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Worship: Sunday 9:30 AM Bible Class and Sunday School to follow

Jesus is My Savior from Myself

By grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9

“I can do it all by myself!” If you have children, you have heard these words. You want them to learn how to do things on their own, but usually they pick times to try when it is least convenient for you. Walking out the door, already late, is the time they want to tie their shoes for the first time.

Have you ever thought, “I can do it all by myself?” Doing a project at work by yourself may result in a raise or promotion. However, trying to get into heaven by yourself will never work.

Think about this question: “If you were standing outside of heaven’s gates and God asked you, ‘Why should I let you in?’ what would you say?” How would you answer? “Oh, I was a good parent.” “I was faithful at work.” “I never (fill in the blank).”

If you answered that way, can you hear it? It is the sound of silence; the sound of heaven’s gates NOT opening. God requires us to be perfect like him (Matthew 5:48). That means that if we want to go to heaven we can never do any wrong…ever (James 2:10)!

The truth is that no matter how hard we try, no matter how much good we do, we will never be perfect. Even just one wrongdoing disqualifies us from heaven. Honestly, we commit many, many wrongs in life. So for the prospect of heaven, each of us has to admit, “I CAN’T do it by myself!”

But we don’t have to do it ourselves! God tells us in his Word that we have been saved BY GRACE! Though we are undeserving, God deeply loved us. He sent his Son, Jesus, to open the way to heaven for us. Jesus did this by sacrificing his innocent life in our place for all of our wrongdoing. Now, through Jesus we are perfectly right before God, all because we didn’t do it ourselves. Jesus did it for us!

Why should God let you into heaven? You can point to Jesus and say, “Because of him.” Jesus is the one who opens heaven.

Thank Jesus for this wonderful gift! He is your Savior who did it all for you!

October 2016 Redeemer News

10203 W. Tieton Drive, Yakima WA 98908 Isaac P. Cherney, Pastorwww.redeemer-yakima.org (262) 204-802710203 W. Tieton Drive, Yakima WA 98908 Isaac P. Cherney, Pastorwww.redeemer-yakima.org (262) 204-802710203 W. Tieton Drive, Yakima WA 98908 Isaac P. Cherney, Pastorwww.redeemer-yakima.org (262) 204-802710203 W. Tieton Drive, Yakima WA 98908 Isaac P. Cherney, Pastorwww.redeemer-yakima.org (262) 204-802710203 W. Tieton Drive, Yakima WA 98908 Isaac P. Cherney, Pastorwww.redeemer-yakima.org (262) 204-8027

http://www.redeemer-yakima.org/

OCTOBER 2016See http://www.redeemer-yakima.org/#/calendarnews for

most recently updated calendarSun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat25

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OCTOBER 2016See http://www.redeemer-yakima.org/#/calendarnews for

most recently updated calendarSun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat30


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HAPPYHALLOWEEN

DATE ATTENDANCE MINISTRATIONS / EVENTS OFFERINGS

Sunday, August 28, 2016 81 $2,186.00

Sunday, September 4, 2016 107 23 Thurs, Grace Memorial Service for Cleta DenBeste, September 10th. $4,561.00Sunday, September 11, 2016 82 15 Thurs, Grace $5,325.00Sunday, September 18, 2016 88 $2,963.00Sunday, September 25, 2016 86 $2,094.00


The Great CommissionBy Matt Johnson

Imagine that you were one of the disciples with Jesus at the great commission. Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV) You might think, “Boy! I am glad I am not an apostle… That sounds like a lot of work!” But what if I told you that there were others there, and Jesus was speaking to all of them, and he is speaking to you as well.

I am learning a lot as I study to become a staff minister, particularly when it comes to defining and expressing our duty as a “church.” I do not mean only the members of Redeemer, but the big “C” Church -- all believers. Do you believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that he alone can forgive you your sins? If you answered “yes,” then congratulations! You are a believer and thus a disciple. By definition a disciple is one who follows or believes. Many think that you first believe and then mature into a disciple, but that is not the case. Once you believe you are a disciple of Jesus. So when Jesus is speaking to the disciples, he is not just speaking to the eleven but he is speaking to all of us; to the entire Christian Church.

As we eagerly listen to our Savior’s message, it becomes clear that he has a job for us all to do: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” It is

our task as believers to spread the Word of Jesus. Yes, we have called workers but their work is in addition to, not in place of, our responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission in our own lives. Our pastor might never meet your boss or co-workers. That is your mission field. You may not be able to go to a foreign land, but look out at the fields. They are ripe for the harvest right where you are.

I do not know about you, but I often find myself praying, “God, what would you have me do?” Behind that request is the strong wish that he would just make things simple. Though we do not get a list of steps our ultimate goal is quite clear: to make disciples of all nations. Parents understand the importance of the word “all.” When I tell my kids to eat all their veggies, I do not mean some, or only the ones that are easy to get on the fork. I do not mean feed them to the dog. Likewise, when Jesus tells us “all the world,” do you think he means only some, or the easy-to-reach ones? Thankfully our salvation is not based on our works but the works of Jesus. Also, thankfully, in the same way I will continue to love my kids after they feed their peas to the dog, God loves us even when we do not fulfill our commission. Tomorrow is another day.

It will not be easy. You might get made fun of, or people might stop hanging around you. Maybe your family will tell you that you are crazy. But Jesus comforts us with the promise that, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Another way to read it is “surely I am with you at all times.” There is never a time when Jesus will leave you. Be comforted and know that the


King of kings and Lord of lords is with you. Rejoice! You have a clear job from your Lord! Go now and make disciples in peace.

Matt is a member at Redeemer pursuing the staff ministry program with Martin Luther College. He has been able to write a number of devotional articles for the church newsletter.

A WORD FROM PASTOR

The Time is NowThere is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build…

Ecclesiastes 3:1-3

In life, schedules must be honored. The alarm clock goes off… so we get up to face the day. Looming deadlines demand our effort and attention. Even summertime, with its vacation trips, time in the sun, and good-weather projects, has finally waved good-bye… it’s off the schedule. The season change of summer-to-fall is difficult for people. Cooler mornings and less light mean less energy and motivation to get things done. Even with all the technological innovations like heating and natural lighting, the way fall has worked into our schedule and booted summer out can be hard. Nature is working on its own schedule and we just have to adjust.

We learn the lesson of “That’s life; I guess I’ll just have to adjust,” with the weather and the year’s seasons but it can grow into other areas. Losing a loved one or replacing a house; when life deals you enough blows you become weathered to the point of a shrug-reaction and the words “That’s life.” Even death and killing, as horrible as they are, have become so common on the news, in movies, and in songs that we accept them as a part of life.

King Solomon, the one who asked the Lord for wisdom and received it in great measure, wrestled with this “That’s life” message that comes

off so strong when one looks around at what is going on in the world. The conclusion was that life does have its predictable, time-honored cycles that one has to respect in this sinful world. People die. Plants need uprooting. Buildings need reconstruction. Sometimes, even, a life must be taken to protect another. I guess “That’s Life” and we will all just have to adjust accordingly.

What is fascinating about the Christian life is that we are realistic; we acknowledge the unstoppable cycles of life. At the same time we are optimists; we are grateful for the position we are in and we know things are going to get better. How can both attitudes take place in one person at the same time? Only through the power of God, the one who broke through the sinful cycle to save us by his Son and to convert us into his obedient children again. “Life” has been redefined from cycles of pain and suffering to a new connection with our heavenly Father (John 16:33). Just as there was a time for seasons to change and deadlines to be met, God entered time to deliver salvation for sin and death through his Son Jesus.

God’s salvation and faith-creating action in our lives mean it is “open season” for serving God and spreading his message of love. We are no


longer bound by changing seasons to serve or not serve God; the time is now! In any weather or situation we can look to God’s Word for the

reassuring gospel of Jesus and the instruction to live godly lives until Christ returns to deliver us permanently from earth to heaven with him.

The Long Trail

You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same

way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

The weather forecast for the day of the cattle drive called for 105 degrees. At 2:30AM the alarm sounded at the Thornton home. One of the things a Christian wants to do is to help others. Gail dressed, read his Bible devotions, said his prayers, and had his breakfast and coffee. It was dark and the stars were shining brightly in the night sky when he saddled his horse and loaded him into his stock trailer, which he had hitched to his old GMC truck the day before. He drove his pickup and stock trailer loaded with his horse out his driveway and headed toward the end of Tieton Drive where the gathering was to start at the old Worrell Ranch.

Ranchers in our part of the valley have an unwritten understanding they will help each other, whatever the need. Often one rancher alone cannot get a job done by himself. Stan Emerick, one of Gail's rancher friends, had recently been badly hurt in a wreck while riding an RV just before the scheduled summer roundup on his ranch. The usual crew came that day to help out on the drive in spite of the heat.

It was now up to Stan's wife Linda and the crew which had shown up that morning to get the cattle rounded up and moved. Gail had said he would be there to help. So today was the day. The

weather had been hot and cattle do not move well in the heat, so the riders were in the saddle by 4:00 AM while the temperature was still cool. Praying for God's help, Gail hoped they would be finished by noon but he guessed it would really take longer.

Linda told Gail that one of his own bulls was in with their cattle. Try as they could, they had been unable to get him into the Worrell corral. They decided it would be easier if Gail would pick him up at the Nasty Creek corrals at the end of the drive.

Linda gave directions to the riders as to where to go to gather the three hundred plus head of Angus cattle off the two sections, which means two square miles or 1,240 acres of spring range. The cattle had to be gathered from the various areas of the Emerick range and put into one large herd. Once the cattle were all pushed into one gathering area, Linda looked at Gail and surprised him a little by saying, “You're in charge of the drive from here.” With Stan hurt Gail really couldn't say “no.”

The riders began the drive toward Pine Mountain, which they could see in the distance. Before it was over they had to move the cattle over the top of Pine Mountain and down the hot, steep, rocky side hill to the waiting corrals at the mouth of


Nasty Creek. It was hot, slow going with horses and riders pushing the cattle along the dusty trail.

There was absolutely no water along the route and only one small patch of trees for shade. As the July sun climbed higher so did the temperature. The one standing order the owner, Stan Emerick, had given was that if any of the stock overheated along the trail, he wanted them dropped from the drive. He said he would rather have them left behind than dead. The riders did have to stop and rest the herd several times along the drive to keep them from overheating. The cows called for their calves and the calves bawled constantly for their lost mothers. God did provide a slight breeze during the drive, which really helped make it seem a little cooler.

Finally the cattle arrived, hot, tired, and thirsty at the corrals at Nasty Creek. There they found water; wonderful water. After taking a count at the end of the drive Stan remarked that he was amazed; every cow, calf, and bull was accounted for and in relatively good condition. It was 2:00PM. Over eleven hours had gone by since the alarm had sounded for Gail that morning. And the day was not over yet.

The riders separated Gail's bull from the rest and loaded him along with Gail's horse in his trailer. He did not wait around for long because he had to take his bull up the road into the hills another eight miles back to Gail's herd. Only then would Gail be free to head for home.

He finally came to where they usually had their cow camp. From there he opened a locked gate and drove on up the forest road for a ways till he located some of his cattle. Then he turned the truck and trailer around, opened the trailer, and let the bull out.

Gail was ready to go home… but this was where his plan began to fall apart. As he started back down the road toward the old cow camp, without fanfare the truck suddenly died. He hit the starter. The motor turned over, but refused to

start. He tried everything he could think to do. Finally, he figured the truck's “computer brain” was dead. That was when it occurred to him that, as often was his habit, he had not told anyone where he was going when he left. Then he remembered his trusty cell phone. He tried it… No reception! Gail had not seen another person since he had left the Nasty Creek corrals some ten miles back and this late in the day it was not likely anyone would be still be in the area where he was stranded.

Gail sat and thought about his situation. He knew God was always open to prayer so he said one. He got his horse out of the trailer and rode all the way to the top of a tall ridge. He took out his phone. No service! He moved farther along the ridge. No service. He tried spot after spot with little result. Some bars showed on his phone, but not enough to make a call and be understood. He tried several other spots. Finally, a call went through to his wife Dona. She told me later that he had talked so fast she could hardly understand him because he was afraid the service would drop again and it did. She got the message, but Gail could never get her back to confirm that she had. He rode back down to the truck, tied his horse to the trailer, and sat for hours hoping and praying someone would come to rescue him. Meanwhile Dona called Dustin, another rancher, who had been to cow camp and would know where the spot Gail had described was and what exactly he would need. He needed a truck to pull the stock trailer with his horse home and a large flatbed trailer behind a pickup to get his stalled flatbed truck back to Yakima.

Well, Dona gave Dustin the message and he put a plan into action. He called Gail's brother Don to drive one of the pickups and also pick up Dustin's flatbed trailer along the way. Then Dustin led Don to where Gail was marooned. Gail said a prayer of thanks for providing Christian friends who were always willing to help.


Gail has learned as I have, we never know what to expect when we get out of bed in the morning. There is no way to compare one long day or even one long cattle drive to a lifetime of Christian living. Christians will face many challenges when following Jesus and making him the Lord of their life. Your faith will not grow unless you make an effort to stay in God's Word and pray often. Living out your faith and being an example to those around you always takes time and conviction. We always have God's promise he will never leave us nor forsake us. Thank God we are led by Jesus who endured the cross for us. He will help us through the hard spots along the trail. Remember the Bible says, “Gold is purified by fire” and our faith is purified as we learn to depend on God. When everything seems to be going wrong, remember God is with you as he was with Gail on a trail ride lasting nineteen hours

. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade --- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, 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 to be genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:3-7).

The story was written jointly by Gail Thornton, the rancher in the story, and John R. Hardison.


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