The Lord`s kind of Pioneer Spirit

Usually I have a truth or a bible verse I am chewing on… for some time. Now my chewing gum is: Mark 1:38 But He (Jesus) said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."

Jesus we a Pioneer worker. He continues to new towns. Then word in the Greek NT is komopolis = an unwalled city.

I am now doing a research on: Church Planting in Thailand 2012-2013. What is happening right now and how can we help each other to see more churches be planted much quicker?

I have already spoken to many and without doubt one thing we all need is: The Pioneer Spirit like Jesus had.

"Lord, I don’t want to be stuck. Give me of your Pioneer Spirit". Ingvar

Seeds & fresh Spiritual Food

The pastor preached an old sermon. It was biblical and "food", but I've heard it before. It was not fresh hot and new food, but hard crisp bread (knäckebröd we have in Sweden). It is also food.

My solution was to hear with one ear on the preacher and the other ear to what God had to say. And ... God himself had very fresh delicious food to me that morning.

I have a word of advice to you: If you hear me preach an old dry sermon, listen more to God than to me. OK!

Another type of seed. I have met many Christians over the years, who later died as martyrs, imprisoned, disappeared or got a "mysterious" death. Always my first prayer is: God why?

Last Friday it was a funeral of Birgitta A. (71 years old) that were killed serving in Pakistan. I met her last year some 40 days before this happened.

I say: Best to part as friends: One day we might have to work together again. And then it's good not to have any unnecessary laggage.

Maybe I should start to add: Best to part as friends: We may never meet again. I said goodbye to Birgitta A. in Lahore on 26th October 2012, without understanding that she will become a martyr 40 days later.

The 2nd-century Church Father Tertullian wrote "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church".

All places needs seeds and fresh spiritual food. May we faithfully serve hot and new spiritual food to everyone. Ingvar

Cooperation - a heart matter

Happy New Year.  This first blog this year of 2013 written in Cambodia (but posted in Thailand) is about working with the local people, from our hearts. There are many types of cooperation but 2 are:

Type A. Handling over the work after a few years, when they have learned the job.
Type B. Supporting the local people from the beginning. There are key people who already have ideas, "ownership" and responsibility. They are already on a small scale, "Man of Peace", leaders or ordinary people with “a going” yes.... with a zeal to do something. It is better we help/facilitate them than they help/facilitate us.

Why I believe in Type B?  Well:

1) I have once again seen it working best here in Cambodia.
2) A large part of our world now running wild after globalization and they seek everything from everyone. I can see that the east is being contextualized to the west, faster than I can be contextualized to the east.

I have seen that there are, with God`s help, possible to meet and work together even when: “I want to be like the east and they wants to be like the west”.

The good thing about cooperating and trusting each other from our hearts is that it works good between all people everywhere. Not only in Cambodia but also in Sweden and yes ....... everywhere. Cooperation from our hearts has no distances.

I saw again in Cambodia that cooperation is a Heart-matter. Ingvar