The Weekly Diner

Dear Weekly Readers! God’s Peace!

I will endeavor to write a few words for the Diner myself this week. Starting next week, I will be traveling throughout the USA for two months. I will surely attempt to keep an article coming to you each week, but prayerfully they will be written by other willing writers, since my time will be very scarce! The reason for the trip is to raise awareness of what The Foreign Mission of the Apostolic Lutheran Church of America is involved in around the world. We are so thankful that God has seen fit to use us for His Service. Therefore, we want to share what God is doing around the world with others in the USA. We do so with the prayer that more people here in the USA will join us in the effort to bring the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to all people!

We know that all of the spreading of the Word that God wants done, will get done. We just want to be willing servants, ready to be used as tools in His workshop! We totally rely upon our Lord for strength to go on and for the faith to believe. We desire to give all honor and glory unto Him!

This week I went to the funeral of an 85-year-old man. At the funeral, a story was told about what this man’s great-grandson. This little boy had been playing when he overheard his mother talking about the coming death of her grandpa.

The little boy came running and asked, “Does your grandpa believe that Jesus died on the cross for his sins?”
The little boy’s mother told him, “Yes, he does.”

With that the boy let out a big “whew” (a sigh of relief), and went back to play!
The only thing that little Christian boy needed to hear was that grandpa believed that Jesus died for his sins. That boy knew that this meant that grandpa would be going to heaven where everything is joy and happiness forever! Oh the faith of a child!

I pray that each one reading this today would also know that we are saved because Jesus died on the cross for us! Our sin debt is paid in full! The work is over; it is finished; it is accomplished.

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:20

The important example that this elderly man left us was that a person needs to believe by faith in this life! We need to be reconciled during this time of grace, to believe the Jesus suffered, bled, died, and rose again for our justification. Do you believe this, dear reader? Prayerfully you do, but if you don’t, then you still have time. The Lord has allowed the world to keep going on; therefore, today if you hear His voice, call upon the Lord! “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

We know that these days are truly the last times; evil, sin, wickedness, death and destruction are all around us. Furthermore, we do not know how many more days each of us has left upon this earth—even if the earth should still stand for another thousand years! It is up to us to watch and be ready for the Great I AM to come calling! “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” Matthew 24: 42
We have a song that we sing in English that goes: He is coming again! In power and great glory, He is coming again!

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18
“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4: 15-16
Let us all share about this Jesus, for we know that Scripture says: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

May God bless your week!
John Ruotsala, FM Administrator