9-30-2016

Good Morning All!!

              Psalm 51:10; “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

      It is the little things in life; how often do we say this or think this?  Oh the little things that mean so much.  I think for most of us this is very true.  A hot cup of coffee on a cold day can go a long way to a content heart.  The gentle voice of your spouse as you sit and listen to some music.  Listening to your children or grandchildren as they are sleeping.  The quiet times with friends can make life enjoyable and truly fun.  The little things in life are wonderful.

     Yet sometimes, it is the little things in life that cause us the most pain and problems.  The problem is that we all have those little sins in our life.  They are just little ones, nothing major.  Just small, nagging little sins.  Most of us have not really committed what we would consider “big sins”.  We have never murdered someone; we have never actually committed adultery.  We have never stolen anything of any real value but we have those nagging little sins.

     Sometimes, we don’t even think of them as sins.  We call them “peccadilloes”; or “character flaws; or “idiosyncrasies” but we never call them sins.  We have never committed murder but there are some people who we would like to move away, or some such problems beset them.  We make cruel and snide remarks but it is “just what I was told”.  We love the “good and juicy” gossip.  We still claim that we have no other gods before God but sometimes God just doesn’t fit into our busy schedule.  We have never committed adultery but a little looking and fantasizing is “natural” isn’t it?  And so we let off a little steam when we are with our friends and complain about our spouse to them, we all need a release don’t we?

     Those little sins are so hard to let go of, aren’t they?  We like to hold them because we think they give us power and we think they don’t really matter in the greater scheme of things.  We may rationalize all of our actions, all of our little ways but the bottom line is that they are still sins.  They are sins and sins are what separate us from God.

    That is why David wrote this verse so many years ago.  As he looked at his life, he saw where he was at.  God had revealed to him the pain he was causing, to himself, to others and to how his relationship with God was broken.  David had lied, committed adultery and murder.  The pain and the agony of it came home to roost for him and he suffered for it.  Just like we suffer when we hold onto sin, whether it is sin that we are afraid to admit to or sin that we think is minor and harmless; sin destroys our relationship with God.

    Only God can restore and renew us.  He does this through the saving atonement of Jesus.  He uses the baptismal grace that he gives us for the daily washing of our sins away.  A clean heart, every day.  A right spirit, every day.  God’s gift to us because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice.

Father, in you we have forgiveness because of Jesus.  Make us clean and right.  Give us your Spirit to guard us and protect us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

9-29-2016

Good Morning All!!

         Psalm 35:22; “You have seen, O Lord; be not silent!  O Lord, be not far from me!”

     I had run into an old friend that I hadn’t seen in years.  We were only able to chat for a minute or two.  It was fun to see him again after all these years.  We had the quick, “where are you?” “How is your family?”  “Have you seen…?” and then we were done.  It was that quick.  I told him to call next time he was in town and maybe we could get together again.  I felt real good after the encounter.  I remembered some of the fun we used to have back when we were younger.  I looked forward to his call.  Two years later, he still hasn’t called.

    After a while, I began to wonder.  Why hasn’t he called?  Did he lose my number?  It is in the phone book.  Has he not been back again?  He said he was back about every 6-8 months or so.  Did something happen to him?  I probably would have heard something.  Then that deep insecurity sinks in and I wonder, maybe he just doesn’t want to talk to me.  Perhaps he was just being polite and trying to get out of a conversation that he didn’t want to have.  Maybe he was just letting me down easy thinking that “go away” was a little too harsh.  I don’t know.  He has been silent and I just wait for him to call me.

    This is one of those times when silence is a disappointment.  I survive; I hadn’t seen him over 25 years.  There are times when silence can be painful.  When we wait for the lab results to a medical test, silence can be painful as we wonder what was going on.  Waiting for the doctor to come out and tell you how the surgery for your loved one went; as we wait in silence in a painful loneliness.  Probably the toughest silence is when we think God is silent.

    I remember listening to a young couple who were struggling with trying to start a family.  It wasn’t working the natural way.  It was sad because they would have been great parents.  There had just been a story about an abandoned child that had died from neglect and the pain in their face was obvious.  Why was God silent?

    Sadly, we can never answer “why?” for God.  We can never explain God and his ways.  All we truly have is the blood soaked empty cross and the open tomb.  Those speak volumes to us.  They speak of God’s immeasurable love for us and our eternal life with him.  They speak of his love for us.  They speak of his compassion and mercy for us.  Some things we do not hear because we are not listening to what God is saying, we are listening for what we want to hear but sometimes that is not what God has to say.  So we need to look past our wants and look to God’s promise and hear his mercy for us.  It can be very difficult but here we see that in our weakness God’s strength, his wonderful words of forgiveness and reconciliation carry us through.

Father of wonder, often we feel you are silent when we are not listening to your words of grace.  Give us the strength to listen closely to your word.  Be with those who feel you are silent today.  Let them hear your words of mercy and your words of grace.  Be with them and strengthen them.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

9-28-2016

          Ecclesiastes 3:1; “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”

“Some days are diamonds some days are stones
Sometimes the hard times won't leave me alone
  Sometimes a cold wind blows a chill in my bones
 Some days are diamonds some days are stones.”

This is the chorus to a song by John Denver entitled “Some Days are Diamonds and some Days are Stone.”  It was a song that was more of a lament about the breakup of a relationship between a man and a woman and how the singer suffered from it.  Some days were good but some days weren’t so good.

    For many of us, this doesn’t describe a relationship meltdown; it is our life.  Someone who lives with chronic pain can tell you about this very easily.  Someone who has or deals with someone who has some form of condition like being bipolar or schizophrenic or early forms of dementia can tell you that “he has some good days and some bad days” or “some days are diamonds and some days are stone.”

    This can also occur when we experience some great upheaval in our life as well.  The sudden death of a spouse or a loved one, the loss of a job, a divorce, even a shattered dream can cause us pain.  Some days we can function quite well but some days we just want to stay home, in bed with the lights off and just cry.  Some days are diamonds and some days are stone.  There are god days and bad.  There are wonderful times and horrible times.  The birth of a child or grandchild, a marriage, a job promotion, we often see this as wonderful events “diamond days” you could call them.  Yet we have those other days as well, a health report that ends with “there is nothing more we can do” or a knock on the door and a man in a uniform telling you “I am sorry to tell you that there has been an accident and no one survived…”  or “I’m sorry, I don’t love you anymore.”  These days are definitely “stone days.”

    What we need to remember is that God told us this would happen.  That is what the first part of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes is about.  There is a time for everything under the sun.  There will be times that are very painful for us.  There will be times of brokenness in our lives; so he encourages us to be ready for them; but how?

   We need to know who is in control and that no matter what; our salvation is secure and God’s comfort is always there for us.  We need to know that while God may allow the pain to run deep; it will never run wide.  Our pain will never darken God’s love for us.  Our struggles will never cause God to turn his back on us.  We can focus on God’s love to help ease the pain.  God places a wall on our suffering; we can give thanks that it exists.

Gracious Father, at times I am at my wit’s end.  At times I am broken and downcast.  On the days of stone let me know your love, let me know your mercy and on my days of diamond remind me to sing your loud praises with joy in my heart.  For you are our God and we are your people.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

9-27-2016

 Good Morning All!!

       1 Kings 18:29; “And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.”

    I watched part of the presidential debate last night.  For some reason this verse played over and over in my head.  They raved on but no one answered and no one paid attention.  Oh well, it will be over soon.  Yet for most of us, that is the problem; no one listens.  In many of our difficult times, no one listens. 

    I remember listening to a young teen who was struggling getting along in life.  He was a good kid but he always seemed to be on the short end.  He struggled in school and wasn’t an athlete in a class full of them.  It was difficult to get him to talk; he had built up a wall around himself.  His parents were divorced when he was much younger and for a long time he was viewed as extra baggage; first by his father because dad owed child support and then by his mother because he got in the way of her dating.  When he was first experiencing this, he would literally cling to your leg if you listened to his story.  As he got older, he told fewer stories and began to withdraw and that was when school starting be a problem.  When he came home excited about the good grade on his paper from school; no one listened, no one paid attention.  When he needed advice no one answered; no one paid attention.  Fortunately for him, a teacher noticed and took him under his wing.  He is getting there because someone is listening.

    We all can struggle when no one listens.  It can leave us hurting, lonely and feeling lost almost as if we are adrift on the ocean and unable to see land.  We feel hopelessly lost.  We cry out but no one answers and no one pays attention.  While this may be true of those who surround us; it is not true of God.  God always listens and he always pays attention.

    God has given to us our greatest gift and that is eternal life with him in his kingdom.  God has great plans for us, plans to prosper us.  There may be times when it feels like we are alone and crying out to no one but God hears and God answers in his own way and in his own time.  He sends his Spirit to defend us and to bring us peace.  He invites us to hear his Words of comfort and hope and to share in his holy meal to strengthen and nourish us.  He calls us to faith and to remember his love and mercy for us.

    God may also be calling you to be the physical presence for someone who is lost or hurting.  If you feel the Spirit moving you in that direction be sure and answer this call.  It really only requires time on your part.  All you really have to do is listen and God will fill in the rest.  Visit a shut in or listen to one of your neighbors or one of their children.  God calls us to care for each other; this is one way to go.

Father in heaven, you hear my cry and you send your Spirit to comfort me.  Father, when those around me are experiencing pain or difficulty, lead me by your Spirit to bring about hope and comfort to our hurting brothers and sisters.  Make us instruments of your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret