9-10-2026

Good Morning!

   Deuteronomy 2:7; “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness… You have lacked nothing.”

     I find it fascinating when I read and look at the way GPS has completely changed our lives.  You can take out your GPS unit or your smartphone and know where you are to within a few inches depending on how much you are willing to pay.  So, a fisherman out in the middle of a lake can mark the spot where he is fishing on his phone and come back tomorrow to the exact same spot.  The spray plane applicator doesn’t have to throw toilet paper out the window to mark his spot in the field.  Add in drones and driverless vehicles which rely on GPS and it truly is amazing. 

    I think the thing that fascinates me the most is that you can put a GPS on your phone or your spouse’s phone or your child’s smartphone and track their movement.  So, you can “see” where they are at any time.  So, you can call your children and ask them why they are where they are instead of where they are supposed to be.  If you and your spouse are wandering a mall, or a park or a forest and you are separated; you can find each other easily.  If you are lost and in need of help, your location can be pinpointed with amazing accuracy and speed and help will be on the way.

    Yet long before GPS was even thought of, God’s children had a GPS; we had God looking out for us.  Not only does God know where you are; he knows where you are going, how it will be when you get there and what the outcome of your journey will be.  God knows the entire story of your life; the who, what, where, when, why and how.  But the God of all love and mercy is so much more than just knowing what is going on.

    God’s mercy places him in your life.  He not only knows what you are going through but he is experiencing it as well.  He knows your fears, your needs, your hopes, and your dreams.  He knows and experiences your heartache when a relationship is strained and breaking.  He knows and experiences the pain you feel as you worry about the health of a loved one.  He knows and experiences you fear as you wonder about your own health or finances.  He knows the wilderness that you are in because he is there with you every step of the way.  You never travel alone.

    Each step along the way, God has been with you providing you with what you needed.  You may have lacked your wants but your needs have been filled at all times as God walks with you in the wilderness of your life.  Trust in his promise of never leaving you; trust in his mercy to supply you; trust in his promise of peace and hope.  He will never leave you in the wilderness alone.

Father of all mercy, you supply all my needs.  Keep me in the knowledge of your loving grace.  Keep me content in the supply that you give me.  Keep me in your loving arms so that I may always know the comfort of your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-9-2026

Good Morning!

   2 Kings 6:17; “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

    Our verse for today is part of the story of the prophet Elisha.  One day, when the king of Syria was at war with Israel, the king sought to destroy Elisha.  It seems he didn’t like this pesky man of God interfering in his plans.  The king asked his counsel how many were on Elisha’s side and the counsel said that no one was.  So, the king sent an army to surround the city that Elisha was staying in.

   In the morning, Elisha’s servant looked out and saw all the enemy soldiers and was terrified.  He saw the incredible might of the Syrian army waiting outside the city gates and he was terrified.  “Alas, my master, what shall we do?”  He could only see the enemy.  So, Elisha prayed the prayer that is our verse for today.  “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.”  As Elisha finished this prayer, the young man looked around and saw the mountain was full of horses.  There were chariots of fire all around Elisha.  God was protecting Elisha and the young servant from harm.

    We can see a great truth here for us.  Our fear results when we focus on the enemy and not on God’s supply.  Our fear results when we see only with our physical eyes and not with our eyes of faith.  It is through the eyes of faith that we see the mountain full of horses and chariots to protect us.  God has promised to never let us face our enemies alone.   Even in the darkest of hours, we are not alone.  No matter what the enemy is; it might be health worries, job insecurities, perhaps you and your spouse are at the end of your rope and you are not sure if there is any ‘getting better’ left in you.  Perhaps you are sitting all alone in a waiting room somewhere and that is exactly how you feel; all alone.  Take heart, you are not alone.

    God invites you, he desires that you, he deeply wants you to look up and to focus on Him.  Look up and see the great army of God.  Even when our physical eyes see no hope, no possibility, no good thing in sight; we need to look up and see God’s protective arm.  He embraces us with his loving kindness and seeks to protect us.  God’s love is so much stronger than any enemy that we face.  God encourages you to look up with faith and to remember as the psalmist says, “My help comes in the Name of the Lord!”

Gracious God and Lord, open my eyes that I may see your army protecting me.  Open my eyes to the wonder of your mercy.  Open my eyes to the majesty of your grace that is so active in my life.  When my enemies attack, protect me and open my eyes.  Be with those who are most in need of your protective mercies.  Send your mighty angels to guard over them.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

10-8-2026

Good Morning!

               Acts 14:20; “But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.”

“When you're down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
And nothing, whoa nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest nights.”

     So goes the opening verse to Carole King’s “You’ve got a Friend.”  This ballad speaks of a kinship that goes beyond being close to each other.  It involves the promise that you can always count on me to come to your aid or rescue.

    Our verse is part of a story where the Apostle Paul was dragged from the city of Lystra by the Jews and stoned.  He is left for dead.  But soon the disciples gathered around him and he rose up and then entered the city.  The next day he went to Derbe, a different city.  An amazing story as it tells of the wonderful power which God gives to us when we gather together to aid a brother or sister in Christ.  We gather to pray, to uplift one another, to console one another, to offer the words of God’s comfort and hope.

    This is one of the blessings of God’s church here on earth; we are here to aid one another, to bear one another’s burdens.  This gives us two ways to view this.  First, we are our brother’s keeper.  We are to look after one another.  If we see our brother fading or being knocked down by the world and the devil, we need to gather around them, pray for them, strengthen them with God’s Word so that they can get back up and face the world all over again.  We are to be sure that no one faces the battles of this world by themselves.  We are there for aid, comfort, and support.

    We also can know that when attacks are at us and these attacks will occur, we will not have to face them alone.  We face them with God’s Spirit and the love and support of all the brothers and sisters in Christ.  The battles are not your alone or mine alone; they are ours together, because God’s Spirit is strengthened in us when we hold onto one, we seek out one another to receive the consolation that we seek.  God is with us all the time and we, as the church, like the disciples that surrounded Paul, are to be there for one another as well.

Gracious Father, you lift us up by the willingness of our brothers and sisters to come to our aid and comfort.  Lead us by your Spirit to lift up those around us who are in need.  Strengthen the brothers and sisters to stand up to the many struggles in this life.  Give us your mercy to live in peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

10-7-2026

Good Morning!

      Psalm 86:1; “Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.”

    I must make a confession; I get a little frustrated when I hear people say, “I have tried everything else, I guess all that is left is prayer.”  I must admit that this is somewhat frustrating to listen to because prayer should never be the last thing we turn to but it should be the first.  But if I am honest and admit that I, a poor, sinful creature, have had those same thoughts at different times in my life.  I have struggled with events and trials and put all my skills and know how to work to resolve the situation only to be frustrated by things and events beyond my control.  I can’t control the weather or how other people will act or react to a situation.  As I look at the situation, I find that there is actually very little that I can control and when I finally realize this, I pray.

    I have heard some people say that God never gives you more than you can handle.  Personally, I don’t really agree with this idea.  If God didn’t give more than I could handle, I wouldn’t really need prayer.  I could simply sit down, reason out what must occur and figure out the problem.  It would be much like a chess match where I planned my moves and I accomplished what occurred.  I could reach a point where I do not need God.  But of course, that never occurs; I always need God.

    It is when I sit and think, plan, calculate, delve into the inner working, and come up lost or short; it is at those times when I truly realize that I am poor and needy.  It is at times when I am looking at events and situations that leave me saying, “I haven’t got a clue” that I truly see that my only hope is God.  It is at this time that I remember to “call upon my Name and I rescue you” this is when God reveals his love for me.

    God doesn’t always reveal the answer, at least the one I wanted when I started, but what he does reveal is his love for me.  It might take a little while for my sinful human mind to see it but God’s love is there.  It might be hidden in the gentle refusal or in the harsh rejection but it is there.  God will hear you and he will answer you in his time.  We need to trust and we need to wait, wait for the Lord.  He has promised to deliver us from the devil and his attacks.  We have his promise to bring us into the kingdom of God through our baptism.  Being part of this kingdom lets us come before his throne of mercy and giving to us the promise of God listening, hearing, and answering our prayers.  Waiting to pray only prolongs our pain and discomfort.  Trust in God to hear and to answer your prayers.

Father, you hear us when we cry. You hear us even when we are slow to call upon your name.  In your mercy, you show your patience and loving kindness in our slowness to learn.  Move me by your Spirit to call upon your Name daily both with cries of despair and shouts of thanksgiving.  In you is our hope, in you is our life.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-6-2026

Good Morning!

      Romans 4:3; “What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (NIV)

      A few years ago, our church decided to get a credit card. It would be easier to keep track of where the money was spent and from which fund or account the money should come from. So, one day we received the actual credit card and called the number t activate it.  Apparently, we activated the card at the end of the billing cycle because about a week later we received our first credit card bill. It showed that the church owed $0.00; the minimum payment was $0.00 and that the average amount owed for the billing period was $0.00.  I showed the bill to my wife and we thought we should keep it and frame it.  We never received a bill from a credit card company that showed $0.00 owed.

    Now this statement showed $0.00 because it hadn’t been used but what if you received a statement from the credit card company that you used all the time and it said $0.00?  We oftentimes will hold our breath a little when statement comes in because we know there will be some big numbers on it; sometimes we even cringe when we see it.  It would really be nice if we could open that statement one time and read $0.00 owed and someone else paid it off.  I doubt that any of us will ever have a credit card bill work like this but we have a more important bill that does look like this; it is the bill we owe for the sins we have committed.

    When you and I sin, we owe God.  Sometimes what we owe is not money but we owe respect, faithfulness, loyalty, honor and the like.  We owe it to God to do his will and yet we fail.  We owe a penalty each time we miss the mark.  Each time we break one of God’s commandments, we are putting a charge against our credit card and someday the bill will come due.

    But because Jesus paid our debt, our faith in Jesus is credited as righteousness.  So, when God opens our bill and looks at what we owe, we owe nothing because it has already been paid.  Since we believe that Jesus died to pay for my sin; our account with God is given a credit of the righteousness that Jesus earned.  It counts as righteousness for us.  We are credited with more than enough righteousness so that our bill will always show a balance owed of $0.00.  The debt is paid and we are free of the requirement.  We are free to be God’s children.  We are declared to be saints because we owe nothing.  For us, faith is the credit we need because Jesus has paid for us all.

Loving Father, you sent Jesus to die for us so that we may receive the promised mercy of forgiveness. Refresh us daily with your love.  Strengthen our desire to do you will.  Strengthen our desire to serve you will our whole heart.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

10-5-2026

Good Morning!

        Romans 10:13; “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

      During a discussion with a couple of young people about faith, I learned some interesting things.  I asked them to explain what they thought was needed in life.  One of the popular answers from them and from reading the social media is that we need to “think good thoughts.”  I asked what that meant.  These two hemmed and hawed a little but decided that you needed to have a positive attitude and to think that only good things will happen to you.  This will help alleviate the problems when they occur.

    The next thought was that there was a need to “try harder.”  This was defined as bad things can happen when we get lazy or that we don’t put in our best effort.  I asked how this was decided; how is it apparent that I am trying my best or that I am not trying my best, what is this criterion?  There was no answer from the two I was talking to and I have never read any explanation about how this works, so we left that.  So, we took these two life theories and then I asked them a question.

    I asked them, “If you were drowning, what would you want me to do?”  At first, they looked at each other and then gave me “that look” the one you get when they think you are looney.  They said, “I would want you to save me.”  “So, you wouldn’t want me to tell you to ‘try harder’?”  They looked at me like I had two heads.  They both said that they would drown because obviously they were trying hard not to drown but they were drowning anyway.  Then I asked them, “how about if I tell you to think good thoughts, would that save you?”  Apparently, I grew a third head.  They both agreed that would be of absolutely no help whatsoever; how could they have good thoughts while they were drowning?  That was a good question.

   So, I asked, “Would you want me to rescue you, perhaps even jump in the water to bring you to safety?”  They both agreed, with a hint of exasperation, which was what needed to happen.  So, then I asked them, “Have you ever had times when you felt like you were ‘drowning’?”  Were there ever times when life seemed to be rolling against you and you just felt like it was slipping away?  They were a little quieter and more subdued but both agreed that they had had times like that.  Did they need someone to save them or just give them advice?  Did they need a hand to grab or be told to ‘think good thoughts’ or to ‘try harder’?

    God saw our life and we were drowning in a world of guilt, pain, and sin.  He sent his Son to dive into this life in order to rescue us.  Jesus gave his life in the process.  He died in order to rescue you.  We can hold onto this and onto the promise that God gives to us about his love for us.  The problems of this life will not last but his love and comfort always will.

Father, you sent Jesus to rescue me from sin, death, and the devil.  These can no longer torment me.  Through your grace, you give me hope.  In your mercy you comfort me.  Be with those who are especially suffering and hurting.  Give them your Spirit that they may know your mercy and find comfort in you.  In the precious name of Jesus our Risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

10-4-2026

Good Morning!

             Genesis 12:1; “Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.”

       I remember many years ago when I was in college talking to my grandfather about his parents and uncles and grandparents who left Germany and immigrated to the United States.  They left everything they knew, most of the people they knew and grew up with.  It was possible that a young man or young woman had fallen in love and was suddenly transported to another country far away to never see that person again.  They left their homes and the life they knew for a promise of land and a better way of life.  It must have taken a lot to go, especially the first one.  It might be a little easier if all of your brothers are going, along with a fair number of cousins and friends but what if you were first, or worse, the only one to go; a new land, new neighbors, new customs, new names; it took courage and faith.

    In our verse we see where God spoke to Abram.  We don’t know if it was a dream or a vision or something like the burning bush of Moses but somehow God directed Abram to leave his country and his family to go to a new land that God has promised to Abram and his descendants.  Yet it had to take a lot of faith, and convincing, for Abram to take his wife and his nephew and head out and go where God was directing them to go.  They left all the familiar things in life to go to a brand-new land.  It certainly took courage and faith.

    God is leading you to a new land as well.  He wants you to leave the old life behind.  He wants you to leave sinful existence behind.  For many of us, this can be difficult.  It can mean leaving behind friends, places that we are comfortable at, even perhaps some family members might get left behind.  Yet God calls us to a new land, a new life.  He calls us there for much the same reason he called Abram to go; to get out of a sin-filled environment that might lead us astray.  God wants us to be safe and sometimes a new place is the only way to safety.

    So, as you feel God introducing changes into your life, these changes may be God’s way of   telling you to come to a new land, a new country or just a different set of people for you to be with.  The old relationships, the old places to go may be the toxic things that are dragging you down and holding you back.  This may be what is keeping you in sin; you are not leaving the temptations behind.  If you are tempted to drink to excess, stay away from the bars.  If you are prone to gossip, stay away from that coffee klatch.  Go to the new land.

    It might be difficult; it might require a few tries to finally leave the old behind.  Yet the new land that God is leading you into is the land that he has promised, a land of milk and honey.  It is the promised land of our salvation.  It is home.

Father of all wonders, you lead in the paths of righteousness for your name’s sake.  Give me the courage and strength to travel the path you have laid out and to follow as you lead me.  Show me the way to walk with you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret