be eroded and
disappear, but is refined and renewed, strengthened and built up.
Effie Campbell translated
17th July 2024
My times are in your hands
“But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your
hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue
me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.”
Psalm 31:14-16NIV
This little word, "but", with which the words above begin, is set against
something else that is also mentioned in the same context. The man
speaking here says that he puts his trust in the Lord and tells him that He
is his God. But this he is in contrast to everything else that he could put
his trust in, and especially in contrast to everything that "people" can do
and how they can be.
He has tried variously and has experienced the malice and hatred of men,
their deceit and falsehood and their faithlessness and mockery. He has
been exposed to all this, which can also be seen in the following words:
“For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire
against me and plot to take my life.”
Against this he presents his "but", saying the words: "... I trust in you, Lord..."
This tells of a strong faith in the Lord.
If everyone else is against, the Lord is with.
If all else fails, the Lord will not fail.
Here he has something firm to hold on to, here he has something safe to
stand on.
We too often need to have a similar "but" to set up against everything else
that can surpass us, so that we do not lose our footing. Whatever happens
and whatever changes, we should be able to say that we trust in the Lord.
When we realize our own inability and when we see the weakness of
others, where no help can be expected, then the only thing that keeps one
up is to put one's trust in the Lord. And not least, as e.g. at the transition
to a new year, when we are particularly reminded of how time passes,
then it is blessed to address this "but" and say: it does not hurt that time
passes, because we trust in the Lord and know and with the Lord we hold
on to the eternal.
We are often reminded in God's Word that we must not lose heart and not
throw our boldness overboard but be of good courage.
it is both good and necessary to get such a reminder and we are in great
need of it, because there is so much that threatens and wants to take away
our courage and make us lose heart.
In reality, everything in this visible and mundane world can take away
our boldness.
This world is marked by sin, corruption and death, and there is nothing to
be happy, hopeful and courageous about.
And then remember all that follows from it: Struggle and toil, sorrow and
worry, fear and trembling, tribulations and sufferings, diseases and
hardships of various kinds, these do not increase boldness.
And should we be spared any of this, then there is little comfort in this,
because all this is here, and it happens to so many others and we are part
of the community. And there is one thing we all have in common, and
that is that as time goes by and the years roll by, our "outer man" will
eventually perish, we age, we weaken, distances are reduced, steps
become heavier, health fails and everything comes to an end.
In addition, there is also the dark, gloomy, heavy depressed mood that
can characterize human life, whether the person is at a high or low stage
of development.
All of these can discourage us and threaten to rob us of boldness.
But, if against all this we can introduce our “but” and say, “I trust you,
Lord, then everything will be different. Then it becomes clearer, the heart
is lifted and we glimpse and can see the way out of all the trouble.
And then we add: “My times are in your hands”
How good it is to be able to say this every day we are allowed to live.
And how many or how few days may be bestowed upon us, well, no one
knows but God. He alone keeps track of the days of our lives. He rules
our destiny, all while the days come and go.
Everything is uncertain.
The only thing in which there is any certainty is to say: “My times are in
your hands” My times and all that the times bring with them, which I
must meet on my way and which will fall to me, well that everything is in
the Lord's hand and it all comes from the Lord's hand.
J. Dahl:
To defeat oneself
"Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one
who takes a city."
Proverbs 16:32NIV
It is said that the greatest victory a man can win is the victory over
himself – the inner victory where, perhaps in the middle of the battle, one
is composed and calm, even under the most difficult conditions. This is a
victory that has value - something that counts, as they say. On the
contrary, everything on the outside can be in perfect order and you can
have many good qualities, but when it matters most, you can fail on the
inner front.
That was what happened to the apostle Peter, who was both courageous
and zealous for the Lord, but who nevertheless denied him in the hour of
trial.
Many people may be helpful – always ready to lend a helping hand but
do not want to bend down or to stop in order to review whether in any
areas of their own life they might have been wrong.
If our life is to be successful, then God must have the first place in all
matters. Then we enter a path that is completely different from the one
we went on before, and our thoughts, plans and ideas about one thing or
another may be completely destroyed. Then we listen when the Lord
says: “My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,”
Proverbs 23:26NIV
In this way, a man who had a burning desire to work for the Lord had his
desire fulfilled, but in a completely different way than he had intended.
He became ill, had to sit in a wheelchair and ended up in a nursing home
for disabled. All his prayers seemed to him unanswered and he could not
see God's leading in any of this.
But there at the nursing home God needed him and soon he could see
how people were saved; after a very short time all his opinion and
attitudes were completely turned upside down. How happy he now felt!
You may feel neglected and may not be understood, either by your family
or others; but if you say: "I can't do it anymore, my sufferings are
unbearable;", then remember that God's Word says: "And we know that in
all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose." Rom.8:28NIV
Remember, you are under God's upbringing, and that “For we who are
alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life
may also be revealed in our mortal body.” 2 Cor. 4:11NIV
When such various trials come upon your life, it is so that life itself must
die, so that the life of Jesus can grow within you. After all, it is on the
inner front that the battle will be fought, and here victories with eternal
significance can be won.
Example or substitute
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God.”
2 Cor. 5:21NIV
After a meeting, a man came to the speaker, Dr. M. Stearns. he said: “I
did not like your speech. I don't care about the cross. I think that instead
of preaching Christ's death on the cross, it would have been much better
to preach Christ as a teacher and example.
- Well, would you have been willing to follow him if I preached Christ as
an example to follow? Asked Dr. Stearns.
- I would have wanted to, yes, answered the man. - I would have
followed in his footsteps.
- Well, said Dr. Stearns, - Then let's take the first step. "He who did no
sin." Can you take that step?
The man was confused. - No, he said, - I do sin, I must admit that.
- Well, if that's the case, said Dr. Stearns, - then your first and greatest
need for Christ becomes not as an example, but as a Saviour.
This is the main need of every human being.
"The war cry". E. Campbell translated
God has come
“They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has
appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.””
Luke 7:16NIV
That was the praise from the funeral procession that day outside the city
gate of Nain, when Jesus raised the widow's son back to life. This was a
message of joy to receive in the midst of sorrow, when everything else
seemed hopeless and dark. And we understand well that the people of
Nain praised God for Jesus whom He had sent to them with the power of
death in His hand.
But then we should also understand that it is us living people that God
also visits with Jesus. The question then is whether we are also turned
towards Jesus in such a way that he can get us to speak, so that we hear
his words of comfort and open our hearts to them. Only then can we see
that God has visited us in Jesus.
God visited me in a special way on the day of my baptism at the
baptismal font. He blessed me as his child and gave me the mark of
Christ's cross to bear.
God visited me in a special way on the confirmation day at the kneeling
of the altar, where I had the opportunity to confirm that I denied the devil
and all his and that I believed in the triune God.
These two days are two days of celebration in my life. But thank God that
he does not visit us humans only on festive days - because then it would
have been dark many times on our life's path - but every day, indeed,
basically every moment, when we want to be quiet before God, then he
visits with his spirit our hearts. And gently he whispers to the grief-heavy
heart: do not cry, do not fear, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. If
you believe in him, even death will not harm you.
And God visits me in a very special way on the day my eyes burst, if I
persevered in the faith. Then Jesus comes to the gate of death to awaken
me to eternal comfort and joy.
Truly, God visits his people every time we hear the message of Jesus.
Come, let us be quiet before the visitation of God!
N.
My promissory note has been deleted
"having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood
against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the
cross."
Col. 2:14NIV
As a businessman, I experienced being sent a charge on an invoice that I
had already paid. At first I got angry, but when I had thought about it a bit
the anger disappeared. First I called my accountant and asked him to send
me a copy of the receipt. On this was written the invoice number,
payment date and amount. I attached the copy to the charge and wrote in
big, bold letters above: PAID.
With some satisfaction I sent it all back again to the wholesaler who had
sent the collection. Then the matter was settled and was never mentioned
again.
Sending a charge for something that has already been paid for is
completely wrong and should not happen. But sometimes things go
wrong where people are involved. This never happens to God.
Everything is in order on His account and He never collects payment for
anything that has previously been paid. What is once paid is therefore
over and finished once and for all. This is a wonderful truth for all who
believe what is written in the Holy Scriptures. Indeed, this is our receipt.
"having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood
against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the
cross." Col. 2,14
The day of payment was Good Friday, and the price was the blood of
Jesus. "But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,
he sat down at the right hand of God, " Hebr.10:12NIV So it is true that
the sin has been atoned for and the debt paid. No one can henceforth be
charged for what Christ died for on Calvary's cross. "Moreover, the
Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, " John
5:22NIV
My promissory note is obliterated,
my bill is paid.
He nailed it to the cross
the time he atoned for everything.
And all my sins
as I have done to him,
was carried out of the world
of the sacrificial lamb of God.
Still, there will be a day of judgment, but the judgment will not apply to
the sins of the world. That judgment was served on Calvary and will
never come again. The judgment that lies ahead will be against the
contempt and scorn that men have shown towards God. They rejected
God's calling and refused to accept Jesus' salvation. They trampled his
holy blood under their feet. No one should expect this to go
unchallenged. We must be responsible for this.
”We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have
heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken
through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience
received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a
salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was
confirmed to us by those who heard him.” Heb. 2:1-3NIV
Let us stand unshakably firm. “Now we who have believed enter that rest
..." Heb.4:3NIV
E.C. translated
The millionaire who gave
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.”
Deuteronomy 14:22NIV
The well-known American billionaire Rockefeller tells how his
professional path began:
“Yes, I give ten percent of what I earn to the work of God's kingdom. I
would like to tell you how it all began: When I was a little boy I had to
support my mother. My first salary was 1½ dollars (approx. 10 kroner) a
week.
I gave mom the money. She took them in her hand and told me that she
would be happy if I gave the tenth of the wages to the Lord.
I did that. And since that day, I have given a tenth of every dollar God has
blessed me with. And it's very much on my mind to say this: If I hadn't
started giving God ten percent of all my income - from the very first
dollar I received in salary - then I wouldn't have given a tenth of my very
first million either. Tell people that they must learn to be faithful to give
to the cause of God's kingdom.”
John D. Rockefeller, Sr. "Shalom". E.Campbell translated
The world's greatest preacher
"So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man."
Acts 24:16NIV
Let me tell you a little about the world's greatest preacher. This preacher
has more power in the heart of man than any other man and he is an
excellent preacher of revival. While other preachers count their audience
in the thousands at most, this preacher speaks to millions.
I refer to the conscience!
Conscience turns not only to a specific group of people or under special
weather conditions, but to all social classes and all age groups under the
firmament. Conscience, like grace, makes no distinction between people.
Its ministry began in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. With
dazzling protests it uttered its voice when the blood of righteous Abel
was shed. It spoke harshly to Jacob's heart. It even found its way into
David's royal castle and stood as an accuser before Judas and Pilate.
And up through the centuries that have rolled by, its speech has not
weakened or become less clear and less understandable, and all while
other preachers have become silent and others have been buried, well,
then conscience continues with its mission.
This preacher is not content merely to speak from pulpits and lecterns at
the highest universities, but he lets his voice be heard in private homes
and schools, in shops, on mountains and at sea. Indeed, no human foot
manages to tread so far that this preacher cannot keep up. It never gets
tired and never rests. It lets its voice be heard not merely for half an hour
or a whole hour daily, but day and night, around the clock.
If conscience is treated as it should be, so that it gets its due when it
speaks, then it becomes man's good friend and dear guide and comforter.
It comforted Joseph at the bottom of the well, it made Daniel safe in the
lion's den, and it made Paul sing in the middle of the night in the dark
prison, and it helped Peter sleep soundly when he expected to be killed
the next morning. Conscience is God's servant who gives peace and
comfort.
If we don't listen to conscience, it becomes an enemy and we get into
trouble and difficulties.
Conscience does not die. Not even in the coming year will the voice be
silent, indeed, not even in eternity.
Conscience always tells the truth and its message and judgments bind. All
who have suppressed it and silenced its voice will pay for it, but no one
who follows the advice of conscience will ever regret it.
"the church bell" E.Campbell translated
Harvest Day
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the
coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.”
Acts 2:20NIV
Harvest Day is a great day, a mighty and defining day.
Who does not remember from childhood that every year there was a
harvest day, the day when all the hay was brought in, the day the potatoes
were picked up, the day the goose came home from the field, the day men
returned home from the mountains with that which was to be slaughtered.
But harvest day also said something about spring. For him where the
spring had failed, the harvest day was not as rich as it should be.
Those of us who have several years behind us have experienced many
harvest days. But let us now stop a little and ask ourselves: did we thank
God who gave us everything, the One who allowed success for us -
whatever work we were in? Did we have the heart to give something to
the work of God's kingdom on harvest day?
And let us ask ourselves whether the harvest day has nothing to tell us
about how our spring was. Our human life has both spring and harvest
every year.
In God's kingdom there is a long spring, A whole human life, although
there may be great differences in the individual - but the harvest day is
one forever, common to all. When this harvest day will come, no one but
God the Father knows. Then he sends messengers all over the earth to
separate those who had a good spring and those who got a bad spring of
life. Those who had a good spring are those who, by faith in Jesus Christ,
live in the confidence that all their sins have been forgiven because of his
suffering and death. They are the good fruit in the kingdom of God, the
fruit that is preserved for all eternity while the other fruit is burned. My
friend, every day is for us a day to sprout, to work on our own salvation so
that the day will not come as a surprise upon us when the sun turns to
darkness and the moon to blood.
God loves us and His word and promises last. Let us trust in his promises
when he tells us: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.’” Acts 2:21NIV
n.
9 July 2024
Your names are written in heaven
“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that
your names are written in heaven.””
Luke 10.20NIV
The disciples were happy, and preferably a little proud, as they could
make the evil spirits, whom everyone feared, obey and submit to them.
And so they hurry off to tell Jesus about it, because he was also to share in
their joy. And then, instead of rejoicing on their behalf, he answers them
back so strangely, it seemed to them as if there was nothing to rejoice
about at all.
This was not what Jesus meant, i.e., that they were doing something
wrong by rejoicing that the spirits submitted to them. No, it wasn't. We are
also allowed to rejoice when we make the evil spirits flee, evil spirits such
as hatred, envy, hot temper, bodily temptations, lust for money, etc., with
which we all struggle, and I know for sure that Jesus rejoice with us.
But Jesus will show them an even greater reason for joy: that their names
were written in heaven. It's the only thing that lasts when all is said and
done. Everything else is so fleeting and unreliable. Therefore, let us not
attach too much value to the fact that we triumphed in this or another
temptation, because the evil one can abuse that too to make us forget that
every victory is God's and not ours.
But the joy of having our names written in the heavens, we can always
return to that. This work is not ours, but His, who gave His life for us,
without our owning the least part in it. He himself stood at the baptismal
font when we were baptized and wrote our names in his book. Hold on to
this when temptations and falls threaten, and you know that all that you
have otherwise placed your trust in crumbles under your feet, and you will
then experience that it bears and holds, for the Lord recognizes his own
writing.
J. Weihe, priest
How should I live?
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in
me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20NIV
God's children often ask: What am I? It seems that the evil one shakes
our faith and succeeds in leading us into the path of doubt, so that again
and again we stand in doubt as to what I must and what I must not, or
how I must be and not be.
How then should I live if I want to be a true child of God? Well, why ask
thus, is there anything to be in doubt about? Yes, for the one who is of
truth, because doubt strikes him, because we are in a world that is of evil,
and over which the evil has immeasurably great power, and we have
visible proof of this in our time, where many would rather listen to the
advice from the evil one than to the advice of Jesus, and we can see for
ourselves that God's children are not ashamed by using ugly weapons as
gossip and in that way make themselves dirty gossip rags.
How then should I live? Paul says this: it must not be you, but Jesus who
lives in you, it must be Jesus who rules in your life, and in any case it
must be him you seek when you are in doubt, and the blessed is that he is
able to lead you and advise you and he does not lead you astray, but
shows you the way, so that doubt must give way, so that you see that light
becomes your path!
Some say: I cannot pray the "Our Father", because then I have to forgive.
To this I would say: Read Matt. 6:14-15, because if Jesus is to live inside
you, then you must give him room, as he is, as the forgiving savior that
he is, who will teach you to forgive with his disposition. For it was He
who loved and forgave more than we will ever be able to understand. He
loved me so much that he atoned for my death with a bloody body, and
the scars from this will never disappear from his hands and feet, scars
that I must remember when we talk about forgiveness on my part!
May this devotion help us so that what we have to live hereafter in the
flesh, we must live in faith in the Son of God, who loved us so much that
he forgave us all our sins.
Oliver Hansen
A small stone in a shoe
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9NIV
A small stone in a shoe often causes more mischief than a heavy burden
on the back. The small stone hinders one's movements. It can also
become dangerous, because a chafing wound should not be
underestimated.
One wonders how such a small thing can destroy so much. It doesn't help
how clear the air is, where you walk, how beautiful the view is, or how
nice the company is. The stone in the shoe ruins everything.
There is only one thing to do: stop, take off your shoe and remove the stone!
Many people walk spiritually with stones in their shoes. There is
something that has not been made right – a wrong deed, a word spoken,
disobedience, unkindness, bitterness. As long as it is there there is no
peace, you are dissatisfied, uneasy, afraid, disordered and unhappy. If the
stone is allowed to remain there, a wound will appear which can be
dangerous. It can lead to blood poisoning.
Now remember that you only have one thing to do: stop, take off your
shoe and remove the stone!
It costs a little to humble yourself and make amends, but you can't avoid
that.
Hear what God's word says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1
John 1:9NIV
This is a well-known road, a safe road, the road to freedom.
From "Sun streak on the road" by H.E. Wisløff. tj translated
Why go to church?
"I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of
the Lord.”"
Psalm 122:1NIV
Thorvald Kristensen
The Faroe Islands must be one of the few countries where people think
they can be Christians without going to a church service, church or
meeting.
The most important thing in the service is the prayer. When Moses met
God, he was told: ““Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your
sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.””
Exodus3:5NIV The place was not holy because of external
circumstances, but because God was present there. When we pray to God
in church, at home or anywhere, we should remember the words spoken
to Moses. Jesus promised to be close to those who pray: “For where two
or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”” Matt.18:20NIV
Worship is what a person does when he is in the presence of God. In the
service we praise God in song and prayer. You honor God's mercy,
wisdom and love. We give thanks and rejoice in the service for salvation
in Christ. We do the same in our daily testimony. When we pray, we
should tell God what we really think and what is moving in our mind and
not what we think God wants to hear.
The first Christians gathered in the temple, the synagogue or in the
homes. After the disciples had said goodbye to Jesus on the Mount of
Olives, we are told: "When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room
where they were staying...” Then the names of the eleven disciples are
mentioned and then continues there: “When they arrived, they went
upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were: Peter,
John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and
Matthew; James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas son of
James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the
women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Acts 1:13-
14NIV They came together to remember the crucified and resurrected
Jesus, who had promised them to come back. They are active. They pray.
The Bible mentions several reasons for going to church and for worship.
Together with others, we get the opportunity to praise God in song and
prayer (1 Cor. 14:26). We get the opportunity to sing out in words our joy
and gratitude for God's daily guidance (Psalm 122:1). We can participate
in Bible lessons and discussion meetings (Luke 4:16-21). We can listen to
the message and truly be strengthened in the faith and get help to have
daily life as God's witness (Rom.10:17). Going to church should be
something joyful that we look forward to. If we don't have communion
with God every day, life can seem meaningless. In the service we can
meet Jesus and have a new beginning.
Charles Spurgeon wrote: "On an altar where only cold ashes lie, no fire
can be kindled for the church and for the whole world." If he who stands
on the pulpit does not have a biblical message to deliver with Christ at
the center and a holy flame in his heart, then it is better that he remains
silent. Do not waste time in extraneous agitation and by answering
questions that no one asks. Many church people know the Bible as well
as the speaker. We should prepare well, but always remember that only
the Holy Spirit can turn the Word into a gospel, a message of joy.
E.Campbell translated
Intercession as a shelter
"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
A priest visited a prison and met there a man who had received a harsh
sentence for murder. The priest talked with him and visited him many
times after this. Suddenly one day, when the priest was visiting, the
prisoner started talking about his son and the priest immediately saw an
opportunity here to make a connection.
"What would you have done to protect your son from evil?"
The man sat thoughtfully for a while, but then the answer came: "If it
were possible for me, I would put myself between all the powers of hell
and my son to prevent them from reaching him and damaging him."
You, who are reading this, what will you do for your child or for those
close to you? How many fathers have not given their son the first glass
that led him astray, or gone ahead and opened the way for them to other
places that led them down mad paths.
What will you do for your child?
These are not questions and empty words, but reality. Here we are talking
about lives that must be lived in a world where sin sets traps by the
thousands - and many, indeed, countless many perish here.
Will you pray for your child, will you put your folded hands between
your child and evil? Will you pray for God's blessing and protection for
those entrusted to you?
Don't forget that Jesus himself went between the devil and you and he
was ready to suffer death so that you could be free. But he expects you to
also pray for salvation, for salvation for your child.
A.J
He wanted to please his father
“Rejoice always,pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances; for
this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1.Thess.5:16-18NIV
It had become so empty at home. The mother had died a short time ago.
Jorgen and his father lived together and tried to be everything they could
for each other. Every evening they went for walks together and talked to
each other as equals about everything.
The months went by like this until suddenly Jorgen got so terribly busy.
As soon as he got home from school (he went to the local high school),
he went into his room and locked himself in there and worked on
something while his father sat alone outside. The father mourned. Had he
lost his son's trust or what was wrong?
On the day the father's birthday was, Jorgen came to him early and sat on
the edge of the bed.
“Here, Dad, this is my birthday present.” He placed a large package on
the quilt. The father opened the package and inside he found a neatly
carved box. Naturally, the father was both happy and surprised, because
the casket was extremely beautiful.
"Is this what you've been busy with both early and late?" he asked.
“Yes, father, I wanted to please you.”
“Thank you, my dear boy, indeed you have too, but I want you to know
that you are dearer to me than your gift. I have no greater joy than to be
with you.”
We too often come with the box and have so little time to be with our
heavenly Father. We lock ourselves up in efforts to get the box finished
and thereby let God stand outside knocking.
It is ourselves that God wants to meet - first. He desires a heartfelt
communion with his own. Not saints that seek God, but sinners who want
to come and be with Him to be saved from their sins. Let us go to Him -
even if we come empty-handed. And once we have been with Him, well,
then we can get started with the box. Because he will get that from us one
day - as a thank you from us.
We also want to please our heavenly father.
From the book "Solstrejf på veijen" by H.E. Wisløff. Tj.translated
3rd July 2024
Last regards to the son
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old
they will not turn from it.”
Proverbs 22:6NIV
The great German hymn poet, the priest Paul Gerhardt, born 1607, whom
we also know from hymns such as “Befiehl du deine Wege” and others,
shortly before his death wrote this farewell letter to his only son, who
was then studying to be a priest:
"Well, now I will soon be 70 years old and I have the joyful hope that my
dear God will soon take me from here and lead me to a better life than the
one I have lived here on earth so far. First of all, I want to thank Him for
all His goodness and faithfulness to me from day one, both in body and
soul.
Next, I will pray with all my heart that God will give me a good
departure from here when my hour comes, that He will take my soul in
His Father's hand and make it so that my body can sleep gently into death
and can rest in peace until that beautiful day when I shall rise again from
the dead with my loved ones and when I shall see my dear Lord Jesus
Christ face to face - whom I have not yet seen, but in whom I believe.
Of the world's goods I have very little to leave to my only son after me,
but an honest name I can give him, and that above all he will take care
not to sully that name. He was given by God as exceedingly small so that
he could become a servant and messenger of God's Word.
Be with God, and don't worry if you don't have good days - God can
handle that. He comes to us in our painful adversity and that gives us
peace and joy in the heart and boldness in the mind.
You have to study theology at the right schools that offer the right teaching.
Do not get involved in theological discussions, because with them you
adapt to the demands of the time and then you become faithful neither to
God nor to people.
Abstain from everything shameful and vile and rather follow God's will
and His commandments.
Make an effort to do the following:
1. Don't mess around with something questionable in the hope that no
one will find out! However cleverly it is woven, it will be revealed one
day.
2. Never let anger get the better of you! If the temper provokes you, be
silent and do not let a word come out of your mouth until you have first
read the 10 commandments and the creed.
3. Refrain from carnal, sinful lust, and when you are ready to marry, first
ask God for advice and then God-fearing and sensible people.
4. Be kind to people, even if they don't return your kindness. For what
men cannot do for you, well, the Creator of heaven and earth has already
done for you, when He created you and when He gave you His dear only-
begotten Son, and when in holy baptism He gave you childhood with
Him and made you an heir in his heavenly kingdom.
5. Flee from avarice as from the evil one himself! Be content with what
you can get with honor and a good conscience, even if there is nothing
left!
If the loving God trusts a lot in you, then ask Him to protect you from the
abuse of earthly possessions.
- And when we put it all together, then: Read honestly! - Live peacefully!
- Serve with a fair mind! Stand firm in your faith and your creed!
Then you will also be able to walk away from this world happy and
blissful! Amen!
n.
2nd July 2024
But God said: "You fool!"
"“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be
demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for
yourself?’ "
Luke 12:20NIV
But God said. - It sounds like a hammer blow. How worthless is now for
the rich man what the others say. Now there is nothing more to say. God
got the last word – the very last.
But God said: "You fool!" The rich man was not merely a title. On the
contrary. Everything went well for him. He was also an enterprising and
persistent man, and he should not be blamed for that. But something sad
had happened to him. He had made a terrible mistake. He believed that
human life and its welfare were secured with the wealth he came to
command. But our lives are secured in a completely different way, on a
completely different foundation. It depends on in whose hands we
ourselves are with all that we have been entrusted with.
He had made the world and the things in the world his God. But what is
decisive, and the main thing is to make God and everything that has to do
with His will become one's own will and existence. Therefore, he was a
fool, although he had some excellent human qualities and talents.
A fool is he who says that God does not exist. An even bigger fool is the
one who says God exists and then still lives as he thinks suits him best
without asking for God's will. And a fool is also the one who tries to
make himself believe that one's own thoughts about God are more
reliable and trustworthy than what God himself says in his Word.
There is a difference between being intelligent/clever and being wise, and
thus there is also a difference between being simple/ignorant and then
being a fool. Intelligence and ignorance says something about the
condition of our mind, while wisdom and being a fool say something
about our attitude towards the eternal, about our relationship with the
Creator and Lord of life.
The worst thing that can happen to us is to finally hear God's judgment
on us: you fool -!
Kai Jensen
1st July 2024
Hardest and easiest
"“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay
no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Matt. 7:3NIV
One of the seven sages from ancient Greece was called Thales. He was
once asked what was the easiest thing in life and what was the hardest
thing in life. The old Greek frowned and pondered for a long time. But
suddenly the answer came. - The hardest thing in life is to find one's own
faults, while the easiest thing in life is to find the faults of others.
Truly true. When all is said and done, it is most difficult in this life to
acknowledge one's own mistakes, i.e. to really see that it is oneself and
not others who are constantly failing. It is the case that I can hardly
correct the mistakes of others, but I should have good opportunities to
correct my own mistakes, but this last requires much more of me than it
would have done if I was to merely to find others faults and say what the
others should do differently. It would have been easy for me to find and
confess their sins, but not mine. But concerning my own sins, it would
have brought me blessings to confess this. Confessing one's own sins
gives new strength to correct the mistakes I have made.
The greatest moment in a person's life is when he realizes that Jesus is
ready to forgive sin, and that a confessed sin is to him the same as a
forgiven and forgotten sin. How unimaginable and great is it to bear the
label: sinners saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
A.J
