From Our WMF President

WHAT IS YOUR PASSION?

We hear much about passion these days. There are those who have a passionate love of sports. (We just watched the Super Bowl football game at our house. The passion of the fans was certainly seen in that crowd on television.) There are those who have a passionate love for their children and I’m so thankful for that. There are those who have passion for their daily work. There are those who have passion for the good things of this world. And of course there are also those who have a passion for sin. I believe every one of us is passionate about something – a good cause, a sin we hold onto, a person, a political stance. What is YOUR passion?

I don’t know where your passion lies, but I believe the Lord would have all of us who proclaim to be Christians to have a passion that only He can instill in us – a passion for those around us.

What kind of passion does He want us to have? “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38) Now this is not something we can do in and of ourselves. This is a love that the Lord works within us. It is only as we trust in Him that He can work that love for Him in our hearts.

The second part of those verses say: “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22: 39) Again, this is not something we can do on our own. It is a love that the Lord can instill in our hearts.

Do you have a love for the people around you? People need to see Jesus in us. Not only do they need to “see” Jesus in us, they need to hear about Jesus from us. We cannot be silent. If we are silent, our time to share Him with others could be lost. This does not mean we “shove it down their throat” so to speak. We must get to know our neighbors first – to befriend them – before they will openly listen to us. When we get to know them and them us, there is a trust built up that will allow them to listen to what we have to say. I pray that you will truly have a passion for those around you.

This old gospel song truly does express the desire of one who loves the Lord and wants others to know Him:

Give me a passion for souls, dear Lord
Author: Herbert G. Tovey

Give me a passion for souls, dear Lord,

A passion to save the lost;

O that Thy love were by all adored,

And welcomed at any cost.

Refrain

Jesus, I long, I long to be winning

Men who are lost, and constantly sinning;

O may this hour be one of beginning

The story of pardon to tell.

Though there are dangers untold and stern

Confronting me in the way,

Willingly still would I go, nor turn,

But trust Thee for grace each day.

Refrain

How shall this passion for souls be mine?

Lord, make Thou the answer clear;

Help me to throw out the old life line

To those who are struggling near.

Refrain

Devotional

What Should We Do?

Is it worth it to take time in our daily lives to attend rallies, prayer meetings or even lobby our representatives? With the climate of our society today, will it matter if we stand in support of those leaders that follow God’s truths? What does God require of us?

Ananias’ had faith to leave his home and meet with Paul, a dangerous man. When God told Ananias, “Go!” he obeyed and left. (Acts 9:10-22) Are we to assume since Ananias is a Biblical character he had no other plans for his day? No, in fact there is no doubt daily routines and chores were numerous and cumbersome in the days where conveniences were unknown.

What does the Lord require of us? Are we required to make sacrifices and burnt offerings to live a life of faith? No, the Lord has told us what is required in Micah 6:6-8. We are to act justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with God. What activities in our lives demonstrate that we love mercy and desire to act justly?

What are we promised? When we follow God’s leading, will things on earth become as we desire? It may not be. For in Hebrews 11:13-16 we are told that our forefathers living by faith did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.

Most importantly, we are told when we live by faith, God will not be ashamed to be called our God. “And they admitted they were aliens and strangers on earth. People that say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

Are we living by faith? To do so we are to act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God and look to Him to provide what He promises in His time.

From Our President

RESERVE TIME

We have come through the busiest time of the year for many women. The Thanksgiving Holiday and the Christmas Holidays bring much to do for all of us. At this time of year many of us have difficult times because of strained family relationships or because we have simply too much to do (Do we bite off more than we can chew?)! We especially need to reserve TIME to spend in the Word of God and prayer on those busy days.

Do you reserve time to spend with your children? Do you reserve time to spend with your husband? I hope so! But even more important than reserving time for them, is to reserve time to read the Word, let God speak to you through that Word, and pray. Pray for patience to be able to handle the difficult relationships that you might have in your family. Pray for patience and wisdom in planning the work that needs to be done to be ready for the special holidays – whether you spend them at your home or someone else’s. Pray that the sweetness of the Holy Spirit would be seen by those you come in contact with you as you go out shopping, attend various events, and spend time with family and friends.

God has given to us 24 hours in a day. Everyone receives the same amount of time. How we spend that time is up to us. I would pray that you would be sure to spend time with God each day so that the upcoming holidays do not become more than you can handle. As you spend time with Him, He will give you the grace to get through those days with Joy and Thanksgiving.

God bless you as you come into this very blessed time of year. May you rejoice and thank God for the gift of His Son, Jesus, our Savior. Thanksgiving Day is certainly not too early to do that and to remember all of the blessings we have because of Jesus.

From our WMF President

Psalm 119:114

"You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word."

This world does not give us much to hope for, does it? People don’t. Riches do not. Jobs do not. Government does not. Even churches cannot.

You say what . . .churches cannot? Remember churches are made up of people. These people are human, they are sinners. They deal with many of the same problems you do. So, if you are putting your hope in a church, I’m afraid you could be sadly hurt.

What about your family? Certainly you can have hope in your family. Certainly we must love them. But remember these humans in the family may fail us too. They may even hurt us. They may even not want anything to do with us. Why? - Because they are sinful humans as well.

What about riches? Riches can be here one day and gone the next. Just think about the stock market crashes, the depression, the economic recession we have been in the last few years. How many of you lost money in your retirement accounts? I did – it was very frustrating for me to see the little money I did have invested, almost disappear and it still has not gained much back.

Jobs? For some of you the question is what job? Perhaps you had a job, or someone in your family did and because of the recession or some other reason, it was lost? Jobs are hard to come by in this economy. I am grateful for the job I have but I certainly have not put my hope for the future in it! It is providing for me and my family well but every day I must thank God for that job.

What about government? We must be thankful for the freedom that we have in this country to worship God as we please. We can be thankful for the leaders in our country who are Christians. We must pray for ALL of our leaders, Christian and otherwise. Pray that the one true God would speak to their hearts and that they would obey Him. Can we put our hope in this freedom? We don’t know how long we will be able to worship God as we see fit in this country. It could be here today and gone tomorrow. But prayer is our responsibility as Christian citizens of the United States of America.

This sounds pretty negative doesn’t it? What is the object of our hope?

The Psalmist says, "You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word." Where can we go when all else disappoints? We must go to the Word of God. We must go to God our refuge and shield. It is to Him we can turn when others fail. He is the great Provider. He is the great Refuge. He is our Shield.

Short-Term Missions Update

Friends and Family,


August has been a great time to really focus on the long lasting impact that we see God making in the hearts and lives of the people here in Brazil . August 11th, we started working on a project to benefit ALL of the Free Lutheran churches here in Brazil , which God has really opened up the door for in the process of it going forth!



This project is the revising, editing, contributing to, and updating of the Manual Evangelico here in Brazil, which is the book used in the churches for understanding AFLC doctrine, training in Confirmation, New Member classes, Sunday School, and Bible Studies. It truly is a widely used booklet with an impact at various different levels. The reason why we have been trying to edit this book, after three people have already previously tried unsuccessfully, is that currently the book hasn’t been updated since 1985, and has many grammatical errors scattered throughout the book from as early as the 1956 edition. The book had no longer adequately related to the changed culture and needs of the church regarding doctrine. This updated Manual will be able to more adequately meet the needs of the congregations here and be useful for solid Biblical training in the Word of God and in AFLC doctrine! The extra 120 pages that we have added to the booklet (originally 80 pages) more adequately explains our position as Free Lutherans, and meet the needs of the changing culture around us.



After working 10+ hours a day on this material at times, we look forward to sending the book to be printed September 15, Lord willing, and have it in the hands of the church leaders here by the Annual Conference. Please continue to pray for us as we push forward in this project, as we hope to present this book published at the Annual Conference here in Brazil on October 9th. Our prayer is that the Lord would use it to train His church.During this last month, we have also had the opportunity to travel 10 hours north to our AFLC church in Campo Grande ! This church was originally was designed by Jonathan Abel when he was the Pastor there and it is a beautiful church with some great people. Going on the trip with Pastor Joel, the President of the AFLC in Brazil , and Pastor Silvio, the Vice President, was really a great opportunity for both of us. We were able to hear from there perspectives what the AFLC needs to be doing here in Brazil to keep growing and what sort of different ministry opportunities that have been presented. So many people that we talk to have the heart to continue to help the AFLC here grow and it’s such a great opportunity to be able to work alongside them.



While we were in Campo Grande we were able to participate in the praise team and do another song of special music. Nathan also had a chance to share a word with the congregation about living a life honoring to Christ and what it means to be a Christian. The church is looking to plant another church in the community so we continue to pray that it all goes smoothly for them.



Looking ahead, we go forward with anticipation of the Annual Conference coming up in the month of October. Pastor Kevin Olson will be joining us here for two weeks in October and will be the keynote speaker for the Annual Conference here in Brazil . Both of us will be looking to present our published version of the Manual Evangelico at the Annual Conference as well as a presentation of the Ambassador Institute training, which Nathan has been working on translating into Portuguese. Please pray for warm receptivity for both presentations, as well as a uniting Conference, as the AFLC here in Brazil strongly looks and seeks for direction from the Lord.



With these prayer needs, we also would ask for you to remember us financially, with our ongoing expenses of $200 a month for rent, as well as the cost of transportation to and from the congregations we are visiting and ministering to. We are also looking at paying for our trip home, and are currently not a stage where we can afford that financially.

Thanks again for remembering us in prayer! God bless!

Nathan Olson & Jon Nelson

If you would like to support us in our ministry here in Brazil , please send your support to :


(Nathan Olson & Jon Nelson)
AFLC World Missions
3110 East Medicine Lake Blvd
Plymouth , MN 55441

DISTRICT RALLY INFORMATION

Illinois District

Saturday, September 18

Ottawa, IL


Southwest Central MN District

Saturday, September 25

Minnewaska Lutheran
Starbuck, MN

Speaker: Faylin Myhre


Eastern ND District

Saturday, September 25

Victory Free Lutheran Church
Park River, ND

Speakers Paul and Becky Abel



Western ND/Eastern MT District

Saturday, October 2

Golden Valley, ND

Speakers Paul and Becky Abel

Northwestern MN District

Saturday, October 9
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Rose Free Lutheran
Roseau, MN
Speakers: Karen Pederson and Jonni Sliver

Central Tri-State
Oct. 2, 2010
Salem Lutheran Church
3400 Ziegler Ave., Radcliffe, IA

speakers, Andy & Monica Coyle
(future missionaries to Russia)

Minneapolis District

Saturday, October 30

9 – 1 p.m.

Solid Rock Lutheran Church
Anoka

Speakers Paul and Becky Abel

DEVOTIONAL

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” -Elizabeth Kubler Ross

When this quote was given to me, I was watching the Sheriff escort my sister to a local hospital. She had just been committed to her second stay at a psych ward. The year before, my brother-in-law, at age 30, was diagnosed with Colon Cancer, bringing him to months of chemo, radiation, and two surgeries at Mayo Clinic. Then there was my right leg, going numb. At age 23, I was told I had had a herniated disc for over 8 months and needed emergency surgery.

My story is not unusual. Many of you who are reading this have probably suffered much more dismay than my mere 26 years of life. Cancer, unexpected deaths, lost jobs, lost hope, lost dreams, miscarriages, and illnesses that seem impossible to cure…

Yet these squalls seem to scream something more than that hopelessness that overwhelms. I feel the Potter’s hands molding, the smell of refining in the fire, the rumble of walls of arrogance and self-sufficiency crumbling. I see the tender hands of God reshaping something filthy, vulgar, and putrid into something holy, forgiven…and beautiful.

“Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (I Peter 1:6b-7).

Trials will persist, cancer will still invade, and deaths will not end, but God’s grace is FOREVER. He gives courage to take on each day and to climb out of our holes; that is, if He doesn’t lift us out of them Himself. These storms happen only to make us into the children He designed us to be. And though they usually don’t make sense at the time, He gives flourishing grace to not only survive, but soar to the highest peak.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4).

As Kubler-Ross said above, “Beautiful people do not just happen.” James recognized how trials are used by God to transform believers into a closer image of our beautiful Savior. Mature and complete people of God do not just happen. Rest in the loveliness that Christ is pruning and preparing you for something incredible – wait in expectation and let Him swallow your surfacing stresses.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me, and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matthew 11:29-30, paraphrased from The Message).