Thank you for the card from the boys in Egsheien. May God’s Spirit do His work in them. Hope you have received the letter with the 210 kroner. We are still on board but will be discharged on the 15th of this month. I hope to get some shore leave then.

I was ashore yesterday and had the great pleasure of talking to brother Ellefsen and his wife. They are zealous and are growing in the understanding of God’s ways with them. Love increases as our ability to communicate increases. Our communication with God increases as this life grows within us. Christ gave up everything for us, thus showing His love. We show our love for Him by giving up everything in order to gain Him. Our life is only a breath in the vastness of the universe, so we ought to make use of our life in the most profitable way, because the fruit we have at the end of our life in this world is the fullness of spirit we have obtained in Christ. Our riches are the treasures we have gathered in heaven, and the interest accumulated on those riches is the number of talents we have been able to amass. We are exhorted to strive diligently and to renounce sin in all its forms. The greatness of this world is an abomination in the sight of God, so you must not allow yourself to look up to what the world thinks is great. You must not allow yourself to be duped and ensnared by Satan when he comes in silk and velvet. You must not tolerate the spirit of pride; you must crush it. You must not look up to people who walk in high-mindedness, rather despise them in your heart—yet not them, but it. Language is clumsy and unwieldy, but the Spirit is nimble, sharp, and clear. Therefore language can only describe what a person is thinking in the same way that a vague outline can only portray the contours of the real thing. The last time I was in Kristiansand, all of you were suffering from massive delusions of grandeur. You had been seduced and partly taken captive by a satanic spirit of pride. Even Father, who held out longer than anyone else, was strongly affected. May the salvation of God root this out as well! None of you will get free from it before you have paid the last penny. I hope you will be sensible, Aksel, and reject this madness, because it is those who are lowly and despised in this world whom God has chosen in order to put to shame those who think they are something. Never forget that! Christ doesn’t suffer from delusions of grandeur. He doesn’t admire velvet, silk, flashy clothes, and those who wear a ring on their finger, because all the silver and gold belong to the Lord. Don’t be deceived, dear brother; don’t be a fool. Drive them away; pursue them to the Philistines’ farthest borders. If you spare them, they won’t spare you. All the enemies must be eradicated from the land. The partiality that goes on in religious circles comes from one father, the devil. Flee from those who practice such things. Strike them down with the sword of the Spirit—both them and their offspring—for in Christ Jesus neither poor nor rich, neither Jew nor Greek are anything, only a new creation. What is of no value must not be esteemed as if it were something. It would be interesting to talk to you face-to-face about many things. Greet those who are at home, and hearty greetings to you from your brother,

Write soon.

Tulla13 is a good little girl. She is healthy, as are Kristian and Pauline.