Pastor's Blog

Dear Family.

KJV Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

KJV Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

KJV Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

KJV Romans 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

KJV Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Good morning! How goes it today? It is Friday and that means the weekend for most people. Today is my grandson Levi's 3rd birthday and we will be having a party for him tonight here in Cokato. He was pretty excited last night as he talked about and looked forward to his birthday today. He is quite a smart little boy, that Levi. Listen to this one: Brenton (Kirk and Amy's son) had come to sit by Levi and Brenton commented on the writing that Levi had done on his hand with a pen. Levi kind of thought about it, but then somehow he noticed on Brenton's arm, just below the end of his short sleeve a small line of a pen mark and said: "What is that?" He is amazing!

We are praying for a blessed time with our VBS which starts next Monday at the KCC.

Invite your friends and relative's children for a time of blessing. We are thankful for those that are coordinating this year's VBS and look forward to this time of sharing, learning and fun together.

Well, after a busy month I am doing my best to get back to a schedule of writing a bit about the more serious side of life and I have decided to jump from the book of Ephesians to the book of Romans and go through that book beginning with chapter 5. It is a foundational book of the New Testament, one which in years gone by was memorized in its entirety by even young people.

In the beginning verses we see the reality of John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life;" ie, what God has done for us, both through the sending His Son as well as gracing us to believe it in our own hearts for our souls rest and peace. And because we live in this peace, we have an expectant hope for the future, even glorying in tribulations which are related to our being a child of God, understanding that they will yield into our lives patience, which will bring about experience, and therefore, enabling us to live in continual and expectant hope of the promise of blessing today and into the future. We can be assured that with this expectant hope, that we never have to fear that the "rug will be pulled out from underneath us." That is the sense of the meaning of verse 5, the love that has been shed into our hearts by the gift the Holy Ghost unites us with the love of the Father, as Paul writes about later in this book of Romans:

KJV Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again tofear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

KJV Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

The hope described is an expectant hope, a sure hope, one in which there is no way that we will be disappointed or that we will be let down. It is impossible for that to happen, for God cannot lie! When our hope is founded and centered on that which God has said, we will never be disappointed.

May we have the expectant hope in our Lord that little Levi has in looking forward to his special time of his birthday party!

So, til next time, rest in the expectant hope of His blessing today and forever!

In the love of Jesus,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

A question was asked of me of how minister to a woman who is suffering with cancer.

Thanks for the question. That was a good reference to use with her. Your direction and prayer needs to be to help her to see life from God's point of view and how that He want so bless her with eternal life. It is necessary to get her near the cross in some way, shape or form for this to happen. But remember, it is not your task to get her to understand the meaning of the cross and the blessing that will come to her when she sees the purpose of Jesus going to the cross. But it is your duty and commission to bring her to the cross so that she will see the grace that is poured out upon the cross toward her, grace which is extended as a result of sin. Remember, that in the lack of understanding of the meaning of the cross, one cannot see the blessing side (grace and forgiveness) of the cross, but only the judgment side.(fear and condemnation) The cancer may take her life or it may not, but the important thing is to bring the grace and truth of Jesus to her so that she would come to know that God is not only righteous, but also gracious, loving and forgiving. All of us know that there is a God, all of us know that we are sinners, all of us know that the Man Jesus has the final say in the matter. Here is how I would approach her.

Romans 5:8-21 Go over these verses, for they explain of how sin caused all to come under condemnation, sin has brought sickness, disease, (go back to Genesis to further explain this) but that through Jesus life is given. Really emphasize Romans 5:20-21 in that grace is abundantly greater than all our sin!

It will not do any good to try to explain and to convince her of the reasons for sickness, disease etc. other than it is a result of the fall, if she does not possess faith in God truly. For as it is said by Paul:

KJV 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Approach such a one from the standpoint that their sins were atoned for 2000 years ago and exhort them to believe this fact by quoting Bible verses which state this truth.

KJV 1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

KJV 2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 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. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

KJV John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God has provided the payment in His Son, it is a done deal. Do like Paul says, as though God did beseech you by us: We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God!!

Jesus became a sinner in our place, not having been a sinner or "doing" sin. Exhort them and others to believe this message of reconciliation. Believe in what Jesus has provided as totally sufficient for their souls salvation! Faith is the link that connects what He has provided and what we receive, and it is all a gift. Exhort in many different ways, but continually focus on calling such persons to believe in and trust in what God has done for them. You are the messenger, the bearer of the good news of the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation unto everyone who believes. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Word goes into the heart and it is made alive by God through His Spirit. And lastly, pray before you talk to someone, when you are talking to someone and after you talk to someone. Keep praying continually for the Word to come alive in their heart, for we can only plant and water, but God gives the ignition to the power. The Greek word is the word from which dynamite has been taken. When the Word comes alive; it is like dynamite in the heart as it comes alive and all is made new!

In Christ,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala