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

Mice-nests and New Years Eve

The last day of the year 2012. The last page in my diary as well. Time to start on a new fresh book and a new fresh year.

Another metaphor: Ingvar and Phil are working hard on finding and cleaning out mouse nests in the car. For 2 days they taken a part half(exaggerated) of the car to find and clean out the mess these little terrors have made. Half decomposed mice have the most dreadful smell. 

I read from Luke 6:45 ‘’ A good man out of the good treasure(storeroom) of his heart, brings forth good, and an evil man out of the  treasure(storeroom) of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth(or facebook or twitter or, or...) speaks .’’

This doesn’t make up a complete picture though, but I believe we sometimes keep things in the storeroom of our heart, little things which we haven’t allowed the grace of God to touch. Little irritations, anger, disappointments, broken dreams, grudges etc, etc. 

To spend a little time asking God to reveal our little smelly mice-nests, clean them out, carry the mess to the cross. Then allow the storerooms to be filled with Gods grace and fresh wind of heaven instead (the wind is blowing through the car at the moment). That will help us get a good start on a new year 2013.

With Love Anna

Be & Have shepherds/leaders....

Nice to be together as a family. We miss Tabitha, Sophie, Beatrice and Benjamin. This morning Ruth with family (and Richard a friend of Niklas) started their journey to Sweden, but Anna and I will stay a few more days here in Mondulkiri.

Shepherds/pastors/leaders and Christmas goes together. It's good to have time during the Christmas and New Year to think, hear words of wisdom from other people and from God. Mondulkiri is a good place for this.

"... the shepherds said to one another ...."

We are all shepherds/leaders in different areas and different ways to each other. Sometimes we do not realize that people around us look up to us and in different ways follow us. Jeremiah 3:15 came alive for me ... the other day.

“And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”

My first thought was, "God give me this type of shepherds/pastors/leaders who have Your heart and feed me with knowledge and understanding. And of course the promises of God are for me. God wants to give me such shepherds/pastors/leaders ..... over me.

But my second thought came that many around me have the same prayer and that God wants to fulfill His promise to them by calling me to be a shepherd/pastor/leader after God's heart feeding them with knowledge and understanding.

The shepherds returned, the first Christmas (after they met Jesus) and I am sure that they were shepherds after the heart of Jesus, our Good Shepherd.

Woow, exciting promises of God. They involve both:

Myself to others. I become a leader after God's heart, and I feed them with knowledge and understanding.

Others to me. Others become leaders over me after God's heart feeding me with knowledge and understanding.

The Christmas message (and the whole Bible) is so rich so we need the whole life to understand it, ....partly. Ingvar

Christmas and New Years letter

Dear Friends, You can now klick on this, and find our Christmas and New Years letter.

We have now come to Mondolkiri in Cambodia and will be with Mariam`s family and ..... also some days with Ruth`s Family. We are missing Tabitha, Sophie, Beatrice and Benjamin.

We wish all of you this Christmas and New Year much joy and ... a lot of fresh spiritual, mental and physical food... in Bethlehem =The Bread House.

Ingvar & Anna 

To the east and to the south

Anna and I have had 2 very good days in Ubon and are now here in Hat Yai and Sonkhla for 4 days. It`s good to see what God is doing in these places and ... to bless the nationells working here.

I become more and more happy to see how we can help and bless the local people in the community and in the Churches. Hand in hand together in God`s love is the best way to see progress in every area, also here in deep south. Ingvar