010-31-2015

 Good Morning All!!

          Psalm 31:22; “I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.”  But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help.”

    George Berkeley in 1770 began to formulate one of the more famous philosophical riddle in mankind’s history.  It eventually came to be this; “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it; does it still make a sound?”  This is one of the first questions asked to budding philosophers.  Does sound depend on someone hearing it?  Are events entirely experiential or do they exist in the abstract with or without animal participation?  This question is not only one of the more famous; it is also one of the most parodied.  In a “Far Side” cartoon, Gary Larson once asked, “If a tree falls in a forest and hits a mime, does anyone care?”   The Geico Insurance commercial answers the question with, “Well did you know that if a tree falls in the forest it does make a sound?”  Of course one of the most quoted parodies is ascribed to Maura O’Connell in a copy of Spin magazine, “If a man speaks in a forest, and there is no woman there to hear him, is he still wrong?”    

    It is truly a vexing question; if no one is there, does anyone hear?  When you are alone, does anyone hear you?  When the cares of the day build up and fill our heart with anxiety, does anyone hear our cry?  When we look around us and all we see are our enemies lurking about seeking to destroy us, does anybody hear?  When we feel like we have been cut off from God’s sight, who hears our pleas?

    Of course we know the answer to all of these; we know that God hears us.  God hears our every cry, whimper and lament we have.  When you cry for God’s mercy, God responds and hears your pleas and listens with his heart to your cry.  God hears you.

     Yet there is a truth even greater than this.  Many years ago, while talking to a lady who had cancer and we talked about how prayer brings peace.   After a couple of minutes and then in a very quiet voice she spoke.    “Late at night, when the pain is bad, I try to pray and I don’t know what to say.  I don’t know the words; I don’t know how to start.  Sometimes, I just lie there and wonder what it all means.”  The wonder of prayer is that God hears you even when you don’t make a sound.  Even in your greatest distress and you cannot form the words or thoughts; God hears you.  Prayer works, not because of our great oratory skills.  Prayer works because God’s love is at the root of it all.  Prayer works because of God’s mercy towards us moves him to answer, to answer the unsaid prayer with the same compassion as the spoken one. 

    When you hurt, God knows.  When you fear, God listens.  When you simply tremble, God answers.  God’s great mercy is always there, always listening and always responding to our pleas.  Rest in his arms; you are never out of his sight or out of his grace.

Father, there are times when my mouth knows no words.  Yet you hear my cry, your Spirit cries Your mercy restores my soul.  Hear when we pray but especially when we do not.  In the precious name of Jesus, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-30-2015

 Good Morning All!!

       Genesis 31:34; “Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them.”

    Rachel had stolen the household idols.  This is the Rachel, daughter of Laban, favorite wife of Jacob.  As she and her family are leaving her father’s home to go to her husband’s home, she steals the family household gods.  These household gods would have been small carved figurines that held great significance.  These were among the greatest possession of the family.  Whoever possessed the household gods was seen as the head of the family.  So either Jacob (Rachel’s husband) or her sons would be the head of the family after her father died rather than her brothers.  The household gods were usually the most important part of the family.  They reflected the values of the family.

    Of course, this is Old Testament stuff, we don’t have household gods today do we?  Unfortunately many families do have household gods.  Today our gods may take the form of camping or fishing or golf or the kid’s activities.  Our gods might be time to sleep in or a time to have a family brunch.  Some have a favorite television show that they just can’t miss.  We all have something that we hold onto dearly and in doing so we have created our own household gods.

    When the Israelites invaded and conquered the Promised Land, they were told not to marry any of the inhabitants or even let them remain in the land.  The reason was because each family had their own gods and God knew that the children of Israel would fall away and follow the false gods.  We do the same and, at many ways, we start out with good intentions.  We want to be supportive of our children or share time as a family.  These slippery slopes quietly tell our children that there are more important things than worship time.  We are quietly telling them that our worship time with God can be replaced by something else that is more important.

    Many will say, “I can still worship at another time.”  This is true; but do we or do we simply let it slide?  Our actions show our priorities and our priorities show where our heart is and our heart reveals our faith.  So are there things in our life that are more important than God?  If there are, we have household gods and these are detrimental to our relationship to the true God.  So what do we do?  If you find yourself in situations where you cannot make it to a worship time then truly set aside time as a family to read God’s Word and pray together.  Our actions show our faith and we want to show those around us that our faith is important to us.  Throw away the household gods and seek after the true God and his grace.

Father, help me throw away the household gods in my life.  Lead me to know that you alone are the true God and that you alone give me the hope for my salvation.  Guide me by your Spirit to seek only you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

10-29-2015

Good Morning All!!

            Psalm 69:1; “Save me, O God!  For the waters have come up to my neck.”

    Ole and Sven were known through the land as the best shingling crew ever to walk the land; there was no building to tall, there was no roof too steep.  One day, as they were working on top of a three story barn, the wind blew their ladder down.  So Ole told Sven to walk that way around the roof and he would walk this way and they would look for a way down from the roof.  Soon Ole realized that he had walked all the way around the roof but did not meet Sven.  He heard his name called and looked down and saw Sven on the ground.  “How did you get down?” asked Ole.  “I jumped on that pile of manure, it was only ankle deep” was Sven’s answer.  So Ole jumped and landed on the pile of manure.  Soon he went from ankle deep to knee deep to waist deep until he was up to his chin in the manure pile.  Sven came over and pulled him out.  Ole yelled, “You said it was ankle deep!”  Sven answered, “I jumped head first.”

   Some days we feel like we are neck deep in manure.  Some days it feels like everything is wrong and getting worse.  Some days the pain of the world really catches up.  Some days we face a completely uphill battle and see no end in sight.  It might be the health questions that get no answers.  You may even hear, “this is as good as you will be” or even, “learn to live with it.”  Maybe you are suffering from other people’s bad decisions and it is wearing you down and out.  Perhaps you are the farmer listening to your neighbors talk of the best crop in years while you go home to your hailed out crops.  You listen to others and you hurt.  You know the pain; you know that loneliness. 

    At night, when you are in pain and you think you are alone; know that you are not.  Also know that it is alright to cry to God and ask why? Or how long?  It is ok to cry of the inequity and pain that you are feeling.  As we read the Bible, especially the Old Testament, we see many people who are crying or lamenting their current life situation or the current world or national situation or some event that was causing pain and suffering.  We can bring this pain to God; he invites us to speak to him from our heart whether that heart knows joy or pain.  He invites us to come to him and release the pain that we feel. 

    Life is tough and filled with pain and sadness; that is part of being human but God gives us hope.  He gives us hope that the pain will end, hope that we will not suffer forever.  It is important to note that David and all the biblical laments end with the same certainty that God will act on our behalf and that he will save us from suffering forever.  You may feel you are up to your neck in mire and despair but God has not abandoned you.  Cry to God, give him your pain and seek his relief.

Father, do not abandon me in my hour of pain.  Keep me in your loving arms.  Keep me certain of your grace.  Keep me patient in all my trials.  Keep my heart strong and my spirit uplifted. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-28-2015

 Good Morning All!!

          Matthew 14:23; “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone”

    Do you remember the television commercial of a few years ago that showed a much frazzled mother?  She had a couple of children and they were yelling and crying, the pots on the stove were boiling over, the phone was ringing and she looks at the camera and says, “Calgon, take me away!”  This was part of the ad campaign that said mothers should have a “Calgon moment.”  The past three days, we have been babysitting for a neighbor, one is four and one is 10 months.  We have needed a couple of calgon moments.

    Whether you want to soak in a warm bath tub with bath salts or not is up to you but most of us like a little quiet time.  There are times when we simply need to step back, collect our thoughts, take stock of the situation and then go forward.  Sometimes we need to take a few minutes to recharge our batteries and refocus our direction.

   Our verse occurs after Jesus fed the 5000.  Sometimes we forget that long before Jesus fed the people, he was ministering to them.  He healed a few, offered comfort to a few, touched a few, blessed a few and so on and so forth.  This was a busy day even before the disciples came to him late in the afternoon and said, “You have to take care of this, send them away.”  Jesus was tired but not too tired to care for the people.  But when it was done, Jesus went off by himself to pray.

    Jesus shows us a very good example of life in the fast lane.  The demands on Jesus, his time, his energy and his compassion were always great.  Maybe you feel that your life is demanding and it probably is.  If you are parents to young children you know this but if you are parents in any form you know it; your children never stop being your children and you never stop caring or worrying.  You may have the stress of the harvest affecting you; you may have the stress of health troubles for you or a loved one.  You may feel the stress of your job and the way it feels like you are losing ground.  If you are like most people, you are experiencing some combination of the above events.  Someone, somewhere, wants some of your time.

   It is vital that you take a little time, go by yourself, leave the phones and the electronic devices behind, find a quiet spot and focus on your faith.  Focus on what God is saying to you.  Focus on what God is doing for you.  Spend some time in the “holy conversation” of reading God’s Word and responding with prayer.  Take the time; God uses this time to refresh your spirit and to enliven the soul.  Spend the quiet time with the Lord; it is part of his invitation to come to him and rest.

Gracious Father, you give me rest; rest that I so desperately need.  Comfort me with your Spirit.  Focus my eyes and my heart upon you and your wondrous promise of hope.  Guard me from despair; free me from letting the burdens and cares of this world from overtaking me.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret