“…that utterance may be given to me…”  (Eph. 6:19)

I sat down on a rock to rest my aching legs – you know, just a few minutes´ rest do wonders.  A gentleman came along with his sweet little dog.  That naturally, as a rule, leads to some exchange of words.  He had already met me, he said, and had already got my little gospel card and my “silver coin” with the mark of Joh. 3:16.

“Are you a member of our Lutheran State Church?” I kindly asked.  He sure was.

“But you don´t believe in anything?”  He sure didn´t.

“What are you?” he asked.  “A Jehovah´s witness?  A Mormon?” -  I assured him that my “religion” can be boiled down to just one word: Jesus!

“Oh,  we all believe that”, he said. – “But you just said you don´t believe in anything?” -  “Well, deep down we all believe….”

“But here´s the point, Jesus will do you no good, till you humble yourself before God as a sinner.  You must come to the place where you like the tax-collector say before God, “Be merciful to me, a sinner!”  I tried by God´s grace to bring that point home to him right there in the open.

I got up and we walked a little along together, then we parted.  “You will never forget this talk”, I said to him.  “Probably not”, he admitted.  I continued my morning route alone, groaning before the Lord and ending in the apostle´s prayer “that utterance  may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak…”  (Eph. 6:19-20).  These were exactly the words I prayerfully dwelt on when I again sat down for further relief.

For what is the answer to the present spiritual, moral, political predicament we are in? In Denmark, in the U.S., everywhere?  The gospel of Jesus Christ!  The gospel is at stake!  In a way I´m in chains too, the chains of circumstances with all odds against me.  And yet free in Christ as His  privileged ambassador with “utterance” given to me by His precious Holy Spirit.

August 28, 2012 – jn