Saturday, September 30, 2023

9-30-2023

Good Morning All,

         Matthew 26:11; “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.

       “Limited time only!”  That phrase seems to make us sit up and pay attention.  If a movie or a band is playing for a limited time only, well we just have to figure out why this is so important.  Sometimes it is just an advertising gimmick, like the store that is continually going out of business.  Yet sometimes, it is a limited or even a once in a lifetime chance.  If you got a chance to visit the President of the United States, that may very well be a once in a lifetime event.  If you witness a celestial event, like Halley’s Comet, that might be a once in a lifetime event. 

    The woman in our story saw Jesus as a once in a lifetime.  This story occurred shortly before Jesus was crucified.  The woman came and poured expensive oil on Jesus’ feet.  Some of the disciples, especially Judas Iscariot, criticized her for “wasting” money and not giving the money to the poor.  Jesus stated that the woman has done a beautiful thing.  “The poor you will always have but I won’t be here long” was the gist of what Jesus told them.

    Initially, we might see this as a contradiction.  Earlier, Jesus told a rich young man to “sell all you have and give it to the poor.”  So now what does this mean?  First, we need to see it for what it is.  This woman is glorifying God with her offering.  What she is doing is bringing honor and worship to Jesus.  She isn’t trying to impress anyone; this is an honest and heartfelt expression of her faith.  This is the exact thing that we should do, have an honest and heartfelt expression of our faith.

    Most people are offended by this, supposed, slight to the poor.  All this statement really means is that as long as there is sin in the world; there will be the poor.  There will also be the orphaned, the widowed, the chronically sick, the emotionally distraught and so on.  As long as sin is in the world there will be troubles and struggles. Yet this doesn’t mean we ignore them or look the other way or think “I can’t help them all, so I won’t help any.”  This can paralyze us.  What this passage is encouraging us to do is to have an honest and heartfelt expression of our faith.

    How do we do that?  Well, if you see Jesus, you can pour oil on his feet like the woman did.  Yet if we never have that once in a lifetime event, we can do this by living a life that shows our faith.  We can care for the poor, the orphaned, the widowed, and all those who struggle with the challenges of life.  We can pray; we can worship God in spirit and truth; we can be part of the active body of Christ.  The real issue here isn’t how do you do this (express your faith) but that you do this (express your faith).

Father in heaven, send your Spirit to guide me so that I may express my faith in the manner that may bring glory to you.  Help me to focus on your grace that I may boldly confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord.  Help me to live this truth in my life.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Friday, September 29, 2023

9-29-2023

Good Morning All,

      1 Thessalonians 5: 18; “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

       Do you ever have one of “those days”?  You know; the kind of day that starts out badly and then seems to go downhill from there.  It might start with the electricity flickering enough to mess up the alarm clock, so you oversleep by a half of an hour.  Then you stub your toe or cut yourself shaving or you spill coffee on your work outfit and now you have to change clothes.  You go to get in the car and it either won’t start or has a flat tire or both.  Sometimes you have one of those days and it is a day like that which often makes it hard to give thanks in all circumstances.

     We have days like this.  It seems that things just begin to pile on top of each other.  While it happens, we can be really frustrated but a few days later; we will often snicker when we think about it.  It might take some time to get the proper perspective on the event, but we do.  Yet these little events should help us see that, most of the time, our lives go fairly smoothly.

    Yet there are times when it is very difficult to give thanks.  We look at our lives and wonder how do we give thanks?  We may have health problems or finance problems or relational problems; all these can make it difficult to give thanks.  We look at the world around us, maybe our neighbor’s new car or listen to their tales of wonderful trips and then look at our lives and wonder what is there to give thanks for.  So why would we give thanks in all circumstances?

    The first thing we need to look at and remember is that our circumstances are beyond this earthly life.  Our circumstances involve our heavenly life; for our life has been changed, dramatically. When Jesus walked out of the tomb everything changed.  We no longer fear death or are we terrorized by the devil.  When Jesus walked out of the tomb; it became a new day, a new life, and a new existence. 

     So, our circumstances are to be viewed differently.  Our circumstances are now being God’s holy and redeemed children.  We are in this circumstance every day, and this is why we should be thankful in all circumstances.  Every day, we are living in our new life, freed from sin and the power of the devil.  No matter what he tries to throw at you, it will never stick because you have been washed in the blood of Jesus.  We are cleansed and thoroughly washed.  We are new creatures in God.  We know that our circumstance will not change; we are in God’s care, and nothing will ever change that.  Our hope, our future is secure.

    So, if your car doesn’t start; well, you are still living the life of a redeemed child of God.  If your alarm doesn’t go off; the same is true.  But at a much deeper level, if your spouse leaves you; you are still a redeemed child of God, and we can give thanks for this wonderful blessing.

Father of grace, we give you thanks for the mercy that you give to us through Jesus.  Help us to see that all our problems truly do pale when we see your glory given to us because of Jesus.  Help those who do not experience this certainty and this comfort.  Guide them by your Spirit that they may know your peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Thursday, September 28, 2023

9-28-2023

Good Morning All,

        2 Kings 6:17; “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

    This is from one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament. Unfortunately, it is not part of the readings in the three-year or the one-year series, so we don’t hear it, but it is a great story. The story involves Elisha the prophet, his servant, the King of Syria and two great armies.

    The King of Syria was a bully who was trying to pick a fight with the King of Israel. Syria was far more powerful than Israel so it would not have been much of a contest, but God was intervening. God was revealing to Elisha all the secret plans of the King of Syria and Elisha was warning the King of Israel. This was so effective that the King of Syria thought there had to be a spy in his court or council. After much consternation of the council for the King, someone finally convinced him that the problem was this pesky prophet named Elisha who was living in the city of Dothan who was able to listen “like he was even in the king’s bedroom.”

    The king dispatched his army to Dothan and surrounded the city during the night. When Elisha’s servant saw the army, he was terrified! He went and woke Elisha and asked, “what will we do?” Elisha tole him to have not fear, there are more on our side than on theirs” A very curious thing indeed. The young man could look all around and all he could see were Syrian soldiers, Syrian bowmen, Syrian chariots, Syrians everywhere and only Syrians. So, Elisha prayed the prayer in our verse, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.”

    God answered the prayer and soon the young man saw an army of angels and chariots of fire all around the army protecting Elisha. Now he knew why Elisha wasn’t worried. God was there with great might to protect Elisha and his servant.

   “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” This is a very fitting prayer. How often do we, in times of struggle and distress, fall into despair, panic, anxiety, or fear because all we see is the problem? We need to have our eyes opened and see with our eyes of faith the great wonders God has done, is doing, and will continue to do for us. We need to remember to see the Cross and the empty tomb. We need to remember the words of forgiveness, the words of comfort, the words of promise that Jesus gives to us every day through His Word. “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” This would be a great prayer to speak every morning when you begin your day. Pray that God would open our eyes to the great gift of hope that is ours in Jesus. To remember that the temporal things of this world are temporary, but the promise of eternal life lasts forever. “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” May God open our eyes as well!

O Lord, please open our eyes that we may see. Send your Spirit to keep us mindful of your mercies and the wondrous hope that we have in Your Name. Keep us safe, resting in your loving and protective arms. Be with those who are hurting today. Open their eyes to your great mercy and great. In the precious Name of Jesus, our Risen Savior, we pray, amen!

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

9-27-2023

Good Morning All,

Matthew 26:39; “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

    What cup?  What is Jesus referring to here? This verse is from when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane on Maundy Thursday.  In our verse we have a portion of the prayer that he prayed and this portion he prayed three times.  This is the portion that caused him to sweat like drops of blood.  This was the hard part of the prayer.  The hard part was “the cup.”

     “The cup” referred to here is the same cup that is referred to in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and in Revelations.  The cup is tied to the cup of sour wine that the losing king would drink before he was executed. It represented the full wrath of the conquering king upon his enemy. Here this cup is the cup of God’s wrath.  It represents the entire amount of God’s holy and righteous anger at sin.  It represents the full and complete outpouring of God’s judgment for all the sins ever committed and it was all directed at one man- Jesus.  Now Jesus knew exactly what this constituted and the human nature of him didn’t want to die.  So, he prayed and prayed and prayed.  “Please Father, remove this cup, if possible, but not my will but your will be done.”

    Jesus knew God’s wrath and he experienced that wrath as he hung on the cross.  As Jesus hung on that cross for all those hours, the full unmitigated wrath of God poured out upon him.  So, what does the full wrath of God look like?  We may think in terms of volcanoes or earthquakes or great storms.  Maybe we think in terms of plagues of frogs or worms or something like this.  Actually, the full wrath of God can be described in one word and that word is hell.  The entire wrath of God is seen in the abandonment of man by God into hell.  This is why Jesus exclaimed, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  At that time, the full wrath of God was upon him, and he was abandoned by God.  The amazing thing is that he did this because of his love for you.

    This is a love that we cannot imagine.  Yet, it was love that motivated him to do this.  He died for you, and not just died but suffered greatly for you, all out of love.  So, if he did this for you, out of love, you can be sure that he will also do all good things for you out of love.  Paul asks the question, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  The truth is that God will give you all good things the most important is life eternal with him.  This we can trust and this we can rejoice in.

Father of all good things, through your amazing mercy you sent Jesus to be forsaken so that we are not.  Guide us by your grace to hold onto the wonderful promise of eternal life and the wondrous blessing of new life.  In the name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

 

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

9-26-2023

Good Morning All,

     John 20:30-31; “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

       So, do you ever wonder what the disciples did on Saturday between Good Friday and Easter?  It would have been the Sabbath and it would have been the Passover but what did they do?  Did they just sit and stare?  Did they plan for what was next?  Did they sit and remember and reminisce about the past three years?  What did they do?

    The answer: we don’t know.  Scriptures doesn’t tell us what the disciples did on Saturday.  Scriptures does that a lot to us.  We know very little about Jesus from after his birth until he begins his ministry when he is about thirty.  We only have one little snippet of his childhood.  Did he learn the trade of carpentry?  How much rabbinic training did he receive as a child?  Was he poor, rich, or what we would call middle-class?  We don’t know.

    This isn’t the only place where Scriptures is silent.  We don’t have a real good description of heaven or hell or what our glorified bodies will look like.  Even in the Old Testament there are places where Scriptures is silent.  For some, this is very disturbing.  When you point out what Scriptures actually says some get upset because it is different from what they have heard or were taught or want to believe.  So, we wonder, we may even ponder, but we don’t know.

    Don’t let what Scriptures does not tell you undermine what it does tell you.  The Bible was written for a very specific reason and that reason is to reveal to you the truth about Jesus and how he gives you salvation.  All the stories in the Bible direct us to this truth.  Jesus died to pay for your sins and was raised to give you the victory over death.  That is what we are told and that is the greatest news that you can ever hear. 

    Through His Word, God reveals to us what we need to find our comfort in Him, to find our hope in Him, to recognize that our security is tightly wound up in His unfailing love.  He reveals his truth to us.  He reveals what we need to know but it is not all the truth that is God.  “God’s ways are higher than our ways” we are told.  God reveals himself to us in the manner that we need.

    So, for the rest, we need to live in faith.  We know God’s love for us as he has revealed it.  We can thus trust that what is not revealed to us is based in and on his nature of love.  We don’t know everything but everything we know tells us we are saved.  Trust in God’s promises; he won’t let you down.

Father in heaven, you know all that there is.  Guide us by your Spirit to trust in you and your holy Word.  We know that your mercy has redeemed us and that your grace sustains us.  Lead us to be content in your loving arms.  Be with those who struggle with the demons of this life.  Send your Spirit of comfort to them and guide them to your Holy Scriptures so that they may have peace.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

Monday, September 25, 2023

9-25-2023

Good Morning All,

1 Corinthians 6:11; “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

      When one of our grandsons was a toddler, he was a “Cheetos” fanatic.  He loved those little cheesy snacks.  The funny thing was that he hated to have dirty or sticky hands.  He wanted mom, dad, or anyone close to clean his hands.  So, after a Cheetos or two then he would hold his hands up and says, “hands, wipe, dirty.”  After Easter and the Easter egg hunt, with the candy that melted in his hands, he really needed to have his hands cleaned.  It was funny to watch a little toddler who loved the outdoors and did not like to have dirty hands. 

     Sometimes, in our lives, it gets a little messy.  Sometimes, it gets a lot messy.  Our lives are a very messy and complicated affair.  It would be so much easier if we could keep it simple and on task.  Yet “stuff” can get in the way.  We finally get our feet on the ground and going forward and then one day we go in and find out that the company we work for is “downsizing”; which is the politically correct saying for “you’re fired.”  Sometimes, we find the person we think just might be the one, but he gets transferred across country and she can’t go for a year; can they last? 

     Sometimes things are looking good but then a child gets a severe illness.  The medical costs are going through the roof.  The parents need to keep working, they need to spend time with their sick child, they need to spend time with their other children.  The strain plays out in their lives and their marriage.  It can get messy; perhaps, really sticky.  Perhaps, it is your spouse that gets told that the doctors have done everything they can do.

     Life can be messy and despite this; God still loves you.  Jesus came to live among people and to be involved in their messy lives.  He came to die a very messy death to pay the debt of sin which we owed.  It was a huge bill; it was going to be messy to pay for it and it was.  Yet on Easter, God cleaned it up and cleaned it up completely. 

    Through Christ we are a new creation.  We are washed and cleansed from the messiness of sin.  While we may feel the effects of sin, sin does not need to cause us pain.  Sin does not separate us from God anymore.  Sin does not make us too messy for God to come to us and to love us and to give us comfort.  He sends his Spirit to bring us hope.  He calls us to prayer to speak to him and to tell him our fears and our worries.  He comes to bring you the peace that a messy world does not let us have.  Life after Easter is different.  While there are still messes, they wash off because Jesus has cleansed us from our sins, gives us new life and gives us hope.

Gracious Lord, life is messy, yet you give us hope to live through the pain and the struggles.  You give us the certainty of our salvation and the comfort of your Spirit.  Be with those who are in especially messy situations and are in need of your comforting Spirit.  Send them the consolation that they need.  In the precious name of Jesus, our Risen Savior, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

Sunday, September 24, 2023

9-24-2023

Good Morning All,

                  Matthew 7:7; “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

       There is an old story often told about prayer.  There once was a man who lived his life believing in Jesus and trusting in the promise of his eternal salvation.  Much of his earthly life was a struggle from one incident to another.  So, when he died and went to heaven, he was greeted by St. Peter and shown the mansion that he was going to spend eternity in.  The man was in awe of the size and scope of God’s blessings for him in eternity.  As they opened the door to look around, the place was filled with boxes, hundreds, and hundreds of boxes.  The man asked St. Peter about the boxes.  St. Peter replied, “These were the blessings that were yours for the asking while you lived on earth.  We will move them soon as you do not need them now.”

     This little piece of fiction is designed to tell us about prayer.  Jesus, repeatedly, asks us, begs us, and pleads with us to pray.  Yet how often do we?  How many times have we faced difficulties or battles and tried to cope with them on our own rather than trusting God and placing our fears in his hands?  How many times do we turn away from God rather than toward him in prayer?  Prayer is a great blessing that God gives to us yet often I hear people say things like, “I have done all I can do; now it is up to God.”  It has always been up to God.  Or maybe, “The only thing left is to pray.”  That is where we should start.

     The problem that most of us have with prayer is that we limit it.  We define a prayer as being answered only if it goes the way we want when we want it.  If we pray for a new job but don’t get it, we think the prayer has failed.  If we pray for rain and don’t get it, then our prayer went unheard.  What we need to see is that through prayer God seeks to change us and our heart.  He seeks to give us the comfort and the solace that we need if only we would ask for the grace to receive it.

   We need to ask God to change our heart and not our situation.  We need contentment more than we need a bigger paycheck.  We need patience more than we need a faster response.  We need to see that we need to change more than that others need to change to suit us.  We need to know that healing is not always physical but is more often spiritual and emotional reconnecting.  We need to see that God answers our needs and not always our wants but when we trust in God to answer our prayers; he will faithfully do so.

    We need to trust that God’s will is the best for us even when in the short term it looks differently.  Trust God and then ask him for his bountiful blessing; he will shower you with them like a gentle spring rain.

Father of all blessings, we are often slow to come to you for the many blessings that you would shower upon us.  We walk away from you and your amazing love.  Guide us to trust in you.  Be with those who struggle and battle on their own and suffer from the loneliness that this causes.  Bring them to the safety of your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

Saturday, September 23, 2023

9-23-2023

 Good Morning All,

                  Luke 19:10; “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

      I am somewhat of a “trekkie;” that is, I like to watch “Star Trek.”  I like the old TV series with Kirk and Scottie and Sulu.  I like it because the special effects are kind of cheesy, but the story line is usually predictable.  One of the shows was about a civilization that was controlled by a computer.  The whole purpose of the civilization was to obey the computer.  So now Kirk has to figure out how to destroy the computer without interfering with the civilization.  A tricky plot indeed.  But in the end, the computer was foiled and the civilization went on to develop as it should and it only took an hour to resolve.

     Unfortunately, we can’t solve most of our problems in an hour.  Most of our struggles can take years to develop.  It may take a few days for them to mushroom into something hugely out of control, but they usually fester for years.  It might be the slight cuts of disrespect to our parents or our spouse.  It may be the cold and callous way we act toward others.  Or it might be our dietary and exercise habits over the years that have led to high blood pressure and cholesterol problems.

     We may have been less than friendly at work or maybe put in just enough effort so they wouldn’t fire us.  There are many ways our struggles begin but they will always take a painful twist because of our sin and because the devil really enjoys our pain.  He even takes minor disturbances and makes them seem huge.  Think not?  Have you ever thought of a problem that nagged at you and didn’t let you sleep?  How big did your imagination make that problem?  This is usually how it goes.  The devil loves to take those festering problems, caused by our sins, and make them blow up right in our face.  That is the devil’s sole purpose; to torment you and to drive you from God.

    Yet Jesus came to earth for one sole purpose and that was to buy us back.  He came to save the lost, you and me.  He came to bring us relief from the devil’s taunts and attacks.  He came to save us from sin and the pain that it can cause in our life.  He came to bring us back to God’s family.  Through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, he blazed the path for our eternal life and our peace with God.

    The struggles of the world are still here but they do not separate us from God, and we can face them knowing that God’s love will always be there for us.  It is his grace that sustains us through our battles, through the eruptions of pain which will occur.  God’s grace will guide us along.  Jesus came to find you; rest in the comfort of the knowledge that he will never lose you.

Father of all mercy, through your wondrous grace we are found.  You have sent Jesus to make us your own dear children.  Guide us by your grace as we battle the devil and the pain which he brings us.  Be with those who still feel lost.  Shine your light of mercy upon them and give them the comfort of your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

Friday, September 22, 2023

9-22-2023

Good Morning All,

           Psalm 90:12; “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

I was visiting with a younger mother the other day.  She and her husband have three children, two boys and a girl.  She has a job; he has a job, and the children participate in just about everything.  They have soccer and spring baseball and softball.  They have dance, music in school and one set of piano lessons.  She has everything plugged into her smartphone which is synced to her husband’s phone.  She belongs to a couple of civic groups and is willing to help with the youth at her church.  I got winded listening to her.

    I asked her if they ever had time to eat together as a family.  She replied, “Oh yeah, real often, we go through the drive through on the way to a game somewhere.”  Well, I guess it is family time.  Yet does it really count?  One of the unfortunate side effects of trying to have everything is that when you get it, there is no time.  If you have and do everything, there truly isn’t enough time in the day and there really isn’t time in your life.

   We seem to think that in order to be happy or successful, we have to have everything, do everything, and leave nothing for tomorrow.  Yet the one thing that truly suffers is our relationships because these need to be built on people and not on things.  I talked with a counselor one time who was seeing an increase in couples in their mid-40’s through early-50’s who had no idea how to interact or communicate with each other.  They were married in their early to mid-20’s, had a family, chased kids for 15-20 years and when they became empty nesters; they were left empty.

    In our verse, God is telling us to plan wisely.  The most important parts of life here on earth are the relationships that we form.  God gives us the gift of faith.  He gives us the forgiveness of sins.  He gives us the gift of reconciliation.  He wants us to foster our loving relationships with those people who he places in our lives.  He gives us the time, the energy, and the wherewithal to make them satisfying relationships.  Yet we can’t keep putting “things” ahead of people.  We can’t keep thinking that having our children in one more event or that our belonging to one more club is the answer.  We have to stop seeing stuff as the answer to the hard work that relationships are.

    Relationships can get messy every so often.  This will happen when sinful people are put in the same room.  Yet God’s love for us is to have solid loving relationships here on earth as a dim reminder of the love that God has for us.  It is also to give us a helpmate here on earth.  It is to give us someone to share the glad and the sad moments with.  Our life should be about each other and not about stuff.

Gracious Lord, we see in you the perfect relationship between Father and Son.  Help us to strive for this type of relationship here in this life.  Give us the wisdom to pick people over things.  Be with those who are struggling with their relationships at this time.  Help those who are lost in the shallowness of possessions and guide them by your Spirit back into your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Thursday, September 21, 2023

9-21-2023

Good Morning All,

          Mark 9:24; “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

     I am very blessed to have three of the greatest daughters-in-law in the world.  They are a great joy to be around, and they are a definite “add” to the gene pool.  So, as I was perusing the Facebook postings, one of them had posted this:

Just read the saddest words ever. On an obituary for a teenage boy, his parents wrote this: "He did a lot of good things in his short life, went to such-and-such a church, but like most teens struggled with his faith. We hope he's in a better place now..."     Talk about heartbreaking.

That phrase “struggled with his faith” is a very painful phrase.  Maybe you have a child or a spouse or maybe even you “struggle with your faith.”  Welcome to the club.  I think that there are times in every person’s life when they struggle with faith some struggles are longer or deeper than others but struggle, we do.  It might be an event or two in our life; it might be something we hear or see; it might just be the frustration of life rearing its ugly head, but there are times when we all struggle with our faith.

    I believe this because the Bible constantly refers to people who are weak in faith.  The father in our verse for one.  Peter for one, Thomas the doubter for one, the Apostle Paul for one, me for one and, maybe, you for one.  God knows that faith is going to be a challenge.  There will be so many things attacking it and there will be days when we waver; there will be days that we struggle with our faith.

    That is even why God gave us the Bible.  St. John wrote, “…these things are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” is probably a more accurate translation of this verse.  So, we can continue to believe.  God gives us the Bible as the place where we go to remind us that are saved and that He does all the work.

    If I could talk to these parents, I would tell them it is not the size or strength of his faith, but it is entirely by God’s grace that this young man will see heaven.  Do you believe that your sins are forgiven? (YES) That’s it; not how much, not how well we understand it, not how well we can explain it just do you believe (YES) is all we need.  We will struggle, sometimes mightily, but that is the beauty of God’s grace; it is made perfect in our weakness.  God's grace alone saves, and it is always big enough.

Father of mercy, help our unbelief.  Guide us by your perfect Spirit to trust your Word.  Even when we struggle, draw us back to your Word of comfort and hope.  Still our fears and our doubts but when they come protect us with your grace and mercy.  Be with those who are especially struggling with their faith at this time.  Gently return them to your loving arms.  Use us as the instruments of mercy to bring this about.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

9-20-2023

Good Morning All,

        Deuteronomy 10:18; “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

      His name was William Wilberforce.  I would guess most of us do not know who he is.  He was a leading abolitionist in the United Kingdom.  He lived from 1759-1833.  He was a very influential leader who made it his total and sole ambition to rid the kingdom of slavery.  He was driven by his faith in God.  The truly amazing thing about him is that at the time of his death; his zeal had changed the debate within the kingdom, and the western world forever.

    The debate about helping people, those who were poor and homeless, those who were widows and orphans; that debate went from do we help to how do we help.  The debate was no longer do we, as a society or people, have an obligation to our fellow man.  The true question became the method to deliver this help.  It was truly a watershed time for most of western civilization.  Wilberforce’s compassion and his zeal for aiding the downtrodden moved the greatest kingdom at that time to become a more compassionate kingdom.

    This is exactly what God instructed the Children of Israel to do; to be compassionate.  They were to leave the gleanings (the leftovers from harvest), the edges of the field, and any grapes or olives that they dropped on the ground for the orphans, the widows, and the alien (sojourner) in their land.  They were not only supposed to not hurt them, but they were expected to care for and show hospitality to them.

    When we read the writings of the prophets later on, when they are laying out the accusations of unfaithfulness that God states to them, it is often that they mistreated the poor and the underprivileged.  This action was the result of their overall unfaithfulness to God.  The sin of cheating others, especially those who were unable to defend themselves, was an outward sign of an inner corruption.

    That is how God views our good (or bad) works.  Our works are only the outward sign of what is truly in our heart.  When Jesus told his disciples that in their giving “the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.”  This is as much a call to have kindness and charity be such a part of life that it as familiar as breathing.  Our work, before God, is to reconcile with our fellow man and to care for each other and to really mean it.

    God calls us to action and not to lip service.  He calls us to show the love that we receive to those who we have contact with.  We may debate how best to do it, but we should never debate that it is the right thing to do.  Love one another; love your neighbor as yourself.  These are the new commands that Jesus gives us.  Now we need to act.

Father of love, give me a compassionate heart and a willing spirit.  Move me to help my neighbors with true love and not grudgingly.  Guide me to share the bounty of your gracious gifts.  Guide us to those who are in need of your bounty and in need of your grace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

9-19-2023

Good Morning All,

             Ephesians 2:8; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

    I want you to imagine for a moment that you have just received a gift card to your favorite restaurant for $1000.  You get excited and you and your spouse and your family go out for supper.  You order expensive food and enjoy the meal thoroughly.  You laugh and talk freely because the meal is free.  After you use the card there is some leftover, so you decide to come back again next week.  When you return, you find out that no money has been taken off the card account.  So, you have another large meal with your family.  The next week you come back, and the same thing happens; the card never runs out of money.

   Now you are excited.  Maybe you could invite a friend or two to come along but who would you invite?  Would you invite your neighbors, or would you invite someone that used to be very important in your life at one time but you both moved on, perhaps a former co-worker or someone you used to go to school with.  Would you invite the new person at work that you just met?  Wouldn’t it be exciting?  You wouldn’t have to pay for supper, they wouldn’t have to pay for supper; the entire evening meal would be already paid for, a gift from some kind benefactor.  The really fun thing is that next time, you can either bring a whole new set of people or you can bring the same ones you brought this time.

   Would you spend time trying to match up people you know so they could now have some new friends?  Maybe, just maybe, you could call a few of those people with whom you have had a falling out and try to fix it so that you are friends again.  That would be nice.  Think of all the things you could do with a great gift like that.

    You have a great gift like that.  God has given you the gift of salvation, an everlasting gift that never runs out.  God pours his grace on you, over you and in you.  He pours so much grace upon you that there is more than enough to share; so, do you?  Do you share God’s grace with those around you or do you try and hide it away?

    We share God’s grace by telling others about the love and peace we have through Jesus.  We also share that grace by treating people as God treats us and that is with more care and understanding than we deserve.  We share God’s grace by giving a smile and a kind word rather than a growl.  We share God’s grace by speaking softly to deflect anger and being calm instead of agitated.  We show God’s grace by being patient with the store clerk who is doing the best that he can.  God showers you with more grace than you can ever envision; share a little with those around you. 

Father of all grace, you pour your love out upon us like a river.  Give us the wisdom to share that same grace with those around us. Help us to seek out those who are most in need of your grace.  Guide us to the hurt, the lonely and those of broken spirit.  Deliver your grace to them.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

 

Monday, September 18, 2023

9-18-2023

Good Morning All,

    Deuteronomy 5:15a; “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”

      “We are slaves to no one!”  That was a comment made by the Jewish leaders to Jesus when he called them slaves.  The fact that their country was occupied by the Roman Empire at the time was just a matter of perspective, I guess.  As we read that section of Scriptures, we often chuckle at this; how can they possibly say they aren’t slaves?  Now maybe technically they weren’t but they paid onerous taxes to an occupying force and were required to ask for permission of this occupying government to do just about anything.  That sounds like slavery, a time when you do not get to make your own choices.  It is either slavery or prison; take your pick.

     That is the good thing about living in the good ole’ US of A.  We are free; we are slaves to no one; almost.  Unfortunately, we are among the poorest slaves because we are not only slaves, but we willingly became one.  We have abandoned God in favor of what we call being tolerant of others.  Now on the surface this sounds good; except it has become the code word for “don’t speak the truth.”  We are slaves to consumerism and think that we have to buy more and more.  It always amazes me how everyone has a smartphone, even kids, why?  Usually the answer is “because everyone else does.”

    We are truly slaves.  We are slaves to sin, to greed, to a pluralistic consumerism that demands that we “buy” into anything.  We believe that our personal wants should supersede the needs of others.  “I want, I want” is enough of a mantra for us to turn our backs on the needs of our fellow man because we are slaves to our own selfish foolishness.  But we don’t need to be that way.

    Just as God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, so God has freed us from slavery to sin and our own selfish foolishness.  We are free but just like the Israelites often times wanted to go back to Egypt and live in slavery; we too want to go back to slavery to sin.  We want to go back because our sinful nature wants us to believe that this is the best life we can have.  Yet God calls us to a better life.  He calls us to a life of freedom from this want.  We do not have to be slaves to this want; we are free from being slaves to this want.

   God, by his grace, will give us peace and contentment if we trust in him.  He gives us so much to enjoy, the time with family and friends, the beauty of nature and the freshness of his Word.  Jesus stretched out his arms to free you from slavery; don’t go running back.

Gracious Father, in your great love and mercy you have freed me from the slavery to sin.  Give me the wisdom to maintain that freedom.  Help to overcome the slavery to wants that only hurt us and separate us from your love.  Grant us the wisdom to seek your peace and your peace alone.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

Sunday, September 17, 2023

9-17-2023

Good Morning All,

    John 10:10; “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

    Have you ever watched any of the different “Robin Hood” movies?  I am partial to the old Errol Flynn movies.  Yet I watch most of them as they come along.  The one thing I notice is that the newer movies have a much darker view of life in the 1200’s than the earlier movies.  They seem to really try and express the desperate nature of life.  The common people always live in hovels and are always dirty.  Their clothes are ragged, and they are always very poor.  They are usually being harassed by the king’s men for money for taxes.  These later movies paint a sad existence.

    In our world today, there are many people who live this same existence.  They struggle just to get from today to tomorrow.  They struggle with just surviving.  All too often, someone who is powerful will come in and steal whatever they have.  When you see this, you often see these people begin to stop, even trying to exist.  They don’t even try because there never seems to be any way to keep enough to live on.  Someone comes and steals it away.

     This is the spiritual battle that we face.  The devil comes to steal and kill and destroy.  He does this out of sheer delight in tormenting us.  He steals your hopes and dreams.  He kills your love for God and for others.  He will destroy your soul as you agonize over life.  This is what the devil enjoys doing, causing you to suffer.  He drains your life of any type of enjoyment or contentment or happiness.  He wants to leave you in a dark and foreboding place.  He wants to come to you to steal, kill and destroy.

    This is where sin leaves us, as the plaything of the devil.  Sin separates us from God leading us away from God’s grace and security out into the world where the devil waits. But God had seen our wretched state and turned to us a father’s heart.  Rather than watch us suffer and slowly be tormented by the devil; God had a plan to rescue us.  He sent his Son to take our place and earn salvation for us.  This wasn’t an easy task but shows to us how much God loves us.  Jesus came to give us live and to give it abundantly.

     God’s grace isn’t skimpy by any measure.  We receive grace upon grace, blessings upon blessings.  God gives us life, abundant life.  He gives us what we need to face the devil’s attacks.  He gives us His Word, His comfort, prayer, companionship of fellow believers, but above all he gives us hope.  All this is out of love for us.  We have God’s love pouring down upon us.  He gives us life, very abundant life!

God of all wonder, you give to us life.  We are slow to see it but are truly blessed by your mercy.  Help us to see that you do carry us through our struggles, and you lead us through our perils.  Strengthen our faith as the battles rage around us.  Be with those who are especially struck by the darkness of the devil’s attacks.  Give them the certainty of your grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret