Wednesday, December 31, 2014

12-31-2014



 Good Morning All,
         Isaiah 64: 6a; “We’ve all become unclean, and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags.”
          “The opposite sides of the same coin;” I use this phrase fairly often.  I find that for most people, their greatest character strength is also one of the character weaknesses.  For example, someone who views themselves as a person who takes charge and makes decisions quickly may struggle when asked to follow directions or to serve in a subordinate role.  A person who likes to look at the “big picture” often struggles when trying to deal with the details of the situation.  The phrase “the opposite sides of the same coin” usually describes two truths that are more closely related than we may think.
     Our verse tells us that none of our “righteous acts” can ever impress God.  Nothing we do, no matter how many times you go to church services, no matter how many times you read the Bible, no matter how many prayers you have said, no matter how much money you have given to the church; none of these events impress God.  There is no number of homeless people that you have given food or shelter to that has God impressed by your actions.  The hours you spent in the food kitchen do not raise God’s perception of you.  The kindness you show to strangers, the honor and respect you show to your elders, the generosity that you show to people who can never repay you; none of these make God sit up and think, “There is a great person.”
    There are a lot of people who get depressed when they see this.  Deep down, we want God to be impressed when we tell him, “What a good boy am I.”  When we think that God doesn’t give us a little star by our name when we perform one of these actions, it can be kind of a letdown.  Yet the beauty here is that, more often than not, we live on the opposite side of the same coin.
    It is true that God doesn’t pat you on the back for the number of times you went to church; he also doesn’t hold it against you when you slept in because you stayed up too late the night before.  He doesn’t think more of you when you stop and help the homeless but he also doesn’t think less of you when you don’t stop.  We don’t gain God’s favor by being good but the much better news is that we don’t lose God’s favor when we fail to be good.  God’s grace is poured out upon us for one reason- God loves you. 
   So why bother doing good things if these things don’t impress God?  First and foremost, these good things for others are a wonderful response to God’s love.  Secondly, we never know when the Holy Spirit will use one of those times to move the heart of the person you helped.  Thirdly, God calls us to be the light to the world, to show them what God’s love looks like.  Think about how much God loves you then try and do that for your neighbor.
Father of all mercy, I am thankful that you do not hold my failures against me.  I thank you that your love depends on you and not on me.  Help me to respond to your love by showing love to my neighbor.  Help me to share your grace with those around me.  Lead me to those who are in most need of your loving and peaceful Spirit.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret          

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

12-30-2014



Good Morning All,
         Romans 9:16; “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”
   We like things that we can count on, that are dependable.  You may be someone who relies on your cell phone.  It has all your important upcoming dates on it, it may have notes for grocery shopping, you may use it to record portions of a meeting or a class, you may use it for all your reference information using the search part of it for all the information you may need.  We rely on it almost entirely but we understand that there are limits.  There are places where we do not get a good signal so our phone doesn’t work or perhaps the battery is dead so it can’t be turned on.  We rely on our phone, we even depend on it but there are times when we know it won’t work.
    Most of us realize that we can depend on someone only up to a point and after that we cannot depend on them.  We can depend on the mail, or FedEx, or UPS; unless the weather is horrible somewhere in the shipping channel.  I won’t be late for an appointment; unless I have a flat tire or am delayed by a train.  Most of us realize that reliability is still only a percentage of the time.  It might be as high as 90-95% of the time but there still is a point where we can no longer depend on the other person.
   So we often feel that, at some point, we need to rely on our own skill and wit.  This can be a source of fear and worry; what if we can’t provide the rest of the material or strength of idea that is needed?  This is what can keep us from sleeping at night this is what can cause us to worry about tomorrow; who can we depend on at times like this?
    It is at times like this that we need to remember that our salvation, our hope and our comfort depends on God, wholly and completely.  We can rely on his wondrous grace and mercy at all times and in all conditions.  There is nothing that can ever stand in the way of God’s love for you.  There is nothing that can prevent God from giving his grace to you.  There are no weather problems, there are no reception troubles, there are no flat tires or road obstructions; nothing can prevent God’s mercy to you.
    This is because God’s mercy, poured out on you, depends on God and not on you.  God’s love for you is the result of his loving nature and his desire to love you.  It does not depend upon your actions or words.  It does not depend upon how much you give to the church or how often you attend.  It depends upon God and the love that he has promised you.  We do not deserve God’s love but we always receive it.  Trust in that love to sustain you and to give you peace.
Father, your grace for us carries us through all we need.  Your grace supplies our comfort in times of trial and in times of sorrow.  Your grace gives us hope.  Keep us safe in your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret   

Monday, December 29, 2014

12-29-2014



Good Morning All,
          Luke 12:7; “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
        “Was it worth it?”  This question is often asked and not always in the best circumstances.  It often is asked by parents of children who get into trouble for something they did.  It is asked by teachers and coaches for the same reason.  Sometimes friends ask it as a way of conveying that there was a cost, perhaps a high cost, for some perceived benefit.  It may have been the breaking of a date with one person in order to go with another.  It might have been trying to take something we weren’t entitled to have.  Whatever the event, eventually the facts would come out and someone will inevitably ask that question; “Was it worth it?”
     Was it worth it?  There may have been times in your life when you asked that question of yourself.  Maybe you placed a great value on that promotion at work, that piece of land to own, that “extra” loving relationship.  Was it worth it?  Was the pain and suffering worth it?  In the long run; it never is.  Not only does it cause pain to those around us, it can destroy our self-image and our self-worth.  Sometimes events in the past can cause us to decide that it wasn’t worth it and now we aren’t worth it either.  We are at that point where we have no value to anyone, anywhere.  At least this is what the devil, the world and our own sinful nature wants you feel like.  They want you to think that you are worthless so that any decision that you make from now on will be based your own poor self-worth.
    Yet you are worth it.  God values you deeply.  He values you enough to send his Son to die for you in order to redeem you from the price of sin and to remove the guilt that the devil and the world can hold over you.  Jesus died for you; was it worth it?  It is according to God and his love.  You are worth it.  God values you enough to leave behind his glory and power to be born into a world of pain and poverty, to live and die as the payment for your sins, for your failures.  He rose from the dead and left the tomb empty as a sign that we will do the same someday.  All because God says you are worth it. 
    The devil and our sinful nature will try to keep you down, to try and drag up past failures to make you question your value, your value before God and your own personal value.  Yet never doubt how much God values you.  Never doubt how much God loves you.  Are you worth it?  The spread arms of the loving Savior says so.
Gracious God, to you alone belong all glory and honor.  We give you thanks for the blessings of today.  We give you thanks for the value that you place on us.  Help us to know this value and to hold that value for ourself and for each other.  Help us to lift up our brothers and sisters through your grace and mercy.  Use us to show the world just how much you truly value your children  Move us to bring others to the knowledge of the value you place on them.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret     

Sunday, December 28, 2014

12-28-2014



Good Morning All,
         Matthew 2:18; “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
    This is a verse that refers to what the Church calls “The Slaughter of the Innocents.”  This is where Herod, in a fit of anger and rage, tried to kill the king that the Magi sought.  When King Herod realized that the Magi weren’t going to return to tell him where Jesus was, he thought he would solve the question by killing all the male children 2 years and younger.  This event is commemorated on the first Sunday after Christmas as the day of the “Holy Innocents.”
    Much lore has been built around this event.  Scholars have no real clue as to the number of children who were killed, most guess 20 or less not the hundreds or even thousands that some legends portend.  Many also read this story and assume that Jesus was about 2 years old when the Magi came to visit.  This is possible but not for sure; the fact that he had the male children who were 2 and under, may have simply showed how cruel King Herod truly was.  We don’t know a lot about this event but it serves a purpose.
    First this story points to the very clear fact that Jesus laid aside his power and glory to live the humblest of lives.  He was endangered from hatred of others from his birth on.  We also see God’s protective and loving arm keeping Jesus and his parents safe from harm.  We also see an event that shows just how painful and evil some events in this sinful and broken world can be.  What can be crueler than to yank a baby from a mother’s arms and run them through with a sword?  Is this right or fair? No, but our life in a sinful world is rarely fair but often painful.
    It becomes very clear here that we cannot ever understand everything in life.  In fact we actually understand very little.  Yet God does not call us to know everything; God calls us to have faith, to live in faith.  We can never fully understand all that occurs or how it interacts; only God can fully comprehend life.  We can only trust that God, who is by nature loving, to provide for us.  God works to good for all those who love him and whom he has called for his purpose.  This ultimate good is our salvation.  Even if the world takes all of our earthly goods, even if we surrender our life, God has promised to save his children and then to keep us comforted with this knowledge that nothing will ever separate us from God’s love.  We are always safe in God’s protective arms.
Father of all mercy, there are so many things that we do not understand.  Help us to keep them from hurting our faith. Keep us steadfast in our desire to trust you.  Guide us by your light and strengthen us by your Spirit that we may remain faithful to you.  Help us to always trust in your promises.  Be with those who are like Rachel and weeping without hope.  Bring them the certainty of their salvation which is Jesus.  In his precious name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret           
 

Saturday, December 27, 2014

12-27-2014



        Good Morning All,
        Matthew 1:23; “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”
      One thing that gets stressed at this time of year is the idea that we need to spend it with others, especially those whom we love.  This is the time of the year with the greatest amount of travel.  People tend to try to get home to be for the holidays.  We tend to find comfort, acceptance, love and a welcoming environment.  It is usually where we find safety and reassurance.
     While the Israelites were wondering through the wilderness after they crossed the Red Sea, they were a large group of people trying to head home.  They had been slaves for hundreds of years; they had seen their children, specifically sons, killed by the Egyptians.  They worked hard all day and cried all night at their plight.  So when Moses led them out of Egypt, they were a little worried about being alone.  So God, in his loving manner, lived with them.  He set up his tent in their midst.  He was Immanuel- God is with us.
    God’s very presence was with the Israelites as they travelled throughout the desert.  The Israelites saw it as a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of smoke by day.  These pillars would rise high up and be wide so they were easily seen.  As the Israelites faced the challenges of living in the desert, the lack of food and water and the marauding nomads, they would need someone to look to for protection.  They really had no idea where they were going so they needed someone to lead them safely.  They were kept safe because of Immanuel- God was with them.
   Yet when the Israelites turned away from God, they lost Immanuel.  So they went centuries without truly experiencing the very presence of God.  They felt as if God was not with them so they would long for the days of when God was truly with them, when he pitched his tent and lived in their midst; they dreamed of a time that was Immanuel.  They dreamed of the time in the past and they looked forward to a time when it would return.
    This is the richness of the promise that the angel announced that he shall be called Immanuel- God with us.  The safety and peace that the people knew when God was dwelling with them, in their very midst was to return.  Jesus is Immanuel; he is God with us.  So we can know our security through him.  We can know that we are welcome in his presence as he dwells with us.  He is our home in times of trouble; he is our safe harbor from the storms of this life; he is our Immanuel.
Gracious Father, you lovingly sent Jesus that we may once again know what it is to live in your presence, to know what it is to have you live in our midst that we may know the safety, the security of your love.  We have Immanuel for you are present in our hearts and in our lives. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret