2-28-2018

Good Morning All,

             Psalm 96:11; “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;”

    Did you ever eat a frozen TV dinner?  They came into a sort of vogue during the late 1950’s into the early 1960’s.  You could eat them on a TV tray in front of the TV.  The theory was to break the humdrum of dinner around the dinner table with something different. (Now the dinner table would be different.) They used to come in a metal-like tray that was divided into different compartments.  There was the entrée which was a piece of chicken or some mystery meat.  There was a smaller compartment that had usually corn, one with potatoes and then one compartment which had some dessert usually a brownie or, if you were lucky, some type of cobbler.  Some of it was too hot to eat and some was still frozen in the middle.

    We were supposed to view them as special, a kind of treat.  They really weren’t that good.  Now if you wanted a treat; that was the pot pie.  It at least tasted like meat.  The crust was flaky and the filling was way hot.  I used to peel the top crust off and then dump the rest of the pie on a plate and let it cool off while I ate the crust.  The pot pie was definitely better than the TV dinner.

    These two types of meals can somewhat relate to the way we view life.  Many try to compartmentalize their life.  Work goes into the entrée compartment and then family and friends in one, hobbies in one and often God and faith in the small dessert compartment.  Trying to keep each separate and not letting anything influence or touch the other.

    God would rather we be like the pot pie.  Everything in our life affects our whole life.  Struggles at work often appear at home or with friends.  Yet above all, we are not to keep our faith locked away but rather it should permeate our lives.  Our faith should show up in every facet of our life.  Our co-workers, our friends, our families should all be aware of our faith.  God’s light should shine through us.

    There are times when this is hard to do.  We may feel uncomfortable around friends or co-workers but God calls us to be his hands in this world.  We are to bring his love to the hurting, his comfort to the sorrowing and his Gospel message to all.  Just as all of nature will join together and sing out praises to our God so should lour lives at every turn and every event.

Dear Father, help us to sing your praises in all parts of our lives.  Let us bring light to al in darkness.  Guide us by your Spirit to be your hands in this world which knows only pain.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

2-27-2018

 Good Morning All,

           Matthew 25:35; “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” 

      Have you ever been hungry?  I don’t mean the kind of hungry you get if you skip lunch and then eat a late supper.  I mean two or three days hungry.  The kind of hungry where you think a can of cat food or dog food might be ok.  I have never experienced this type of hunger, not even close.

    Have you ever been thirsty?  Many of us can somewhat relate to this.  A spicy or salty meal in the summertime without a glass of water around can be uncomfortable.  But have you ever been so thirsty that you were unable to function?  Have you ever been so thirsty that you have a headache and can’t think clearly?  I have never been that thirsty.

    Have you ever been a stranger somewhere?  Most of us have had “first day jitters” when we start a new class in a new school or a new job; but have we ever been in a place where we don’t speak the language or know the customs and everyone else looks on us with a sense of suspicion because we look, sound and act differently than they do?  I have never experienced that.

    These are just three of the “people” whom Jesus describes as his brothers.  These are the “measure” of a Christian.  Not because we must do some level of works to earn our way into heaven; rather it is the sign of a life laid down.  It is a sign of the love of the Savior showing through us.

    Most of us in this country may not ever really face someone who is really that hungry or thirsty; that is not to say it doesn’t exist or isn’t a problem but rather that we have many ways to address this issue in this country and we continue to strive toward that end.  Yet we do meet many strangers.

     Some of those strangers do speak differently than we do but some don’t.  Some of those strangers look differently than we do but many don’t.  Some of the strangers we may see and know from everyday life but how do we interact?  The person who works at the grocery store or large box discount store, would we invite them into our church?  Would we stop and invite them into our life to listen to their story, to hear their struggles and challenges?  Would we try and gain them as a brother or sister in Christ?  Would we truly welcome them in? 

     This is part of the surrendering of our lives to Christ.  This is part of living the sanctified life which God calls us to live.  The world will attack it but God rewards our faithfulness.  It is by his grace that we live and his grace that we are saved.

Father of mercy, in you alone do we have life.  Give us the courage to live the life which you created and then recreated us to live.  Use us to bring wholeness to the hurting and mercy to the suffering.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace          

Pastor Bret

2-26-2018

       Good Morning All,

           Hosea 14:4: “I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.”

     If you are of an age that actually wore leisure suits when they were in style, tried to disco and had hair, lots of poofy big hair, you probably remember a phrase called “free love.”  There are many ways to describe “free love” but actual “love” probably isn’t one of them.  It was actually an excuse for wanton sexual exploitation and desecration of one of God’s great gifts. 

     Some of the fallout from “free love” is sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS; breakdown of the nuclear family, breakdown of trust between a man and a woman, a loss of a rudder in life, a loss of concern for our fellow man; I could go on but that are some of the “high” points.  It is somewhat telling that these effects were evident in Israel at the time of Hosea.

     Hosea was sent to prophesy to the nation of Israel and to preach repentance to a nation which had abandoned their sacred covenant with God and took up with idolatry and all of its immorality.  In order to show the Israelites how God felt about their falling away from faith (apostasy) from being faithful; God told Hosea to marry an active prostitute and then the children she bore were not his children.

      God compares the lack of faith, the infidelity of the people, with the lack of fidelity in a marriage.  God shows himself as the faithful husband while Israel is the unfaithful wife.  There are very few betrayals which are more painful than that of an unfaithful spouse.  It can rip your heart out and often leads to the death of the marriage.  This is why adulterers were stoned in earlier biblical times; their actions were viewed as ending a life.  The pain felt by those who experience an unfaithful spouse is harsh.  Although repentance and forgiveness are the goals, often the pain is too great and the wound is too raw.

    So as we think of this pain which the Israelites caused to God, then the willingness of God to forgive.  God tells them that he will heal their unfaithfulness and will love them freely; that is without condition or reservation or less than he did before.  Through this God reveals his nature to love.  God is predisposed to love us; it is only when our sins and impenitence cause God to punish us. 

     In many ways, we are the Israelites.  We refuse God’s grace and lust after false gods and idols.  These may be fame, fortune, or a number of other issues but all reflect a selfish desire to be our own god.  Even though our actions deserve punishment; God shows us his mercy and grace.  He heals us and loves us freely without condition.

Dear Father, we often turn from you to our plans and schemes.  Forgive us and heal us; bring us home to you.  Heal our doubts and cover our fears with your wonderful love.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret