5-24-2026

Good Morning!

      Joel 2:13; “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

      There was a news story about when the iPhone 6 was introduced. There was quite a promotion and people were camping out to be “the first” to buy one. The first one was purchased by a man who, when showing it to the reporters and to the rest of the customers, dropped it on the floor.  I find that amusing; I am sure he didn’t.  It is amazing how dependent we have become on these devices.  It is said that the average person checks their cell phone 110-150 times a day.  They check their Facebook account 14-18 times a day on their phone.  It is vital that we stay connected to everyone.

    I can remember the tractor that I spent the most time on when I was in high school.  It didn’t even have a radio.  I had no phone so the only way to contact me while I was disking or racking hay or whatever I was doing was to drive out and talk to me.  Without a GPS, you had to know where I was and how to get there.  I actually enjoyed the solitude.  Now, as I watch people drive down the road, they are all constantly talking on the phone.  I don’t know enough to have that long of conversations.

    When I ask some people what they talk about, high school girls talk about boys and what other girls were wearing or doing.  High School boys were talking about girls, cars, and sports.  Spouses were asking their spouses what was for supper and where they needed to be that night.  Parents were checking with their children to see how practice or school went and did they have their homework done.  Employers were informing employees of the next assignment.  Everyone finds it so important to be in contact with each other.  So how often do we contact God?

    Do you contact God 110-150 times a day?  Some of us do but most of us don’t.  Most of us wait until something “really big” comes up.  Then we pray and it often seems like nothing happens.  The problem is that God is not a vending machine.  We don’t put in our money, push a button, and then watch what we select spiral out and down to where we can get it.  Prayer is about staying connected to God.  It is a vital part of our faith life.  We need to listen to God (through his Scriptures) and speak to God (through prayer). 

    So, God invites us to return to Him.  Return to the Lord and hear his words of comfort and grace.  Return to having the holy conversation with Him that keeps us connected and keeps us strong.  Keeping connected strengthens our faith and anchors our hope.  Keeping connected to God through prayer and devotion leads us to be more content and peaceful.  God is abounding in love which he daily and richly pours out upon us.  Trust in his mercy and his love to sustain us and to bring us home safely.

Gracious Father, keep us connected to you.  Guide us to desire to return to your mercy and grace.  Guard and protect us from the devil and his attacks.  Be with those who have lost contact with you and bring to them the certainty of your promise and your grace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-23-2026

Good Morning!

     Luke 18:1; “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”

      Are you a household that has two types of dishes?  Do you have the “every day” bowls, plates and silverware and then have the “good dishes”?  Perhaps it is even China with real silverware.  It might be handed down by your mother or grandmother.  It might be special to you.  It may have even caused some discomfort in the family as someone got it and someone else did not.  Do you use it sparingly?  Perhaps for Christmas, a special anniversary or birthday, it may be a special guest who you want to impress.        

    In our verse, Jesus uses a story to try and teach his disciples.  The basic idea of the story is to pray and not faint away.  So, what does that mean to us?  What is Jesus telling us?   The message here is pretty clear.  First and foremost, prayer is not a luxury in the life of a Christian.  It is not the fine China in the house that we take out and use when we want to impress someone.  Prayer is the everyday stuff.  Prayer is the day in and day out dishes that we use.  We need to see that prayer is not a meaningless function or something that we try to fit into our busy schedule.  Prayer is and should be far more than that.  When Jesus says, “ought always to pray” He means we ought to be in prayer at all time.

    Yet he does not want us to avoid our everyday activities either.  What he is talking about is that our soul has an intimate contact with God.  We keep his Word in our heart and in our mind.  Our first thought is to look to his grace to defend us and to comfort us.  In this mode, we never lose conscious fellowship and communion with God.  When we stay in this communal state or desire is to trust God.  Our desire is to rely on him from the start and not from the middle.

   This type of prayer is the type of prayer in which it is completely and intricately connected to God’s Word.  The two combined and never can really be separated.  It is by keeping this combination first and foremost in our mind that we keep focused on God’s grace.  We remember our inability to accomplish on our own and can thus rely fully on God.  By fully relying on God, we will not faint away at those times of intense emotions or reactions to events. 

    The thing to remember is that there will be times when we fail.  Fear will creep in and control us for a while.  Yet God does not give up on us so we should not give up on God.  Continue to strive for the prayer life that God has designed for us.  It is designed to give us hope.  When we cling to it, we have the comfort and the peace that we desire.

Father of all mercy, in you we have our hope secured.  Keep us mindful and focused on this truth.  Keep us in prayerful communication with you so that we may not faint away.  Keep us courageous at all times that we may stand strong in this life.  Be with those who are struggling and in need of your grace.  Strengthen them by your tender mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,                                     

Pastor Bret

5-22-2026

Good Morning!

     Isaiah 40:22; “It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in.”

      I remember reading a “Beetle Bailey” cartoon once that had the characters Plato (the smart one) and Zero (the not so smart one) watching an ant colony.  Zero commented on how they worked together so well.  Plato went into this long, drawn-out discussion of how they were not as advanced as humans; they had no laws or justice system; they had no military or method of exploration.  About the time he got to this part of his speech, a plume of smoke, in the shape of a mushroom cloud erupted from one of the ant hills.

    Some people took offense at this comic.  They thought that the cartoonist was making a political statement about the use of nuclear weapons and that he was somehow implying that the people who were responsible for them were about as bright as ants.  Others thought he was saying that humans thinking that they could control atomic weapons weren’t any brighter than ants.  Either way, the assumption is always that humans have the highest level of intelligence.

    Yet it is this line of thinking that gets us into the most trouble.  We think that we are far smarter than we ever are.  So, we think that we have a better thought or plan than God does and every single time; we are wrong.  That is the very crux of our problem and our sinful nature; we think we are smarter than God.  We have moved away from that original purpose of existence.  We were designed to live in God’s holy presence, worshipping and praising him and living a life completely dependent upon his grace because it was sufficient for us.

    So instead of trusting God to have our best interest in heart and mind, we set off on our own.  We soon become so buried in the mud and mire of selfishness and mistrust that we completely lose our bearing and our focus; we stop trusting God and we trust our own nature which caused us to be lost in the first place.  So, Scriptures keeps calling us back to recognize that God’s way is the best way for us.  Even when we are not sure, we need faith to trust God.  We need to hold onto his loving embrace.

   God, in his mercy, reaches down to us and picks us up like a hurt child and holds us close to his heart and whispers in our ear words of comfort.  Faith is hugging God back.  It is recognizing that God’s ways are far superior to our ways and through everything that this life pours out upon us God’s love is for us.  He is faithful to all his promises and he is faithful to the ones he made to you.

Father of all mercies, we stand before you in awe of your great love.  Move us by your Spirit to trust in your loving arms to hold us close and to protect us from all the harm the devil throws.  Be with those who are especially feeling the pain of this world.  Bring them comfort and give them your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

5-21-2026

Good Morning!

     Psalm 137:1; “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.”

     I remember watching a special on the television about slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War.  It spent a portion of the time on the men and women who made their living chasing down runaway slaves and returning them to their rightful “owners.”  The narrator read from a diary of one of these men and he told how they rarely tried to track the runaways.  They simply headed to the ocean coast and waited.  It seems that the slaves would immediately head in an easterly direction trying to run home to Africa.  They would often be caught standing on the coastal front staring out at the ocean.  The slaves would soon realize that they wouldn’t get home.

    Our verse is a lot like that.  This was a Psalm that sings the lament of being held as a captive slave in a faraway land.  This was a Psalm that the Israelites sang while in Babylon after the Babylonians captured and destroyed Jerusalem and carried many off as slaves to Babylon.  It was a Psalm of great pain and sadness.  It was a Psalm sung by many who thought they would never return to their home.  They feared that they would die in a strange land, forgotten by God.

    Are there times when you feel like that?  Do you feel like you are being held captive in a faraway land with no hope of rescue?  Do you ever feel that God has abandoned you?  Many of us have at one time or another, perhaps even now.  Have you had a health setback or someone in your family?  Is there a relationship in your life that seems to be floundering?  Are you having job troubles or other financial strains?    It can feel like we are on the wrong side of the ocean looking toward home.

    This is one of the devil’s favorite tricks.  He wants you to think that there is an ocean of distance between you and God.  The devil wants you to think that distance is so great that God has forgotten you.  The devil wants you to sit on the shore, by the waters of Babylon and weep in sorrow, all alone and without hope.

    Yet we have hope.  When you sit there and feel all alone, look around; you will see many brothers and sisters in Christ waiting to comfort you, to offer you that holy consolation that God promises to bring us in our times of need.  It will come in the form of our family and friends; it will be in the form of someone we barely know but who has experienced what we are experiencing right now.  This comfort and consolation may take many different shapes and forms but they are all God actively seeking to bring your comfort, to bring you hope, to rescue you from the bondage and the pain that you find yourself in.  Trust in God’s favor; it is with us at all times.

Father of all mercies, there are times when I feel like the waters of Babylon are keeping us apart.  Yet through Jesus, you have brought me through the waters to your protective arms.  Be with those who feel especially lost and hurt.  Heal them with your loving Spirit.  Guide me to be your hands in their life.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-20-2026

Good Morning!

      1 John 2:1; “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

     My wife and I have been watching the new “Matlock,” the one with Kathy Bates. It is pretty good but I still like Perry Mason.  I still think this is a better lawyer show than any other on TV right now.  He could always seem to figure out what was going on in just the nick of time.  No matter how grim the situation would look, he could always get the judge to see that his client was innocent of all the charges.  The man on trial could have been found holding the gun over the dead person’s body and he would still be found innocent.  Someone else would always come forward in the end and take the punishment and Perry Mason’s client would always go free.  You sometimes wonder if the prosecuting attorney would walk in and see Perry Mason and think, “rats, gonna lose again.”

    If I were ever going to have to go to trial, I would want a lawyer like Perry Mason.  He is tenacious and never gives up.  He continues to dig and sift through the evidence until he can prove that his client is innocent.  He doesn’t use a lot of tricks just solid hard work that he then presents in a manner that gets his client declared innocent.  His client leaves the courtroom a free man and is able to either begin anew or return to the life that he had.

    When you and I stand before God, accused of the sins which we have committed, we have the greatest advocate, a lawyer if you will, to argue our case.  Jesus is our advocate.  He makes our case and defends us before God.    As sin after sin is listed, we are declared innocent because the penalty has already been paid.  Because of this, we walk away from the penalty of our sin.  Jesus, our advocate, is also the surrogate who takes our place and receives the punishment which we deserve.  Our punishment is paid for so we are free; we are free to be holy people; God’s people.

    Because we are God’s holy people, we have the free gift of eternal life.  Because we are God’s people, we have the blessings of his presence in our life giving to us the peace and comfort that this world denies us.  We have the blessing of being able to boldly stand before his throne and ask him to give us all that we need and want.  Because we are free, we are no longer the devil’s playthings.  Because we are free, we can live with the confidence that God will never abandon us.  We are always safe within his arms.

Father, your tender mercy is poured out upon us like the rain upon the land.  We give you thanks that because of Jesus we are free.  Lead us to use that freedom to aid and comfort our neighbors.  Help us to give them the direction to lead them back to you so that they too may be able to hear those loving words of forgiveness and hope.  Restore all those who are hurting to you loving flock.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-19-2026

Good Morning!

    Matthew 7:24; ^“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

       It is always interesting to me when I watch the news and the story is about sinkholes.  Sinkholes are usually naturally occurring places where there is a hollow spot in the ground and it collapses.  Most of the time they show up without a lot of warning; sometimes even swallowing a whole house at once.  There was even a time in Florida when the house sank over forty feet and killed a man who was sleeping in his bedroom.  They can occur just about anywhere but are most prevalent in Florida.

    Florida has had hundreds of sinkholes in the last decade and thousands in the last century.  Western Florida is especially prone because the soil lacks clay which normally binds soil together.  The holes can be anywhere from 1 to over 50 feet deep.  It is very difficult to know where they can occur so it is difficult to know where to build or where to not build your house. 

     This kind of reminds us of Jesus’ admonition at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  We are to build our house upon the rock.  We are to build upon the sure foundation of God’s grace given to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  We trust that grace to be there for us no matter what has happened, is happening or will happen in our life.  When we look to God for our only source of salvation, trusting only in him for that truth; we are built on the rock.

     It is when we look to other sources that we are on the sand, or worse, on a sinkhole.  When we look to our own skill or strength, we are on a sinkhole.  When we turn to false teaching or other misleading beliefs, we are on a sinkhole.  When we turn to artificial supports like drugs or alcohol, we are on a sinkhole and when trouble occurs; everything will come crashing down.

    Yet we know that God is always faithful to his promises.  He has promised to be with us and to support us in all our times of need to comfort and to console us.  He is there to be our rock and fortress.  The psalmist calls him our rock and our shield.  It is in his arms that we are protected from the attacks of the devil.  It is in his arms that we can rest the holy sleep, in total peace, secure in the knowledge that we our safe.  Our house, our resting place, is on the solid rock and it will not fail.  Nothing will ever destroy this house.  Its foundation is securely built upon God and his grace.  God’s grace is the only solid foundation that we have; without it all the world is a sinkhole.  Only God’s love will prevail.

Gracious Father, your mercies are new to us every day.  They roll over us like a river.  Upon you alone do we build our hope and faith.  Keep us safely in your loving arms so that the devil will have no power over us.  Be with those who are hurting, struggling or lost in this life.  Bring them to your most gracious rock of safety.  Bring them home to your loving arms.  Guard and protect them as their journey continues.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret           

5-18-2026

Good Morning!

    1Timothy 1:15; “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 

     I remember when I became one of them.  I am old enough that I can mutter, “What’s the matter with kids these days?”  I see it every time that I drive.  The worst are younger women between the ages of 14-30.  I think that they would have to have their cell phones surgically removed from their ear.  They are either talking/texting/ adjusting the radio, fixing their hair, checking their makeup or all of the above while “pretending” to drive.  They are oblivious to anything else.  I followed one young gal as she drove her Corolla down a two-lane county road.  She was about 2 feet into the oncoming lane and met a pickup and stock trailer loaded with cattle and she met a semi loaded with cattle.  They pulled over as far as they could; I doubt she even saw either of them.

   But, one day, while driving to town on the four-lane highway, I was trying to recall something that my wife wanted me to do.  So, I called her on the phone, as we were talking, I noticed that I was drifting into the left-hand lane which was already occupied by another vehicle.  I didn’t look the young woman who was driving the Enclave as she passed me by in the eye.  So, I became one of those drivers yesterday.

    Yet even more than that, I realized a sin that I held onto.  If you read the first two paragraphs closely, it still surfaces some.  I was just a tiny bit over the white line; she was practically in the other lane. I doubt the other driver even knew what I was doing; her other vehicles had to swerve to avoid her.  I recognized it; she probably still doesn’t know how close she came to a major accident.  Yet I noticed how easily I condemned her when I did the same thing. 

    Are you like me?  I make mistakes, have failures, and slip ups while others sin and have transgressions and iniquities.  It is at times like this that God’s law points out to me my sin and I understand why I am the greatest.  I am supposed to know better and yet I continue to judge and to keep the log in my eye while looking at the speck in others.  Perhaps, you can relate.

    The thing about recognizing our own sin is that we are often times quicker to offer forgiveness to others.  This is the point that Jesus was making in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant; the level of our sin against God is so great that the sins of others against us is minuscule.  So, I relish in the fact that my sins, as great as they are, are forgiven and I ask God to continue to keep me humble when dealing with others.  I ask God to lead me to give forgiveness to those around because I know that I am worse than they are.

Father, too often I judge rather than love, I dismiss rather than bless.  Forgive me and lead me to forgive as you so freely forgive me.  Lead me by your Spirit to reach out to others with the mercy that is poured out upon me.  Be with those who struggle with forgiving others.  Lead them to know the wonders of your mercy as it is revealed in their lives.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret