I want to thank you for your letter dated June 26, which tells me that you are also of the understanding that Christ had humanness and sinfulness in His body to overcome, but that He was always victorious over lusts and desires. We have the Spirit of Christ, and that Spirit works in us in the same way that it worked in Him. From this we can conclude that He had the same things to fight against that we have to fight against. This is the Spirit that has overcome the world, for He who is in you is stronger than he who is in the world. By this Spirit we will be more than conquerors. However, God requires absolute, unconditional obedience and subjection to His will. By being clay in His hands, we receive an amazing power and fullness. This power vanishes if we hold back even the very smallest thing for ourselves. The anointing of the Spirit gives us strength and stability in the work. But as soon as a person begins to esteem something in the world or has something that he is not willing to give up, then he not only becomes unfit as an instrument, he becomes a castaway in this world, since the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Therefore it is imperative that we abide in Him, as the Spirit has taught us.

The apostles had a great deal of knowledge, but they were not to begin their ministry before they had been filled with power from on high. Jesus Himself had to receive power from on high before He could begin His work. I have never understood, as I do now, the necessity of being sensitive and cautious and of abiding in the anointing of His Spirit. For I see many who have lost their way because they have been sidetracked by one thing or another. There are many sidetracks, but only one way. God has preserved me in the anointing of His Spirit until today, and God’s power is upon me just as it has been from the time I came to faith. Esau despised his birthright and Samson his hair. They let it go—that is to say, they let go of their consecration to God. Esau was consecrated from birth, and Samson’s hair was long because of his Nazarite vow. But he despised this divine vow, and his strength disappeared. If we despise the leading of the Spirit and are not totally obedient, then we, too, break the bonds of the covenant—the bonds of promise—and the strength disappears, returning to the One who gave it. If we want to get our strength back, we must let our hair grow—let those bonds that were broken be joined again; then our strength will return. God is extremely exact. Christ had to go the way, and the Spirit of God will lead us just the same way. Can anyone imagine anything more radical than this?

Yesterday I bought a book entitled, The Baptism With the Holy Spirit, by R. A. Torrey, translated from English. The book cost 65 øre and is extremely good, so I highly recommend it. It’s very readable and easy to understand, and it contains many valuable teachings. It was on display in the window of a bookstore here. I browsed through it several times before I eventually decided to buy it. The author explains how we receive power (the baptism of the Spirit), how this power works, and how it can be lost. This is all explained simply, concisely, and effectively, without beating around the bush.

There are many things we must take heed to. Most religious assemblies are so dry! Why is this? Because the power and the anointing of the Spirit are gone. Those who can speak God’s Word with power and authority are few and far between. God’s Word has authority in itself, for the Lord is Lord, and lords exercise authority—all the more so because there is only one Lord, one baptism, one God, the Father of all. The baptism of the Spirit, Torrey writes, is one thing; but if we are to carry out a work, a special outpouring of the Spirit is required. After the apostles had been filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they experienced what the Bible calls being “filled with the Spirit.” That is to say, they received power to carry out the task that lay before them. He also writes that a person can be born of God and not know anything about the baptism of the Spirit. That was my own experience too. Jesus was also born of God before He received the baptism of the Spirit for power in the work—just like the apostles, Apollos, and those who came from Samaria. He writes that the baptism of the Spirit doesn’t destroy our sinful nature, as some teach, and he is quite right.

Pauline just came in and said, “Kristian is the cutest boy I’ve ever seen!” Yes, he’s a sturdy little guy, that’s for sure. He’s got chubby, red cheeks and strong arms, and on the playground he likes challenging boys who are bigger than him. He is everyone’s favorite here, and he has nicknames for everyone who talks to him. Sometimes he shouts “Paula” to his mother because he’s heard other people call her that, and then he laughs out loud. He is talking a lot and can easily express himself. Johanne has many of the same features as Kristian and looks like him in many ways, but she’s still only two months old, so it’s not easy to tell. Kristian has a fiery temperament and is very spirited, so he makes his presence known, despite the fact that he is so little. It seems to us that he has been given many talents to be a steward over. His natural abilities are well-developed, so he sometimes interjects when adults are talking together, thereby displaying that he has been listening and has understood the conversation.

He is very fond of Mamma, and she is the one who most often looks after him. He also really loves his great-grandmother because she’s always giving him treats. I’ve just learned to use the typewriter at the Navy corps office. Rosenqvist is the corps commander. In the afternoons I work in the garden and on the buildings. This year I have paid off almost 300 kroner and have done a lot of work myself. The soil in the garden is excellent. It’s a real blessing from God that I got such a good deal on this property—I, who was so reluctant to get it in the first place. Everything works so well, especially since I can do a lot of the repair work myself. This year we’ve got new stone steps out to the street as well as a new grindstone, and I still have around 70 kroner left to make further repairs after taking into account the 5% interest and the installments. As I said, it’s a blessing from God. My heart rejoices that I have work to do, and I believe it is God who has given it to me. That is why I bought the property during the crisis last year, despite the fact that it’s located right in the line of fire and that there is talk of relocating the station elsewhere. I have come to understand that when something is of God, all the forces of hell can’t prevail against it. So, I can carry on regardless, even if the whole world were to wave their arms and cry, “You are crazy!” Perhaps this boasting is exaggerated, but it takes strong expressions to convey just how much this has become second nature to me.

I wish you all the best.

Yours,

Write soon.

I haven’t heard from Aksel for a long time.

Mother and Anna could perhaps take a circular route via Moss, Horten, etc. The Brevik route?