One Flesh

Dear Weekly Readers!

Please enjoy this week's article written by Jorma Pesämaa from Finland. This article is about the very important topic of marriage.

May God bless your week.

ONE FLESH

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.” (Ephesians 5:31)  

It is truly amazing that a Christian marriage unites a man and a woman as "one flesh!" Still, our reason questions: "Is this only an allegory, or does one really need to take this literally?" A person who desires to give even the slightest amount of glory to God has to conclude that the idea of one flesh is greatly emphasized in the Bible. God stated these words already when the first couple was married. Our Savior Himself used these words more than once when speaking about marriage. The Lord's apostle also writes about becoming one flesh when teaching the congregations. God desired to institute marriage with the intent that it would be a help and joy for a person. In Proverbs it is written beautifully …Rejoice with the wife of thy youth …Be thou ravished always with her love. (Proverbs 5:18-19) Still, because of our corrupt flesh the "marriage happiness" for many turns to the "marriage problem." A spouse seems to have so many faults; this attitude makes love grow cold and makes the mind bitter.

A worldly-minded person's solution to get out of this dead-end is often divorce—and later finding a new spouse. Reason again concludes: "I did my best to fix things; now it's best to put a stop to this relationship." But a person who takes God's Word into account looks for another solution. He or she remembers Jesus' words about marriage: What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Mark 10:9) A horseman can exchange a horse for a new one when problems start to arise with the current horse. Although I'm sure nobody bearing the name of a Christian thinks quite this lightly about changing spouses, the threshold for divorce seems to have gotten lower.... Let's not be led astray! The "one flesh" instituted by God is still valid. May we remember that the Bible places adultery and whoredom in the same category as other heathen sins.

The apostle vividly describes caring for a marriage in his letter to the Ephesians: So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies… For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it… (Ephesians 5:28-29)  Surely no man or woman actually hates their hand, foot or some body part so much that they would like to amputate it—no, not even if there are bad deficiencies and ailments. Rejecting a member of our own body is simply not an alternative or solution to the problem. No. If some body part is somehow handicapped, one wants to sacrifice all his wealth and energy to take care of it until it is better. In the same sacrificial way, spouses are to take care of each other so that their "one flesh" is restored.

Let it be mentioned that there have been special cases in the history of Christianity where a Christian has had to move separate from their spouse because of, for example, verbal abuse or physical violence. Being separated is milder than divorce in the respect that one is waiting for the situation to improve and doesn't want to break up the marriage. Paul also spoke about a marriage so bad that, for some reason, ended in divorce. In that case, the divorced were to remain single so that the possibility to return to the marriage was still there, and reconciliation was still the goal. And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband… (1 Corinthians 7:10-11)

So, God's Word firmly unites spouses as one flesh. Because of our corrupt flesh, not one marriage is without trials. There are faults in every Christian man and woman—God knew and knows this. As the medicine, as the fountain of power and love, He offers Christ's example in His Word—Christ's sacrificial love and unending forgiveness. May this medicine be enough for us as well!

“Another would have rejected me,
And given reasons to flee,
But me, You endure, and continually bear;
My debt You know—You paid it on Calvary there.”
(Zion's Song)

God Is Faithful to His Promises

God's Peace!

The 104th Apostolic Lutheran convention that was held last weekend was a real time of blessing! Thank you to everyone who prayed for that time. I hope everyone will enjoy this week's article by Pastor Travis Seppala.

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 
(Genesis 17:1-8) 

When examining the life of Abraham and the many descendants who followed after him, it becomes very evident that these people were in no way perfect. Instead, the Bible tells of people who made mistakes, who often lacked trust, and who proved to be undeserving of the promises of God.

Abraham and Sarah tried to take matters into their own hands and ended up with Ishmael, Hagar and conflict. Jacob and Esau fought over the birthright. Joseph was betrayed and sold into slavery by his own brothers. Upon being rescued from Egypt, the Israelites were quick to worship idols rather than God.

Time and again this chosen people turned their backs on God and proved to be unworthy of the promises made to Abraham, and yet, through it all, God remained faithful to these promises. Even when they were in captivity, He watched over His people and raised up men like Daniel, Nehemiah and Ezra. Though they did not always seek after Him, God continually made Himself known and still held to the covenant He had made with this people.

In doing this, God clearly demonstrates that His promises and His Word do not depend upon the ability of the human race to be found worthy of them. What is evident in the Scriptures is that Israel was never really able to demonstrate a worthiness of the promises. Rather, what is revealed is that God remained faithful even when His people were not able to do the same. God is faithful even when His people lack faith and break the covenants.

His promises do not depend on us; we depend on His promises. This is something that is all too easy to lose sight of: people can easily think that God's grace and forgiveness depend on their good behavior and righteousness. What the Scriptures show is that though people fail on a regular basis, God continues to remain faithful and, ultimately, it is because of HIS faithfulness that He sent His Son. The promises of God are fulfilled by Him through the work of Christ Jesus, and though one does not have to be righteous to come to Him, one does have to come to Him in order to be righteous.

Pastor Travis Seppala

Our Christian Walk

Dear Weekly Readers!

Please enjoy this weeks article written by Shane Juuti! 

May God Bless your week! 

 

John

Dear brothers and sisters in faith, I pray that this short portion of Scripture will bring you joy in the simplicity of how our walk should be.

And he (Jesus) sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?  And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. (Mark 14:13-15)

A beautiful picture of a Christian's walk can be easily overlooked in the great depth of this Scripture. The man bearing the pitcher of water gives much insight into our Christian walk. Here is a man, it would appear, who was simply going about his daily tasks. Unbeknownst to him, Christ was using him in a powerful, most important way: to lead someone to the house where the Passover was to be eaten.

All he was doing was carrying a pitcher of water. The Passover is the natural picture of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that we also remember in Holy Communion; we spiritually partake of this when in repentance we come and have the blood of Christ struck on our hearts. We see that the room was all prepared.

The man with the pitcher no doubt knew this, but the text gives no indication that he had done anything to prepare it. Spiritually, the disciples show how Christ works in hearts to direct people to find this prepared room.

Again, the man with the pitcher had no idea Christ had sent someone to look for him or that he was doing something to lead someone to his master's house.

Let's take example from this man. He knew the room, and the feast was prepared. He didn't worry about trying to get the right people to come. Christ was giving those ones the directions they needed. He was simply going about his life but, on the spiritual side, visible for all to see, was the fact that he was bearing the living water of the simple Gospel message.

So, when we are to sow the seed on all ground, why was he not splashing water on all he met? Because it shows the subtle difference between the seed of the Word, and the living water of the Gospel. His walk showed that he believed the Gospel of the forgiveness of his sin for himself, and people could observe that he was forgiving also. This type of walk sows the seed of the Word on every type of heart we come in contact with, and has the power to draw people.

We know that splashing water on people, no matter how hot and thirsty they appear to us, causes anger or, at the very least, annoyance. If someone asks though, they are most thankful for even a small drink of water. If we start telling people about the truth of forgiveness it very often causes contention, but if a heart is thirsting for forgiveness it is most thankful for the Gospel message.

It is a difficult task for us as humans to simply walk with the love of Christ showing in the forgiveness we have for others, trusting that God prepares everything else. The feast is prepared; He sends the ones who are seeking. He will have us in exactly the right place at the proper time to lead them there, and He will provide the right words to speak if He decides to use us.

May God grant the peace to trust that it is so simple to each and every one of us. Amen. ~

Shane Juuti,

Alberta, Canada

Assurance of Salvation

Dear Weekly Readers!

God’s Peace!

   

We are now only a little over a week until the start of our annual ALC convention!  Please pray for these four days of services and meetings!   May Jesus Christ be lifted up!

This week our article is by Pastor Ron Holmgren.

   

May God Bless your Week!  John R. 

We too often look in the wrong places to find assurance that we are God's child. It is common for the "sons of Adam" to look within, perhaps searching for some feelings we have had after some spiritual experience. Or we might think that if we look for some "fruit" or "work" we will be sure of the work of God in our heart. 

Some look for some charismatic gift of the spirit. Or we might look back over our life, or at least the years since we have been a Christian, to see if we have progressed in our Christian walk. That must be a sure way to determine if God favors us. In doing this we either despair because we are never good enough or we begin to think lofty thoughts about ourselves.

But these are not the places where we will find true assurance. We must look to that "more sure word of prophecy" that Peter spoke of. There we will find the Gospel—the good news—that we so desperately need.

Luther found this to be true after so many attempts to assure his fearful heart. But when he finally found peace in the "external promise of Christ" (apart from us and our contributions) he wanted to remain there because he saw how solid that foundation was.

Read how he put this in his own words:

God will not have us rely on anything else, or trust with our heart in anything that is not Christ in His Word, no matter how sacred and full of Spirit it may be. Faith has no other foundation on which it can endure… We must seek Christ in that which is the Father's, that is, we must simply and solely cleave to the Word of the Gospel, which shows and reveals Christ aright to us. If you would effectively comfort others and yourself, then learn in this and other spiritual temptations to say with Christ: Why are you running to and fro, tormenting yourself with fearful and distressed thoughts, as though God had no more grace for you and as though Christ were not to be found, and refuse to be satisfied unless you find Him in yourself and feel holy and without sin? 

That will get you nowhere; it is all toil and labor lost. Don't you know that Christ is minded to be present and to be found nowhere but in that which is His Father's and not in that which you or all men are or have? The fault does not lie with Christ and His grace; He indeed is and remains unlost and can always be found; the fault lies in you, that you do not seek Him right, namely, where He is to be sought, because you are judging according to your feelings and expect to seize Him with your thoughts. 

But you must come here, where there is neither yours nor any man's, but God's business and rule, namely, where His Word is. There you will meet Him and hear and see neither wrath nor displeasure, as you fear, but only grace and cordial love toward you… But it means a struggle for the heart to get there and take hold of this; first it must crash and experience that all our notions of seeking Christ are futile and in vain and that in the end there is no other choice than to turn away from oneself and all other human consolation and trust only in His Word. (Martin Luther)

God help us to see this clearly and in his Holy Word find the hope that our hearts long for, found in the proclamation of the Gospel heard in the preaching of God's Word, and in the receiving of the Holy Sacraments wherein the same Word is, and Christ alone is found. We have an external hope that is not based on us or on some changing and uncertain foundation.~

Pastor Ron Holmgren,   Hockinson, WA