9-27-2026

Good Morning!

Deuteronomy 32:10; “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.”

     There is a story about a young teacher who gave an apple to each of her students.  She told them to look at them closely, study them.  She told them to feel the shape, notice the texture, the different bumps, and nicks on the skin.  She told them to carefully study their apple, to close their eyes and to visualize and imagine what it looks and feels like.  Next, the teacher collected the apples and put them in a basket.  She mixed them up and then had the students come forward and pick out their apple.  Each student was able to pick out their apple.  They knew the apple that they had studied and claimed as their own.

    In our verse, we read about being the apple of God’s eye.  This thought or idea is referenced four or five different times (depending on translation) in the Old Testament.  Its meaning in the Bible is the same as what we normally use it as; to have or to be someone special and that we keep close tabs on.  For some of us we may keep a close eye on a nephew or niece or a neighbor kid that has a special attachment.  Maybe they share your interest or hobby, maybe they just are the apple of your eye.  You feel an affinity for them so you always watch for them and always look out for their well-being.  Perhaps you send them a card for their birthday or just a note saying you are thinking of them.

    We see that God has that same yearning for us.  He knows us, personally and intimately.  He reached down into our messy world and picked us out and knows us.  He knows each of us by our own bumps and marks.  He knows them by the way which we got them, through the struggles and battles of life.  Yet through all our struggles, he never left us; he never abandoned us.  He sends us his words of love and encouragement; he sends us his words of hope.  He feeds and cleanses us with his sacraments.  We are never out of his sight or out of his love.  He rescues us because of his incredible love for us.

    So, in spite of our struggles in this life, we are never alone; we are never left to battle fear and despair on our own.  We never need to feel lonely because we are never truly alone.  God is always there to give us the comfort and the hope that we need.  We are the apple of his eye.

Father, your love for us is beyond what we can ever imagine.  Keep us in the shadow of your wings of mercy and nurture our faith that we may stand strong in facing this life’s battles.  You give us the courage and the hope to overcome.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

9-26-2026

Good Morning!

               Ruth 4:15; “He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

     The story told in the Book of Ruth is a very unique story.  It starts with a man, his wife and their two sons moving to a new country.  While they are there, the husband dies.  Yet the two sons each got married so life went on.  But then it gets tragic; both sons die.  So, it is the woman, her name is Naomi, is left in a strange land with her widowed daughters-in-law.  This is not a really good way to be.  Women had very few ways to earn a living.  They were wives and mothers or they were beggars or prostitutes.  Once in a while they might be heralded as a prophetess or a priestess but this was very rare.  Most women faced a brutal life outside of a marriage, especially in a foreign land.

     So, Naomi decided to pack up and go home to Bethlehem but even that was not a great option.  She had been gone so long she wasn’t even sure she had any relatives who might consider taking her in.  So, she tried to get her two daughters-in-law to go back to their family as she had nothing to offer them.  One went back but one, named Ruth, went back with her.  Yet as she travelled; she was despondent and sad; what fate faced them when they returned?  Naomi was so sure that nothing good awaited them that she told anyone who asked to call her “Mara” because her life was bitter.  Yet God acted.  A redeemer, a man named Boaz took her back and then he married Ruth.  This provided for Naomi and she no longer had a life of pain and struggle ahead of her.  She had, as our verse says, “a restorer of life and a nourisher in your old age.”

    Have you ever experienced a time in your life that seemed beyond hope?  Maybe you feel that way right now.  It may seem like there is nothing left for you; it may seem that all things of value are gone.  The people you loved, the job you adored, the health that you enjoyed are now all seemingly long gone.  The thing we have to do is to hang on.  We need to hang on to our faith and to trust in God’s mercy.  Even in our darkest hour God has sent us a redeemer to buy us back and to rescue us from our sorrow.

   Jesus came for that reason; to rescue us from all of our sorrow and our despair.  God can be and should be trusted to reach down and to lift you out of the pit of despair and from the deep waters of hopelessness. He knows your pain and knows your sorrow.  He is able to lift your burdens and to carry your heart.  He will restore you; he will nourish you and he will provide for you and all your needs.

Father, you are our only source of hope.  In you do we find our redemption through Jesus.  Lift us from the well of sorrows.  Pull us from the deep waters of despair and lift our hearts and our spirits that we may know your joy.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

9-25-2026

Good Morning!

          Psalm 18:30; “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”

    “Thick skinned;” it is something that we tell ourselves we have to be.  “You have to be thick skinned to be a ________.”  You can fill in the blank with a teacher, or a coach or a nurse or a secretary or whatever profession that you wish.  We all know that we face times, times of stress or attacks, when we need a thick skin in order to avoid the pain that can occur when cruel remarks or times of harsh criticism strike.  You might be the clerk who has to listen to a customer berate you for the store not having the product they want to buy.  You might be the waiter or waitress who has to listen to the customer who is dissatisfied with the quality of the meal.  You might be the employee who receives the blame from your boss over the loss of a sale.  The list goes on and on.  There are many times when we need to be thick skinned.

    Our verse speaks of God who provides a thick skin for us.  The word shield here roughly translates to the scaly hide of a crocodile.  It was one of the better shields at this time.  It was lightweight, easy to carry and maneuver but able to resist the attacks that were launched at it.  This is how we can see God.  He protects us from the attacks of the devil.  He is able to quickly and easily respond to all the different ways that the devil will attack us.  Whether it is through causing doubts, or encouraging fear, or causing intense sorrow, the devil has many ways to attack us.  Yet we only have one defense, we only have the Word of the Lord as our shield as our thick skin.  And we know that the Word of the Lord is living and active.  We know that it will protect those whom he loves and he loves you.

    So, when the battles of this life occur, we need to seek out our refuge in the only sure defense that we have; we need to hide in God’s eternal love.  We will face problems in this world; God has warned us of that.  We know that they are only temporary and that the devil will not win.  We know that our victory is guaranteed by the blood of Jesus and that victory has been given to us through faith at our Baptism.  It is at our Baptism, where we are marked and claimed by God, where the down payment for God’s promise to us is made, that we begin to get to use the shield forever.  The shield is given to us to protect us from the devil and his pain.  We are given God’s great promise of love and mercy.  We have God as our shield and nothing can ever harm that.

Father, you are our rock and our fortress.  You alone give us hope.  In you we have a shield to defend us from all that the world throws at us.  You lift us up with your mercy that we might be saved by you.  Grant us peace in this life that we may ever hold fast to you.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-24-2026

Good Morning!

      Psalm 32:5; “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

      A small group of preteen boys were huddled and engaged in an intense discussion.  One of them had thrown a baseball and broke a window.  Some wanted to just run away; some advised telling the owner and offering to fix the window.  The discussion was pretty intense but had a common theme- fear.  The ones who voted to just run away were afraid of getting in trouble for breaking the window.  The ones who voted to tell the owner were afraid of greater punishment for not telling.  Their logic was that, eventually, they would get caught and be punished more severely for lying and trying to hide the truth. 

    So, when you approach a confession of sins; do you do so from an attitude of fear?  Do you speak the confession of sins because you are afraid that God will find out later and then really punish you?  Many do; many think that confession of sins to God is telling God, “I know you don’t know this but this is what I have done.”  This is a human view of confession; it is not how God views it.  God views it as a way to relief pain; we should as well.

    The first thing we need to know is that God knows everything.  When you confess your sins to Him, you are not telling him something that he doesn’t already know.  Confession is not about informing God or giving him so new information.  Confession is not about making God feel better; confession is about relieving our guilt and brightening our soul.

    Confession is about ridding the guilt of our sin and laying it at God’s altar.  You may even think of it as carrying out the garbage.  When you feel that you have some sins that are just too great to confess or that you feel are just unforgiveable, you simply are keeping garbage that you do not need.  This excess garbage is used by the devil to cause you guilt; guilt about sins that God has already forgiven.  So, confession can be seen as you and I going to God and saying, “Dear Father, I am tired of carrying this garbage around.  It stinks and it weighs me down; please take it from me.”  The wondrous love of God means he will take it and throw it away for us.

   So, we do not need to view confession with fear; rather we can approach it as God defines it; as a way to free ourselves from pain and sorrow.  It is a way to relieve our heart of guilt and to give our souls peaceful rest.

Gracious Father, you cleanse me of my sin and I am whiter than snow.  With your great mercy, I have peace in this life and the hope of life eternal with you.  Keep me safe in your loving arms.  Strengthen me so that I do not fall for the devil’s lies.  Be with those who are struggling against his lies at this time.  Free them from his voice.  Give your Spirit to them so that they may clearly hear your voice.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

9-23-2026

Good Morning!

      Mark 1:15; “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

       The kingdom of God; what do we mean by that?  Some will tell you that it refers to heaven; it refers to the place where God will perfectly rule.  Some see it as a future place and a future event.  Some read this and think that this phrase refers to Jesus himself.  Hence the reference to being “at hand” as in “I’m standing right here!”  These are a couple of ways to look at it but there is another way to view it.

    The kingdom of God really can be viewed as God, through Jesus, actively restoring all of creation to its perfect state.  Think of it as a wave moving through a pond or a lake.  It begins and moves through the whole pond.  The kingdom of God begins with Jesus entering into the world and going about village to village, person to person, bringing healing to those with whom he has contact with.  We see it in each event of Jesus’ life here on earth.  He brings healing, he brings compassion, he brings about the cares for the physical as well as spiritual needs of the person.  In short, we see God in Christ has come to reestablish his rule over creation, and his desire to restore everything that is broken or twisted or amiss or dying.  All of the different manifestations of creation’s brokenness give rise to the Savior’s compassion.

    This occurs now, not just at some future event.  Jesus comes to give us healing now.  He comes to free you from the past.  He comes to heal your brokenness.  So, whether you are a young person that society has declared unworthy and unfit because of past events and choices; Jesus will pull you from this brokenness and give you hope for a better today.  If you are a not so young person who has a lifetime of struggles and failures; Jesus wants to heal you and for you to change for today.  We are not defined by the past; God defines us with a future and there is no amount of the past that cannot be overcome.

    Never underestimate how much God wants to begin your healing right now.  You are his beloved child.  Just as an earthly father would want his child to be healed today from any illness or affliction so our heavenly Father seeks the same truth.  God, through Jesus, comes to you seeking to bring you healing.  He seeks to help you address all of your needs.  He does this through the use of created things around you to bring you hope.  He has given this task to his church.  This is the task of the church; to bring about healing and hope to the world that is lost and broken and it does it one person at a time; attempting to heal one wound at a time.  The kingdom of God is at hand; grab hold and let it begin the healing.

Father, your love moves you to give us healing.  Be with those who are suffering at the hands of the world and are left to feel rejected and reviled.  Use us to be your hands and voice to bring about the wonderful message of hope that is your holy Gospel.  Direct us by your Spirit to those in need and help us to draw them to you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-22-2026

Good Morning!

      Galatians 6:2; “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

    “Can I help you?”  That is a question that gets asked in many different settings.  We hear it when we walk into a retail store and we start to look at a particular piece of merchandise.  We might hear it if we walk into a room or an area of a building where we are not supposed to be.  Usually, the person asking will direct you to the appropriate area.  I hear it a lot when I am in a hospital or in a nursing home and trying to find a specific room number for a patient.  The nurses and the nurses’ aides are really very helpful.  Eventually, I find everyone I am looking for.  “Can I help you?” is also the question which Paul tells us as Christians to ask, especially of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are to make ourselves available and useful to one another.

    As we look at this, the “law of Christ” is that we love one another (John 13:34).  Paul is telling us that when we bear each other’s burdens, when we come to the aid and comfort of a brother or sister in Christ, we are showing that we love one another.  Yet we often struggle with this task.  We find it difficult, “I don’t know what to do!” is the phrase that is most often muttered; sometimes as an excuse but often times as an honest plea for direction because at some point in time, our theology has to be our biography.  We must live the faith we profess.  One way to think of this is in the poem entitled “Sharing” by an author unknown.

 

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my bread with you, and sometimes share a sorrow, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can sit an hour with you, and I can share a joke with you and sometimes share reverses, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my flowers with you, and I can share my books with you and sometimes share your burdens, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my songs with you, and I can share my mirth with you, and sometimes come and laugh with you—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my hopes with you, and I can share my fears with you, and sometimes shed a tear with you—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my friends with you, and I can share my life with you, and oftentimes share a prayer with you—as on our way we go.

 

Father in heaven, help me to see that sharing burdens with my brothers and sisters brings about healing and hope.  Guide me when I feel weak or afraid to offer a simple glass of water or a simple piece of bread.  Help me to see that the greatest gift I give is my time and my heart.  Lead me to bear my brother and my sister up that they may know your holy peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-21-2026

Good Morning!

      Ephesians 4:32; “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

     It is the call throughout the Bible; we are to forgive.  We are to forgive one another even as God has forgiven us.  This is our goal; we aim for it, we desire it, we seek it and yet we struggle with it more than almost anything else.  It is the sinful nature in us that we battle every day.  It is that sinful nature that we need to drown every day through repentance and absolution.

    Forgiveness must take place every day.  First, we need to come before God asking for the forgiveness of the sins we commit.  We need to do this in order to see our need for this forgiveness and for the fact that we are freely forgiven by God.  We are then to see that there are others who seek and need our forgiveness and this includes forgiving ourselves.  This forgiveness needs to occur each time the thought to “un-forgive” in our life.  Every time we recall the hurt and we think that forgiveness may not be what we want to give.  We may want to hold onto the anger and the pain.  Yet we need to struggle with this and ask God to continue to turn our heart so that we can forgive and release the pain and sin.

    In order to do this, we may have to leave a toxic or poisonous relationship.  If we find ourselves being dragged back down by the attitudes or actions of others, we may have to walk away, at least until we have healed some.  We may have to avoid those who want to keep us living in the pain and the sorrow.  We need to forgive but we may need to walk away, at least until we can leave the toxic portion behind us.

    We also need to remember that forgiveness can be more of a process than an event.  We may have to revisit it more than once.  We may even find that it occurs in increments.  For us, forgiveness may be a long and slow process but it is a process that we must choose if we are to be healed and healing is the goal.

    The thing we need to always remember is that forgiveness is about healing.  It is about healing the pain that we either experience or cause.  Forgiveness is not about giving or taking but it is about being healed.  It is about healing the brokenness in the relationships that we have.  Forgiveness from God heals our relationship with God.  Forgiveness heals the rupture inside of us.  Forgiveness heals the rupture in our relationships with others.  Forgiveness brings about the healing that can restore us to the life which God created us to live.  Forgiveness provides the balm for our wounded souls.

Father of mercy, lead us to forgive.  Lead us to follow the path of healing and restoration.  Lead us by your Spirit to seek out the love that you give to us.  Lead us to live in peace.  Lead us to live in the joy of your mercy.  Heal us that we may be yours.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret