Pastor's Blog

Good Morning, Dear Family.

Heb. 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

KJV Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

This is the update which I received from Pat Schauer, Kenny's daughter, this morning and I am passing it along.

"Dad had a rough night last night and the hospital called Mom to update her. It seems that they could not awaken him and he again was having the chest pains over his heart. It seems that all is going smoothly this morning and we will be up there before noon to stay with him.
Prayers are still very much needed to get him through this. As the Dr said, Being 84 is his biggest determent to his recuperation. This type of surgery would be tough on a young man. " Pat

Let us pray: Dear Holy Father, we approach your throne of grace together this morning, thanking you for the blessing of the grace of life through your Son, Jesus Christ. We are learning and experiencing more and more of the blessing of entering deeper into the common fellowship of believers in the body of your Son, Jesus, in whom there is never any division or separation, but only a growing union of meaning and purpose in love and in truth. So that when one is ailing, in pain, in need , it is as if it is our very ownself that is in need. Our hearts are together this morning as we lift our dear brother Kenny before you, asking that first of all you would bless Him with the awareness of your Presence through the promises of your Word as applied by the Holy Spirit! Dear Father, Kenny knows that You are His shepherd and he has no need outside of what you have provided for him through your Son, Jesus. Please cause Kenny to rest in the quietness of your peace today as in green pastures and lead him beside the still waters of your grace. Waters of grace that permeate the soul so deeply that the mind is at rest in the secure knowledge of your Presence. May it be not only with Kenny, but with Doris and the rest of the family. Restore his soul from the worries and fears of the future through leading him into your ways of righteousness, which is the way of grace and acceptance in your Son. Father, you continually bestow your grace upon all, and to those who wait upon you, you give increased grace. Continue to glorify your great name by being very gracious to our dear Kenny! And, Lord, as Kenny and the rest of us go through this valley of the shadow of death, may it be that there would be perfect peace and that fear would be vanquished through the knowledge that You are with Kenny and all of his family. May your gentle rod of the grace of relationship be felt by Kenny as you reveal into his mind and heart of your promises of acceptance and direction for his wellbeing in the future. Yes, and even as he goes through the valley, may the table that has been prepared for the eternal feast of believers be an encouragement to Kenny so that his heart will be so filled with joy at that which is to come, that he will be able to say that your mercy and goodness continues to follow him and that he lives with the expectant hope that he will dwell in your house forever and forever and forever and forever.............................. In
Jesus Name, Amen.

One final note. As I was in the hospital with Kenny and his family, I could not help but think of God's abundant grace each tiime I heard the music float through the halls of the St. Cloud Hospital each time a new child was born into this world. Amidst the suffering, pain and death, there is the sound of the grace of God through the chimes, reminding us that in the darkness of the events of the cross at Calvary, the resurrection of life on Easter morning brings forth hope and life. May we keep this in mind always, for God is faithful and his mercies are new every morning!!

In Christ,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

Good Morning, Dear Family!

KJV Matthew 22:21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. (last Sunday's memory verse)

Praise the Lord, as Doris said yesterday! It is good news about Kenny, though details have not yet come forth, nevertheless the surgery of Kenny's went well and the prognosis looks good. Thank you, Lord, for your provision and your peace!

This morning I want to follow up on last Sunday's message with a few words. I find it helpful for myself to continue to think about that which the Lord gave us during our day of fellowship together and by doing kind of a followup, I find that the blessing of revelation from the Word continues to flow into my mind, heart and soul. I pray that it will do the same for you. Let us look at a couple of verses which we concentrated upon a few days ago, as we meditated upon book of Philemon which has one chapter and 25 verses.

Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. ESV Philemon 1:20-21

The words given to Apostle Paul to write concerning his appeal to Philemon to receive Onesimus back to himself as a brother in Christ, rather than as a slave, form the subject for our meditation this month. Paul asked Philemon to receive Onesimus as an equal in the household of faith, asking of Philemon that he would receive the slave who had wronged him with the same grace of Jesus Christ that he himself had apparently received through the ministry of Paul. But what precisely was Paul asking of Philemon? What benefit did he want? What did he mean when he said, 'Refresh my heart in Christ?'

Perhaps this letter from the mission field will shed some light to these questions. The letter is from Alice Magola from Africa, who works in close harmony with the Foreign Mission of the Apostolic Lutheran Church of America. Here is an excerpt of a letter written to the Foreign Mission Board:

'I thank God that He has been faithful to all of us including everybody reading this report. Many of you will be touched in one way or another. My trip has caused me to compose a song (the words have been placed at the end of this article) though my son says the type of tune was not going to attract the young listeners so he is changing it here and there. The song is all about knowing that though some of the people in this world might not be directly affected by HIV/Aids, we are in one way or another affected. If a neighbor, work mate, a relative to us or someone we know – and the list goes on – pass away due to Aids, surely we are affected. I for one have badly been affected as quite a number of my relatives and some friends died untimely deaths due to Aids. Some it was due to not living right but some were innocently infected by either spouse or blood transfusion. This is the sad part of this disease. I have chosen therefore to turn my pain into something that can change somebody’s life. To show the Agape type of love – and I pray that God will always help me not to judge why people are in that situation. I just want to show them to the Cross of Jesus. Hallelujah!!' Alice Magola (Here Alice shows us the meaning of compassion: Experiencing pain and hurt because of suffering combined with a desire and willingness to minister to those who are in need, spiritually as well as physically)

Refreshment (encouragement) in Christ came to Paul when he observed the grace of God move Philemon to accept in grace his former slave as a brother in Christ. (He forgave instead of punishing Onesimus) Refreshment in Christ came to me when I read from Alice of her graciousness toward those to whom she ministers in her homeland. Refreshment in Christ comes to each of us upon us seeing the grace of God in Christ flowing through our brothers and sisters as they serve others in love, not judging the whys but leading them to the gracious cross of Jesus. That is where all the why's will begin to be answered. Therefore, are we not encouraged today through the mutual faith and love that is evident among those with whom we are surrounded by? I close with this article with a quote from Johann Goethe, which amplifies that which Paul wrote in verse 21..

Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. (Philemon 1:21)

"When we treat a person as they are, we make them worse than they are. When we treat them as if they are already what they potentially could be, we make that what they should be." Johann Goethe

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:37

In the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

Following is the song which Alice has composed:

WE ARE ALL AFFECTED
>
> Intro: Am affected, You are affected, We are all affected
>
> Solo: (narrative)
> Aids - Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
> Aids has sent millions of people to the grave untimely - worldwide. People
> of all ages.

> Aids knows no face, colour or age. Aids is cruel as it attacks innocent
> kids, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, colleagues, friends -
> the list goes on.
>
> No matter how they got it, this one thing I know, God loves them and if He
> does, why should I not, so I love them. This I must tell them, this I must
> show them
>
> . I saw a nine year old and many others, different ages
> Who are orphaned because of Aids
> Their eyes spelt sorrow, so much sorrow
> Their lips dry oh so dry and stomachs mostly empty
> I wondered what goes on in their minds as they stare nowhere
> Without mother, without a father
> My God oh You are the Father to the fatherless
>
> Chorus
> My heart sinks, my heart wrecks
> When I look into their eyes
> My heart sinks, my heart wrecks
> When I hear their sad stories
> Uh uh uh, God please change their stories through me
>
> . My brother my sister, wonna know
> Aids is real, a killer, a tsotsi (thief/murderer)
> Coz of Aids, the world is slowly dying
> All of us it is affecting
> From Australia to Asia, Europe to America,
> Russia down to Africa, every part of the world
> Black or white or any color, race, creed, we all affected wo wo
>
> If a friend dies - we are all affected
> If a neighbor dies - we are all affected
> If a relation dies - we all affected
> If our colleague dies - we all affected
>
> So love the world, tell them about Jesus
> Love everyone and all never judge
> Care for the world
> Care for everyone and all
> Peace and love
> Don't discriminate
> Live right, live for God