THE FELLOW - TRAVELLER

In the seventies I often made journeys , using a VW bus . I equipped the bus as a camping car , and there was enough room to hide literature between bed , cupboard and cooker . TIME AND AGAIN I TRAVELLED TO COUNTRIES BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN . So it was advisable to take BIBLIES AND OTHER CHRISTIAN LITERATURE to many different places . I also carried along many suit cases and boxes filled up with food , which were supposed to be welcome gifts for friends . That's why I used to pray , "LORD , PLEASE CLOSE THE EYES OF THE FRONTIER GUARDS !" When I made the journey I am going to tell you about now it was quite different : GOD OPENED (!) THE EYES OF A FRONTIER GUARD ! This was a very impressive experience .
THE WALL THAT DIVIDED BERLIN DID NOT EXIST THEN , NEITHER DID THE DEATH ZONE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST GERMANY . On the frontier there was a control sentry box with some police men who were controlled by the Russian military . At that time travellers from the west hardly ever met with difficulties . DEEP IN MY HEART I KNEW THAT GOD WAS WITH ME AND WOULD PROTECT ME .
On a Saturday morning I left the Netherlands with the VW bus , which was totally loaded up . Late in the evening I left the motorway and looked for a small private hotel for an overnight stop . On Sunday morning I covered the remaining distance of 50 km until the frontier . A short look ay my passport and my visa was enough for the frontier official to let me drive slowly to the next control sentry box , where I was to report to the Russian frontier guard .
A RUSSIAN OFFICER CAME OUT OF HIS SENTRY BOX AND WENT TO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD . HE COMMANDED ME TO STOP AND DEMANDED TO SEE BOTH MY PASSPORT AND MY VISA . HOW STRANGE ! I gave him both. He looked at each page of the passport and said contentedly , "PLEASE , GIVE ME THE PASSPORT OF THE FELLOW TRAVELLER !" I WAS QUITE ASTONISHED BECAUSE I WAS ALONE (!) IN THE CAR . I looked at him surprisedly . The man repeated his question . "All right , if you don't ask him , I'll ask him ." He spoke German quite well . He went around the car , opened the door and SAW THAT THERE WAS NOBODY (!) . We looked at each other in great surprise . "WHERE IS THAT MAN , SURELY I'VE SEEN HIM BEFORE !?" He entered the VW bus and realized that because of the many pieces of luggage there was no room for a fellow traveller . What was astonishing was THE SILENCE AND PEACE IN THE CAR BETWEEN THE OFFICER AND ME . Then he went back to his office . After a little while he came back and asked me where I was going . I replied , "To the next town . There I'll be in the big church at ten o'clock , and afterwards I'm going to another country , as I have only a transit visa for this country . "What sort of information I gave him ! I did not speak about such things normally . The Russian officer nodded to me friendly and wished me a pleasant journey . I thought like Jacob , "SURELY THE LORD IS IN THE PLACE , AND I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS !" ; Genesis 28:16 .

CHRISTIANITY

The less you sin

the happier you are !

EARLY CHRISTIANITY

SEVEN IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY

- VICTORY OVER SIN ! (Holiness [that is , the process of getting more and more holy] is a spiritual development through which man , because of becoming more and more victorious over sin , is getting closer and closer to God . ) . - Not to be victorious over sin (egoism , self-will , disobedience to God's will) is characteristic of the passive Christian faith or the pseudo-Christian faith (Rev.3:1b ; James 2:26) , and/or of unbelief and atheism .
- OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH ! - The day of rest prescribed by God is not Sunday but Saturday (Sabbath , see 4th commandment : Ex . 20:8 - 11 ; Gen . 2:1 - 3) !
- PROHIBITION OF DIVORCE AND RE-MARRIAGE AFTER DIVORCE ! (Mk . 10:11 - 12 ; 1.Cor . 7 : 39) . Today even in Christian circles divorce and re-marriage after divorce are allowed !
- SPIRITUAL GIFTS (healing of sick people , deliverance from demons , signs and wonders , ... ; cp.1 . Cor . 12 : 7 - 11) . - Unfortunately , even today there are Christians who no longer trust God for powerful deeds like signs and wonders (Mt . 13 : 58) !
- SPIRITUAL SOBERNESS , SPIRITUAL CLEARNESS OF THINKING , DIVINE KNOWLEDGE , DIVINE UNDERSTANDING AND DIVINE WISDOM . - Spiritual guidance by (pseudo-) pious spirits and other false spirits (cp. 2 . Cor . 11 : 13 - 15) has nothing to do with spiritual guidance by God's spirit (2 . Tim . 4 : 5a) .
- LIVING A SAMPLE AND MODEST LIFE IN SELF - DENIAL (Lk. 14 : 33) . - True Early Christian faith is incompatible with a gospel of prosperity (1 . Tim . 6 : 6) !
- JESUS IS MESSIAH AND SON OF GOD ! HE IS MAN THROUGH AND THROUGH ! - However , Jesus is not God in the absolute sense of the word (cp. Moses : Ex . 4 :16 ; 7 :1) ! Rather Jesus is the representative of God , and as such He identifies Himself with the revelation of God  , that is , with the Word of God (identity of revelation) , not with the nature of God , that is , He is not identical with God by nature (identity of nature) ; cp. Moses (Deut . 18 : 15 ; Acts 3 : 22 ; John 5 : 46) and other prophets of the Old Testament !