9-2-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 9:39; “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

     As World War II came to an end in Europe and the Allied forces moved into German held territory, the Allied armies came upon places that would be burned into the world’s psyche, places like Dachau, Buchenwald, Treblinka and Auschwitz.  As the allied soldiers began to try and help the emaciated and suffering prisoners, many of the soldiers became physically sick as they looked on at the conditions under which the prisoners existed for many years.  They were so moved by the total helplessness of the prisoners that these battle hardened and weary soldiers, many who had witnessed great horrors, became sick as they tried to aid the prisoners.  The soldiers experienced compassion for the prisoners.

    The word compassion in the Bible literally means a deep-felt pain or reaction deep in the bowels or in your stomach.  It is when you see a person in such pain or need that you feel the pain in your most inward parts.  It is what Jesus felt when he looked at the crowds of people.  He looked at them and saw a people who were like sheep without a shepherd.  He looked at the people as sheep that had been harassed and helpless.  They were like sheep that had been attacked by wolves. They were cut up, bloodied, injured and lost.  They were beaten and defeated.  Jesus saw their pain and he was moved, deep down inside, he felt their pain and suffering and he acted.  He healed the blind and the lame.  He drove out demons and brought comfort to those who knew suffering and pain.

     Many people read this and see it as a blueprint for their own life.  We should have compassion on our brothers.  We should have the compassion of Jesus.  We should not judge how or why the injured person got where he got.  We should not focus on bad choices or bad decisions because when a person is in need of comfort, we simply must meet the need.  Whether the pain is self-inflicted from personal failures does not lessen the pain or the sorrow.  Many read this and think of how they should act and that is a good thing.  We should be quick to have compassion on those who are around us.  But this is not the crux of the story.

    The real crux of the story is that you and I are still the sheep.  You and I still desperately need Jesus’ compassion.  We sin daily and we put ourselves into situations that cause us nothing but pain.  We are our own worst enemy; we desperately need compassion and healing and Jesus provides it to us daily and freely.  He looks at you and he sees your pain and through his forgiving words and his loving kindness he takes the pain away.  Trust in his grace; trust in his mercy.

Father of mercy, in your wonderful mercy you gave your Son to have compassion on us.  You free us from the tyranny of the devil.  You gather us into your flock and you protect us.  Lead us by your gracious Spirit.  Lead us in peace and harmony.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-1-2026

Good Morning!

     Psalm 130:1; “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!”

     One warm spring morning the homeowner knew there was a problem when the shower stopped draining.  He called the local plumber who called the local construction company and by noon the yard was dug up as the septic system had failed.  It was old and couldn’t handle the level of use a family of 5 placed on it.  They dug up the old lines and the old tank.  They piled the sludge and mud and dirt off to the side.  The “water” was pumped off to the edge of the work area as the pile of sludge, mud, dirt sort of oozed out.  Everyone knew enough to stay away; until 4:00 pm.

    The three young boys got off the bus and immediately headed for the activity.  A backhoe at work, a crane truck at work, drain tile laid out, men with tools working; it was a boy’s heaven.  So, they decided to “help.”  Soon they were covered in sludge, mud and dirt.  They began to wrestle each other, throwing each other into the oozing pile.  They splashed through the “fragrant” water and threw handfuls of the ooze at each other.  They were having the time of their life until mom saw them.  She shook her head; it wasn’t the first time that the boys had pulled something like this.  So, she headed out and brought them into the garage and there they waited.

    She came out of the house with a basin full of warm soapy water and started by washing their faces.  Now, even the boys realized that their smell was not the greatest.  She washed them, threw out the water, got fresh water and repeated the process.  The clothes ended up out on the lawn by the garden hose, a later project.  Yet mother continued to scrub and scrub and after a while three clean, cherubic boys appeared with rosy cheeks from the scrubbing.  Hopefully, they learned their lesson but mom knew they would find a different one.

    When the psalmist speaks of “the depths” we can think of a hole where much of the sewage from a village drains to.  Prisoners were often tossed in these to keep them.  It was a place of stench and despair.  It is a place that we can find ourselves from time to time.  Perhaps we have had a fight with a loved one or heard some painful comments made or we made some painful comments and now regret it.  Perhaps it seems that the world is totally against us and in our sorrow, we are in the hole, the pit, the depths of despair.

    Even through the stench, God reaches down and gives us comfort and hope.  He washes us off and cleans us up until we are clean, we are new creations.  We are clean enough to live in his presence and rest in his loving arms.  Even as we fall into the pit again, God continues to pull you out of the depths and clean you up so that you no longer live with the stench of sin.  God’s love pulls you up and out.  In his grace, he cleanses us from our sin.

Father, I cry out of the depths and you hear me and rescue me.  You give me hope.  You give me peace.  Be with those who are still in the pit.  Hear their cry and lift them up by your mighty Spirit.  Save them, Lord and give them the certainty of their salvation.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-31-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 28:20; “Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”

         I had a friend who could not wait for whatever we were doing to get done.  When we were in high school and playing football, he couldn’t wait for football to get done.  Then he couldn’t wait for basketball to get done.  When we went to college he couldn’t wait until he was done with classes.  After his children were born, he couldn’t wait until they were old enough to drive and then he couldn’t wait until they graduated.  His job wasn’t any better; he couldn’t wait until he could retire.  He would always look forward to what was coming but he never really enjoyed what he was doing.

    This seems like a sad life to me; yet there are many Christians who live the same way.  It is easy to do and not entirely wrong.  We are eschatological; that is, we look forward to the end of time and look forward to the return of Jesus as King and Lord.  So, for Christians to look forward to the end times is not all bad.  Only when Jesus returns will all pain, sorrow, suffering, sadness, and death finally end.  This is why we look forward to Christ’s return; this is why we pray for Christ to return.  For when Christ comes, we will have the restored and recreated heaven and earth.  Everything will be perfect.

    Yet we don’t want to miss today either.  Jesus told us that tomorrow will have enough worries so live today.  Too often we miss this.  We fail to see the beauty of today because we want the beauty of tomorrow.  Just like my friend missed so much because he wouldn’t see today; he only wanted to get to tomorrow.  He missed a lot of his children growing up because he was trying to hurry them into the next phase.  He missed a lot of companionship today because he was always hurrying to get to tomorrow.

    One of the wonderful gifts that God gives us in our faith is that we have the certainty of tomorrow so we can enjoy today.  We don’t have to wait until we live with Jesus; he already lives in us right now.  He is with us all the time and we can not only take comfort in this; we can revel in it.  We can thoroughly enjoy his presence in our lives right now.  Since we have his guarantee to live with us at all times, we can enjoy the fruits of our salvation right now.  We can see it in the beauty of a star-filled night even when it is cold.  We can see it in the beauty of the eyes of small children as they gaze with wonder and awe at the new things they see and learn.  We can see it in the love that an elderly couple still shares even after all these years.  We can see it all around but we have to stop, look, and rejoice in what God gives us today.  We have his grace to surround us so that we may be forever safe and secure in his loving arms.  Enjoy today for God has given it to you.

Father, lead me to see that each day is a gift from you for me to enjoy in your presence.  Lead me to celebrate my days of faith with you.  Lead me to savor your grace and to look to share it with those around me.  Help me to slow down and live in your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-30-2026

Good Morning!

           Acts 2:6; “And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”

      “Undo, Undo!!”  That is the cry that occurs when you push the wrong button on your computer.  I remember being in a sem class many years ago, where we were all diligently typing a rather lengthy paper.  All of a sudden, one of the guys sitting behind me let out a shriek and started yelling “Undo, undo, undo!!”  His computer did something and his screen went blank.  Fortunately, he was able to recover his work; the undo button worked.

     I don’t know about you but there are times when I wish I had an “undo” button in my life.  There are times when I said or did something I regretted doing or things I regretted not doing and an “undo” button would have been nice.  Maybe you have had that experience as well.  Perhaps a decision or two in your life could have benefitted from an “undo” button.  Perhaps you may even feel that these decisions have negated any hope in your life.  I recently had a conversation with a man about coming to church and listening.  He looked at me and laughed a little and said he didn’t think our ceiling would hold up if he came to church; he had lived a life that he wished he could “undo” a whole lot.

    Our verse is about one of God’s “undos”.  As the Holy Spirit filled the room, people from all over the known world heard the apostles preaching in their own language.  Parthians, Medes, Cappadocians, people from Asia, Egypt, Crete; all over listened to these Galileans preach and could hear in their own language.  In essence, God was “undoing the Tower of Babel.  God’s Spirit is unifying his people, the exact opposite of sin dividing man at the time of Babel.

    This is only one example of God “undoing” man’s failures.  Jesus came to undo all that we have done so that we can stand with God and before God in peace.  Jesus’ death paid for all our sins to undo all the damage that we did and do to our relationship with God.  Jesus paid for all our sins so that he would undo the destructive effects of the devil and the world can have on us.  Jesus’ death gives us new life; we are a new creation; our life experiences an “undo” because of God’s incredible love for us.

   So, if you need an “undo”; God offers you one.  He gives you the chance to start over.  He gives us the chance to change our life from one of pain and sadness to one of peace, contentment and hope.  God “undos” your pain in order to give you new life in him.  Take hold of his promise to new life and hope for today.  God has displayed the way he “undos” our sins trust him to continue to do so.

Father, in you we have new life.  You change my life by forgiving and “undoing” the pain that I cause you.  Lead me by your Spirit to reach out to those around me that I have hurt or that are in any type of pain.  Lead all those in pain into the wonderful comfort of your merciful arms.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

8-29-2026

Good Morning!

              Matthew 1:1; “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

     The last one chosen.  That was the fear of many children during playground games.  Lined up against the wall and two people began to choose.  One by one they get picked until the last few get picked.  It can be a somewhat humiliating situation.  Yet most of us go through it at some time in our life and we survive but at the time it is not real fun.  We always place importance on the right one being chosen.  The tall and lanky ones, who move with the grace of a leopard or a cheetah with all the strength and speed; they have the eye-hand coordination to accomplish just about anything.  They are the perfect player, the perfect teammate, the usually victorious one.  The last ones picked; they usually lost if they got to play at all.

    When we look at the genealogy of Jesus, we expect the names of kings, like David and Solomon or the great patriarchs like Abraham and Isaac.  Yet do we expect the names of Tamar and Rahab?  One acted as a harlot and one was a harlot.  What about names like Abijah? He was a rebellious son who attacked his father.  Certainly, these must have been the last ones chosen.  Certainly, there had to be better choices than these; certainly, there had to be more virtuous options.  Somewhere in the selection had to be the tall, lanky, svelte warriors. 

    The truth is that there are no virtuous people.  Abraham and Isaac lied, denied God, and turned their back on God’s covenant.  David and Solomon took a very “liberal” view of what adultery really was.  Now the world may view some of these people who are listed in this genealogy are great and some are not.  Yet before God, they are all the same.  They are those whom he has chosen to serve him in the manner that he has decided.  Their background, their previous life was of no consequence.  God had a need and a plan for them so he used them to accomplish his goal.

    This is still true today.  There is a place that God can and will use you in service to his kingdom.  Your past, your history is of no matter to God.  God only looks at your future.  You may have always been the last one to be chosen.  You may have been viewed as the biggest loser on the playground but in God’s eye you are someone to be loved, to be wanted, to be chosen as one to serve him in his kingdom.  Your past may be as varied as those in Jesus’ family tree: harlots, cheats, liars, thieves, drunkards, and rebels.  Their pasts were sinful and wicked but they were forgiven by God and claimed as his children.  He does the same for you and me.  Through our Baptism, we are members of Jesus family as well.  We are inheritors of his glorious kingdom.  We are saved by his grace alone and in that we can place all our hope.

Father, you don’t let my past stand in the way of your grace.  Lead me to not let my past stand in the way of my faith.  Lead me by your Spirit to trust in your grace and to live in your wonderful kingdom.  Lead us to be your children.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

8-28-2026

Good Morning!

     Exodus 3:1; “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

    It is often called a “mountaintop experience.”   It is usually a spiritual experience where you “feel” closer to God.  It can be a very intense experience that can leave you excited, exhilarated, enthusiastic and full of life and a joy of knowing God.  It probably even draws its name from the Bible when Peter, James and John were on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus.  The disciples wanted to stay up on the mountaintop.

    It is easy to see why we think this way.  There are many stories in the Bible where God is on the mountaintop.  Abraham and Isaac had one; Moses had a few; Joshua and some of the judges had met with God on mountaintops.  Elijah met with God on the mountain of God like Moses.  Mountaintop experiences are the types of experiences that many people love to share; they love to relate the greatness, the grandeur and the elation that they experience when they have been to the mountaintop.  But what if there hasn’t been a mountaintop experience for you? 

    Many don’t have this experience.  Just as many cannot tell you the precise time and date that faith came into their life, many have not had a mountaintop experience.  We just live ordinary lives; we never know those real high moments nor do we know those really devastating low moments.  We don’t know the mountaintop but we don’t know the depth of the pit either; we are just plain people who live their life on the plain.

    Yet the joy of the Gospel is for us as well.  We may not ever experience the rapturous heights but we can know for certain that God’s promise of salvation is for us as well.  God gives us the peace and the calm to live the life that he has given us.  We can live with the certainty that God’s love for us is real.  You don’t have to have fallen into the depths of the pit and you do not have to have been on the mountaintop.  Your salvation, and the certainty of it, does not depend on how you feel but it depends on God’s grace and God’s grace alone.  There may be times when you don’t “feel” that god is close to you but he still is.  There may be times when you don’t “feel” his grace but it is continually poured out upon you.

    It is not your feelings that determine your salvation or faith.  It is the certainty of the knowledge that Jesus died for you, a fact an event that occurred in a place called Jerusalem many years ago.  It occurred in order that you might have salvation.  Whether you have been to the mountaintop, been to the depths lived your entire life on the plain or had all three, all that matters is that God loves you and has given to you salvation which we can hold onto by faith.

Father, I don’t always feel like I think I should.  I think that I should do something to make me be saved.  Give me the comfort in the knowledge that your grace comes from you freely.  Help me to know that it does not depend on me or my feelings.  Renew those who feel lost or adrift.  Give them the comfort of the certainty of your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

8-27-2026

Good Morning!

     Psalm 104:34; “May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.”

       As an aid to this devotion, I would encourage you to read all of Psalm 104 when you can.  This is an interesting psalm which teaches us a great truth.  It is a psalm of praise in which praise is given to God for creation.  The whole psalm leads us through creation and in it we see the power and majesty that is God.  It speaks of creation starting in verse 5 and going through verse 26.  We see where God laid the foundation, he caused the mountains to rise up, he waters the trees and so on.  This psalm not only speaks to the actual creation but to God continuing to work his creative force within creation.  We can see that in verses 27-31.  We see what a glorious creation that God has made.

    This is the type of psalm to read or remember when you are experiencing some of God’s exquisite beauty.  Think of it when you travel and see the majestic mountains, or beautiful lakes or rolling plains. It is the type of psalm that, as you read it, you can close your eyes and relive all those beautiful places on the earth that you have witnessed including the sunrises and moonrises, the sunsets and the moonsets, the stars and comets and all the celestial beauty which can cause us to shrink back from the incredible majesty that we see.  It continues to verse 34, our verse which seems like a logical end.  The logical end would be for me to meditate on God’s wonderful creation and enjoying it.  For not only does God provide for us but he abundantly provides for us and we can rejoice in it.

   Yet, the psalm ends with verse 35. “Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more!”  This sounds almost like a cold slap in the face but it really the call of the Christian with respect to creation.  Our goal, our hope is not that we leave creation but rather that Christ returns and restores creation.  Our hope is for the perfected creation in which creation is no longer subjected to sin (Romans 8: 18-25).  We hope for, we eagerly wait for the freeing of creation (and that includes us) from the pain and the decay that sin brings.  We eagerly wait for Christ to return so that death, sin and decay and destruction will end.  We look forward to the King of kings completing the restorative work begun on Calvary.

   So, we as Christians do not see this world as something to be used and tossed aside rather, we see it as God’s precious possession in need of some fixing.  Some we can do but, ultimately, we can only wait for Jesus to return.  So, for you and me to see God in the beauty of his creation is normal or even expected.  Just as you see the nature of the artist in the beauty of the painting so we can see the beauty and the wonderment of God in his creation.  You and I, as humans, are placed in the midst to care for and enjoy this as God’s precious gift to us; so, enjoy and take care of God’s creation.

Father, the beauty of your creation speaks of your love.  Lead me to care for your creation and to enjoy it and to revel in the sights and sounds, the taste, and the texture of your world.  Come Lord Jesus, complete your work, and restore your world.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret