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Father passed away in Christ during the night on March 1. His last words were: “My desire is to have a greater fullness of Him who is the way, the truth, and the life.” May God bless his spirit and his work. There is grief in my heart over Father’s death, but by God’s grace we will meet again in a better home—the eternal dwellings. Father loved his Lord and Master; he was the one who taught us that without God the world is utter emptiness. He rejoiced over being seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, and now he is at home with the Lord, where we shall meet again. May we all prepare ourselves, as never before, to meet our God.

Our time on earth is short. May we use it well—may we hear His voice and do His will. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Gal. 5:25. This verse has been of great comfort to me, because it is precisely this walk in the Spirit that we have preached all these years—often in the face of great opposition. It speaks about walking in the Spirit, so there must be a way for us to walk upon. But since the Spirit only acknowledges one way—the new and living way, Jesus Christ—it is the way of death for all flesh, so that the life of Christ can be manifested in our mortal flesh.

We can only go forward, always forward, never stopping, only living in the Spirit—always walking in the Spirit. Spirit, water, and blood; Spirit, water, and blood as long as we are at home in this dwelling. The battlefield is not a place of rest—though we are always entering into a deeper rest. While we are in the body, there is the potential for growth of the body, and we need to follow Jesus’ counsel to press our way into the kingdom of God with force. I don’t know of any other way, and I don’t want any other way. It was for this purpose Paul was chosen as an apostle to preach obedience to the faith among all the nations for His name. Rom. 1:5.

It has been and continues to be the longing of my heart to preach obedience to the faith, because I know that this is the secret and the source of absolutely all spiritual growth and blessing. I cannot just live in the Spirit and rejoice in all the glory. That would be unfaithfulness. May God give me and all of us, to whom the Lord has given light, grace to always press ahead, always forward—constantly—as long as we are in our body and are able to acknowledge things. When finally our body has been broken down, we will no longer be able to walk in the Spirit; but then we shall live in the Spirit and rejoice over what we have gained while we were here in our body. This is my light concerning our life down here, and I believe that everyone who has God’s Spirit has the same testimony, if they will listen to what the Spirit says in the church. By God’s grace, I can only exhort myself and as many as are willing and able to listen: Forward, forward, constantly forward. There is no time to waste; time hastens quickly onward. Let us fear God in all things and be cleansed from all filthiness, both of flesh and spirit. Soon the battle will be over, and we shall receive what has been done in the body.

I rejoice to see and experience your continuing zeal and love for the truth and for all the saints. God shall reward each one according to their works on that day. In the world we have—and will have—tribulations, but in Him we have peace, precious peace—a peace which the world cannot take away from us. On the other hand, we can take away the world’s peace with the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.

A few days ago, I received a letter from Br. Thorleif Hansen in Kristiania. He is now engaged to be married. He is a man who has a very deep love of the truth. May God give him great grace in his battle against sin. It is a life and death battle to resist sin unto bloodshed, but by God’s power it will succeed.

We had some meetings in Måløy, and the house was packed. But when I understood that they only wanted me to be their priest, I invited the believers to get together to talk about it. It quickly became evident that they understood nothing at all, and the flock immediately became smaller. We can guide and teach, but they themselves must live the life.

All the best to you. It was really special for me to visit with Br. Theodor Ellefsen at Br. Risnes’ place in Haugesund. We met together there three times. He radiated with joy over the fact that God was so mightily with him in the work in Finnmark. He’d always thought that there was so little to accomplish in Horten. But now he has a task to do, and he rejoiced over that. Br. Ellefsen is able to instruct in a very clear and simple way.

Greet the friends.

Warm greetings from your brother,