Tuesday, December 31, 2024

12-31-2024

Good Morning All,

  Psalm 32: 1-3;” Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.   For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.”

    Remember the old adage “silence is golden”?  I think most teachers and day care providers still believe and wish some certain little ones would as well.  There is also the one that says, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”  That bit of wisdom gets more valuable the older you get, unless you are talking to your doctor… or your pastor.  There are times when being silent is good advice but there are times when it isn’t.

   Our verses are a portion of David’s absolution Psalm.  We want to look at it from the bottom up.  See where it says, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.”  This is how David describes his life when he was trying to hide his sin of adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba.  David even arranged for Uriah to be killed to hide his sin.  Even though he was in the greatest example of denial, sin took its toll.  David said his bones wasted away.

    We probably haven’t arranged the death of anyone, but we still know what David is talking about.  Even if you are a child who stole a candy bar from the concession stand, you know that guilt.  It is this guilt that keeps you up at night.  Even when you sleep you toss and turn and never really rest.  You feel achy like a cold that never goes away.  Sometimes you don’t feel like eating, maybe you even develop an ulcer.  This is what David means when he says his bones wasted away.  The guilt of sin eats away at us, sometimes literally.

    Yet when David was confronted by his sin and it became apparent that it wasn’t “hidden,” David came cleaned and confessed his sin.  We need to see that there are no “hidden” sins where God is concerned.  God sees all our sins and because of Jesus our sins are forgiven by faith.  When we try to hide our sins, we only harm ourselves and give a lot of ammunition to the devil.  The devil loves it when we try to hide from God.  He hammers us with it until we can no longer stand it.  Hopefully, we turn to God and confess our sins and get rid of them.  Unfortunately, many just try to keep on hiding them and they drift farther away from their family, friends, from God himself.

    Blessed is the one, blessed is the man.  We are so blessed by God’s grace; we should be happy.  There is no reason for deceit in our spirit; that only helps the devil.  Confess your sins to God, make amends when you can and confess to your neighbor when you sin against him.  Let them go and live in God’s grace.  There you can be happy.

Dear Father in heaven, we often fail to come to you to free our self from our sin.  We hold them far too much.  Give us the strength; give us the faith, to come to you and to be happy in your holy forgiveness.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

Monday, December 30, 2024

12-30-2024

Good Morning All,

    Galatians 5:6; “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

    If I get up early enough in the morning, I can watch “Married with Children.”  Good Old Al Bundy, every man who never made it anywhere.  I always loved the fact that he thought his “four touchdowns scored in one game” was his ticket to everything and everywhere.  25 or 30 years after the fact, he still thought it mattered.  I think the reason I found that so funny was because I know people who think the same way.  They had some small success a long time ago and they think that it still matters.

   There are many people who think that way.  There is something about them that causes them to think their opinion, their wants or desires should count more than anyone else’s.  Maybe they are a sixth or seventh generation member of a church, maybe their grandfather was a county commissioner, whatever you want to look at there is something that makes them think that their word should be the last that is needed.  One of those guys in a group is a challenge; two is difficult and three is downright destructive. 

    That is what happened in our verse for today.  The Galatian church was a real “go-getter” bunch.  They took hold of Gospel message of Jesus that Paul preached to them and lived together as God had planned.  Then trouble grew, because sin remained.  Soon, they began to separate themselves into groups; each thinking that they needed to be credited with something or that they were, somehow, superior to others.  To this Paul tells them that no matter how you were viewed before, once you are one of God’s redeemed children, you are all the same.  So, it is not who you are that matters, it is what you are.

    That’s what he means when he writes only faith working through love matters.  Paul is telling us that the matter of rank within the Christian community has no place.  What matters is that we live by the faith that we are given.  What matters are the works we do because of that faith.  What matters are the lives of others we touch because of that faith.

    God empowers us to be the human beings that he created.  God created us to live in his presence with joy, thanksgiving, and praise.  He created us to take care of each other and to take care of creation.  Sin destroyed all of that.  Yet God, through Christ has redeemed us and brought us back to him.  By the forgiveness of sins, we are made children of God his redeemed children.  We are all the same as we stand before God; we are redeemed children claimed through Baptism.  We are joined with Christ through Baptism.  We are given this by God’s grace, and we will receive the same hope for us which Christ has earned for us- eternal life.  So, who we are is determined, not by status, or wealth or power but by God’s loving grace.  So, all that matters, in this world, is that we live by the love that he gives us; that love abounds because of the faith that God gives to us.  This is what matters -the love which shines through.

Father in heaven, too often we are more worried about how we look or are perceived by others rather than by how your love shines through us.  We ask that you forgive us and that you strengthen us that we may work for you in your kingdom.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

Sunday, December 29, 2024

12-29-2024

Good Morning All,

    “John 21:3; “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”

    Have you ever set out to accomplish something only to give up?  Most of us have.  Perhaps you were going to read the Bible from cover to cover and only made through Genesis 12.  Perhaps you were going to exercise every day and that lasted until Thursday.  There are a host of things that we attempt and then give up usually fairly quickly.

    This is what the disciples did.  They were wondering what to do and Peter decided to go fishing.  They went out in a boat and caught nothing.  So, they came back to shore.  It was just one night.  But what happens if they were to do this for a week or so?  They were fishermen, this was their livelihood; it put food on the table. 

    There are times when we give up rather easily mostly because our heart isn’t in it.  But what happens when your heart is in it and you still end up like the disciples, up all night but catching nothing?  Maybe you have been trying to get a promotion at work, maybe you were trying to make the team, maybe you have been trying to fix the relationship with a family member; you have tried and tried but you keep being up all night not catching anything.  It can be a struggle.

    When we struggle with people it is tough.  When we feel we are struggling with God, it can be even tougher.  We read the Bible over and over and God promises to hear our prayers and to answer them.  So, after a long time of praying, do we sometimes feel like we were up all night and caught nothing?  Maybe you are praying for a spouse who is struggling with an addiction, and it never gets better.  Maybe you are praying for the health of a loved one, or maybe even your own but it just doesn’t seem to get better; we fish all night and catch nothing.

    It is times like this that we feel like giving up just like the disciples.  But just like the disciples, when we feel like quitting, Jesus is there to encourage us to keep trying.  We should never give up on love, on prayer, on hope or on the love of God for us.  Our time is not God’s time.  Sometimes when we pray, our prayers are really more self-centered than Christ-centered.  Do we pray that someone changes to fit our ideas?  Sometimes those prayers are not the answer we need.  Maybe the real change has to occur in us rather than the other person. 

    God’s grace changes us.  He gives us the faith to live with that change.  We need to trust in his wisdom to lead us forward.  But we keep praying because as we do God is reaching us to.  We see our own inability to make these changes on our own, so we look to God to guide us.  We need to continue to look to God and we need to pray that God will give to us the patience to wait for his will and the confidence to trust his will.  God has promised us his grace, keep fishing for it, you already have it.  But prayer keeps us in contact with our Father in heaven and helps us to see the providence of his hand.

Father of mercy, you give us what we need in due season.  Give us patience to accept your good gifts and to trust that you are always there to guide us, to comfort us and to give us your peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen   

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Saturday, December 28, 2024

12-28-2024

Good Morning All,

    Matthew 19:21; “Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 

    One night a farmer looked out his window and saw that his barn was on fire.  He ran out and saved the pig and the chicken that lived in the barn.  The next morning, the chicken and the pig were talking about the heroism of the farmer.  The chicken suggested that they should serve a grand breakfast to the farmer for his act of heroism.  The chicken suggested that they serve him a breakfast of scrambled eggs and fresh ham.  The chicken said they would each contribute to the meal.  The pig said you may be contributing but it’s a total commitment from me!

    Total commitment: that is a phrase that we hear often.  If you ever watch or listen to a coach of a sporting team, the coach will talk about how his players have total commitment to win this game.  Politicians will tell you they will give 100 percent commitment to serving the country.  When I counsel two people about to marry, I tell them this is a life-long commitment; all the way, you can’t be part way in.  There are lots of times when we have to have complete commitment or what we are doing will fail.

    In our verse, Jesus is answering a young man who asked what he had to do to be saved.  The young man said that he had kept the commandments and Jesus told him you are close.  If you want to be perfect (that is complete), go, sell what you possess and give it to the poor.  The young man went away sad because he was very rich.  Jesus was telling the man to be totally committed, and the man went away sad.  You see the young man only wanted to be partially committed.  He also wanted that commitment to be on his terms.

    Jesus is telling this man and us a couple of things.  First, if you want to be complete, if you want to be whole; you have to get rid of the “stuff” that gets in the way.  We all have “stuff” that we hold onto and will at times look to that “stuff” to meet our needs and to give us our sense of security.  We make that “stuff” our false god.  We may not mean to, but we don’t want to give it up; we like to hold on to something we can see and hold on to; we are afraid to completely trust in God and his providence.

    The other thing Jesus is telling us is that we, on our own, cannot be complete or whole.  Since we are sinful by nature, we will always have something missing in us and only God can fill the hole.  God gives us the faith to trust in his promise of hope and eternal life.  He fills that hole that we, by nature, fill with “stuff.”  Stuff that never fills the hole in us and sometimes makes us feel even emptier.  “Stuff” that never really completes us.  God, in is mercy, comes to you every second of every day to give you peace, hope, comfort and joy; even in the tough times he comes to us with these gifts.  He is there to make you perfect, to make you complete in a way that “stuff” never will.  His grace will free us and give us the peace that we all seek and need.

Dearest Father in heaven, we often feel empty and lost.  Lead us back to you where we are complete and whole.  Forgive us when we rely on stuff and not place our whole faith in you.  In Jesus precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

Friday, December 27, 2024

12-27-2024

Good Morning All,

    Colossians 1:27; “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 

    There isn’t much in this life like a good mystery.  Whether you read one or watch one, a really good mystery can be very entertaining.  A really good one gives you subtle clues as you watch or read the story.  As each character develops the intricacies and the nuances which shape and mold him into the story pulls you in deeper and deeper.  When I was in college, there were a couple of guys who belonged to a mystery book club.  They got a new book every 8 weeks or so.  Each book didn’t have the solution; it came separately at the same time as the next new book.

     There are many mysteries in this life.  We like to think that most things we can explain but there are many which we simply cannot.  Some people revel in these mysteries, simply enjoying the existence of events which cannot be explained or truly understood.  We are the beneficiaries of one of these, the greatest mystery that baffles man, God’s love for us.

     Why would the Creator suffer and die for one of his creatures?  What do we get for this love?  How do the blessings of the sacraments work in us?  These are a few of the “mysteries of God.” Our verse speaks of another mystery; that Christ dwells in you.  How does this happen?  We can’t really explain it, but we certainly get the benefit of it.  Because Christ dwells in us, we will be glorified as he is.  We will rise to life eternal.  We, too, will dwell with the glory of God. 

    This is our hope, the hope of glory.  The certainty of living with Christ for eternity.  With Christ in us, we are new creations.  With Christ in us, we receive the blessings of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We receive the gifts of love, compassion, peace, hope as well as others.  With Christ in us, we receive comfort, consolation, and hope.

    The world does not even begin to understand this or accept it.  This is folly to the world; it doesn’t make any sense.  It is a mystery which can never be understood or explained.  It can only be believed.  It can only be held onto.  God gives us the faith to cling to that hope; the desire to hold on to God’s promise of forgiveness and of eternal life.  It is a mystery, but we hold to it for all our security.

    Life is full of mystery.  The ones which are gifts from God; mysteries that we are the stewards of, are the greatest mysteries of all.  God’s gifts, which we never merit, are given freely to us.  How can we explain this, we can’t.  We can only live with the certainty of God’s promise to us and the certainty of his love for us, for you. 

Father in heaven, the mystery of your love will never be understood.  We thank you and praise you for your blessings and grace.  Keep us close and guard us from all that would harm us.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret             

Thursday, December 26, 2024

12-26-2024

Good Morning All,

    Proverbs 10:28; “The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.”

     When I was in college, we had a psychology class where the instructor asked everyone to think of what they would do if you knew you had exactly 24 hours to live.  If you knew that you only have 24 hours to live, you still have all your current abilities and faculties, but you only have 24 hours to live; how would you spend them?  There were only about 10-12 in the class, so we had a pretty interesting discussion.  Most said that they would spend the time calling and talking to friends, especially those who were far away or those who they felt estranged from.  A couple of guys answered that they would get drunk and not even be sober or awake when they died.  One guy said that he would get in his car and drive.  No place in particular just drive and see what he could see 24 hours.  Some answered that they would go home and read the Bible and pray. It was an interesting mixture of answers. 

    This is a question that Jesus asked many people while he was here on earth, and he asks us that today as well.  Deep down, where do you place your hope and your confidence?  Do you trust yourself?  Do you trust your parents or your spouse to solve everything?  Do you plan on hiding or running away when trials and troubles hit?  Where is your hope, your ultimate security; where is your faith placed?  Is it in the true God or is it somewhere else?

     This is part of the reason that God will allow or even send tests and trials into our lives.  It isn’t so God can see what we are made of.  It is so you and I can see what we are made of.  When I have trouble, where do I go?  Whom do I seek out?  Do I turn to God or something else which is the false gods of my life?

    Our verse gives us a clue as to the right answer.  The hope of the righteous brings joy.  Who are the righteous?  They are those who God has forgiven and declared holy.  They are the redeemed in Christ for whom a place in heaven has been waiting since the foundation of time.  They are God’s chosen children who, by faith, cling tightly to God’s promises of hope and salvation.  When they die and are called to account, they will enter into the kingdom of glory with joy and celebration.

   Yet the wicked will perish.  The wicked aren’t necessary mean or bad people; they are people who have placed their faith in some other god.  They see this god as money or fame or drugs or greed or whatever. So where do you place your ultimate security?  Is it in the saving grace of Jesus and his gift of redemption?  Or do you place it somewhere else?  Grab hold of the faith that God gives you and you will see joy.

Father of grace and mercy, your blessings are new to us every day and they roll over us like a river.  Keep us secure in the knowledge of our salvation.  Keep us secure in the certainty of our hope.  Strengthen us with your Spirit of wisdom and hold us in your hands.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

12-25-2024

Good Morning All,

     John 1:14; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

    “The Word.” God’s Word is beyond anything we can even comprehend. It was by God’s spoken word that all things came to be. God said, and it happened. The light came to be, the dry land separated from the water came to be, plants, animals, humans, everything that is, came to be because God spoke. God speaks and mountains shake and go into the sea. God speaks and the great fish answer, the lion and the bear go silent. God speaks and stars begin to shine or cease to shine. God’s Word is powerful.

    Man’s word, not so great. Think of Chip Diller in Animal House trying to stop the stampede at the homecoming parade at the end of the film. (He ends up smashed into the asphalt.) Man’s word, if any good at all, only lasts as long as that man does for, like the psalmist says, “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.” So much for his word. I can remember numerous times where one person promised someone else something but when the first man died, so did the promise, whether it was a pickup, a watch, or a piece of land; when the man dies so does the promise, so does his word.

    Yet God’s powerful Word takes on human frailty. God becomes man so that man might become God! God assumes a human nature to bring about man’s participation in the divine nature; God became a child, the Word became flesh, so that we might become children of God. How can we even begin to comprehend this? The God who creates, sustains, and keeps all of creation becomes a baby, frail and tiny. The eternal, omnipotent God takes on our flesh, our weaknesses and carries them all his earthly life.

    The eternal God takes off his robe of majesty and takes on beggars’ clothes in order for us to take on his robe of righteousness. God’s Word became flesh, and he lived among us. In the rot and stench of a broken and sinful creation, God lives and breathes among us, in order to bring us up to Him that we may live to all eternity in His joyous kingdom. God became like you and me so we could become like Him. Now that is a Christmas present!! No batteries, no assembly required, no breaking, no wearing out, it always fits, and it never goes out of style. God, in the flesh, lived in our midst and we saw the glory of God, we saw what creation is supposed to be like. No death, no pain, no diseases, only peace and rest in His Name.

    That same Word comes to you today. He comes to you to give you the joy that the world never knows, the peace that the world cannot understand and a hope that shines brightly in the darkness of our fears. The Word, powerful and mighty, became frail flesh so that you might be called sons of God and so we are!! Merry Christmas to all of you!!

Father of mercy, we give you thanks for sending Jesus to make us your own. That we may know of our eternal salvation in His name. Help us to always remember your great love. Help us in times of sorrow or struggle to know that peace is always in your Name. Defend us, encourage us, and give us peace. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

12-24-2024

Good Morning All,

     1 Thessalonians 1:4; “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you.”

    Do you remember being a kid in school, out at recess, while the much dreaded choosing of sides occurred?  It might have been kickball or tag or whatever; you never wanted to be picked last.  The really strange thing is that we never really get over it.

    If a group of friends begin to decide to do something, we hope to be included.  Maybe many of your friends are beginning to settle down and get married and you don’t even go on many dates; will anybody pick you?  You begin the long process of looking for a job; everyone else has a job but you are still looking, will anyone hire you?  Even if we are in the middle of all the excitement, we wonder if it will end and we will be alone.

     For all our claims of individuality and personal self-reliance, we are very much a social creature.  In the end, one of our deepest fears is being alone.  Some people get married to someone who doesn’t love them just so they aren’t alone.  Middle school and high school kids will run with the wrong crowd just so they aren’t alone.  We fear being alone and the devil will play on that fear all he can.  When it is late at night and you can’t sleep, the devil often tries to make you think that the troubles you face, you face all alone.

    One of my favorite TV shows is still MASH.  During one show when Radar is worried about his widowed mother dating again’ Hawkeye tells him to let her have her fun.  “Loneliness is everything it is cracked up to be.”  It really is.  Sin causes this loneliness.  Sin broke our relationship with God and caused us to turn our backs to God and go our own way.  We think we are tough but deep down we are alone and the devil and the cares of the world circle around us like the vultures that they are.  Soon they hope to pick our bones clean.

    Into this mess of a life, Jesus came and because of Jesus; God chose you.  You are not left standing at the wall; you are not the odd one out.  You are chosen; called by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and sealed as God’s child in Baptism; a time when you are individually claimed by God to be his child. God specifically and especially chose you.  Since he chose you, he is always with you, and you are never alone.  Even when it feels like there isn’t anyone even close to you, God is there with you and for you. 

    We never face trials alone; we never face the terrors of the devil alone.  God is there with us.  We also don’t have to face the trials of this life alone.  God works through his church through his redeemed children.  When you face the trials of this life, God uses his church to give you comfort and hope.  God uses his other redeemed children to support you and console you.  You never need to be alone; God and his family are there.

Gracious Lord, we give you thanks that you have chosen us.  Give us that due sense of your presence, your comfort, and your peace.  Guard us and protect us and lead us to be of comfort to those around us who are most in need.  In your precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Monday, December 23, 2024

12-23-2024

Good Morning All,

     Hebrews 12:15; “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” 

    Have you ever done one of those really stupid things?  Have you ever sent an email to the wrong person, like the one where you criticize someone and send it to that someone?  It might start off as a way to let off steam, you meant to send it to a friend for advice but instead of “forward” you hit “reply” and now is there hanging with all its problems.  Perhaps you said something that was wrong to say or just heard wrong.  Either way, it is out there now; now what do we do?

    Maybe you were the one on the other end of the events.  How do you respond?  It is easy to get very upset and very offended.  Our self-righteous indignation can hit on all cylinders and rev right out of control in a hurry.  We move along the path of looking out for us sure of the properness of our high road action. 

      In either case, whether you are the “wronger” or the “wrongee,” we need to be careful to follow this verse and not allow the “root of bitterness” to spring up.  This is a great place for the devil to attack the church.  A moment of not thinking by one person can cause bitterness to take root.  And root it takes, it goes deep and disturbs the other plants; it takes moisture, nutrients and reduces the production of the desired plant.  This sin does the same in our life and in our church.  When bitterness takes root, the effectiveness of the church is reduced and the enjoyment of living in God’s family.  Both situations are ripe for the devil to disrupt and attack.

     So, what do we do?  First, we recognize that this is a sin; a sin that should be repented but also a sin to be forgiven.  Whichever side you are on, forgiveness is always the key.  True forgiveness is what will always drive away the root of bitterness.  True forgiveness is what makes the church function properly.  Too often, we won’t admit what we did was a sin or else we won’t forgive and let it go.  We save it up and trot it out later when it will serve our selfishness the best.  At times like this, we try to deny others God’s grace.

    God calls us to love each other but we are sinners, and we will fail each other once and a while.  Don’t let bitterness take root.  Don’t hold onto things that happened 30 or 40 years ago.  Don’t hold onto things that happened 30 or 40 minutes ago.  Let them go, repent when you should and forgive when you should and b quick to do both.  God forgives us and calls on us to forgive each other.  This is what true love is- forgiving one another.  This is what drives away the root of bitterness.  It is the sweet taste of forgiveness.

Dear Father in heaven, too often we are slow to repent and even slower to forgive.  Guide us away from our pride and our arrogance.  Lead us to see that a life of love begins and ends with forgiveness.  This is the unity to which we are called.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Sunday, December 22, 2024

12-22-2024

Good Morning All,

     Matthew 7: 7-8; “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

   We all like guarantees.  We like money back guarantees; we like long-term warranties; we like to be sure that what we are promised will be delivered.  We like them so much that sometimes we will pay extra for more warranty.  We love an ironclad guarantee insuring that we get what we paid for.

    In our verses for today, we get a guarantee.  We get this guarantee, not for something we bought but for something that we are given.  Notice how we are told six different ways that God answers prayer.  This is God’s promise to us.

    Prayer comes with the threefold elements of one of God’s gifts.  It comes with God’s command.  God tells us to pray to him.  We pray because God tells us to, and he tells us to because we need it.  It is a vital part of our spiritual life.  It keeps us in constant contact with our Savior as we do battle with the devil on a daily basis.  God knows that we need this vital act to sustain us and hold us closer to Him.

    Prayer also comes with a promise.  God has promised to hear and to answer our prayers.  That is what our verses are about today.  We are to pray with fervor, with confidence, with an audacity of boldness like no other.  In other places in Scripture, we are told that we do not receive because we do not ask.  What a bold promise this is.  Yet all too often we fail to trust it!  Too often we look at prayer as something to do when all else has been done.  Too often our attitude is, “I have done all I can all that is left is to pray.”  Prayer should be our first choice not our last.

    God tells us that we need to be in constant prayerful contact with Him at all times.  Prayer is talking to God, and we hear what God has to say to us through the Scripture.  We have the Holy Spirit to help us remember or recall those passages and to guide us in faith through our life.  We see this when the trials of life come to us.  Those who have a strong prayer life tend to face these challenges with more strength.  This is because we know where our strength comes from; it comes from God.  We know that a God much more powerful than we are. A God which sent his son to die for us is at work for us because He loves us. 

     This is the blessing of prayer.  God acts and answers our prayer.  He answers because He loves us.  He answers because He knows our needs and has promised to meet all of our daily needs.  God gives us this gift and all too often, we fail to grasp it and use.  We fail to trust in God’s promise.  Turn to God every day.  Pray often, try, and set aside some time when you can do it.  God blesses us and we can experience these blessings more and more.

Dear Father, too often we fail to come to you with our cares and concerns.  Give us strength to trust in your Word and to ask of you that we may receive.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Saturday, December 21, 2024

12-21-2024

Good Morning All,

     John 15:16; “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

    Sometimes this is a verse that we can struggle with.  Most of us like to think we play a role in what we do.  We like to think that our input has value.  When we go to the doctor, we like to think that what we want matters.  When we go to the store, we like to think that our opinion matters.  We like to think that what we do, think, or say is important in the greater scheme of things.

    One of the difficult things for us to accept is that we don’t play a role in our salvation or conversion.  We like to think that there is something we must do to help.  Yet we should really take comfort in the fact that our salvation does not depend on us; that way we can’t mess it up.  Deep down, we all know that if our salvation was in any way dependent on what we had to do, we would fail miserably.

     Yet God takes care of all of it; all we need to do is receive the faith that He gives to us to grab onto the promise of our salvation, the forgiveness of sins, and the hope of life eternal with Him.  God gives us the desire to hold onto that promise.  God gives us the inclination to want to believe.  God gives it all to us wrapped up in the blessing of faith through the Holy Spirit.

     Often after this is clear to us, we ask the question; now what?  We don’t experience any earth-shattering changes.  We don’t sing any better than we did before.  We don’t suddenly become the greatest speaker, thinker, or theologian in the world.  We don’t even experience a healthier life.  Now what?

      We need to remember that just as God has chosen us, He has also chosen what gifts to give to you.  We all have gifts or talents.  God gives us the skills and the opportunities to produce the fruit (good works) that he has for us to do.  Too often we think that if we can’t sing or preach or teach that we can’t do anything in the church.  There is nothing that is farther from the truth.  Everything you do can be used to serve the Lord.  If you are a hunter, you can give to the sportsman against hunger.  If you are a handyman, you can help fix or weatherproof a neighbor’s house.  You can give someone a ride; you can help watch the children of the young (and frazzled) mother down the street.  You can volunteer to read at a local pre-school.

     God gives us lots of opportunities to produce the fruit that he wants from us; all we have to do is trust his will and go forth and do whatever He gives you.  God’s peace will go with you as you share his love with all those around.  So, as you go about this coming week, look for times when you can produce the fruit that God wants us to.

Dear Father, we give you thanks for choosing us.  Give us the courage and wisdom to produce the fruit which you desire for us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret