July 30, 2025

Dear Friends,

This week one man prayed with me according to the pattern of Luke 18:13 & Romans 10:9.

The man is a school principal in northern Europe, so far north that the sun almost never goes down in summer. It was 11 pm his time, and there was still daylight coming from his window. He likes to go to churches and sit there when nobody is around and just think about God. But he never knew how to get to this God. He wrote the following:

Dear James,
First, I want to send you my admiration for your work. I am an old man now who studies the world extensively in all its aspects, and when I found you and your scientific knowledge, I was really surprised. I am a former materialist, and I have no talent for feeling the presence of god. I just am as I am. But when listening to you, I just think that I am missing something, but I do t know what. You talk about the resurrection of Jesus as the most important feature of a religious life, but I can’t understand why that’s so important. Here I am, over 2000 years later, and I don’t understand what you mean. As grateful as I am for learning to know you and your important work, I feel, perhaps, sorry that I can’t feel like you.

We met. As I would put scriptures before him, he would read it aloud, and sit back and say, “That’s a beautiful text…Yes, I understand it now.” He was a language major in school, so he’s a pensive reader. He was so ready to get saved. So ready. He received the message of the resurrection with great joy. And it was my joy to see that happen. After our meeting, here is some of what he wrote:

Dear Mr Tour,
Thank you for meeting with me. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw your email and that I actually was going to meet you in person. I always, at least half my life, asked for God to “contact me” you know, let me feel his presence, but we have never been in a personal contact. So I guess he finally, late in my life, sent you, tired of waiting for me. And I am in awe, humble and grateful for the meeting though I see you as one of the most important person in this field and the great work you are doing. And now, when I met you, as my friend, although a long distant one but still a friend.

I want to die like an explanation mark, not as a question mark. I was reading S Kirkegaard as a young man, and I guess you are familiar with him, so it was the first time I thought about Christian life. So I have tried to live in that third phase of growing, living accordingly to the words of the Bible, but still I couldn´t feel Jesus’ presence in my heart….So, with this said, during the years passing from then to now, I have found a glimmer of him [Jesus] in Shakespeare, in Bach, in Jan Johansson, a Swedish jazz pianist, etc., but I guess I really haven’t opened my heart to Jesus. Well, I will try. I will do all I can to grow as a person. I will open my heart to Jesus. So help me God. Perhaps it will be “ the beginning of a beautiful relationship”. Thank you again for being there in this important time of my life. Best regards from the north of ___________…PS I have done my homework and read the gospel of John. It´s the most beautiful text ever written in any human language…

Isaiah 33:17
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty.

Jesus is the pinnacle of beauty. The best in every way.

God bless,

Dr. James Tour