10-31-2022

Good Morning All,

      Romans 5:2; “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

     Are you like me when it comes to passwords? I have a devil of a time keeping them straight. I will write them down but then either lose the list or forget to change the written one when I change it on the website. It is worse now that the computer “remembers” your password for you. I really had a time once when I was taking my seminary classes. They require you to change your password every few months.  Then one day I went to log onto the site to do my lessons and I couldn’t get on.  My password had expired.  My access to the website was denied.  What a headache that turned out to be.  I had to call down to their help desk (which had scheduled hours that were as strange as could be) try to talk to the head tech guy (his flunkies were not authorized to do anything) and get a new password setup.  I had to have my student ID number (my what?) and some other identification to get a new password so that I could have access to the website.  It was a couple of days project. 

    Losing access to some of your websites, like school or the bank or your marketing adviser can really cause a panic.  You keep typing in the password and the computer keeps blinking “access denied” over and over.  You feel the loss of control and the loss of power.  You feel that tremendous feeling of total frustration.  “Access denied” for some has become a way of life.  Even though it isn’t blinking at us when it occurs, we can feel our access denied when friends and loved ones reject us or turn away from us.  “Access denied” is a painful way to live.

     Because of our sinful nature, we received an “access denied” from God as well.  We turned our backs to God and because of our sins our access to God was denied.  Even as God kept calling us back, our access was denied because of sin.  In order for our access to be restored, a major undertaking must occur.  God sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins, to redeem us from sin and the power of the devil.  Because of His love we have the gift, the gift of our access restored.  Because of His grace we can come to the Father in prayer, standing before Him as righteous.  Jesus has given us His righteousness that by faith in Him we have total access to God.

    With that access, we can rejoice in hope.  We can rejoice in the certainty of our salvation.  We can rejoice in the certainty of life eternal with Him.  And the best part is that our access is never denied.  Even if we fail to use it properly or in a timely manner, when we turn in faith to Him, we have total access to the blessings of the Father.  With God we will never have to see “access denied.”  We have been given, by faith, total access to God through Christ Jesus.

 Father in heaven, we often fail to use our access to you as we should.  We look to ourselves as our way out our hope for greater things.  Forgive us as we sin.  Give us that due confidence that we may boldly and assuredly come to you with all of our prayers and petitions, all of our wants and needs, trusting in You to grant those things which are according to your will.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

10-30-2022

 Good Morning All,

Psalm 145: 18-19: “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in    truth.  He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them”

     Sometimes life goes relatively smoothly.  We coast through the days, happy as most things go according either to our plans or our desires.  We often don’t think too much when things go well.

    But when we face trouble, we often see things differently.  We usually start to wonder what we did wrong to deserve this trouble.  We sometimes wonder if we are the only ones who are being afflicted.  We see pain in our family; we are restless and unable to sleep.  All the time we struggle with why.  Why is this happening and why God isn’t fixing it?

     One of the big problems that we have in our lives, and in this country especially, is that we think only of our selves.  We see our problems as above and beyond anyone else’s.  We somehow think that since we have been so incredibly blessed for so long that we are somehow entitled to those blessings.  The truth is we are no better than anyone else.  We are all sinners and deserve death.  A few years ago, a book was written by the title of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.”  It was a best seller.  The problem with the title is that there are no good people.  We have all sinned and deserve only God’s wrath and punishment.

    BUT God, in his mercy, has chosen to save us.  He has redeemed us from the devil and the power of sin and called us to be his children.  He has given us salvation and He has given us the tools to survive under him in his kingdom.  He gives us his Word through which He speaks His Words of love and forgiveness.  He gives us His holy sacraments; the water connected to the Word to cleanse us and His precious body and blood to refresh us and renew us.  He also gives us the power and gift of prayer.

    Notice our verse “The Lord is near all who call on Him.” We never walk alone; we never face the trials and struggles of this life alone.  God is always with us.  Jesus experienced everything which we have or will and he conquered it for us.  We can confidently and boldly go to Him in prayer, and He will hear our cry and He will save us.  How God chooses to do this is a mystery to us.  Yet we can have confidence in a God that saved us from the devil with the incredible price of His Son dying on a cross to protect and defend us.

    We may face health issues that are life altering or require surgery.  We may see our job teetering on the brink of disappearing.  We may watch our land dry up and blow away.  We may see our whole country collapse under the weight of too many problems and too few answers.  We may see it all, but we know that as God’s people He will rescue us from eternal damnation and give us hope and comfort when all other supports fail around us.  Go to God in prayer.  Go to him in earnest, sincere prayer and He will answer you.  In the Book of James, we read that “we do not have, because we do not ask.”  Make daily prayer part of your life not as a superstition or the last act of a desperate man.  Go to Him in faith, confessing our sins, thanksgiving for the gifts we have and for the needs which we have.  He has promised to answer; He has promised to be near and to incline his ear to you and to listen to you and to give you his comfort and peace.  Speak to the Lord for He is listening.

 Dear gracious Lord, your holy will is truly accomplished without us but you have called upon your people to pray to you and to ask for your blessings.  Father, we pray for all those who are hurting and lost.  We ask that you comfort them and sustain them.  We look around and see all the blessing that we have, and we give you thanks for them especially for the grace which we receive from you through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in whose name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

10-29-2022

Good Morning All,

         Colossians 3:12 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,”

     We spend a lot of effort and time in the Church speaking about sin and how we are all sinners.  We spend a lot of time making sure we know that we need a Savior, and this is true and necessary.  But sometimes along the way we need to remember something else that we are we are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.

      This is a concept that we don’t develop very well because we always need to focus on the need for a Savior.  But we also need to emphasize the fact that WE HAVE THAT SAVIOR!!!  Jesus came and died so that you and I can be God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.  That single fact drives the devil nuts.  He hates it when we realize and live as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.  The devil tries and tries to make that one single statement seem far away, but it isn’t it is right here beside us.

     Martin Luther used this phrase saying we are “Simul justus et peccator.”  It means “Righteous and at the same time a Sinner.”  This is a rather long theological discussion that is easiest to understand if you remember that anytime we speak of our righteousness we are really talking about Jesus’ righteousness anytime we speak of being a sinner, well that’s the part that we add.  We are declared righteous because of Jesus.  We are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.  The devil will try and turn that and twist that and no matter how we try and explain it, whether in flowery message or high-toned theological verbiage; it boils down to this; we are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.

      We have all had times when we didn’t particularly feel holy or beloved.  We don’t feel holy because we still carry around the Law as this stick to keep us on the right path.  We look the Commandments up and down and try to gauge how “good” or “bad” we have been.  But as God’s chosen ones the Law serves not as a stick but as a flashlight.  If we were to ask,” What would Jesus want us to do?” The answer is found in the Law.  What are some God pleasing actions: Have no other Gods before Him.  Do not steal.  Do not tell stories about your neighbors.  If you remember your catechism, this is the Third use of the Law.  It functions as a guide for us.  As God’s chosen ones, we are free from the devil, from the bondage of sin and the oppression of the Law.  We have been declared holy.  This frees us to do what God intended for us to do; to love God fully and to love each other fully.  So instead of wearing the chains of a prisoner, we wear what the chosen ones of God would wear: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  We wear what Jesus wore.  We share in his blessings because we receive his righteousness. 

     So, while we need to remember that we are sinners; remember that we are righteous before God because of Jesus.  So, as we remember the “peccator” (I am a sinner) don’t forget the “simul justus” (I am righteous because of Jesus); that is the part that gives us the joy and the hope we are given by God.

 

Heavenly Father, we are sinners, but you love us anyway.  We fail and fail but you never give up on us.  We thank you for declaring us righteous so that we may live in your kingdom as your adopted sons.  Lead us to live the life that Christ lived so that others will see our compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Let your glory shine through us.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

 

10-28-2022

Good Morning All,

         Psalm 104:16; “The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted”

     The trees of the Lord are full of sap.  I usually use the ESV translation but sometimes the KJV has just a little more zip to it.  The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon.  The cedars of Lebanon were tremendous trees, tall and big.  They were treasured among the whole regions.  These were the trees used by Solomon when he built the Temple and his own palace.  These are what the trees of the Lord are like.  They are tall, massive trees well known throughout the region and desired by many.  In order for these trees to grow so big; it required ideal growing conditions and healthy trees.  The trees were full of sap.

     Throughout the Old Testament, especially in Psalms, believers (Christians) are compared to trees.  The believer is like a tree planted by streams of water in Psalm 1.  We are trees full of sap.  Now at first that may sound like something less than a compliment but look at what the Psalmist is really saying.

     The sap of a tree is its lifeblood, literally.  The sap is what takes the nutrients from the roots and pulls them up to the leaves for photosynthesis to convert them to energy by the power of the sun, which feeds the whole plant.  If the sap does not flow; the tree does not grow.  If the sap does not flow; the fruit is not produced.  If the sap does not flow; the tree is more susceptible to harm by insects or fungus.  If the sap does not flow; the tree dies.  The tree may stand and look good but soon the weather and the insects and the fires will destroy it.  In so many ways, you, and I, as God’s redeemed children, are exactly like those trees. 

     We, as Christians, are fed by the flowing of this sap; this life-giving mixture which feeds us.  In the Church we would refer to this as the Holy Spirit.  He flows through us bringing nutrients to us through the Word and through the Sacraments to be converted into energy by the power of the Son (Jesus).  We need this nourishment; we need to be full of sap in order to withstand the trials and tribulations of this world: the insects and the fungus.  We need the Spirit to flow through us so that we may continue to grow as the type of disciple, the type of human, that God is shaping us to be.  Just as the size of the tree and the quality of the fruit is shaped by the stresses that the tree experiences; so are we as well shaped and formed.  Faith that is not tested is not real faith.  Real faith is like pure gold; it is refined through fire to burn of the impurities within.  I am sure some of us feel we have been through the refining fire quite a bit lately.  Maybe you have had some health scares or job worries or family strains or a whole host of other fires.  These are but tests for us.  Some sent by God others just used by God to show us what we are made of; God already knows what we are made of He just wants you to know.  He wants you to know that you are full of sap.

    The Spirit flows freely through you feeding you, nourishing you, protecting you even to the point where, like the sap of a tree, He forms a healing cover over the wounds that threaten to destroy you so that you may continue to grow.  But like that tree that is planted by the streams of water; we too must be planted in the good soil with plenty of water.  We must be planted by faith in Jesus as our Savior.  Through Him we receive the nutrients which the Spirit brings to us to feed and protect us.  We are full of sap let us rejoice in mercy of God.

Gracious Father, you feed and nourish us through your Word and Sacrament.  You protect and defend us from all danger.  Keep us full of your sap that we may continue to grow as your children and to bear the fruit which you have given to us.  Let the world see your majesty through us, your beloved children.  In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

10-27-2022

Good Morning All,

1 Timothy 1:15(KJV); “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief”

    Have you ever engaged with someone else a debate about who is the best or who is the worst?  For example, which was the best baseball team, the 1927 Yankees, the 1955 Dodgers, the 1975 Reds or the 1998 Yankees?  If you get some real baseball guys together; that question is never answered; you can make the case for all of them by taking different parts of the game and different parts of society into factoring your decision.  You can have an opinion and as long as you have some facts; you can hold your own.

    In our verse, Paul tells his young pupil Timothy that he is number #1!!  Paul tells him that he is the best, the chief sinner.  As I read that verse, I am not sure if that is really a “best of” or a “worst of” category.  Usually, we want to be the chief, but do we want to be the chief sinner?  We may not want to be the chief sinner but we often times are.  We may not feel like it and in the eyes of the world we may not be.  I have never murdered anyone.  I have never given false testimony in a court of law.  I have never done anything really bad.  But I have been angry at another person and not for good reasons.  I have never given false testimony, but I have listened to and shared in some good, juicy gossip at the local Cenex or coffee shop.  I have wished that someone else would fall down so I could get ahead.  All of these are sins and Scriptures says that all sins rise as a stench to God.  All sins are like the carcass of a dead animal on a July day.  All sins are like a porta-potty that has gone without care for the week at the fair.   We are all chief of sinners just like Paul.

      But God in his grace solved that.  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the worst ones like me and like you.  God sends his Spirit to bring this point home.  When we receive this by faith, we have all the joy that we can have.  We are on the journey with the Spirit toward our heavenly home which Christ has gained for us.

      This is how the Large Catechism says it when it is talking regarding the petition for forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer: “For this is the essence of a genuinely Christian life, to acknowledge that we are sinners and to pray for grace.  It depends not on the purity of the confession but on hearing and believing what God wishes to say, namely, that your sins are forgiven.  The disciple concentrates on that and cherishes it, giving praise and gratitude to God.”

      When we acknowledge that we are the chief of sinners and need God’s forgiveness; that is the essence of Christian life.  We need God’s grace; God gave us that grace even before we knew it.  He continues to give it and will always give it.  We only need to trust in his Word, and we receive the blessing of life starting with the washing of the stench in the waters of Baptism and nourished by the Word and Holy Communion.  This trust leads us in confidence and boldness to pray to God asking for and believing in his promises.  God promises to hear all who call on him in faith, trusting in his mercy for Christ’s sake.  So maybe being chief of sinners isn’t that bad; especially when we are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and declared holy for his sake.

Dear Father in heaven, by nature I am chief of sinners.  Yet in your love you redeemed me and made me your own.  For this and all other gifts I give you thanks and praise.  Continue to cleanse me, to wash me and make me into the disciple that you want me to be, in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-26-2022

Good Morning All,

Psalm 42:1; “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”

     We know that feeling, when the summer heat strikes. Even if you work inside, in air conditioning, you still know that it is hot out.  You have to go to your car or into a different building and it can almost knock you over.  If you spend anytime outside, you can feel yourself wilt and struggle to go on.

    We can find our self like this even on more temperate days.  If we have days when we exert a lot of energy, we can feel exhausted and panting for water.  It doesn’t even have to be physical labor; it can be from a very emotional experience or a very stressful experience.  We can be exhausted and just like the deer; we pant for flowing streams.

    This Psalm actually has an even darker meaning.  Not only is the deer panting and looking for water, but it is also being hunted.  It is being chased and it runs and runs.  It seeks safety along with a cool drink of water to help it rejuvenate itself.  But like any animal that has been hunted, it never really rests.  It keeps its eyes and ears open and listening, wary of any sound or movement.

    We, too, are like this deer.  We are hunted and chased every day.  The devil uses all of his tricks to hound us, to set snares for us, to hunt us down.  We need to be wary like this deer.  As we struggle with this battle, we weary and tire because we cannot fight this battle and win.  The hunter is too cagey and skilled.  He will win if we fight this battle…. alone.

     But we do not fight this battle alone.  God has shown us his great love for us by sending Jesus to redeem us and to buy us back from the bondage of sin.  God is our refuge and salvation.  We can see this image of being hunted or in danger throughout the Psalms, especially.  Take the image of the hunted deer and read Psalm 23.  We have still waters, green pastures to lie down in; when can a hunted deer lie down?  But because of the safety of Christ, we can lie down, we can rest.  We can rest the true rest which gives us peace.

     We, as Christians, are in the devil’s sights all day and all night.  The devil seeks whom he may devour.  He looks for those who have left the safety of the herd and wandered off.  The devil then lures us into one of his traps in order to separate us from God.  So, all day long we are chased by the pain of broken and hurting relationships, broken, and hurting health, broken and hurting dreams and loves, broken and hurting because the rain just seems to keep missing us when everyone else gets plenty.  Some days it seems like we are assaulted from all sides, and we are exhausted and panting like a hunted deer.  To all of this Jesus says to us, “come, come all of you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” (Mt. 11:28).  When we hear God’s Word speak to us with its message of redemption and with the message of hope, we can trust that the devil will never touch us.  We can have that rest and we can rest with the assurance that we have peace with and peace from God.  We have a loving God who has walked down the paths we have walked and gives us comfort and hope, secure in His loving arms.

Gracious Lord, we pant for your goodness and righteousness.  We can never attain it on our own but rely solely on You to give us the streams of water and the pastures of green to rest and renew in.  Keep us throughout this day; hold us gently in your loving arms.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen    

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-25-2022

Good Morning All,

Psalm 122:1; “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”

     Why do you go to church?  Do you go because your parents make you (even if you’re over 50)?  Do you go because it is a good place to kill some time before the ballgame starts?  Or perhaps before the stores open or the restaurants open?  Maybe you see it as a way to catch up with friends and neighbors, maybe you come when you are in “trouble,” and you “want” something from God.  Perhaps you are a little more faithful when the rains stay away.  Perhaps you come to sing the hymns and to listen to what God has to say.

    There are lots of reasons to come to church, to go into the house of the Lord.  Some of those reasons are pretty good reasons and some of those reasons, well; the Spirit can always work on us where the Word is preached.  But there is a reason we join together or assemble together.  We do so because God calls us to do so.

    God calls us together, through His Holy Spirit, to have a conversation with us.  God calls us together to talk to us.  That is why we tend to call our services “Divine Services” and not worship services.  Most others don’t see this as we do; but we see this as an act of God.  This is God acting on our behalf and for our good.  When we think of worship, we tend to see it as what we do for God.  Now we do respond to God’s grace and mercy with praise and thanksgiving but even that is led by the Spirit who prays for us in a way that we cannot understand.

     God speaks to his people and tells them to remember.  We are to remember our crucified and risen Savior.  We are to remember how gracious and loving God is in creating and sustaining his creation.  We are to remember how God called us out of sin and darkness to be his people by Baptism through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  And God reminds us that we are witnesses to his mercy, to his love and to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

    God speaks to us as His holy people, his chosen nation, his royal priests.  We are not these things because of our actions but because of Christ and his atonement on the cross where He was substituted for us and took our punishment on his back.  We are this one body who lives every day as a living, breathing manifestation of this remembrance.  We are God’s children, blessed by him, loved by him, protected by Him.  We live toward the reign of God inaugurated in Jesus Christ.

     Yet even as we look at what God has done; we focus on what is to be.  Every service we pray “come, Lord Jesus” return to us and reign over us in your glorified presence when death is conquered completely, and we can live once again with you in the new Eden.  

    God calls us, refreshes us, and renews our body and soul.  We are fed with his precious body and blood and thus join with him in the Passover from death to life and receive from him the promise of eternal life.  God calls us to this and more.

Dear Father in heaven, you call us to be your own and to guard us, guide us and protect us from all the arrows that devil has.  Keep is, dear Lord, wrapped safely in your arms.  Hide us in the shadow of your wings and bring us safely home to be with you.  This we ask in the precious name of Jesus, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret               

10-24-2022

Good Morning All,

           Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

     I am always fascinated by talented people.  We have gone to Arts in the Park in Aberdeen or Brookings on occasion and there were some amazing displays of talent.  There were woodworkers and free hand sketch artists; there were leather workers and photo artists; just a whole host of people who made intricate and beautiful items.  The workmanship was flawless and the talent very apparent.  Some talent must be seen to really be appreciated.  A cowboy at a rodeo who ropes and ties a calf is a fine workmanship.  Some talent is best tasted; a master chef whose delicacies seem to melt in your mouth.  Some are heard; a musician who makes an instrument sing in either a joyful tone or a sorrowful lament can make one shudder.

    There is an old story about a violin that is being auctioned off at a farm sale.  The auctioneer holds it up and tries to get a bid of $2.  There are no offers.  He lowers it to $1 then he offers to give someone a dollar if they will bid a dollar.  Then a quiet man comes to auctioneer and asks to see the violin.  He strums it and he turns the pegs a little.  He then takes the bow and plays the sweetest sounds that anyone there had ever heard.  He gave the auctioneer back the violin and the bidding began.  First it was $50 then $250 then $500 then $1000 then it sold for $2500.  When the auctioneer was asked why the sudden change in its value; the auctioneer replied,” it was all in the touch of the master’s hand.”

    You and I are the same way.  We have no value.  But God, who is the master craftsman of the universe, takes us in his hands and makes us his workmanship.  God is continually shaping and molding us into his craftsmanship into his disciples.  Just like that violin, we need to be tuned and brought back into key with the right tone and the right sound.  Then we need to be played with the talent of the master violinist.  In Isaiah we are compared to clay and God is the potter.  No matter what imagine you use, God is, in a very hands-on way, shaping you to do the works which He has laid out for us to do.  God prepares you for the opportunities to witness which come to you.  God prepares you for the opportunities to bring glory to His name when they come to you.  We may fail at these; we may not see God’s hand in our preparation, but it is there, and we need to trust in Him to give us the tools to do His work.

 Dear Father, we often fail as your instruments and tools; for we fear when we should be strong, we hesitate when we should go forth.  Forgive us our sins.  Give us the courage to be your people to be your hands and to be your light in this dark and wounded world.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

10-23-2022

Good Morning All,

        Micah 6:8; “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

     I am only human!!  How many times have we heard or said that?  Maybe you found yourself trying to be in two places at the same time or trying to get two things done at once.  Maybe you have been put in a situation which it is almost impossible for one person to achieve, and we say,” I am only human.

    Usually, we say this when we are caught in a moment of impropriety; a spouse who looked at an attractive member of the opposite sex a little too long.  Maybe someone dropped a bagful of change, and we picked some up and kept it; after all I’m only human.  Maybe the teacher left the test answers open on her desk while she talked to someone outside the classroom; I’m only human.  Maybe we’re in the boss’s office and he has the employee evaluations sitting there; one little peak I’m only human.

    We love that excuse because we think it gives us a pass on any failure or sin after all “I’m only human.”  The problem with that is that this statement isn’t quite truth.  When God created man, man was perfect and without sin.  Man was made in the image of God and was thus the image-bearer of God in creation.  To be human was to have the image of God.  After sin entered the world, the image of God was lost.  Sinners have stopped being human.  God defines what it means to be human.  We are to do justice.  That means we are to do everything in our power to see to it that justice is done.  If we know we are undercharged for an item, we should say so.  If we know that we have an extra calf in the pasture, we should say so.  If we see someone who is being oppressed or taken advantage of, we should say so.  We are to do justice.

    We are to love mercy.  We are to seek out every opportunity to show love to our fellow man.  We are not to avoid it; we don’t look the other way and then claim, “I didn’t see it after all I’m only human.” When we hear the cry of pain or the lament of sorrow, we are to love mercy and show it to our fellow man.

    We are to walk humbly before God.  We are to remember that God is God, and we are not.  We may not always understand why God does what he does but we are to trust in God’s mercy and look to what He has shown us.  God has shown us His love by the sending of Jesus to pay for our sins and to redeem us back from sin.  The love God shows us is so much more than we deserve that our response should be humble adoration and thanksgiving for what God has done.

     That is what it means to be only human.  If we really want to use that saying properly; next time we should say, “I’m only a sinner;” not as funny but more accurate.  We pray to be more human as God shapes us to be his disciples.

    Gracious Lord, our lives are always empty as we fail to live up to your standards.  We are incapable of it, yet you love us anyway.  We thank you for your grace and tender mercies which are showered upon every day.  Make us to be human as You created us to be.  Call us as your people and keep us safe in your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

10-22-2022

 Good Morning All,

        Matt. 6:23-24; “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

     Festering problems are the worst kind of problems.  We let them simmer and steep in the back of our minds and in the depths of our hearts.  Whether we are harboring them against someone, or someone has something that they have against us.  Festering problems can grow.  The Hatfield and the McCoy feud involved the ownership of a pig.  A festering problem became a feud where real people lost their lives.  A number of years ago a man in southern South Dakota shot and killed a father and a son over a drainage dispute.  A festering problem cost real people their lives.

     Most of our festering problems do not elevate into bloodshed but they often elevate into hatred or distrust, jealousy, or contempt.  Yet these cause us to struggle in our lives and do damage to our faith.  It is difficult to love Christ and hate our neighbor.  The apostle John tells us in his first epistle that it is impossible.  We cannot say we love Jesus but hate our neighbor; it doesn’t work this way.  Even if we see it as “holy anger;” it is not our place to judge that alone belongs to God.  Rather we must stop the problem before it festers and causes troubles.

    This is what Jesus is teaching us in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus is teaching us that as his disciples we are to follow him faithfully in word and deed.  We are to show the same love for others which Christ showed for us.  Can we do it?  No, not really, because we are still sinful in nature.  We will still have days when we are angry at our spouse or our children or co-worker or neighbor.  We are still going to be mad when the neighbor’s cows get into our corn.  But let it pass, don’t let it fester go and reconcile with your neighbor.  And if it was your cows; go to your neighbor and reconcile the issue.  Remember that as you solve your problems that the love of Christ is present in your words, your actions and in your life. 

    Notice how important God views the need for us to reconcile with our brothers.  We are not to do it immediately after our offering; we are to do it before we make the offering.  Before we offer to God our praise and thanksgiving we are to reconcile with our brother.  Reconciliation with our neighbor is a major part of our faith.  Jesus reconciled us back to God, so we are to reconcile our brothers back to us.  If we look at the sin of Adam and Eve as a rupture in the relationship between man and God, the very next story recorded is the murder of Abel by Cain.  This is the rupture in the relationship between men.  It was this rupture that caused people to build cities and nations, not out of love but out of fear and jealousy.  It is this rupture that causes the world to spend more on armaments and standing armies than on taking care of those who need help.  Jesus calls upon us to reconcile with our brother, one at a time, rebuilding our relationships on love and trust, not fear and jealousy.

Lord, let our memory provide no shelter for grievance against each other.  Let our heart provide no harbor for hatred of each other.  Let our tongue be no accomplice in the judgment of each other.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.

(adapted from a Celtic Prayer)

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

 

10-21-2022

 

Good Morning All,

        2 Cor. 4:7: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us”.

     Clay jars are an interesting creation.  They look and are extremely fragile.  It doesn’t take much to destroy them.  One well-placed rock or one good kick and they shatter into dozens if not hundreds of pieces.  It would be very foolish to place anything of value in a clay jar.  Most people would use stone or iron to form a protective shield around the valued possession, but you would not use a clay jar.  That would be foolish, some would even say madness.  The risk of losing the valued treasure would surely out way all the benefits of using a clay jar.  Benefits that I can’t even think of right now. 

    Yet that is exactly where God placed his valued treasure, in a clay jar.  This highly reassured item is the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The forgiveness of sins, the reconciliation of people back to God through Jesus, the adoption as sons of God; are among this wonder precious gift.  This is something which needs to be shared with all of mankind.  So how does God do this?  Does he use angels to tell the world like he did at Jesus’ birth?  Does He use a flood like He did at the time of Noah?  Does He send plagues like He did to Egypt at the time of the Exodus?  These might be smarter in the eyes of the world, but God uses something or actually someone totally different; God uses you and me to deliver this message of good news.

     Even though we are frail and break easily and often; God chooses to use us.  He uses us as His partners in this ministry of reconciliation which began with Jesus.  Jesus gave us a new covenant to live under.  One based entirely on God’s grace; one where we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit which gives us the faith to trust in God’s promises and in is Word.  We are still a work in progress.  We are still God’s handiwork.  God is still shaping and forming us to be what we were created to be and that is the keeper of god’s creation and to be companions with each other starting with our spouse and then our family and then our neighbors.  We were created to live a life of perfect communion and companionship with God.  Yet sin ruined that and made us into clay jars, but God still loves us.  That is one of the great wonders of the Bible.  Too often we read the stories in the Bible and then we try and see where we “fit in” the story.  The story is never about us or where we fit in.  The story is always about God and about the very nature of God.  Scriptures reveals that god is a just God demanding payment for a debt.  But it also shows a loving God who sent his only son to die for that debt.  The Bible shows us what great love God has for us by not destroying us for our sins.  It shows God’s patience with us trusting this incredible treasure to us a bunch of cracked clay jars.  First God gives this gift of redemption to us and then He trusts us to carry it forward to the ends of the earth for him. 

Father of all mercies, keep us safe with in the shelter of your arms.  Protect us your clay jars that we may fulfill your holy ministry.  Guide us to those who are in most desperate need of your love and lead us to share the Good News of salvation, which is found in the name of Jesus, in whose precious name we pray, Amen.  

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

10-20-2022

Good Morning All,

        Psalm 28:7; “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

     Who do you trust?  Of the people in your life, who do you trust?  When astronaut Scott Carpenter was asked about his first take-off into space aboard the Mercury rocket and what his thoughts were; His response was, “I thought, ‘why did they always have to take the low bidder?’”  As the rocket shook so did his trust.  Every day we drive down the road; we trust that the other driver who is coming at us will stay on his side of the road.  Every day that we turn on the light switch; we trust that the electricity is still flowing.  Every day we eat some food; we trust that it is safe for us to do so.

     Yet every day, that driver is paying more attention to some electronic device and not to the road.  Every day, with the draw on the electrical grid; we wonder if this is the day it breaks.  Every day, scientists try to find more reasons that most of what we eat is actually killing us.  As we watch the news, with all the 24-hour news stations and with the internet and its speed, with the blurring of the line between reporter and commentator, journalist and talking head; you wonder if you can trust the information that we receive is factual.  Who do you trust?

    Most of us would say that we trust God.  But that leads to the question, who is your God?  Martin Luther defined a god as this: “A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need.  To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe in him with your whole heart… That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God.”  Where do you look for ultimate security?  Is it your spouse or your parents?  Is it your wealth?  Is it your intellect?  Is it the government?  If, in time of need or time of thanks, you look to one of these first rather than God; those others are your god. 

     As soon as we look to anything or anyone for our ultimate comfort and security; they will fail us.  These other things, all other things, will fail because they are of human design and limited by human capacity.  The passengers of the Titanic, who trusted that the ship was unsinkable, learned the cold hard way.  God continually invites us to trust in Him and Him alone.  Every other earthly prop will give way, but God will hold us forever.  Paul wrote,” nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  The devil will try but he will not succeed and when we trust in the Lord, truly trust in Him and His promise; we are truly helped, and our heart will exult and we can sing His praises forevermore.

 Gracious and loving Father, in you alone do we have any security or hope.  While others make promises they cannot keep, You alone are true.  Forgive us when we are weak and fail to trust totally in you.  Keep us in your arms and strengthen our walk with You.  In Jesus precious name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret         

10-19-2022

Good Morning All,

           Psalm 7:1; “O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and deliver me”

     Do you remember the Fugitive?  Dr. Kimball was found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit while being hauled to his execution he escaped and was chased through the rest of the TV series.  He was pursued by the police who would usually come in one side of town while he left out the other.  Do you remember The Incredible Hulk?  Dr. Banner was chased because of an experiment which changed him into the hulk, and they wanted to find out why and how.  Do you remember Airwolf?  A super helicopter is hidden in a hollowed-out cave in the Valley of the Gods to hide it from some government agencies which want to use it for some less than good things. 

    All these shows, and some others, involve someone being chased or pursued.  We are often fascinated with the pursuit of someone, whether it is a television series or the real-life pursuit of someone like the Unabomber or the recent serial killer in California.  We like to watch someone else being chased but what about when we are being pursued?  We are often being pursued.  It is usually something of our own doing.

     We are often pursued by past sins which we do not let go off or maybe by past sins which we have not really repented of.  When we don’t let go of the past sins, when we think that they are just too much or too horrible to confess; the devil uses them to hound or pursue us with guilt and shame.  We are also pursued by the guilt and shame we feel for sins which we do not completely repent of.  Remember the story of the tax collector who, when he repented, paid back four times what he extorted when he collected taxes?  Sometimes that should be us. Sometimes we are pursued by the guilt and shame of a sin against our neighbor that we don’t fully come clean to.  Perhaps we confess to God but not to our neighbor.  Maybe we said some unkind things about someone else; perhaps we heard some unkind things said and we didn’t speak up.  Maybe something happened and we let someone else take the blame for our mistakes.  These are things which will pursue us.  Sins, that go unconfessed, always pursue us.

    Fortunately, God, through his mercy because of Christ’s atonement, forgives our sins.  Now all we have to do is let this comforting fact lead us to finish our confession or repentance to remove the guilt.  It takes courage; to admit to our shortcomings but God’s love and forgiveness should give us the courage to take that step.  If God is for us, who can be against us?  And if they are against us, so what?  God is for us, offering us His forgiveness and the promise of eternal life; we find refuge in Him from all our pursuers.

     God of mercy, give us strength to combat all our pursuers as we find refuge in you.  Comfort us and sustain us in Your peace, In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret           

10-18-2022

Good Morning All,

        Psalm 126:2; “Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them”

      We are all too often a nation of gloom and doomers.  We are, as Spiro Agnew put it, “nattering nabobs of negativity” and yet of all the people in the world; we should be the most joyous.  The Lord has done great things for us.  We live a life that the overwhelming majority of the world cannot even begin to fathom and yet we complain.  God’s blessings have been poured out upon us and we barely even recognize it.  Many in our country have come to believe that they are in some way, shape or form entitled to the blessings of God.  They believe that somewhere back in their ancestry, their forefathers and foremothers had so much faith that they built up blessings which God owes to them today.  So, with that mentality, they are never happy; they never see the greatness of God’s blessings.  They never see the wonder of what God does for us every day and in every way.

     They fail to see the wonder of God’s grace, the empty tomb, the body and blood in the bread and the wine.  They fail to see the comfort God gives them through their family and through their church.  They fail to see the beauty which he shows us in the flower and the field, the rushing stream, and the still lake.  They are convinced that God is holding out on them and that he owes them something more.  

     Yet the Lord has done great things for us.  We get up every morning secure in the knowledge of our salvation, knowing that the God of love is present in our lives.  The devil cannot harm us.  We should be filled with laughter we should be filled with shouts of joy.  We should sound like every elementary school after a Halloween party, loaded with joy and sugar-powered laughter.  Of all the people in the world, Christians should be the happiest.  We know how the story ends and it ends with us in heaven.  How much greater joy is there?  It truly does not get any better than this anywhere here on earth.

    God’s grace fills our lives even when we don’t think so; God is blessing us with all that we need to support this body and life.  We should be worshipping Him and giving Him praise for all the blessing we have received but it seems that Spiro Agnew was right.  Too often, in too many ways we are “nattering nabobs of negativity.”  So, as we go forth, let’s ask God to help us see the blessings and grace that we have received and to have our mouth filled with laughter and our tongues shout for joy.

Dearest Jesus, your mercies are new to us every day.  Yet we fail to see them.  Lead us to share the joy of your salvation to engage other with laughter and fellowship, with love and grace which flows from you through us to all whom we meet.  Bless us Lord and keep us on your path of righteousness.  Use us in service to your kingdom.  In your precious name we pray, Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

10-17-2022

Good Morning All,

           Psalm 62:8: “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.”

     Did you or do you keep a diary?  Do you have a place where you write down all those thoughts that you have and then lock them away so no one else will see it?  When I was much younger, it was common for girls to have diaries and to pour their hearts out in the diary.  They would lament over boys and teachers and friends and enemies and what today we call “frenemies” and only the most trusted friends ever saw the inside of the diary.  Some of the boys did but not many; it was still the time of macho tough guys; none of this touchy-feely stuff.  People like to have a way to “unload” their thoughts and feelings and not just teenage girls.  Psychologists still recommend using this method to relieve burden and stress. 

    The origin of the court jester in the royal courts was one of being someone who the king would talk to and tell him all his innermost thoughts and fears.  The court jester was then one of the few who could speak bluntly to the king and get to keep his head.  The court jester served as a confessor to the king.  The king would confess all his thought, ideas, plans, desires, fears or whatever and the court jester would be a sounding board for the king.  It is somewhat ironic that someone who is viewed as a fool or simply an entertainer would serve this role, but the court jester was one of the few people a king could trust.  The priests and bishops reported to the Pope in Rome and the other lords and ladies often had mischief and schemes afoot.  We all need some way to eliminate the frustrations and fears that we have, and we need someone or somewhere to get rid of the burden.

    Our verse for this morning speaks to us of how God is to be our confessor or our diary.  Pour your hearts out before him; what an amazing phrase and an incredible promise yet we rarely use it.  We try to hide things from God.  I don’t know why we do that, but we do.  We all have something, some sin; that we just refuse to let go of that we refuse to confess and yet God knows all our secrets.  When you and I confess our sins, or admit our fears, or acknowledge our weaknesses to God; we are not telling him anything new; God already knows.  Yet by confessing our sins and our other shortcomings we benefit.  You see as long as we hang onto those sins and those fears, the devil and our old sinful nature has stuff to throw at us stuff to make us feel ashamed and unworthy of God’s gifts.  As long as we think we are hiding that sin from God we have a 100-pound weight on our back, and we just keep walking getting bogged down by the weight of our sin.  And remember this is a sin which God has already forgiven we just don’t want to let go so the devil just keeps picking at it like a scab from a cut, the devil just keeps picking and inflaming it and causing us pain.

   God tells us over and over,” it doesn’t have to be that way.”  Confess your sins, or as the Psalmist wrote ‘pour out your heart’ and God will give you refuge.  God sent his one and only Son to die a horrific death because he loves you; how much more proof do we need?  Pour out your heart; your sins and fears alike and let God deal with them.

Gracious Father, we are slow to turn to you at all times and we miss so many of your tender mercies because of it.  Give us the wisdom to trust in You at all times that we may live the life that you desire for us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,         

Pastor Bret