8-31-2022

 

Good Morning All,

             Matthew 18:28; “But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’”

    Most of us have heard the admonition “if it sounds too good to be true; it probably is.”  Most of us, if we know, would not buy something that was “too cheap.”  If someone offered to sell you a house for half of what the other houses in the areas sell for, you would ask “what’s wrong with it?”  It would be the same with a car, a boat, just about anything we buy we usually try to follow the maxim “If it is too good to be true, then it must be.”  But what happens if it really is a good deal?  Do we trust it, or do we think that somewhere there is a catch?

    I wonder sometimes if this unforgiving servant thought this was too good to be true.  When you look at the amounts owed, they are absurd.  A talent was equal to what an average worker would earn in twenty years.  This man owed 10,000 talents or roughly the sum of money an average worker would earn in 200,000 years.  A denarius was equal to one day’s pay.  So, the second man owed about 3 months’ worth of wages.  We often make the same accusation of the unforgiving servant; he should have been so grateful for his forgiveness that he would readily forgive his neighbor the paltry sum he owed but he does not.  Maybe he thought that the king would wake up one day and realize how much he forgave and change his mind.  He owes the king and usually the king can change the rules or the deal whenever he feels like it.  So, the unforgiving servant simply thought he had received a deal that was too good to be true, so he went out and began to collect money owed to him.  He might have done this in order to get some money together so he would have a little something to bargain with the king.  He could pay a little as a show of good faith and buy some time.  He might have been a bargaining and a practical man, and he just couldn’t fathom someone forgiving that much debt.

    We go through life doing the same thing.  We don’t fully trust God’s great promise.  We listen as the devil tells us that when knowledge of our sins gets out and the people know who we are and what we have done; God will reject us and withdraw his grace.  This is why we are slow to forgive; deep down we do not feel forgiven.

    Yet this is one case where it is not too good to be true.  God’s love leads him to forgive the sins of the ones whom he loves.  We have complete forgiveness, and we need to completely trust his love and mercy.  This is why Jesus willingly came to earth and to die for us; it is because of his love and because of this love we can forgive others who harm us.  God’s love moves mountains for us.  It empowers us to forgive and to free us from the devil’s control.

Father, your love for me is beyond my understanding.  Give me the strength to fully grasp your mercy.  Give me the power to live my life as fully forgiven.  Give me the power to fully forgive.  Send your Spirit that I might be your child and show your love to those around me.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

 

8-30-2022

Good Morning All,

                1 Corinthians 15:57; “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

   It is always an exciting and electric time during a ballgame, especially the championship game.  It is that moment, late in the game, when the victory is assured.  During a football game it is when the losing team has to surrender possession of the ball and they have no timeouts remaining to stop the clock.  During a basketball game it is when the point difference is too great for the time left to play.  During a baseball game it is when the closer pitcher comes in and gets each successive batter out with little effort exerted.  You can feel the intensity in the crowd.

    It starts off with a low rumble and slowly grows louder.  Those who are there to cheer on the victorious team begin to stand and yell and chant out the superior qualities of their team.  With each passing second the excitement builds.  It builds in the fans; it builds in the players; it even begins to show in the coaches.  Everyone begins to display their exuberance.  The fans begin to yell louder and louder.  They begin to jump and to wave their arms in total joy.  The players begin to hug each other and pat each other on the back.  They begin to wave at the crowd and make their interactions with the crowd more boisterous.  The coach will either take off the headset he has been wearing all game or simply sit back and watch with a smile on his face.  The victory is assured, and it is only a few moments away.

    We as the church should be at this same fervor pitch.  The victory is at hand, and it is secured.  It is a time when we should be standing and cheering and celebrating our victory over the devil, over the world and over death.  We have been given the victor’s crown and, with it, we have eternal life.  We really are just running out the clock.  The devil and his allies cannot defeat us.  Their loss was guaranteed on Calvary, and it was signified to the world when the tomb was left empty.  The victory is ours so why are we so muted in our response?

    Why do we sit back and waver as the world charges forward?  Why do we act as if the world and the devil are winning?  We can and should go forth with all boldness and with all confidence.  We can go forth and go about reclaiming the broken ones that are still out there in the world.  We can boldly go forth and seek out the hurting and the lost and tell them of the victory that is ours, already assured by the death and resurrection of Jesus.  We are the champions, guaranteed by God through his promise.  We are the victors delivered by the blood of Jesus.  We have the victory now we can go and live like champions!

Father, lead me in the paths of your righteousness.  Lead me to live as the victor of this life.  You have given your Son to be my Savior; give me the strength to live in this new life.  Help me to see the needs of others and let me be your face to show them your mercy.  Lead me to the paths of the people who need me and lead those people to my path that I need.  In your mercy, lift us up.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-29-2022

Good Morning All,

            Acts 1:9; “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

   “And He ascended into heaven.”  We say it every time we say the Creed; but do we think about it as we say it?  Or are we like the little girl who told her Sunday School teacher that she wanted to be like Andy.  The teacher, somewhat puzzled, asked “Andy who?”  The little girl responded the Andy that ascended to heaven.  We don’t think about the Ascension much, it falls on a Thursday, so it pretty much gets lost.  Yet it has tremendous significance in our life even today.

    Just think of the poor disciples.  They are getting to the end of the most incredible 2 months in the history of the world.  First, they experience the pain at the death of Jesus.  They spend a couple of days in total and abject sorrow.  They are afraid that the Jews will come for them next, and they do not know where to turn.  Suddenly, early in the morning of the first day of the week, they are told that Jesus is alive and wants to talk to them.  Later that evening, Jesus appears and speaks to them and over the next forty days; he appears to them, eats with them, blesses them, and teaches them the meaning of Scriptures and how they apply to Jesus. Now at the end of that forty-day time period everything is coming to a culmination.  Jesus guides them out to a hilltop and there gives one last admonition, a blessing and then ascends into heaven.  It is here that Jesus reigns.

    In the Creed we say that Jesus “sits at the right hand of the Father.”  This is a figurative term which means that the power and the authority of the Father are exercised by Jesus.  This is where we get the phrase “right hand man.”  So, we have Jesus, our Lord and Savior at the right hand of God protecting his church from the onslaughts of the devil and the world.  We will always be safe within the body of Christ regardless of what the world throws at us; the victory is ours.

    It also means that Jesus is there, in heaven, present before the heavenly throne of the Father.  He is there pleading for us, interceding for us as our beloved priest.  Jesus is before God praying for you, praying for your needs, and praying for your safety in this world of troubles.  As the Easter hymn says, “what comfort this sweet sentence gives!”

    So, we have Jesus, ascended into heaven praying for us and then exercising the very power needed to protect us.  We are his and he defends us with his mighty and righteous arm.  We have hope that can withstand all that we face in this life.  Jesus, our protector, and defender, guards us with his Spirit as we travel through this life.  Rest in his unfailing love.

Gracious Lord Jesus, through your death and resurrection we have hope and through your ascension we have power to withstand all that the devil throws at us.  We have nothing to fear because of your tender mercy which upholds and sustains us.  Be with those who are battling the devil at this time.  Free them from his attacks and give to them the peace that only you can give.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

8-28-2022

Good Morning All,

           Luke 11:9; “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

     If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  That is an adage that we have been taught since we were very young.  It is meant to imply that we should not give up easily.  We should persevere in our struggle, and we should get back up if we are knocked down (another old adage).  We, especially in the United States, have been told over and over that, with enough hard work, we can succeed at anything.  Yet many of us do not proceed this way in our prayer life; many use the “one and done” method and it often starts with the “pony prayer”

    Most of us as a child said the “pony prayer.”  You know, “Dear God send me a pony. Amen.”  We prayed it and: no pony.  Now what?  Do you try again or do you walk away certain that this “prayer stuff” is for the birds.  This is one place where our verse can play a part.

    As we look at our verse, the meaning changes a little when we see that the phrasing in the original Greek puts a little different spin on it.  We read, “ask,” “seek,” “knock” and that is as far as we go.  Yet originally, it meant to continue what you are doing so it really says, “keep asking,” “keep seeking,” and “keep praying.”  It adds the quality of being persistent in our prayer life.  We are not to give it the old once over, but we are to continue to pray and not give up.  We are to be persistent in our prayers but not for the reason that many assume.  Our prayers do not “wear God down” rather our persistent prayers wear us down and God uses our prayers, our earnest heartfelt prayers, to draw us closer to him.  Prayer is about us talking to God; yet God uses true prayer to draw us closer to him and persistent prayer does just that.

   So, pray to God and ask for a better life and keep asking, in our prayers we will soon find that, perhaps, what we seek is not that good for us.  Perhaps we will realize where our true happiness and contentment lies.  We keep asking and God answers us.  The answer may be “yes;” it may be “no,” or it may be “not now,” but we get an answer, and it will always be the answer that points to our best interests.  God is always faithful, and we can find comfort in that fact.  He wants us to have life and to have it abundantly.  He will always answer our prayers.

   So, keep praying and keep listening to what God is saying to you through his Word.  Keep up this “holy conversation” and God will use it to draw you closer to him and to strengthen your faith.  Don’t stop asking God will answer.

Father of all mercy, your mercies are new to us each day and they roll over us like a river.  Strengthen our search, Lord.  Move us by you r Spirit that we keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. Draw us closer to you that we may be strengthened in our faith and trusting you to always answer our prayer.  Bring comfort to those who are in pain or sorrow.  Give them your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-27-2022

Good Morning All,

       Isaiah 25:6; “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”

    We all have one or at least had one; maybe you are becoming one.  You may even be a full-fledged member- “the grandma who doesn’t know ‘whoa.’”  You know the type; you never leave the table without at least three helpings of everything.  If you pause to catch your breath, they ask, with a very pained look, “You’re not done yet, are you?”  Whatever you do; don’t tell them that you are done.  No one gets to be done.  If you tell them that you liked something; they will make a whole another batch and send it home with you.  You will NOT leave their home empty-handed; you will take the leftovers even some food that didn’t make it to the table because there wasn’t room for it.  As you leave the house, you are pretty sure you will not eat this coming week. 

    The generosity of this type of grandma is incredible.  Many have one simple trait.  They love to cook.  You add in the factor that they love the people that they are cooking for, and the combination makes for plates that will never hold the portions.  While they are the subject of family jokes and quibbles; nobody misses a meal!  The food, the fellowship and the love that is exhibited by the host draws us back again and again. 

    Our heavenly Father engages us in much the same fashion.  We see God’s extravagance, not so much in a meal beyond measure, but in the depth of his grace.  God forgives our sins, and he is not stingy!  He pours it on; he ladles it on; he slathers us with his mercy.  He does not hold back.  He forgives and forgives, and he forgives us with grace that isn’t even on the plate yet!  No matter, what we have done; it is in the past.  The feast waits for us.

    While God does promise to provide for our physical needs, it is the forgiveness of our sins which shows us the height and depth of God’s grace.  His love overflows even the most wretched of sinners.  He is not stingy with his mercy; it is poured out on us with the largest ladle imaginable.  He serves up forgiveness and quenches our desire for healing and he does it in the richest and most precious method possible; he does it with the sacrifice of his only Son.  Through this all availing action, through the death of Jesus which paid all the price of our sin, God chooses to nourish us and to bring us back into his loving family and to live graciously in his kingdom.  Feast on God’s mercy and taste the richness of his love.  Taste and see that it is good.

Father of all good things, you feed us with the luxury of your incredible love.  In you we feast on the richness of your grace.  We never cease to be in awe of your love.  Be with those who hunger for your healing.  Be with those who are starving because of sin.  Send your Spirit that they may know you and know of your forgiveness.  Heal them with your touch; feed their souls.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-26-2022

Good Morning All,

           Acts 10:44; “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.”

      I was watching a video the other day that showed a variety of pranks being played on people.  Many of these involved water being dumped on someone in many different ways.  Some were using buckets that tipped off of door frames.  Some were buckets of water being poured out of the second or third story of a building.  One involved a huge water balloon that completely drenched the man and his friend who was standing beside him.  It was funny to watch, probably more so because I wasn’t the one getting wet.

    Yet if we keep that image, the image of a bucket of water being poured out onto a person and the person being completely drenched by the water, this is a good image of how the Spirit works in our life.  First, we want to see how, when the person gets drenched, it is someone else who does the drenching.  The recipient just stands there and gets wet.  He doesn’t go door to door and asks, “Can you get me wet?”  That would probably get him a quick trip to the local police department.  No, it can be somewhat more unexpected.

    The Spirit of God goes out from wherever the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus, and his saving sacrifice, is preached.  The Spirit enters the hearts of those who hear the Word.  In the hearts of those listeners, the Spirit begins the flame of faith.  Now in some, the flame is blown out and rejected by the listener.  Yet in some, the flame takes hold.  Faith grows as the listener clings back to this wonderful promise from God.  Faith grows because the Word is preached and as the Word is sent out into the world; God has declared that it will not return empty.  It will fulfill its task either to condemn or to bring salvation.

    All believers have had the Spirit fall on them.  For many, it was a soft landing.  We grew up in the church, guided by faithful parents and the message of God’s salvation grew in our hearts and our lives.  Some came to have the Spirit dump fully and dramatically on them.  Perhaps you remember the story of the young man who finally heard the story of God’s grace while he was lying on the floor of the Hughes county jail.  For some it is dramatic and for some it is a calmer ride but for all the Spirit is poured on you; it falls on you because of God’s love for you.  As we get wet from it, we can run away and try to dry out or we can rest in the cooling and refreshing effect that it would have on a hot summer’s day.  God pours his Spirit on us through his Word; we can relish it or reject it.  We can cling to it and have it as our source of comfort and hope or we can walk away and try it on our own.  Clinging to God’s grace through the faith which he instills is the method to live in his peace; choose wisely.

Father, you pour your Spirit on us so that we might be filled with your Word and enliven with your faith.  Fan the flames of the spark that you kindle.  Build us up so that we may grow closer to you.  Build us up so that we may always trust you.  Continue to fan the spark that exists in those who are hurting now.  Send them your healing.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

8-25-2022

Good Morning All,

         Acts 1:8; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

     This is one of the “biggies” in the Bible.  This is one of those verses that have a great impact on what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  “You will be my witnesses;” that is a powerful statement.  It can be a statement that brings out fear in many a person’s heart.  It beings fear, because often times we have visions of traveling to some far-off distant land and becoming a missionary.  That thought can terrify most of us.  I cannot count the number of people who have asked me, “How do you stand up in front of people and talk the way you do?  I could never do that in a million years.”  Yet Jesus tells us to be his witnesses; how?

    That is a question that has been around for a long time.  Many people have always felt inadequate in being witnesses.  They look at the lack of education, their fear of speaking in public, their lack of understanding or of insight and many other reasons for shying away.  It was common for the “common” man to feel completely unable to be a witness and therefore, someone who falls far short of what Jesus desires from us.  Yet Luther saw it differently and saw within the Scriptures a different truth than what was being expressed at the time.

    Yet Luther saw that the Bible spoke to all people.  It speaks to the clergy, to the farmer, to the slave, to the slave owner to the widow and to the married and the unmarried and to everyone.  In fact, Scripture not only speaks to the person, but it actually speaks to the situation that the person finds himself in.  Luther called this idea “vocations.”  It is where we are at any given point in time.  For example, I am a son, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a father-in-law, a brother, a pastor, a neighbor and so on.  But I can also find myself as a customer in line, a driver in heavy traffic, someone who has been put on hold or any one of a hundred different situations.  In each and every one, I can witness to my faith in Jesus.

    A few weeks ago, I was in the checkout line at our local Walmart.  The person ahead of me was incredibly rude to the poor young clerk and berated her the whole time she was there.  This person took an inordinate amount of time to check out and left verbally assaulting the young lady.  When it was my turn to check out, the young clerk apologized to the delay.  Now I could have picked up where the other one left off or I could witness to my faith and tell her that I understood it wasn’t her fault and that I was sorry she had to endure that from the other person.  Fortunately, the Spirit moved the second choice and a young lady’s heart was lifted.  Did she get a huge testimonial?  No, but she did receive compassion and those behind me in line did as well and all who commented said the same thing and a little mercy was shared by all.

Lord Jesus, you call us to be witnesses.  Move us by your Spirit to see that every event in our life is an opportunity to share your love and to have compassion.  The world knows neither; let your light shine through us as we spread the kingdom of God to all who we meet this day.  Move us to have compassion on all.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

8-24-2022

Good Morning All,

                Psalm 23:1; “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

There is a difference in the way we think and the way we should proceed.  Some think one path or method is correct while someone else has a different view.  One example is in how we view the Word of God.  Some see it as a static monograph which only delivers information and thus requires human influence.  Others see the Word of God as alive, active, and dynamic.  They recognize it as the creative and re-creative power of God.  Another difference is that some see the Bible as a book of anecdotal information which gives good advice.  Others read it in a different light.  They read it as God speaking to them in a way that will give them comfort, guidance and hope for their life.  They see a difference in just memorizing the Bible for advice and living in a biblical context and understanding.  There is a difference between believing that God’s Word is right and knowing that it is true. 

   So, in order to follow this line of thought we look at a very familiar verse from the Bible.  The 23^rd Psalm is among the most read, most memorized, and most familiar portion of the Bible.  It is only rivalled by the birth account of Jesus, the Feeding of the 5000, the parable of the Prodigal Son and the resurrection accounts.  Yet some look at this from an entirely spiritual event. They see it as Jesus being this other-worldly guidance program that will provide for them in the afterlife.  They think that all they have to do is to endure this life and, after they die, everything will be wonderful, and they are right to a point.  Everything will be wonderful when we live with Christ.

    Yet this psalm, especially this verse, tells us so much more.  “I shall not want.”  I shall not want for guidance in this life.  God has a plan for you.  He has a plan to prosper you.  We need to listen and more importantly to hear what he is saying and then follow his will.

    I shall not want for renewal.  I am continually renewed, and this occurs from the inside out.  It begins with God’s Spirit which dwells within us and seeks to renew us to be new creations in Christ.  This occurs on a continual basis as the active Word of God re-creates us every moment of ever repentant moment.

    I shall not want for courage.  This is especially true as the world bombards us with negative and divisive attacks.  The courage to love ourselves is a vital element for our survival here in this life.  Jesus died for you because he loves you.   You are valued by God, and you should value yourself.

    I shall not want for joy.  God has promised to bathe us in the oil of joy as he fills our table and an overflowing cup.  Having joy is one of the surest methods of knowing God’s presence.  Through our total surrender to Jesus, we will we know his will for us in this life as well as the next.

Gracious Lord, in you we have no wants.  All our needs are met by your loving providence. Guide us by your Spirit and give us peace, joy, and the certainty of hope that you desire us to have.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

8-23-2022

Good Morning All,

      Matthew 6:26; “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

      If you were walking down the street and you saw a penny on the sidewalk; would you stop and pick it up?  Most probably wouldn’t but at what amount would you, a dime, a quarter or does it have to be paper money before you even look?  As I thought about this; I realized how much my actions depend on the circumstances.  If I am in a hurry, I probably wouldn’t even see the penny. 

    If I am not in a hurry, it would depend on the crowd.  If it were crowded, I probably wouldn’t stop to pick it up. I would just keep moving; it is just a penny After all, it is just a penny, and I am too busy and too important to be bothered by them.  I even usually leave them at the counter when I buy something; who really wants to bother with them anyway?

    There are times when I feel like that penny on the sidewalk.  Nobody bothers to pick me up.  Sometimes I get stepped on or worse.  I just lay there not worth the effort to bother with.  My fate as a penny is probably just to be swept into the storm drain during one of the sweeping scenarios that occur in a city.  I feel that way when it feels like I am alone.  There is so much to do, and it feels like more just keeps getting piled on.  I feel the weight of the world and I am left alone; the penny that no one will pick up.  Maybe if I were a quarter, I would be more important and someone, anyone, would pick me up.  Maybe if I were shiny and new, I could catch someone’s eye, but I am old and dull and a little beat up by the way I have been used through the years.  There are times when I feel like that penny; perhaps you do as well.

     The cares of the world, the weight thrown upon us can be unbearable.  Maybe someone has abandoned you, a parent, a spouse or some other loved one.  You just weren’t worth the effort to them; you were only a penny that they wouldn’t pick up.  Maybe your job decided that you weren’t worth keeping.  Maybe it feels like the world has left you behind.  The technology is past you, and you can’t afford it anyway.  Your friends speak of trips to the Bahamas or Mexico, and you can’t begin to afford that.  You feel like a penny, left on the sidewalk, waiting to be swept into the sewers.

    God sees you and knows that you are worth picking up.  God sent Jesus to rescue you, from the streets, even from the very sewer where you ended up.  Jesus reached down and picked you up and claimed you as his.  He claimed you as his own because he values you.  He was not too busy or too embarrassed to pick you up.  You have immense value to him, and you always will.  You have enough value that he sent his Son to die for you.  He will never abandon you or leave you to bear the pain of this world by yourself.  His love for you lifts you up and gives you peace.  He gives you hope.

Father, you sent Jesus to pick me up from the sorrows and pain of the sewers that was my fate but now I wait for his return so that I may have eternal life with him forever.  Guard me until that day.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.  

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-22-2022

Good Morning All,

              John 11: 25-26; “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

    “KISS.”  This is the mantra of every single speech teacher I have ever dealt with at any level of learning.  My first English teacher in high school who taught us “Speech I” emphasized the “KISS” method.  She reiterated it in “Speech II.”  When I got to college it was again reinforced as the preferred method of public speaking “KISS.”  Even when I took “Sermon I” and “Sermon II” it was “KISS.” “KISS;” Keep It Short and Simple.  This is how the current thought in public speaking is going.  The average attention span is shrinking to just a few seconds and then you need to change something; like the pitch or tempo of your voice, move around, use video or audio but do something different or you will lose your listener.  “KISS” 

    When Lazarus died and Jesus was coming to the family, Martha met him on the road.  Jesus spoke to her in a very simple fashion, simple and direct.  He made the statement of faith to Martha and then asked her the simple question, “Do you believe this?”  The statement of belief is short and simple; “if you believe you will live.”  This is pretty straight forward and simple enough for anyone to understand.

    Many of the different religions around the world and throughout time require long and drawn-out rituals and rites.  Some are deadly, like human sacrifices, some are painful, some are expensive, some take years to accomplish.  Manmade teachings are always complicated and confusing; God keeps it simple; “Do you believe?”  Do you believe that when Jesus died on the cross; his death paid for your sins?  Do you trust God when he says that this payment is enough?  Do you believe?  Do you believe that you are forgiven?

    These are easy questions, but the devil does his best to complicate them.  He wants you to think through and try to make God’s way to fit into your logic and your motives.  Our old sinful nature gets in the way and always wants there to be something harder.  This seems too easy; there must be a catch; nothing is ever freely given; somewhere there is a price to pay.  Well, there is a price, but Jesus paid it.  He paid our debt and then turned around and gave it to you because he loves you.  “Do you believe?”  Because when we believe, we trust.  Because when we believe, we grab hold of God’s promise and cling tightly to them.  We can find our comfort in the certainty of his love for us.  Faith can give us a refuge from the sorrows of this life and a hope for a better tomorrow; do you believe?

Father, I believe.  I believe that Jesus died and rose again and that this is sufficient to pay for my sins.  Keep me strong in this faith.  Father, I believe that your Holy Spirit is with me to go with me and walk with me on my journey in this life.  Father, I believe that Jesus will come again to complete what he has started and end all the pain and sorrows of this world.  Father, I believe in your love.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen and living savior I pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

8-21-2022

Good Morning All,

                    Psalm 56:3; “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you”

     “FAIL;” it is an internet sensation.  It shows pictures photographed at just the right time to show someone having a little misfortune.  It might show a person walking down the street being splashed by a passing car.  It might show a person slipping and falling while carrying cake.  It might be the sign that is misspelled.  There are limitless options to this viewing.  Some are more painful than others, some are funny; some are cruel, but comedy is often in the eye of the beholder. We can see failure everywhere we look; often we feel it our own lives.

    Perhaps you feel that you could sum up your life in that one word; “FAIL.”  There are many people who do feel that way.  Does your mind swirl with thoughts of inadequacies and confusion?  Do you look at what is going on in your life and, according to your measurement, it failed?  “What did I do wrong?”  “Maybe I simply cannot do this; or anything right!”   I remember dealing with a preacher who would plan an event for his church.  He would spend months working on it.  He would totally immerse himself in the project, getting very excited about it.  Soon his expectations about the event began to climb.  He was expecting hundreds.  When the event occurred, there were only a few more than the 80 members who usually showed up.  To him, it was a colossal failure.

   Maybe you do that as well.  Maybe you are the parent who feels they have failed if your child isn’t a straight “A” student.  Maybe you are the woman whose house isn’t as clean as you would like it, with three kids, a dog, and a fulltime job.  The people on TV get it done; why can’t I?  Maybe you’re the dad that can’t get to your son’s game this week while everyone else does and you haven’t called your mother in two weeks but then you will only hear about your perfect sister.  The world seems to define you as a failure and often times; you are your worst judge.

    You are not alone in this feeling.  The devil does his best to make sure you know of all your inadequacies.  He wants you to always remember those times when you came up short.  He wants you to think that God will view you in the same light, as a failure.  Yet God does not view you as a failure.  He views you as a parent views his child.  He views you through the eyes of love; a perfect love that knows no bounds or limits.  He loves you and then tells you to trust in that love.  We can be confident of God’s mercy for us.  When we think of confident, we should think in terms of "set in place, make secure, to be made ready, be attached" like an anchor in a storm.  When we fear, whether it is life, death, failure, rejection or loneliness, God is there to comfort us and to give us hope for a certain tomorrow living in his grace.  Trust in his promises; he has never failed you.

Father, your mercies are new every day.  Give me courage to see that, because of Jesus, I am not a failure.  Give me wisdom to hold onto the fact that I am your redeemed, beloved child.  In your hands we are safe and secure.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

8-20-2022

Good Morning All,

          Matthew 14: 16-17; “But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.”  They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”

    So, are you prepared?  Are you prepared for the unexpected?  I can remember as a kid that, more often than not, my mom would keep a John Morrell ‘easy cut’ ham in the freezer.  That way, if company showed up on day, she could feed them.  It might have been baked or sliced and fried or just sliced for sandwiches, but she could always feed them ham.  She was always ready to feed someone who showed up at dinner or suppertime.  She loved it so you usually had enough “reserve resources” to manage a houseful when she needed to.  Perhaps your mom is or was like that as well.

   In our verses, from the Feeding of the 5000, one might be tempted to think that these disciples needed a Lutheran mother to be ready to feed a crowd of unexpected company.  The disciples and Jesus had sought out a quiet out of the way place so they could take a breather for a moment.  They had just gone out on an evangelism program and came back to tell Jesus.  As they were coming together, they received word that John the Baptist had been executed.  So, they desperately wanted some quiet alone time.

    But the people recognized Jesus and began to gather.  First it was dozens, then hundreds and finally thousands of people; perhaps as many as 25,000 people.  It was approaching the supper hour, so the disciples went and asked Jesus to send the people away to find food on their own.  They had looked around and saw nothing for food for the people to eat.  They were away from the cities and even then, didn’t have that much money.  The disciples figured the only way to resolve this was to send the people away before they got too hungry and restless. 

    Yet Jesus gave them a different and a direct command, “you give them something to eat.”  The disciples scrambled and found two fish and five small loaves, roughly two McDonald’s fish filet sandwiches for 25,000 people.  They panicked and were lost and confused.  The problem was that they looked to themselves for their answer and supply rather than to Jesus.  Eventually they came to Jesus for the supply that they needed.

    One thing that comes through to us is this simple fact; our source is always Jesus.  When the need arises, we can look to him first knowing that he will provide for our needs or we can wait, try it on our own, suffer from fear, anxiety, worry and discomfort then look to Jesus.  It might seem somewhat strange, but it is our decision.  Do we look to Jesus right away or do we bear a burden that we do not need to bear?  Which is it for you?

Father, the eyes of all looks to you and you furnish their meat in due season.  Lead us by your Spirit to look to you as our only source of hope, joy, and peace.  Be with those who are trying to bear the burdens of this life on their own.  Lead them to see that all things come from you and our help is in your hands.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-19-2022

Good Morning All,

                 Hebrews 10:23; “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

     “The situation is hopeless.”  There is probably no more painful message than this.  Whether it is a light situation like a basketball game where the one team is behind by 10 points with 25 seconds to play or a serious situation that involves life and death; this message brings about discomfort and pain.  Sometimes, this message comes late like when the firefighters were climbing the stairs in the World Trade Center after the 9/11terrorist attacks.  When they were told to get out that the situation was hopeless; it was already too late.  A few years ago, we came upon an accident.  We began to perform CPR until the ambulance showed up.  It was apparent that the man was dead, but the deputy refused to quit giving CPR.  The situation was hopeless, but he refused to accept it.

     There are times when we face events that seem hopeless.  A car accident, where the vehicle sinks into some water and after a few minutes of being submerged; the situation is hopeless and those on shore watch, worry, fear then despair.  When you watch someone who has cancer and they begin to fade away, first losing a lot of weight, then the color of their skin goes ashen, they can’t get around very well and soon they are bedridden; the situation is hopeless.  We usually don’t see situations as hopeless unless death is involved.  If we suffer estrangement from a friend or a loved one, we figure, eventually, we’ll fix it but when that someone dies, the situation is hopeless.  Hope is about life; hopelessness is about the end of life.

    Once sin entered the world so did death and so did hopelessness.  Once the enormity of the cost of their sin began to sink in, Adam and Eve experienced hopelessness.  Their perfect world was no more.  They knew pain, sorrow, suffering and hopelessness.  So, God gave them hope, hope for life.  He told them that he would send one to destroy the devil and death.  This One would redeem them and give them life.  It was the same promise that God made to his people throughout the Old Testament.  It was a promise that held out hope.  It held out hope that death and the devil would never be the final victor.  It was a promise that said those who believed and trusted in that promise would live forever.

    That promise was kept on a hill called Calvary.   It was there that Jesus defeated the devil and death.  It was there that the promise was completed, and we only have to wait for the final few ticks of the clock to run out and the victory is completely ours.  Death no longer has hold of us; it is but a door for us.  No matter what life throws at us, it can never take away the victory that Christ gives us.  We will always have hope; we will always have life.  This is the promise that God has made and kept to us.  We always have hope.

Father, in you there is life. You give us hope.  Guide us to always rely on your delivered promise.  Teach us to always hope in you.  Be with those who feel they have no hope.  Open the darkness so the light of your truth may enter.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-18-2022

Good Morning All,

      Genesis 3: 17-18; “And to Adam he (God) said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the plants of the field.”

   Thorns: it always gets back to thorns.  While Adam listened to God tell him part of the price that his sin was going to cost, he heard things that most people don’t want to hear.  He heard “cursed” “in pain” “thorns and thistles.”  Talk about a list that you don’t want to have; that list probably is just about as bad as it gets.  Adam was told that the ground, and his life, was not going to be fun.

   I grew up on a farm.  I spent a lot of my years farming.  Most of the members of my churches are farmers.  Most of the people I went to school with are farmers.  Most of the people I know are farmers.  I know what it feels like and what it looks like when you think the ground is cursed.  I know what it is like to have the ground refuse to yield its bounty, even in a meager fashion.  I know what it looks like when thorns and thistles rob the land of moisture and nutrients and leave nothing to harvest.  Even in the direst of years, when a single sprout of grain refused to grow; thistles and thorns grow with a voracious and destructive ire.  They will take what little is there and, with a mocking smile, look to the farmer and laugh.  The emptiness and the meagerness hollow the farmer out leaving a pit in your soul larger than life.  Thorns and thistles cause pain beyond the simple prick of the finger or the scrape of an arm; thorns and thistles suck the marrow from your spirit.

   If you have never farmed, you have probably felt the same way at other times of your life.  A loving relationship that dries up and blows away is just as painful.  False accusations and false stories that harmed your reputation or your standing with your family and friends gone.  Drugs or alcohol can hollow you out just as easily.  Sin looks at us and mocks us leaving us feeling cursed, in pain, dealing with thorns and thistles that never go away.

   Jesus faced our thorns. God’s own Son was “cursed” “in pain” covered with “thorns.”  He took it all; all the cursedness, pain, and thorns that God’s wrath, for you but directed at Jesus, so that you and I would be blessed, be healed, and live without thorns.  It started with thorns, so it is probably poetic that it ends with thorns.  Yet it is not some poetic justice that we read; it is God’s incredible love poured out upon you and upon me.  We have God’s blessing, not his curse upon us now.  We have a life filled with love and hope and no thorns waiting for us because Jesus took our cursedness, pain and thorns and gives to us love, hope, peace, and salvation.

Father, we deserve all the pain and cursedness yet in your amazing grace and mercy, you poured it out upon Jesus in order to give us life.  Move us to live our life in total thanksgiving to you.  Keep us in your loving arms and lead us to reach out in love to those who are stuck in the cursed, pain and thorns to hear your words of life and hope.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-17-2022

Good Morning All,

                  Hebrews 11:1; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

     During one of my high school English classes, we spent a fair amount of time doing some pre-journalism class stuff.  We looked at what it took to be a good journalist.  A good journalist didn’t go into a story with a preconceived idea of how the story was going to flow.  When you did this, it was too easy to find the “evidence” that supported your idea and also too easy to discard “evidence” which showed your idea to be false.  A good journalist would always try to answer the following questions: who, what, where, when how and why?  Once these questions were answered, the story to be told would unfold naturally.

    As we look at these questions, the first four are pretty standard and are really only informative.  We can know who is involved in the story; we know what the story is, and we know where an event occurs, and we can know when it occurs.  These are elements of the story that are very observational.  The evidence can exist for many years allowing us to look back in time and to see the events unfold.  Yet these four questions provide only the body of the work, they only answer the rudimentary questions.  The difficult questions are often how and why.

   The questions of how and why probe into the internal mental and spiritual thoughts, plans and desires of the event.  The how and why can and are at times difficult to imagine.  If you were in a car accident a year ago, you have answered three of the four questions in those 10 words.  Why did the accident happen and how will you go forward after it?  Will you be able to drive again?  Can you go forward?  How will you go forward?  These are the questions you ask.  Sometimes the questions are harder to answer.

    If you are sitting at the funeral of a loved one, like a spouse or a parent; how will you go forward?  How will you go on to the next day or week or month?  What if it is that you are experiencing a very severe sickness, it may take months to recover, if ever?  How do you make it through tomorrow or even the next hour?  How do we go forward?

   Going forward always requires faith.  Going forward is unseen; going forward requires us to trust that it will work out.  How will it work? We have to trust God to keep his promise to us.  We have to trust God to keep the promise that he made to us in our Baptism to love us and to claim us as his children.  This is what faith is.  Faith is trusting in God’s promise even when we cannot see the path or the method of accomplishing this.  Faith is taking one more step.  Faith is turning one more page.  Faith is knowing that, through it all, God goes with us protecting us from harm and danger and giving us hope for the better tomorrow that he has promised.

Father, strengthen my faith.  Lead me forward by your great mercy.  Uphold me in your hand.  Keep me safe from the terrors of uncertainty.  Lead me to trust in your promise of love and salvation.  Lead me to know that in all things you are in control.  Give courage to those who are facing challenges at this time.  Give them the faith they need to see them through.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret