Two summer conferences at Brunstad! Participants from all parts of the world! An overwhelm­ing washing of water by the Word! Revival among young and old! Conversion and renewal! Who can possibly describe all the grace and blessing that we partook of during these conferences? It is impossible to write a satisfactory report on only a few pages of the meetings and the many contributions in word and tes­timony. However, we shall recap the gist of the message that was mainly presented by the blessed ministry of brother Kåre J. Smith. As a wise master builder Paul had laid a foundation in the Corinthians’ hearts. Faith in the atoning blood of Jesus on Calvary and the forgive­ness of sins is a fundamental faith in a Christian’s life. However, this is far from being the full and complete gospel. The gospel promises a full and complete redemption from sin. Paul could give this testimony: God be thanked who always gives us the victory in Christ. A complete and unqualified victory over sin! Victory without fail! It is not so easy to lay this foundation in people’s hearts. In Colossians 2:5 the apostle Paul writes about “the steadfastness [firm foundation—Norw.] of your faith in Christ.” Revelation over the death of Christ is a part of this firm founda­tion. “Because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” 2 Cor. 5:14-15. Jesus partook of the same flesh as we. He denied Himself and took up His cross daily. Luke 9:23. It is precisely on this way that we can follow Him. This is quite evident from the above-mentioned Bible verse. According to the flesh Jesus was born of the seed of David, and He was tempted in all things as we are tempted. Therefore He had to take up His cross. Even He had to deny Himself. He brought His flesh into death. None of it was ever visible in His life. He offered Himself in the power of an eternal Spirit, and we can also bring our flesh into death by this Spirit. Jesus came in the likeness of sin­ful flesh, on account of sin. Rom. 8:3. He didn’t suffer like a “martyr” in the trials of life. Not at all! He suffered for the sake of sin! He had to take up His cross and deny Himself. We have no foundation for believing in victory over sin if we do not believe this. Let us bring into death the things that belong to death. Then we will stand on resurrection ground. Then we will be enabled to live for Him who died and rose for us. This means that we can live for the others without being in bondage to people—free from all, yet servants of all. “But first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” 2 Cor. 8:5. Then we do not rely on the praise and appreciation of other people. “For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” Rom. 6:7-8. The death that is mentioned here pre­supposes a hatred for sin. When we are disgusted with our self-life and the arrogance that dwells in us, then the message concerning the death of Christ will be a revelation and redemption for us. Then we will acknowledge our own evil and will not shed tears of self-pity when we are exposed to the others’ unreasona­bleness. “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” V. 11. We too! Just as He did! Just as He who died to sin and is alive unto God! Just imagine that we can surren­der everything that dwells in us and influences us into death; for example, the things that affect our love for each other. The person who is occupied with the others and makes demands on them has not received light over the death of Christ. Such people have not found the way of the cross, which is the royal highway. They do not walk on the paths of light and do not come into fellowship. Those who know how to apply the light concern­ing the death of Christ in their lives will have blessed fellowship with each other. Let us remember the covenant we entered into when we were baptized: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire; not an emotional “high,” but power to stand in the fiery trials that come and must come over our lives. Jesus came to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3:16. God sends fiery trials in His great care for us, and then we have abundant op­portunity to apply the knowledge of the death of Christ. If we are meek and quiet in life’s trials, then the Spirit will speak to us—not about the others, but about ourselves. And then we will have reason to say as Paul did: O wretched man that I am! Then we are on the way. Then our vision will be clear. Then the death of Christ will become a blessed redemp­tion; we will be set free from all that weighs us down and binds us. In Genesis 3:15 we read about two seeds in connection with the Fall, one of which is the seed of the serpent. We must take care not to be of this seed or be influenced by it. The one who belongs to Christ has crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. All those who are of God hear His Word and turn to His Word as the flower turns towards the sun. “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” John 8:31. Our works are evidence of what we believe and whether we believe. Jas. 2:17-18. It doesn’t help if we faithfully attend the meetings if our minds are not set free from sin. By reading further in John 8, we can see that the Word did not find room in the unbelieving Jews. They wriggled away like snakes from the Word of truth. God’s children do God’s works. Read John 8:39, flg. They let the Word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, enter deep into their hearts where God can speak to them. They speak and they act as those who will be judged by the perfect law of liberty. Jas. 2:12. In the next verse we are warned against being unmerciful. An unmerciful person will meet up with his own lack of mercy (for example, toward his marriage partner, or his children) on the Day of reckoning. We even have to give account for each idle word! What about evil and lying? It is quite plain in verses 17 and 18 in the above-mentioned chapter that faith without works is a dead faith, and that it is our works that show whether we believe. Unfortunately, many people live in such a way that their works are evidence against all the nice words they speak. To such people James says: O foolish man! According to the Scriptures, a person is a fool if he lives a life of “faith” that has no works. We only live a short time in this world. Do not live as a foolish and useless person, but do God’s works on earth during the short time of grace we all have. Our calling during our lifetime is to reveal who God is. Jesus brought life and immortal­ity to the light through the gospel, and He has called us to this immortal life with a holy calling. 2 Tim. 1:9-10. He abolished death by bringing life and immortality to the light. He found the death and abolished it in His own body. He took upon Him­self the same flesh we have. Paul says about this flesh: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” Rom. 7:18. Jesus was not afraid of dying physically. When we read about His battle in prayer (in Hebrews 5:7) to be saved from death, this refers to the fear of death that has to do with sinning. This battle in prayer was not hypocrisy. God be praised for that! Thus He became the author of eter­nal salvation for all those who obey Him. V. 9. Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Cor. 15:54. In His farewell words to His disciples Jesus said that the prince of this world was coming, and that he had nothing in Him. The prince of this world had no part in Him. May we also be able to say the same thing. And may we live in expectation of Jesus’ second coming. May the spirit of expectation fill us and be kept alive in our midst. We had a feast meeting with songs and messages while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Brunstad Con­ference Center. Brother Kåre J. Smith recalled various instances that many of us remember from the first years at Brunstad, when we had conferences under relatively poor conditions. Nevertheless, whether it is Brunstad in the year 1956 or Brunstad in the year 2006, we think of “fellowship” when Brunstad is mentioned. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. Every person usually has a circle of acquaintances, but fellowship is more than just a circle of acquaint­ances. We have the same goal when we have fellowship, and we care for one another. Through the new birth we receive the same hope and the same goal, as we can see from what the apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:3, flg. When we read Colossians 3:11, flg. we can see how different we are from each other. Such people do not come together because they are alike. Not at all! They learn to ap­preciate each other according to the Spirit, and everyone works toward the same goal. In this fellowship it is vital to have revelation over the death of Christ. If we do not know how to die to our demands, but rather are busy with each other’s idiosyncrasies, we will come out of love. But if we find something to acknowledge that per­tains to our own flesh in fellowship with each other, we will discover the cleansing in Jesus’ blood and will be preserved in love for each other. Then we will put on the garment of a servant that we read about in verses 12-13. “Put on tender mercies, kind­ness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one an­other, and forgiving one another . . . .” Fellowship will increase on the basis of a constantly increasing full­ness of the virtues of Christ, and each one of us will understand to discover the cleansing in Jesus’ blood. We get to see more and more of what hinders fellowship in our own flesh, and thus we have an opportunity to put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit. Rom. 8:13. It is vital to be humble! Then we will find the law that Paul speaks about in Romans 7:21, that when we want to do the good, evil is present with us. We find this law as we walk in the light. When we reflect on our actions, the Spirit will always have something to say to us about ourselves. And this is a contributing factor for us to be preserved in humility. Then we will obtain a greater fullness and can be of help to others. Brother Kåre J. Smith expressed a heartfelt thanks to the thousands of hands and hearts that have contributed to making Brunstad what it is today. When we are filled with the sacrificial spirit of Jesus Christ, it will be of great significance for each child, even for each future generation. This blessed tone from heaven must never fall silent. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 we read about the perilous times that will come in the last days. There we do not read about war and famine or similar things, but that people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, and so on. And not the least, there will be much of the form of godliness even while its power is being denied. In other words, those who only have this form of godliness do not believe in victory over sin. They have not received Jesus Christ as Lord in their lives. They want to avoid being lost, but at the same time they want to live according to their desires. John calls such people a brood of vipers and exhorts them: “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.” Luke 3:7. It takes courage in these days to confess that you believe in complete victory over sin. Receiving Jesus as Lord means that we surrender all rights to rule over our lives to Him. Then we take up our cross each day—every single day—and deny ourselves. Then all the sins that Paul lists in the above-mentioned epistle to Timothy will be far from us. Everything revolves around the obedience of faith, the same obedi­ence that Jesus displayed toward His Father—the same godly fear and the same obedience. Paul says that he had received the apostleship precisely for this purpose: to work obedience to the faith. Rom. 1:5. This obedience to the faith is required if we want to overcome present-day idolatry. It is easy to see that previ­ous generations have been unfaithful and have gone astray. However, how many people know how to expose the idols that prevail in their own time? We must have victory over the spirit of the times if we want to have power to live a completely victorious life. “Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” 1 John 3:6. We cannot abide in Him without living His life. John writes previously, in Chapter 2, verse 1 that he was writing to the believers that they should not sin. However, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” There is forgiveness to be had, but the person who continues to live in sin after he has fallen, is not of God. “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” This was the attitude of the people of Israel at that time when a covenant was established between God and the people. We will do all God’s will, and be obedient! “And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said . . . .” Ex. 24:7-8. We can only overcome the spirit of the times through the obedience of faith. Let us remember that Jesus became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, and we are to turn away from those who only have the form of godliness but deny its power. This is Paul’s exhortation in 2 Timothy 3:5. “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and com­fort to men.” 1 Cor. 14:3. We need all of them: edification, exhortation, and comfort. In 1 Peter 1:6 we read, “For a little while . . . you have been grieved by various trials.” If it is our grief that we are tempted, then our comfort is that we can cease from sin. God be praised for the prophetic message in the church. It gives us abundant comfort. In Ephesians 2:11, flg., Paul asks the readers to remember that as Gen­tiles they once lived without hope and without God in the world. Yes, it is necessary to be reminded of this. Then we will also receive enlight­ened eyes for the grace that has come over us through Jesus Christ. (Read from verse 12 to the end of the chap­ter.) We read that He put to death the enmity on the cross in order to “create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” The enmity dwells in the flesh, and we have been baptized with one Spirit to be one body, the body of Christ. In this body all sin has been put to death by the cross. If the cross is not working in our life, it is unavoidable that we also, just like the Pharisees, will judge our neighbor in self-righteousness. Therefore we must with all our heart lay hold of faith in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” The cross puts a stop to everything that comes from the flesh, and rivers of living water can then flow from us. We become one new man. “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—who is crucified. Gal. 3:13. Those who are so tired of their own flesh and self-life that they can say with all of their heart that it is cursed, they are in good company with Him on the cursed tree—the cross. Then the blessing of Abraham will come over us! V. 14. This is what it means to partake of divine nature. This does not occur in our own strength, but by faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul was blameless according to the law. Nevertheless, the enmity was still present. Read Philippians 3:4-6. But then he was apprehended of Christ, and his great longing was to be found in Him, not with his own righteousness which was according to the law, but with the righteousness that is received by faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. V. 9. “My own righteousness” is what he calls the righteousness he obtained by the law. Mine, mine, mine—I, I, I. But the righteousness that is received by faith is a hidden life with Christ in God. Then one does not depend on people’s praise and appreciation. Whether one is praised or blamed means nothing, rightly understood. This is where we have an opportunity to experience the sufferings of Christ, the suffer­ings that lead to death to the flesh with its passions and desires, and to know Him and the power of His resurrection. V. 10. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.” 2 Cor. 5:17. Now the Lord is doing something new! This is extremely faith-strengthening. Everyone can have victory and be a pillar in God’s temple. God wants to fill us with His nature to the degree that our old nature is completely vanquished. The Lord will write His name, a new name, on this victorious flock. Rev. 3:12. So if you want to be “modern,” then be along here. “But new wine must be put into new wineskins . . . .” Luke 5:38. We must not mix the old with the new. Everyone who is tired of himself and yearns for renewal can experience that the Lord will do something new in his life. See Isaiah 48:6-7. We are created in Christ Jesus to walk in the works which God has prepared beforehand for us. If we are faithful to walk in these works, we will experience God’s creative power in our lives. Everything will become new. The old man has been put off, and we put on the new man “which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.” Eph. 4:20-24. Then we will experience a constant cleans­ing in Jesus’ blood by coming to a constantly deeper acknowledgment of everything that so easily ensnares us; for example, the “good boy” who likes to live before the face of man and receive praise from him. The first meeting of our second summer conference began with this exhortation from Isaiah 60:1-2: “Arise, shine . . . . For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.” Arise! Don’t stay down in unbelief and de­feat. Don’t stay down in discourage­ment and earthly-mindedness. “Lift up your heads . . . .” Jesus says this in connection with His second com­ing to earth. Luke 21:27, flg. When we lift up our heads and look up, we will see God’s kingdom that we are expecting to come to earth with power. Israel received their land back in 1948. That was according to the prophetic word concerning Isra­el; it was a sign that God’s kingdom was near. That should urge us on to godly fear. It is still the time of grace. Let us avail ourselves of each day of grace we have for salvation. Those who constantly cleanse themselves in obedience to the truth will go to meet the Bridegroom. In Daniel 12:10 we read the fol­lowing in connection with the last days: “None of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall under­stand.” What is it that the wicked, the ungodly, do not understand? They do not understand the times we are living in. The wise under­stand the times they are living in and purify themselves in obedience to the truth. The time after this will be short. But there is sufficient time for the one who knows how to use the time of grace for salvation. For such people the sins we read about in Colossians 3:5 are a thing of the past; they have been put off. Therefore they can now put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit. Then they judge themselves and not the others. And when we judge ourselves, we will not be judged. 1 Cor. 11:31. These wise people also under­stand the necessity of coming to­gether to be encouraged and worked upon by the spirit of judgment and burning that is in the church. Heb. 10:24-25. Such people love the judg­ment that that is passed over honor seeking, arrogance, and unchastity. The spirits of arrogance and unchas­tity shall never gain entrance into the church. The difference between the wise and the foolish virgins (Matt. 25) was that the wise lived quite simply before God, before His face, whereas the foolish lived before the face of man. When a person lives before the face of man, he can, for example, make an extra effort to be pious so as to appear to be pious. This is conceit and an abomination in God’s eyes. Lot’s wife left Sodom, but her heart was not set free from the things that God wanted to destroy. In this same way many people in our days are bound to the things of this world in their heart, while they display a form of godliness. They deny the power of the Holy Spirit for a full and complete salvation. We are called to go from light to light. We don’t have all light—far from it! There is more from which we need to cleanse ourselves. Let us follow in His steps who fought in prayer and learned obedience by the things He suffered. Heb. 5:7-9. He opened the way into the entire fullness of the Godhead. He was meek and humble of heart. This is something we must learn from Him, because we have only attained to it to a very limited degree. We must be humble and acknowledge that we have sin, that there is more indwelling sin that influences our surroundings, our words, and our decisions. Let us live in this spirit of acknowledgment with this sigh: O wretched man that I am! And at the same time, sigh this prayer: Come soon, Lord Jesus! In the account of Gideon and his men (Judges 7:1, flg.) we read that he went out with an army of several thousand men, but according to the Lord’s commandment he only took three hundred men with him in the end. Let us not be among those who turn back to the old things. It is easy to gather a whole army during times of revival, but some of them turn back to apathy and indifference. They begin to be absent from meet­ings and edifying gatherings without reason and revert to slackness and superficiality. In the aforementioned account we also read about the dream that was related to Gideon, about the loaf of barley bread that rolled towards the enemy’s camp. V. 13. It is vital to be part of this barley bread, which is an illustration of the body of Christ, the church. Then we will also partake of the victor’s reward that awaits the faithful soldier. 2 Tim. 2:3-5. In 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Paul writes about the Antichrist who exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped. The nature of the Antichrist is to exalt himself. This evil inclination is found in our flesh—the inclination to be consid­ered great and honorable. Those who are misled by this ungodly spirit of Antichrist are the ones who do not receive a love for the truth. Vs. 9-11. This spirit of Antichrist is what characterizes almost all of Christen­dom in these days. The majority of Christians in our days have been mis­led by this spirit. They particularly falsify grace by not believing in the grace that helps us to overcome sin. Such people miss out on their calling, the calling to gain the glory of Jesus Christ, to partake of divine nature. The only way in which we can avoid being misled is the way we read about in Philippians 2—Jesus’ steps in humiliation. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . . .” V. 5. We read about what kind of mind this is in the following verse. He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. He made him­self of no reputation but took upon Himself the form of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obe­dient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. He had the same flesh that we have, and He had to humble Himself to remain in God. The spirit of Antichrist explains this humiliation away, and with it the way of the cross and the suffer­ings, and thus the entire salvation in Christ. If we do not understand that we must humble ourselves in order to remain in God, we will lose sight of our entire salvation. A true follower of Jesus Christ will find more and more of that other law in his members, as Paul testifies in Romans 7:23. The Spirit will show us things that influence us and our decisions in spite of our noble atti­tude of mind. If we are upright and love the truth, we will receive one op­portunity after another to put these things to death by the Spirit. Never let the spirit of Antichrist blind you and lead you astray into being satis­fied with your present condition. You have been called to partake of divine nature, of a constantly increas­ing godly fear, to brotherly love and love for all men. “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Read 2 Peter 1:3-11. We experience this on the way of humiliation. In verse 10 we read that we shall not even stumble. If we do not have our calling and election before us in the hour of trial, but rather walk in the vanity of our mind, we will stumble. Therefore we are exhorted to make our calling and election sure. The apostle Peter describes Jesus’ steps like this: “’Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth’, who when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suf­fered, He did not threaten but com­mitted Himself to Him who judges righteously . . . .” 1 Pet. 2:22-23. It is a great thing to remain quiet when you are suffering unjustly, but to commit yourself to God without passing judgment in your heart is something completely different. In such situ­ations it is easy to talk about your trials or about how you had to suf­fer. This will lead to backbiting. A person can even receive honor when others admire you and say, “Oh, the things you’ve had to endure!” The deceivers and the Antichrist deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. 2 John 7-8. The large number of preachers who usually seek money and honor from people have been deceived by this spirit. They do not understand that Jesus had to humble Himself, and as a result they do not see this way of humiliation for themselves. Even the person who has attained to a certain degree of glory in God has to be careful not to begin to “bask in his own radiance,” so that he loses what he has gained. God be praised for all eternity for the way that Jesus went. He consecrated this way for us so that we can follow Him! “Every good gift and every per­fect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” Jas. 1:17. People, on the other hand, typically change and vary. They change from loving to hating, from gentleness to anger, from being in a good mood to being in a bad mood, from hav­ing sympathy to having antipathy, etc. This is how it is when you walk in the vanity of your mind. The greatest gift the Father of lights can give us is His mind. Then we are children of the Almighty, and we are set free from anxiety, unrest, and changing moods. Then we come to faith in God’s omnipotence, His om­niscience, and His miracles, as well as a perfect faith in the atonement. Then we will also have a firm faith in victory over sin and an unshakable faith in God’s promises that we shall be partakers of the divine nature. Repent therefore (lay hold of a new mind). Acts 3:19. We can have a change of mind. The person who is bad-tempered, unstable, and leads an up-and-down life can receive a new mind! Then something entirely new begins, and times of refreshing can come from the presence of the Lord, as it is written in the aforemen­tioned Bible verse. Those who met Paul in Berea had a noble mind and received the Word with all readiness. Read Acts 17:11. In the account of Jesus walking on the water (Mark 6:47-53) it says so aptly that it happened during the fourth watch of the night. We must believe fully and firmly in the God of miracles during the “fourth watch of the night” when we are in need and in difficulties. Then we have a noble mind, and we will experience that the wind will cease and it will become dead calm. It truly takes a miracle if we are to overcome sin and self-life. Let us believe! He who helped us yesterday in the day of need will also help us today. Jesus asked doubting Peter why he doubted, and we should reprimand ourselves if we sense that unbelief wants to lay hold of us in life’s situations. God performs miracles even today! You who have unconverted children who are going their own way: believe in the God of miracles! In 1 Corinthians 1:10 we read that we shall all speak the same thing and be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. We must be so perfectly joined together that we can give a resounding “Yes” to the question of whether we can have victory over all sin—say “Yes” in a living faith in the power of an omnipotent God! In Chapter 2:16 Paul writes that we have the mind of Christ. We read clearly about this mind in Philippi­ans 2. That is the mind that is willing to renounce all rights so as to serve our fellow man—obedient and faith­ful until death—the mind that makes us willing to humble ourselves. All true servants of God have this mind. They speak God’s Word in truth. If you are of the truth, you will stay close to them and not do like some people do, who would rather not be in their presence. In the Scriptures we read that those who bear the vessels of the Lord must purify themselves. Eve­ryone who serves in the church must live in this process of purification, this renewal of the spirit of the mind, so that they can also work renewal in the others by their ministry. Paul could say to the church in Rome that he would come to them with a fullness of the blessing of Christ; he could say that because he had a living faith in an almighty God and the God of miracles. He did not want to come to them with thoughts of honor, money, earthly advantage, or to “lay into” somebody. Not at all! He would come with the mind of Christ, with a fullness of blessing. In 2 Timothy 2:20-21 we read that in a large house there are many different vessels. The importance of the vessel is not in the material of which it is made, but in the purpose for which it is meant to be used. The vessel that we are is only meant to be used to be a blessing—never for backbiting, because then we are a vessel for dishonor, from which we must cleanse ourselves. A good and beautiful heart is a humble heart that is full of blessing, because humility is the soil in which all the virtues of Christ grow. Paul together with all true serv­ants of the Lord are examples pre­cisely in this area. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-3 we can see how Paul served the church—in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. Among other things he feared that his extensive knowledge instead of the pure Word of God might put its imprint on his preaching. In this fear and trembling he was able to preach the Word in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Vs. 4-5. This is the attitude of a person whom God can use for edification. And if God has not been able to use a person to any edification that is worth mentioning, it is only because of his own greatness, pride, and arrogance. We must cut off any thoughts of greatness and honor from man instantly whenever they crop up. They smell badly and are disgusting, and they should also be that in our eyes. We must have this mind if we want to be along in the bridal host. Those who are spiritual know very well what and who they are, and they acknowledge in the depths of their heart that they are only dust. Many young couples do not know how to appreciate the low and humble state. Often they compare themselves with others and what they can afford to buy, and thus they use more money than is economi­cally feasible. They could have been happy and glad instead in the state in which God has put them and served Him in humility and thankfulness. Then they would also experience God’s blessing and care throughout their lives. We read about Saul in 1 Samuel 15:17: “When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel?” However, Saul could not bear this exaltation and sought the honor of man. By reading 2 Samuel 6:21-22 we can see that David had an entirely different attitude of mind: “I will make myself even lowlier than this and will be humble in my own sight.” He was not interested in maintaining his “worthiness.” A man of God does not display his worthiness in order to impress anyone at all. Only the lowly and humble enter into fellow­ship with each other. It is impossible to have fellowship in the Spirit with those who are conceited and want to keep their worthiness. The person who has exalted thoughts about himself is a vessel for dishonor. May God give all of us grace to be vessels for honor, useful for the Lord and ready for every good work.Arild Tombre

By Aksel J. Smith (It is recommended that the reader look up the scripture references as he reads) “For if the ministry of condem­nation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:9. What does it mean to stand on the foundation in God’s kingdom? 2 Timothy 2:19. We read about right­eousness throughout the entire Bible; it is the virtues that are mentioned most often. Verse 22 shows us that righteousness comes first. Pursue righteousness. For unrighteousness will abound, and the love of many will grow cold. We can simply look around us: people pilfer, cheat, and steal at their places of employment, etc. A man once said that if he wanted to be well liked he had to make nice speeches. But the people did not want to hear messages about righteousness. If he spoke like that, he would have been expelled. 1 Timothy 6:6-12. Jesus comes to fetch those who are crucified with Him. We must flee the things that are mentioned in this scripture. We will receive a completely new way of thinking, a completely new mind. Righteousness will affect everything; for example, being thankful for every­one, being good to your parents, etc. What is the good confession? It is the confession that Jesus witnessed before Pontius Pilate that His king­dom was not of this world. What does God’s kingdom consist of? Right­eousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. You cannot be united with God’s kingdom without the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17. We are to grow by God’s grace; we have been called to a life of growing up to Him who is the head. At first it seems to be as insignificant as the mustard seed; for example, keeping appointments and being precise. That is righteousness. In Romans 12:7 we read some­thing that is written in connection with edifying the church. They were supposed to observe the command­ments that he gave them in the Holy Spirit. Romans 3:23. We don’t have to reach a certain degree of goodness or cleverness before we can get con­verted. Not at all! We can come as we are and receive unmerited grace. We are justified by faith, and then we have peace with God. Nevertheless, we do not yet possess God’s peace, the peace that is in God, but we have access to it by faith. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We are to walk on this way, and not just rely on our justification by faith. Once we have come into contact with Jesus we are to reach out for the things that are in Him. 1 John 2:29. It is quite obvious that a calf is born of a cow. This is also how obvious it should be that we are born of God. Who is a child of God? “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” Read 1 John 3:8-10. This is extremely seri­ous, because we are not righteous if we bear a grudge against someone or if we seek the honor of men. What does it say about Jesus as king? Hebrews 7:1-2. He is first of all king of righteousness. Why was Jesus anointed with the oil of gladness more than His companions? Hebrews 1:9. He loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. 2 Timothy 4:7-8. “And not to me only . . . .” It is a great joy and comfort that the crown of righteousness isn’t laid up just for Paul. “And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14. If someone has cheated us, we will receive it back. This is written about the resurrection of the just. Matthew 13:43. There were some in the old cov­enant who stood out because of their righteousness. Who were they? They were Noah, Daniel, and Job. The three men who stood out because they were men of prayer were Moses, Elijah, and Samuel. Genesis 6:7-9. Noah found grace before the eyes of the Lord. A preach­er once read only the first part of the verse: By grace. There we can see, he said, it is only by grace; it is not a question of the life we live. However, he neglected to read further that Noah did righteousness. He was called a preacher of righteousness, and he did according to all that God com­manded him. Daniel 12:1-4. Those who are wise and righteous shall shine! Righteous­ness, peace, and joy go like a red thread through the entire Bible. We must teach each other what righteous­ness is in word, in business dealings, in money matters, etc. People have always cheated in business when it comes to measure and weight. The correct measure and weight must also be used when we (for example) speak about a brother or sister. Not too many words, and neither too few. A time of tribulation will come over the earth as never before. Then it is vital to have one’s name written in the Book of Life. The world is full of abominations. Daniel 2:9-10. The five wise virgins were among the wise; they could go forth to meet Him, and their lamps did not go out. In Psalm 110 we read about a choice group of young people. We must be among them! They are not concerned with the current fashions or similar things. We must dress ourselves properly. We must also use proper words when speaking. Joel 2:21-27. We have received the teacher of righteousness (marg.). Many people pray to receive the Holy Spirit, but only a few pray to receive the teacher of righteousness into their lives, who is the greatest “professor” you can imagine. There will be glori­ous times when He starts to speak and is heard and obeyed. Then there will be growth and glory. It is good to work on a theme at home for your own benefit; for exam­ple, righteousness, love, or faith. We can see how it went with Job in Chapter 42:12-17. He was power­fully blessed. Those who had belab­ored him had to acknowledge that they were wrong and thank Job. No one ever loses by living wholeheart­edly for God. God did not forget Job because he thought what was right about God. Malachi 3:10. In the old covenant they had to give the tithe, but we have to give everything. Those who give everything will never regret it. A so-called “gentleman” once said to me: “I am surprised that you carry on with things like that.” Some time later I met him as a wretched man, poor, and almost on the level of a bum. Judging others is not righteous. A book of remembrance will be opened. Malachi 3:16-18. In this book you will be able to read your thoughts and how you have reacted. There is an essential difference between the church and the world. “‘Come out from among them . . .’ says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:17-18. Proverbs 4:18. It is nice to walk on that path, “the path of the just,” where it becomes brighter and brighter unto the perfect day, instead of it becoming darker and darker and perhaps ending up in despair of life. Let us apply ourselves to doing righteousness in all areas of our life. Remember that God approved of everything that Daniel said. Not one of his words fell to the ground. Read Proverbs 10, the entire chap­ter. Verse 7 is written on my father’s headstone. It is good to strengthen yourself with such words of God. Also read Chapter 11. For example, have a look at verse 23: “The desire of the righteous is only good . . . .” Proverbs 12:3-4. There are good opportunities for getting a good husband or a good wife in the church. Also see verses 5-7. We will enter into a life of abundance if we believe these words. The ministry of righteous­ness—imagine to be firmly rooted in everything we hear, so that we don’t fall flat. Also read verses 17, 20, 26, and 28. Read Chapter 13:9. Let us be righteous in everything we do. It is foolish to be unrighteous. For ex­ample, you have to put matters right when you get converted where you have pilfered, cheated, or done simi­lar things. The light of the righteous shines warmly and more and more brightly.