Tuesday, May 31, 2022

5-31-2022

Good Morning!    

       Matthew 6:33; “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

    Do you remember the movie “City Slickers”? It starred Billy Crystal and Jack Palance among other and came out in 1991. I really liked the movie; the interaction between Billy Crystal’s character (Mitch) and Jack Palance’s character (Curly) was great.  (Mitch to Curly: Hi Curly, kill anyone today? Curly answers: Day ain’t over yet.) The movie was about some men going through life crises, so they go on a two-week vacation to a working ranch.  They learn about life while learning about some real work.

    One of the best parts is when Mitch and Curly are talking about life in general.  Curly tells Mitch that there is only one thing that is important everything else is garbage (my word not his).  Mitch asks him what is that one thing and Curly tells him that is what you have to find out.  So, what is that one thing?  What is the “one thing” that is important in your life?

    For many in this world, there is no one thing.  It is about having all things and when we fail at that, we have nothing.  Some think it is money or fame or power or notoriety.  Some think it is having others look to you as smart or wise or funny.  Some think knowledge is the answer some think it is just plain working hard.  Sometimes we fool ourselves by thinking that everything will fall apart if we don’t do it.  So, we stress about everything and soon it all comes tumbling down around us.  So, what do we do?  Jesus addresses this in our verse for today.

    Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.  That is our number one thing.  So how do we seek it?  First, we must realize that God has already given it to us through Jesus.  Yet too often we live like he hasn’t.  God gives us the power through the Gospel of forgiveness to seek him out.  Through Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice, God is recreating us into the creatures that he created us to be.  We were created to live in his holy presence with thanksgiving and praise, we are to care for each other, and we are to take care of God’s creation.  That is God’s kingdom.  So, through his grace, we should seek it.

    Take the time to be part of God’s holy rhythm for us, the listening to God’s Word and the speaking to God in prayer.  This leads us into the living in praise and thanksgiving part of the kingdom.  Show God’s love to your family, your brothers and sisters in Christ, your neighbors and all those around you; that is the next part. Finally enjoy the world that God has given to you.  Don’t spoil it or waste it or foul it but enjoy it and share it with others; that is the last part. 

    God is a relational being.  He created us to be in a worshipful relationship with him, in a caring and loving relationship with each other and a caretaking relationship with the rest of creation.  This is the kingdom of God.  We are given the freedom form sin so that we can seek this out.  Everything else will work itself out.  Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Gracious Father, too often we are focused on the wrong thing.  Direct us to your holy will and to seek out you and your righteousness.  Bless us as we serve you in your kingdom.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Monday, May 30, 2022

5-30-2022

      Good Morning!    

            Matthew 11: 28-30; “Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.  Place my yoke over your shoulders, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble. Then you will find rest for yourselves because my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

     I have always been interested by how a team of oxen work together.  They wear a heavy wooden yoke that hooks them together as they pull the weight.  The interesting thing is that one of the oxen actually does most of the work.  This one is called the lead ox.  The other one is just sort of there, kind of an ox in training.  This one is often referred to as the “oft ox.”  The lead ox was usually named while the oft ox usually wasn’t.  It was the primary job of the lead ox to follow the furrow, going straight, and to keep the oft ox pulling the same direction.

    This is what Jesus is referring to with the phrase “place my yoke over your shoulders, learn from me.  Because my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  The yoke belongs to Jesus, and he does all the heavy lifting, all the work.  The “work” is the job of obtaining our salvation.  Christ’s death on the cross was the “work;” the fact that he gives this to us freely makes the yoke “light and easy.”  So why do we so often feel like that yoke is weighing us down?  If the yoke is light and easy life should be a breeze, why isn’t it?

    The problem is that we are the “oft ox.”  The oft ox tends to stray from the path and try to go a different direction.  The oft ox tries to go on its own path and doesn’t care if it is right or not.  When the oft ox heads in its own direction, it strains against the yoke and tries to pull away.  This is when the yoke gets heavy.  This is when the yoke stops being easy, and it begins to be hard; it begins to chafe and causes us to stumble.  But it is not the yoke that makes us stumble; it is our desire to follow our own path. 

     Now many may think that many decisions in life cause us angst and make the yoke heavy.  How do I know if this is the right path?  The answer is in the question, does the path you choose go against Scripture and faith?  If it does, it’s the wrong path.  So as a young person, you can choose to be a teacher or a banker or a farmer.  But if you desire to be a crooked banker or a cheating farmer or a lying teacher, the yoke will be heavy.  You can choose to marry whomever you love but if you desire to be selfish and only concerned with your own happiness and pleasure, the yoke will not be light.

    The yoke is light when we follow the path of faith that God lays out before us, when we live according to his will.  This gives us the hope for salvation but also a life of contentment that God desires us to have.  The yoke can be light but only if we follow the lead of Jesus and live in his grace.

Dearest Father, you place our yoke upon Jesus and give to us peace and rest.  Give us the faith to trust in your grace to lead us in your path.  Guard us, guide us to the path of your holy contentment.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

Sunday, May 29, 2022

5-29-2022

 Good Morning!    

       1 Corinthians 1:18; “The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.”

     Maybe you call them “dad jokes.” I send some to my kids every so often. They refuse to respond (“it only encourages him” is their logic). I think they are hilarious, everyone else, mot so much. For example, if an airplane crashes exactly on the border between the United States and Mexico, exactly dead center on the border line, where do you bury the survivors? (You don’t bury survivors!) Or if an EEG is an electroencephalogram and an EKG is an electrocardiogram, then what is an EGG? (Breakfast!)

   These kinds of jokes are infuriating because they are really simple if you pay attention.  Yet we don’t pay as close attention as we should, so it slips by us. It is so obvious that we miss it.  Even when we see how ridiculously obvious the answer it, we feel it is almost nonsense.  Something so simple that when you overthink it, you miss it.

     God does the same thing with faith.  God took the most heinous symbol of torture and punishment, the cross, and made it the symbol of hope.  Then he took that hope and gave it to us as a gift.  Then he entrusted the delivery of this message of hope to you and to me.  Talk about a plan that is as foolish as it gets, this isn’t a business plan to take to your bank for a loan on!  But that is the point; there is no humanly way that this will work.  This plan requires that you and I trust God fully to work.

     That is why God does it this way.  There is absolutely no doubt that for this plan to work God has to make it work.  We are only the conduit that He chooses to use to make it work.  That is the beauty of God’s plan; it doesn’t rely on us.  Nothing we do makes our salvation work, only God makes it work.

     The beauty of this is that we don’t have to look at our life and try to make it so that we are earning brownie points with God.  God loves us as we are, warts and all.  There is no sin that we committed that God has not or will not forgive.  God’s grace outweighs our sin!  His amazing love moves everything for us to be his child.  His plan is simple enough that it won’t fail us.  All we do is cling to his promise.  All we do is hold on tight.  No amount of works on our part matter.  So, we can never be beyond help.  We are never so bad that things are hopeless; we always have hope because everything depends on God and not on us.  His promise, as simple as it is, is all we need.

Gracious Father, in you we have hope, in you we have salvation.  You make it simple so that we may receive from you our promise of eternal life.  Give us the courage to trust and the strength to hold onto your promise.  Move in our lives that we may come to those who are hurting and in need of your grace especially at this time.  Use us to bring your kingdom to those who are desperate and in pain.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

Saturday, May 28, 2022

5-28-2022

 Good Morning!    

         John 14:1; “Don’t be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in me.”

     Do you remember the song by Bobby McFerrin?  It was a catchy little tune that was somewhat infectious.  It was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”  (Do Doot Doot doo da doo) Everyone was humming or singing along as it played on the radio.  It was one of those songs that played in your mind and was usually on your tongue.  It was an inane song.  It said nothing of any value.  The whole song was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

     The really strange thing is that there were people who thought this was an answer to life’s problems; don’t worry just be happy.  The thing about this little song is that it never tells you how to be happy or how to “don’t worry.”  It can be really easy to tell someone this when that person isn’t the one who has anything to worry about.  That is what many think when they listen to the Christians speak of “not worrying;” they think that a comfortable Christian has no business telling me to be happy.  To a certain extent this is true but what needs to be explained is where we get this confidence.  It doesn’t come from a silly thought but from a certain confidence.

    The one thing about this verse that has always intrigued me is that Jesus speaks these words just a few hours before his crucifixion.  He is about to die, and he tells his disciples, “don’t be troubled” or “don’t worry.”  How does he do this?

    As we look at this, we need to remember two things.  First, Jesus is about to die a horrific death, but he has the confidence that there is a greater good to be attained.  This good is our salvation and with that; we receive the promise and the same certainty that Jesus has.  So, we may face some earthly pain.  We may face our own mortality or that of a spouse or other loved one.  We may face a time of failing health.  We may face a job that goes away or moves 500 miles away.  We may face a painful time, but we know that through it all God is with us.  We always have the certainty of the promise of our salvation.  We will face trouble; we will face failures, pain, and ultimately death but we face them with the confidence that our salvation is secure, and we do not have to face these battles alone.

    That is what Jesus’ promise of being “with us always” means.  That is why this promise is so valuable to us.  We are never alone.  We can turn away, but God stays with us giving us the hope for our salvation and the words to remember his love for us as a comfort when times are hard.  God’s grace will always be there for us.  No matter what the battle is, we face it with God’s everlasting promise of his love for us and the promise of our salvation being secure.

Gracious Father, you are ever with us and with that promise we can face life with no fear; we do not have to worry.  You comfort us, you sustain us, and you give us hope.  Guide us by your mercy to be the arms and ears for those who are battling life at this time.  Help us to bring them the hope that you give to us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Friday, May 27, 2022

5-27-2022

 Good Morning!    

          Luke 17:21; “They can’t say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ You see, the kingdom of God is within you.”

    We like to play a lot of games that involve searching for something.  From “Hide and Seek” to board games that involve hidden treasures, we like to look for things.  There aren’t many people who aren’t fascinated by treasure hunting or wonder about buying a metal detector and finding some valuable coin or trinket.  We are an inquisitive species.

    We seek answers to problems, we seek information for the sake of knowing what was going on.  We are always on the lookout for new ideas, new theories, or new thoughts which make us wonder about tomorrow.  We tend to think that we can find the answers to everything and then solve every problem.  But what happens when we can’t?  What happens when events go unexplained or unanswered?  Many people, at this time, decide to blame God or the people who believe in God.

    Do you ever notice, when there is a catastrophe, people often blame God and then go looking for answers in all the wrong places?  When people face struggles in their lives, they often seek out answers from any source they can find.  Then they shout out that they have found the answer, “Here it is!”  We have found the answer to life’s problems; only they haven’t.

    But that doesn’t answer the question that many have and that is “Where is God?”  When there is pain, trouble, or sadness, where is God?  Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask that question, “where is God?”  Where was He when the flooding was going on?  Where was he when the forest fires were burning? Where was he when the gunman opened fire?  Where is God?

    We often struggle with this because when we read the Bible, we see all the extraordinary times that God intervened in man’s existence.  We want that type of experience, we want to say, “Here it is.”  The thing is that God has chosen not to work that way.  He has chosen to work through his Church at this time.  Jesus empowered his Church to forgive sins, to preach repentance, to bring reconciliation to the world; God is in you and has chosen that way to work in the world.  So next time we wonder where God is, he is in us wanting to use us to work his love throughout the world.  Maybe we cannot stop everything that is bad in this world, a sinful and broken creation will exist until Christ will return, but we can offer God’s grace to one person, right now.  It might be your spouse, your child, your neighbor, or even someone you don’t even know.

    God has chosen to dwell in you and to use you as the method that He touches the world.  Next time you think “Where is God?”  He is in you seeking to work his love and grace in this broken world.

Father, we see pain all around us.  Use us as your hands and ears to deliver your love.  Give us the courage to show that you live in us, and we are your people.  Give us the wisdom to reach out to those who hurt the most and give them your grace.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,  

Pastor Bret

Thursday, May 26, 2022

5-26-2022

 Good Morning!    

          Exodus 14:21b; “All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground.”

    Do you remember that song by Simon and Garfunkel called “Sounds of Silence?”  It is a very plaintive song about a person who feels that he is completely isolated from anyone and everyone.  In the process of this event, he feels the cold and damp while seeing people who are talking but he doesn’t hear anything because they are speaking to him.  He feels lost and without hope.

    That is how the Israelites found themselves while they were in captivity in Egypt.  They were isolated from their land and were alone in a foreign land, enslaved by their cruel taskmasters.  They sat in bondage and cried to God to save them.  Even as they prayed, God seemed distant and unhearing.  The Egyptians continued to beat them and crush their spirit, crush their hope.

    There are times in our life when we probably feel the same way.  Perhaps it is waiting for the results from a doctor’s visit.  You know, one of those visits where cancer is still a possibility.  Or maybe even worse is when the doctor just scratches his head and says, “I just don’t know.”  Perhaps your boss keeps talking about “downsizing” or “re-structuring.”  Maybe it’s been more than a year of hearing, “we aren’t hiring right now.”  I visited with a young man whose family just showed him the door, gave him a suitcase, and then closed the door; how far away is God there?  These are but a few examples, you can probably add some of your own.   The thing is God is never far away; we just don’t always see it clearly.

    In our verse, God was at work for the Israelites at a very dark time in their existence.  The only life that they knew was slavery.  Then, miraculously, they were freed by the Egyptian Pharaoh only to have him change his mind and then begin to chase them through the desert.  Maybe you have felt that way.  Some pain just seems to chase after us.  It seems that many of us have some form of an addiction.  It doesn’t have to be to a chemical, like drugs or alcohol, it might be a feeling or an inclination to a mood.  It might be that nagging desire to gossip or envy your neighbor.  Or it might be that constant feeling that, deep down, you don’t think you are good enough.  This can be dark times.

    Yet our verse gives us a clue into our God.  He used the very creation that is his to save his people.  The winds pushed back the sea to form dry land.  The Israelites were saved from the Egyptians and their slavery.  God does the same thing for us; he uses his creation, simple and plain, for our good.  He uses water connected with his Word to cleanse us of our sin and he uses bread and wine tied to his Word to nourish our spirit and to refresh our soul.  Yet he also uses the beauty of a flower or the freshness of a summer rain to give us comfort.  He uses the members of his church to console us as we need.  We don’t always “see” or “feel” God active in our life, but he is.

Father, thank you for the blessing of today and the promise of tomorrow.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

5-26-2022

  Good Morning!    

     Psalm 13:1; “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

    We can add another to the list. Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and now Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. It is sad that cities like this are now going to be remembered for violence and murder. While we have had a string of deadly shootings, it is when children lose their lives that we are most haunted and most grieved. There will be calls for action, calls for justice. The talking empty heads will point their fingers in self-righteous anger at which ever person or group of people they want to vilify and accuse them. Unfortunately, rational talking will not happen just the shrill voice of the mediocre and the pontifications of the ill-informed.

      Yet deep within our hearts, the voice of the faithful cry out to God, “How long? How long will this evil continue? How long, O Lord, how long?” It seems like evil is winning these days. Hatred, anger, vitriol, and divisiveness seem to be the current manner of speech and action. Yet we need to continually return to God’s Word for our hope. For while it seems that the bad guys are winning, they are not. Jesus still reigns. This truth should never leave us. The devil and the world will always try and cloud this from us and it is events like this that cause us to question, that cause us to worry, that cause us to cry, “How long?”

    We need to remember we live in a time when the glory and mercy of God has been reveled to us in the face of Jesus. Yet the ways of God are often times incomprehensible to us in this world and foreign to the world. The world and our sinful nature hates. It despises, it lusts, and it seeks to replace God with a pretender on the throne. So, we as believers experience the dichotomy of both sorrow and joy existing in our hearts at the same time. We know the joy of salvation, yet we experience the pain of a sinful broken world. We often feel like God has abandoned us because we do not understand.

    Yet God does not call us to understand, He calls us to live by faith. Even when we feel abandoned, we are not. God speaks to us through His Word and Spirit and even when we cry out in our sorrow, “How long?” We can also confidently pray like Paul, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction” (2 Cor. 1:3&4).

    As people of faith, we continue to pray, “How long, O Lord, how long?” But we pray with the confidence of the hope of the resurrection that God has and will deal with us bountifully. His mercy endures forever.

Father, our cry of how long ascends to You as we seek Your comfort at this time. Help us to trust in Your eternal love and mercy. And while we see things, we cannot comprehend help us to find comfort in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Send us Your Spirit of hope that we may ever cling to You. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

5-24-2022

 Good Morning!

     Psalm 50:15; “Call on me in times of trouble.  I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”

    I still marvel at my smartphone.  I once read where there are more computer capabilities in our smartphone then in the Apollo rocket that went to the moon.  I keep having people tell me how your phone can do everything for you.  You just need get an “app” for it.  I heard on the radio the other day that there is an “app” that will allow your phone to help diagnose skin cancer.  All you do is take a picture of the mole or spot on your skin and with this “app” it will tell you if it is malignant or not. 

    There are apps for the weather, for the stock or commodity markets, for the news, there are apps to allow you to set your thermostat or lights in your house when you are away, or any one of literally thousands of different app that can make your smartphone do incredible things.  Some of the apps are free and some are very expensive.  Yet you need to have the app on your smartphone in order to get the benefit of the app.  You also need to learn how to use the app properly and you need to be sure that the phone you have has the necessary add-ons in order to make it work as well.  They are nice to have but they can be difficult to handle especially when the “one size fits all” app doesn’t fit your phone.  Or you need an upgrade in either your phone or your service plan.  I really get a headache about the time that Jamie (my phone guru salesperson) tries to explain this. 

    The thing about the apps is that you have to put them on your phone, and you often have to pay for them.  The other thing is that when you really need them; the best you can do is guess if they will actually work.  Those are things that we do not have to do with prayer.  Prayer exists for you from the moment that you are given into faith.  God has promised to hear the call of his children.  We don’t have to buy anything or even really understand how it works.  It just works!!  Prayers to God get results!!  The results may not be what we think we want but honest prayers get results.  The results aren’t always a visible effect but are often a spiritual effect.  We may not be healed of our pain, but God gives us the peace to deal with it and the hope of our salvation.  Prayer affects the way you live but it also effects the way you live.  A true personal prayer life effects or changes the way you view life, the way you experience life and even the outcome of your life. 

    Prayer gives you the constant interaction with God; along with a devotional time you have the conversation time with God.  We listen to him through his Word, and we speak to him through our prayers and all without an app!

Dearest Father, you encourage us to call upon you for you give us the hope and peace that we so desperately seek.  Give us the wisdom to bring all things to you that we may find in you all that we need.  Be with those who are at greatest need of your peace.  Lead them to call to you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Monday, May 23, 2022

5-23-2022

 

Good Morning!

         Romans 3:28; “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

          I remember a conversation that I had with a non-churchgoer.  She told me that she would never go to that church after all it was full of hypocrites!!  My initial reaction was to say to her, “well thank you for not being one more in there.” But the Spirit held my tongue and I just smiled.  I wanted to say something but for the life of me I couldn’t think of anything; perhaps this has happened to you as well.

    It seems that we hear comments like this often.  We hear often how the church, and its members are judgmental, hypocritical, greedy, self-serving and a bunch of other things.  At times it may seem that those charges are right.  Yet from my standpoint, most of the people that I talk to in the church have faith.  They believe that Jesus died for their sins and hold onto that truth.  So, the church is made up, mostly of believers.  So why does the church so often trip over its own feet and make mistakes? 

    The reason is that the church is made up of sinners; people who are fallible, who make errors, who make bad decisions, who cannot see into the future and go the wrong direction; in other words, the church is made up of people like you and me.  We are redeemed by God, but we continue to sin.  There is a Latin phrase to explain this; it is “simul justus et peccator.”  This means that you are, at the exact same time, justified and still a sinner.

     We are justified by faith through God’s grace.  We don’t work to earn it.  So, when we look at the church each person is this type of person.  We are God’s children, and it is through us that God chooses to work in the world.  Yet at the same time we are sinners; we say callous things, we are jealous of other’s success, we tend to look out for ourselves; we are sinners.  We are an imperfect people working in a broken creation; we are probably going to make mistakes but who we are; we are the redeemed children of God.  We will make mistakes so if we go in realizing this; that perfection here on this earth will not occur, then we can go forward trusting in God for guidance.

    We don’t need to defend the church. If someone tells you that the church is full of sinners; tell them,” Yes, that is the complete truth!!”  We are not the church because we are perfect; we are the church because we are the redeemed; we are the justified.  We are declared holy by God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice.  So, as you go forward today; know that you probably will sin.  You probably don’t want to, but you probably will.  Know for certain that you are a redeemed child of God; you are justified by faith.

Dearest Father, we are weak, yet you build us up and send us out as your church.  You move through this world using the weak and the feeble.  Through this you show your grace to us and to the world.  Give us the certainty to trust in your mercy to keep us close to you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Sunday, May 22, 2022

5-22-2022

 Good Morning!

     Isaiah 43:6-7; “I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not keep them.”  Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth.  Bring everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

    It seems that each generation tries to make a movie that answers the age-old question about the meaning of life.  Why are we here?  One generation watched “2001: A Space Odyssey” another one watched “The Matrix”.  Both are very deep and require a serious watching.  There are other movies and other stories.  Many offer some interesting views; some offer whimsical views and some offer some deep and insightful views.  But the question remains, why are we here?

    Most people, at one time or another, ask themselves this question.  Some go on long and intense personal quests to determine this.  There was a time, about when I was in college, that deep introspective meditation was supposed to “give you the answer.”  I remember a time in a psychology class when the instructor tried it.  One of the wags in class said the only he found was lint in his belly button.  The professor was flustered, the class erupted, and we never tried it again. 

    The problem with this is that many presume that the question, “why am I here?” is a question that is subjective and dependent upon the individual.  While this may please our sinful nature, it goes against God’s plan and design.  God’s plan for you is to bring him glory in all that we do.  This includes your worship/devotional life, you family life, your interaction with your fellow believers and with those unbelievers.  Every action we take should bring God glory.  This is where we find our purpose in life, this is where we find the contentment in our life, it is where we find our peace.

    It is when we seek our own glory, our own selfish desires, our own foolishness that we scatter before God.  This is what causes us to run from God.  Yet God in his mercy calls brings us back from the four corners of the world to be his family.  It doesn’t matter what you were, what sins you committed, what caused you to run to the furthest corners of the world; God calls you back.  He calls you by name to be his own redeemed children.  That is who you are, a redeemed child of God. 

     The “why” you are here is to bring glory to God by living the life that he has given to you, to walk in the paths and do the good works which he lays out for you.  This is our purpose; to live in God’s presence bringing him glory and giving us contentment.

Dearest Father, you bring us in from the furthest corners of the world and reclaim us as your people and children.  Give us the strength to see your will is our best and only hope.  Keep us close to you that we may be safe in your arms.  We ask that you especially call those brothers and sisters who are still at the ends of the earth, who are lost and struggling.  Bring them back to your grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

Saturday, May 21, 2022

5-21-2022

 Good Morning!

    Acts 7:56; “And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

    It is a common event. When someone comes into a room, you rise up and greet them. It is a sign of respect, honor, and happiness. We show respect by rising up and stepping toward them and greeting them. We show them honor. By rising, we are also offering them our seat. We also show our happiness as we rise and go and greet them as they enter. These are a few reasons that we stand when someone comes into a room.

    Our verse is a rare one. This is the only place in Scriptures where Jesus is described as “standing” at the right hand of God. Usually, he is “seated” at the right hand of God. So what does this mean?  When Jesus is seated it is as the one who has the power and authority. As Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, he rules. He rules with all the power, majesty, and authority that God the Father bestows on him. Remember, Jesus is the Word, and it is by the Word that all was created and is sustained. It is from this seat of power and authority that Jesus rules the universe. He is the King, and the king never has to stand when someone enters; the king remains seated and the person who enters comes and bows before the king. So why does Jesus stand in our verse?

    This verse is part of the story about the stoning of Stephen. As Stephen is dying, he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Why? Perhaps because the King was getting up to welcome home one of his blessed children. Jesus stood to welcome Stephen home. Isn’t that an amazing thought? The King of kings and Lord of lords stands and comes and welcomes the believer home. Think of how great of love this is, the King rises up and greets the beloved child as he comes home.

    So how does that impact you, right now? Just think, if Jesus loves us enough to get excited when we get to heaven; think how much he loves us right now! As He anxiously awaits our arrival, He watches over us. He guides us, guards us, comforts us, and gives us the certainty of hope. He wants us to succeed in this life, to make it to our eternal perfect life. He wants us to live the life which we are designed to live, a life of love and contentment. He offers us peace.

     We can live our life with the full knowledge that Jesus is not only waiting for us but is anxiously waiting, excited for our arrival. This love permeates all of our life. Jesus eagerly awaits our arrival. His love moves through all of our life and all of our actions. He waits for you with his love.

    Dearest Jesus, in your great love for us you are eager to greet us. Give us the faith to trust in your mercy to sustain us, to trust in your grace to keep us strong. Gather us around your throne and keep us safe. Be with those who are lost and fail to see your love in their life. Use us to bring your love to them. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

Friday, May 20, 2022

5-20-2022

Good Morning!

Isaiah 53:3;” He was despised and rejected by people. He was a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. He was despised like one from whom people turn their faces, and we didn’t consider him to be worth anything.”

    I was listening to some news program yesterday and I heard that phrase again; you remember the phrase from the height of the 2008 economic meltdown- vulnerable. I never remember that word being used in any business or economics class I took in college, but I hear all the time now; this bank or business is vulnerable. I think it is a polite way to say the bank or business is about to go “toes up”.

     Vulnerable is a very inclusive word. If the star player of a team has to miss a game; it is said to be vulnerable. If a boxer has broken ribs during a boxing match; that side is vulnerable. If an army doesn’t have enough troops in one part of a battlefield; it is vulnerable. People are vulnerable.

    We usually say someone is vulnerable if there is a chance that their feelings might get hurt or they might experience some emotional pain. It is as if being exposed makes you somehow weak. That is usually how we view vulnerable; you are weak. Actually, we as Christians, should view being vulnerable in a different light. For us, being vulnerable means that we have the love of Christ in our heart.

    As we look at our verse, Jesus was definitely vulnerable; he was capable of being hurt. He came to the world to offer redemption and forgiveness. He just laid it out there for us and how did the world respond- with rejection, with anger, with violence, with complete hatred. Yet Jesus, in his love, endured it for us out of love. This is what true love is about; it is loving those who are viewed as unlovable. It might be the man who sexually assaulted his children, or the mother who drowned her children, or the alcoholic who finally killed someone in a drunken car crash. How do we love them? Showing any form of compassion for them would make us vulnerable; vulnerable to the righteous indignation of those who see the law and the law only.

    In God’s grace, these are offered forgiveness. In God’s grace, we are offered forgiveness. “Well, I’m not like them!”  Yeah, we are we rejected Jesus because we didn’t consider him worthy.  We didn’t love as he first loved us. It is tough. How do you love “monsters”? You hate the sin, just as God does, but you love and forgive the sinner, just as God does. Does this make us vulnerable? Of course, it does, but we are God’s redeemed children we have received far more mercy than we have ever deserved, and we have a chance to show some mercy to those around us. Maybe not a murder but how about the kid that everyone makes fun of, how about the old couple who seem to have little to live on, how about the newly divorced mother or father, how about the guy who lives in the nursing home far from his family? There are many ways to show God’s love, all make us vulnerable but all show love.

Dear Jesus, you are vulnerable, make us vulnerable as well. Move us to love the unloved and to bring hope to the lost. In your precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret