To be somebody is to pray
Together with your friends
Sitting in a circle
Facing one another
Opening up our hearts
Being transparent
As you pour out your soul
Laying bare your innermost being
Trusting God and your friends
To keep your personal needs
As a sacred treasure in their hearts
Before the need is being met
To be somebody
is not a matter of right or wrong
it is not a matter of having the political correct opinions
or the classical orthodox doctrine
To be somebody
is a matter of being kind
- of caring for others
- of loving in words and deeds
To be somebody
is all about forgiving
- those who persecute you
and being generous
- towards those who are different
To be somebody
is not a matter of theology
it is all about living a good life
- trusting the Son of man
who set aside the privileges of deity
and became one of us to bring us to God
ministering life to us by dying our death
When you do a favour
to those who don't deserve it
then you are really somebody
To be somebody
is to live a life of consistent commitment
to let friendship and love grow
to become beautiful flowers
in the sacred garden of covenant
It is to allow the early buds
of encouragement and excitement
turn into full bloom
- as a foretaste of heaven
When your friendship is too costly
to be expressed in words
then the future is yours
to explore the beauty of covenant living
To be somebody
is to be adventurous enough
to dare to explore the depths of covenant love
To be somebody
Is to know that a mother is concerned for you
And thinking of you with a tender heart
It gives a great sense of worth
Knowing that someone is worried
With motherly love and care for you
As you are travelling places
And fulfilling your holy vocation
In serving the people of God
To really be somebody
Is to appreciate this loving concern
And give thanks to your mother
While she is still alive
When she is gone, and you realise
how valuable her worries were,
it is too late to acknowledge their worth.
To be somebody is knowing that someone cares
A father, a brother or a sister,
A friend, a fellow believer, a servant of God,
A neighbour, a postman, a nurse, a doctor,
A preacher, a football player, an athlete,
but no one cares like God,
he cares for all of us with his everlasting love!
To be somebody
is to treasure a gift from a friend
as a proof of covenant love
and to make it last forever
in the joyful and reverent way
it is being used.
To be somebody
is to treasure a friend more
than any gifts you are given.
It is to appreciate that a friend
is more valuable than anything else.
To be somebody
is to treasure friendship
like a paradise garden,
a colony of heaven.
When you are somebody
you live a life of transformation,
being transformed from glory to glory,
turning ordinary people into great people.
To be somebody
is to be a faithful friend
who sees the greatness in the other
and treasure that greatness in your heart.
Text: Erling Thu, (c 2020)
I am so thankful to God for the ability to enjoy life. The doctors predicted that I would never grow up. They had no cure nor any future for me. But God had a purpose for my life and a wonderful destiny. I am so thankful to be alive. But I am not only alive, I have been given the ability to enjoy life. My heart is full for joy and my lips are filled with words of thanksgiving.
Continue reading "Enjoying life" »
We covenant to live every part of our lives in obedience to God.
We covenant to serve God and his purpose in whatever way he calls us.
We covenant to encourage, help, challenge, correct and serve each other so that we each can live for and serve God better.
We covenant to follow the vision and teaching of the apostolic leadership of the work.
We covenant to honesty, integrity, loyalty and love in our relationships with each other.
We covenant to deal with disagreements and conflicts that arise between us in a godly and honest way.
We covenant to support the work of God in the giving of our time, our effort, our gifts and our finance.
We covenant to being open to be discipled by others and willing to disciple others.
We covenant to see the common vision fulfilled whatever the cost and however long it takes.
We see a covenant church
that is a strong and healthy Kingdom community
of those who are being changed
as they follow Jesus in every area of their lives,
and who covenant together
and work with a common sense of vision and purpose.
We see a covenant church
where God is worshipped passionately and freely,
and where the presence and power of God are experienced
in big as well as in small gatherings.
We see a covenant church that is a community
governed in its beliefs and practices
by the Word and the Spirit of God,
and not by human customs, traditions or personalities.
We see a covenant community
where its members are fully committed to one another
and to God's purpose for his world.
We see a covenant community
that is full of life and faith,
where the people are free, happy, vibrant
and enjoying the goodness of God in their everyday life
We see a covenant community
in which there are real and close friendships,
warm relationships, and openness
to all people from whatever background.
We see a covenant church
that is not built around meetings or a building,
but is centred on Christ
and on relationships of the Spirit,
and a shared community life
as we meet from home to home and in big gatherings.
We see a covenant church that is influencing
and impacting its surrounding community and
that doesn't retreat into a safe Christian ghetto.
We see a covenant community that is committed
to what God is doing right across the nations of the world
and is in real relationship with apostolic and other ministries to advance
God's kingdom throughout the world.
We see a covenant community
that has a credible voice to speak
into all the issues which face our society,
and that is actively demonstrating
a positive and godly example to that society.
We see a covenant community
that is growing and reproducing itself
across the whole region, nation and the world.
We see a covenant community
where everyone is learning
to play their part and to do so
gladly with faith,
commitment and integrity.
God has blessed us and enabled us to travel and visit many covenant communities. It is always a great joy to meet with the people of God. This week we have been to Skudesnes, Egersund, Etne and Stavanger. Each place we have had sweet fellowship with wonderful people. At every gathering we have encountered God among his people. Whenever we meet with our covenant friends we are being encouraged and strengthened. The communion of the saints is priceless. We develop holy friendship and lasting relationship through the Holy Spirit.
We thank for this privilege of having a travelling ministry. And we thank for for the joy and blessings of belonging to a local church. We thank God for our house church. We thank God for being able to share meals with one another. We praise God for blessings of laying on of hands. We are praying for one another. We are blessing one another. We are joined together by the Spirit.
God lives among his people. And he invites us to live in his house, in his presence. He invites us to be face to face with him. There is nothing better in the entire world than to be with God - face to face. The most precious thing is to be with Jesus. His presence is life.
To be somebody is being remembered
On a very ordinary birthday,
By wife, children and grandchildren,
By family and friends,
By people near and far away,
Through e-cards, phone calls and text messages.
Being remembered on a birthday,
Is a token of love and appreciation,
Making you feel you are somebody.
But really, it is the person who remembers another person
And care enough to express his or her love
Who is somebody!
To be somebody is to forget about oneself
To remember our neighbour
And think about our other people’s need
To be somebody is to pray for your friends
when pain in your body keeps you awake
and don’t allow you to sleep
but your care, concern and love are overcoming the pain
and causing you to pray with such fervour and zeal
that you transcend the aching body.
When you are able to forget your own pain
because you care for your friends
and must lift them up to the Throne of Grace
you show yourselves to be A Great Somebody
able to deny your own needs to meet those of others!
To be somebody is answering questions
Taking time to think
Stopping up to let the imagination run wild
As you meditate on silly questions
Or the deep questions of existentially concern
When you answer questions
- No matter how deep or shallow they are
- No matter if they are questions of real life situations or hypothetical sophistry
- No matter which area they touch on
Then you show that you take people serious
And you care for what they are concerned about
Only because of love for that particular individual
When you answer questions
Only because of love for people
Then you really are somebody
In a world of efficiency and self interest
To be somebody is looking for grace
And not be blinded by needs or shortcomings
It is to see God at work in people
Rejoicing in the small beginnings
Marvelling at the faith of the trembling steps into new grounds
Appreciating the budding potential
- in people longing, dreaming and believing
When you can flow with the grace of God
In whatever measure you find it in people
You will be able to help them grow
Bringing out the best in them
Stirring them to aspire for more
Provoking them to love and good works
You are somebody when you see people
Through the eyes of grace
Then you enable them to see themselves
Through the eyes of hope and faith
Ignoring the failures and dreaming of new adventures
As they rejoice in the incredible wealth of grace and kindness
Shown to them by God and their fellow man
To be somebody is the same as being great
Great people can be seen
- By their unselfish actions and their sacrificial service
Great people can be heard
- By their encouraging words and faithful confessions
Great people can be touched
- Through their practical involvement in our lives
Great people can be felt
- By the atmosphere of love, joy and hope that surrounds them
Great people have an effect on us
- They bring out the best in us
And creates in us a desire to change for the better
As great people has the capacity for enlargement
And the longing for change
That motivates them to never settle
But reach their full potential in God
To be somebody is having young people
Eating dinner with you in your home
And enjoying their company
Sharing our life with one another
As we talk of many different aspects
Of our life with God and our families
To be somebody is enjoying
Interaction with grown up people
Belonging to a different generation
That could have been our own children
But not noticing age at all
Because we all enjoy being God’s children
Having fun together
Appreciating one another’s company