6-30-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Exodus 20:16; “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

         The South Dakota District of the LC-MS sponsors a television program called “Main Street Living.”  To help keep the costs down, the pastors of the district volunteer to preach.  It works out to about once a year.  It is an interesting process.  The recording crew will adjust the lighting and then the shutter opening on the cameras.  They do all this so that the preacher will look as good as possible.  They eliminate shadows or dark spots; they try to eliminate too much light that makes you look pale and washed out.  If, as you are preaching, you misspeak or make a mistake; they just edit it out and the broadcast can go on flawlessly.  If only we would do that in real life.

    When Martin Luther wrote his explanation to this commandment, he added the phrase “put the best construction on everything.”  In other words, try to see the best in another person.  This becomes essential when we are looking at forgiving others.  When we try to see the best in others, forgiveness comes easier than when we look for the worst in a person.  When we look for the best, we are looking through eyes of love.  When we look for the worst, we are looking through the eyes of selfishness.

    One example that can happen easily would be if you called your favorite pastor at 10:30 in the morning and got him out of bed.  What would you think?  Would you think that he must have stayed up late with a member who was in a crisis or would you think “that lazy bum?”  How we view things, how we think events occur serve a huge part of our reaction and response.  So, if your spouse promised to do something for you and he forgot, how do you respond?  Do we think, “my spouse is so busy that it slipped their mind” or is it more like, “they would forget their head if it weren’t attached?”  Because, if we go the negative route; we make it more difficult for us to forgive because we see it as a deliberate, or at least a careless, attack on us.  When we put the best view on it, it becomes easier to forgive because we look at it with love.  This is true of spouses, children, siblings, parents or whoever you deal with. 

    God encourages us to see the best in everyone.  He empowers us to do this by forgiving us. 

His love covers our sins and reminds us to forgive others.  By seeing things in the best light possible, forgiveness can be made a little easier.  God gives us ways to work through the struggles of life.  We need to use them in order to live a life that is both pleasing to him and beneficial to us.

Father of all goodness and righteousness, we look to you for our salvation and our hope.  Guide us by your hand to see others in their best light.  Let us listen to them with an open heart.  Help us to love as you love.  Protect us from the pain that the world would have us live in. Help us to forgive as you forgive and to live in peace with our brothers.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-29-2020

     Good Morning All, 

          Hebrews 11:17; “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son”

      “By faith” that is the theme of this great chapter in Hebrews; some call it the “Hall of Faith”.  It lists many of the “greats” who we all look to as inspiration in the Bible.  We look to these people as the greats, the stalwarts of faith.  Yet if we look at them truly closely, we see that they are fragile human, just like us.

     Abraham led a life that was filled with questioning doubts at times.  Even though he had God’s promises, Abraham often struggled with God’s truth.  Along the way there were many times when Abraham doubted God’s assurances.  He hid his wife Sarah twice by calling her his sister rather than his wife.  He thought he was getting too old to have a child with his wife Sarah, so they “borrowed” Sarah’s slave girl and used her to produce a child.  Abraham would hear God’s promises but would sometimes wonder.

    We do that much of the time; don’t we?  We have heard God’s promises to us, yet we wonder sometimes how it can ever work out.  We may wonder what God can possibly have in store for us when our spouse turns cold or our children turn angry and belligerent.  We wonder what good comes from our health going bad or our memory failing.  We wonder sometimes what it all means.  Sometimes it means that God is showing us faith.

      Sometimes we claim faith, but do we have true faith.  We have the security of our job, the security of our wealth, the security of our family so we are safe and secure.  Yet what happens if these are slowly stripped away.  What do we truly rely on then?  We may find that we place too much of our trust in the wrong things and sometimes, God strips those away so we can find our true faith.  Sometimes, he removes the crutches that we rely on to show us that our true hope is not found in them.  Sometimes he slowly removes them to show us the truth.  Sometimes, this process can be incredibly painful.  It might be physical pain or emotional or spiritual, but it is pain.

    So, God peels away the false hopes and reveals to us the only true hope that we have and that is God’s own grace.  That is what Abraham was left with when he held the knife over Isaac.  God had promised to use Abraham’s son to build a great nation and yet God wanted him to sacrifice him.  We can only imagine what went through Abraham’s mind at that time, but we know that whatever it was; it settled on faith and trusting God.  There are times in our life just like that and we too can only trust in God’s faithful promise to be with us, to guard us and to defend us through it all.

Gracious Lord, all we have is you.  You are our only hope; our only stay.  Strengthen us that we might not be moved from this certainty.  Be with those who are struggling with the challenges of life and lead them to focus their eyes and their hope only on you.  In your precious name, O Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

6-28-2020

Good Morning All, 

          Psalm 23:6; “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

      It is interesting to watch how a true shepherd works with his flock.  The shepherd is up in front of the flock.  He is looking for good grass and fresh still water for the sheep to eat and drink.  He keeps an eye out for predators.  He calls the flock to follow him.  He calls each sheep by name and they respond to him.  They follow him to the fresh water and grass.  They follow him to the safe place to rest; usually.  There are always a few stragglers.  So how does the shepherd lead the flock and keep the stragglers and the wanderers from getting lost?  He uses sheep dogs.

     These are very highly trained animals and they serve an especially important purpose.  They keep the sheep in the flock.  They keep them moving along.  They keep them from losing sight of the flock and being lost.  The sheep dogs literally hound the sheep to keep them in the sight of the shepherd so that they are always safe and can hear the voice of the shepherd and be in the fresh grass and water and rest in the safe place.

    We often read this verse as some sort of a lazy day stroll.  “Goodness and mercy shall follow me” sounds like a carefree meandering.  Yet when we look at the original language, “follow” actually means to chase or pursue, almost to the point of hunting.  So rather than see this as a leisurely strolling, we should read this more like goodness and mercy are chasing us or hounding us.  We can see that goodness and mercy are Jesus’ sheep dogs.  They keep us up to the flock. They don’t let us get lost or distracted and if we do; they bring us back.  They chase us back to the flock and under the care of the shepherd.

   God uses his goodness, his grace, and his mercy to remind us of his great love for us.  He uses his love to remind us that he cares for us.  He calls us by our name, our own name, in gentleness to live in the safety of his precious, blood bought flock.  Even as we stray, he continues to call us, and he moves us forward with his goodness and mercy to bring us home.  He restores us with his blessed bread and wine.  He uses his Word to comfort us and to give us hope.  It is in this hope, this certainty of our salvation, that he brings us peace, the safe resting place under his watchful eye and protective arm.  We are his flock, brought in by the loving grace that he bestows upon us through our baptism. 

    So, as you graze in the glorious pasture of God’s immeasurable peace.  Rely on his wonderful love to sustain you.  Remember that his sheep dogs, goodness, and mercy, will always be there to return you to the flock to remind you of his great loving kindness for you.  Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Gracious Father, you keep me in your flock by your grace and mercy.  Hold us close to you.  Keep us safe in your loving arms.  Be with those who have strayed and bring them safely home.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

6-27-2020

Good Morning All, 

Joel 2:13; “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

      When the iPhone6 was the newest and greatest thing sold, the first one was purchased by a man who, when showing it to the reporters and to the rest of the customers, dropped it on the floor.  I find that amusing; I am sure he did not.  It is amazing how dependent we have become to these devices.  It is said that the average person checks their cell phone 110-150 times a day.  They check their Facebook account 14-18 times a day on their phone.  It is vital that we stay connected to everyone.

    I can remember the tractor that I spent the most time on when I was in high school.  It didn’t even have a radio.  I had no phone so the only way to contact me while I was disking or racking hay or whatever I was doing was to drive out and talk to me.  Without a GPS, you had to know where I was and how to get there.  I enjoyed the solitude.  Now, as I watch people drive down the road, they are all constantly talking on the phone.  I don’t know enough to have that long of conversations.

    When I ask some people what they talk about, high school girls talk about boys and what other girls were wearing or doing.  High School boys were talking about girls, cars, and sports.  Spouses were asking their spouses what was for supper and where they needed to be that night.  Parents were checking with their children to see how practice or school went and did they have their homework done.  Employers were informing employees of the next assignment.  Everyone finds it so important to be in contact with each other.  So how often do we contact God?

    Do you contact God 110-150 times a day?  Some of us do but most of us do not.  Most of us wait until something “really big” comes up.  Then we pray and it often seems like nothing happens.  The problem is that God is not a vending machine.  We don’t put in our money, push a button, and then watch what we select spiral out and down to where we can get it.  Prayer is about staying connected to God.  It is a vital part of our faith life.  We need to listen to God (through his Scriptures) and speak to God (through prayer). 

    So, God invites us to return to Him.  Return to the Lord and hear his words of comfort and grace.  Return to having the holy conversation with Him that keeps us connected and keeps us strong.  Keeping connected strengthens our faith and anchors our hope.  Keeping connected to God through prayer and devotion leads us to be more content and peaceful.  God is abounding in love which he daily and richly pours out upon us.  Trust in his mercy and his love to sustain us and to bring us home safely.

Gracious Father, keep us connected to you.  Guide us to desire to return to your mercy and grace.  Guard and protect us from the devil and his attacks.  Be with those who have lost contact with you and bring to them the certainty of your promise and your grace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-26-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Luke 18:1; “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint”

      Are you a household that has two types of dishes?  Do you have the “every day” bowls, plates and silverware and then have the “good dishes”?  Perhaps it is even china with real silverware.  It might be handed down from your mother or grandmother.  It might be special to you.  It may have even caused some discomfort in the family as someone got it and someone else did not.  Do you use it sparingly?  Perhaps for Christmas, a special anniversary or birthday, it may be a special guest who you want to impress.        

    In our verse, Jesus uses a story to try and teach his disciples.  The basic idea of the story is to pray and not faint away.  So, what does that mean to us?  What is Jesus telling us?   The message here is clear.  First and foremost, prayer is not a luxury in the life of a Christian.  It is not the fine china in the house that we take out and use when we want to impress someone.  Prayer is the everyday stuff.  Prayer is the day in and day out dishes that we use.  We need to see that prayer is not a meaningless function or something that we try to fit into our busy schedule.  Prayer is and should be far more than that.  When Jesus says, “ought always to pray” He means we ought to be in prayer at all time.

    Yet he does not want us to avoid our everyday activities either.  What he is talking about is that our soul has an intimate contact with God.  We keep his Word in our heart and on our mind.  Our first thought is to look to his grace to defend us and to comfort us.  In this mode, we never lose conscious fellowship and communion with God.  When we stay in this communal state or desire is to trust God.  Our desire is to rely on him from the start and not from the middle.

   This type of prayer is the type of prayer in which it is completely and intricately connected to God’s Word.  The two combined and never can really be separated.  It is by keeping this combination first and foremost in our mind that we keep focused on God’s grace.  We remember our inability to accomplish on our own and can thus rely fully on God.  By fully relying on God we will not faint away at those times of intense emotions or reactions to events. 

    The thing to remember is that there will be times when we fail.  Fear will creep in and control us for a while.  Yet God does not give up on us so we should not give up on God.  Continue to strive for the prayer life that God has designed for us.  It is designed give us hope.  When we cling to it, we have the comfort and the peace that we desire.

Father of all mercy, in you we have our hope secured.  Keep us mindful and focused on this truth.  Keep us in prayerful communication with you so that we may not faint away.  Keep us courageous at all times that we may stand strong in this life.  Be with those who are struggling and in need of your grace.  Strengthen them by your tender mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen

God’s Peace,                                     

Pastor Bret

6-25-2020

Good Morning All, 

         Isaiah 40:22; “It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in”

      I remember reading a “Beetle Bailey” cartoon once that had the characters Plato (the smart one) and Zero (the not so smart one) watching an ant colony.  Zero commented on how they worked together so well.  Plato went into this long drawn out discussion of how they were not as advanced as humans; they had no laws or justice system; they had no military or method of exploration.  About the time he got to this part of his speech, a plume of smoke, in the shape of a mushroom cloud erupted from one of the ant hills.

    Some people took offense at this comic.  They thought that the cartoonist was making a political statement about the use of nuclear weapons and that he was somehow implying that the people who were responsible for them were about as bright as ants.  Others thought he was saying that humans thinking that they could control atomic weapons weren’t any brighter than ants.  Either way, the assumption is always that humans are the highest level of intelligence.

    Yet it is this line of thinking that gets us into the most trouble.  We think that we are far smarter than we ever are.  So, we think that we have a better thought or plan than God does and every single time; we are wrong.  That is the very crux of our problem and our sinful nature; we think we are smarter than God.  We have moved away from that original purpose of existence.  We were designed to live in God’s holy presence, worshipping and praising him and living a life completely dependent upon his grace because it was sufficient for us.

    So instead of trusting God to have our best interest in heart and mind, we set off on our own.  We soon become so buried in the mud and mire of selfishness and mistrust that we completely lose our bearing and our focus; we stop trusting God and we trust our own nature which caused us to be lost in the first place.  So, Scriptures keeps calling us back to recognize that God’s way is the best way for us.  Even when we are not sure, we need faith to trust God.  We need to hold onto his loving embrace.

   God, in his mercy, reaches down to us and picks us up like a hurt child and holds us close to his heart and whispers in our ear words of comfort.  Faith is hugging God back.  It is recognizing that God’s ways are far superior to our ways and through everything that this life pours out upon us God’s love is for us.  He is faithful to all his promises and he is faithful to the ones he made to you.

Father of all mercies, we stand before you in awe of your great love.  Move us by your Spirit to trust in your loving arms to hold us close and to protect us from all the harm the devil throws.  Be with those who are especially feeling the pain of this world.  Bring them comfort and give them your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

6-24-2020

Good Morning All, 

         Psalm 115:11; “You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!  He is their help and their shield.”

    A couple of years ago, we went to the Children’s Museum in Brookings with our grandchildren.  It is all hands on.  It has a miniature garage to fix a car, a water room, a grocery store, an art, and music rooms and much, much more.  It also had outside activities which included a life size dinosaur that moved and roared.  There was a baby one a little way away as well.  One of my grandsons saw these through the window and wanted to see them.

    We went to the display which, apparently, was activated by motion.  As soon as we got close, the adult one roared and turned its head.  My grandson’s eyes got huge.  He did not cry but he ran as quickly as he could and grabbed hold of his mother’s leg and clung as tightly as he could.  He held tight and looked back and forth between the adult one and the baby one.  He did not say much but his eyes told the story.  I don’t think you could have pried his arms open for all the tea in China.

    My grandson ran to and held onto the one person who he knew would never let anything happen to him.  He knew mom would keep him safe so he held on as tight as he could.  This is exactly what we should do with God; hold on as tight as we can.

    This is probably the single greatest blessing that God bestows on his redeemed children.  We know that we are saved; that our salvation is secure, our future life is eternal life with him.  Yet what about the life we live until that happens?  God has promised to always be with us, to be our rock, shield, defender, and protector.  So, if we fear the Lord, that is if we are those who trust in his promise of eternal life; then we should also trust in his promise to always be with us.  We should cling to his promise to be our help and our shield.  He will defend us from the rages and taunts of the devil while our life goes on.

    He gives us so many ways to cling to him.  We have his Word which speaks to us his tender words of hope and salvation.  We have the blessing of prayer where we can speak to him and pour out our heart and bare our soul to our protector and redeemer.  Above all, we have the gift of faith which, not only allows us, but actually encourages us to hold onto to God as tightly as we can, knowing that, we are safe in his loving arms.  Nothing can destroy us.  Nothing can pull us from his grasp because he holds us tight to himself.  We can take comfort by clinging back certain of our safety.

Gracious Father, nothing can separate us from your love.  As we face and fight our demons and fears keep us certain of our hope in you.  Protect us by your hand and send your Spirit to comfort us and to give us the peace that passes all human understanding and wisdom.  Be with those who feel fear and anxiety at this time. Keep them safe and strong, trusting in you for all good things.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-23-2020

     Good Morning All, 

        1 John 2:1; “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

     I still try to watch “Perry Mason”.  I still think this is a better lawyer show than any other on TV right now.  He could always seem to figure out what was going on in just the nick of time.  Not matter how grim the situation would look, he could always get the judge to see that his client was innocent of all the charges.  The man on trial could have been found holding the gun over the dead person’s body and he would still be found innocent.  Someone else would always come forward in the end and take the punishment and Perry Mason’s client would always go free.  You sometimes wonder if the prosecuting attorney would walk in and see Perry Mason and think, “rats, gonna lose again.”

    If I were ever going to have to go to trial, I would want a lawyer like Perry Mason.  He is tenacious and never gives up.  He continues to dig and sift through the evidence until he can prove that his client is innocent.  He does not use a lot of tricks just solid hard work that he then presents in a manner that gets his client declared innocent.  His client leaves the courtroom a free man and can either begin anew or return to the life that he had.

    When you and I stand before God, accused of the sins which we have committed, we have the greatest advocate, a lawyer if you will, to argue our case.  Jesus is our advocate.  He makes our case and defends us before God.    As sin after sin is listed, we are declared innocent because the penalty has already been paid.  Because of this, we walk away from the penalty of our sin.  Jesus, our advocate, is also the surrogate who takes our place and receives the punishment which we deserve.  Our punishment is paid for, so we are free; we are free to be holy people; God’s people.

    Because we are God’s holy people, we have the free gift of eternal life.  Because we are God’s people, we have the blessings of his presence in our life giving to us the peace and comfort that this world denies us.  We have the blessing of being able to boldly stand before his throne and ask of him to give to us all that we need and want.  Because we are free, we are no longer the devil’s playthings.  Because we are free, we can live with the confidence that God will never abandon us.  We are always safe within his arms.

Father, your tender mercy is poured out upon us like the rain upon the land.  We give you thanks that because of Jesus we are free.  Lead us to use that freedom to aid and comfort our neighbors.  Help us to give them the direction to lead them back to you so that they too may be able to hear those loving words of forgiveness and hope.  Restore all those who are hurting to you loving flock.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

6-22-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Matthew 7:24; ^“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

       It is always interesting to me when I watch the news and the story is about sinkholes.  Sinkholes are usually naturally occurring places where there is a hollow spot in the ground, and it collapses.  Most of the time they show up without a lot of warning; sometimes even swallowing a whole house at once.  There was even a time in Florida when the house sank over forty feet and killed a man who was sleeping in his bedroom.  They can occur just about anywhere but are most prevalent in Florida.

    Florida has had over 300 sinkholes since 2010 and thousands in the last century.  Western Florida is especially prone because the soil lacks clay which normally binds soil together.  The holes can be anywhere from 1 to over 50 feet deep.  It is exceedingly difficult to know where they can occur, so it is difficult to know where to build or where to not build your house. 

     This kind of reminds us of Jesus’ admonition at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  We are to build our house upon the rock.  We are to build upon the sure foundation of God’s grace given to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  We trust that grace to be there for us no matter what has happened, is happening or will happen in our life.  When we look to God for our only source of salvation, trusting only in him for that truth; we are built on the rock.

     It is when we look to other sources that we are on the sand, or worse, on a sinkhole.  When we look to our own skill or strength, we are on a sinkhole.  When we turn to false teaching or other misleading beliefs, we are on a sinkhole.  When we turn to artificial supports like drugs or alcohol, we are on a sinkhole and when trouble occurs; everything will come crashing down.

    Yet we know that God is always faithful to his promises.  He has promised to be with us and to support us in all our times of need to comfort and to console us.  He is there to be our rock and fortress.  The psalmist calls him our rock and our shield.  It is in his arms that we are protected from the attacks of the devil.  It is in his arms that we can rest the holy sleep, in total peace, secure in the knowledge that we our safe.  Our house, our resting place is on the solid rock and it will not fail.  Nothing will ever destroy this house.  Its foundation is securely built upon God and his grace.  God’s grace is the only solid foundation that we have; without it all the world is a sinkhole.  Only God’s love will prevail.

Gracious Father, your mercies are new to us every day.  They roll over us like a river.  Upon you alone do we build our hope and faith.  Keep us safely in your loving arms so that the devil will have no power over us.  Be with those who are hurting, struggling, or lost in this life.  Bring them to your most gracious rock of safety.  Bring them home to your loving arms.  Guard and protect them as their journey continues.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret           

6-21-2020

Good Morning All, 

        1Timothy 1:15; “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 

     I am one of them.  I wasn’t always and I used to mutter all the time, “What’s the matter with kids these days?”  I see it every time that I drive.  The worst seem to be younger women between the ages of 14-30.  I think that they would have to have their cell phones surgically removed from their ear.  They are either talking/texting/ adjusting the radio, fixing their hair, checking their makeup or all of the above while “pretending” to drive.  They are oblivious to anything else.  I followed one young gal as she drove her Corolla down a two-lane county road.  She was about 2 feet into the oncoming lane and met a pickup and stock trailer loaded with cattle and she met a semi loaded with cattle.  They pulled over as far as they could; I doubt she even saw either of them.

   Then one day, while driving to town on the four-lane highway, I was trying to recall something that my wife wanted me to do.  So, I called her on the phone, as we were talking, I noticed that I was drifting into the left-hand lane which was already occupied by another vehicle.  I did not look at the young woman who was driving the Enclave as she passed me by in the eye.  So, I am one of those drivers now.

    Yet even more than that, I realized a sin that I held onto.  If you read the first two paragraphs closely, it still surfaces some.  I was just a tiny bit over the white line; she was practically in the other lane.   I doubt the other driver even knew what I was doing; with her, other vehicles had to swerve to avoid her.  I recognized it; she probably still doesn’t know how close she came to a major accident.  Yet I noticed how easily I condemned her when I did the same thing. 

    Are you like me?  I make mistakes, have failures, and slip ups while others sin and have transgressions and iniquities.  It is at times like this that God’s law points out to me my sin and I understand why I am the greatest.  I am supposed to know better and yet I continue to judge and to keep the log in my eye while looking at the speck in others.  Perhaps, you can relate.

    The thing about recognizing our own sin is that we are to be quicker to offer forgiveness to others.  This is the point that Jesus was making in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant; the level of our sin against God is so great that the sins of others against us is minuscule.  So I relish in the fact that my sins, as great as they are, are forgiven and I ask God to continue to keep me humble when dealing with others.  I ask God to lead me to give forgiveness to those around because I know that I am worse than they are.

Father, too often I judge rather than love, I dismiss rather than bless.  Forgive me and lead me to forgive as you so freely forgive me.  Lead me by your Spirit to reach out to others with the mercy that is poured out upon me.  Be with those who struggle with forgiving others.  Lead them to know the wonders of your mercy as it is revealed in their lives.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

6-20-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Mark 4:36; “And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.”

        One of my favorite old movies turns 45 this year.  The movie “Jaws” debuted in 1975  For those of you who do not know, the basic premise is that a huge Great White shark is terrorizing a resort and eventually our three heroes go out and try to kill it.  The shark is supposed to be between 25 and 30 feet long.  On the boat is the old sea dog, a veteran of WWII, a young upstart marine biologist and the reluctant town sheriff.  The old sea dog and the young upstart spend much time sniping at each other while the sheriff gets all the “junk” jobs on the boat.

     One of his jobs is to throw bloody fish guts and pieces over the side of the boat trying to draw the shark.  As he is kneeling over the edge of the boat, the shark jumps out of the water near the boat.  He stands with a look of terror in his eyes; he backs into the cabin where the sea dog and the young upstart are arguing.  He looks at both of them and says, “you’re gonna need a bigger boat.”  He saw the shark, saw his boat, and decided right away, “you’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

    In our verse, Jesus is crossing the Sea of Galilee when a storm hits.  He is asleep in his boat but the others, especially those on the little boats are terrified.  They are convinced that they are going to drown.  They wanted a bigger boat.  There have been many times in my life when I wished that I had been in a bigger boat.  There are always times in our lives when the storms seem so huge and the waves gigantic; we may even see sharks in the water.  There are times I wish I had a bigger boat.  Yet, if I had a bigger boat, would I just have more room for the junk that life tells me I need?

     The truth is that what we need is faith in Jesus to be there to calm the storm.  We also need to remember that “calming the storm’ may not mean removing the event but it does mean to remove the fear and the anxiety that we experience.  We may still face job problems, relational issues, health issues and the like but these events do not define who we are.  These events do not represent “failures” in our life rather they are to show us the wonder of God.  No matter what we face, Jesus is there to calm it down.  It is never about the size of the storm or the size of the boat but about the size of God’s love for us. 

    God’s love for you will always prevail.  Even in the tiniest boat, God’s love for you will always prevail.  The challenge for us is to always look at the waves and the storm through the eyes of faith.  Holding onto the truth that God is always there to guard us and protect us.  We don’t need a bigger boat because we already have the greatness of God.

Father, the storms cause us to fear and we look at the size of our boat and we question.  Give us the faith to trust in you.  Give us the sureness of your wondrous grace in our lives.  Help us to know that you will always calm the storms for us and give to us the peace that the world cannot give.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.           

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-19-2020

Good Morning All, 

       Psalm 32:5; “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

    Whenever I do some “heavy” work, I always start humming that Tennessee Ernie Ford song “Sixteen Tons.”  “You load sixteen ton and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt.”  There are a lot of days when it feels like that is about all I get done in a day, just a little deeper in debt.  I spin my wheels and go like a madman and the pile that I was working on did not get any smaller; it just shuffled a little. Have you ever felt like that; just a little more in debt, a little more weight on your back to carry?

    Our verse is from that great confessional Psalm written by David.  It was written during the time when David had committed adultery and had the husband killed in battle.  David did all he could to hide his sin and his shame from God and the people.  He may have fooled the people, but he did not fool God.  So as David carried these sins with him, in an effort to hide the truth from God; David only got deeper in debt.  The weight of carrying that sin only weighed him down.  When you read the verses immediately preceding this one you see phrases like “my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long” and “my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”  These are phrase that speak to the pain of bearing sin.

    That is what happens when we refuse to repent and try to either hide the sin we commit, or we try to think that “I can handle this one; it isn’t that bad.”  We keep the sin in our own body, on our own back.  We carry the weight and it is soon like carrying sixteen ton and at the end of the day, you are only deeper in debt owing more for the sins that you carry.  This isn’t something that God imposes on us; this is completely self-inflicted.  We carry the pain of the sin, the weight of the sin, we carry the guilt of the sin.  The devil wants you to feel guilty; he loves to torment you with the doubts that guilt places in your heart and on your soul, sixteen ton and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.  All we get when we hold onto sin is more pain, guilt, and a greater debt for the sin.

   But God tells us we do not have to carry that sin.  God has already forgiven that sin.  So when we acknowledge, or confess that sin, we are not telling God some big secret, He already knows what you did; confession is like saying to God, “Here God, I am tired of carrying this sin around; you can have it.”  And God takes it.  He takes that sin and ships it as far as the east is from the west.  It is no longer your burden because it never had to be; you chose to hold onto it!

    God forgives your sin, let him take it from you so the devil has no ammunition to fire at you.  Don’t keep your sin; let go and get out of debt.  Let God’s mercy carry you home so that you can enjoy God’s abundant grace and blessings.

Father of all mercies, your wondrous love is new to us each day.  Help us to see that we are the cause of our debt; that we refuse to give to you our sins.  We foolishly or shamefully hang onto them out of pride or fear, but we hang onto them and we are weighted down more and more.  Free us from this burden that we may live the life which you have freely given to us.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-18-2020

      Good Morning All, 

    Romans 6:4; “When we were baptized into his death, we were placed into the tomb with him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life”.

    I would like you to think for a moment about Jesus at the time of his crucifixion on Good Friday.  It is really a gruesome event.  Remember all the things that he had experienced since Thursday night.  He was beaten with a rod.  He would have had his beard plucked out.  He was slapped repeatedly and often.  He was scourged.  This was a process by which he was whipped with a whip that would have had thirteen lashes which would have been embedded with either pieces of bone or metal in the end to insure the maximum amount of skin slicing effect.  He had a crown of thorns forced upon his head.  He was crucified with nails driven through his hands and feet.  Lastly, he was stabbed in the side with a spear.

    As his body was taken down from the cross, it would have been a very broken body.  It was bloodied and beaten to a point of almost non-recognition.  So, as he was hurriedly laid into the tomb, he was a very broken body.

     Now think of how he looked three days later on Easter Sunday.  He had his glorified body and was not recognized by his own mother.  He was restored.  The scourging marks were gone.  The thorn imprints were gone.  He chose to keep the marks in his hands, feet, and side to show the proof of the wounds.  He went into the tomb broken and emerged whole.

    There is one more element to remember; as Jesus entered the tomb, the sins of the world went with him.  As he emerged from the tomb, those sins were left there.  This is what Paul is speaking about in our verse.  When we are baptized, our broken, sin-filled bodies are, in effect, placed in the tomb with Jesus.  Then, just like Jesus emerged from the tomb glorified, we come through the tomb, through Baptism, new creations. This is how and why we value Baptism as a great gift from God.  It makes us new.  It washes away our sins and makes us marked as children of God.  We are now redeemed children of God.  We are loved by God now and forever.  The sins are left in the tomb and we are brought out as new creations filled with Jesus’ righteousness as our own righteousness.  Our old sinful self no longer controls us.  The devil will try to get you to live in the tomb surrounded by all those sins, but we don’t have to.  We are redeemed and forever loved, what a gift!

Dearest Father, through your wondrous love we emerge from the tomb forgiven by the blood of Jesus.  We come through Baptism as new creations, as your dear child.  Keep us strong in this knowledge.  Reach out to those who struggle with life and sometimes do not see the new creation but feel they remain in the tomb. Restore them, Father, bring them comfort bring them peace.  Give us hope.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

6-17-2020

Good Morning All, 

     John 15:20; “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant isn’t greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they did what I said, they will also do what you say.”

    Persecution.  This is one of those phrases that most Christians try and avoid.  We read about China or some Islamic country and we think it always happens there.  We think we know what persecution looks like.  We know about being imprisoned, losing jobs, being physically tortured, being shunned by other family members are just a few of these events.  This is what most of us think of when we think of persecution and we probably think that, “At least I don’t have to go through that.”  Yet maybe we should re-think that idea.  We are all persecuted.

    Persecution takes many forms.  It might be as severe as being physically beaten but it can also be a psychological or an emotional attack as well.  It can be the condescension from a co-worker because you believe abortion is a sin and should be avoided.  It can be friends who do not understand why you do not want to go fishing every Sunday morning, so they begin to leave you out of other activities.  Perhaps you are expected to, “not talk about your church stuff” around the office.  These are all examples of being persecuted.  Anything that causes you to question whether it is “appropriate” to show your faith, you are being persecuted.

    Sometimes persecution takes a sharper edge.  Sometimes the devil and the world aim both barrels at you and fire.  You may experience a sense of great emotional distress.  You may feel at a loss when a job disappears.  You may feel lost when relationships strain or break.  You may feel alone after talking to the doctor and he tells you he does not know what is wrong.  The tests were inconclusive.  Not that all events are of the devil’s doing but he will use those events to try and cause doubt in your mind and with doubt comes loneliness.

    The devil doesn’t cause all the bad things that happen in your life; most of these things are the result of a sinful and broken creation.  Yet the devil will take all these problems and be right there to whisper in your ear that you are all alone and that God does not care.  His goal is to separate you from God and his family.  It is vital to remember that you are never alone; God is always with us and when one part of the body is hurting the whole-body hurts.  So, when you feel lost or alone, all the brothers and sisters in Christ feel your pain.  All true believers pray for you and share in your pain and fears.  All of us will be persecuted by the devil and the world.  Their goal is to separate you from God but nothing, absolutely nothing can do this.  God will never forsake you; this you can always count on!

Dearest Father, many times I feel lost and alone and the devil persecutes me and causes me to lose hope.  Give me the strength to trust in your word.  Give me the certainty of your promise that I may continue to live in and experience your grace and comfort.  Please be with those who are being persecuted right now.  Give them strength and bring into their lives those fellow believers who will be your hands and arms.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

6-17-2020

Good Morning All, 

     Ruth 1:20; “She answered them, “Don’t call me Naomi [Sweet]. Call me Mara [Bitter] because the Almighty has made my life very bitter” 

    Naomi lived a hard life.  She had a husband, two sons, a home, a life that many would call comfortable.  But then a drought forced her and her family to leave Bethlehem and go to the land of Moab.  While there, her sons married two Moabite women; not exactly what a Jewish mother wanted but they were happy.  But then, another turn against her.  Her husband died.  Then both of her sons died.  So now Naomi was left in a foreign land with no husband and no sons.  This meant that she had no means of support.  She was penniless, probably homeless in a foreign land.

    She had enough.  She was heading home.  She told her two daughters-in-law to go to their homes and start over.  One did but one didn’t.  She headed back home a defeated, sad woman.  She was not only sad; she was bitter.  She even changed her name.  She used to go by Naomi which meant “sweet”.  Yet her life, so far as she saw, was far from sweet.  When she came back to Bethlehem and her friends excitedly called out to her, she bitterly said, “My name is Mara”, which means “bitter”

    Many of us have felt that journey.  Maybe a job change has forced you to move from where you grew up, where your family and friends live, and you were forced to move far away to where you do not know anyone.  Maybe some significant relationships in your life are gone now.  Death, divorce, separation, health changes are just a few of the changes that can occur to make our life seem bitter.

     We need to remember that through it all God looks out for us and provide for us.  Even in all of Naomi’s “bitterness” Ruth was with her.  As she returned home, she found someone to redeem her (Get her out of debt and get the land back) and to marry her.  She saw her life as bitter, but God was with her all the way.  He never abandoned her.  He never abandons you.

    There are a lot of times when we may feel bitter about the circumstances of our life, we may even be bitter toward God.  How could God allow this pain to me?  We may never know the answer to that.  We know that in this broken sinful world; pain, sadness, bitterness will occur.  But God promises to stand up for us.  He gives us hope.  We have the hope of the rainbow (Resurrection) after the storm.  We have the certainty of God’s comfort in the many forms it takes.  We have the comfort of his Word, the comfort of His Spirit, the comfort of his holy supper and, sometimes, that comfort comes from unexpected places.  It might be a friend or a colleague, or someone you do not know; God can use anything or anyone to bring you comfort.  It might be created things, created things connected to his Word, and His Spirit preserves us always.

Dearest Father, this sinful world leaves us bitter, but your grace makes us sweet again.  Keep us certain of your love and mercy.  Be with those who are in need of your grace the most.  Be with the lonely and the suffering and give them peace.   In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,           

Pastor Bret