Erling Thu

Category: Journal

  • Sent home to die

    We have just been with the Covenant Friends Fellowship of Nepal. It is always good to be with this group of faithful followers of Christ. This time we heard a wonderful testimony of one of our friends.

    He was sent home from the hospital to die. He was suffering from tuberculosis and had come to this late stage when the doctors could not do anything more for him. He was caughing and spitting blood all day. He was the youngest child in the family. Now he was in the twenties and dying. But his parents interceeded for him and had their friends to come and lay hand on him.

    God intervened and healed him. He was a prodigal son, but came to the Lord because of the miracle that happened to him. And now he is a servant of God. The doctors had given up on him. Humanly speaking there was no hope. But the parents didn't give up on him. Most important God didn't give up on him. In the darkest hour God performed a miracle.

    Our covenant friend is alive and serving God with a bright future and hope!

  • Everyone – all – anyone

    As I was reading in the Book of Acts this morning about the early church I was struck by the inclusive language that was being used. When the Holy Spirit is describing the life of the early church, the new covenant community, he is using words like everyone, all the believers, together, every day, anyone. The kingdom community that was birthed on the day of Pentecost was marked by togetherness and the sharing of a common life and belief. They were all carrying the same passion and love for the resurrected Lord and for one another. Their encounter with the risen Lord by the revelation of the Holy Spirit united them, knitted them together, and formed them into a dynamic community sharing everything.

    These individuals from every nation under heaven didn’t have much in common before the day of Pentecost, but after encountering the Lord they had everything in common. What a change that took place. They used to be a bewildered crowd and some even used to be mocking and making fun of others, but the message about the risen Lord Jesus Christ cut to the heart and caused them to repent, believe, being baptised and being added to the ecclesia of the Lord. They used to speak so many different languages not understanding each other, but now they could understand and even speak the language of the Spirit.

    After being added to the ecclesia of the Lord they devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles. They committed themselves to one another in a close day to day fellowship sharing everything together. They continued to break the bread of the new covenant meal, eating together from house to house with glad and sincere hearts. Constantly they were praying together, at regular times in the temple and at anytime anywhere they met with one another. They were all initiating this exciting and dynamic community life on a multitude of levels, sharing with anyone in need.

    This was a everyday life of a group of people who had been born by the Spirit, filled by the Spirit and formed by the Spirit to be one body, Really they had become the body of Christ expressing his life every day everywhere all the time. Everyone took active part in initiating this flow of life. All the believers were together, everyone was sharing, anyone had his needs met.

    It is still happening. Ecclesia is taking place all over the world in small gatherings in homes and in larger celebrations, day to day as believers are sharing their life in Christ with one another and with those who still not know the Lord Jesus Christ. Today ecclesia took place for us in a small hotel room in Colombo in Sri Lanka.

  • A good and pleasant day

    We have spent a full day at the hotel room in Colombo. We have not been able to take a swim in the beautiful swimming pool we are looking at from the room. We have not been on the wonderful beach next to our hotel either. We have not even been having the rays of the sun touching our skin the entire day, because we have been inside all day. Still it has been a good and pleasant day!

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  • Life moves on

    I have not been very active on my blog recently. My blogging life has come to a kind of halt. But I don't intend to keep it like that for ever.

    This year has been a special year in many ways, but life moves on. I plan to slowly increase my activity on the blog and even my Norewgian pages. We all go through different stages in life and this year has been a year of much practical work as we have been extending the house in the forest. This work is now coming to a completion. In a two weeks time we leave for Sri Lanka, Nepal and India. I hope to be able to share from the trip on the blog.

    Life moves on!

  • Sandarao

    Sandarao
    He has been part of the Blessing Colony from the very beginning. He was overflowing of thankfulness to the Lord for his goodness towards him and his family.

    “I used When we met with the Yanadi community, Sandarao at the age of 75 came forward to tell his story. to live under a tree. I had no proper shelter, no proper clothes. I was catching crabs to make a living. That was the only thing i could do. But unfortunately I used the little money I was earning on alcohol. When I heard of the Blessing Colony project I was happy to be able to join with my relatives. During the time I have been here I have learned so many things. I am so thankful to God for this help.

    Before we came here, we used to be dependent on others for everything. Now others are dependent on us and the work we do. I have increased my knowledge. I have acquired new skills. I have stopped drinking alcohol. I have stopped with all the bad things I used to do. I have been given a new life by God.

    People used to look down on us. Now we meet respect. People used to insult us by saying all kinds of bad things to us. Now we receive honour. Now people call me by my proper name. I am living in peace and joy because of Jesus Christ and the help he has given us through you!

  • 40 years anniversary

    Solveig and I are on the way to India. We are sitting in the airport at Copenhagen waiting for our next flight. I fell in love with India during my first visit to this marvellous country in 1971. Solveig and I have been going together regularly to India since 1991. During this trip we will celebrate my 40 years anniversary and our common 20 years anniversary. During these years we have made many friends.

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  • Connected but disconnected

    We have been traveling in Asia the last few weeks. At the moment we are in Sri Lanka enjoying a very good Internet connection. During the four weeks we have been away from home we have been able to log on to Internet most of the time, except for the four last days in India. However, our experience with the Internet connections have been kind of frustrating.

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  • Spiritual house cleaning – new version

    During our recent
    visit to the covenant communities in Tromsø, Trondheim and Oslo we were told a
    very encouraging story. In the springtime a New Age fair or exhibition kind of
    arrangement for occult and alternative medicine and world-views and practices
    was held in the city. Some people from the covenant community decided to attend
    the fair to offer healing through the laying on of hands in the name of Jesus
    to the visitor.

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  • The power of prophetic encouragements

    Daljinder, our beloved son in law, gave a most wonderful testimony at the Sunday service at the King's Church. The speaker had been speaking on Love in Action and at the end she brought out many practical suggestions and a the address to a website Acts of Kindness, and as a response to that several people came to give suggestions and testimonies. I was very much touched by the testimony of our son in law for it showed the enduring power of prophetic encouragements.

    Daljinder, who is a teacher, told us how God spoke to him to prophecy to his students and not only give them his autograph at the end of the course. He obeyed the Lord and wrote some encouraging words from the Lord to his students. He is doing it in a wise and discreet way and it has caused many students to ask questions and led to many deep conversations. He has been faithfully practising this for many years.

    Not long ago a pastor phoned him to tell him about a new convert in his church. When he asked the new convert what had caused him to begin to seek God, he answered that ten years ago his teacher had written some encouraging words to him that triggered his search for God. After ten years he finally came to the Lord Jesus Christ and became a Christian.

    After ten years he still remembered the encouraging prophetic words that our son in law had written to him. I think it is wonderful to know that the prophetic seed is powerful and can yield fruit several years after it has been sown. God is so good to us. His word will never return empty but happily perform what it is sent to do!

  • Many people are being healed at the Bible Week

    We are enjoying our stay at the Refresh Bible Week at the Staffordshire Show ground. About 2000 people are gathered together to seek God, worship and listen to the Word of God. During the evening meetings we have seen a lot of people being healed. People have been called for prayer and all the elders and their wives have been laying hands on the sick. The power of God has been present.

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