I got your postcard; thank you very much. About a year and a half ago you mentioned in another postcard that you had said yes to Jesus. Now you are telling me that Jesus has said Yes to you. This is a “word in tongues,” but I understand quite well what you mean, although if someone were to explain this in its fullest sense, it would be a long story. I rejoiced over your first “yes” but even more over your second one. These two “yeses” notwithstanding, I know that in Him there is neither “yes” nor “no”; in Him there is only “Yes.” His “Yes” has been there without wavering the entire time, but we haven’t been mature enough to lay hold of His “Yes.”

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. The law has done its work—chastened us to Christ; but after we come into Christ, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Yet we are not without law, for then we would be like wandering stars (this is Antichrist). But we look into the perfect law of liberty and continue in it; then we are not forgetful hearers but doers of the work. Jas. 1:25. No one can do this on their own, but we are under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the Father. Gal. 4:2. “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son.” But we have this exceedingly great power in earthen vessels, so that the glory may be of God and not of us. Please read 1 Kings 8:10-12 “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Then Solomon spoke: ‘The Lord said He would dwell in the dark cloud.’” The same thing happens today in the house of the Lord, whose house we are. When the glory of the Lord fills us, the priest with all his works must leave in haste. This is salvation from dead works. We become earthen vessels, and an earthen vessel is made of dark material. This is why it is written that the Lord will dwell in the dark cloud. He will dwell there because He will not share His honor with us. If the work were of Him and not of us, He would be unrighteous if He shared the honor with us. This is the righteousness of faith. It is so thorough that all “patching things up” and all of our own priestly ministry must simply vanish once the glory of the Lord fills His house.

You refer to 2 Chron. 20:12: “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” Yes, it is good to feel powerless in the battle, for then the Lord fights for us. Refer to the same chapter, verses 13-17: “Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s . . . You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.’”

I’ve thought much about coming to Kristiansand between Christmas and New Year. I would enjoy speaking with you and the others. I’ll just have to see how things work out. If you have now received that peace, which passes all understanding, then the Lord is also mighty to preserve you blameless until His day.

It would be a real joy to hear from you right away. Greet those who are at home, and greetings to you from your brother, kept in Christ Jesus,