Visiting a new church in Etne

Visiting a new church in Etne
Yesterday I went to a new church in Etne to teach on Christian Foundation - eternal judgment. When I was asked to go to teach on that subject my first thought was that I would have liked a more "positive" subject on my first visit! Judgment seems to be a kind of heavy stuff!
But being a man under authority I went to do what I was asked to do! I left home around 15.00 o'clock and arrived nearly four hours later. Before the meeting I was able to have a good time of fellowship with the leaders and the people arriving early.
Only sixteen people attended the meeting, but still I was encouraged to be with them. They obviously have a burden to reach their community with the gospel and eventually they will succeed. They received my teaching very well and we had a good time of dialogue afterwards.
I am convinced that we will see new churches like this pop up in every village all over Norway!

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Parents' rights and responsibilities

Parents' rights and responsibilities
Today I have been writing an article for our magazine FOLK about the rights and responsibilities of parents. In our socialistic society the state has been taken away resposibility from the parents and replace it with the responsibility of the welfare state. But the Christians have been fighting that development and are doing progress in many area at the moment.
In my article I am looking to natural law, human rights, and Biblical teaching to establish the rights and responsibility of parents towards their children. Raising children and brining people to maturity is the subject of the next issue of our magazine.



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Surprise party

Surprise party
Yesterday when the elders' conference was over we went to a great surprise party! Elisabeth Osland had invited us to join her in celebrating the silver anniversary of being married to Knut Osland for 25 years. The actually date was a few weeks back, but this weekend was more suitable for celebration as so many of their friends from all over the country were gathered at the conference and could take part in the surprise party.
Elisabeth joined forces with the children and they arranged a grandchild blessing party and invited some of us to join us. That was a perfect disguise for all the necessary preparations and to get Knut to dress in a black suit. I asked Knut if they had a tradition of having great parties when a baby had been brought to church for blessing and thanksgiving. They didn't and Knut was as surprised as me that they could make so much out of thing!
After having some light cakes and fruits and a competition which Knut and Elisabeth won, there was a short break before the dinner. Knut was kept busy as more guests were secretly guided to the dining hall which was locked at the normal entry. When all the about 50 prominent guests had arrived, Knut and Elisabeth were asked to come for dinner. As they entered we all shouted: CONGRATULATION with the silver jubilee!
Knut was completely knocked out. Absolutely taken by surprise! He was just shocked. I will never forget the unbelieving expression in his face, the mouth fell open, the eyes were big, and what a miracle, he went dumb - not a word came over his lips. For some seconds he was lost!
Eventually the reality dawned on him, and he came back to life! Then we had a wonderful party with delicious food, nice speeches and good time of fellowship.

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody and My new blog

The new blog is more attractive

The new blog is more attractive
My new blog is easier to operate, nicer to look at, and causes me to update it more often than the old blog here at Blogspot.
We have had a very good but intense day at Gullbotn today in the apostolic team. This evening the national elders' conference starts and it will be a busy time all weekend.

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody and My new blog

A princess is born

A PRINCESS IS BORN
With great joy and pleasure we received the good news today that a princess has been born in Norway. Crown-princess Mette Marit gave birth to a girl 09.13 this morning! Congratulation!

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody and My new blog

Testing new software

Testing new software
I have been testing some new and more sophisticated software for blogging recently and now I have launched a new blog. At the moment the content will be more or less the same. If I choose to stay with this new software I will eventually stop this old blog. At the moment my heart will not allow me to get rid of good old Blogger!

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody and My new blog

15 teenagers come to Christ

15 teenagers come to Christ
At the early prayer meeting this morning we had a wonderful report of young people finding salvation in Jesus Christ in one of the suburbs of Bergen.
Last autumn the Lutheran state-church in Arna, Bergen wanted to offer the Youth Alpha Course as an alternative teaching in the confirmation system. But they had a problem in that they didn't have the necessary number of leaders. Michael from the charismatic Christian Fellowship church heard about this need and volunteered to find some young people from his church that could help the Lutherans with this. After some talk they reached an agreement and went ahead. Michael and 6 of his friends have been assisting in this works since September 2003.
100 teenagers in Arna will be confirmed this spring in the Lutheran church. 30 of these have been attending the alternative Alpha Course for young people as the teaching and preparation for their confirmation. They started in September and will continue to May. Last weekend they had a Holy Spirit weekend and many were touched by the power of God. Today we had the encouraging report that 15 teenagers have come to Christ already! They are testifying at home and at school about their salvation through Jesus Christ.
I am excited to hear good news like this! It is one more sign of the moving of the Spirit in our nation! But is only a small beginning. We will see a powerful move of the Spirit among the young generation that will supersede everything we have seen so far.
I am so happy not to live in a post-Christian era but in a pre-Christian era. The world has yet to see the plentiful harvest being harvested!
God is good!


View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Words of encouragements

Words of encouragements
The other day I received two very encouraging emails from unknown people who had read my blog and my poems. It meant a lot to me to read the words of appreciation from people I have never met. I felt good when I read that they had enjoyed my blog and found my poems on being somebody wonderful!
During the 18 months I have been blogging I have received a few emails from people reading my blogs. However I have had a lot of encouragement from people I know telling me face to face that they enjoy reading my blog. Encouraging words like that is always welcome and sweet to my soul.
But this time it was different. The words of appreciation came from people I had never seen, people I never met, people from the big world out there somewhere in the virtual world and at the same time from the real world. The two emails in one day made up for all the toil and discipline in writing a blog for 18 months! I have the feeling of being connected to a new reality. I feel my life has been enlarged! I feel I have broken out of my Norwegian geographical and cultural limitations! I expect more limitations are to be broken. I will explore new grounds. Prophetic words will come true. I am flying to new horizons of joy!

The wings of encouragement

To be somebody
Is to allow words of encouragement
To become wings of faith
Making you ignore limitations
Causing you to jump over walls
Motivating you to cross borders

To be somebody
Is to believe and receive words
Appreciation from unknown people
Praise from close friends
As seeds of greatness
Producing desires to serve
In greater variety and measures


View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Encountering the Lord

Encountering the Lord
I have just started to read the prophet Ezekiel. As I spend time with the prophets I am sharpened in my spirit and more aware of the voice of God. As I spend time with the prophets and get to know them I am stirred in my heart to take action for God. It is having a similar experience as Ezekiel is describing when he is saying:
"The Spirit came into me as he spoke and set me on my feet." He set me on my feet, ready for a directional word and quick obedience. "The Spirit lifted me up and took me away." "The Lord's hold on me was strong." In that situation the prophet was ready for a new assignment. He was appointed as a watchman for his people.
"Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself." Before we are entitled to speak to others we must apply the word in our own life. The word must become incarnated in me first, then I can go to my people with a message from God.
Spending time with the prophets causes me to encounter the Lord! May all those who spend time with me be encountering the Living Lord of everyday life!

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Increasing activities in church planting

Increasing activities in church planting
The DAWN conference showed us very clearly that there is an increased activity on many levels when it comes to church planting in Norway as well as in the rest of the Scandinavia. We had some very encouraging reports from people planting churches and reaching new people with the gospel. But on the other hand we have much more work to do. We will have to increase our efforts to turn our nation to God. The born again believers are still a kind of marginalised group of people in Norway as the media, the culture and the public sectors of society is dominated by secular humanism.
Even though we have some large groups of young believers in several of our city churches, we really do not reach or even touch the new emerging generation. That is the challenge we are facing, and we need to do something radical to change that situation!
View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Dawn Conference is over

Dawn Conference is over

This morning there was a summing up finishing event of the Dawn Conference. Several leaders were giving their version of the way forward and what the people of God has to do to accomplish the commission of discipling our nation and other nations.
The DAWN committee has really been used by God in our nation to focus on church planting. They have many reasons to be thankful as their work has been fruitful in many ways. Church planting is now on the agenda in a significant different way than just a few years back. In addition to the focus on church planting the DAWN committee has been instrumental in bringing reconciliation and unity among leaders from different denominational backgrounds.
The European DAWN committee has been gathered here as well these days. I find their comments on their weblogs interesting and stimulating.
Andrew Jones told us he was a descendant of our ancient king Halrald Hårfagre, and that is no surprise as he had a child in almost every second home at that time! Besides that his observations are very interesting.
Marc Van Der Woude gives a very useful summary of some of the messages that were delivered as well as some funny and provoking comments.
Reinhold Scharnowski is sharing his observation in a mature fashion and with useful insight.
I find it very useful to read their blogs from their stay in Bergen. They look at the situation in Norway from the outside and bring valuable contribution to help us understand what is going on right now.

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Dawn conference

The Fourth Norwegian DAWN Conference
Today is the second day of the DAWN conference which I enjoy very much. We have had a lot of encouraging information and stirring speeches. This morning I was listening to Andrew Jones and was blessed and inspired by what he shared while some of my more orthodox friends were shaking their heads not understanding what he was talking about at all!
Andrew encouraged us to think, discuss or even write poems as we were listening to him. I wrote a poem on being somebody. Click at the link beneath and you tell me later if you did enjoy it!

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Consultations on church planting

Consultations on church planting
The Scandinavian consultations on church planting went were well at the weekend at Gullbotn. We were given some very interesting figures from the Nordic countries. Some of this information was sobering and challenging as the influence of Christianity has been declining. But the tide has turned for Norway and is about to turn for the others as well. We hear of encouraging church planting initiatives in all the Scandinavian countries at this present time!
The time at Gulbotn was mark by reconciliation among leaders asking forgiveness for criticism and reservations against each other. There has been a wonderful time of praying for one another and the countries we represented.
We are all very thankful to the Norwegian DAWN committee for their endurance and valuable contributions to the change of climate that has taken place in our nation.

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Consultations on city reaching

Consultations on city reaching
Scandinavian consultation on church planting and City reaching conference (smaller format) starts today at Gullbotn. I am looking forward to meet many godly servants of God and to learn from them as we look at church planting and city reaching.

View Solveig's blog and To be somebody

Apostolic mission

Apostolic mission
The two days the apostolic team were gathered were wonderful days in the presence of God as we were being refreshed in our vision and revelation from the Word of God. Vision always leads to mission. Therefore we spent a good time looking at the apostolic mission.
The apostolic mission is to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God to cause people to repent from sin and bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The apostolic mission is to make all people groups disciples in such a way that entire nations, cultures and communities are transformed into the likeness of Christ.
The apostolic mission is to plant churches built on the foundation of apostles and prophets. The church exists for God and must be built his way for his glory.
The apostolic mission is to supervise the covenanting communities of believers and help them to grow to maturity and reach the fullness of Christ.
The apostolic mission is to bring forth a prophetic people who through their life, service and proclamation can be light and salt, - a prophetic sign, a demonstration of the age to come.
The apostolic mission is to care for the poor and underprivileged by helping them to get out of difficult and inhuman conditions. We have a social responsibility towards our neighbour.
The apostolic mission is to bring unity among all believers and foster a sense of belonging to the people of God, the holy nation, a manifold and colourful community.

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Apostolic team gathering

Apostolic team gathering
Today the apostolic team has been together at Gullbotn all day. We started by seeking God in prayer and worship, and we continued to listen to God as we shared his dealings in our personal lives with one another as well as reporting from our last ministry trips. I believe this open hearted sharing with one another is very important for the bonding we are experiencing. We are real and transparent with one another as true brothers and friends.
One of the main objectives for our gathering this time has been to put into fresh words our vision and mission. It has been a wonderful experience to focus again on what the Lord has revealed to us, what he has shown us. We are all convinced that we will see the entire world filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the water covers the earth. I am so excited to be alive today and to work together with such wonderful men of faith. God is good!

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The fruitfulness of a righteous life

The fruitfulness of a righteous life
Jesus Christ is the Righteous Branch. He is the Life-Giver. He is branching forth for when ever he is allowed to dwell in a community of believers as the Righteous Lord. Everyone who is born again and clothed in the righteousness of Christ has a powerful life within himself.
Christ initiated a grassroots movement that changed the entire known world in one generation. The same thing is happening today. A grassroots movement has been initiated by the Holy Spirit all around the world. Reports are coming in from China, India, Korea, the Philippines, South America, Africa
indicating that something great is about to break forth that will change the surface of the earth.
The righteous life is fruitful. It is bursting forth of fresh initiatives that the Lord will bring to full bloom. A great variety of expressions of Kingdom life is seen in the world today. I see a new generation being born. I see young men and women coming forth as ministers of the Lord. I see people being born again by the Holy Spirit. I see new communities of covenanting believers being born by the Spirit. I see people from every walk of life seeking the Lord. I see signs of new spiritual life everywhere I look!
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The grace of God is sufficient

The grace of God is sufficient
Per Arne Gjerde was ministring the word of God this morning. He was teaching on the grace of God. I was really blessed by his scriptural based ministry coupled with a fresh anointing by the Spirit.
The grace of God is sufficient! If we only could learn to live in the free grace of God, we would live a fuller life. In the year to come we are going to explore more of his grace. The world has yet to see the manifestation of the people of grace come to fullness.

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Giving marks

Giving marks
Today I have spent much of my time giving marks to the examination papers of the students at Bergen Bibelskole. Most of them were in fact very good. I was impressed with some of them. I would never have been able to write so much in such a beautiful hand writing as some of them did.
After finishing the examination papers I had to read through and give marks to their Bible studies on a chosen subject. I am impressed by the variety of interests and all the creative viewpoints from which they approach the Bible! Some were so good that I had to give top score! Others were just poor justifications of their personal opinions. It is the same every year. Some students always forget that they are to present the teaching of the Bible on a subject, not try to find support for their own understanding.
I don't like giving marks. It is like bringing judgment to myself. I would like to be kind and give good marks to everyone. But I have to try to be fair, and that is not always easy. I am happy every time I can give a good mark. Today I have been happy many times!
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New year - new expressions

New year - new expressions
We are living in a day of new expressions of life. We are living in a day of refreshing and new anointing. We are living in a day of outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all people. The new year makes no difference in this matter. What the Lord has already started, he will continue to do. He will accomplish the good work he has begun!
We are living under the influence of the Branch! In fact, we have his life in us, and he will be branching out through us in a rich variety of ways. We will see the Word of the Lord come true:
The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, filled with young plants springing up everywhere. (Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997 (Is 61:10). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House).
It is God's purpose to show his wisdom in all its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities. Therefore he gives gifts to each one of us from his great variety of spiritual gifts. We need to mange them well so that God's generosity can flow through us. Each new day is a day of new expressions of grace. Each day is a day of new life. Each day is different the other day. It is already spring. The covenant community is like a garden, filled with a great variety of young plants springing up everywhere.

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