Category: Life

My wife and I differ in taste when it comes to films and TV shows. One thing we have in common (we certainly have more than one thing in common), and that is the joy of watching a good crime drama on TV. Over the last couple of years, we have been watching Bosch. In a somewhat realistic way, it depicts crime investigation in LA. We follow Bosch, an unorthodox police investigator and divorced father of a teenager, as he is chasing criminals and at the same time trying his best to be involved in his daughter’s life. I realize, of course, that it’s just fiction. The reality is probably way tougher and more brutal than what is shown on TV. Bad things happen all around us, and maybe even with us.

The last episode of season six of Bosch, after solving another difficult case, ends with a beautiful version of Louis Armstrong’s classic; What A Wonderful World: 

I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!

What a wonderful world! Is it, really? Is that what we see? When society has been shut down and we feel uncertain about the future. When we sense that pain and suffering is getting closer, and maybe even stronger.

What do you see? In Genesis chapter one we read about when God created the world. After each event, each day if you may, he concluded that it was good! Seven times in the creation account, Moses renders: “And God saw that it was good.” Number seven in the Bible represents something complete. Throughout God’s word, we see the number seven used that way. So, God says that everything he created is good. 

The Fall happened, and sin entered the world. Everything that was created came under a curse because of the sin of one person. Now, did the fall change the origin of creation, God’s purposes with his creation, and did it alter the attributes of God’s creation? Also, there is the question of total depravity. These are probably questions for the systematic theologians. However, even if Calvinistic theology is right about our total lostness, does that change what God said about everything he created? I believe not. I believe that what God created is still good. We are definitely lost without God and in need of salvation. I know, because I once was lost. Jesus came and he carried the curse that belonged to us, and he took it on his own shoulders, on to the cross. He took our guilt and all our sin with him into the grave, and he rose again to give us life – a new creation, which is also good! Everything God creates is good.

What do you see? In Matthew 6:25-27 we are asked to recognize that God gives us everything we need. Jesus reminds us that we should consider and take into account that God is a good, good Father who cares for us, always. Right after Easter this year I felt pretty discouraged, almost to the point of being depressed. I talked to my wife about it, and she prayed for me. I told a friend as we went for a walk. I shared it in a small group when we prayed together on zoom, and they prayed for me and blessed me. It changed something in me. Again I was able to see God’s goodness in the midst of it all, and the melancholy was lifted from me. I felt that God was saying: “It is going to be okay, it’s going to be okay.”

Then there are situations and circumstances that cannot merely be vented, and suddenly everything feels good again. Sometimes life hits us with real challenges: crises, long-term conflicts or illnesses, and maybe even death. What do we see when things like that happen? During the last few years, I’ve had to deal with a chronic fatigue syndrome. I was living in the fast lane, but when I became sick, I was forced to find meaning in other things than responsibilities and positions. It has definitely been a painful process. However, something good has come out of it. I can see that now. It has changed my perspectives, my values ​​and my priorities – but in a good way. It has been hard, for sure, and at times quite brutal, but it has also been good to experience God’s provision and goodness through it all. I see more clearly that God is faithful, and I see that God does not give up on us. I see that God can use us to bless others, regardless of our own strength, position and platform. I see that I can lean on his strength. Because when I am weak, he makes me strong. 

What do you see? In Isaiah 43:19 we read: 

“Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”

In Revelation 21:5, at the end of all things, God says:

“Behold, I make all things new!”

God has made something new (past), and one day all things will be new (future). Jesus came, and he established a new kingdom on earth, which is the kingdom of God. One day he will come again, and everything will be new! This is our eternal hope. In this tension between something new and all things new, in the now and the not yet, this is where we live, where we breathe, where we hope. I pray that this is what you see.

The creation account in the Old Testament can be read literally or not, but the message of an active God who created humanity is communicated clearly. We are his idea, not the result of random chemistry in the universe a few billion years ago. This understanding is the starting point of the rest of this post.

In Genesis chapter 1 we read that humans were created in the image of God. Not that we are as God. We are rather an image of his nature, a shadow of his character, bearers of his DNA. Chapter 2 describes how God gave us a physical body (formed by dust from the ground), and he breathed his breath of life into it. The breath of life, neshâmâh in Hebrew, can be translated soul and spirit. Thus we are both spirit, soul and body. We are placed in this world, which is an important part of God’s creation. The New Testament describes that all things were made by Christ (John 1:3), “for by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, the things visible and things invisible” (Col. 1:16a), both the earth and our body (the visible), and our soul and our spirit (the invisible). We are therefore whole human beings, created in the image of God.

When sin entered the world by one person’s disobedience, Adam, all of creation were condemned to bear the consequences, through pain, striving and death (something we can read about in Gen 3:17-19 and Rom 5:12). Chapters 3-11 in Genesis describe a spiral of broken relationships. All of creation suffered because of humanity’s broken relationship with God and with one another. The grace of God prevented him from destroying us completely, and the temporary solution was banishment from his presence (Gen 3:23).

An important (and perhaps ingenious) question to ask, is this: Did humanity lose the image of God after Adam’s fall? Was it completely lost? Those who believe in predestination will argue that God’s image in people was completely lost after the fall, ergo only those God have chosen can recognize the call to repentance – and consequently receive eternal life. However, God revealed himself and spoke to people also after the fall. He anointed priests, prophets and kings with his Spirit, so that they could represent him and be his messengers to the people. This means that something in a person was still able to connect with God and relate to him. Instead of thinking that the image of God in us was lost when sin came, it is more appropriate to see it as broken.

The eternal solution to our broken relationship with God came with Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God (Col 1:15). God became human so that humanity can once again have close communion with its Creator. It is a miracle, just like creation itself! An example in the Bible which explains what happens in this miracle, is when Jesus talked with Nicodemus the Pharisee about the need to be born again. Jesus said that “the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:6). That is, the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God) breathes new life into our spirit. The prophet Ezekiel foresaw this several hundred years in advance: “I will give you a new heart and let you have a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your body and give you a heart of flesh instead” (Ez 36:26). Paul calls it the new creation, and he states that the purpose of this restoration is that people can be reconciled with God (2 Cor 5:17-18).

Paul also speaks about Christians “being transformed into his [God’s] image” (2 Cor 3:18). The Greek word for image is eikon, meaning icon, and it comes from a root that means similarity or likeness. When we follow Jesus and let His Spirit transform us, the image of Jesus in us becomes more and more visible. Being transformed into His image thus involves a process: The image is restored through the Atonement (faith in Christ), it is transformed through sanctification (by the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit), and it will be made perfect through the glorification (when Christ return).

The theologian Emil Brunner claimed that there is no secular world, only a created world that has been secularized. When we believe that every human being is a bearer of the image of God, whether it is broken or about to be restored, it does not matter whether a person is a believer or not. The image of God is planted in everyone. Each individual can therefore look through eyes that God created, think with creativity that God put in them, and work with skills that God gave them. A person may not recognize or acknowledge it, but the consequence is that each person reflects something of God. The fact that no one looks exactly alike, and that everyone has different talents and personalities, speaks about God’s constant breath of life in every person born into this world. Jesus Christ died and rose again, so that his image could be restored to all people.

The restored image of God in a believer is only the result of grace, and no one can ever do anything to deserve it (Rom 3:23-24). When we recognize that each individual is created in the image of God, it tells us how we should relate to other people in a practical way: with mutual respect we allow each other to be who God created us to be. It precludes any attempt to control and oppress another person, whether in a relationship or through a regime. And since life is a gift from God, our understanding will make us want to protect and preserve the life we have been given.

When our self-understanding is based on the fact that we have a God-given nature that is broken and in need of restoration, it should make us humble. When we look at every individual as created in the image of God, and thus are equally valuable, it should fill us with love. When we look at Christ as the perfect image of God, dwelling in everyone who believes in him, by his Spirit, it should give us hope.

What is leadership in the kingdom of God? This is a question I think about quite often. There are so many ways we can describe leadership, and numerous different sources we can use to define leadership. We can read books, go to seminars, receive mentorship from other leaders, and so on. There’s a lot of good stuff we can do, which are most of the time both necessary and profitable.

One of the main sources we have as believers when it comes to understanding leadership, is to look at the life of Jesus Christ: How did he lead his disciples, and how did he meet people surrounding him? When we study the Gospels, we will discover how Jesus laid down his life to minister to people – and this was his leadership! He is definitely our greatest leadership model, one we should look to for inspiration, and also correction. He shows us how to be a servant leader, one who loves people and at the same time challenges and rebukes religious leaders who mainly try to protect their positions and level of influence. Have you ever thought about that? Jesus served people and he turned tables, and he was never afraid to do both. What a great example.

We can also read the epistles in the New Testament, and there we see how the first Christian communities were organized and structured. There definitely were appointed leaders in the first church, and they had different names attached to them and responsibilities to carry. Paul also talks about the qualities of a leader, how a leader should conduct him or herself. These are good sources to look at for understanding Christian leadership. 

Also, we can learn about leadership by looking at the Old Testament. However, when we try to understand leaders in the Old Testament, we should read through the lenses of the new covenant, as many of the events described are there to teach how not to do it, more than being great examples of biblical leadership to follow. 

Sometimes I think it’s about looking at old concepts with a new outlook, and to be willing to describe what we already know with different words than we have been used to. I am constantly looking for frameworks for understanding leadership, and concepts that cannot be linked merely to what we know about authority, structure or areas of responsibility.

One morning not so long ago I woke up with this thought in my head: “Leadership is access!”

What on earth could that mean? I thought about it for quite a while, and after some time it made some kind of sense to me. Leadership is about access! I will try to explain, now, what I came up with as I have pondered this short statement, and I believe it’s about having and giving access in at least three different directions. First let me read from John 10:9, where it says: 

“I am the gate. He who enters through me will be saved and free to go in and out and find pasture.”

First of all, we have access to the kingdom of God. Period. As believers and leaders we need to know and understand this. We have access to His presence, all of His resources, His gifts of grace, peace, joy and righteousness, His salvation and healing, all because of what Jesus has done!

Secondly, as followers of Christ and leaders in the kingdom, we give God access to our hearts, so that He can transform us,more and more into His image. We do this by being humble, authentic, honest and willing to submit to Him. We pray: your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We confess our sins and try not to hide them. 

Thirdly, we give other people access into our lives. We don’t keep people on a distance so that they don’t see what’s really going on. We live transparent lives and project our faith in a way that makes people around us curious on who God is. Through this they may be able to discover how they can access the kingdom of God for themselves. It’s about pointing to the door.

In Revelation 3:20, we read God’s word to the church in Laodicea: 

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will go in to him and hold-meal, I with him and he with me.”

This access requires us to be available and open, with ourselves, to God and to other people. It’s another way of saying that we know what we have and what we can give. It’s not about us. It’s all about the access we have, as sons and daughters of God the almighty. We lead from a position of belonging and trust, and we understand that giving access does not lead to a weak testimony about God’s kingdom, it rather points to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. It can help people to open up their hearts so that they can receive faith to walk through the door and get to know God.

We are leaders who manage the access God has given us. It requires that we manage and take good care of our hearts, so that God will have access to us, to speak to us, to guide us, to use us for His glory. Through this access we manage a good way of pointing others to the door which is Christ. 

Leadership is a lot of stuff. But if leadership is also access, it means that we are all leaders. And so are you. 

Every now and then something new is being established in us. This could be such a time. It may even be a time to build foundation again. That surely takes time, and we cannot stay passive and just wait for it to happen. It’s very much about turning down the noise around and in us, and letting God go deeper in our lives.

A few years ago I kept myself busy doing a lot of stuff all at once. I had a job with a lot of responsibility, I was in church leadership, and I had a new-born child and a toddler. Something happened all the time, and I was always leaning forward, always focused on the future and asking myself: how can we improve and do things better? In the middle of it all I forgot the most important thing: to seek God and spend quality time with him. My focus was to make things work, and driven by schedule and performance I hoped that God would bless everything I did.

Then I got sick. It started with infections in my body; throat infections, bronchitis and pneumonia. It lasted for weeks. Still I continued to push hard and work as much as I could. I couldn’t stop until my body said no. From then on, I was empty. I could do nothing. For more than five years now I have been fighting Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or ME. 

This new situation triggered a long-lasting test of my identity. Where was my security? In what I do and achieve, or in fact that I am created in the image of God. Where did I find my strength? In my own effort and ambition, or in the power of God and the equipping presence of his Spirit? Did I see myself as less important in the kingdom of God when I couldn’t refer to a position or a platform? I kept coming back to the feeling that I wasn’t that significant anymore.

In the beginning of this challenging and somewhat confusing season, I often prayed: “God, please fix this, make me strong now, so that I can get back to work and do the things I used to do.” During that time I listened to a song, it was a Christian song, and the lyrics said: “Your season will come!” It made me feel that I was supposed to wait for that time to come, and then everything would be alright. One day something inside of me protested, and whispered: “Your season is now!” I sensed that it was God speaking. 

Your time is now! Not yesterday, not tomorrow. Not when your health improves, not when all the things you worry about aren’t there anymore. Not when the economy is better, or the challenges you face in your family, in church or at work have been resolved. 

This experience made me think differently about my situation. I managed to focus more on what I have now, instead of what is going to happen later. In this moment I have my family; a lovely wife and two beautiful children. I have my friends, my dreams, my life, and I have this day. 

“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

I’m learning to lean more on God’s grace than my lack of energy. I am aiming to ask Jesus more often: What do you want me to focus on today? Who do you want me to bless today? What am I going to do today? Jesus has some thoughts about these things, and he has the power I need to do what he wants.

In 2 Cor 12:8-9, Paul says: 

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

I grew up being performance-driven, when it was all about what I did.

Then I became a Christian and purpose-driven, and it became more about why I did it.

Now I’m leaning towards being presence-oriented, when it’s about what Jesus does.

I want to do what Jesus does, empowered and led by the Holy Spirit, here and now, today, not when everything is good some time in the future.

Our time is now.

I have read Psalm 23 hundreds of times. It is definitely one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. I read it to my kids. I read it when I wake up in the middle of the night, and it helps me go back to sleep. I have made a melody to it and sing it. However, until recently I have never noticed how the psalmist shifts the way he addresses the Lord as the hymn unfolds.

In the first three verses David describes God as He — i.e. 3rd person. *He* says something about someone from a distance. We know something about *he*, that he leads us, that he is a source of rest and righteousness. But *he* still refers to someone ’out there’. We may know *he*, and tell others about *he*, but do we have a close relationship with *he*?

In verse 4 David changes how he describes the Lord: 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil, for you are with me.”

*You* refers to a personal relationship. More than knowing something about God, *you* testifies of an encounter with the Lord. In the valley of the shadow of death, David is in God’s presence. During the rest of the hymn, David speaks of the Lord in 2nd person. Let me propose that it was in the most difficult times and in the presence of his enemies that David more than ever saw the Lord as *you*. Could it be like this for us too?

As a young guy in his early 20s, who had only heard about God, I would think of the Lord as *he*. I had never had an encounter with his loving kindness. Then when I went through a personal crisis, God became real to me and I could give my life to Him. I got to know him as *you*.

These last few years I have struggled with chronic fatigue syndrom. It’s been tough, and my life has changed in many ways because of this sickness. Still, I have experienced that this season has given me an opportunity to know even better that Jesus and the Holy Spirit is God with me, and that he is in control. I have learned even more that I can trust him, that he is my strength in weakness, and that when I rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, I am strong.

Perhaps this season is a time when *you* will reveal himself more and more to us. Perhaps this time is a time when we as the church can point people to Jesus and show others how to go from *he* to *you* in their relationship with him.

• What is hope? Hope is a gift. In Jer 29:11 God says that he has plans “to give you a future and a hope.” Hope is strength to cling to the gospel no matter what. Hope is to know and experience God’s love, in this moment, and for eternity.

• “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb 11:1). Hope comes first, and faith brings to reality what we hope for. Thus hope precedes change. Some want to see change in order to get hope, but hope empowers change. Instead of; ‘transformation brings hope’, I’m thinking; ‘hope brings transformation’. Where there is little hope, there is not much going on that brings about change. When hope is stirred, change is just around the corner.

• “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Prov 13:12). John in Rev 2:7 says “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” To be victorious is to stay hopeful. The tree of hope is eternal life (paradise), and a hope not deferred will take us there.

The term individualism has in many ways become an obscurity; a description of the postmodern claim to focus on me first – then the collective. Without further introduction I would like to suggest that it’s possible to understand individualism based on a legitimate (theological) need to reunite with and understand Imago Dei in a person’s life. To do so we must be able to distinguish between individualism such as egoism and individualism as realism.

Realism, in this context, pertains to revelation, or discovery, of redeemed human nature; the new person. Realism then becomes an acknowledgment that I (that is, every single human being) is created in God’s image; unique, different from everyone else, with its own characteristics, personality traits and character.

Egoism, on the other hand, becomes the individualistic need for self in the center, without God, which is an expression of the old, unredeemed nature, where the individual desires to free him/herself from the significance of the collective – and also from the nature of God. Realism, to the contrary, does not elaborate liberation from context (humanity, community), rather it endorses an establishing of the individual’s true self.

When self finds its place in the presence of God, mirroring his face, then individualism does not become a threat to the values ​​and purposes of the community. The security and trust that follow will rather provide strength and diversity to the community – and God‘s greatness becomes more visible to the society.

The formation (and transformation) of narratives starts with theology, no matter what we believe about God and faith.

Theology forms beliefs. Beliefs shape values. Values define culture. Doctrines and beliefs lead to convictions. Convictions and values develop norms. Norms and culture build a narrative.

The norms and values of a culture become the narrative, formed by how we understand God, people and the world. So to understand a narrative, we must understand its underlying theology. This also means that we can transform a damaging narrative by challenging bad theology.

The figure is not exhaustive, of course.

The authority of our soul’s emotions is about to be recognized to the extent that it wipes out the self-understanding quested for.

Attributes of identity outside our feelings are being rejected, because we no longer dare to trust them. It can be compared to me throwing away my Norwegian passport, and claiming I’m Chinese — if that’s what I feel like. The need for freedom to be oneself (a legitimate need) has turned into an ever-growing expectation of placing oneself on a scale from one to infinity; a well-meaning requirement to find oneself in the realm of emotion.

The consequence is a confusing state of mind, where everything — or nothing — is true about who we are. This is what I call the tyranny of emotional rationality.

God never intended it to be this way. You and I were made to understand ourselves from a point of reference that never fails. My feelings fall short of telling me who I am, and my self-understanding is inevitably changing. But he who is; Jesus Christ, is always the same. He accommodates and inhabits everything that I am, and he breathes into my being a trustworthy foundation of identity. This foundation can never be constructed by private emotions. It’s rather a heaven-given foundation on which you and I can build identity that reflects truth about us. It’s a place of belonging and rest, where our feelings about who we are also will find peace.

Remember, it’s not either desert or promised land. We live in the tension between ‘now’ and ‘not yet’. The miracle (manna) is for the not yet, the blessing (milk & honey) is for the now. The miracle is for what’s broken and in need of healing, the blessing is for the kingdom that has come.

Some churches live like we’re only in a desert and in need of constant provision of manna (miracles), others like we live only in the promised land with constant access to blessings (milk & honey). I believe power comes when we realise it’s both at the same time.

We’re waiting in anticipation, and we’re receiving the promise.

Det blir mer og mer vanlig å tenke at identitet kun er en følelsesbasert opplevelse. Det er en tidsånd.

Innenfor psykologien forstås identitet i stor grad som en persons selvoppfatning, og den kan per definisjon kun oppfattes subjektivt. Ingen andre kan identifisere seg med hvem du er, for bare du er du. I sosialantropologien snakker man om individets selvforståelse i relasjon til sosial, kulturell og/eller etnisk identitet. Hvordan du oppfatter deg selv formes i en sammenheng, for ‘no man/woman is an island’. En tredje tilnærming hevder at identitetsbegrepet blir for statisk, og at individet er i stadig utvikling og endring. De fleste vil være enige om at det ikke er et enten eller når det gjelder disse tre perspektivene, men et både og.

Men tidsånden har likevel lenge hatt behov for å riste av seg sammenhengen vi står i, og mer ensidig søke selvforståelse inni seg selv. Tidsånden argumenterer omtrent slik: Våre tanker om oss selv formes blant annet av personlighet og erfaringer, men også sammenhengen vi står i. Tro og tvil reflekterer også tradisjoner og verdier som er nedlastet gjennom generasjoner, og selvsagt også egne erfaringer. Men hva er det ingen andre kan påvirke? Jo, våre følelser. I hvert fall er det slik mange tenker om det. Slutningen som er lett å dra, er at følelsene til slutt blir det ene vi kan være trygg på ikke lurer oss, det eneste som sannelig forteller oss hvem vi er. Når vi samtidig anerkjenner at identitetsforming er en dynamisk prosess, vil vår selvoppfatning snart kun handle om hva vi føler om hvem vi er til enhver tid.

Følelsenes autoritet i vårt sjelsliv er i ferd med å bli anerkjent til den grad at det visker ut selvforståelsen som søkes. Behovet for frihet til å være seg selv (et legitimt behov) har blitt til en velmenende og stadig sterkere forventning om å plassere seg selv på en skala fra null til uendelig, et underliggende krav om å finne seg selv i sine egne følelser. Konsekvensen blir et forvirrende føleri hvor alt er sant. Eller ingenting. Dette er identitetsføleriets tyranni. Når holdepunktene for hvem vi er forkastes fordi vi ikke lenger våger å stole på de, kan det banalt sammenlignes med at jeg kaster det norske passet mitt, for så å hevde at jeg er kineser – hvis det er det jeg føler meg som.

Når ble det sånn, at følelsene ble sentrum for vår identitet? Jo, da vi flyttet sentrum bort fra et fastere holdepunkt: Jesus Kristus. En sterk påstand, vil mange mene. Som troende kan jeg sikkert si det, kan du si. Og du kan la det passere og skrive det på kontoen for naivitet og sneversynthet. Men som troende har jeg erfart konsekvensene av å se meg selv i en større sammenheng, og da mener jeg ikke kun i kirkesammenheng. Nei, større enn det. Jeg ser meg selv som elsket av himmelens og jordens skaper, vår himmelske Far. Jeg ser meg selv som påtenkt fra før tidenes begynnelse. Jeg ser meg selv i Kristus Jesus, han som tok på seg all min skyld og skam på korset, for at jeg skal få kjenne ham. Og jeg ser deg slik også.

Å kjenne Jesus, han som er sentrum for alle ting, han som er veien, sannheten og livet, og å kjenne kraften av hans oppstandelse (se Fil 3,10), det er det som setter oss fri til å være oss selv. Å kjenne Jesus vil si å tro. Å tro vil si å tenke og føle og anerkjenne. Først da ser jeg meg selv slik jeg er.

Ja, ja, så hva betyr alt dette, fra den forholdsvis reflekterte innledningen til all denne evangeliseringen? Vel, det er opp til deg. Men fra mitt ståsted handler det om viktigheten av å forstå seg selv ut fra et holdepunkt som aldri svikter. Mine følelser svikter, min selvoppfatning er i endring. Men han som alltid er den samme og som rommer alt mitt og alt ditt, han gir en trygghet som våre følelser aldri kan gi oss. På det fundamentet kan både du og jeg bygge en identitet som reflekterer sannhet om hvem vi er. Et sted hvor også våre følelser om hvem vi er finner fred.

There is a God-designed road that takes us from:

Old to new creation
Mystery to revelation
Weakness to strength

The road is Jesus. We should not waste our time and energy trying to move from one to the other in our own strength. Instead we must let God fulfill, complete and transform us. The finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross is the only path to transformation from old to new creation, mystery to revelation, weakness to strength. Any human attempt to move from one to the other is strife.

When God calls us to live holy lives, it means we’re supposed to separate ourselves from sinful living so that God can complete the work of grace in us. It does not mean to separate our being, as in thinking that some of his creation is less holy. All of God’s creation was made beautiful in its own time (see Ecc 3:11). And so were you! Let him transform you into being you. Wholly you.

We are purposed for wholeness! Regeneration leads to restoration which leads to wholeness. When we come to be whole (made complete in Christ) we want nothing but to commit to God’s ways. This is our goal, and it will be fulfilled in heaven. On earth we see it partly, in heaven with Jesus perfectly.

I’m not into numerology, trust me. But follow me on this one, if you will:

The word for salvation in Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) is yeshuah. Yeshuah also means deliverance, help, prosperity, saving, security and victory. The word yeshuah occurs 77 times in the OT (according to NASB Strong’s Dictionary).

One example is found in Exodus 14:13-14: And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation [yeshuah] of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

Yeshuah is the Hebrew name for Jesus. When Jesus entered the scene, he came as the yeshuah – the salvation – of God. It was his name! His name declared: “Yep, it’s me, the one you’ve been waiting for. I’m the salvation of the Lord!” His name, as mentioned, occurs 77 times throughout the OT. Jesus was God’s plan for deliverance from the very beginning!

So, Jesus’ name, yeshuah, is not just a name; it’s God’s act of deliverance and salvation for everyone who believes and receives his act (work) of salvation. When we believe in the name of Jesus, we receive his work of deliverance, salvation, help, prosperity, saving, security and victory.

According to Luke’s genealogy of Jesus, God is the 1st and Jesus the 77th generation who walked on earth (see Luke 3:23-38, check for yourself). The number 77 depicts wholeness from sin. Jesus, the salvation of God, came to bring wholeness from sin!

In Romans we read that Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers and sisters: “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8:29, see also Heb 2:10-18).

The church, as the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, is also the 77th generation. Salvation, then, is from the 77th generation (Jesus), and for the 77th generation (Jesus’ brothers and sisters) – the church.

The church, as God’s family, is the body of Christ. The church is one with Christ. Thus eternal salvation from God through Yeshuah springs from the church – to the world.

I am the proud father of two lovely girls, whom I love to the moon and back! I want to protect them with my life and bring them up with wisdom, so hopefully when they get older they will have a solid foundation of faith, hope, love and truth to stand on. Sometimes I feel that I’m doing a pretty good job. Other times I fall short. In my attempt to teach them about what is right and what is wrong, my best shot has been to tell them and hope that they will catch what I’m saying. Frustrations are sometimes high when they don’t get what I am trying to teach them.

I have come to understand that my uttering of truth about a situation sometimes is based on fearful perceptions of what might happen, which in turn may lead to a fulfilment of what I spoke about (a so-called self-fulfilling prophecy). You probably don’t do this, but for instance, if we say to our kids: “If you continue to watch this TV show, you’ll be influenced by its bad moral and start to think that some of the stuff you see is okay.” In saying things like this, I realise that we’re in danger of making statements that usher our kids into the kind of behaviour we want them to avoid.

Let me explain what I mean: “… you’ll be influenced..” is a formative, confirmative statement, which (unintentionally) associates our kids with the things we aim to teach them not to relate to (e.g. responding with sarcasm). So could it be that our urge to point out what our kids should avoid actually affirms that they are somewhat affiliated with it? I’m wondering if asking questions that raise awareness from within our kids is a better way to teach them to dissociate with unhealthy communication and negative behaviour.

Jesus, who knew everybody and everything, asked questions to reveal truth. To his disciples he asked: Who do you say I am? (Mark 8:29), and to the blind man: What do you want me to do for you? (Mark 10:51). Even to James and John when they came to request a seat next to Jesus in heaven, Jesus, instead of rebuking them, asked: What do you want me to do for you? (Mark 10:36). And when Jesus’ authority was questioned, he responded with a question: About the baptism of John—who authorized it: heaven or humans? (Mark 11:30). Through his questions miracles happened, motives were disclosed and truth was revealed.

Asking questions (relatable to our kids’ level of maturity) as a means to reveal the truth about a situation is not based on prejudice or misconception. It is a way of engaging our kids to discover for themselves, and empowering them to see who THEY are in relation to others, without linking them TO the others. So I’m starting to believe that asking the right questions has the potential to form identity in our kids that prevents them from being fearful, and also helps them to understand that what happens in the world or on the TV screen are not who THEY are.

Eventually we may have succedded in teaching them truth without always having to tell them the truth.

I Johannes 7,37-39 leser vi:

“På den siste dagen i høytiden, den store festdagen, sto Jesus fram og ropte: «Den som tørster, skal komme til meg og drikke! Den som tror på meg, fra hans indre skal det, som Skriften sier, renne elver av levende vann.» Dette sa han om Ånden de som trodde på ham, skulle få. Ånden var ennå ikke kommet, for Jesus var ennå ikke blitt herliggjort.”

Johannes slår her fast at det levende vannet er Den Hellige Ånd! Ordet drikke er πίνω (pinō) på gresk, og er skrevet i aktiv imperativ presensform i tredjeperson. Vers 37 kan dermed oversettes å “komme til meg og uavlatelig, kontinuerlig drikke.” Ikke én gang, men stadig.

Settingen Jesus snakket i var avslutningen på jødenes høytid Løvhyttefesten. Under Løvhyttefesten ble det holdt en vannseremoni hver dag, med bønn om at Gud måtte sende regn på senhøsten. Vann ble helt over alteret da Levittene sang. Den siste dagen, som ble kalt “den store festdagen”, var festens høydepunkt, og da ble seremonien gjentatt syv ganger (kilde: NLT Study Bible notes).


Alteret er stedet for overgivelse og tilbedelse, stedet der vi “kommer til Jesus.” Jesus annonserer her at levende vann, som er den Hellige Ånd, helles over alteret til de som kontinuerlig og uavlatelig “kommer til meg” og lovsynger og tilber Gud.

“Den som tørster, skal komme til meg og drikke!” betyr da; kom stadig og uavlatelig til Jesus med overgivelse, lovprisning og tilbedelse, og han vil la den Hellige Ånd fylle deg så du ikke vil tørste etter andre ting (se også Joh 4,14).

Efeserne 5,18-20 (NKJV) sier: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”


Å bli fylt av Ånden og hengivelse i lovsang og tilbedelse henger dermed sammen.