The tears come with joy and thanksgiving. Thank you, Lord!
Imagine that we, the whole family, are alive and can celebrate Christmas together.
Imagine that Håkan is doing so well that we could go to Fristaden on Christmas Eve, with all the beautiful Christmas songs, Christmas music, and a wonderful Christmas play, ”Saffron and Raisins”. It was great, with lots of laughs.
Imagine that we, together, can meet friends on Christmas Eve, and all the youth who are home for Christmas – lots of hugs.
Imagine that we, after that, could travel to Småland with the family to celebrate Christmas together with Rebecca, Johan, Alice and Angelina.
Imagine that Håkan is doing so well that he could travel with us and be a part of “the Gniste Christmas”, with everything that involves: big family, food, many presents and kids and grandkids.
Imagine that Home Health in Jönköping was willing to come morning and evening to care for Håkan, and that we could stay with Håkan’s sister, Margaretha, and her husband, Kenneth.
I met a woman at Willys in Uddevalla, in the middle of shopping for ”Fellowship at Christmas” at Fristaden, the day after Christmas, when 70-80 lonely derelicts come, year after year. At the same time, Neeta had a cart for the purchase of ”food bags” for the needy, which we hand out every year. Right in the middle of those fully loaded shopping carts, a woman came up to me and asked how things were going for us and for Håkan. When I told her the present situation, she said that it hadn’t gone a single day since the fire without her thinking about us.
There I stood in the middle of Willys, Christmas shopping, and got so touched by people’s goodness, by the care and love of an ordinary woman from Uddevalla toward us. It was too much, so tears of thanksgiving ran.
I want to wish all of you who have stood by us, in love and prayers, a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and THANK YOU for all your love!
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Is. 9:6
Imagine that in that name, we have everything we need…the name of Jesus.
God’s peace and blessing!
Christmas hugs,
Gunilla
Friday, 25 December 2009
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Thankful in Christ
Dear brothers and sisters!
Now I’m home, but I’m still weak and need a lot of help from the community health nurses who visit our home 3-4 times a day. Gunilla is, of course, such a support, and a source of love and strength. Being away from each other such a long time - 225 days - we need your prayers for being and working together in the family and the Kingdom. My special needs are the healing of my hands and my sight. There are only a few sores left and my skin is in the healing process.
I have contact with quite a few brothers and sisters, and I'm very happy about the loving care I've received from all of you, and the reports I’m hearing. Your visits, emails, cards, text messages, etc have encouraged me so much. I'm so thankful for all the prayers from all over Sweden and the whole world. In Uddevalla, this has helped to unite the body of Christ. You never know when I'll come back in full strength, but we will continue to pray that my sores will heal quickly. I'm hoping to join the race again, in due time.
I'm attending leadership meetings and some of the public meetings at church, especially Sunday mornings. There will be many dear and emotional reunions similar to the first Sunday morning meeting on Fathers' Day at Fristaden in Uddevalla. Our friend, Paul Forsén, taught about "God as Our Daddy", and at the end, Janne Sääf asked me to share something. I shared, "The church is a family and needs a leadership. The leaders are the fathers of the family, and they can't force their authority upon the church, but in the long run, they can be trusted as fathers, advisors, encouragers, coaches, and so on." I asked the elders to go out in the congregation and give the people who wanted it a fatherly blessing. A large percent of the ones who got blessed started to cry. The first meeting I attended was in some ways hard for me, but in so many other ways, a great blessing, and so many of the sisters and brothers have had their hearts touched by this journey.
The outreach to Kenya, led by Janne and Gunilla, meant a lot to the team of youth. It's fantastic how our sisters and brothers in Africa live and work for the Lord, and it was moving to see the pictures of the team out working in the Nairobi slums.
Now we’re looking forward to the Christmas holidays when we’ll gather as a family and invite others.
Many thanks for your prayer support and gifts!
Thankful in Christ,
Håkan
Now I’m home, but I’m still weak and need a lot of help from the community health nurses who visit our home 3-4 times a day. Gunilla is, of course, such a support, and a source of love and strength. Being away from each other such a long time - 225 days - we need your prayers for being and working together in the family and the Kingdom. My special needs are the healing of my hands and my sight. There are only a few sores left and my skin is in the healing process.
I have contact with quite a few brothers and sisters, and I'm very happy about the loving care I've received from all of you, and the reports I’m hearing. Your visits, emails, cards, text messages, etc have encouraged me so much. I'm so thankful for all the prayers from all over Sweden and the whole world. In Uddevalla, this has helped to unite the body of Christ. You never know when I'll come back in full strength, but we will continue to pray that my sores will heal quickly. I'm hoping to join the race again, in due time.
I'm attending leadership meetings and some of the public meetings at church, especially Sunday mornings. There will be many dear and emotional reunions similar to the first Sunday morning meeting on Fathers' Day at Fristaden in Uddevalla. Our friend, Paul Forsén, taught about "God as Our Daddy", and at the end, Janne Sääf asked me to share something. I shared, "The church is a family and needs a leadership. The leaders are the fathers of the family, and they can't force their authority upon the church, but in the long run, they can be trusted as fathers, advisors, encouragers, coaches, and so on." I asked the elders to go out in the congregation and give the people who wanted it a fatherly blessing. A large percent of the ones who got blessed started to cry. The first meeting I attended was in some ways hard for me, but in so many other ways, a great blessing, and so many of the sisters and brothers have had their hearts touched by this journey.
The outreach to Kenya, led by Janne and Gunilla, meant a lot to the team of youth. It's fantastic how our sisters and brothers in Africa live and work for the Lord, and it was moving to see the pictures of the team out working in the Nairobi slums.
Now we’re looking forward to the Christmas holidays when we’ll gather as a family and invite others.
Many thanks for your prayer support and gifts!
Thankful in Christ,
Håkan
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Everyday life goes on…
Morning business…
Håkan is visited by home-help, who take care of him, his shot, washing, smearing him with lotion, dressing him, and giving him breakfast.
Håkan gets eyedrops every other hour. If we aren’t home, home-help comes and gives him eyedrops.
Lunchtime...
Home-help comes and warms the plate of food I’ve prepared in the microwave, the days we aren’t at home. After that, Håkan tries to rest a little, before getting the next round of eyedrops.
Everyday life goes on…like…
Hand therapy...Trying out new hand splints…Prayer at Fristaden…Occupational therapy…Physical therapy…Walks…Church services…Eye operations…Sahlgrenska hospital…Pastors’ meetings…Eye doctor…Home-help…Bible on CD…Transportation to appointments…Reading aloud…Followup visits…Hand surgeon…Visits from friends…Relatives…Church members…Pharmacy…Doctors’ visits…Being in God’s presence…Family…Text messaging…Exercising…Rosenhäll…The house…The social insurance…etc.
Everyday life goes on…
When we come home, we eat together, and enjoy the fact that life goes on, thankful that we have each other, and that Håkan is getting better and better all the time. A BIG THANKS to God and health care services.
Evening business…
In the evening, home-help comes again – time for the evening duties and a new round of smearing with lotion. When Håkan is ready to go to bed, I get to put on his hand splints, eye ointment and eyeshields, before we say “Good night” to each other.
Håkan has my bed and I lie on the sofa, in the living room, and enjoy having my husband home. He lies like a king, on his back, and receives new energy for a new day, with new opportunities to continue to train.
And then it’s morning again. I take off Håkan’s eyeshields and greet my husband “Good morning!” I take off the hand splints so Håkan can do his hand exercises before home-help rings at the door…etc.
“Now it’s a new day, with new possibilities. Now it’s a new day. Morning has dawned… Yesterday is gone. I reach for what lies ahead… God, I want to give this day to you.”
Everyday life goes on…for Håkan…and for the Gniste family.
Thanks for continuing to think about us and pray for us. We have a long road ahead of us, but with God’s help and Håkan’s stubbornness and much prayer, we’ll manage this. You are an important part of this miracle, which is in our midst now.
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Phil. 4:13
God bless you all!
Warm hugs,
Gunilla
Håkan is visited by home-help, who take care of him, his shot, washing, smearing him with lotion, dressing him, and giving him breakfast.
Håkan gets eyedrops every other hour. If we aren’t home, home-help comes and gives him eyedrops.
Lunchtime...
Home-help comes and warms the plate of food I’ve prepared in the microwave, the days we aren’t at home. After that, Håkan tries to rest a little, before getting the next round of eyedrops.
Everyday life goes on…like…
Hand therapy...Trying out new hand splints…Prayer at Fristaden…Occupational therapy…Physical therapy…Walks…Church services…Eye operations…Sahlgrenska hospital…Pastors’ meetings…Eye doctor…Home-help…Bible on CD…Transportation to appointments…Reading aloud…Followup visits…Hand surgeon…Visits from friends…Relatives…Church members…Pharmacy…Doctors’ visits…Being in God’s presence…Family…Text messaging…Exercising…Rosenhäll…The house…The social insurance…etc.
Everyday life goes on…
When we come home, we eat together, and enjoy the fact that life goes on, thankful that we have each other, and that Håkan is getting better and better all the time. A BIG THANKS to God and health care services.
Evening business…
In the evening, home-help comes again – time for the evening duties and a new round of smearing with lotion. When Håkan is ready to go to bed, I get to put on his hand splints, eye ointment and eyeshields, before we say “Good night” to each other.
Håkan has my bed and I lie on the sofa, in the living room, and enjoy having my husband home. He lies like a king, on his back, and receives new energy for a new day, with new opportunities to continue to train.
And then it’s morning again. I take off Håkan’s eyeshields and greet my husband “Good morning!” I take off the hand splints so Håkan can do his hand exercises before home-help rings at the door…etc.
“Now it’s a new day, with new possibilities. Now it’s a new day. Morning has dawned… Yesterday is gone. I reach for what lies ahead… God, I want to give this day to you.”
Everyday life goes on…for Håkan…and for the Gniste family.
Thanks for continuing to think about us and pray for us. We have a long road ahead of us, but with God’s help and Håkan’s stubbornness and much prayer, we’ll manage this. You are an important part of this miracle, which is in our midst now.
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Phil. 4:13
God bless you all!
Warm hugs,
Gunilla
Monday, 23 November 2009
Africa in our hearts!
Here comes a little summary of a couple of fantastic weeks!!!
Background: Håkan has travelled to Kenya for over 10 years, where he has primarily trained leaders, often together with Dave Richards, from England. I was in Nairobi for a women’s conference 8 years ago, and that was the beginning of our travelling every year or so to Kenya.
The vision of taking along youth in teams to see and help teach was something God spoke to me about a long time ago. Now we’ve gone with teams to Tunisia, China and made several trips to Kenya.
”We carry on – you go!” said Håkan from his hospital bed when I asked what we should do about our trip to Kenya.
Our destination, this time, was the church in Umoja (a suburb of Nairobi), their school, children’s and youth work, and worship services on Sunday; they have three services in a row, with about 3000-3500 people in each.
We also helped out a few days in Mukuru, a slum area which has existed for over 35 years. A congregation has started there in the middle of the slum, with a school, church, girls’ home, and a clinic. It was great to see all our youth get into the work and leave a little of their hearts there. We had with us 18,000 crowns for the work in the slum, which is enough for a lot of food and medicine down there.
We have visited the Salvation Army’s orphanage every time we’ve been in Nairobi. There are 67 orphans there, and wonderful leaders, who give their lives for the children. They are like a big family. We had stuffed animals, footballs and a bunch of good things for all the kids, and even 18,000 crowns which they will use to buy Christmas presents for the kids and have a real Christmas party with a little extra good food. Previously, we’ve paid for school bags, shoes, and school uniforms for all the kids, so they could all go to school.
After our hard work, we went willingly on to Mombasa, where we stayed by the Indian Ocean, rested a little, and tried to take in everything we’d experienced. On Sunday, we took part in the service at a church there in Mombasa, with song, dance, testimonies and preaching. To be able to come there and see what God has done since we were there last, was totally amazing. Thank you, Lord, for what you’ve done and are doing in Mombasa!
On a free Saturday, we went to Lake Nakuru, a national park, a three-hour drive from Nairobi. There we met Africa’s awesome animals, in their natural surroundings. That’s a day we’ll carry with us for a long time.
We are so thankful for the trip to Kenya, everything we’ve experienced, everything we’ve learned, everything we’ve been able to give. A big “Thanks” to the church in Umoja, who took such good care of us, gave us rice and chicken, and to all our old friends and the new friends we’ve made.
We concluded our trip to Kenya by going to Nairobi’s oldest park and praying for the country. Janne Sääf got a Bible verse which we shared and prayed from: ”The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land…” (Psalm 125:3)
If you want to follow along and see a little of our trip, click on the links to the videos, under ”Kenya 2009” to the right.
Thank God for a wonderful trip!
Thank God for all the great youth who were with us!
Thank God for everything we got to help with!
Thank God for your protection during the trip!
Thank God that we can continue to pray for Kenya!
God bless you all!
Gunilla
Background: Håkan has travelled to Kenya for over 10 years, where he has primarily trained leaders, often together with Dave Richards, from England. I was in Nairobi for a women’s conference 8 years ago, and that was the beginning of our travelling every year or so to Kenya.
The vision of taking along youth in teams to see and help teach was something God spoke to me about a long time ago. Now we’ve gone with teams to Tunisia, China and made several trips to Kenya.
”We carry on – you go!” said Håkan from his hospital bed when I asked what we should do about our trip to Kenya.
Our destination, this time, was the church in Umoja (a suburb of Nairobi), their school, children’s and youth work, and worship services on Sunday; they have three services in a row, with about 3000-3500 people in each.
We also helped out a few days in Mukuru, a slum area which has existed for over 35 years. A congregation has started there in the middle of the slum, with a school, church, girls’ home, and a clinic. It was great to see all our youth get into the work and leave a little of their hearts there. We had with us 18,000 crowns for the work in the slum, which is enough for a lot of food and medicine down there.
We have visited the Salvation Army’s orphanage every time we’ve been in Nairobi. There are 67 orphans there, and wonderful leaders, who give their lives for the children. They are like a big family. We had stuffed animals, footballs and a bunch of good things for all the kids, and even 18,000 crowns which they will use to buy Christmas presents for the kids and have a real Christmas party with a little extra good food. Previously, we’ve paid for school bags, shoes, and school uniforms for all the kids, so they could all go to school.
After our hard work, we went willingly on to Mombasa, where we stayed by the Indian Ocean, rested a little, and tried to take in everything we’d experienced. On Sunday, we took part in the service at a church there in Mombasa, with song, dance, testimonies and preaching. To be able to come there and see what God has done since we were there last, was totally amazing. Thank you, Lord, for what you’ve done and are doing in Mombasa!
On a free Saturday, we went to Lake Nakuru, a national park, a three-hour drive from Nairobi. There we met Africa’s awesome animals, in their natural surroundings. That’s a day we’ll carry with us for a long time.
We are so thankful for the trip to Kenya, everything we’ve experienced, everything we’ve learned, everything we’ve been able to give. A big “Thanks” to the church in Umoja, who took such good care of us, gave us rice and chicken, and to all our old friends and the new friends we’ve made.
We concluded our trip to Kenya by going to Nairobi’s oldest park and praying for the country. Janne Sääf got a Bible verse which we shared and prayed from: ”The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land…” (Psalm 125:3)
If you want to follow along and see a little of our trip, click on the links to the videos, under ”Kenya 2009” to the right.
Thank God for a wonderful trip!
Thank God for all the great youth who were with us!
Thank God for everything we got to help with!
Thank God for your protection during the trip!
Thank God that we can continue to pray for Kenya!
God bless you all!
Gunilla
Sunday, 15 November 2009
An historic Sunday!
Now things are falling into place! Håkan is at home and has found a daily rhythm that works for him, home health, and the family living at home.
Four times a day, personnel from home health come and help him in the morning and evening, but also give eyedrops and lunch, when the rest of us are in school and at work.
A nurse comes once a day for Håkan’s shot, and helps with his bath and changing his bandages every third day, so that the skin gets a thorough overhaul, so no infection sets in.
Håkan gets smeared with lotion twice a day to keep his skin soft and smoothe. We see a definite improvement all over his body.
Last Sunday, on Father’s Day, when Paul and Lena Forsén were at Fristaden, Håkan went together with Harry to the Sunday morning service, for the first time since the fire. Everyone stood up and a loooong, spontaneous applaud broke out, with many tearful eyes.
It was so fitting, of course, that ”the father of Fristaden” came on Father’s Day, and that when Paul spoke about ”God as Your Daddy”, Håkan got the idea that the leaders should stand at the front and minister to people, and in the end, go around and give ”daddy hugs” and bless the whole church. Thank the Lord!
Then it felt like Håkan was present again, with his prophetic anointing and father’s role in the church. Very powerful!
It’s so great to stand beside him and be happy about life! That which was so normal earlier is now a subject for rejoicing, and we’re so grateful to God that Håkan is home again.
Thank you, Lord, for your grace and your great faithfulness to us!
The operation went well, but this week and next week there will be more trips to Sahlgrenska, so please continue to pray for Håkan’s hands and eyes! God hears prayer!
Thanks for all your love…love back to you all!
God bless!
Hugs,
Gunilla
Four times a day, personnel from home health come and help him in the morning and evening, but also give eyedrops and lunch, when the rest of us are in school and at work.
A nurse comes once a day for Håkan’s shot, and helps with his bath and changing his bandages every third day, so that the skin gets a thorough overhaul, so no infection sets in.
Håkan gets smeared with lotion twice a day to keep his skin soft and smoothe. We see a definite improvement all over his body.
Last Sunday, on Father’s Day, when Paul and Lena Forsén were at Fristaden, Håkan went together with Harry to the Sunday morning service, for the first time since the fire. Everyone stood up and a loooong, spontaneous applaud broke out, with many tearful eyes.
It was so fitting, of course, that ”the father of Fristaden” came on Father’s Day, and that when Paul spoke about ”God as Your Daddy”, Håkan got the idea that the leaders should stand at the front and minister to people, and in the end, go around and give ”daddy hugs” and bless the whole church. Thank the Lord!
Then it felt like Håkan was present again, with his prophetic anointing and father’s role in the church. Very powerful!
It’s so great to stand beside him and be happy about life! That which was so normal earlier is now a subject for rejoicing, and we’re so grateful to God that Håkan is home again.
Thank you, Lord, for your grace and your great faithfulness to us!
The operation went well, but this week and next week there will be more trips to Sahlgrenska, so please continue to pray for Håkan’s hands and eyes! God hears prayer!
Thanks for all your love…love back to you all!
God bless!
Hugs,
Gunilla
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Home again!
Now we’re home again, and Håkan is home for good! The time in the hospital is over. Of course, there will be follow-up visits, rehabilitation and operations down the road. Imagine, it’s been over 8 months since the fire, and now we’re at the point where my husband can be at home, walk around, sit down, stand up, lie down on the bed, get up from the bed, go to the bathroom, and eat cut-up food by himself. This is so great that I want to shout, “Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord!”
You who have followed us on this long, 8-month journey, probably understand my thankfulness, for every little step in the right direction which makes all this possible. Nothing is too small or too great for our God. “Thank you, Lord!”
Every decision which has been made and all care that Håkan has received, through doctors and medical staff, have made it possible for Håkan to be as good as he is now. A big “Thanks” to you all! God bless you all!
All of you who have supported us through prayers, thoughts, tears, letters, email, the blog, caring, acts of love, clothes, food, fixing up our new home, smiles, nice words, hugs, money, flowers, furniture, books… The list could be longer, but I just want to say, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
The factors that contribute to quick healing, a doctor told Håkan this summer, are:
* Coming quickly to the hospital for treatment.
* Good medical staff.
* High motivation in the patient.
* A broad circle of social contacts.
* A strong faith in God.
All these have contributed to Håkan’s speedy recovery.
When I preached in Nairobi, for a packed church of 3,500 people, I asked how many wanted to pray for Håkan and the eyelid operation he would have that week. 3,500 hands went up, and then I saw even more that God’s care for us, and all the care and prayers from people, are a big part of Håkan’s speedy recovery. Thank you, brothers and sisters, all around the world, who have prayed for us! God bless you all! ”Thank you, Lord!”
“Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!”
More about the trip to Kenya is coming later...
Bless you!
Hugs,
Gunilla
You who have followed us on this long, 8-month journey, probably understand my thankfulness, for every little step in the right direction which makes all this possible. Nothing is too small or too great for our God. “Thank you, Lord!”
Every decision which has been made and all care that Håkan has received, through doctors and medical staff, have made it possible for Håkan to be as good as he is now. A big “Thanks” to you all! God bless you all!
All of you who have supported us through prayers, thoughts, tears, letters, email, the blog, caring, acts of love, clothes, food, fixing up our new home, smiles, nice words, hugs, money, flowers, furniture, books… The list could be longer, but I just want to say, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
The factors that contribute to quick healing, a doctor told Håkan this summer, are:
* Coming quickly to the hospital for treatment.
* Good medical staff.
* High motivation in the patient.
* A broad circle of social contacts.
* A strong faith in God.
All these have contributed to Håkan’s speedy recovery.
When I preached in Nairobi, for a packed church of 3,500 people, I asked how many wanted to pray for Håkan and the eyelid operation he would have that week. 3,500 hands went up, and then I saw even more that God’s care for us, and all the care and prayers from people, are a big part of Håkan’s speedy recovery. Thank you, brothers and sisters, all around the world, who have prayed for us! God bless you all! ”Thank you, Lord!”
“Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art!”
More about the trip to Kenya is coming later...
Bless you!
Hugs,
Gunilla
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Heavenly dynamics
Anita Barker Andersen writes:
This past Sunday, I was to preach at Fristaden, and the text from Revelation 22 was about heaven. The thought came to me that I should have a “conversational preaching” together with Håkan. He had the text read for him over the telephone, and a little later that day, we visited him at the short-term care facility and recorded his comments. It was so nice to (almost) have a worship service together with Håkan again. Following is the Bible text and his reflections, which also can be heard (in Swedish) from the Swedish blog.
Heavenly dynamics
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Rev. 22:1-5
Cast your anchor a long way in
When I heard these verses being read for me, I began to think about the fact that my soul has an anchor, and that anchor must be cast behind the curtain, into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 6:19). What that really says, is that my deepest attitudes and priorities should be so much, much further ahead than the present – than right now, what I’m thinking about just now, the material needs I have, or the material security that I have acquired. My security doesn’t lie in the material. My security doesn’t lie in the humanistic. My security doesn’t lie in what people can do. My security lies in God!
We are blessed
This also speaks to me about precisely the thing Paul writes about in several places, that we are blessed ”in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3), and when I know that I have access to that, I know that I am both spiritually blessed, saved, and I will be saved, and I can also receive healing from the Lord because I have my eyes fixed on something so much, much further ahead of the reality I see right now.
My security lies in God
It’s a big mistake to only concentrate on the material, to only concentrate on the security that we Swedes are experts on. Security doesn’t lie there. Security lies in God, and security lies in the eternal, and the eternal is the Kingdom of God. So the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are really the same things, and we can acquaint ourselves even now with that which God wants to give us in His Kingdom. This also makes it possible for us to go through various trials and difficulties with our eyes fixed on Jesus in the eternal, and “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Ps. 23:4)
Discover the whole reality
So, this really isn’t an escape from reality, but it is a living part of reality that only the Christian has discovered, or the one who seeks Him is able to discover. So, heaven is such an important part of reality, and it’s there that we get motivation to be able to stand, but also motivation to win others for God, and motivation to be sanctified by Him ourselves.
Look after your place
Then there is also a risk that we become so occupied with the present and the material, with the way of thinking and being of our times, and that we pile up everything possible, so that we can miss – yes, even here – the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms. It can even be so that we don’t just miss out on them here, but also in eternity. So see to it – you can see to it – that you can already today be secure, and that you are a child of God, and that your place in eternity is there. You shall not miss out on that place!
Håkan Gniste
This past Sunday, I was to preach at Fristaden, and the text from Revelation 22 was about heaven. The thought came to me that I should have a “conversational preaching” together with Håkan. He had the text read for him over the telephone, and a little later that day, we visited him at the short-term care facility and recorded his comments. It was so nice to (almost) have a worship service together with Håkan again. Following is the Bible text and his reflections, which also can be heard (in Swedish) from the Swedish blog.
Heavenly dynamics
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Rev. 22:1-5
Cast your anchor a long way in
When I heard these verses being read for me, I began to think about the fact that my soul has an anchor, and that anchor must be cast behind the curtain, into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 6:19). What that really says, is that my deepest attitudes and priorities should be so much, much further ahead than the present – than right now, what I’m thinking about just now, the material needs I have, or the material security that I have acquired. My security doesn’t lie in the material. My security doesn’t lie in the humanistic. My security doesn’t lie in what people can do. My security lies in God!
We are blessed
This also speaks to me about precisely the thing Paul writes about in several places, that we are blessed ”in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3), and when I know that I have access to that, I know that I am both spiritually blessed, saved, and I will be saved, and I can also receive healing from the Lord because I have my eyes fixed on something so much, much further ahead of the reality I see right now.
My security lies in God
It’s a big mistake to only concentrate on the material, to only concentrate on the security that we Swedes are experts on. Security doesn’t lie there. Security lies in God, and security lies in the eternal, and the eternal is the Kingdom of God. So the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are really the same things, and we can acquaint ourselves even now with that which God wants to give us in His Kingdom. This also makes it possible for us to go through various trials and difficulties with our eyes fixed on Jesus in the eternal, and “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Ps. 23:4)
Discover the whole reality
So, this really isn’t an escape from reality, but it is a living part of reality that only the Christian has discovered, or the one who seeks Him is able to discover. So, heaven is such an important part of reality, and it’s there that we get motivation to be able to stand, but also motivation to win others for God, and motivation to be sanctified by Him ourselves.
Look after your place
Then there is also a risk that we become so occupied with the present and the material, with the way of thinking and being of our times, and that we pile up everything possible, so that we can miss – yes, even here – the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms. It can even be so that we don’t just miss out on them here, but also in eternity. So see to it – you can see to it – that you can already today be secure, and that you are a child of God, and that your place in eternity is there. You shall not miss out on that place!
Håkan Gniste
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