God’s Peace be with each of our readers today. I really look forward to hearing from you as often as I do by email, since that way we can get to know each others heart more and more. Mainly, we want to learn of the Heart of Jesus for each of us! This week our article is written by a childhood favorite pastor of mine. He has passed away many years ago now, but God’s word is always true and never gets old!! Please enjoy!
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:29-32) The first thought revealed to us in this text is this: Simeon was ready to depart in peace for he had seen the salvation that God had prepared before all the people. What greater blessing could befall man than to be ready to depart in peace from this world of sorrow and sin and to dwell in the land of the righteous forever? This was the goal that Simeon had sought, and it is the goal toward which all true Christians are striving. Is this the goal toward which you are also striving, dear friend? If it is, let us examine how Simeon reached this goal. The Holy Ghost had revealed to him that he would not see death until he had seen the Lord’s Christ. When he saw the Savior, on whom all the promises of the Word of God hinged, he was ready to depart in peace because he had believed those promises. This is what happens to all who see the Lord as He is: full of grace and truth. They find the peace of God that drives away the fear of death. Have you seen the Lord in this manner? You may think this is impossible because He is not in the flesh as He was in the days of Simeon. But does not the Bible say, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people? Therefore all may see Him. But do all know Him as their Savior? Great multitudes saw Him when He was here on earth, but did they know Him as their Savior? He performed miracles and wonders that never had been seen before and He spoke as no one had ever spoken before. But Simeon knew Him though he only saw a babe in the arms of His mother. This teaches us that some requirements are needed in order to come to know the Savior when He appears to us. The Bible tells us that Simeon was just and devout, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. The definition for just and devout is one who is upright and impartial, devoted to studying and obeying the Word of God. Those requirements are necessary; namely, that we honestly and impartially study and obey God’s Word in the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Then we shall know the Savior whenever and wherever He appears to us. The natural eyes may see only a babe, or a Christian mother or father, sister or brother, but to the humble, sincere soul the Spirit reveals the Savior in and through them. The rationalist says that is foolishness. The atheist says that is superstition. The intellectualist brushes it aside as ignorance. Apostle Paul says, The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (I Corinthians 1:25) Let us take St. Paul as an example. The Bible introduces him to us as Saul of Tarsus in the eighth and ninth chapters of the book of Acts. He had seen the Lord with Hisdisciples, but did not know Him as his Savior because at that time he was not upright and impartial, although he may have entertained such thoughts about himself. He no doubt was sincere in his belief that he was serving God when he persecuted the Christians, but the Holy Ghost was not upon him, enlightening and guiding him. Not until the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus in such brightness that his natural eyes were blinded did he know the Lord, and that not by sight for he was blind. He knew Him through the words of introduction revealed in His response to Saul’s question, Who art thou? when the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. (Acts 9:5) Now, though Saul was blind, he received spiritual light and guidance to become upright, impartial and submissive,
asking, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? (Acts 9:6) Jesus commanded him to go into the city and that he will be told what he should do. Why did Jesus Himself not tell Saul what to do? Because He wanted Saul to know Him through His
followers and His Word. Had He justified Saul on the way, he would never have come to know Jesus in His followers and would have taught men to seek and find the Lord in secret, as many teach today. This experience taught Saul to seek the Lord in His followers and to find Him in His Word. When he received the blessing of the Lord, he received his sight and the Holy Ghost by believing that the words which Ananias spoke to him were just as authentic as if they had been spoken by the Lord. Therefore, Paul teaches, Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God, (II Corinthians 5:20) and To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ. (II Corinthians 2:10) Note that Paul says, forgave I it in the person of Christ. Thus from experience he says, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) The light that shines from Jesus first enlightens the heart and conscience of man to take note of his utterly lost and condemned condition. Then it shows man what he must do to be saved. Therefore, Paul says, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God, (Romans 3:23-25)
and also these words, In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to
the riches of his grace. (Ephesians 1:7) Now the sinner becomes aware of the grace of God in the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. Dear friend, has the light of Jesus enlightened you in this manner? If so, you are
indeed blessed and you have the peace of God, which is the peace of a good conscience. My new year’s wish for you is
that you keep faith and a good, peaceful conscience to the end of your journey. On the other hand, if you have not been enlightened, pray to God that the light of Jesus may shine into your heart and that He would give you strength to repent of your sins and to believe them all forgiven in the name and blood of Jesus. Then you also will have peace in the new year that has just begun, and the Sun of Righteousness, which rose to its glory on the cross of Calvary, will warmyour heart to sing His praise for the salvation of your soul throughout the new year. May the peace of God bein and with you all! Amen.
The late Andrew Mickelsen
Submitted by Joan Johnson
Astoria, Oregon
January 1962 CM
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isaiah 55:1
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Jesus Calms Our Storms!
Greetings to all in the Name above all Names! Jesus Christ our Lord!
It is a beautiful day here in New Hampshire. It is cool this morning. About zero degrees Fahrenheit, which is -17.7 Celsius. However, this is warmer than it has been and the sun is shinning on the snow beautifully! God is so good! I will put a couple of pictures taken from my office so you can see! I know that many of you have never seen snow or ice. Do not feel sorry for us; just be in awe at what God can do. A month ago I was writing about the fierce ice storm we had that did so much damage. Today, life is back to normal and except for destroyed trees, you can hardly tell it happened.
Such are the storms of life. They too are passing.
This Sunday the text for my sermon in church was when Jesus and Peter walked on the water. What a wonderful Lord we have that He gives us these stories in His Word that we can rejoice in over and over. I am sure you are very familiar with this story in scripture. It is recorded in many of the Gospels. Here are a couple lessons that the Lord showed to me in this text. I was comforted again by Him, so I will attempt to share these with you. Due to lack of space on this blog, I will have to be very short.
Jesus constrained the disciples to get into the boat. He told them to get aboard. They obeyed. They were in His will. If they had disobeyed, they would not have gone into the boat; therefore they would have been outside of His will.
Now they were out in the middle of the sea. A storm came up! It was fierce, and the disciples were afraid. We also have storms that come up in our lives. We have fear, we worry. The sea here was the big problem the men in the boat were having. The sea was raging. It was a huge problem for them. What happened? The Lord Jesus came to them walking on the sea! He walked the problem that they were having. He had their troubles and problems under His feet! He is able to do the same for us. Scripture says: Psalm 8:6 (KJV)
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
This is stated in Ephesians and Corinthians as well in similar words.
All things are under his feet. The disciples in the boats problems were under His feet. When we turn to him in faith, our problems are also put under His Feet! What a joy that is! Our worst problems, fears, doubts, troubles, turmoil, everything, He is able to put under is feet. He is in control! Dear Reader, lay hold of this by faith. Put all your trust in Him for he cares for you!
Remember that the disciples got into the boat because Jesus told him to go. Let us also be obedient to His word! Jesus went up into the mountain to pray. Even when we are Christians, we will have storms in life. We all do. But does Jesus forget? Did He forget the disciples in the boat? No never! He was in the mountain praying for them! He cared for them so deeply. He also cares for us so much. Today He is as it were up on a mountain. He is up in Heaven on the right hand of God praying for us! He sees us. He cares for us! He is listening to our prayers. He knows how we are doing, and He wants the best for us! Let us remember to turn to Him in prayer often. He taught us to Pray by example even as we see in this story. Also, He is inside every believer today in the form of the Holy Spirit! What a comfort to have Him that close when the storms of life rage. Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
……for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. What a wonderful Savior we have! I wish we had room for more from this wonderful portion of scripture. You can find it in Mathew 14:22-33 and other places!
May each of us allow our Lord Jesus to calm our storm this week!!
It is a beautiful day here in New Hampshire. It is cool this morning. About zero degrees Fahrenheit, which is -17.7 Celsius. However, this is warmer than it has been and the sun is shinning on the snow beautifully! God is so good! I will put a couple of pictures taken from my office so you can see! I know that many of you have never seen snow or ice. Do not feel sorry for us; just be in awe at what God can do. A month ago I was writing about the fierce ice storm we had that did so much damage. Today, life is back to normal and except for destroyed trees, you can hardly tell it happened.
Such are the storms of life. They too are passing.
This Sunday the text for my sermon in church was when Jesus and Peter walked on the water. What a wonderful Lord we have that He gives us these stories in His Word that we can rejoice in over and over. I am sure you are very familiar with this story in scripture. It is recorded in many of the Gospels. Here are a couple lessons that the Lord showed to me in this text. I was comforted again by Him, so I will attempt to share these with you. Due to lack of space on this blog, I will have to be very short.
Jesus constrained the disciples to get into the boat. He told them to get aboard. They obeyed. They were in His will. If they had disobeyed, they would not have gone into the boat; therefore they would have been outside of His will.
Now they were out in the middle of the sea. A storm came up! It was fierce, and the disciples were afraid. We also have storms that come up in our lives. We have fear, we worry. The sea here was the big problem the men in the boat were having. The sea was raging. It was a huge problem for them. What happened? The Lord Jesus came to them walking on the sea! He walked the problem that they were having. He had their troubles and problems under His feet! He is able to do the same for us. Scripture says: Psalm 8:6 (KJV)
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
This is stated in Ephesians and Corinthians as well in similar words.
All things are under his feet. The disciples in the boats problems were under His feet. When we turn to him in faith, our problems are also put under His Feet! What a joy that is! Our worst problems, fears, doubts, troubles, turmoil, everything, He is able to put under is feet. He is in control! Dear Reader, lay hold of this by faith. Put all your trust in Him for he cares for you!
Remember that the disciples got into the boat because Jesus told him to go. Let us also be obedient to His word! Jesus went up into the mountain to pray. Even when we are Christians, we will have storms in life. We all do. But does Jesus forget? Did He forget the disciples in the boat? No never! He was in the mountain praying for them! He cared for them so deeply. He also cares for us so much. Today He is as it were up on a mountain. He is up in Heaven on the right hand of God praying for us! He sees us. He cares for us! He is listening to our prayers. He knows how we are doing, and He wants the best for us! Let us remember to turn to Him in prayer often. He taught us to Pray by example even as we see in this story. Also, He is inside every believer today in the form of the Holy Spirit! What a comfort to have Him that close when the storms of life rage. Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
……for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. What a wonderful Savior we have! I wish we had room for more from this wonderful portion of scripture. You can find it in Mathew 14:22-33 and other places!
May each of us allow our Lord Jesus to calm our storm this week!!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Trust in the Lord
Hello and God’s Peace!
I pray that this Blog finds you all in the safe keeping of the Lord! No matter what our circumstances, His promises True and they are for each of us. Lean on the Promises of God throughout this week! Our message today will be by Pastor Rod Johnson. Before we get to that, I would like to remind you to visit our website often at www.themissionsite.com There you can view this blog, as well as the Latest FM News Blog. You can also go to links and work you way to some of our churches and you will be able to listen to sermons on line. For instance www.aalchurchma.org and www.alclakeworth.org are a couple of our churches, and from there you can link to many others. You can listen to live or archived sermons at most of these sites. Also, please sign up for skype sermons. Just email me at jthree16@comcast.net and I will put you on the list. We can deliver these over your cell phone which you can put by a microphone so your whole group can hear. In Christ! John Ruotsala FM Administrator Now, pastor Rod’s message!
Love and Trust The lord!
“Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
There are many lessons to be learned as we study the Holy Scripture. They all begin with TRUST and Love toward God. For us to rely upon the Bible, we must believe and thereby know that it is the inerrant Word of the Lord! Trusting the Word is essential to obtaining wisdom, for by it we know ‘The Christ’! Thus we see from the Proverbs above that when by God’s grace we come to love and trust the Lord, we can rely upon the result; He shall direct our ways!
The Lord knows that we often have worries and fears that make us anxious about many things. So, Jesus said, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” Matt. 6:31,33-34
What is it to trust? It is simply to rely or depend upon! To ‘trust in the Lord’ is to commit your way unto Him, taking refuge in Him. “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.” Psalm 71:1. In the text proverb, we are shown the blessing of the Lord as He directs us in His paths, when we acknowledge Him, not leaning upon our own understanding. Life becomes very simple -- the basics bring contentment because of godliness, as the blessings of God’s grace.
Trusting in the Lord’s guidance and wisdom results in “health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” ProvERBS 3:8 The blessing of the Lord to those who live in love, peace and joy with contentment, is health to both the body and soul.
One of the most difficult areas of trusting the Lord in our lives is to commit our tithes and offerings to Him. This, we often think, may affect acquiring our daily bread, our ability to have what we want, and therefore it will diminish our pleasures of life. So we ‘lean upon our own understanding’ and attempt to manage our money according to our own wisdom. BUT the Lord says: “Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine”. Proverbs 3:9-10 and it is also written: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.” Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
With our limited understanding, or ability to see into the future, we are prone to worry and fear. BUT the blessing of the Lord promised here is that He will provide for our needs even as we pray, “give us this day our daily bread”. He is faithful! What blessings do we lose when we untrustingly rely upon our own judgment? We will never know, because we did not receive them!!! 2 Cor. 9:6-10 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously”. “God loves a cheerful giver.”
The Lord Jesus teaches us: “The world will know that you are My disciples because you love one another.” Our willingness to share with others is a vivid display of love. Providing the financial means to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others is a key expression of love, as it clearly displays to them the loving concern for their needs of body and soul. What we often hear from recipients of The Master’s Mission grant awards in their letters of appreciation is gratitude for the love of God shown to them. Thus the Psalmist wrote: “Let them (the redeemed) sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.” Psalm 107:22
· “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them who love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them.” Luke 6:31-32
· Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
· Psalm 84:12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in Thee.
In the Love of God
In His Service,
God’s Peace!
Pastor Rod
I pray that this Blog finds you all in the safe keeping of the Lord! No matter what our circumstances, His promises True and they are for each of us. Lean on the Promises of God throughout this week! Our message today will be by Pastor Rod Johnson. Before we get to that, I would like to remind you to visit our website often at www.themissionsite.com There you can view this blog, as well as the Latest FM News Blog. You can also go to links and work you way to some of our churches and you will be able to listen to sermons on line. For instance www.aalchurchma.org and www.alclakeworth.org are a couple of our churches, and from there you can link to many others. You can listen to live or archived sermons at most of these sites. Also, please sign up for skype sermons. Just email me at jthree16@comcast.net and I will put you on the list. We can deliver these over your cell phone which you can put by a microphone so your whole group can hear. In Christ! John Ruotsala FM Administrator Now, pastor Rod’s message!
Love and Trust The lord!
“Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
There are many lessons to be learned as we study the Holy Scripture. They all begin with TRUST and Love toward God. For us to rely upon the Bible, we must believe and thereby know that it is the inerrant Word of the Lord! Trusting the Word is essential to obtaining wisdom, for by it we know ‘The Christ’! Thus we see from the Proverbs above that when by God’s grace we come to love and trust the Lord, we can rely upon the result; He shall direct our ways!
The Lord knows that we often have worries and fears that make us anxious about many things. So, Jesus said, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” Matt. 6:31,33-34
What is it to trust? It is simply to rely or depend upon! To ‘trust in the Lord’ is to commit your way unto Him, taking refuge in Him. “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.” Psalm 71:1. In the text proverb, we are shown the blessing of the Lord as He directs us in His paths, when we acknowledge Him, not leaning upon our own understanding. Life becomes very simple -- the basics bring contentment because of godliness, as the blessings of God’s grace.
Trusting in the Lord’s guidance and wisdom results in “health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” ProvERBS 3:8 The blessing of the Lord to those who live in love, peace and joy with contentment, is health to both the body and soul.
One of the most difficult areas of trusting the Lord in our lives is to commit our tithes and offerings to Him. This, we often think, may affect acquiring our daily bread, our ability to have what we want, and therefore it will diminish our pleasures of life. So we ‘lean upon our own understanding’ and attempt to manage our money according to our own wisdom. BUT the Lord says: “Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine”. Proverbs 3:9-10 and it is also written: “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.” Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
With our limited understanding, or ability to see into the future, we are prone to worry and fear. BUT the blessing of the Lord promised here is that He will provide for our needs even as we pray, “give us this day our daily bread”. He is faithful! What blessings do we lose when we untrustingly rely upon our own judgment? We will never know, because we did not receive them!!! 2 Cor. 9:6-10 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously”. “God loves a cheerful giver.”
The Lord Jesus teaches us: “The world will know that you are My disciples because you love one another.” Our willingness to share with others is a vivid display of love. Providing the financial means to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others is a key expression of love, as it clearly displays to them the loving concern for their needs of body and soul. What we often hear from recipients of The Master’s Mission grant awards in their letters of appreciation is gratitude for the love of God shown to them. Thus the Psalmist wrote: “Let them (the redeemed) sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing.” Psalm 107:22
· “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them who love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them.” Luke 6:31-32
· Isaiah 26:3-4 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
· Psalm 84:12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusts in Thee.
In the Love of God
In His Service,
God’s Peace!
Pastor Rod
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Time is Passing!
Dear Readers!
God’s Peace and God’s Blessings to you in this New Year!
In our first conversation for this New Year, I will reflect upon the passing of time. It surely seems as though time is marching on so quickly. These years move by so quickly. I am now 48 years old. I can remember my childhood and growing up years as if it were yesterday. We each are getting older one day at a time. It will not be long before we will be of an age where we will be facing eternity for certain. We know we could face this day today or another other day. However, we know from experience that in this time, our Lord has seen fit to limit the age of man to usually no more that 100 years. Mostly though, it is between 70 and 90 years. This is if we are not stricken with all the numerous diseases, afflictions or accidents that beset man because of the sin that entered the world with Adam and Eve. These are the realities we face.
Probably the reason I am reflecting on this is because this week I will be attending two funerals of dear beloved elders. One of these that went to glory was the mother of Paul Somero, and mother in law of Pastor Jim Maunu and Pastor Orval Wirkkala who are all on the Foreign Mission board. She was 87. The other one is the Father of Pastor Colin Kinnunen who is also on the Foreign Mission board. He was 80. In both cases, it is very sad to see our elders pass on, but it is with great joy that we have the assurance that they are today in Glory in Heaven above. In Heaven there is no sorrow, no sadness or pain. There is no parting over there! They have joined even my earthly father in the singing and rejoicing that goes on continually before our Lord in Heaven. What a joy this reality is! I am sure they would not want to come back to this sin cursed earth. Rather, they will enjoy the presence of the Lord forever!
I am reminded of a song that we often sing here in the USA. Maybe you know it as well. The chorus goes, He could have called ten thousand angels, to destroy and world and set him free. He could have called ten thousand angels, but He died alone, for you and me.
I am rejoicing that the Lord gave up his life here on earth, after He had fulfilled the mission and tasks at hand. He did not call the angels down from heaven to help him. No He died alone for you and me. He gave up His own life, so we can have life eternal. He gave up His own life, so that He could win the victory for death, hell, and the power of the devil! He gave up His own life, so that now while He is in Heaven, He can send those angels to bring our loved ones up to Him for all eternity. This is what happened this week for our two beloved elders here in America. This is what happens to all those Christian everywhere that are believing by Faith in the complete Redemptive work of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us praise and thank God that in His perfect plan, that through the eternal life giving work of His dear Son our Lord Jesus Christ, that there is a hope beyond this life. 2 Tim. 4:8 (KJV)
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
In the Eternal Name of Jesus
Yours in Christ! John Ruotsala
God’s Peace and God’s Blessings to you in this New Year!
In our first conversation for this New Year, I will reflect upon the passing of time. It surely seems as though time is marching on so quickly. These years move by so quickly. I am now 48 years old. I can remember my childhood and growing up years as if it were yesterday. We each are getting older one day at a time. It will not be long before we will be of an age where we will be facing eternity for certain. We know we could face this day today or another other day. However, we know from experience that in this time, our Lord has seen fit to limit the age of man to usually no more that 100 years. Mostly though, it is between 70 and 90 years. This is if we are not stricken with all the numerous diseases, afflictions or accidents that beset man because of the sin that entered the world with Adam and Eve. These are the realities we face.
Probably the reason I am reflecting on this is because this week I will be attending two funerals of dear beloved elders. One of these that went to glory was the mother of Paul Somero, and mother in law of Pastor Jim Maunu and Pastor Orval Wirkkala who are all on the Foreign Mission board. She was 87. The other one is the Father of Pastor Colin Kinnunen who is also on the Foreign Mission board. He was 80. In both cases, it is very sad to see our elders pass on, but it is with great joy that we have the assurance that they are today in Glory in Heaven above. In Heaven there is no sorrow, no sadness or pain. There is no parting over there! They have joined even my earthly father in the singing and rejoicing that goes on continually before our Lord in Heaven. What a joy this reality is! I am sure they would not want to come back to this sin cursed earth. Rather, they will enjoy the presence of the Lord forever!
I am reminded of a song that we often sing here in the USA. Maybe you know it as well. The chorus goes, He could have called ten thousand angels, to destroy and world and set him free. He could have called ten thousand angels, but He died alone, for you and me.
I am rejoicing that the Lord gave up his life here on earth, after He had fulfilled the mission and tasks at hand. He did not call the angels down from heaven to help him. No He died alone for you and me. He gave up His own life, so we can have life eternal. He gave up His own life, so that He could win the victory for death, hell, and the power of the devil! He gave up His own life, so that now while He is in Heaven, He can send those angels to bring our loved ones up to Him for all eternity. This is what happened this week for our two beloved elders here in America. This is what happens to all those Christian everywhere that are believing by Faith in the complete Redemptive work of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us praise and thank God that in His perfect plan, that through the eternal life giving work of His dear Son our Lord Jesus Christ, that there is a hope beyond this life. 2 Tim. 4:8 (KJV)
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
In the Eternal Name of Jesus
Yours in Christ! John Ruotsala
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