11-30-2021

 Good Morning All!

       Philemon 1:7; “For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.”

    I am a child of the 1970’s. Now there are some really weird things about the 70’s which remain as cruel tricks to us: mood rings, pet rocks, lots of hair, disco, leisure suits (oy!!) just to name a few.  But we also had some cool songs. Most were light and just kind of lie in the back of your mind.  Sometimes, they come back as theme songs for TV shows.

   One of those songs is the theme to the “Golden Girls.”  You can hear it in the back of your head cannot you: 

                                                 Thank you for being a friend
                                         Traveled down the road and back again
                                   your heart is true you're a pal and a confidant

 

This little tune goes a long way to show what Paul was writing about to Philemon in our verse. “The hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you;” isn’t that how we would like to have a friend greet us one time when we meet? You have refreshed me. “You have lifted me up from the depths of my sorrow and renewed my hope and vigor” (Maj. Winchester on MASH) 

   Over the course of some of these devotions, I keep stressing to us that we are not single individuals facing the world on our own. God has promised to be with us; to have his presence with us; to guard us and then to lead us on. He does this in a spiritual way by reminding you of the Scriptures that you have read and know. This is why it is important to “read, mark, learn and take to heart” the Words of the Bible.  This is how God usually speaks to us. Usually, God does not speak to us like we speak to the guy down the road. He uses the Words already spoken to reveal his message to us.

    Yet, God also speaks to us by using the elements of the created world. He uses family and friends, even people who are barely acquaintances to bring you hope. In my own life, it never ceases to amaze me how, “at just the right time,” I will get a card or letter or email from someone who offers a word of encouragement. The lift is incredible. I hope we all do this for all the people in our lives. Sometimes it takes a friend to lift you up. So, when you need a friend look for him and if you have a friend who needs one; be that friend.    
    One other thing that helps is to verbalize it. When people come to me with a problem, trying to get them to say what it is can be half the battle. Even if I know what the problem is, I want them to say it. When we say the problem aloud, the problem suddenly gets smaller, and we can begin to see ways to address it. The same is true in our prayer life. Tell God what is hurting you. This is for your benefit not his. This is one way which God uses to let you see that the problem is smaller than God. Sometimes, we really need to remember that. It is not that God needs to hear our fears; we need to hear them. Take the power that these fears have over us away and see God’s grace truly at work in our lives.

Dear Father, as we go through life it is filled with danger, pain, and sorrow. If we did not have your love to sustain us, all would be lost. Keep us in your arms protect us and give us hope. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-29-2021

 Good Morning All!

   Luke 15:20; “And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” 

    This is a verse from the Parable of the Prodigal Son; I would encourage you to read all of chapter 15. Note a few things as you do. In the start of the chapter, notice that the original audience is the Pharisees. Then note verses 7 and 10.  Then remember that the word “prodigal” means wasteful.

    As we read this parable, who is the prodigal son? Almost everyone will say it is the younger son because he takes the money and blows it.  As you can probably guess, I don’t really buy that.  One of the reasons is that we assume that the most valuable thing we have is our earthly possessions. We see this young man as wasteful because of money or stuff. This parable, like the other two, is about relationships and not about ownership.

    There is almost universal acceptance that the father in the parable is God the Father. In our single verse notice how, the father runs and has compassion on his son and embraces him and celebrates. The older brother has nothing to do with it. In the first two short parables there is joy at the rejoining of the relationships. But in this parable, there is no joy mentioned.

    The most important things in our lives are our relationships with God and with each other. This parable speaks volumes to this. How many times do we waste relationships because we spend our energy, our desire and passion, on stuff and not people? Instead of desiring to spend time with our children or spouses or friends, we spend in pursuit of temporal things?  “I’ll spend time with you later” I have to clean the house or mow the lawn or fix the gutters or anything else that we put on our to-do list that is ahead of our relationships.  We put things and stuff ahead of our loved ones and ahead of God.

   As we observe Good Friday today, pay attention to what God was willing to give up in order to keep a relationship with you.  The Son of God willingly left all the glory of heaven to die on a cross. He did this because he loves us and wants us to have that perfect and holy relationship with him. He also wants us to have a loving and joyful relationship with each other. One that is based, not on stuff, but on the desire to live together in harmony and in worship of God: together.

    Many look at the cross and feel a ton of guilt. Look at the cross and see the love of the Father who would give anything to run to you and greet you with compassion. Look at the cross and hear God calling you, inviting you into the celebration. Look at the cross and see a father who spared no expense for you, holds no accounts payable over you, who demands no sacrifice or payment from you; He only offers us his incomprehensible love. Grab hold of the Father as he greets you with that hug. Then go out to your family and friends; let the house be messed up for a little while, the lawn will be there later but rejoice and celebrate in the relationships which God has given you in order that you might enjoy this life more fully.

Dearest Father, so many times have you come running after me as I stray while on my journey. Forgive me Father for the poor way I treat your love and the poor way I keep my relationships strong. All this we asked in the name of our Crucified Lord, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-28-2021

 Good Morning All!

   1 Corinthians 15: 56-57; “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

    I watched an old western movie the other night. It had Walter Brennan in it. He was a crusty, retired army scout who was helping the star of the movie try to get 100 repeating rifles to a distant fort. Everyone was trying to steal the guns and then turn around and sell them. First it was some scavenger type guys. Then it was some of the men in his command and finally it was a party of Indian raiders. Of course, Walter Brennan’s character knew the Indian chief and could speak to him.

    As the final battle with the Indians raged, many of the army members were getting shot and dying.  The army was trying to keep the weapons from the Indians, but it looked bleak. Just as the Indians were about to capture the guns, out came Walter Brennan. He had filed all the firing pins of the guns so the guns would not shoot. Seeing that the guns were worthless, the Indians rode away. The army failed to get the guns, but the army kept the guns away from an enemy who planned to use those guns against them. The weapons no longer worked so the value of the gun was nothing.

   Our text tells us this same truth. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. After Jesus died and rose again, the “firing pin” of sin is gone. It is the pain of eternal death which gives death its sting. But with Christ’s victory over the grave and with his glorious resurrection, the tomb that once sealed us in is now only a door for us. In the blink of an eye, the world changed. In the blink of an eye, we enter into his heavenly kingdom.

    The sting and power are gone; the joy and grace are here to stay. With Jesus’ victory over the grave, a victory which he lovingly gives to us, we are guaranteed salvation. With Christ’s victory we can loudly cry, “O death where is your victory? O death where is your sting?”  We are assured of victory. Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate defeat of death. It no longer has the “final say.”  We have the final say that gives us life eternal; we have Jesus!

    We can take comfort and hope in this statement. We have victory because of Jesus. No matter what the world throws at you, not matter what trouble or pain you may feel; God is there to save us. We will always be victorious! It may be on the other side of the grave, but we enter it knowing that there is no sting to harm us. So, as we celebrate this wondrous truth, we can take hope in our victory, won by Christ and freely g. n to us.

 Dearest Father in heaven, to you alone goes all glory. Be with us and defend us from the power of the devil and his ways. Protect us by your mighty hand. Receive us into your blessed kingdom. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

 

11-27-2021

    Good Morning All!

       Luke 24:32; “They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

    Are you like me in that I like to watch some movies over and over? There are some movies that I just cannot watch enough. Some of the nuances in the film can be missed the first time or two. Sometimes you need to read some background on the film or the era of the film setting. Sometimes, you have to hear the line or see the scene over and over to make it make sense.  Sometimes, it just has to “click” in your mind.

    One of those movies we watch often is “Forrest Gump.”  It took a few times watching to hear the line where Forrest is asked if he had ever been on a shrimp boat. He answers,” no but I’ve been on a really big boat.”  Bubba was talking about the type of work that the boat did, as in a boat that catches shrimp. Forrest thought it meant the size of the boat; he rode a big boat not a small (shrimp) boat. It takes some listening to truly hear the comment and sometimes you have to have the right mood as well.

    Our verse is part of the story of the two disciples as they are on the road to Emmaus. The then unrecognized Jesus joined them as they walked and talked about the events of Jerusalem and the death of Jesus. As he sat and talked with them, their hearts burned as he talked to them. You can imagine that they had heard his message many times during the three years that they had traveled with him. Some of these stories they maybe had witnessed or experienced as well.  They had probably experienced the feeding of the 5000; perhaps the raising of Lazarus; perhaps they had heard him tell them that he would have to die and in three days rise again. 

    These two disciples had heard it before but this time it was different. This time this message packed a wallop. Their hearts burned. Their hearts burned with the desire to really hear what God was saying to them. I must confess there are times when I read and hear God’s Word like I have heard it over and over. It sometimes does not have the impact that it should. I assume that you are the same way. However, God has a way of changing our hearts. He can make them burn.

    As the Spirit works on us, through the Word and through the Sacrament, he brings to us the desire to believe that God truly loves us. Jesus died for us to pay for our sins. The resurrection is the sign that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and that the victory over death has been secured. So, as you read and listen to God’s Word, listen with your heart on fire. Hear anew the Words of forgiveness, the Words of hope and the Words of life. Do not just hear them with your ears hear them with your heart. If you need comfort or hope hear God’s Words of comfort and hope. Know that this is part of God’s gift to you; a message of hope and comfort that you can use today and every day. Christ is risen; he is risen indeed!

Dearest Father, through the gift of Jesus you bring us hope and you bring us comfort. Never let your words become mundane or meaningless. Keep our hearts burning on zeal for you and that we take each word to heart and grow closer to you trusting in your promise. In the name of our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-25-2021

 Good Morning All!

           2 Samuel 22: 17-18“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.”

    I remember watching a movie many years ago in which the story starts with a young boy who was out fishing with his father. It was a cold day and the boy moved in the boat and fell into the water.  The scene was very surreal; the boy slowly was sinking in the cold water. There was no sound; just him sinking. Suddenly a hand grabbed his coat collar and yanked him back up. As he was pulled out of the water, you heard yelling and screaming, and the little boy was coughing and crying, and the boat was hurrying back to shore to get him into dry clothes and warm him back up. The boy was scared; the father was shook. The father never took the boy fishing again. Yet the boy grew up to become a soldier who feared nothing. The battle he fought was fear and he fought it head on.

    In many ways this is what God does for us, he reaches down and takes hold of you and rescues you from your enemy –sin, the devil and death. But God does not just pull you out and then leave you. When God takes hold of you, he holds on tight. One way to think of it is that when God takes hold of you in what you could call a hug. God takes you and hugs you close to himself.

     There are really three ways to respond to a hug. First you can fight it and try to break away from it and run. There are many in the world that do this to God’s hug. They fight it; their sinful pride tells them they do not need God’s love and care, his hug so they fight it and end up lost and often in struggles which they never win with problems that never go away.

    The second way to respond to a hug is to just stand there. Let the person hold you but try not to respond to it. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who respond to God’s hug in this fashion.  They wear their faith like their Sunday clothes, for an hour a week after that their faith; like their Sunday clothes, hang in the closet. They miss the robust value of God’s relationship with them. They battle life by themselves and often face tough roads all alone.

    The third way to respond to God’s hug is to hug back with all the gusto you have. Cling tightly to God; this is what faith is it is clinging tightly to God. As you cling tightly, you can experience his comfort, his strength, his guidance but above all you can experience the true peace which God promises us.  We experience this true peace when we fully embrace God and his promise, when we hug God back.

    God gives us the ability and the choice to pick which way we will respond to his hug. Let God strengthen you to hug him back!

Dearest Father, all that we have is from you; give me the power to hug you back to embrace your love with all that is within me. Lead me closer to you, in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

11-24-2021

 Good Morning All!

       Genesis 16:13-14; “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”   Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;”

     Isn’t it kind of amazing how there are times in our lives when we want everyone to see us and there are times when we hope no even notices us?  When we graduate or when we get married, we feel on top of the world and wish all could see us and how happy we are. Then there are times when we hope no one will ever notice us and then there are those times when we wish someone would see us, but we fear that they do not.

    It is this last thought that comes from our verses for today. This is from the story of Hagar. She was a young maid to Sara.  Sara and Abram used her to produce an heir for Abram as he and Sara were barren. Hagar became pregnant and Sara resented it and drove her away. So here we have this poor young slave girl being driven away from the only life she knows. You know a young pregnant gal with nowhere to turn; a story that happens to often even today.

     As she runs the angel of the LORD speaks to her and calms her fears. She calls him “the God who sees me” and the well where the angel spoke to her as “the well of the Living One who sees me.”

    As we struggle through life, always remember that God sees you. This is not meant to be a lecture on our sinful ways; rather I want you to take comfort in the fact that God always sees us.  He sees us when we want someone to see that we are hurting but sometimes; no one notices. We do not have to face all of the trials and troubles and garbage out there on our own; God sees it and hears us as we cry to him in anguish and pain.  As we fear the report from the doctor or our job is on the line or the rain has not fallen or our spouse seems distant or our children rebellious, we are not alone.

    God is a God who sees us and more than that he has compassion on us. He sees our hurts and heals them. He has compassion on us and repairs the damage, even damage we cause ourselves. It can be painful, but God is a God who sees and heals. We have to be aware of the way God works in our lives.  God uses created things to bring joy and comfort to his people. When we are hurting, he places people in our lives to bring us comfort and hope. Listen to his words of comfort; experience the comfort of your brothers and sisters in Christ and above all; pray speak to God with all your pain, all your fear and all your desire.  Call upon him and he will see your affliction and bring you peace.

Dearest Father, in many ways we are distresses and in pain. The world is filled with it, and we cannot avoid it. See us Lord; see our pain and our fear and our sorrow. Send your Spirit of healing and comfort. Bring us safely home to you. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.         

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-23-2021

 Good Morning All!

        John 19:30; “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

    “It is finished!”  Have you ever used this phrase? How did you use it? Was it in exasperation and frustration? Sometimes this is the way a despondent couple responds as they watch their marriage crumble, or a parent when the problem child has to be bailed out of jail for the fourth time.  We feel the weight of the world crushing in on us. We see no answer; we see no hope, so we just throw up our hands and walk away. We are beaten, battered, bloodied, and defeated by all that we face.

    Perhaps you exclaimed this as a big project has been completed.  You feel the exhilaration of getting it done. It is over; I can enjoy the fruits of my labor. All the work is done, and it is all downhill from here; I can coast to the end. I’ve felt this each time I finish a class.  The load of the class is lifted, and I can breathe easier, for a couple of weeks anyway. Maybe you feel that when the harvest is done, or when the graduation ceremony is done, and the guests have all gone home.

     Most people would probably evenly divide into these two camps when they look at the words of Jesus, “It is finished!”  Some see it as Jesus the man finally being broken and just giving up on life. It is finished; I am broken, beaten, defeated. At least that is how the devil wants you to see it. “Jesus died, get over it” The world and the devil will scoff at us and continually try to cast doubt into our lives.

      Others will see this as the victory whoop of Jesus. It is finally over; I am out of here. This job is done never to worry about it again. The same response a graduate might have, “school’s out no more books no more teacher’s dirty looks.” Yet this is not quite right either.  We are missing the important part of this phrase.

    It is finished. It is complete, concluded, paid off. This is a better way to hear this. It is paid off! The debt of sin which we owe is concluded; it has been paid off! What a wondrous gift!!  What a phrase to hear; imagine going into your lender to try and figure out a way to pay off a debt that you cannot pay only to hear him say,” It has been paid off!”  How would you react? How would you feel? We would probably jump for joy and hug whoever was standing there.  It is finished; your debt is gone. It is finished; we no longer have to fear God’s wrath and punishment.  It is finished; we can come before the throne of grace and receive the blessings which God has for us. It is finished; we can come to the Altar and be fed and nourished by his precious body and blood. It is finished; thanks be to God!!

Dearest Father, in your wondrous mercy our debt of sin is paid. We give you thanks and honor and praise for this amazing gift. Keep us in your precious arms and hold us tight to you. Guard us and protect us from the devil’s darts. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

11-22-2021

 Good Morning All!

          Genesis 21:19; “Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” 

     Are you like me? I cannot tell you the number of times I have to look for something or other in my office. I know I put it right over there and the next time I want it; it is not there. Then I start looking all over the place and then do not find it. Then a few days later, there it is right where I put it. I must confess that, at times, I think, someone is messing with me, but I have no proof. (Yet)

    Most of us have these moments and, for the most part, we can laugh them off.  A moment of forgetfulness and we pass it off. But have you ever felt it more deeply in your heart and in your soul? In our verse, this is a continuation of Hagar’s story. She went back to Abraham and Sarah, and it was ok for a while but then Sarah gave birth to Isaac and then they kicked Hagar and her son out again. She took her son and a jug of water and left. Soon the water was gone, and her son was listless from thirst. She laid him under a bush and walked away because she could not watch her son die.

    I do not know if any of us have felt like this. There have been times and there will be times when I have felt like I was searching for an answer from God and just could not seem to find it. Maybe you have as well.  Perhaps you have felt the sting of an angry remark or comment from a loved one.  Perhaps you felt the stinging rebuke of an employer.  Perhaps the doctor’s report wasn’t what you expected.  So, you are left wondering where everything is.

    Hagar went to look for water and could not find any, so she cried to the Lord, and he answered her. Then he “opened her eyes.”  Isn’t that what we really need more than anything? We need God to open our eyes to the truth of his grace. We can search and search, but we never look in the right place. Too often, we turn to the “experts” in the world and listen closely to their advice and yet we receive no comfort or hope. The “experts” never address the root problem. Our sin costs us our ability to truly see God’s grace around us. It is there, just like the well that Hagar did not see; is there right in front of us. God pours his love out on us every minute of every day. Many times, we just do not see it.

    That is what faith is all about, God opening our eyes to see the well, or the river, of his love and grace. We will still face the sinful world and its trials and troubles of this life, but we do not face them alone and we do not face them without hope for we have the everlasting hope of our salvation.

Dearest Father, your mercy overflows us like a river, yet we do not see it. We focus too much on our troubles and not on our salvation; we see our failures instead of your grace. Lead us to see the waters of your wondrous grace and mercy. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-21-2021

 Good Morning All!

          Mark 3:5; “And he (Jesus) looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”

    When my sons were in high school, there was a foreign exchange student in the senior class. Everyone really got a charge out of him. He was very likable and good natured about just about everything. He tried to play football and on one play where he was going to make a touchdown, his only chance, a teammate was called for a penalty. The penalty was away from the play and should not have happened. When everyone got home from the football game, I asked them how he took it, they just started to laugh. He told them that, “He was so mawd (Mad) at the player who had the penalty.”  Ever since then, in our house, you are “so mawd” not just mad.

     We all get “mawd” sometimes. If the newspaper comes late; if the mail is not delivered; if the guy in front of us is going just under the speed limit and balling up traffic; or it is being in the checkout line when the guy in front of you really fouls the checkout up; something gets us “mawd.”  Yet there are times when we should not be mad, we should, like Jesus, look around in anger and be grieved by the hardness of the heart. We need to feel and express God’s holy anger.

    Far too often, we sit back as Christians. We fail to take up the cause of the poor, the widows and orphans and the alien in the land.  These are the classes of people whom God continually lists when He addresses the sins of Israel in the Old Testament. God looks to how the Israelites treated those who were unable to fend for themselves or were able to do anything for the Israelites. God told the Israelites, “You were once aliens and slaves in a foreign land;” thus, they were expected to have compassion on these people and to share God’s compassion with them.

    So why do we sit back and watch? What do we fear? We have God’s blessings. He has redeemed us from sin and death. He has called us out of the world to be his holy (separate) people. He is OUR God; we can call upon him whenever we want, and he wants us to live the good life in the good land. We are like Israel in that we had nothing, but God gives us everything. We do not earn any of it; everything is a gift from God; so why are we slow to share?

     God wants us to burn with anger at the injustice in the world and be grieved by the hardness of the heart of sinful man. We can begin by praying that God would end this tragedy. We can pray for courage to speak and to act. God calls us to be different from the world. If the world exploits the underprivileged, what must we do to be different?

Dear Jesus, You were angry at the hardness of the Pharisee’s heart. Move us to soften ours and to grieve over the hardness of man’s heart. Move us by you Spirit to act, to speak, and to have compassion to make a difference. In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

11-20-2021

 Good Morning All!

Romans 12:2; “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

     Have you ever heard the phrase “I believe in individuality…as long as we all do the same thing?”  It is all right to be yourself as long as you conform to the norms that are set out.  Even as this may sound like a safe idea, it is the devil and the world that wants you to conform to the world. It can occur in very subtle ways.

    It can start when we are much younger and in school. The devil wants you to believe that you are never good enough; you are never smart enough so just sit back and fit in like everyone else does. As this occurs, our sinful nature not only feeds our lowered self-esteem, but it also speaks to our guilt. Not only are we not good enough to win the prize; we are told that we are not fit for God’s kingdom either. So, a vicious cycle begins its downward spiral of guilt, self-doubt and self-loathing. 

     Jesus came into the world to transform you. He came into this world, into your life in a way that would completely change us from what we were to what we are. We went from “lost and condemned creatures” to “redeemed children of the most High God.”  That is a change! Our status is completely different. We are no longer conformed to or by the world; we are formed by God through Jesus

    Yet the devil continues his whispers against us. He continually whispers in our ear; you are handsome enough for her; you are not pretty enough for him. They will look for someone else very soon. You are not smart enough for that job; you lack the charisma for people to truly like you; it is all an act. The devil will hammer you over and over to destroy the confidence in God’s promise that we have. Faith is as much a mental act as much as anything.  We do not “feel” we are saved; we “KNOW” we are saved. God made a promise, and we need only to cling to that promise.  

     So now we do not have to conform to the world and its view of us. Jesus has freed us from all that the devil will try to twist us into. We are free to be the disciples who Jesus sets out to make us. We can trust, by faith, that God’s will is pure and good for us. This is part of the promise that God made to his people long ago; a promise that you and I experience. He wants to redeem us, to be our God and to let us live our life in full confidence of our salvation. He wants us to enjoy our redeemed life as long as we live it here.  This is part of the “already but not yet” part of the story. We are already saved but we are not yet glorified. We live by grace and grace is God’s glory not yet finished.

    Do not conform to the world; let Christ total transformation give you hope and comfort until life eternal.

Dearest Father, you sent Jesus to transform us into his disciples. Guard us as your dear children. Be with those whom the devil is attacking with all those painful salvoes and give them the strength and courage to stand tall in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-19-2021

 Good Morning All!

        Philippians 3:13; “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,”

  A great aim or desire of many people is to improve themselves in some way, shape, or form. We are always trying to make it better next time. We make resolutions every New Year and what are they about? We usually want to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more, spend more time with our family; these are all fine and laudable goals. We seek to improve our lives, our skills, and our future.

    We view life as one long process of getting better.  Many people see staying the same as really falling behind. So, if our goal is to get better, why is it so difficult?  Probably the biggest reason is that we have so much difficulty letting go of the past.  We look back too much, and we do not let go.

    This can happen in our faith walk as well. When Jesus first called his disciples, he told them that he would make them fishers of men. He would make them; this is showing that it is a lifelong process. Each day, we are molded and shaped a little bit more. Each day is different from the last. Each day we can grow closer to God; our faith being strengthened and nourished. But this process might be painful or unpleasant. It might extend to times of great struggle, angst, or doubt. We may even see the right course, but struggle staying on it.

    So why do we fail? In many cases, it is because we focus on the past instead of the future. Often it is because we do not forgive. Jesus tells us to forgive and then we are to move on. Failing to forgive is to keep our focus behind and down; yet God wants us to look up and to look forward. We are to strain forward. It is when we are too busy looking back that we fall down. We need to forgive. Forgiveness frees us from the weight of carrying past hurts, remembering the sleights against us robs us of the joy we have when we focus forward, upon the resurrection. We need to forgive our family and friends for sleights that really mean nothing. We need to forgive people we do not even know whose actions are directed elsewhere but hit us. Above all, we need to forgive ourselves.  It is when we fail to forgive ourselves that the devil keeps a toe hold in our life reminding us of those sins that we will not let go of. God’s mercy moves him to forgive our sins; it is only our guilt and the devil’s traps that keep us looking back. Strive to look forward, going forth in God’s wonderful grace. Seeing his grace as active in our lives, giving us the certain promise of life eternal.

Dear Father, your mercies are new to us every morning. Lead us forward, keeping our eyes looking only to you. Move us to let the past be past and that we only see what is good looking forward. Move us by your Spirit to know only your mercy. Guide us to share this mercy with all that we meet. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace

Pastor Bret   

 

11-18-2021

 Good Morning All!

    Proverbs 17: 28; “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”

    Have you ever put your foot in your mouth? Have you ever asked a lady when her baby was due, and she tells you “I’m not pregnant”? Or maybe asked if those two gals are his granddaughters and he tells you “this one is my wife”?  Yikes!!  Have you ever expressed an opinion about someone else’s choice of clothes or vehicles or whatever and they are standing behind you? Where is that hole that we want to crawl in?

    Then instead of simply admitting that the mouth was engaged when the brain was not and apologize; we go to elaborate efforts to cover it. Things like; “I knew you were there all the time; I was just teasing.”  We speak loudly, have over exaggerated hand gestures, and tend to laugh a little too loud and a little too long. We are embarrassed and a severe case of “foot-us in mouth-us” disease kicks in. We did not mean to hurt anyone; we simply did not think all the way through what we were saying. Yet this painfully embarrassing event is not nearly as bad as when those cruel comments are said and meant to harm.

    Those cruel and degrading epithets, those hateful and derisive comments and those dismissive and cutting remarks cause much pain. Pain for the recipient; but also, a reduction in the character of the person who speaks them.  We all know people who always have a cruel or crude or hateful comment about another person; do we really think they do not make some similar comment about us when we are not around? Listening to someone who is always dismissive and derisive tends to drain you and drive you away unless you are one of those who thrive on it. These folks think that they are smart and witty but in fact most people really see them as fools. We need to be careful not to be one of these fools.

    It is especially true with today’s technology; we must really be careful and think three and four times before we send that email or tweet or post that “thing” on Facebook.  There was a time when cruel or unflattering items had a limited range of being heard and a limited life span. Now they exist forever.

    We need to remember that how the Eighth Commandment (Thou shall not bear false witness) works and this is how all the Commandments work as well. The Commandments have a negative (Thou shalt not) and a positive (Thou should do this) component. They also have an exchange quality; I treat you this way and you will treat me this way as well. So as we look at this Commandment, I would not speak negatively about you and in fact I will try and put the best spin (construction) on your actions and statements and I can expect that you, as my Christian brother or sister, will do the same.  It is when we refuse to follow these guides that we become the fool that everyone knows.

Dear Father in heaven, the tongue causes us more problems and pain that almost any other part of the body. Give us the wisdom and courage to control our tongue and to speak well of our neighbors. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace

Pastor Bret         

11-17-2021

 Good Morning All!

Exodus 1:15; “Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,”     

    If I were to give you a quiz about current events, how would you do? Who is the President of the United States? Who is the Prime Minister of England? Who is the President of Russia? Who is the head of the North Korea? Who is the head of China? Who is the Speaker of the House?

    These are some questions which you can answer or, given the time, could find the answer. Google will get you a long ways. These represent the movers and shakers in our world. These are the people who seem to be in the news almost all the time and their opinions and comments are carefully weighed and measured.  We end up not only listening to what is said but how it is said and who specifically says it. If the President of the United States says something but the Speaker of the House says something else; well, we measure it and consider it carefully. We look at the phrasing, the timing, and the force of the statement.

    Now here is a different quiz. Who is the teacher for the Prime Minister’s children? Who is the maid for the President of Russia?  Who is the cook for the leader of North Korea? I am not even sure Google will help you much with some of those. These people slip on by us. Anyone of a thousand people could fill those tasks. We do not hang on the word of the cook who says that the soup was watery today or that the children had the sniffles. This just does not garner our attention.

    Now, one more quiz. Who was your first Sunday School teacher? Who confirmed you? Who had the most lasting impact on your faith development? Who showed you how to live as a Christian?

    In our verse, the two women mentioned disobeyed the king of Egypt who was trying to kill the male sons of the Israelites in an attempt to control the Israelites and to thwart God’s plan.  These women displayed great courage and remained faithful to God. Their faithfulness is rewarded by God. Later on, they have their own families but here we know their names, their own personal names but what was the personal name of the king of Egypt?  We are not told. The mover and the shaker of the time is forgotten; yet two humble servants of God, faithful to his Word, are remembered. The same is true for us. In another 100 years, only those who are faithful to God and trust in his promises will matter; the rest will be put to shame as unnamed souls. God, in his mercy, calls you by name at your Baptism and calls you his own and even the hairs on your head are numbered and watched by him. You are redeemed by God and saved. How the world viewed you will not matter, only the blood of Jesus, which saves you, will ever matter.

Dear Father, you know all there is to know and you choose to reveal what you want. Give us the faithfulness of these midwives that we too may faithfully serve you in whatever situation that you place us. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-16-2021

 Good Morning All!

         Isaiah 63:9; “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.”

    When I was growing up, I liked to listen to the radio. I listened to basically two types of music.  We had the rock and roll like Queen or the Beatles or Three Dog Night. We had the balladeers like Jim Croce or Simon and Garfunkel. I really liked the ballads; they spoke to life. They spoke of joy or sadness of elation or incredible pain. I liked Simon and Garfunkel and their song “Bridge over Troubled Water.”  It is a plaintive love song.

    It was a refreshing song in that it was about drugs or sex or violence. It was about one person’s undying love for the person. He promised to always be there, no matter what. This is a promise to be there as one to lean on, to cry on, to be able to be comforted by. This is still one of the best love songs around.

    One of our greatest needs as a person is someone to love and to be able to count on when we need them most. For most of us it is a spouse or a few really close friends.  These are the ones who know us, warts, and all, and still love us. The ones, who can best tell us to move on, think about what to do, and whatever we need to hear. These are the people who can provide a rudder in our life when life can really get muddy on us.

    That is one blessing that we as Christians have over other religions, we have a God who has “walked the walk.”  Jesus became a man to experience our life. We often spend time thinking about how he keeps the law perfectly and dies for us. Do not forget that he also cried for us and hungered for us was elated for us and saddened for us. Jesus experienced all of our human emotions and all of our experiences.  So, when we hurt, He truly feels our pain. When we are elated, He knows our joy. The full range of emotions Jesus has experienced them.

    So, like the song says,” when you’re weary, feeling small when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them off.”  We have the undying love of a God who willingly became man in order to save us.  He died that we might live. In all of our afflictions, Jesus is there to lift us up.  He is there with his love to redeem us. His grace sustains us and carries us on.

     We will face hardships and afflictions; that is part of being human. Yet we do not face them alone and we do not face them with a stiff and uncaring God who fails to see or feel what we see and feel. God has carried our every affliction and has defeated them with his power because of his love. We can always find comfort in his arms.

Dear Father, you carry us in your loving arms to safety with all the certainty of your promise. May we always find comfort in you. We know that there are many who are hurting and in need of comfort. Lead us to them that we may be your arms, hands, shoulders, and voice to be the comfort that you so richly offer. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

11-15-2021

 Good Morning All!

   Psalm 107: 19-20 “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.”

     Some people never seem to have any problem fitting in. They seem to be the center of the crowd and at ease in any discussion.  They were the class president in school, or the captain of the team, or the homecoming queen or the top student in the class. But then there are the rest of us.

    Most of us have at times felt like an outsider looking in. We have felt odd, different from everyone else and felt that everyone else was aware of our difference. I remember two stories from my college years that really show this to be true.

    The first was a guy named Ahmed. Ahmed was the first Middle Eastern guy I met. He was a nice quiet guy, kind of shy and going to school to learn English and then go back and teach in his home country.  Unfortunately, Ahmed had two strikes against him, the year was 1979 and Ahmed was from Iran. By November, the “Iranian Hostage Crisis” was going strong and foolish college students were calling for the destruction of Iran and all Iranians. Ahmed felt out of place and not wanted.

     The second was a girl who experienced panic attacks. She had to wear a heart monitor and if it went off, she had to call the hospital. Again, remember this was the late 1970’s; microchip was a buzz word no one used. The monitor was bulky, and the phone call was from a real phone not a cell phone. So, if it went off, quite a few knew it and then she would leave class and call t. hospital. Not exactly inconspicuous; add that to the fact that they were not finding anything and a couple of her “friends” hinted it was “all in her head” and this occurred in “Abnormal Psychology;” painfully ironic. You could see the pain and fear in her eyes when it went off and deep down you wondered if this thing was only making matters worse. If her attacks were stress related; it would be like throwing a brick to a drowning man.

    Ahmed went to Canada; he could not go back to Iran and his family felt “uncomfortable” here. The girl ended up with a thyroid condition which stress and anxiety made worse. You and I can probably relate. There are times when we feel this pain and distress. Ours may be from a relationship strain, job strain or unease in social situations. We see them all the time. All of a sudden, our co-workers are a lot younger, smarter and better than we are.  Maybe you find yourself without a partner for the first time in 30 or 40 or 50 years; now what.

    Whatever it is that causes us our distress, God will deliver us. Notice the line “he sent out his word and healed them” that word is Jesus and he healed us by his passion. Through Jesus we are healed, made whole by his blood; restored to God’s family where we experience all of his love, grace and mercy.  We will still have those times when we think we stick out like a sore thumb; but we are among God’s redeemed children, and he will lead us through; holding us close no matter what the situation.

    So, as we face all those battles and all those struggles, we cling to God; we cling to his promises, and we cling to him in hope. Even if we feel like we are the only one afflicted, God speaks his words of comfort to us and gives to us his holy rest and comfort.

Gracious Lord, we cry, and you hear, we are in distress, and you respond to us with your love and patience. Teach us that there is nothing in this world which can separate us from the love which you have for us. In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-14-2021

Good Morning All!

    Revelation 2:10b; “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”

     We like to use the word faithful a lot. We want a faithful dog; we want our car to be faithful; we want our politicians to be faithful. But what do we really mean by that? Usually, it means we want them to do what we want them to do. We want our dog to roll over, fetch, sit up and play catch when we want to. We want our car to run forever with a minimum of effort on our part to keep it going. We want the politician to always vote for our interest, whether it is the best for the country or not. We really have a warped sense of faithfulness.

    The Bible uses the word “faithful” often. It actually starts in Genesis and goes all the way through to Revelation.  Throughout the whole Bible; throughout our whole existence; God shows his faithfulness to us. Through his creative and restorative process of us; he displays his love for us. Yet God’s love is the outward expression of his nature to be faithful.

     What we as human often fail to see is that what God truly calls us to be is to be faithful; faithful to trusting in his promise of forgiveness. As much as we do not like to think it, it is not disobedience which causes us to go to hell; it is unfaithfulness. Our disobedience is simply the outward sign of our unfaithfulness. When we do not trust in God’s promise, we look elsewhere for our security rather than trusting in God for it. It is not a question of obedience; it is a question of faithfulness.

    Many Christians, especially American Christians, struggle with this truth. They prefer to think in terms of obedience and disobedience. If we think of receiving God’s grace because we are obedient; then we can remain self-focused. We can think in terms of “God is rewarding me” so what I have is mine. Those who do not have must be disobedient. I am getting mine and they are getting what they deserve. The problem with that is that God’s love for us is from his faithfulness not our obedience. When you look at God’s love as a gift and a sign of his faithfulness, it calls into question our faithfulness because ours is lacking.

    If we are honest, it is our lack of faithfulness to God’s promise that causes us all our problems. We tend to think in terms of “deserve” instead “given.”  Imagine you are at a family dinner gathering. As you sit around the table, the host brings out the food on platters. It is given to the first person who takes from it and passes it on. What if he thought he deserved that platter of food, he might just put it down on his plate and keep it; leaving you and the others to go hungry.

   We need to see that God’s call to us is to be faithful; to be faithful to his promise for when we are we see God’s incredible grace in our life, and we see the need and we have the desire to share God’s gifts with others. So, as we go through life and we look at all the gifts and blessings that God has given us; are we just the first person to receive the platter at the dinner table?  Are we sharing the platter or are we placing it down in front of us? Are we faithful to God and his promises and his call to us to be his witnesses and his agents here on earth? Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.

Dearest Father, too often we are unfaithful to you and to your promise. Our faith is weak, and we fail miserably. Forgive us for our sin. Cleanse us and renew us that we may fully trust in you as our only provider and savior. In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

11-13-2021

 Good Morning All!

    Hebrews 4: 9; “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,” 

    As far as I know, most of the “blue laws” are gone or at least ignored. The blue laws were laws that enforced the closure of businesses on Sundays. This included many retail stores, movie theaters, the sale of alcohol and other things were prohibited. This was, in many ways, an effort to force people to go to church and to be with their family. These laws existed for a long time, but it soon became obvious that you cannot force people to do things they have no desire to do. These also changed as our society and economy changed away from an 8- hour, 6 –day a week existence to a 24-hour, 7 day a week existence.

    As we look at the Sabbath for a moment, we need to see how Scriptures lays it out for us. Unlike the Pharisees, and many who still see the command to keep the Sabbath as a harsh command, the keeping of the Sabbath was about rest. It was never about the command to worship. As we look at the Sabbath, we can see it through three “tenses;” the past, the present and the future.

    As you read this, do not think in terms of “have to” but in terms of “get to.”  We first see the Sabbath in the story of the creation. “In six days did the LORD God create the earth and on the seventh day he rested.”  This is part of the rhythm of life that God gives us. He gives us a day to stop our work to rest and while we rest; we can focus on our relationship with God. It also allows us to focus on what God has done and continues to do for us. We recall his creative works which give to us life.

    We should look at it through the present tense. How does our life go today? To say that life has stress is an understatement. We run ourselves ragged trying to keep up with what we think we “need.”  The devil and our sinful nature really feed into this. This is where our drive to “be better” can drive beyond what is healthy. This “stress to success” takes a horrific toll on many of our relationships. It destroys marriages, families, friendships, personal health and, worst of all, we destroy our relationship with God. God gives to us rest; rest from the frazzled world, rest to restore our soul. This rest lets us take that deep breath and look around and see where our true goals for our life should be, with our God and with our family.

    The third tense is the future. This is where we see eternal rest with Jesus in heaven. The cares and struggles of this life are all gone and rather than battle and wrestle with them; we can lay them aside and rest in his glory.

    So, try to keep a Sabbath. Try to make a day where you rest with your family and with God. If you cannot make a day, try a half a day or a third of a day but try to find the time to rest in God’s grace and in his mercy. Luxuriate in the grandeur of his love.

Gracious Lord, you give us the rest that only you can give. You bring us the sacred time for us to rejuvenate and to refresh our soul. Give us the wisdom to accept this day as a gift and not a command. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,             

Pastor Bret

11-12-2021

 Good Morning All!

    1 Corinthians 13:7; “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

    Many youngsters, at one time or another, think of running away. When they are younger, it is to run away from punishment. When they get a little older, it may be to resolve issues with parents or school. Maybe they think that the rules are too strict or that they are deserving of more trust and freedom.  As they get older, it can be more and more serious.  It can be the stress of classes. It can be the stresses of friendships or lack of friends. It might be the strain between friends who have and friends who are.

    Running away is often our answer in life. Sometimes it is our answer to life. We think we get away from the problems. Somehow, the problems will not find us; the problems will just disappear. Yet, as the old saying goes, you can run but you cannot hide.

    Adam and Eve tried to run. They tried to run from God and to hide their sin. When God “found” them; they tried to run from the responsibility of what they had done. The really sad thing is that by running away from God, they were running away from their only hope.

    When a child is little and runs away, a parent has two choices; to wait them out or to go looking for them. As children get older, we usually have to go looking for them.  As parents, we never stop loving them; we never give up. There may be times when our children do things which we can almost not bear but we still love them. We may not approve of what they said or did, but we still love them. A child can never truly run away from the love of a parent. The child may think so, but the parent never does. The parent will always be looking for the child trying to get them back. Parents never really give up on their children. The love of the parent endures.

    God is our heavenly father; he will never stop looking for you. He will never stop loving you. God’s love endures all things. He wants to keep us in the family, and he wants us to be happy. It is kind of strange that we often spend all of our time complicating the Bible.  It is really simple. God wants to deliver us from evil; to save us from the wretched power of the devil. He wants us to live as a community of people who serve him and love him. He wants us to be a community of people who communicate with him, and he wants us to have the good life. All this, out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy; all this out of love, God loves us. Instead of running away, run to him. God desires our love and our faithfulness. He desires this more than our obedience. God’s love endures and he wants ours in return.

Father of love, we glorify your name for all the blessings which you give to us. We are especially thankful for the gift of redemption for the gift of your love. Move us to share this love with those around us and to bring all the runners home. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret