1-31-2017

Good Morning All,

          John 8: 31-32; “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

    If you have been watching or reading the news, you have heard of the new phenomenon of something called “alternative facts.”  It would appear that the phrase “alternative facts” has different meanings dependent upon who uses it.  To some it means that there are more than one set of facts or truths about a situation.  To others it means lies and distortions.  Whatever the phrase means, it might very well be our new future.

    Many of us grew up at a time when we held to absolutes and truths.  There were specific facts which led to specific conclusions.  An example of a truth that many of us held was that the good of the whole was greater than the good of the individual.  Think of John Kennedy and his “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  This was held up as the standard by what we lived by.  There may have been differences in the best way to achieve that truth but there was only that truth to aim for.

    The next generation grew up and lived with the idea that there was no single truth.  You could find many truths which we just as equal and valid.  We saw the rise of the phrases “competing studies” or “socio-economic biases” or “competing facts”.  We still held to truth but that truth could be crafted by our selective use of facts.  We would search for or create facts to back up our truth.  We might accept someone else’s facts as valid for them but not for us or we might reject them completely out of hand.

    Now, we seem to be entering an era when truth is whatever you declare it to be.  You do not need any sort of facts; you only need the desire to accept what you think or believe is true or at least true enough.  That is all you need to trust “alternative facts” or “alternative truths”.

    No matter how they try, the world and the devil will never change the great truth of our life; Jesus died to pay for your sins and that by believing in Him you will have life.  This is the truth that has been since the foundation of the earth.  It was God’s plan from before the beginning of time to redeem us from our sin and to give us life and salvation.  We may hear “alternatives” to this great truth but they are not alternatives but mere lies by the devil to deceive us.  We must always hold to the truth; Jesus died that you may live.

    This truth is the basis for all our hope.  Because Jesus died for us we now can face this world knowing the, despite every lie that it tells us, we have victory over it.  We have eternal life and God’s promise of always being there for us.  Jesus died and now lives so that we may be children of God, living in his grace, comforted by His Spirit, nourished by Jesus’ body and blood in the sacrament, and certain of what is ahead of us.  Ahead of us waits our eternal salvation.

Gracious Father, your Word is truth and in you we have all truth.  Keep us mindful of our redemption and preservation through Jesus.  Keep us in your loving arms.  Guard us from all deceptions and lies.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

1-30-2017

Good Morning All,

           Psalm 147:3; “He is the healer of the brokenhearted.  He is the one who bandages their wounds.”

     When I was a kid, I used to watch the doctor shows on TV.  I used to like Dr. Kildare and Dr. Ben Casey.  They could always fix everything in under an hour.  That is the way to be a doctor.  Walk into a room, look at the patient and know in an instant that they have contracted some rare disease that only 15 people in the world have.  So the fantasy of the show was a little over the top but it was nice to see good triumph.

    I guess we like to watch these type of shows because reality can be a lot less clear cut.  When the high school kids went to the national gathering in San Antonio, one of the speakers was a young lady named Jessica Stevens.  She was bitten by a tick and developed Lyme’s disease.  Then it got real ugly. She developed a very rare condition.  It's called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy" or RSD for short.  The condition causes your nerves to malfunction constantly sending pain signals to the brain which responds by releasing powerful chemicals that burn unbearably painful sores into the skin.  Any type of stimulus, sight, sound, touch, anything would cause her to feel excruciating pain.  The chemicals which her body released caused huge open ulcer sores all over her body.  She was like this for two years.  At that point she wanted to die.  Yet her mother refused to give in and told her that God would decide that and that they needed to trust God.

    Eventually, she received a radical form of treatment, she was placed into a coma for a week to “re-boot” her brain.  This happened twice and the second time it has seemed to take hold.  She is 25 now and was 18 when it started.  She credits God with guiding her doctors and keeping her safe.

    Most of us will never face what this young lady faced but we will face our own challenges.  There will be times when it will seem almost as painful as what she faced and we will be hurt and lost; maybe feeling like we want to die.  Our hearts will be broken by the pain of sin and all the world dumps on us.  Families in turmoil, jobs disappearing, health failing, or any of a number of events occurring can cause us to be brokenhearted.  God comes to us through his Word and Sacrament to bring us forgiveness and to heal us.  He fixes our broken souls and retrieves us from the desolation that sin leaves us in.  God, through Jesus, heals us and brings us back to him.  It is through his atoning sacrifice that we find the healing balm to cure our wounds.  In this healing we are made whole; righteous before God.  God is the healer of the brokenhearted; even yours.

Dearest Father, we are brokenhearted and in pain so often.  You heal us with your tender love and mercy.  By your grace, you sustain and renew us.   Give us the courage to trust in you and your amazing love.  Be with those whose hearts are broken and whose souls are lost.  Guide and protect your children with your loving kindness.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-29-2017

Good Morning All,

           Mark 9:50b; “and be at peace with one another.”

      The world claims it desires peace.  Yet how does the world define peace?  Most of the time, peace is the absence of violence.  Unfortunately this usually means getting ready for the next battle to occur.  This is true of nations, of neighbors even of families.  Too often we see peace as what I get when you lose.  We seek peace but it is often a fleeting thing and hard to have.

    Some of this is because of all the outside pressure that the world applies to us.  The pressure that the world exerts with all the force it has often causes us to crack.  The stress can be great and peace is hard to find.  So if we want peace, we need to see how God desires peace for us.

    Peace is one of God’s greatest gifts for us.  Peace allows us to rest.  Peace allows us to be part of God’s designed rhythm of rest and work.  This is part of the reason that God made the Sabbath; it gives us a chance to rest and to find some peace.  Peace gives us the sense of comfort in his arms.

    Another part of peace is the need to forgive and to receive forgiveness.  Where there is no forgiveness, there is no peace.  This simple truth speaks a lot to us.  If you are unwilling to forgive, you will have no peace because you are not at peace with each other.  If you have no peace with someone, your friend or your spouse or a family member, seek to reconcile with them.  Seek out each other and pray for peace and ask each other for forgiveness and when you speak forgiveness; mean it; truly mean and desire to have peace with each other.

     Perhaps the hardest place to find peace is with our self.  This can be the hardest to find because we know how our heart and our sinful nature knows our fears.  Our sinful nature will attack our sense of peace; using fear, worry and painful memories.  Our peace is attacked by the devil and our sinful nature by questioning our health, our wealth, our hopes and dreams, even drawing on painful experiences from years gone by.  The devil spares no effort in seeking to keep you from peace.

    Yet God wants you to be at peace.  He gives us peace which will give us the comfort to face today.  We have the certainty of our eternal salvation and we have the promise of comfort for today’s problems.  God comes to us with his grace and mercy, using His Word to remind us of his promises, his sacraments to renew and refresh us and our brothers and sisters in Christ to be his hands, arms, shoulders and voice of flesh and blood love and compassion.  God wants us to be at peace with Him and with each other so we can live the life He desires us to have.

Gracious Father, we give you thanks for peace.  We give you thanks for the rest that we receive from your peace.  Give us the power and wisdom to seek peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ that we may live as you desire.  Make us your peacemakers among men.  Be with those who are engaged in a battle or struggle at this time.  Send them your Spirit of peace that they too may walk in peace with you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-28-2017

Good Morning All,

           Psalm 10:17; “O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear”

     “Why do I have to go to church?  Timmy’s mom doesn’t make him go!”  Many parents go through this time and time again.  Even adults go through it.  There are times when it can be tough to muster up the energy to attend worship services.  So why go?  Often, when I ask adults why they attend, their answer is simply “because that is what you do!”  Some mention the third commandment and God “telling us to go to church”

    There are many, long answers about this but fortunately there are a couple of short ones as well.  The short ones are, first, this is where God gives us his gifts.  Our faith is an audible oral faith.  Our faith is “sense” oriented.  We hear, we see, we touch, we taste, we vocalize, we experience God’s gifts in the worship service.  This is where God invites us to come and to re-energize our batteries.  God nourishes our body, soul and spirit with the sacraments, with the pronouncement of our forgiveness and with the encouragement of his Word.  These gifts, these wonderful gifts strengthen our faith.  These gifts fix the scratches and the scrapes of the week.  It nourishes us when we are spiritually hungry.  It reminds us of where our salvation comes from.  It is God coming to you, in Word and sacrament, to bring you healing, to bring you comfort, and to build you up for the next week.

    This is how God builds faith in us.  Faith is the desire to trust God’s promise.  Faith wants to cling to the certainty of life eternal.  Faith clings to the loving arms of God holding us and comforting us in all that we face.  Faith is what lets us stand up to the devil’s lies and face them down and some of those events, facing illness, or financial problems, or relationship problems or any of a myriad of other painful and fearful events including death; whether these events occur to us or our loved ones; it takes faith to stand up to them and to withstand what the devil throws at us.  Faith needs to be reinforced and shorn up in order to withstand the onslaught that we face.  It takes faith to face each day.  God gives us the faith and then he gives us the means to build it up.  This is why he commands us to gather together in worship.  It is not because God has need of it; it is because we have need of it.  This commandment is for our own good.

   So remember to join with your fellow redeemed brothers and sisters in Christ and grow.  Join together to be healed, to be comforted and to share in the wondrous gifts of God.  Share what God gives to you and be strengthened by His love.  This is why you should attend worship services.  It builds us up and gives us a renewed hope and the strength to face the day.

Father of all mercies, you pour out upon your people your wonderful gift of life.  You promise to give us life and to give it abundantly.  Lead us to receive this promise with an open heart and relish the taste of your great goodness.  Heal us, restore us and guide us by your Spirit to always trust in Your holy promise.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret