Erling Thu

Overwhelmed by love and prayers

Since I shared the bad news I had concerning my only working eye, I have been overwhelmed by the love and care of my friends from all over the world. So many people are telling me that that pray for my eyesight to be preserved and not damaged by the AMD which is now also attacking my left eye. I feel very safe in the hands of God and trust him to have mercy on me and heal me from all eye diseases.

The elders in the church has anointed me with oil and prayed for full healing and restoration of my eyesight. The entire church family gathered around me in prayer and encouraging words. I appreciate the prayers of friends very much. It warms my heart when people tell me that they are praying for me. The tremendous power of God is released through the passionate, heartfelt prayer of a godly believer. 

I trust God to enable me to serve him in many more years and joyfully I continue to commit myself into the strong and safe hands of God. 

Praying with friends

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

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 living in the sacred garden of covenant

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

Sitting next to your wife

To be somebody
Is to sit next to your wife
As she is writing a poem
It is to smell the fragrance of joy
And see the aura of love
As she is expressing deep feelings
And thoughtful emotions
Through well-formed sentences
And personally carved words

To be somebody is knowing that someone cares

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,

• someone cares because of love,

but no one cares like God,

he cares for all of us with his everlasting love!

To treasure a friend

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)

Answering emails or messages

To be somebody
Is to answer emails or text messages
Showing that you care
And take people seriously
It is to come up with simple solutions to complicated questions
Or to admit that you don't have all the answers

To be somebody
Is to sit in front of a screen
Typing letters, words, reason and insight
As if you were sitting in front of a person
Communicating eternal truths
Sharing real life experiences
Opening up your heart
For the world to see
The beauty and simplicity
Of faith, hope and love
Poured into a human heart by the Holy Spirit

Text: Erling Thu (c)

The Lord gives us new apostles

In the last weekend I had the privilege and great joy to be able to minister prophetically, together with several others, to David Lyon – a newly recognised apostle of Jesus Christ, at the Living Rock Church at Stoney Stanton, UK. The pleasure of God was evident. The church was filled with love and joy. Heaven sanctioned this historic event. I am so thankful to God who enabled me to be present and take part in recognising and receiving this ministry gift of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Being married

To be somebody is to be married
Because marriage is a risky enterprise
To marry is to dare to commit yourself
- to another person for life just because of love
To marry is to renounce a life of sovereign decision making
And to embrace the views and opinions of another person
Before any decisions are made – together!
To marry is to dare to open up your life
And fully share it with the one you love!

To be somebody is to stay married
In spite of differences and conflicting interests
In the faithfulness and loyalty of love
You will find strength and wisdom
To overcome the biggest obstacles
And fight through the battles to win the war of Love
By laying down your life
To make your marriage partner happy

To be somebody is being married
And enjoy every minute
As you find your way – together

Ready to covenant?

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.

Do you see?

 

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.

Covenant duties

The issue of covenant was forced on me a short time ago. There are so many misunderstandings about being a covenant person. Even many Christians have very little understanding of what covenant is all about. They question the idea of covenant duties or covenant obligations. Therefore I have chosen to share something I wrote some years back on being a covenant keeper, on being a person who understands the implication of covenant living. Covenant is love put into practice!

They began to understand the effect Jesus had

Acts 4:13 says: The council members were astonished as they witnessed the bold courage of Peter and John when they discovered that they were just ordinary men who had never had religious training. They began to understand the effect Jesus had on them simply by spending time with him (Passion Translation).

This last sentence struck me when I read it this morning. The council members were struck with astonishment when they saw and heard Peter and John. The apostles had been arrested and was brought before the Jewish council to explain a miracle that had taken place through their hands. God had used them to heal a man that had been crippled from birth. The Jewish leaders, the religious scholars, and the elders of the people had arrested Peter and John and made them stand in front of the council as they questioned them: "Tell us, by what power and authority have you done these things?"

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them. Boldly he proclaimed the truth to them, charging them of crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God had raised from the dead. With great conviction he declared that there is no one else than Jesus who has the power to save: "There is only one name to whom God has given the power by which we must experience salvation: the name of Jesus!" 

It was then the members of the council began to understand the effect Jesus had on the disciples. Even though they were just ordinary men, simply spending time with Jesus had an effect on them. They had no religious training. They never attended any seminary. They never had any university degree. But simply spending time with Jesus had a deep and profound effect on them. The members of the council could not deny the effect Jesus had on those ordinary people who simply spent time with him.

May people around us began to understand the effect Jesus has on our life when we simply spend time with him. The secrete is to spend time with Jesus. It has an effect that people will begin to understand more and more.

Meeting with the people of God

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.

Being right or living right?

To be somebody is not about being right

But about living right with other people.

To be somebody is all about relationships,

Not about opinions or being political correct

But about building right relationships

- the strong protecting the weak

- the rich serving the poor

- the insiders making room for the outsiders

To be somebody is about loving people

And finding great joy in being with others

Being a man among men

Seeking and finding

To be somebody is to seek and find
- to receive much more than expected.
I was seeking to hear the voice
- I found a person.
I was seeking guidance
- I found a Shepherd.
I was seeking the will of God
- I found friendship with the Son.
I was seeking understanding
- I found the life-giving Spirit.

To be somebody is seeking and finding God
- who is LOVE - Eternal and Boundless,

- who is the never failing spring of Life!

Being pure of heart

To be somebody is being pure of heart

-being free from self-interest

-being free from selfish ambitions

-being free from wrong reactions of mistrust and suspicion

When you are pure of heart

-you listen with understanding

-you listen with goodwill

-you are open to new ideas

-you are receptive and creative,

looking for the beautiful dream

springing forth from the innocent eyes of your neighbour

Longing for God

To be somebody is longing for God

-above everything else

Longing for God is not longing for an experience

It is longing for a true relationship

It is not about having some knowledge of God

But it is about knowing him

-as a person

-as a friend

-as a confidant

-as a companion

Not to become high on him

But to be conformed to his image

Not to learn more, to increase knowledge

But to love him more

I am somebody when I realise

-I am created to be a God-lover

I am somebody when the very purpose of my life

-is to love God

I am somebody when I am longing for God

-only because of love

Seeing people

To be somebody is to see people

For what they are and love them

To see people is to care

It is taking interest in persons you never met before

When you see people you give them time and attention

Seeing people is to see the visible needs

and to do what you can to meet the invisible needs

Seeing people is to touch them with your hands,

as you silently pray for God's blessing upon them

Even though others will say that they only need a doctor

Seeing people is not treating them as patients

But touching them with care

And bestowing dignity on them