3-31-2024

Good Morning All,

       Mark 16:6; “And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

    There was a small group gathered at one of the local assisted living centers. The “birthday boy” had turned 101 years-old and they were celebrating. He was still very active and enjoyed playing cards with anyone who would play. (I didn’t, he played for blood!). Everyone was asking him about all the changes that he had witnessed in his lifetime. He witnessed many events and changes. He witnessed a world war (served in it, Thank you sir!) many “conflicts. He grew up during the Great Depression.

    He experienced 18 presidents, and 24 South Dakota governors. He witnessed the TVA, the CCC, and the growth of Social Security. The rural electrification and the coming of the telephone, the computer, international flights, the space program with a man walking on the moon and the birth of 5 children, 18 grandchildren, 45 great grandchildren, and 7 great, great grandchildren. So, some of the staff were trying to get him to tell them about the greatest event. He said that is easy, “the greatest event that I have ever experienced was the Resurrection of Jesus! That changed me forever!”

    I have to confess, I didn’t see that coming; but after he said it, I should have known. He is a man of unshakable faith. The real amazement came from some of the staff. To them, church was something “you did.” You checked off the box that said, “I went to church, I am good for this week.” He lives it, every day. He clings to his faith; he breathes his faith, and his faith lives and breathes in him. He will interact with the staff and the other residents, and his faith will show. He is fully confident that Jesus is risen from the dead and now lives and reigns to all eternity.

    Christ is risen!! He is risen indeed!! Does that cry speak of a whole new world to you? It should!! Jesus conquered sin, death, and the devil. He paid for our sins so that we would not have to pay. He opened the door of heaven to all believers. We no longer need to fear death. It is now only a door, or a good nap. One day, God will awaken everyone from this nap, and we will enter into his eternal perfect creation to live with Him for eternity. Our whole way of looking at the world should be completely different because of this phrase. The collusion of the sinfulness of this world, our own sinfulness, our own guilt, and fears do not need to dry us to despair. In all things, Christ is the victor, and we are more than conquerors through Him. Jesus came to give us life; let us go forth in the peace of the Lord!

Gracious Lord and Savior, on this day you opened the door of your most gracious kingdom to all believers. Give us the joy of your salvation. Lead us to proclaim your saving name to all the world that all may know your love. Defend us, protect us, and keep us under your sheltering wings until the day of your glorious return and our entry into your eternal kingdom. Through Jesus, our risen and reigning KING, AMEN!

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-30-2024

Good Morning All,

       1 Corinthians 1: 21; “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”

     I think most people have one.  Most of us have that one friend that, for whatever reason, makes us smile.  Whenever we see him, our hearts are lifted, and our day is brightened.  This friend can usually elicit a smile if not a total laugh from us.  This friend always seems to have an aura of lightheartedness about them.  They seem to lift us from the doldrums upon their appearance.  Which leads to my question; do we have a playful God?

    As I look back over the years; I am always amazed at how someone would come along at just the right moment to restore my spirit.  It might have been a phone call or a letter; it might have been an email or even a real in the flesh moment when someone near and dear or even someone seldom known would help to lift me up would.  As you think of that, think back to your own life and how often someone comes along to offer a lift to our mood or spirit.  Perhaps, if we are truly honest and observant, there were times when we didn’t want to have our spirits lifted and we brushed off the attempt.

    It is somewhat of a sad truth in that many times we would rather stay in our sorrows and doldrums than be lifted out of them.  We would rather wallow in self-pity rather than enjoy God’s gracious world.  The devil will feed into this and so do some of those who like to aid him.  Yet God offers us something better. He offers us some joy and contentment when the world and the devil want us to be sorrowful.

    The devil and the world will always try to use complicated ways to bring you down.  They will always try and tie all the pain together into one long chain and then fasten that chain to you in order to bring you down and to cast a pall over your life.  Yet God offers us a different way and, sometimes, he delivers it through a smile or a joke or a kind word from a friend.  God uses the beauty of a sunrise or sunset in order to provide us with a sense of peace.

    So, God takes the simplicity of his creation, a smile, or a kind word to overcome the confusion and anger that the devil tries to cause.  The more confusion that the devil can cause; the more he likes it.  This draws more people down, causes sadness and sorrow.  This gives the devil what he wants, gloom, doom, pain, and suffering.  Yet God comes to us with the simple laugh of a child or a smile from a friend to give us a lift of joy in this world.

    We can receive this gift from God because it is built on his eternal truth; nothing can separate us form his love.  Nothing can pull us out of his loving hands.  There is nothing on this earth, above or below it that can pull us from God’s incredible love.  Because this is true, God does not need the complex because the simple is so true.   Through all this the devil gets more and more complicated to deceive you; maybe God is playful after all.

Father, you lift me up with the simple joys of life.  Guard and protect me from the devil so that I might always enjoy the life you give me.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

3-29-2024

Good Morning All,

         Romans 8: 26; “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

       I was watching the news the other day.  One of the stories was of a set of parents whose teen aged daughter had gone to school and did not come home.  They were anguished with the details and what they did not know.  They were pretty sure that she had run away.  They thought that she was in trouble somehow and had fled.  She may have been in the company of a man twice her age.  The pain in their eyes, in their voice and even in their posture as they stood and talked to the news reporter was evident.  They leaned on each other, wondering and suffering.

    There are times when we see this.  It often occurs when something happens that we simply cannot comprehend.  I hear it in the voice of those whose loved ones are suffering, and the doctor’s prognosis is not good.  I hear it in the voice of those whose loved ones had been suffering for years and yet are not called home.  I hear it in the voice of the person whose spouse just walked away without even a goodbye or an explanation.  I hear it in the voice of children who feel unloved.  We see the pain, the suffering, and the confusion.

    How do we approach this?  How do we offer comfort?  How do we receive comfort?  Many question this.  Where is our comfort?  We know that our comfort, our only comfort, and hope is Jesus.  We know that Jesus is our hope far more than just offering it or providing it; Jesus is our hope.  He is our only hope but when we suffer, how do we access that hope?

    Scriptures tells us to “stay in the Word.”  We do this by prayer and by the reading/hearing God’s Word.  Yet, if we are like the parents looking for their daughter, what do we ask?  Probably the best thing to ask for is God’s peace.  We may not know where to turn but we know that we are in turmoil and what we need is for that turmoil to end.  It ends where God’s peace begins.  It begins when we see that, as God’s children, we remain his beloved family.

    The God who loves you like that will never close His ear or turn His head.  He mourns alongside you and laughs with your joy.   He seeks to enfold you and those whom you love, even when you have wandered away.  He loves you in a way beyond what we will never understand, and He will answer your cries. Even as we cry, maybe without even knowing what or how to cry, God hears our spirit and our heart.  He hears your sorrow and sends you, his peace.  It may be painful, but it will not last forever; only God’s love lasts forever.

Father, there are so many times when I do not know what or how to pray; yet you hear me.  You send your Spirit to comfort me.  You send your Spirit to bring me peace.  It is your peace that I need, and it is your peace that I desire.  Be with those who are especially troubled in their heart and in their life.  Send them your Spirit we pray.  Give them and to all your healing.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

3-28-2024

Good Morning All,

                 Isaiah 40:8; “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

       I admit it. At a very certain and basic level I am a cynical, skeptical pessimist.  This is especially true with almost any guarantee that comes with a product that I purchase.  I feel a little sorry for the poor salesperson who tries to sell me the “extended warranty.”  If they ask me if I want it, I say “no, thank you.”  If the salesperson is smart enough to let it go everything will be fine, but it never takes long if they keep trying to sell me the “you simply can’t live without this warranty;” I start to get a little growly.  One time, I didn’t buy the product I took up to the sales counter because the gal won’t take no for an answer when asking about the warranty.

    I didn’t used to be such a cynical, skeptical pessimist.  I used to follow the rules.  I kept the sales receipt.  I kept the original box.  I sent in the paperwork.  Yet after a few fails, I could never remember where I put the box or where the sales receipt was.  A couple of times, the company went out of business.  A couple of times, the store where I bought it went out of business and there was no way to return it to the “point of purchase.” A couple of times, the salesman never stopped again to make sure everything was working right.  It took a few times of the “lifetime warranty” to fall through that I stop believing in guarantees.

    This is part of what our verse is telling us.  The verse before this tells us that people are like the grass.  People fade away.  The promises, the guarantees, the “absolute certainties” that many a man claims to speak or possess tend to fade away.  We see that all around us.  Are eggs healthy or unhealthy this week?  Is coffee healthy or unhealthy this time around?  When I was in high school in the mid 1970’s, scientists told us we were entering the next ice age; we were experiencing a global cooling; now we have global warming.  They may be right, or they may be wrong, but I am not going to get too excited because they will certainly change.

    Man’s thoughts may be correct or incorrect, but God’s Word stands the firm forever.  God’s Word never fails.  Through His Word, God promises and delivers to us eternal life.  He promises and delivers to come into our life and to bring to us healing.  He promises and delivers to bring about the restoration of his creation to perfect completion.  We are his people; we are safe within his loving embrace.  God’s Word is forever; we can trust that to be true.  God has always kept his promises and he always will.

Father of all mercy, you alone stand forever.  You alone are the only truth as all others wither away.  Your Word stands forever.  In it we have hope.  We ask that you guard and protect those who are listening to the false promises of this world and are confused and lost.  Bring them safely back into your loving kingdom.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-27-2024

Good Morning All,

       1 John 4:18; “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

       I remember as a kid I would stay up late on Friday nights and watch the old movies that used to come on after the 10:00 local news.  They were usually from the 1950’s and earlier; a lot of times they were black and white.  Once in a while they would be foreign.  This was my first experience with the mouths moving but not matching the words.  There were a variety of movie types.

    One that I vividly remember starred Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing.  It was entitled “Scream and Scream Again.”  I sat there and watched the whole thing and then sat in my bedroom with the light on all night.  That was one of the scariest movies that I have ever watched.  I still think the old movies are scarier than the new ones.  The old ones relied on camera angles, careful editing, and solid acting.  Today it relies on computer graphics and effects.  Yet as I watched that old Vincent Price movie, I was very afraid.

     There may be different times that you were very afraid and not have anything to do with a movie.  Sometimes the most fearful events occur in real life; events that can cause us to leave a light on all night and to sit in fear.  It might be a sudden illness or a sudden death.  It might be a prolonged illness.  It might be a loss of a job.  For some it is actually a stretch of time where their life is going fairly smoothly.  These folks are just waiting for life to turn against them.  We live in fear, and we live in fear because we fear punishment.  We fear punishment for sins we have committed.  We know these sins and the devil knows these sins and he reminds us of them any chance he gets.  We live in fear.

    Yet Jesus came to remove the fear.  Jesus came as God’s perfect love faced all the challenges that we face, even facing down the devil and death itself with God’s perfect love.  In that perfect love, whole and complete, God displayed that perfect love by giving the victory that Jesus earned over death and the devil to us.  He gives us the victory and along with that he gives us love and peace.

    Yet since we are not yet perfect, we still experience bouts of fear.  We still fear even when we know that we have nothing to fear.  When this fear occurs, we can only look to God, clinging solely and totally to his grace.  When we cling to God, through faith, we trust his perfect love to conquer our fears.  It is all we have, and it is all we need.  Our imperfect love will fail but thanks be to God that he gives to us the victory.

Father, when my fears arise; lead me to look only unto you.  Guide me by your Spirit to rely on you.  Be with those who are in fear right now.  Calm their fears, give them peace.  Lead them into your wondrous light.  This we ask in the precious name of Jesus our risen Lord, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-26-2024

Good Morning All,

          Luke 17:5; “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

           A number of years ago, I coached kid baseball.  I really enjoyed working with the kids and trying to get them to have some level of success when they played the game.  When they were quite young, the 5- and 6-year-olds, they were easily encouraged.  I remember one young guy who tried to catch a pop fly.  He ran in about 5 steps and the ball landed about 15 feet behind where he started from.  He had a dejected look and I told him he made a good try, and he would catch the next one.  He smiled and said he would.  Yet as the players got older, it got tougher to convince them.  One of the greatest principles that I coached with was the idea that you have to have faith in yourself.  If you believe you will fail, then you probably will.  You need to believe in your skill to have a chance.  Most of the players came to understand this but some never believed in themselves.  In some ways, our faith life works the same way.

    Doubt attacks us in many ways.  One way is that doubt can feed our own selfishness.  Faith requires that we trust others, in this case we must trust God, by doubting, we make ourselves the only one we trust even when we know we are too weak.  This is part of the devil’s deception and part of our sinful nature causing us to look inward and not outward.

    Doubting becomes easy especially if we neglect listening to God and his Word.  Even a few days away can allow the devil to ask, “did God really say?” and we are left wondering, doubting what we know to be true.  These doubts continue to feed our inward-looking curve; and our doubt grows, and our faith weakens.

    Yet what is almost the most devastating thing is that doubting can be contagious.  As those around us doubt, we begin to question as well.  If the person beside us has doubts; it can cause us to think that we may be wrong and cause us to lose confidence.  It can cause us to lose faith.  Doubt is easily one of the devil’s favorite tools.  It is equal to envy and greed.  It feeds our selfishness and weakens our trust in God’s promises.

    This is why we need to cry to our Lord, “Increase my faith!”  We need to constantly renew our listening to his promises.  We need to constantly recharge our faith by reading his Words pf grace, hearing his Word spoken to us and through the regular reception of his sacrament.  God gives us the tools to strengthen the faith he gives us, and we must use them.  Doubt is a powerful tool that the devil loves to use but it cannot overcome the wonders of God’s incredible grace.  Even as we doubt God’s mercy is actively seeking us to come back to him and trust his promise to protect us and to never abandon us.  Our faith will strengthen as long as we always remember that God is greater than any battle and stronger than any doubt we may have.  Just keep praying for an increase in faith.

Father, build our faith.  Strengthen us by your Spirit and remove our doubt.  Guard us by your mercy.  Send your Spirit of hope to those who struggle with doubt and fear.  Bring them home to your loving arms where they may be safe and at peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

3-25-2024

Good Morning All,

       Isaiah 41:9; “you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off.”

       “Mr. Irrelevant.” This is the title they give to the very last person selected in the NFL draft.  The 256^th player drafted to play in the NFL.  You get the impression that the janitor is sweeping the floor; the lights are being shut off; they are taking down the signs; the reporters are gone except for the one who fell asleep in the back; the draft is over except for this last pick.  This guy rarely lasts more than a couple of weeks and then he is cut from the team.  He only gets picked because this is the number of picks that are made.  The first 100 or so picks will all get a good opportunity to play professional football, but this guy usually goes home to his normal job.  He will always have a little memory of the chance to play but the reality is that he is not good enough to play.

    That is how the devil wants you to think of yourself; as “Mr. Irrelevant.”  First, he wants you to think that you are not even close to being good enough for salvation and, if you have a shot at all; it won’t last.  As soon as God knows you, he will cut you from the team.  The devil wants you to always think of past mistakes and past failures.  The devil wants you to think “if God knows how bad I really am; he’ll kick me out tomorrow.”  The devil wants you to think that your only chance is to hide from God and be left alone.  The devil wants to lead or drive you to the ends of the earth, to get away from God.  The devil wants you to run and to never stop running; looking for some place to hide.

    Yet God does not view you as “Mr. Irrelevant.”  God chose you and he will not cast you off. 

He sent Jesus, born as a man to live the life of a man.  He ate, he drank, he slept, he felt sadness, he knew pain and sorrow.  Jesus knows every fear, pain, sorrow, disappointment, or rejection that you have ever experienced.  He knows your life but more importantly he knows your heart.  He places his Spirit in you so that you may desire Him; that you may desire to follow God’s will.  He forgives your sin and forgets your past so that you may live in his holy and loving presence.

    You will never be irrelevant to God.  You are the one who Jesus came to earth to redeem from sin, death, and the tyranny of the devil.  God chose you; it was no accident or mistake; God chose you because he loves you.  He chose you and because of his constant grace; he will never abandon you.  He will never leave you to face the devil by yourself.  You never need to face your fears, your sorrows, your pain by yourself.  You are important to God.  Trust his love and mercy; it is always there for you to give you hope.

Gracious Father, your mercies are new every day.  You lift me up from the pit to live with you in your loving arms.  Protect me from the devil and his assaults.  Keep me safe in the shadow of your wings.  We ask that you defend all those who are under attack at this time.  Keep them secure in the certainty of your grace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

3-24-2024

Good Morning All,

                 Matthew 7:3; “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”

    I remember a time in college when my roommate and I were not getting along very well.  I didn’t really know what was going on.  All of a sudden, he was really grumpy.  Every morning, I would get up and get ready for class.  Now it was an 8:00 am class but I would roll out of bed and down the hall to the showers.  I would take my clothes and dress there and only return to the room to get my books and coat and leave my towel.  I had done the same thing the semester before and it didn’t faze him but now, he was grumpy.  I remember going to class and wondering what his problem was.  I thought maybe he was spending too much time downtown at the local establishments, getting in too late and maybe this was his problem.

    I kept wondering how I would deal with this issue.  I liked the guy I had for a roommate.  He was funny and friendly.  He didn’t demand anything; he was a “live and let live” kind of guy.  All of a sudden, he wasn’t.  Maybe he had some disease or was going through some traumatic life altering event.  Whatever the problem was, it had to be his; I couldn’t think of anything that was different this semester from the last semester.  I can remember praying that God would fix him so everything would be right.

   One day, I was doing some reading, so I decided to make some coffee.  I filled and plugged in my percolator.  It soon started doing its thing.  GURGLE, GURGLE, SWOOSH!!  GURGLE, GURGLE, SWOOSH!  My roommate walked in just as it was going.  I said, “Man that thing is sure noisy.”  He said, “yeah, every morning.”  I then realized I would often start the coffee maker, go to the shower, and then come back and take a cup of coffee to class.  It perked while I was gone but he was trying to sleep.  He didn’t need to change; I did. 

    There are many times when we seem to be at odds with our spouse, family, friends, or co-workers.  We are quick to ask God to “change them and fix their mistakes so things can get back to normal.”  We may even think that they may be beyond hope.  Yet how often do we try and see it from their point of view?  We are quick to place the blame on someone, anyone, but on our own actions.   Yet deep down, we know that we are all sinful and that we probably play a part in the friction.

  So, God invites us to pray and to repent.  He then calls us to go to our brother and to fix the problem.  Even before we worship him at his holy altar, God calls us to reconcile with our brother.  To God, healing this relationship is that important; that God would have us wait in our worship until we have healed the rupture. 

Father of grace; lead me to see that failures in relationships can only be healed by your love and grace.  Guide me to apply your grace to those around me especially to those whom I have offended and hurt.  Lead us to forgive those hurts and to let them go.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

3-23-2024

Good Morning All,

                 1Timothy 2:1; “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”

      I was visiting with one of the area school superintendents and offering my empathy to him for one of the toughest tasks that he has; deciding whether to cancel school because of the weather, start school late because of the weather or just go as scheduled.  This is one of the “no-win” situations.  Someone will always think the decision you made was wrong.  Of course, some of this “wisdom” gets offered after the fact.  They may see that the forecast was wrong and that, later in the afternoon, the decision to call off school, made at 6:00 am, was premature.  I would not want that job.

   I started to think of other jobs that I am not sure I would want.  I remember a local fire chief who said how much he hated accident calls at 8:00 am.  “It is highly possible to be a school kid driving to school and that I will know them.”  He didn’t like those prospects and I don’t know that I would either.  I thought of the young nurse’s aides who work long and thankless hours in our nursing homes and hospitals; I don’t know if I could do that job.  I thought of someone who answers suicide prevention hotlines and the pressure on them to have the right answer at the spur of a moment.

    There are a lot of jobs out there that I don’t think I could handle.  There are some very stressful jobs; jobs that require decisions that can, and often do, impact hundreds to thousands to millions of people.  I don’t think I would enjoy that job.  There are jobs that are very dangerous but very necessary for the general safety of society; we need them, but I am thankful I don’t have to do them.  That is what I was thinking when I opened my bible and found this verse.

   “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.” When you think of those jobs and tasks that need to be done but that you just don’t think you could ever do them; pray for those individuals who do them.  Pray for those people to whom God has given the vocations that you and I would not like to do.  Some are dangerous, some are stressful, some are emotional draining and taxing, but all are jobs that I am thankful that I do not have to perform.  I am thankful that God enables someone to do these tasks and we should all pray for them.  We should pray that God will send his Spirit to help them withstand the stress and the strain that these jobs can exert on someone’s life, relationships, health, and general wellbeing. 

   I remember was wag saying that he prays for our elected leaders; twice as hard for those he didn’t vote for.  Perhaps, when we see a job or task being performed that we are thankful we aren’t performing; we should say an extra prayer of thanks for the ones who are doing it.

Father, thank you for all those people who do the tasks that I cannot.  Keep them safe, keep them strong under the stress, keep them in your loving arms as they serve as your hands in this world.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-22-2024

Good Morning All,

      Matthew 17: 20; “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

      I like to think that I am pretty unflappable. Not much phases me, I roll, pivot, duck, weave, whatever and keep going. However, there was a time when I was flummoxed. I had the incredible honor and privilege of baptizing my grandchild.  There is absolutely no greater joy.  I really wanted it to be special and I had a grandma and a great grandma that wanted it to be special.  Now, every preacher born desires that every service, every time the Gospel of Christ is preached is special, but this was my first granddaughter and even at one month old she has grandpa wrapped around her little finger, so I really wanted it to be special.

    As part of the Baptismal rite, we print out the rite using the candidate’s name where appropriate.  So, when her name was to be in the prayers, we insert her name where it belongs.  This is to make this a very personal and special experience.  As I was reading the rite, I turned the page, and it was blank.  I turned the page and another blank page.  I remembered seeing the last page as I assembled the book, but I didn’t go through it page by page.  I am beginning to sweat; I have been quiet long enough for everyone to notice.  I turn the page, another blank page; time for plan “B” so much for the perfect service.  I knew the part we were on, so I just kept speaking and reached for a hymnal and finished the rite, a little (or maybe a lot) kerfuffled. 

    We finished the service, took the pictures so I went back to the book with the rite in it.  I knew I printed it; I was positive, yet there were blank pages, so I looked and there were three blank pages, then the page that was supposed to be there.  I only had to turn one more page and everything would have been fine; I only needed to have the faith that I had printed it, but I gave up and turned away and made my granddaughter’s Baptism a little less special.

    Faith like that.  We know God is there; he always is but as we turn the pages of our life sometimes the page looks empty, and we panic.  Maybe we go back to God a couple of more times, but the pages look empty so now we really panic.  All we really need to do is to keep going to God, to keep faith in his promise; all we need is a little faith, but we panic, and we seek plan “B.”  Any plan that does not rely entirely on God and his grace is really no plan at all.

    God has promised to take care of us and to comfort us.  Yet even more than that; He has promised to change the hurt to joy, the sorrow to gladness, the cries to laughter.  This process has begun, and it began with the birth of Jesus.  We are continually being restored and healed by God’s grace.  Sometimes, sin clouds our view; sometimes sin weakens our faith.  Yet God continually keeps calling us back, bringing us healing and hope.  It only takes faith to turn the next page.

Father, there are times when I need your help to turn the next page in my life.  Give me the courage and the faith to know that all things are in your hands.  Be with those who are worried and fearful; give them peace and hope.  Heal them, Lord.  In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-21-2024

Good Morning All,

           Psalm 9:2; “I will give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart.   I will tell about all the miracles you have done.”

                                   “I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
                                      To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.”

     This is the chorus from an old and familiar hymn.  The hymn is based on a two-part poem by Katherine Hankey.  The first part of the poem has the author asking for “the story” because of the sadness and the pain that she feels.  In the longer second part the entire story of the Bible is unfolded; from Adam and Eve all the way through our eternal life in with Jesus.  The poem was written while the author was recovering from an illness. 

     The hymn “I love to tell the Story” is a favorite of many.  Yet it leaves open the question, do we?  Do we love to tell the story?  Do we truly enjoy sharing the story of God’s love with those around us?  Many do but many don’t as well.  Yet the telling of the story is one of our great tasks, and joys, in this life.  Scripture tells us that “faith comes by hearing;” if we are going to hear someone has to tell.  This is the way that God has chosen for his wonderful message of hope and salvation to be spread from one to another.  He wants you to tell someone; just like someone told you.  That is how your faith began.

   Someone told you the story of Jesus and his wonderful love for you.  This story unfolds throughout the entire Bible as God reveals himself to us.  This story is about how God’s mercy unfolds in your life and how God is restoring you and bringing you healing in this broken and sinful world.  These are the miracles that you can share with others.  These are your stories so tell them.  They may not seem as incredible or dramatic as some, but God works in your life in many ways usually subtle and quietly.

    Yet the amazing and loving events of your life, the events which we give thanks to God for; these events show us his grace poured out upon us.  We give thanks for those people in our life who love us and care for us.  We give thanks for the guarantee of salvation and the hope and peace which that gives us.  We give thanks for our redemption and return to God’s family.  There are many things to give thanks to God for.

    Yet an important part of thanks is telling others.  Telling others of God’s mercy in our lives; this is part of giving thanks; the expressing of God’s incredible grace which abounds in our life.  I love to tell the story of Jesus and his love.

    Father of all mercy and grace; stir up in us the desire to tell others of your love.  Stir up in us the love of telling those around us of your mercy and grace.  Send your Spirit to move those who hear us to come to faith in you.  This we ask in the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

3-20-2024

Good Morning All,

           Genesis 3:8; “In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking around in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden.”

    My wife and I enjoy gardening. I do the vegetables and she does the flowers. We order different types of seeds and then proceed to grow them, or at least try to grow them.  Through the winter we look at catalogs and websites getting ideas for what to grow. But this does not beat actually seeing the plants actually growing. We like to see flower gardens or even a vegetable garden with the plants flourishing and producing. We, like many people, enjoy the peacefulness, the beauty, and the quiet time with nature.     

    In our verse, we can easily imagine the beauty and the quietness of the garden as God walked in the cool of the evening.  It is safe to assume that Adam and Eve were quiet as they tried to hide from God.  Yet despite the fact that they were hiding, God was looking for them.  God was calling to Adam and Eve.  In the quietness, God sought out his lost children calling to them to come back home.  He was noisy; trying to get them to respond.

   Many years later, we see a different garden.  It is late at night, and it is quiet.  Some of the people there are sound asleep.  Others are searching for someone so they are moving through as quietly as they can.  Off, all by himself, Jesus is praying.  He prays to God, but God is quiet.  Jesus is beginning to face the wrath of God by himself.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, God was silent.  His wrath left him silent.

    All for you and me, Jesus prayed in a garden when God was silent.  God was silent because all was decided.  A bill was due; a price to be paid.  The wrath of God was poured out upon Jesus.  It started in the garden and continued on the cross.  God’s silence, pouring his holy wrath on Jesus, means God is seeking us all the time.  God is not silent about you and me.

    God calls out to you and to me continually through his Word.  Because of God’s silence in the Garden of Gethsemane, God is not silent to us.  He calls us with his love and grace and desires.  He heals us as he restores us.  His grace gives us hope.  He gives us hope so that we can go to the garden and sit in peace knowing that our salvation is sure, our future proven and our present provided for.  God walks in the garden of life with you to keep you safe.  This can be the source of your great comfort and hope.  We can trust in God’s promise to give us the victory over the devil and all his lies and attacks.  God gives us peace in the garden.

Father of all mercy, you bring me hope and peace.  You call to me that I might hear your joyous Word of comfort and grace.  Keep us safe in your loving arms.  Be with those who feel that you are silent to them.  Bring them the peace of your loving mercy.  Heal their pain and bring them into your gracious kingdom.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

3-19-2024

Good Morning All,

             Isaiah 40:3 “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

        “Help me, help me, grandpa, I’n stuck!”  A few years ago, we went outside to play in the snow.  There were snow piles pushed up in the back of the church in the trees.  So, we put on boots, snow pants, hat, coat, and mittens and out the door we went.  We would walk along and every so often he told me, “Watch out, grandpa, it’s slippy.”  We worked our way over to the hills, but the snow was a little deeper there.  Soon as we were walking, he would stop and declare that he was stuck.  The snow wasn’t even to the top of his shoes, but he was stuck.

    After about the fourth time, Grandma decided that grandpa was supposed to plow a path so he wouldn’t get stuck.  So, I shuffled to make paths so he wouldn’t get stuck.  For the most part, it worked.  He followed the paths, and we went about our play.  There were only a couple of times when he veered off the path and was stuck.  As long as he stayed on the path that I prepared for him, everything went fine.

    Our life is a lot like that.  In our verse, this is a phrase that relates to what was called “the king’s highway.”  These were superhighways.  They were wide and flat designed for speedy travel. They were designed to allow the king and his army to travel anywhere in the kingdom speedily.  Usually, if a commoner was on the road when the king was coming, he was either driven off or killed.  This was for the king and his emissaries.  Yet the people often took the chance because the travel was so much easier.

    This verse is quoted in the New Testament as a prophecy about John the Baptizer.  It is that but this phrase has more meaning to it as well.  When the path is made straight, when a highway for our God is made; we can rest assured that God makes it.  God made the road straight so that he could come easily to us.  The death of Jesus paid for the debt of our sin.  It cleansed us to stand before God.  We can stand in his holy presence we can travel on his highway.

    We can always go before God, and we can do it quickly.  We can always call upon his name; at a moment’s notice, we can go to God.  If unplanned or unexpected events suddenly appear, we can, and should, always call upon his name.  We should always look to God for our comfort, our hope, our restoration; he is the source of our healing.  He gives us the love and the mercy that we need but do not deserve because often times; we get stuck by going off the path.

    God provides us the path, but we often go awry.  Yet even when our own foolishness and sin causes us all sorts of pain and sorrow, God pulls us back onto his path, he gets us unstuck.  We don’t have to stay stuck in sin and pain.  God puts us on his path; we have to trust him that it is the best path.

Father of all grace, you build the highway that goes straight to you.  Lead us by your holy and loving arms to stay on your road.  Be with those who have strayed and are stuck.  Bring them back to your gracious family.  Place them safely on your road of salvation.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,                 

Pastor Bret          

3-18-2024

Good Morning All,

            Matthew 27:21; “The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.”

      Our verse occurs during Jesus’ trial before Pilate.  Pilate wanted to release Jesus but was a coward.  He tried a back door approach by trying to stack the deck.  He would free one prisoner at the feast of Passover.  He gave the people the choice between Jesus, a seemingly harmless itinerant rabbi from Galilee, and Barabbas, a murderous thief and anarchist.  It should have been obvious, but the crowd chose Barabbas.

     There are numerous theories as to why the crowd chose Barabbas.  Some think the crowd was paid off by the Scribes and the Pharisees.  Some think the devil possessed the crowd.  Some think the crowd didn’t know any different.  I am no great theologian, but I think the crowd chose Barabbas because they wanted to.  Barabbas was a pain in the side of the Romans; he was the bad guy who only brought mayhem.  He would cause a riot where Roman property was destroyed.  The people wanted to cause problems for the Romans, so they picked Barabbas.

     So, do you pick Barabbas?  Do we seek to be part of the problem?  Do we seek to avenge even the smallest of slights?  Maybe we don’t do it intentionally, but we still do it.  We want to get even, balance the scales, get square or whatever we call it.  Do we tend to gravitate toward what the world calls “making it fair”?  It can feel so right but it causes so much pain.

    The world will always pick Barabbas; our sinful nature tells us to pick Barabbas.  Picking Barabbas is the way of greed, selfishness, of an inward curved view of life.  It is part of the view of life that thinks by tearing others down we can build ourselves up.  It is the view that leads to others’ pain and to our own destruction. 

    It is the view that sin causes.  Sin chooses Barabbas.  Yet we know that this painful way of life is not the only way.  Christ came, rejected by the world, rejected by sinful man in order to redeem sinful man.  Jesus came so you would have a choice.  The lost, the condemned and the unbeliever have no choice; that person always chooses Barabbas and always suffers the consequences of that decision.  We, as God’s children have a choice.  God gives us the ability to choose Jesus.  He comes to us in his Word and his Spirit moves us to desire Jesus.  His Spirit gives us the desire to look outward.  His Spirit gives us the desire to love rather than hurt; to give rather than take; to have compassion rather than selfishness. 

    God, because of Jesus and by his Spirit, gives you the ability to choose Jesus and reject Barabbas.  This should always be our hope.  There will be days when we fail but God picks us up and stands us up again so we can choose Jesus.  Because of Jesus we can live; so live.  Trust in his grace to always guard our ways.

Father of all mercy, move us by your Spirit to choose Jesus as the one we want to live as.  Help us to bring the healing that the world needs.  Stir in our hearts the desire to do your will.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-17-2024

Good Morning All,

         2 Timothy 3:15; “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

      I have had some interesting conversations with some people when discussing my serving the church.  Since I was ordained at 53 and in a “second career” situation, they assume there is a great story.  They ask me, “When did you think of being ordained?”  Well, the pastor who confirmed me suggested it when I was 13-14.  “So, what happened?”  Well, I went to college, married the prettiest girl I knew, farmed with my parents, and raised three sons.  “So did you leave the church for a while?”  No, my wife and I have always been active in the church; our faith was always important to us.  At this time, they begin to be either confused or bored.

    I didn’t have some dramatic event that occurred in my life.  I didn’t almost die from a drug overdose; I didn’t experience some tragic emotional event; I didn’t lose everything only to be brought to a remarkable transformation.  I just lived my life until God called me to move forward in this fashion.  One man asked me, "What took you so long?”  Slow learner, I guess.

   Not everyone has a dramatic event in their life when they experienced what the world calls a “come to Jesus” moment.  Not every Christian experiences what Paul experienced on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and spoke to him and changed his life right there on the road.  We don’t all “find Jesus” while we are in jail, or nearly dead, or living homeless somewhere.  Some of us are more like Timothy.  Timothy was brought up in the faith, especially mentioned are his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice as those who taught him the faith.  Some of us grow up in the church and don’t let go.

    It is truly a miracle when God gives someone a “road to Damascus” moment but it is just amazing when someone has more of a Timothy type life and grows in God’s grace and church.  Both show God’s incredible grace; one by an intense conversion and one by an intense love that grows from the beginning.  Whether there is a moment that you specifically remember or whether you simply grew up in the church, the truly important issue is that you hold onto faith. 

    Faith, and holding onto it, this is the issue that matters.  We all receive God’s grace poured out upon us.  Jesus died for all.  Recognizing this as God’s great gift to us and clinging to it for the comfort and peace to face all the world will throw at us, this is the essential element.  Whether you are new to the faith, never remember not being in the faith, whether you can pinpoint the exact moment you knew of Jesus’ salvation or if you have told the “old, old story” all of your life; God’s grace active in your life is the key.  Neither existence is better or stronger than the other.  God’s grace poured out on you that is the key.

Merciful Father, in your amazing grace we have life.  Some of us have been in your arms all our life and some are relatively new to faith.  We give you thanks for all who are saved.  Protect them from all the devil throws.  Keep us safe in your mercy.  Bring those who are lost to your saving knowledge.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret