Erling Thu

Month: December 2012

  • Christmas – celebrating God with us

    We are enjoying a wonderful Christmas celebration with all our family (21) at Gullbotn. The house is filled with joy and harmony. The grandchildren are happily playing together. It is a great joy to observe them having a good time together. The adults are also enjoying themselves and having a lot of fun. According to our Norwegian custom we put all the presents under and around the tree and on Christmas Eve the grandchildren were reading the to and from greeting, and distributing the presents. Then we all watch the present being opened, thanks and hugs are exchanged, and we all rejoice with one another. This Christmas Eve we started early as we were 21 people together and it took six hours to distribute all the gifts!

    The big family celebration with gifts and traditional food is a great event that especially all the children look forward to. But Christmas is much more than a few days of joyful celebration. Actually we should celebrate the reality of Christmas every day all through the year. The central message of Christmas is Immanuel – God with us. The incarnation is a historic fact. God became flesh and blood. He became one of us. He became a human being. That is a miracle of Love which we don't fully comprehend. But certainly it needs to be celebrated.

    Every day we wake up we need to remind our selves of the fact of Immanuel. God with us. God for us. God among us. Christ in us the hope of glory. We are not alone in this world. We are not left to ourselves. We are not abandoned. We don't have to struggle with the challenges of life on our own.

    God is with us. Even in our darkest hour when we seem to be totally on our own, he is there. When everything seem to be hopeless, when we are face to face with the impossible, he is there. When we rejoice in our achievements, when we seem to succeed, he is there. He is always near. He is always with us. His name is Immanuel!

    Many times I have felt alone. Often I have felt like being totally on my own, and it is a very scary feeling. But actually I was never alone. He was always there. He was always with me. Even when I could not see him or his finger in the things happeneing to me, he was still there. I found refuge in him in the storms of life. I found comfort in him in times of loss. I found strenght in him when I had no strength of my own.

    Over the years in my walk with God I have come to a confident rest in Immanuel – God with us. It is not only God with me, it is always God with us. It helps me to see Him among my brothers and sisters in the covenant community.

  • What a joy to celebrate 70 years

    What a joy to celebrate 70 years together with family and friends at Gullbotn yesterday. Solveig has been working hard the last months in preparing a big party. I am overwhelmed by her love and creativity.
    The celebration was unforgettable. The food was delicious, the cakes outstanding in taste and in outlook. The grandchildren performed in an excellent way. Sons and daughters gave nice speeches and wonderful poems written for me. My friends brought many encouraging words that touched my heart. I thank God for my wonderful family and faithful friends. I am so rich. I am richly blessed by God.
    I have been rereading all the birthday greetings I received on cards and on Facebook. I have been moved to tears and my heart has been overflowing with joy. I am so thankful to God for his marvelous grace and favour towards me. God is so God.
    My friends in Kristent Fellesskap Nordhordland gave me a MacBook Pro. My friends in DNA Oslo gave me an iPad. Now I have to learn to use those useful tools to advance the Kingdom of God. I am excited that I have to explore new things and new ways of doing it.

    At the end of November I completed 50 years in the ministry. 26 of November 1962 I had completed 5 weeks of Bible School training and started to travel to preach the gospel. I was traveling together with Samuel Gjersdal who was an experienced preacher. We spent several months on the Fosen peninsula in Trøndelag. For many years I was an independent traveling pentecostal evangelist bring the Good News to many people.

    Since the beginning of the Eighties I have been in Kristent Fellesskap's churches mainly. From the beginning of the Nineties I and my wife have gone regularly to India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and other countries. God has been so good to us during these years. We have seen his grace in our lives in many different ways. We can testify that the Lord is faithful. We have seen many miracles.

    When I was a litle boy and was in and out of hospitals all the time the doctors told my parents that I would never grow up. They never expected me to become more than twenty years. By the grace of God I have turned 70! The doctors were wrong. God had better plans for me. He has already given me 50 miracle years in the ministry. Now I am praying for 50 more years in active ministry for the Lord.