“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”  Psa. 133:1

Praise the Lord for 11 good days in the Bergen area (on the west coast of Norway) with preaching ministry, private fellowship, quiet walks in the mountain country and especially a wonderful weekend conference in the mountains abt. 1 hour´s drive from that old cultural centre.

The greatest blessing to me was not to preach, but to be in the stillness of Norwegian beauty and also to just sit down and listen to the ministry of my dear brethren.  God gave much grace to Oli Jacobsen, an outstanding leader of New Tribes Mission who at that conference spoke on spiritual warfare from Eph. 6:10-20.  It was Christ-centered, practical, down-to-earth, refreshing and challenging, sometimes garnished with healthy humor.

NTM, Norway, arranges such conferences every year, - in one of the summer months it lasts for 5 days, and the surroundings are always recreational and beautiful.  The emphasis is on expository teaching with missions as the overall objective.  I feel very much attached to these friends.

In my younger days we had such conferences in Denmark – maybe the idea should be revived?

The informal one-on-one talks were often helpful, especially when they led to spiritual clarity and in one instance to the joy of assurance of salvation.

I felt it as if the conference continued that way 3,500 feet up in the air on my way back to Copenhagen today.  The flight seemed to last just a few minutes as an American co-passenger from San Francisco showed great openness to my simple gospel testimony.  He had so many relevant questions, being hungry and thirsty for the word of life and its reality.  “We are almost neighbors!” I said to him and told him where we use to live (Clovis) when visiting Ca.  He had his catholic Bible with him which we used for basic Bible study.  I believe the Lord was there with His blessed presence. Indeed, ”the wind blows where it wishes”.

But what’ s coming next?  Was the question by several after the conference was over.  The Lord knows, but certainly many things will change in the lives of many. The powerful word of God ”shall not return void.

-jn-