Thank you for your good letter. It was blessed to read what Mrs. Penn-Lewis wrote about a victorious life in faith. This faith is able to crush everything in its path. It is able to break down and pulverize all high-mindedness and lofty designs which exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. You mentioned a quote from the sermon that Johnsen (the mission priest) gave to The Cultured Association, which truly is an effective place to be united in darkness. It was horrible. But that is how it has to be when they refuse to believe the word in all simplicity. Afterwards, there was supposed to be a discussion, which presumably took place, since he met with opposition. “But,” you said, his “well-wishers” according to the flesh made it impossible to send his ideas off “to Timbuktu.” I understand this to mean that his well-wishers according to the flesh prevented a perfect victory over folly. But is that right? Shouldn’t we, in faithfulness to Christ, refuse to admire all that is highly esteemed and honored in this world, even if we have to let our honor go “to Timbuktu”? In this way, we can win a crushing victory over these dark, conceited, and cultured circles. It is sheer unfaithfulness to Christ not to pulverize and crush everything that cannot tolerate the light when we have the opportunity to do so. That would be the same as to preserve our own life. Our body must be presented as a sacrifice in our daily life. Then we can go on the attack against the forces of darkness, with full assurance that no one can harm us. God will give us grace to do this by stripping us of our own honor and reputation.

What right do we have to pity the flesh? Or to not speak up? None at all. Warriors in God’s kingdom have been saved from seeking people’s approval. Therefore, as unfettered (liberated) individuals, in the power of God, through faith, they can crush and pulverize these strongholds of Satan which rise up in opposition to the knowledge that God supplies. This is the arena where God’s invincible warriors have been battling throughout the ages. Partial victory gives partial satisfaction, but partial satisfaction is nothing other than dissatisfaction. The requirements for being able to overcome are hard for the flesh; but if our body is presented as a sacrifice to God in the heat of the battle, then victory is assured. However, if we make provision for the flesh, we might as well quit—the sooner the better.

I’m looking forward to spending Christmas together. Christmas Eve is on Sunday this year, so you must not come any later than Saturday. With regard to printing the paper, we have been in contact with the newspaper Gjengangern. They want to charge 50 kroner for each printing of a paper with 4 pages (8 sides); if we wanted a cover (red or green) it would come to 55 kroner each printing. That seemed very expensive to me. The printer, C. Andersen, doesn’t want to take on more than what he has already. And we cannot rely on Hortens Avis either. Maybe there is someone in Kristiania? Such a paper will work like a snowplow. As it is now, people can’t see the road—there is a white-out; things are completely covered with snow. Indeed, Satan is reigning in the form of an angel of light.

Greet Br. Aslaksen. You wrote in a letter that you want to live and die poor. In this context, read Psalm 15 from the beginning, and give special consideration to what is written after the comma in verse 4; then relate that to what is written in verse 1. Moreover, all good things follow in the wake of God’s wisdom, because wisdom makes us the head and not the tail. So we won’t become very poor—wisdom, which has wealth and honor in her hands, will not allow that. Neither can we become rich, if we use the unrighteous mammon in such a way that we will be received into the everlasting habitations.

Brotherly greetings.

Yours,

[Note: Through the course of the years, a bundle of letters from JOS to his brother Aksel has been lost. (Comment from the 1949 edition of JOS letters.)]

[Notice the date of the next letter to Aksel from “August 1914” in Volume 2.]