Friday, February 28, 2025

2-28-2025

Good Morning All,

    Psalm 92:4; “For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.”

    Do you have times in your life when it feels like someone put itching powder down your back?  You always seem to have a heightened level is discomfort.  Sometimes it is in the whole family.  Everyone is just a little snippy with each other.  Most conversations end in a growl or a bark.  The level of ire is raised to the “red alert” level.  It seems like when you talk to your spouse you need a helmet to stay safe.  It just feels like there is an edge in the air and we aren’t sure how to deal with it.

    Some may think it is the winter blahs and doldrums kicking in but you can get these spells in the summer or spring or fall.  They usually occur about the time we have experienced a disappointment. The new toy or gadget that we thought would be a godsend is either broken or stuffed in the closet.  As you watch that gift that you gave go to the bone pile; you have just received the third or fourth credit card bill for it.  We pay the bill and grumble something about “ungrateful” and “never appreciate one thing I do for them” and we go from there.

     Therein lay the problem.  We spend all of our time looking at what isn’t, instead of looking at what is.  We spend all our time focusing on what isn’t in the house rather than what is in the house.  Maybe you don’t have the 60” TV with surround sound but you do have a warm bed, plenty of food, family and friends.  We have all these gifts from God, and we always wonder why we don’t have more.

     At a Bible study, we watched as the presenter said that what we don’t have today; we don’t need today.  If we needed it; God would provide it. God provides for our needs; we just have to separate the wants from the needs.  We need to step back and be glad for what God has given us.  We need to have the joy that we feel when we look at what we have.

    So, if you ever feel this way and you want a plan to change it; start a praise list.  Every day write down a few things you are thankful for and post it where you and the rest of your family can see it.  You will be surprised what you have to be thankful for if you stop and look.  You have a job, a place to live, food, family, friends, and so much more.  Then when you look even harder at the things that bring joy to your life, the neighbor’s children who make you smile, the neighbor who keeps your road or sidewalk cleared, the friendly face at the drive-through, the warm welcome at the coffee meeting, the teacher or coach who spends a little extra time with your child, the person who sits behind you in church who can really sing.  It is these little things which bring us joy.  It is these little things which God gives to us.  So be glad for the work of the Lord and sing for joy at the works of his hand.  We have so much to rejoice over, look for it and then see if the itching powder doesn’t go away.

Dear Father, your mercies roll over us like a flood and yet we do not see it.  Forgive us as we focus on what is not there rather than what is there.  We give you thanks for all the blessings that we receive.  We especially give you thanks for the forgiveness of sins which we have through Jesus n whose precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Thursday, February 27, 2025

2-27-2025

Good Morning All,

    John 15:5; “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

    What do you call a branch that is not hooked to a tree?  It is called a stick.  What are branches good for?  They produce flowers, fruit; provide shade and a place for birds and squirrels to live.  What is a stick good for?  Kindling. 

    Ok, so I am not really good at writing riddles, but I think you get the point.  Even the largest branch, once it is no longer connected to the tree, is dead.  A branch that is connected to a tree, even a tiny branch, produces more fruit than any branch that has broken off.  All of this seems quite logical so why do we have trouble seeing that this applies to our lives?

    Jesus is telling us that He is the vine.  The vine is the source of all nourishment and strength.  Even if the branch cracks, as long as it is connected to the vine it will survive, even flourish as it continues to be fed by vine.  The vine also serves as protection for the branch.  It remains anchored safely as the wind buffets the branch.  It is through the nourishment of vine that the branch is able to produce flowers and fruit.  We are the same.

     Yet we often head off in our own direction thinking we can produce better fruit without any nourishment.  We see ourselves as really quite capable of going our own way and making our own choices; all the while we are drying up and shriveling to nothing.  As soon as the next hot, dry spell occurs, we will really be a goner!!  Soon we will be picked up and disposed of burned in a fire somewhere.  We will not survive by ourselves.

    Think of the times in your life when you have been buffeted by the winds of trial and trouble.  We have illnesses or relationship strains, financial woes, job woes; we have enough woes to float a ship.  That is the nature of mankind living in a sinful condition.  If we are not attached to the true Vine (Jesus), we will soon be used as kindling in the fire of the power of the devil.  He will cause you to live as if there is no hope.  The devil will toy with you and harm you.  The devil will make your life miserable.  We need to stay attached to the true vine.

     God gives us all we need to stay attached.  He gives his Word for us to hear what he has to say.  He gives us prayers so we can speak to him.  He gives us the body and blood so we may be fed the spirit-lifting, soul-refreshing meal which we need.  God does all to keep us attached we need only to not let go.  We need to trust him as the true vine to rescue us and to keep us safe and strong, to keep us nourished and fed.  It is only through him that we can survive the onslaught of this world’s perils.  We can never win the battle alone we can only win through God’s grace.

Father of all mercy, without you we are completely lost.  Hold us close, keep us connected to you.  Feed us, nourish us, and protect us from the attacks of the evil foe.  Give comfort to those who need it most, in Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

2-26-2025

Good Morning All,

      Matthew 24:42; “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” 

    Many years ago, there was a movie titled “Dead Poets Society.”  It starred Robin Williams as an unorthodox English teacher in a staid private school.  He teaches poetry and he teaches it is about feelings.  It is about passion.  He teaches that all the great poetry is dripping with raw emotion.  In one of the more riveting scenes, he takes his class to look at pictures of previous graduating classes from long ago, long enough that all those in the pictures are dead.

    He tells them the legacy of these men to them is the message, “Carpe Diem!”  “Seize the day, lads!”  He tells the students that we are all one day closer to death and to think that we will live forever is folly.  We need to grab life today or else we may miss it.

    This is the same message to us as Christians except we have a “double angle.” We see our eventual death and we also see the return of our Lord which may precede our earthly death.  This may sound somewhat fearful, maybe even macabre but in truth it should be liberating to us.

    We know that we have God’s promise of salvation.  We know if we cling to this promise we are truly saved.  So, we should live the lives that God gives to us with all the joy that we can.  Rather than sitting idly by God wants us to live this life that he gives to us with all the excitement that we can.

    God gives us the freedom to live!  We are not tied down by the devil or the trials of this world; they are only temporary.  It is only our sinful nature that makes these molehills into mountains.  God calls to us with his love and part of that message is to take hold of life.  Tell those in your life that you love them.  Visit old friends; make new ones.  God gives us the opportunity to do it today; we need to do it.  God gives us the freedom to go on with our life.

    Yet God gives to us another reason for our desire to seize the day; as the day of the Lord approaches; there are many souls to be witnessed to.  We see this in the early disciples.  They go and preach with great fervor because they are convinced that Jesus’ return is only a few days, weeks at most a few months away.  They preached with a fervor and an intensity in order to get the message preached as far as possible trying to complete the mission of “in Jerusalem, Judea and all the world.”

    God gives us the day to seize with all the energy that we have.  We are to live, love, and witness with a zeal and a desire.  God tells to never delay; we are to never avoid or miss the opportunity to witness Jesus’ Gospel in whatever way we can.  Whether it is through showing our love to our family and friends or sharing God’s love to total strangers, seize the day you do not know when the day of the Lord will come.

Gracious Father, you give us each day to live.  Give us the desire to live each day with the desire and zeal to serve you.  Give us the zeal and desire to love those around us and to bring to them your love and hope.  Move your Church to be your fire.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

2-25-2025

 Good Morning All,

        Isaiah 49:16; “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”

     When a group of rowdy boys get together, they often will start to compare scars that they have.  It might start with a small one on an elbow then a little bigger one on the knee; then a bigger one on the leg then pretty soon all are giggling and laughing and the stories get bigger and bigger.  Men rarely grow out of this.  During the movie “Jaws” there is a scene where Brody, Hooper and Quint are sitting around comparing scars.  At one point Hooper points to his chest and says he has the scar from when a little girl in junior high broke his heart.

     Scars can tell you a lot about a person’s life.  A person who works with glass or wire will show the marks of hard work.  A person who works around hot metal will do the same. Many bear the marks of a painful event which remains visible for many to see. A wound that is healed but not forgotten. At the time of our verse, it was common for a slave owner to carve his name into the hands of a slave so the slave’s ownership would never be in doubt.

    This is, essentially, what God is telling us he is doing.  God has engraved your name on the palm of his hand.  He has vowed to never leave you or forsake you just like that slave can never deny who owns him; God has promised to never forget you.  He has promised to never forget, and God never will forget. He made this promise long ago to Abraham in a vision where God passed through two halves of sacrificed animals. By doing this God was saying this would happen to Him if He broke his promise. We get that same promise in our Baptism into Jesus.

    We can find great comfort in this.  God will always be there to sustain through all the battles of this life.  God doesn’t tell us that we won’t have any battles only that we do not have to face them alone.  God is always there to comfort us, console us and to bear our burdens.  We can take comfort in that we are never truly alone.  At the times of our deepest pains of our greatest despair God is there to hear our cries and to keep us within his loving arms. 

     In this we can find our hope, the hope of eternal life.  In this we see God’s true promise made to us and sealed on Calvary.  God has carved your name on his hands.  He will not forget or forsake you.  We are forever in his gracious hands of love. Even in the depths of greatest sorrow, fear or loss; God is always there to give us peace. He gives us the certainty that a better day awaits us. He stands with His arms open wide to draw us into his loving embrace. So that we can know the comfort of his arms and the comfort of his grace. We may rest in the loving arms of our Savior who has claimed us to be his own.

Dear Lord, you have carved our names into your hands.  You keep us safe within those same loving hands.  With those same hands you allowed yourself to be nailed to the cross for my sins.  We give you thanks and praise for your great gifts of love.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor 

Monday, February 24, 2025

2-24-2025

Good Morning All,

    Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”    

    When my oldest son was about 4 or 5, he got a chance to fly in an airplane.  It was a small two-seater that was flown by my mother’s cousin.  We took off from runway number one of Northville International Airport and we flew for a few minutes.  He liked it but wasn’t overly sold on the whole deal.  As we came around for the landing approach, the pilot slowed the engine way down and the plane began to descend.  My son’s eyes got wide, and a tiny look of terror was on his face.  He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to.  After we landed, he was quieter than normal.

    By the time we got back to our farm he was talking a mile a minute again.  He liked how the plane did this, and he liked looking out the window and seeing everyone’s house and the roads and so on.  Being the usual 4- or 5-year-old he looked up and finished with the standard, “That was fun dad, do you know what I want to be when I grow?”  Expecting the obvious, I answered, “No son, what do you want to be?”  He replied, “I want to be a fireman!”

    He had his plans.  I don’t know if the airplane ride didn’t sway those plans or just cemented them in place.  We all have plans.  It is amazing the percentage of students who change their major in the first year of college.  It is something like 80% change at least once.  We all have plans and they can change. 

    I remember a girl we went to college with.  She grew up on a small dairy farm and swore up and down when she graduated, she would be as far away from a farm as possible.  That was until she married a west river rancher.  Plans can and do change.  Some like these are kind of humorous; unfortunately, some are not.  Many servicemen and women return home from active duty and are wounded and maimed.  Their plans with their families change.  Couples who plan on growing old together and then suddenly one dies and the other has a change of plans.

    We all make plans, and we should, but we should always make them with the understanding of “Deo Volente,” God willing.  All are plans are dependent on God’s will because God has plans for us.  These plans are to give us a future and to give us hope.  We don’t always see these plans and sometimes we don’t even like these plans, but God’s plans are always to mold and to shape us into the disciples that he calls us to be, and his plans are to draw us closer to him and to give us eternal salvation.  We can fight God’s plans, but this only adds to the stress of our life and while we do not always see the plans as clearly as we like; we trust in God’s grace and mercy to carry us through.

Dear Father, too often we think our plans are the best when it is your plans which are in our best interest and for our future.  Strengthen our faith that we may have full confidence in our future and that we place our entire trust in you for you are our hope.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret           

Sunday, February 23, 2025

2-23-2025

 Good Morning All,

    Song of Solomon 8:6; “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave.  Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”

    Everyone loves a love story.  Even if we say we don’t; we really do.  We like to see or read where the two leads finally get together and true love prevails.  Most of the greatest stories told are love stories.  Think of Romeo and Juliet or Anna Karenina or any one of the newer stories.   The love of the man for the woman which compels and drives them to be together no matter what the odds or cost unites them as one. 

    This union is a true mystery; how do two become one?  We may not fully understand God’s ways or gifts, but we receive them anyway.  Part of that gift is the incredible love which God has for us as his Church.  He expresses his love for us through the sacrifice of Jesus and then unites us with him in an eternal loving relationship.  The Scriptures often describes this as a marriage.      

    This is a portion of the great love ballad in the Bible.  It is the conversation between Solomon and his bride.  It serves as an allegory of Christ and the Church.  Christ is the bridegroom, and the Church is the bride.  As we read this Book, we read about the incredible love of Christ for His Church.

    God expresses his love for us in many ways.  Yet in this passage, we read where God will defend us and that relationship.  God is a jealous God who will defend from all unwanted suitors, like the devil.  He defends us with his mighty arm and protects us with his gracious love.

    The love that God has for us is stronger than we can ever imagine.  He is there for us as the battles and turmoil of this life surround us.  He is there to comfort our pain, heal our sorrow and to provide us with hope.  He is there to protect us from the devil with a jealous rage that flashes fire.  The passion of God’s love is deep for us.  It consumes him with the desire to save us from our sins and not to destroy us as we deserve.  It is this love that causes Him to see us as someone worth redeeming; someone who he chooses to love.

    He marks us with a seal, the seal of Baptism.  It is the sign which He marks us with to claim us as his own beloved ones.  Through Baptism we are marked and sealed with an everlasting love which will bring us to eternal life.

Gracious Father, you love us with a passion which is greater than anything that we can fathom.  Keep us close to you and deepen our love for you that we may be made worthy of you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Saturday, February 22, 2025

2-22-2025

Good Morning All,

    Jude 24; “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”     

    Do you ever watch “Funniest Home Videos” or on the internet when they show high fashion models, and they slip and fall down?  Boy, sometimes they really wipe out completely.  You can watch them go headfirst into the orchestra pit or photographer’s pit and it is just boom.  I watched one where these girls were modeling swimsuits.  The promoter had them walk out of the shallow end of the pool and on this reviewing stand.  By the time the fifth or sixth one was on the stand, it was so wet no one could walk. So, the next ten or twelve were slipping and sliding and falling all over the place.  Some of them looked painful.

    Think of the times when we are walking along, and we stumble.  Sometimes we catch ourselves and sometimes we don’t.  Sometimes when we catch our balance, it hurts worse than if we had simply fallen.

    In the Bible, we read where our life is compared to a journey or a race.  If you are in a race, just about the worst thing you can do is stumble.  Not only do you fall down but you usually wipe out a couple of other runners, get stepped on and then get blamed for everything.  Or think in terms of someone who is trying to get into a building and the wind, and the weather is such that it is almost impossible; sometimes we need someone who will help keep us up and not falling down.  Sometimes we need someone to pick us up when we fall.

    Our verse speaks of Jesus as the one who is able to keep us from stumbling.  This, of course, is the kind of language where we are struggling with temptation and sin, and we try and deal with it on our own.  When we do, we always fail; we always stumble.  No matter how many times we try, no matter how many times we fight; we will always stumble and fall.  It is like the models trying to walk on the wet walkway; it is just not going to work.

    The truth is that when the devil sets out to trip us up, to make us stumble; we can never catch ourselves.  The devil has such sly and hidden methods that we are quickly falling before we even know what hit us.  Usually when we stumble and fall, we tear our clothes, scrape our elbow, or knee and generally end up a little worse for the wear.  After stumbling a number of times, we really are a mess.

    Yet Jesus picks us up and brushes us off when we do rely on our own abilities.  Yet if we keep our faith in him, he will keep us from stumbling so that we are presented blameless before him. 

Dear Lord Jesus, you keep us from stumbling into the devil’s traps and we give you thanks.  Keep us mindful that we cannot stand on our own but that we wholly lean on you in your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

Friday, February 21, 2025

2-21-2025

Good Morning All,

    John8:32; “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 

    I used to follow politics a whole lot closer than I do now.  Back then, the players were colorful, interesting and, at least in public, civil towards each other.  They showed respect for the institutions in which they served.  One of my favorite characters was a senator from New York named Daniel Patrick Moynihan.  He was a great mind who always had a way with his words.

    One of his quotes that has been coming back to me these past few months is this one, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”  Every time I watch the news; this phrase comes back almost as a haunt.  As I watch the news, everyone has his own truth.  We used to say, “if you don’t like the weather on this station; change the channel and get a different forecast.”  Now we say that about the “facts” of the news.

    This is a problem in our world and our nation.  We have a world in which everyone feels that they are entitled to their own “truth.”  We hold to the “you believe what you want, and I’ll believe what I want.”  We no longer acknowledge that there is a truth.  We are becoming a nation where everyone has his or her own truth.  This may sound good but in reality; it represents possibly the greatest threat to us yet.

    Jesus was talking to some of his believers when he told them that if they continued in his word, they would know the truth and the truth would set them free.  Later on, Jesus tells his disciples that he is the way, the TRUTH, and the life.  Jesus is the truth, the only truth that exists in our world.  He is the only truth that ever has existed or ever will.  To view the world as a place that allows many truths is the same as having many gods.

    The truth for all to know is that Jesus is the flesh and blood truth that God truly loves us and desires that we are reconciled to him.  Jesus is living proof that God wants to restore us to the perfect existence that was in Eden.  The truth is that only Jesus is the source of salvation for man.  From that truth, we build our society.  God wants us to live reconciled lives together.  We are to live in harmony with God and each other.  Yet we hold to this truth that Jesus is our salvation.  This is the only truth that there is. 

     So, as we listen to the rabble that is on the news today remember; God calls us, as his children, to be the light of the world to the truth.  God’s grace shows through us.  He uses his church to show his truth to the world.  He uses his church to tell the world that God wants to reconcile the world back to him.  Know there is only one truth and be ready to speak that truth.  “Let your light so shine before men that they may see the glory of the Father.” The truth will set you free.

Gracious Father in heaven, you have blessed us with your holy truth.  Give us your strength to guide us that we may see the truth, that we may live the truth and that we may proclaim the truth.  Guard your people and give courage to your Church.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret            

Thursday, February 20, 2025

2-20-2025

Good Morning All,

       1 Corinthians 2:9; “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

    Here is a story I found the other day:

 

It happened in 1948, just a few days before Christmas. A flash flood ravaged a small town, leaving a gaping hole in the wall of an old church building—right behind the pulpit. The young pastor knew there was no time to fix the damage and decided to make the best of it. But providence was in his favor. The next day he stumbled upon an old lace tablecloth at an auction and bought it for $6.50. His intent was to hang it on the wall to cover the hole—not perfect, but adequate for the occasion. The next day, while unlocking the building, he noticed an elderly woman on the curb and invited her to come inside for warmth. She nestled into a comfortable pew while he set to work covering the hole. She gasped as he unfolded the worn tablecloth. “That’s mine,” she exclaimed. “It’s my banquet cloth!” And she rushed to the front to show him her initials engraved in one corner. The minister listened as she retold the story of her days in Vienna, Austria, before the war. She fled from the Nazis, but her husband was captured for crimes of treason. She hadn’t seen him since. Although the minister offered her the cloth, she refused. It looked pretty hanging behind the altar, the woman insisted.  After the Christmas service the following Sunday morning, an aging gentleman lingered behind to talk with the young pastor. The cloth behind the pulpit brought back painful memories for him. “Many years ago, my wife and I owned such a tablecloth,” he told the pastor. “We lived in Vienna then.” Something told the pastor that this was more than coincidence, so he took the man with him to seek out the woman. Calls were made, and before long the two men were standing on the front steps of her apartment. As the woman opened the door, the young pastor witnessed a reunion more touching than he ever imagined possible—a husband and wife, together again after years of separation. Some stories are harder to believe than others, and this one ranks at the top of that list.

    Imagine the look on their faces; the joy that they felt when they saw each other again.  The joy these two felt is only a fraction of the joy which we will experience when we enter into heaven.  We will celebrate with all the saints.  The joy and the excitement of seeing loved ones from years gone by; the wondrous amazement of living with Jesus is far beyond anything we can ever dream of.  This is what awaits us as long as we cling to God’s promise of forgiveness of sins, and we trust in the hope of our salvation.

Gracious Father, we look forward to the joy that awaits us.  Keep us safe until that day.  Lead us in your ways in peace and harmony.  Be with those who do not know your love.  Use us to bring the message of your mercy to them.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace 

Pastor Bret

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

2-19-2025

Good Morning All,

       Ephesians 6:23; “Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

    Peace, the ever-elusive dream.  Take a second and think of all the songs, poems, novels, etc. that have been written about peace and the desire for peace.  If you were to ask most adults, peace would be one of the top five wishes or dreams that they have.  Yet as we speak of our hope for peace, what is it that we are really wanting?  What is peace and how do we get it?

    Too often, we look for peace in the world or in our nation or community.  As we look for this, we look outward to other people or other situations in order to find peace.  The truth is that we have to find peace in ourselves first.  Unless we have inner peace, we’ll never have external peace.

     For most of us, inner peace is hard to find because of stress.  The stress we find in our lives can make peace seem like a distant, foggy dream.  We stress about our jobs, our children and grandchildren, our health, our loved ones’ health, we stress about the weather, the price of crops, the cost of health care, how things are going in the community or church, and the list just keeps growing.  Sometimes we look at it and think that all this must be some sort of sign of the times.

    We often look at the events of the world and see it as a sign of the times, a sign of the coming of the end times.  We look at the Bible and Jesus never spoke of stress so now that we experience stress that must be proof, right?  Jesus may not have spoken of stress, but he did speak of trials and tribulation, burdens, pains.  What we call stress, Jesus referred to in other ways.  In other words, stress isn’t a sign of the times; stress is a sign of life. 

    Stress exists because sin exists.  Sin causes the stress and the worry we experience.  Sin causes us to fail to trust in God’s promises of comfort, of sustaining us, of maintaining us, of giving us peace.  Peace will never come from the outside.  Peace will only come when we trust God and have faith in his promise.  True peace comes to us from God, and we have it because of faith that God will take care of us.  We will still face the stresses of this world; that is just life.  Yet we can live in peace with God because of Jesus.  Because of the peace with God, we know the stresses of this world will not prevail.  We will still experience them, but we can have inner peace from God.  Even as the world seems to spin out of control, we can have peace as a blessing from God.

Gracious Lord, we long for peace but rarely find it.  We often look in the wrong places.  Forgive us when we fail.  Bring us into your wondrous light and peace.  Guard us and protect us from the devil’s aim to disrupt our peace.  All this we ask in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret                  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

2-18-2025

Good Morning All,

       Psalm 27:8; “You have said, “Seek my face.”  My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
   In the mid 1970’s, there was a rock band named “Chicago”.  One of their hit songs was “I’ve been Searching so Long.”  The chorus goes like this: I've been searchin So long To find an answer Now I know my life has meaning.”  There were a lot of people who used to sing along with this song.  They would sing about finding the answer that they had been searching for for so long.

    Just don’t ask them what they found the answer to be; it isn’t in the song.  There are some who view this song as one of the early statements that, in life, there is no one truth.  This song teaches that there are many truths and once you find your truth your life will have meaning.  Whatever you want the truth to be, once you have decided what it is then you will be happy, and your life will have meaning.  Really??

    Look around and see what do we see?  We see pain and lies.  The world tells you lies to feed into your own selfishness in order to create your own truth at the elimination of God; the one Truth.  The world tells us that sex outside of marriage is ok.  Meanwhile we are destroying the health of entire generations because of the diseases that result.  We hear the world tell us that if you are no longer “happy” in your marriage; then get out.  After all you need to be “happy” (whatever that is).  The world tells us whatever you need to do to succeed, you should do.  Lying, cheating, and stealing are just “good business practices.”  All of this wrecks your health, both physical and spiritual, and leaves you empty.

    Yet we know how this hole is filled.  It is filled by the grace of God.  It is filled by the cross of Christ and polished by the empty tomb.  Those things which we search for, those things which have meaning; come from God.  Goodwill, mercy, and peace are with us, and they are ours to share.  We receive these from God.  They are a gift to us, a bonus to go with our salvation.  These give us fulfillment here on earth.  These give meaning to life.  We show goodwill to our family and to our neighbors, placing their needs ahead of our wants.  We have peace with God and can live in peace with our neighbor.  We have mercy; so, we can show mercy.  Showing mercy, forgiving our neighbor’s sin, is far easier than trying to keep track of them. 

    God gives us this because of what Jesus does.  Jesus is our Savior.  We need him desperately every day.  He comes to us as the One Eternal Truth.  He come with the love of the Father.  Through Jesus, we have peace, we have hope, we have good will, and we have mercy.  Share it with those around you today.

Dear Father, what the world claims to search for, you freely give to us through Jesus.  Give us the wisdom to see this one and only truth and the faith to cling to it.  Empower us to be the voice and the hands that deliver this to this broken world in which we live.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’ Peace,

Pastor Bret

Monday, February 17, 2025

2-17-2025

 Good Morning All,

       John 1:29; “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

    This is a very familiar verse for many of us. It is part of Jesus’ baptism when John the Baptist sees Jesus and proclaims him to be the true Messiah, the Lamb of God. We sing about “The Lamb of God.” We see and hear this phrase all the time, but do we ever stop and think about what John is really trying to say here? John is speaking volumes to the Scribes and Pharisees, to his disciples, to the people, especially those who were hurting and broken. His words resonate with them, and they should with us as well.

    The Lamb of God. This is not some earthly lamb from one of the local flocks which men would choose to bring to the Temple to be sacrificed for their sins. It wasn’t even the Passover lamb which would be sacrificed and eaten. These lambs were driven by the Law. These were lambs which man was commanded to offer up. They were to be without blemish and often were inspected by the priests to make sure they were good enough. They were to atone for sin, but the sacrifice had to be repeated every time, every year, without failure. And yet we see a great truth emerge. They didn’t get the job done. They were repeated because they were always incomplete, they always fell short.

    In essence, John is telling everyone, your works fall short. In every sacrifice, you tried to remove your sin but every time you failed. Now to the leaders, this would have been a slap in the face but to the hurting and to the broken it was the sweetest music to their ears. For God, seeing and knowing that our works fail us, and we are left in a time of turmoil, suffering, doubt, and fear turned to us a Father’s heart and gave us the true gift, the Lamb, come down from heaven to be the true lamb. The lamb that would complete what no earthly lamb could. This Lamb, born of a virgin, was not a natural lamb as referred to in the Law but was indeed the Lamb that came to be sacrificed on a cross for our sins. He indeed, is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

    We can find so much comfort here. My works, which I know to be feeble and failing to appease God’s righteous judgment and met by the Lamb who fulfills all my short comings, my failures. All my sins.  Jesus takes all my sins, indeed all the sins of the world and bears them to Calvary to atone for me and to satisfy God’ righteous judgment. Our sins are expunged, our sins are removed, and we receive the righteousness of Jesus to stand before God and pray, “Father, hear me.” Salvation is ours, freely given to us that we might know his mercy and grace. John pointed to Jesus and proclaimed there, there is the one who gives us life.

Gracious Father, lead us to always see our hope in Jesus. Guide us to know of your love, so freely given to us that we may have peace. Calm the fears of a broken sinner. Lead him to know your grace. Protect all your children from the onslaught of the devil and his arrows. Help us to know peace in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret