A Voice of One

When we pray “THY KINGDOM COME” in the prayer that Jesus taught us to use, we are asking for two things: 

1. That He would lead someone to us that doesn’t know the Good News of Jesus Christ so that we can share that message with him/her and through the power of the Holy Spirit His Kingdom will be enlarged.  
2. We are also asking that Jesus would return soon and take us home to heaven.

Some of the early Christians believed that Jesus would return in their life time and that it would be soon.  Some even stopped working and were just lying around, waiting.  The opposite is happening today.  Many Christians seem to think His return will not happen soon, certainly not in their life time, or perhaps not at all!

His return will happen!  When?  That is known only by God the Father.  His return and our homecoming should not bring fear, but joy, read Matthew 24: 6-14. Jesus tells us that  we should be ready for the day of His return and “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me.  Night is coming when no one can work.”  John 9:4.

The Lutheran Evangelism Association with our relatively small numbers and earthly resources can hardly train enough of  God’s people to personally teach the whole world, and certainly not in short order, but remember Gideon.  Read the story in Judges 7: 1-24, see particularly verse 2.  Through our present media a few can reach the whole world!

When small numbers are involved in doing great things in His Kingdom He gets all the glory!  That’s as it should be!

I write this praying for the mind of Christ.Christians use this word over and over and over again. Why do I say that this is Satan’s word?

Many years ago I asked my Pastor to give me a letter of recommendation to an Air Force recruiter.  I was applying to get into a school of Radio Mechanics. One of the things my pastor said of me was that I had an “analytical mind”. I have never forgotten that statement. I didn’t realize it at the time but he was right!  In the last few years I have asked myself a number of questions about the reasons we Christians do and say things and the meaning of the words we use. — What is this thing we call “Luck”?  We part ways with a fellow Christian, and we often say, “Good Luck, have a safe trip!” or “Good Luck on that new medical procedure!” etc.

The first thing I do when I go off on my analytical trip is to go to the Bible to see how the word is used there. You can’t find it anywhere in scripture. The red flag goes up for me, something’s wrong here!   Next I go to the dictionary. What is this word’s definition for our world today, for our time? Webster tells us it means: “That which happens to one, seemingly by chance, hap, fate, fortune”.  If that’s what the word means to people today, I surely can’t use it as a Christian, can I? We believe that God controls all things. Right? “All things work together for good to those who love God.” (Romans 8: 28)  “All” doesn’t mean some!

What’s so bad about using the word “Luck”? — Why?  Because it is an empty word, and an emptying word. Something happens in our life that we feel is bad. Satan loves it when we say we had Bad Luck,  he hides himself as the source of evil with these empty words! Or God may be allowing what we think is bad to force us to change the path we are on, and He leads us to a special blessing. (See Genesis 50: 19& 20). — For the Christian is there ever any “Bad Luck”? The Lord turns even Satan’s work around and gives us blessing through it.

God’s words are, “Bless You!” not ” Good Luck”.  Satan tries to empty the joy in our hearts of the real source of blessings…— God expects us to acknowledge Him and give Him thanks and praise!

Satan has the world look at Jesus’ death on the Cross and say, What “Bad Luck” the young Rabbi Jesus’ life was cut off so early. How many more wise sayings and teachings he might have been able to give the world.  Satan’s words “Bad Luck” makes Jesus’ death look like a failure!    Jesus said, ” This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms … The Christ must suffer and rise from the dead on the third day…”(Luke 14: 44 & 45) Does this sound like Jesus failed?

Luck is Satan’s word because it opens the door for Christians to accept such false teachings as Evolution, the “Big Bang Theory” etc.  Scientists tell us all the right things came together over millions  or even billions of years to form our world and every thing in it. That had to take an awesome amount of “chance, hap, fate, and fortune” = Luck!   God said “Let there be, and there was”.  There’s no place for luck here.

One of the greatest scourges upon not only Christians, but on mankind is gambling. It is built on this empty, emptying idea, of Luck. People are not satisfied with the material things God has given them so they try to outdo God.  Satan preaches it can be done. His is the “gospel of greed” tied to the empty meaningless word, Luck! If Christians would take the word Luck out of their vocabulary and their thinking, gambling would vanish from their lives. Christians, the millions who now gamble, could do wonders with the money they rescue from the bottomless pit. Here goes my analytical mind again:

An example: if a church body with 2,000,000 communicant members had  10% who bought just $5.00 worth of  lottery tickets a week, $5 X 100,000, that would be $500,000 a week, and if  they do this every week of the year, that would be $26,000,000. — Too high a number of Christians buying tickets you think, then play with the numbers use, 100,000 or even 10,000.

Without taking any money from the food or clothing or vacation budget, or the kid’s college fund etc, think of what Christians could do. They could send hundreds or thousands of missionaries into the world, use all media to share the Gospel, and feed millions of hungry people.

Many will say that’s too impractical! — They’re right! — BUT IT IS GOD PRACTICAL!

Most church members hate FUND DRIVES and that includes pastors. O K lets ask our fellow Christians for PRAYER RAISERS asking the Lord to help us eliminate Luck, Satan’s Word from our Christian vocabulary, it is an empty meaningless word in God’s sight!   Turn Satan’s word into a door to witness your faith. Someone says “GOOD LUCK” as you part, you answer, “I don’t believe in LUCK! If there’s LUCK, there’s no GOD. If there’s GOD there’s no LUCK!” Then give them the tract “ONE LOVE FITS ALL”.

Take the word Luck out of our Christian vocabulary and we will give praise to God where it belongs when we are blessed by Him. Take the word Luck out of our speaking when we think something is bad in our life, and look for what God has in mind for us through what happened.   

I challenge you, pay attention every time you hear the word LUCK or use it yourself, evaluate it in view of what is written above. I HATE LUCK-SATAN’S WORD!  Please join me!

Pastor Erv Rasmussen is the Exec. Director, servant of

The Lutheran Evangelism Association, Box 10021, Phoenix, AZ. 85064

levapfi@qwest.net

LUTHER’S SOWING MACHINE

In a recent survey A&E - TV, tried to identify the people who most impacted our world in the last century. Scholars, politicians, and theologians came up with a list of one hundred. The list comprised a wide variety of people: Louis Armstrong #98, Nelson Mandela #81, Pablo Picasso #64, Franklin D. Roosevelt # 60, Marie Curie #53, Martin Luther King Jr. #33, Christopher Columbus #6, and Isaac Newton # 2. Among the rest of the one hundred, #3 and #1 surprised me the most.

The #3 was Martin Luther. As a Lutheran I would have chosen him as #2 at least, but the committee was probably not made up of many Lutherans. The #1 choice really did floor me. The #1 choice as the most influential person in the last 1000 years was Johann Gutenberg. This should not surprise us for he was considered to be the Bill Gates of the 16^th Century in the field of communications.

Lutherans of all people should be the greatest users of the printed word. The movable type printing press which Gutenberg invented literally became “LUTHERS’S SOWING MACHINE”!

…

After the resurrection of Christ, the disciples were God’s instruments to share the Gospel with the world. Because their travels were limited, and they could not preach to the thousands scattered world-wide needing to hear the truths of God, they wrote the message. Four of them shared the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in the Gospels, one wrote the history of the early church (Acts of the Apostles) and others wrote letters to the far-flung groups hungry to hear.

The limitations of communication systems all changed through God’s bringing together Luther and the gift Gutenberg brought on the scene. The books that Luther wrote were not books as we think of them today, most were written on parchment sheets sewn together and sold at minimal cost in the market places. We would probably call them tracts today.

There were reformers before Luther, but many of them failed in their work and most died because of their ministry. Luther’s inexpensive tracts covered the world of his day and by God’s grace made the Reformation possible, scattering the Gospel Seed world-wide. “Luther’s Sowing Machine” was and is “GOD’S SOWING MACHINE”!

For years I searched for a simple tract that would present the way of salvation in a Lutheran way and in a very brief time, and have a way for the reader to respond and ask for more instruction or even a personal call. The “World Home Bible League” came up with an outreach using a postcard, offering a free basic Bible course. We used their idea but added a witness portion to a postcard to request more. So was born the “One Love Fits All” tract.

THIS IS THE BEST TRACT THERE IS FOR LUTHERANS TO SHARE THEIR FAITH IN CAPSALE FORM. THE ONL Y TRACT THA T CAN BE FOLLOWED UP BY THE READER FOR MORE INFORMATION AND BY THE GIVER TO GIVE HELP. — I CHALLENGE YOU SHOW ME A BETTER ONE!!

MY CHRISTIAN BASIC TRAINING BEGAN AT “1^st CENTRAL LlUTHERAN”IN MILAUKEE

by Pastor Erv Rasmussen

Both Mom and Dad came to this country from Europe, Mom from Latvia and Dad from Denmark (I’m a”DANLAT”). They met in the “FIRST WORLD WAR” and fell in love. Dad a naturalized American was in the army fighting Germans in Russia, Mom was working for the Russian Government as a translator (at that time both countries were on the same side). They were married in Denmark and came to America to live.

To make a long story short they made their home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and there they opened a neighborhood grocery store, “Martin’s Food Market”. Because of their Lutheran upbringing in Europe they had my sister Emily and me Baptized.

When it came time for me to start grade school, they had three choices within a few blocks of each other there were, a Public school, a Roman Catholic school and a Lutheran school. No cost was involved so they chose “First Central Lutheran”. This is where my Christian basic training began.

I spent nine years at this school, one year was spent fighting all the childhood diseases, the last of which was Scarlet Fever, which accounted for my early hair lose. I received not only the everyday basics of the secular world but also of the Christian Faith. What a blessing!

It was here that I learned that my parents were really just nominal Christians, attending church on Christmas, Easter, and maybe Thanksgiving. They were good people, but they were not walking with the Lord.

I began praying every night, “Lord take me before You take Mom and Dad because I know you and they don’t.” Thank You Lord for “First Central Lutheran”! In their later years He led them to active faith in Christ Jesus through me. *

The secular training was outstanding. Each class shared a room with the next grade up. In first grade half the teaching was for us, the second half for the second grade and so on through all eight grades. So we couldn’t help but listen to both instructions and learned twice!

This good secular learning helped me when I attended “Boy’s Technical High School” were I was elected to the National Honor Society. The skill of Christians getting along with those around them which I also learned in grade school, made possible the honor of being elected student Council President in my final year of this three thousand some all boys school.

From high school I joined the U.S. Air Force were I was sent to their school of “Radio Mechanics” and from this, to be an instructor at this school. Later I attended Concordia Seminary in Springfield, Illinois and Lewis University in Joliet, earning both a Bachelor of Arts and an Master of Divinity degree.

All of the above I credit to God’s leading me to attend “First Central Lutheran School” in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were I got my first Basic Training. THANK YOU LORD JESUS!

“For it is by grace you are saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2: 8-10

Jesus began preparing me very early in life. A good part of that advance preparation began at First Central in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I thank God for our churches’ involvement in providing our children early in life, as they seek in advance for what God has prepared for them to do!

Thank you Miss Growthman! Thank you Mr. Pingel! Thank You Mr. Kowert! Thank you Mr. Zerstadt!

* When my parents knew that I would soon be a pastor, they must have had a conversation something like this: “We better join the church he’s going to be a Lutheran Pastor.” — They took adult instruction and were confirmed in their latter years. God’s answer to my prayers for them was answered, “YES”!

This new feature will allow Pastor Erv Rasmussen the ability to provide his inputs on various Christian issues that affect all of us. The goal is to enlighten and provide additional insight into our role as Christians in our world community