7-27-2026

Good Morning!

             Luke 17:5; “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

           A number of years ago, I coached kid baseball.  I really enjoyed working with the kids and trying to get them to have some level of success when they played the game.  When they were quite young, the 5- and 6-year-olds, they were easily encouraged.  I remember one young guy who tried to catch a pop fly.  He ran in about 5 steps and the ball landed about 15 feet behind where he started from.  He had a dejected look and I told him he made a good try and he would catch the next one.  He smiled and said he would.  Yet as the players got older, it got tougher to convince them.  One of the greatest principles that I coached with was the idea that you have to have faith in yourself.  If you believe you will fail then you probably will.  You need to believe in your skill to have a chance.  Most of the players came to understand this but some never believed in themselves.  In some ways, our faith life works the same way.

    Doubt attacks us in many ways.  One way is that doubt can feed our own selfishness.  Faith requires that we trust others, in this case we must trust God, by doubting, we make ourselves the only one we trust even when we know we are too weak.  This is part of the devil’s deception and part of our sinful nature causing us to look inward and not outward.

    Doubting becomes easy especially if we neglect listening to God and his Word.  Even a few days away can allow the devil to ask, “did God really say?” and we are left wondering, doubting what we know to be true.  These doubts continue to feed our inward-looking curve; and our doubt grows and our faith weakens.

    Yet what is almost the most devastating thing is that doubting can be contagious.  As those around us doubt, we begin to question as well.  If the person beside us has doubts, it can cause us to think that we may be wrong and cause us to lose confidence.  It can cause us to lose faith.  Doubt is easily one of the devil’s favorite tools.  It is equal to envy and greed.  It feeds our selfishness and weakens our trust in God’s promises.

    This is why we need to cry to our Lord, “Increase my faith!”  We need to constantly renew our listening to his promises.  We need to constantly recharge our faith by reading his Words pf grace, hearing his Word spoken to us and through the regular reception of his sacrament.  God gives us the tools to strengthen the faith he gives us and we must use them.  Doubt is a powerful tool that the devil loves to use but it cannot overcome the wonders of God’s incredible grace.  Even as we doubt God’s mercy is actively seeking us to come back to him and trust his promise to protect us and to never abandon us.  Our faith will strengthen as long as we always remember that God is greater than any battle and stronger than any doubt we may have.  Just keep praying for an increase in faith.

Father, build our faith.  Strengthen us by your Spirit and remove our doubt.  Guard us with your mercy.  Send your Spirit of hope to those who struggle with doubt and fear.  Bring them home to your loving arms where they may be safe and at peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret         

7-26-2026

Good Morning!

   Isaiah 41:9; “you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off.”

       “Mr. Irrelevant.” This is the title they give to the very last person selected in the NFL draft.  The 256^th player drafted to play in the NFL.  You get the impression that the janitor is sweeping the floor; the lights are being shut off; they are taking down the signs; the reporters are gone except for the one who fell asleep in the back; the draft is over except for this last pick.  This guy rarely lasts more than a couple of weeks and then he is cut from the team.  He only gets picked because this is the number of picks that are made.  The first 100 or so picks will all get a good opportunity to play professional football but this guy usually goes home to his normal job.  He will always have a little memory of the chance to play but the reality is that he is not good enough to play.

    That is how the devil wants you to think of yourself; as “Mr. Irrelevant.”  First, he wants you to think that you are not even close to being good enough for salvation and, if you have a shot at all, it won’t last.  As soon as God knows you, he will cut you from the team.  The devil wants you to always think of past mistakes and past failures.  The devil wants you to think “if God knows how bad I really am; he’ll kick me out tomorrow.”  The devil wants you to think that your only chance is to hide from God and be left alone.  The devil wants to lead or drive you to the ends of the earth, to get away from God.  The devil wants you to run and to never stop running, looking for some place to hide.

    Yet God does not view you as “Mr. Irrelevant.”  God chose you and he will not cast you off. 

He sent Jesus, born as a man to live the life of a man.  He ate, he drank, he slept, he felt sadness, he knew pain and sorrow.  Jesus knows every fear, pain, sorrow, disappointment, or rejection that you have ever experienced.  He knows your life but more importantly he knows your heart.  He places his Spirit in you so that you may desire Him; that you may desire to follow God’s will.  He forgives your sin and forgets your past so that you may live in his holy and loving presence.

    You will never be irrelevant to God.  You are the one who Jesus came to earth to redeem from sin, death, and the tyranny of the devil.  God chose you; it was no accident or mistake; God chose you because he loves you.  He chose you and because of his constant grace, he will never abandon you.  He will never leave you to face the devil by yourself.  You never need to face your fears, your sorrows, your pain by yourself.  You are important to God.  Trust his love and mercy; it is always there for you to give you hope.

Gracious Father, your mercies are new every day.  You lift me up from the pit to live with you in your loving arms.  Protect me from the devil and his assaults.  Keep me safe in the shadow of your wings.  We ask that you defend all those who are under attack at this time.  Keep them secure in the certainty of your grace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

7-25-2026

Good Morning!

   Matthew 7:3; “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

    I remember a time in college when my roommate and I were not getting along very well.  I didn’t really know what was going on.  All of a sudden, he was really grumpy.  Every morning, I would get up and get ready for class.  Now it was an 8:00 am class but I would roll out of bed and down the hall to the showers.  I would take my clothes and dress there and only return to the room to get my books and coat and leave my towel.  I had done the same thing the semester before and it didn’t faze him but now, he was grumpy.  I remember going to class and wondering what his problem was.  I thought maybe he was spending too much time downtown at the local establishments, getting in too late and maybe this was his problem.

    I kept wondering how I would deal with this issue.  I liked the guy I had for a roommate.  He was funny and friendly.  He didn’t demand anything; he was a “live and let live” kind of guy.  All of a sudden, he wasn’t.  Maybe he had some disease or was going through some traumatic life altering event.  Whatever the problem was, it had to be his; I couldn’t think of anything that was different this semester from the last semester.  I can remember praying that God would fix him so everything would be right.

   One day, I was doing some reading so I decided to make some coffee.  I filled and plugged in my percolator.  It soon started doing its thing.  GURGLE, GURGLE, SWOOSH!!  GURGLE, GURGLE, SWOOSH!  My roommate walked in just as it was going.  I said, “Man that thing is sure noisy.”  He said, “yeah, every morning.”  I then realized I would often start the coffee maker, go to the shower, and then come back and take a cup of coffee to class.  It perked while I was gone but he was trying to sleep.  He didn’t need to change; I did. 

    There are many times when we seem to be at odds with our spouse, family, friends, or co-workers.  We are quick to ask God to “change them and fix their mistakes so things can get back to normal.”  We may even think that they may be beyond hope.  Yet how often do we try and see it from their point of view?  We are quick to place the blame on someone, anyone, but on our own actions.   Yet deep down, we know that we are all sinful and that we probably play a part in the friction.

  So, God invites us to pray and to repent.  He then calls us to go to our brother and to fix the problem.  Even before we worship him at his holy altar, God calls us to reconcile with our brother.  To God, healing this relationship is that important; that God would have us wait in our worship until we have healed the rupture. 

Father of grace, lead me to see that failures in relationships can only be healed by your love and grace.  Guide me to apply your grace to those around me, especially to those whom I have offended and hurt.  Lead us to forgive those hurts and to let them go.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

7-24-2026

Good Morning!

               1Timothy 2:1; “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”

      I remember visiting with one of the area school superintendents a few years back and offering my empathy to him for one of the toughest tasks that he has; deciding whether to cancel school because of the weather, start school late because of the weather or just go as scheduled.  This is one of the “no-win” situations.  Someone will always think the decision you made was wrong.  Of course, some of this “wisdom” gets offered after the fact.  They may see that the forecast was wrong and that, later in the afternoon, the decision to call off school, made at 6:00 am, was premature.  I would not want that job.

   I started to think of other jobs that I am not sure I would want.  I remember a local fire chief who said how much he hated accident calls at 8:00 am.  “It is highly possible to be a school kid driving to school and that I will know them.”  He didn’t like those prospects and I don’t know that I would either.  I thought of the young nurses’ aides who work long and thankless hours in our nursing homes and hospitals; I don’t know if I could do that job.  I thought of someone who answers suicide prevention hotlines and the pressure on them to have the right answer at the spur of a moment.

    There are a lot of jobs out there that I don’t think I could handle.  There are some very stressful jobs; jobs that require decisions that can, and often do, impact hundreds to thousands to millions of people.  I don’t think I would enjoy that job.  There are jobs that are very dangerous but very necessary for the general safety of society; we need them but I am thankful I don’t have to do them.  That is what I was thinking when I opened my bible and found this verse.

   “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.” When you think of those jobs and tasks that need to be done but that you just don’t think you could ever do them; pray for those individuals who do them.  Pray for those people to whom God has given the vocations that you and I would not like to do.  Some are dangerous, some are stressful, some are emotional draining and taxing but all are jobs that I am thankful that I do not have to perform.  I am thankful that God enables someone to do these tasks and we should all pray for them.  We should pray that God will send his Spirit to help them withstand the stress and the strain that these jobs can exert on someone’s life, relationships, health, and general wellbeing. 

   I remember was wag saying that he prays for our elected leaders; twice as hard for those he didn’t vote for.  Perhaps, when we see a job or task being performed that we are thankful we aren’t performing; we should say an extra prayer of thanks for the ones who do.

Father, thank you for all those people who do the tasks that I cannot.  Keep them safe, keep them strong under the stress, keep them in your loving arms as they serve as your hands in this world.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-23-2026

Good Morning!

     Psalm 9:2; “I will give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart.   I will tell about all the miracles you have done.”

 

                                   “I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
                                      To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.”

 

     This is the chorus from an old and familiar hymn.  The hymn is based on a two-part poem by Katherine Hankey.  The first part of the poem has the author asking for “the story” because of the sadness and the pain that she feels.  In the longer second part the entire story of the Bible is unfolded; from Adam and Eve all the way through our eternal life in with Jesus.  The poem was written while the author was recovering from an illness. 

     The hymn “I love to tell the Story” is a favorite of many.  Yet it leaves open the question, do we?  Do we love to tell the story?  Do we truly enjoy sharing the story of God’s love with those around us?  Many do but many don’t as well.  Yet the telling of the story is one of our great tasks, and joys, in this life.  Scripture tells us that “faith comes by hearing;” if we are going to hear someone has to tell.  This is the way that God has chosen for his wonderful message of hope and salvation to be spread from one to another.  He wants you to tell someone; just like someone told you.  That is how your faith began.

   Someone told you the story of Jesus and his wonderful love for you.  This story unfolds throughout the entire Bible as God reveals himself to us.  This story is about how God’s mercy unfolds in your life and how God is restoring you and bringing you healing in this broken and sinful world.  These are the miracles that you can share with others.  These are your stories so tell them.  They may not seem as incredible or dramatic as some but God works in your life in many ways usually subtle and quietly.

    Yet the amazing and loving events of your life, the events which we give thanks to God for; these events show us his grace poured out upon us.  We give thanks for those people in our life who love us and care for us.  We give thanks for the guarantee of salvation and the hope and peace which that gives us.  We give thanks for our redemption and return to God’s family.  There are many things to give thanks to God for.

    Yet an important part of thanks is telling others.  Telling others of God’s mercy in our lives; this is part of giving thanks; the expressing of God’s incredible grace which abounds in our life.  I love to tell the story of Jesus and his love.

    Father of all mercy and grace; stir up in us the desire to tell others of your love.  Stir up in us the love of telling those around us of your mercy and grace.  Send your Spirit to move those who hear us to come to faith in you.  This we ask in the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

7-22-2026

Good Morning!

      Genesis 3:8; “In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking around in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden.”

       In our travels, my wife and I like to visit gardens, garden centers, nature places, anywhere with plants and beautiful flora. One such place is Como Park in St. Paul, MN.  It has a really exquisite conservatory.  It has some very beautiful plants and flowers and a very unique Japanese garden.  There are places along the path of the Japanese garden and within the actual conservatory and on the grounds surrounding the conservatory where a person can sit down on benches and just sit and take in the beauty of the surrounding.  It can be very quiet and peaceful.

    In our verse, we can easily imagine the beauty and the quietness of the garden as God walked in the cool of the evening.  It is safe to assume that Adam and Eve were quiet as they tried to hide from God.  Yet despite the fact that they were hiding, God was looking for them.  God was calling to Adam and Eve.  In the quietness, God sought out his lost children calling to them to come back home.  He was noisy, trying to get them to respond.

   Many years later, we see a different garden.  It is late at night and it is quiet.  Some of the people there are sound asleep.  Others are searching for someone so they are moving through as quietly as they can.  Off, all by himself, Jesus is praying.  He prays to God but God is quiet.  Jesus is beginning to face the wrath of God by himself.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, God was silent.  His wrath left him silent.

    All for you and me, Jesus prayed in a garden when God was silent.  God was silent because all was decided.  A bill was due; a price to be paid.  The wrath of God was poured out upon Jesus.  It started in the garden and continued on the cross.  God’s silence, pouring his holy wrath on Jesus, means God is seeking us all the time.  God is not silent about you and me.

    God calls out to you and to me continually through his Word.  Because of God’s silence in the Garden of Gethsemane, God is not silent to us.  He calls us with his love and grace and desires.  He heals us as he restores us.  His grace gives us hope.  He gives us hope so that we can go to the garden and sit in peace knowing that our salvation is sure, our future proven and our present provided for.  God walks in the garden of life with you to keep you safe.  This can be the source of your great comfort and hope.  We can trust in God’s promise to give us the victory over the devil and all his lies and attacks.  God gives us peace in the garden.

Father of all mercy, you bring me hope and peace.  You call to me that I might hear your joyous Word of comfort and grace.  Keep us safe in your loving arms.  Be with those who feel that you are silent to them.  Bring them the peace of your loving mercy.  Heal their pain and bring them into your gracious kingdom.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

7-21-2026

 Good Morning!

             Isaiah 40:3 “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

        Many years ago, when our oldest grandson was about 2 and a half; he stayed with us one winter’s day. There were fairly large snow piles pushed up in the back of the church in the trees.  So, we put on boots, snow pants, hat, coat, and mittens and out the door we went.  We would walk along and every so often he told me, “Watch out, granpa, it’s slippy.”  We worked our way over to the hills but the snow was a little deeper there.  Soon as we were walking, he would stop, “help granpa, help me, I’n stuck.” The snow wasn’t even to the top of his shoes but he was stuck.

    After about the fourth time, Grandma decided that grandpa was supposed to plow a path so he wouldn’t get stuck.  So, I shuffled to make paths so he wouldn’t get stuck.  For the most part, it worked.  He followed the paths and we went about our play.  There were only a couple of times when he veered off the path and was stuck.  As long as he stayed on the path that I prepared for him, everything went fine.

    Our life is a lot like that.  In our verse, this is a phrase that relates to what was called “the king’s highway.”  These were superhighways.  They were wide and flat designed for speedy travel. They were designed to allow the king and his army to travel anywhere in the kingdom speedily.  Usually, if a commoner was on the road when the king was coming, he was either driven off or killed.  This was for the king and his emissaries.  Yet the people often took the chance because the travel was so much easier.

    This verse is quoted in the New Testament as a prophecy about John the Baptizer.  It is that but this phrase has more meaning to it as well.  When the path is made straight, when a highway for our God is made; we can rest assured that God makes it.  God made the road straight so that he could come easily to us.  The death of Jesus paid for the debt of our sin.  It cleansed us to stand before God.  We can stand in his holy presence we can travel on his highway.

    We can always go before God and we can do it quickly.  We can always call upon his name; at a moment’s notice, we can go to God.  If unplanned or unexpected events suddenly appear, we can, and should, always call upon his name.  We should always look to God for our comfort, our hope, our restoration; he is the source of our healing.  He gives us the love and the mercy that we need but do not deserve because often times we get stuck by going off the path.

    God provides us the path but we often go awry.  Yet even when our own foolishness and sin cause us all sorts of pain and sorrow, God pulls us back onto his path, he gets us unstuck.  We don’t have to stay stuck in sin and pain.  God puts us on his path; we have to trust him that it is the best path.

Father of all grace, you build the highway that goes straight to you.  Lead us with your holy and loving arms to stay on your road.  Be with those who have strayed and are stuck.  Bring them back to your gracious family.  Place them safely on your road of salvation.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,                 

Pastor