8-28-2014

Good Morning All,

          Mathew 6:24; “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

    Our grandson is getting more and more independent.  He is also getting more and more independent minded as well.  We went to the local county fair to do a few rides and look at the new machinery.  He thought he could walk and climb by himself.  Grandma and Grandpa weren’t as sold.  So there was a little battle of wills, this time we won, with the help of some snacks; next time, we’ll see.

    It is kind of interesting to watch and see how our relationship with God is a lot like a two year old with an adult.  You can’t tell a two year old anything.  Once he has a plan, a two year old is pretty set on what he wants.  They don’t have the reasoning skills to discuss things in a rational matter.  Sometimes, the only way they learn is to let them fall over one time, then pick them up and then “kiss and make it better.”  They tend to learn from experience, especially painful ones but sometimes it takes more than one try.  Yeah that sounds a lot like us.

    One thing we need to realize is that we are totally dependent on God and his grace.  Any time we begin to think we have something to offer, we reduce the trust we have in God.  If we think we can contribute half of what we need we are only looking to God for half of what we need.  This type of thinking leads us to be puffed up and come to act as if we have no need for God.  That is always about the time that we fall down and get hurt.  We need to see that only by placing our full trust and faith in God can we ever truly be content.  It is when we try to ‘split our loyalties” or “hedge our bet” that we begin to hurt.

    The reason is that we need to bow humbly before God and his will.  As one of God’s blessed and redeemed children, we find that when we live in humility and meekness before God then we serve only him; we serve only the one true master.  It is when we see ourself as the master that we soon find out how much trouble we are in.  Soon we are wandering away from God’s loving grace and soon we are lost, alone and suffering.     

    So we need to trust God totally.  It is when we are at our most humble state that he will exalt us; not because we deserve it but because he loves us.  When we stay close to God and trust him fully, we see and experience his grace in our life.  We experience the comfort and the peace that knowing our salvation is secure and that God is protecting us.  We can surrender to his love and mercy and know that he is always there for us.

Father, when I rely on my own skills and merits, when I try to serve two masters, I fail and suffer because of it.  Forgive me when I fall.  Keep me safe in your loving arms.  Be with those who are suffering now because of their pride.  Bring them back into your loving kingdom.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret