The Dayspring

Dear Weekly Readers!

There is only a little more than a week before we celebrate the best and most precious gift ever given to anyone in the history of the world.   A precious baby was born, for the express purpose of redeeming falling mankind.   To save you and me!  To save us for all eternity.  Nothing can compare to the Love of God that we have in Christ Jesus!

Oh, that God would reveal ever more this great act of Love that was given to us in the person of Jesus Christ.  If we could see the full extent of this, we could not contain the joy that we would have.  So today we pray that the Lord will fill us to overflowing with the Joy of the season, which comes through faith in the completed work of His Son Jesus Christ! 

Enjoy this article by Pastor Ron Holmgren.  Also, please pray for this dear pastor as he has liver cancer.   He is the head pastor of a very large congregation in WA, USA.   

THE DAYSPRING

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying... And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.  Luke 1:67, 76-79
T HIS NAME OF OUR LORD is descriptive. Without much stretching we can grasp some of the meaning. We can see the dark night with all its questions, fears and mystery passing away as the sun rises to its zenith and all of darkness flees. The sun is not slowed down. Darkness must yield. As the Apostle of love explains, darkness could not apprehend, attain, nor overtake it.

Shadows of the night are replaced with full revelation. All living things reach for the warmth of the rays and their colors are radiant as they are seen reflecting the sun. When Paul wrote of the whole of creation groaning and suffering in pain together, it was waiting for the deliverance from corruption as we all do. And now is come salvation, now is the revelation of all things which were hidden when darkness prevailed. Rejoice my friend, and sing of the Light that has come to us who sat in darkness.

Jesus is born in Bethlehem and He has brought salvation with Him. He will lead us out of the darkness into His marvelous light. The father of John the Baptist preached the words, "the Dayspring from on high hath visited us." He knew that his son would precede the great deliverer Jesus Christ. John would prepare the way of the Lord and point Him out to those who looked for deliverance.

This is the beauty of Christmas. Light has come and we can walk in the light as He is in the light. When I was a boy, our family had many traditions. We made preparations for the season of Christmas with decorations, gifts and special food. The Norwegian heritage included so many things like sweets, sausage, fish and meat balls. I well remember those days with fondness.  Grandparents and other relatives gathered together and a festive atmosphere filled the house. Lights and candy, snow hoped for even if it seldom came in our area.

And with all this the church sang and talked of the incarnation of Jesus. Many times we worry that the meaning of Christmas is lost in all the festivities. It may be so, but we still can celebrate and share with one another the joy of His coming in our traditional ways. I believe just the fact that the world puts up all the lights and decorations is a testimony to the great effect Jesus has and continues to have on the whole world.

We continue to have traditions at home with our family. I pray our children remember these days as special and full of love, sharing and joyfully remembering the coming of the Lord Jesus in the manger.

God bless you this Christmas and through the coming year with the revelation of His love. Jesus came for you and for me to give us light and salvation through His ultimate gift on the cross of Calvary.

 ~ Pastor Ron Holmgren

Advent

Dear Weekly Readers!

God’s Peace!

Yesterday I used the text from Matthew 3, Verse 1-12, for the sermon in my home church.  In this text John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord!  What was the message of John the Baptist?  Repent.  The Lord is coming.  Is your heart prepared for His coming?  How is one made ready?  By Repentance!  There is nothing that we can do of our own that will prepare us.  We can act in whatever way we want, but nothing is acceptable, except that we acknowledge that we are sinful people, and we humble ourselves and turn toward our God in daily contrition and repentance!  Acts 2:38

 ³⁸ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

God’s Word has all the answers!  We must read it, and believe it by faith!  Let us pray that God through His Holy Spirit would reveal it to each of our hearts.

Please enjoy the article below by Pastor Orval Wirkkala

 

Dearly beloved,

"For I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15. Through the Promise given in the Garden of Eden after mankind fell into sin, God has revealed that He is for us.

We are now in the season of Advent, a word that means arrival or coming. It is a time of expectant waiting, a time of joy and of excitement.   And as we continue in this Advent season, and as we await the celebration of the first coming of Christ to His world, we experience a growing expectation, excitement and anticipation as we attend worship services, go caroling together, gather with family and friends, or read, meditate and pray over Advent and Christmas texts from Bible. There is a sense of excitement in the air, even in the dark winter nights of life, that our brighter day of joy is coming soon. Even though we have had many Christmas celebrations come and go, nevertheless each year it is as if it is the first one all over again.  For God is coming to be with us. (Isaiah 7:14)

Isaiah by faith 700 years before Christ, was able to peer into the future of the effects of the first coming of Christ, for he spoke of being able to draw water out of the wells of salvation (12:3) and of how the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10) For God not only is for us, but He came to be with us so that He might be in us.

Having experienced the forgiveness of sins through Christ's atonement through faith, we live under the covering of Christ's righteousness and through His indwelling Spirit we belong to Christ alone.  Because we are His, our desire is to follow Him......so then watching and praying is a natural outflow of our union with Him.  It is not a must, a have to, but I want to and I will.......

We are like a child awaiting the day when they will be able to open their Christmas gift, that sits under the tree and which has their name on it.  We are waiting and longing, waiting and longing......

May we have a blessed Advent season and a Merry Christmas!

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

 

The Great Light

Dear Weekly Readers!

God’s Peace!  

We are now moving onward into the Advent season in the Christian calendar.  Perhaps on Sunday we will hear of John the Baptist and his message to the world to prepare for the coming of the Lord!   Are we prepared for our Lord to come?  Have we repented?  Do we live in daily repentance?  Do we seek God’s face and will in our lives, or are we following or chasing after the worldly possessions and goods?  Do we seek after those things that satisfy not, or are we pursuing the Lord and seeking to learn of Him?  Are we looking to partake of the Bread of Life and the Living Water?   Let us ponder these things during this season leading up to His birth!

Please enjoy another article by Pastor Elmer Y.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined… For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:2, 6

PROPHET ISAIAH WAS CALLED BY God at a time in history when the nation had experienced great prosperity and affluence but things were not going well for them. There was indifference, violence, corruption, fraud, abuses of power and immorality. They were worshipping idols and had forsaken the true God. The people walked in darkness.

It was time for God to reveal Himself to His creatures. He gives us hope for we have a gracious and loving Father who wants to draw us to Himself! This hope is found in the Christmas Child, the Savior of the world. Apostle Matthew reminds us of Isaiah's words when he says, The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:16-17)

The words of Isaiah written over 700 years before the birth of Christ had now come true. God never fails to fulfill His promises. God's timetable is not like ours but His Word and promises are sure for He is everlasting truth. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

The Father in heaven seeks us. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. (John 6:44) The Father by His grace reveals the light to penetrate our souls, and leads us to repentance. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

The heavenly Father revealed the birth of the Savior to the shepherds in Bethlehem and it was the Father in heaven who led the wise men to the Christ Child by the bright star. When the light was revealed to them they believed and obeyed and they started on their journey to the Christ Child. When we are indifferent and do not see our need for a Savior, we are in darkness and blind in our trespasses and sins. This Light must come to us also.

When this Light is revealed to us, we see the holiness of God and our sinfulness as Isaiah did when God called him. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

(Isaiah 6:5-7) We come to know that we cannot redeem ourselves from our sins. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

When we are reconciled to God, this Light comes to live within us. He leads us into all truth. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6) We become children that desire to do the will of God and shun evil.

The shepherds and the wise men rejoiced and glorified God when they found the Christ Child. When we possess the greatest Christmas gift ever given, the Lord Jesus Christ, we too can rejoice and praise God. We must be willing to share the good news and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. (1 Peter 3:15)

Isaiah gives five titles to this Child:

• His name shall be called Wonderful.  He is all in all. He keeps His church in His care. Not even the gates of hell can prevail against Him (Matthew 16:18).

• He is called Counselor. Truth comes from Him. His Word is truth. Do we lack wisdom? Ask Him!

• He is called the Mighty God. Jesus Christ is God, who was victorious over Satan, death and the world. He is God with us! Jesus said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18)."

• He is called the Everlasting Father. He protects us and preserves us. He will not fail us, nor forsake us. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end, the first and last. He intercedes for us before the Father.

• He is the Prince of Peace. He came to reconcile the world to God, to turn people from darkness to His Light, from the power of Satan unto God. He gives us peace through the forgiveness of sins.

These five names teach us that Jesus Christ is all in all and we can trust Him no matter what we face. He came as a Baby in the manger so we would not be afraid to draw near to Him. He leads us to the Father, for He is one with the Father (John 10:30)!

THE WORLD IN IGNORANCE MAY try to remove all mention of Christ from Christmas, but the world will never succeed in destroying His power and the wonderful message of the forgiveness of sins in the name and blood of Jesus. The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus truly changed the world. He is truly the King of Kings! The day will come when at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)

Perhaps many are confused and fearful of what is happening in the world around us, along with our personal trials. However, we can rejoice and praise God as we celebrate this Christmas season, secure in the knowledge that God is still on His throne and will see us through whatever the new year may bring. ~

Pastor Elmer Yliniemi

Wolf Lake, Minnesota