5-12-2026

Good Morning!

    Philippians 3:14; “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

        It was really funny to watch.  We had set up a 2x4 board on edge.  It was 6 feet long and the mounting had it two inches off the floor.  So, we challenged the kids to walk the “balance beam of destruction.” It was 1.5 inches wide and 6 feet long.  Very few could do it.  Most made it less than half the way down.  The problem was that they would look either down at the board or around at their friends; a few tried to look behind them.  The very small number who made it from one end to the other looked forward to a small sign that was on the wall directly behind the beam.  They focused on the sign and went straight down the board.

    It doesn’t matter what you are trying to do; whether it is walking a straight line, plowing a straight furrow, making a straight path; you accomplish this by focusing your sight on a specific point out way ahead, way past your intended ending point, and walk directly toward it.  You can’t look directly down at the path or you will waver.  You can’t look around or look back if you want to walk the line.  If you do that, you will fall off the beam.  Our life is the same way.

    The Apostle Paul told us to “press on toward the goal.”  The goal of course is eternal life in Christ.  The best way to accomplish this task is by focusing, not on what is happening around us, but rather by focusing on the target, the goal, our eternal life.  We can’t be distracted by the lumps and bumps of life.  We can’t look back at the past; we need to look forward.  We need to press on toward our goal, toward our eternal life with God.

    The devil wants us to look at everything around us.  He wants us to look down or back or side to side, anywhere but at Christ.   By getting us to look away from Jesus, the devil wants you to see pain, failure, and hopelessness.  When we do this, we fall off of the very path that Jesus has laid out for us.  We fall off the path of contentment.  The devil inflicts his pain.

    This is why God tells us over and over that we need to keep our eyes on him; that we need to press onward toward him, toward our goal of eternal life.  God gives us this hope for life eternal.  It is the great good that we need to keep in our line of sight so that the brokenness of the world does not detract us from the beauty of his grace.  In our life, the devil will try to cause all sorts of confusion and distress.  We best deal with this by keeping our eyes and our faith focused on Jesus and keep pressing forward to that truth.

Father of all mercies, your wonderful love and mercy roll over us like a river.  Your grace is new to us each day.  Guide us to keep pressing onward toward your great mercy, to our eternal reward.  Be with those who are distracted by the cares this life and this world.  Help them to get back on the path to walk in your light and grace.  Return them to your holy flock.  Protect our service men and women, especially those in harm’s way. In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-11-2026

Good Morning!

              James 4:3; “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

      A while back, I was talking with a six-year-old and this young person was telling me that they were “mad at God.”  So, I asked, “Why are you mad at God?”  The answer, “I want a pony but God won’t make my mom and dad buy one.”  I tried to explain that it might be that God doesn’t think you are ready for a pony just yet; maybe he is telling you that there will be one when you are older.  That wasn’t the answer being sought.  I think the expectation was that I was supposed to pray for a pony as well.

    It was an amusing exchange.  It is always interesting the way that young ones think.  They always see things in concrete terms and in a manner that is completely logical to them.  While we may smile at it, we aren’t that much different.  When we pray, we often have the same thought process. “I want a pony and I want it now.”  So, when we don’t get the pony, we are mad at God.

   Too often our prayers are manipulative in nature.  It may be a prayer when we ask God to “change the other guy.”  It may be a prayer where we “explain” to God the right way to solve a situation that needs to be “fixed.”  We aren’t praying for God’s will; we are praying that our will trump God’s will.

    Sometimes our prayers are designed to impress others.  We think big words and fancy prose are the way to go.  We think that if others are impressed by what we say then certainly God will be impressed and will have to give us what we ask for no matter what it is.  Whatever our “pony” is, we want God to give it to us and right now.

    So, James speaks directly to our failure in prayer.  We do not pray in accordance with God’s will nor do we truly want God’s will to prevail.  We simply see God as an ATM machine that spews out our wishes and wants regardless of our motives or wants.  James tells us this is the reason our prayers fail, we do not have the right motive.  So, what is the right motive?  It is that God’s will be done here on earth.  It is that the kingdom of God may spread throughout the world.  It is that all may come to know the saving grace of Jesus.  It is that we may always be God’s active agents of love and peace.

    So, when you pray, pray with the right motive.  Seek God’s kingdom to advance and that we may be agents of that advance.  Pray that Jesus would come to restore his creation to perfection.

Father, too often we seek our own desires and follies; too often we want for me and what I want and not what I need or what my neighbor needs.  Forgive our hollowness and our shame.  Bring us to speak with you in that holy conversation which strengthens and affirms our faith.  Be with those who feel that you are far away because they do not see their prayers answered as they seek.  Guide them by your Spirit to return to you in humility and wonder.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-10-2026

Good Morning!

      Romans 8:34; “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

          I remember one of those brain teaser problems a few years back.  It was a list of about 25-30 instructions.  Most of them were silly and embarrassing; things like “stand on one foot and sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle.”  The trick was that the first instruction told you to read ALL the instructions before you did anything else.  Instruction #22 told you to only follow instructions 1, 22 and the last one which told you to sit quietly.  Those who read and followed the directions would sit quietly.  Those who chose just to start doing the list did anything but sit quietly; they would sing and dance and twirl around.

     Sometimes, we read the Bible like this.  We don’t read it all the way through and we only see parts of it.  We tend to focus on the death of Jesus.  We tend to focus on his suffering and then his dying.  While this is a significant event, the Son of God dying in your place, it is only part of the story.  We really shouldn’t separate Good Friday from Easter but we do.  We should look at the time from Good Friday until Easter morning as one continuous event.  Jesus’ death is important but so is his resurrection. 

    Jesus’ resurrection is the sign that Jesus’ words are true and are valued and accepted by the Father in heaven.  It is also the preview to our future when Jesus returns.  We get a glimpse of our perfected bodies.  The resurrection gives us hope.  The resurrection reveals to us what God’s promise to us looks like.

   The resurrection of Jesus also means that he is not dead but that he lives in heaven, with the Father, and pleads and intercedes for us.  We often ask others to pray for us but do we ever stop and realize that Jesus is also praying for us?  What a comforting thought this should be!!  The Son of God prays for you all the time.  

    So, as we look with joy at what Jesus has done for us.  We look not only at his death but at the death and resurrection, together as one great mercy given to us.  Through this event we have the forgiveness of sins and the promise of the resurrection.  Through this event, we can live with the certainty of our life eternal. 

    So don’t stop with “Jesus died for me!” but continue on with “Jesus rose for me that I might have life!”  Because it is by his glorious resurrection that we have the promise sealed by his blood and given to us by the Father.  This makes this event joyful and worth celebrating.  Jesus lives and he lives so that you and I may have life and have it abundantly.

Father of all good things; grant to us your Spirit that we may live in the wonders of your mercy.  Keep us alive in your grace.  Guide us to rejoice in the living Savior who reigns with you.  Be with those who are lost and suffering.  Be with those who are in pain.  Comfort them and give them the hope of life eternal.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

5-9-2026

Good Morning!

      Psalm 119:50; “This is my comfort in my misery:  Your promise gave me a new life.”

 So, when you are down or sad or just in need of comfort, where do you turn?  Many of us turn to food.  In fact, we have a whole host of food that we call “comfort food.”  It seems that much comfort food has a common element; it is simple.  The favorite comfort food listed is macaroni and cheese.  It doesn’t get much simpler than that.  Other foods are meatloaf, fried chicken, some put tuna sandwiches on the list but I prefer shrimp and grits.  There is chicken potpie or chicken noodle soup or mashed potatoes and gravy.  Personally, I prefer pie and ice cream.

     It is interesting how we turn to food for comfort.  I suppose part of it goes back to our early childhood when a full tummy and a soft blanket solved all the world’s problems.  Part of our comfort from food may be this.  It also may be that preparing simple food doesn’t require a lot of thought allows us to “mull” while we work.  It also might be that simple foods, foods that we associate with growing up or home, gives us a sense of being home, safe from all the struggles of the world and it may even remind us of simpler times.  It might remind us of times when our big decisions were which color shirt to wear.  It might have the effect of reminding us of the safety we found in the walls of our childhood home.

     At times of stress or sorrow we often seek comfort.  From the time we are a child and seek mom or dad to kiss an “owie” through our younger years when that certain boy or girl who was “to die for” turned us down; we sought comfort.  When the stress of a job or a lack of rain, or low prices causes us to wonder about decisions made, we seek comfort.  We seek comfort from different sources whether it is food, family or perhaps the solace of a quiet space.  All of these may offer a temporary respite, the stress or the sorrow may return.  We need to find a place of lasting comfort and that is in God’s grace.

    The Apostle Paul tells us that “for those who love God, all things work together.”  Now that doesn’t mean that there won’t be some pain or struggle.  What it means is that we will never face it alone, never be left to be left dangling in the pain or sorrow.  God gives us comfort.  We take comfort in the certainty of his promise.  God has made to us a promise, delivered at our Baptism, to always hold us close to him.  He has promised to always give to us the forgiveness of sins and to always call us back to his loving mercy.  This mercy is always extended to us at all times.

    When the stress or pain of this world expresses itself in our life, God is ever present and ready to provide for us the words of comfort that we need to live our life in the contented and restful manner that God seeks to give us.  He is our hope and comfort, at all times.

Father of mercy, you are our only true source of comfort.  You are our only safe place.  Give us the wisdom to know this and the faith to trust in you as our rock and our fortress.  Father, there are many who struggle with the pain and the sadness of this world.  Give to them your Spirit of comfort that they may know your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

5-8-2026

Good Morning!

      1 Samuel 16:7b; “God does not see as humans see.  Humans look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks into the heart.”

       Do you remember Eddie Haskell form the “Leave It To Beaver” show?  He was probably the first TV character that really rubbed me the wrong way.  I remember thinking, “they can’t believe him.  He is as phony as a three-dollar bill,” Now I was only about 6 or 7 at the time, so I thought this was a real-life event. Yet I still remember fuming at him.  He was so “gooey” to the adults and just a rat to Beaver.  I would almost tell the TV to “wake up; he’s not a nice guy!”  Of course, I was much older when I realized that this was a TV show that was scripted and plotted out.  Still, Eddie still makes me grumpy.

     The problem with real life is that we don’t get to read the script of life.  So, the Eddie Haskells of the world may slip by us once in a while.  We are often blinded by a person’s looks, or wealth, or the way they talk.  We tend to look and if it is pleasant to look at, we like it.  This is one of the reasons that restaurants arrange food on a plate so it looks better.  It is one of the reasons that do-it-yourself stores have the grills put together to see or have the patio set up in the store; if it looks nice in the store it will look nice in your backyard.  We tend to listen to and buy into how things look or sound as we make our judgment.  If it looks good or sounds good, we are for it.

      This can get us into all sorts of trouble; most of us can relate to past experiences where it looked good but was a flop.  Perhaps you have even experienced a relationship or two that went the same way.  It looked good at the start but it went “Eddie Haskell” on you in a hurry; maybe you were the Eddie Haskell.  Yet there are times when we are wrong in our estimation of people.  Too often, we are shallow in our view of people.  We only see the outside and make our judgment accordingly.  The shallow look is often wrong; it takes a deeper look.  It takes a look that we often fail to take because we can’t always see into the heart but that is where we need to look.

    God looks at the heart; he sees the desire of man and knows whose is sinful and whose seeks God’s way.  He looks at your heart; not your wallet or the way you look on the outside.  God looks at who we are not what we look like.  So, God encourages us to look deeper as well.  He encourages us to look at what others do, how they treat others, especially those who cannot help them in return.  God measure for us to use is how we show his love to others.  This is what Jesus told his disciples and it is what he tells us.

    Our tools are limited so we may miss once in a while but God calls upon us to show his love to others.  How others show his love is to be our standard for those who are around us.  Sharing God’s love is always the key.

Father, help me to look deeper to see those around me that share your love with others.  Help me to share your love with those around me.  Guide us to be your agents here on earth to spread your mercy to the broken and downcast.  Use us to lift them up and to restore them to your kingdom.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

5-7-2026

Good Morning!

        Psalm 105:4; “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

       When our oldest grandson was a toddler, he liked to play hide and seek.  He wasn’t too bad at it.  He usually hid pretty well except he giggled all the time.  One time, he convinced his uncles to play with him.  They were all at our house.  My grandson went to look for a place to hide.  We have a small entryway on one side of the house.  There is a door to the outside, a door to a closet, a door to my office and a door to the living room.  He ran into this entry way to hide.  He couldn’t open any of the doors to the office, closet or outside.  His one uncle yelled, “here I come.”

    Our grandson froze.  He extended each arm up against the closet door and tried to attach himself to the door in an effort to hide.  He stood as still as he could.  He tried to blend in with the door and hide.  It didn’t work but he tried.  He was hoping to hide but his uncles found him anyway.

   When we think of seeking something, we tend to think of things that are hidden, like a grandson or a buried treasure.  Yet in the Bible, seeking means something a little different.  When we read the word “seek” in the Bible, we should think more of turning to or of asking counsel of.  So, in our verse, when it says to “seek the Lord” it doesn’t mean to go looking for someone who is hidden; it means to turn to God where he is and has always been, right next to you.  We seek God where he is, in his Word and in his sacrament.  We seek God when we engage in prayer to him.

    This is what it means to “seek God.”  It is not some great quest or hunt; it is turning to God as our one and only source of true peace.  “Seeking God” is asking for his guidance, for his Spirit, for his wisdom and for his peace.  “Seeking God” is to trust in his faithful promises and to rely on those promises continually.  This is how we cope with life, by trusting in God and his promises.  Whether we are facing surgery in the morning or the loss of a loved one or a painfully sad change in our life, we are to “seek God” we are to turn to him in confident prayer and read his wonderful words of hope and peace.  We are to hear from God about his love for us and the certain confidence that we have because of his love for us.

    We can always take comfort in God’s Word.  It gives us life and hope, nourishment and comfort.  In God’s gracious Word we have peace.  We can face each challenge with the confidence that God is truly in our side.  Seek God; turn to him and trust in his promises to give your life and hope, comfort and peace.  Seek God; he waits for you with all his mercy.

Father of all goodness, in you we have all our hope.  Guide us by your Spirit that we may always seek you.  Guide us to always trust in your Word and to trust in your grace.  Be with all the hurting and the saddened people.  Guide them to come to you for peace and comfort.  Use us to help in guiding them so that all may come to know the mercy that you bestow on your children.  Protect us we pray in the precious name of Jesus.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-6-2026

Good Morning!

      Romans 7:15; “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

    Why did you do that?  Have you ever asked that question of your son or daughter?  It can be a most exasperating question because the answer, oftentimes, is “I don’t know.”  What on earth would lead you to do something like that, what possible good could come from that?  “I don’t know, I guess I didn’t think.”  Sometimes, I am convinced that the blood supply doesn’t always go all the way to the top of most teenagers at one time or another.  I think that and then I wonder sometimes why I do the things I do.

    Have you ever done something that you later regretted doing?  I think if you live long enough, most of us have.  Maybe we walked in on the last part of a conversation and suddenly were offended and made sure everyone knew.  Later we find out that we totally misunderstood what the conversation was.  Maybe you told someone they could count on you but you failed to deliver.  Or maybe it was a little more painful.  Perhaps you joined in the gossip with more intensity than you should have.  Maybe you didn’t defend the person or maybe you added a tidbit of “news.”  Maybe you started it.  Why do we do these things?  Usually, we feel horrible afterwards, especially if we think about it and reflect on it.  It can really cut you if you see that person and see the pain in their eyes.  We know it was wrong; we know it going in.  We know the right thing to do but, for whatever reason, we fail to do the right thing.

    The reason is sin.  We are sinful by nature so sinning is the natural thing to do.  But we are redeemed children of God who has given us new life and new hope.  Yet that hope does not mean it will always be easy; in fact, it can be very hard.  We know what is right; God wants us to love one another just as he loved us.  We know this yet our sinful nature continually tries to pull us back into sin.  That is usually why we are so confused when we do some of these things.  It is not a conscious action; it is a regression into sin.  It sneaks up on us and soon we are bit.

    This is why we need to be vigilant; to be “sober” as Peter tells us.  This is especially true when you find yourself in dangerous situations, places where you are predisposed to sin whether it is at the coffee gathering, a bar or nightclub somewhere, or sitting in front of your computer.  We know our weaknesses but so do the devil and our sinful nature.  So, we have to be very careful to about our actions.  We need to always be thinking about what we are doing.  It is when we don’t think that we fall into sin.  Why do we do what we don’t want to do?  Because we are sinful by nature but thanks be to God that we are the forgiven children whom he loves and redeems daily!

Father, I know what is right but too often I fail and fall short of your will.  Strengthen me and give me the ability to live a life pleasing to you.  Help me to love my neighbor as I should.  Guide me by your Spirit to do the good that I would.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret