The Grace of God

Now, this is the sum of the law: You are to be kind, amiable and benignant in heart, word and deed; and even though they take your life, still you are to suffer all in love, and render thanks to your Lord.
 

Behold, thus a great deal is included in the short sentence, "Thou shalt not kill." Christ lived up to this; do the same, and you are a good Christian. When nailed to the cross, His name, which was above every name, and His honor were profaned by the Jews, while they reviled Him by words of the following and similar import: "Well, what a nice God He has! If He be God's Son, let Him come down!

Let His God come now, in whom He banked and boasted so much, and help Him!" (Matthew 27:43, Mark 15:32, Luke 23:35) Such words pierced His very heart, hurting Him more than all His other sufferings; still, He suffered all this with patience; He wept over His enemies, because they would have no part in the great benefit to be derived from His death; yea, He prayed for their sin. And in the face of this we are ready to snarl and growl over the least trifle, when asked to yield even a little to our neighbor.

Here you see how far we are still from Christ. It is indeed necessary to suffer with Christ, if we would enter with Him into glory. He has gone before, so we should follow, as St. Peter says, For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. (1Peter 2:21-23)

Now see what kind of an example St. Peter places before us; truly we should emulate it, endeavoring to be and to act like Him. But this we cannot do by nature; it follows that we without exception are the devil's own, there being not a man on earth that is found not guilty. Hence the sentence holds good: You must be likewise skillful, namely, good at heart, or you belong to perdition.

 

What then must we do? You must do as follows: You must acknowledge that you are condemned by the Law, and the devil's own property and that you are unable to rescue yourself by any power of your own. Therefore you must flee to God, pray Him to change you, or all is lost and ruined.

In view of this lay hold of His word and promise, that He will change you; this only will help you. Pray thus: "Oh my God, Thou hast placed Christ, Thine only beloved Son, before me as an example, so that I might lead a like life; but I am not able to do this. 0 my God, change me, grant me Thy grace!"

God then comes and says, "Behold, since you know yourself and seek grace from Me, I will change you and do as you desire. And though you are not so perfect as Christ, as indeed you should be, I shall nevertheless have My Son's life and perfection cover your imperfections." So you see we must always have something to keep us in the right humility and fear.

This is true comfort that does not rest on our ability, but on the fact that we have a gracious God, who forgives our sins; on the fact that we believe in Christ and not in our own worthiness, He cleansing us from day to day; on the fact that whenever we fall short, we should always place our hope and trust in Christ. See, this is the main drift of our Gospel.

Martin Luther

Feed My Sheep

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon

Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more
than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou
knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest
that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith
unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time,
Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all
things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him,
Feed my sheep.
John 21:15-17

T he following verses from Mark chapter 1 clarify what the Gospel is and how it is needful for the saving and feeding of souls. The Gospel is clearly defined and we see that John the Baptist and Jesus preached the same Gospel:

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mark 1:1-5)

Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:14-15)

When Jesus left this earth He gave the commission to His disciples: Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:46-47) Jerusalem is the church.

This commission, when it is preached, answers with our spirits and also becomes food for us believers. The hearing of the Gospel is becoming rare. Even in the natural sense, if we were to live in a time of famine, we would search for food and go where the food is. In the spiritual sense, when food is withheld from us, it creates "famine for the Word."

The beautiful account of Joseph explains that during the famine Joseph's father, Jacob, heard there was corn in Egypt and instructed his sons: …get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. (Genesis 42:2)

One of my favorite songs "Feed My Sheep" by the late Pastor A. Mickelson has beautiful words regarding the feeding of the sheep. The sheep should be led where the feeding is best and to where the feeding is complete (verses 1-2). It's vital that sheep receive the best food, since sheep are known to be finicky or picky eaters—as are the sheep of Christ's pasture.

Sheep may even search through a whole bale of hay to find one blade of clover, whereas goats may eat almost anything. These are the words of Jesus in John 10:2-5: …he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

Hearing the complete Gospel is what satisfies our spiritual portion or appetite. Sheep sometimes stray and the Shepherd of the soul seeks for those sheep. Sometimes they will not return; but if they avail themselves of forgiveness their garments can be made white by the blood of the Lamb through this glorious Gospel preached to them.

As one elder pastor so often stated: "Because Christ has commanded me His commission to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins, I wish to preach it to you now." When we are thankful for what we have received and obey Christ's command to preach repentance and the remission of sins, the mysteries of the Scriptures are opened and the "feeding is complete," as so aptly stated in Pastor Mickelson's song.

 From my own experience and observation, I have found I am spiritually strengthened, revived and given food that often can't even be measured when pastors have a spirit of obedience and understand this instruction and preach it, and they may say with the prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61:1-3).

M ay the instructions of Christ to bind up the wounded and bring God's peace to those who are troubled and in need of reconciliation and consolation that their sins are forgiven in Jesus' name and blood yet clearly be opened and go forth—in keeping with Christ's teaching and example. For our sake, and for the sake of our children, may the Scriptures that support Jesus' instruction yet be expounded upon, preached and taught. It is woven throughout the Word: the royal priesthood, the prodigal son's conversion, Apostle Paul's conversion, the keys to the kingdom, Christ washing the disciples' feet and countless places that have been given for our need regarding how souls are converted and kept in faith.

Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck… (1Timothy 1:19) We then will not err in withholding proper food for hungry souls, believers and unbelievers alike, and our children will partake in the same blessed heritage that we have so graciously been given. The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever… (Deut 29:29)

In God's peace. ~ Phebe Johnson

 All who really know the Master Know of pastures rich and sweet,

Fragrant meadows rich with clover Where the feeding is complete:
Know the nooks beside cool waters And where secret fountains leap,
Unto these the Master saith: "If thou love Me, feed My sheep."
Care thou for the weak and weary, Lead them where the feeding's best,
For they've browsed amongst the thistles And the thorns gave them no rest.
Seek the thirsty and refresh them In the pools so clear and deep,
For He saith to those who love Him: "Feed My weary, wayward sheep."
Pastor A. Mickelson, 1923, #622 Hymns and Songs of Zion

Kept By the Power of God

Dear Weekly Readers!   God’s Peace!

I am sure many of you have heard about the bombing that took place in our country in Boston, MA, USA.

This came very close to me yesterday as I was at the very site of the bombing, at the exact place, just a little while before.    I was there with thousands of other people for a couple hours.   For whatever the reason, God caused me to leave that area before the bomb went off.  

Each day God’s grace is so amazing.  Yesterday it was obvious to me that it was not my turn to die or be injured.  However, do I even realize how many times our loving God protects me when I do not even know about it?

The other thought that comes to mind is that life is short.   James 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Yesterday the whole world heard about this bombing.  At the same time, thousands of other people died of other causes without notice.  Things such as accidents, cancer, snake bites, illness, old age, and so forth.  Life in general is a dangerous place.   Are we ready to meet our maker?  Are our sins washed away by the blood of Jesus today?  1 John 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

It is very sure, we will die.  Hebrews 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:   We will not escape death.

Are you ready?  Death can come at any minute.  Let us make sure that these words written pertain to us:    Galatians 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The events of the cross of Jesus Christ are still close to our heart because the time that we commemorated these events has so recently passed.   However, let us remember EACH DAY that we are crucified with Christ, and now Christ lives in us, and we live by His faith and are:  kept by the Power of God.  1 Peter 1:5   Because Jesus died, man can live!

Let us turn each day over to His care and keeping!  Let us know and understand that any and all endeavors, goals, desires, wishes, dreams, or whatever, are only made possible by His Grace and Mercy, and that we need to come humbly before Him in thankfulness and adoration each day, thanking God for all of His provisions for our body, life, and eternal life!

May God Bless your week.   John Ruotsala

 

Living the Effects of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Dear Weekly Readers!

We have just gone through Holy Week. Now, as we live our life as Christians, we live in the power of the resurrected Lord!

Pastor Orval Wirkkala writes about this below! May God Bless your week!    


                  Living the Effects of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

While Jesus was yet in the tomb, those who did not understand the meaning and purpose of the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of man, made provision to stop Him from coming out of the tomb that His dead body had been laid in. This they did by placing a stone in the opening of the tomb and by putting guards at the tomb. (Matthew 27:62-66) 

When He arose on Easter morning, the guards who had been "as dead men during His resurrection," went to tell "the chief priests all the things that were done"
 and were told to tell people that His body had been stolen away in the night by the disciples. (Matthew 28:4,11-15)

The rejection of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the denial which began on the same day on which He arose continues today. In a letter written somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 years after this unparalleled historic event, a Christian congregation had a question concerning the resurrection of the dead.  

The question did not so much center on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, but more so on the question of "Is there a resurrection of the dead?" For the answer to that question drives the answer to the following questions: Did Jesus arise from the dead? Do we need to believe that He arose from the dead? Can't we be a Christian without believing that He arose from the dead? 

Everything that we believe and trust in is dependent upon whether Jesus Christ arose from the dead and is alive today. If He indeed arose from the dead, then it follows that all that He did and said in His life is true. If He did not rise from the dead, then it also follows that all that He did and said is not true. 

Let us hear how this question was answered by the Apostle Paul in the year 50 AD (approximately) picking up at the beginning of chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians.

He begins his answer by speaking of the Gospel that he received and which is defined as the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He goes onto give evidence of Jesus' resurrection by pointing out the various people who had seen Jesus alive after His resurrection, which included Himself. He then poses the rhetorical question in verse 12, then gives the consequences of no resurrected Jesus.

 12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

No resurrection means that Christ is not risen, the content of our preaching is worthless, our faith has no substance, we are liars, we are yet in our sins, those who have gone on before have died in their sins, and we who are living today have only this life to live. But.....no, He is resurrected, and therefore the opposite of what he just told them/us is true.


 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

There is a resurrection from the dead, therefore Christ is risen. This means that the content of our preaching is true, our faith has as its object the person and work of Jesus Christ, we are telling the truth, we are not in our sins, those who have fallen asleep (died) before us are awaiting the resurrection from the dad, and we have a lot more to look forward to than this life.  

Christ arose and He is the "first fruits" of them that slept. His unique resurrection precedes all other resurrections, for even though people have been raised from the dead previously in a physical sense, all but Jesus went back to the grave to await the final resurrection unto life. This thought is captured by both the Prophet Isaiah and the Apostle John:

  Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors Isaiah 53:10-12

And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. John 12:23-24


What does this mean for you, for me, as we live in our post resurrection life? 
There is a resurrection from the dead, therefore Christ is risen. This means that the content of our preaching is true, our faith has as its object the person and work of Jesus Christ, we are telling the truth, we are not in our sins, those who have fallen asleep (died) before us are awaiting the resurrection from the dead, and we have a lot more to look forward to than this life. 

Let this be an encouragement to us today, for our preaching is not based on some abstract idea, but rather it is based on the historical facts of the death, burial and resurrection of the Incarnate God, Jesus the Christ. 

Dear brothers and sisters in the mission, Keep on preaching the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ!

God's Peace!

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

Christ, Our Rock

Dear Weekly Readers!

May the Peace of the Risen Lord Jesus be in your hearts each day of your Christian life!

Please enjoy the following article by our guest Pastor, Wayne Juntunen.

 

CHRIST, OUR ROCK

The Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, wrote about the importance of the Old Testament saying:  “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4)  There is much that we can learn from the Old Testament.  The Lord has brought two incidents from the life of Moses that all of us ought to seriously take to heart.  They both occurred during the wilderness wanderings of the Israelites after being delivered by God from Egyptian bondage.

Both incidents had to do with the need for water.  In the first instance, God told Moses “,,,Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. ⁶ Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel” (Ex. 17:5,6).

The second time there was need for water, God told Moses to take his staff and speak to the rock and water would come forth (Num. 20:8).  But Moses did not obey God.  He “took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?  And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also” (Num. 20:9-11)

There are many lessons we can learn from this second incident.  Perhaps Moses did not believe that water could come from a rock by simply speaking to it.  We know from the Scripture that Moses was angry.  He was, also, prideful as he said, “must we fetch you water out of this rock.”  Because Moses did not honor God, he lost his position of leading the Israelites into the Promised Land (Num. 20:12).  But there is another truth, the most important of all, that is not so quickly seen.

This truth is clarified for us in the New Testament because the New Testament Scriptures interpret the meaning of the Old Testament.  So we turn to the Apostle Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians wherein we read: “¹ Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; ² And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; ³ And did all eat the same spiritual meat; ⁴ And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 1-4).

Coupled with that passage is the one from 1 Peter 3:18 wherein we read:  “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”  What this reveals to us is that Christ suffered only once for our sins.  When He cried on the cross, “It is finished”(Jn. 19:30), His suffering in the flesh was done, once for all forever!  Christ did not and does not need to suffer again.

Therefore, when Moses struck the rock, not only once but twice, he was, in effect, repeating Christ’s sufferings.  Our joy, and His, is that now we need only speak to the Rock.  Jesus, Himself, said:  “Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Mt. 7:7).

Another truth that all of this brings to light is that as Moses was telling the Israelites that they were “rebels”, he was being rebellious himself.  Furthermore, these brothers and sisters in faith were the anointed of the Lord, also, because they had been baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.  In effect, they were part of his body and, in truth, a part of Christ’s body since they were all in the cloud; meaning they were enveloped by God.  God tells us in Psa. 105:15, not to touch his anointed, and his anointed are not only those who hold the office of priest or prophet because we believe in the priesthood of all believers (1 Pet. 2:9) since Christ has made us kings and priests in his kingdom (Rev. 5:10).

Finally, Jesus warns us that at his Second Coming some of His servants will have lost their love for Him and for our fellow believers by mistreating one another; as a consequence, the “…master will appoint him his  portion with the unbelievers” (Lk. 12:46).  The reason for this tragedy is the fact that however we treat one another, we do it as unto the Lord (Mt. 25:40).

Lord, have mercy upon us!  You are our Rock.  Grant us grace that we do not cause you to suffer, striking you out of anger towards one another, our anointed ones!

Pr. Wayne Juntunen