12-03-2013

   Good Morning All,

    Isaiah 64:8; “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

       There was an article that I read a while back about a man who attempted to swindle some people out of their money.  He told them he was investing it wisely but he was spending it on financing his lifestyle.  He bought fancy cars, took expensive vacations, and bought expensive artwork.  When they finally caught up to him, most of the authorities warned the duped investors that they may only get back a fraction of their original money.  They sold all of the con man’s possessions to help recover the losses.  They were stunned when some of his artwork, especially some of the vases and pottery, brought incredible amounts.  The original investors actually made more money from the sale of the artwork than they would have from the con man’s claimed investments!

    It is amazing how much some artwork can be so expensive.  There was a vase from the Chinese Qing dynasty that sold for over $80 million.  So what made that vase so valuable?  It was only painted baked clay; where does its value come from?  Mostly it came from its age and the rarity of the piece.  It also came from the skill of the potter who made it.  It came from the potter’s ability to mold and to shape that lump of dirt into an artistic expression that would become almost priceless.

    This is how we should view our self and each other.  We are really only lumps of clay; in and of itself, clay has very little value.  But once the clay is molded and shaped by the masterful hands of the craftsman, it has great value.  Our value is not in what we are but in who has crafted us.  Our value is because of God’s work in us and for us.  We have value because God says we do.  Yet it goes beyond this simple fact.  I have value because of Jesus Christ but so do you.

    We need to remember that it is not a “me” world.  This is God’s creation and “we” live in it.  All of God’s children have great value.  We need to see that the value of everyone is high.  No one is of “no value.”  All have the same price exacted for their soul; the price of God’s only Son was paid for each of us.  It was paid for you, but not just you; it was paid for everyone.  Everyone should be viewed as God’s redeemed child, my brother and sister, your brother and sister.  This is why God wants us to love each other as he has loved us.  We are his children and we are brothers and sisters.  So God wants us to care for each other holding each other as valuable works of art products of the master’s hand.

Gracious Lord, you have molded and shaped me to be your child.  Guide me so that I will extend to those around me the love that you have for me.  At times I will fall short; lead me to repent.  At times others will fall short; lead me to forgive.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.                                                          

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-02-1013

 Good Morning All,

Luke 2:16; “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.”

    “Hurry up or else we’ll be late!”  Do you hear that or say that this time of the year.  There are parties to attend, concerts to go to, most of us have a full plate this time of year.  Maybe you hurry to pick the kids up from some practice and have to hurry home to bake cookies for some event tomorrow.  Do you have to hurry off for a quick shopping trip?  Now that Christmas baking is on the upswing, do you have all the necessary ingredients?

    Then there are the different commitments you make.  Do you take a group of school kids shopping for the underprivileged?  Do you take them to a soup kitchen?  Do you take them caroling?  Then you have office Christmas parties, you have family parties, you have neighborhood gatherings; all we do is rush from one place to another.  Everywhere we go, every time we look at the calendar; we have somewhere to go, someone to see.  The season is full of hustle and bustle.  The season is overloaded and so are our senses, our nerves and our patience.

    Do you think that the shepherds could have ever imagined this type of frenzied life when they came with haste to find Mary and Joseph and the baby?  There is a very certain and very ironic view here.  The shepherds were quietly watching and tending the sheep that were under their care.  They would have to watch for predators, maybe a few thieves but there was a handful of them to watch the sheep.  They could take turns watching while the others could rest a little.  It would have been a quiet, calm time; nothing like the bustle of the large cities like Jerusalem.  So when the angels startled them with the announcement of the birth of Jesus the Savior, they dropped everything and ran to see what the angels had told them.  They ran to see Jesus.

    Yet today, we often live a life of total chaos and we run to Jesus for rest and comfort.  We listen to the world and the buzz that it puts into our head and it begins to hurt.  We look around and see pain and sadness and feel it as well.  Stress and pressure can hurt or even destroy relationships, your physical health, your emotional health and your spiritual well-being.  The only answer for us is to cling to the cross, to hold onto our faith.  We need to make haste to Jesus, because this is where we find our peace and contentment.

     The world will always try to speed you up and cause you to “spin” out of control.  Jesus is our control; he is our source of hope and love.  Jesus comes to us with his grace to hold us close.  When we see the world speed around us don’t follow the world’s view of what is important but make haste to go with Jesus.

Father of grace, your mercies are new to us each day.  Guide us to see the hustle and bustle of this world only causes us pain.  Lead us by your Spirit to know that our true source of comfort, peace and contentment is through you.  Be with those who are especially lost in a world of pain and deceit.  Lead them to your gracious throne.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

12-01-2013

 Good Morning All,

    Matthew 18: 21-22; “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

    The young couple was sitting in the pastor’s office.  They had just went through another major argument/ blowup.  They were sniping and fighting, again.  He didn’t listen; all she did was nag.  He never helped; she was never satisfied.  The list never ended.  One sat in one chair while the other sat in a different chair as far apart as possible.  Both sat with their arms folded, frowns upon the face; not a lot of joy here.

    So the pastor started with a couple of Bible lessons.  First they read about Peter when he denied Jesus three times.  The pastor asked, “Have you ever felt that the other denied you?” They both answered “yes!”  Then they read about when Jesus restored Peter by telling him to “feed my sheep”.  The couple was asked, “Did you forgive the denial?”  Neither answered because each knew where this was going.  So the pastor asked, “Would you forgive the other at least once?”  Both agreed that once was not too much to ask or to do for each other. “We all make mistakes”

   So then they looked at our verse.  How many times do we forgive?  This translation (ESV) says seventy-seven times.  Others say seventy times seven.  Either represent a number beyond which we would keep track of.  We also want to remember that Peter’s number represents more than twice what was expected at the time of Jesus (3 was expected).  So even he was speaking of an attempt to give more than most.  Jesus’ answer went beyond any human thought.

    The truth that Jesus is teaching us is that the true key contentment in our life is the willingness to forgive; even beyond willing, we must desire to forgive.  The desire to forgive is the basis of our faith and our salvation.  God wants to forgive you.  That is why Jesus came to die for you and to remove your sin; this was because he wanted to forgive you and to show you his love for you.  So here we see where Jesus is telling us the essence of our earthly contentment: to forgive others.  By forgiving others, we let go of the pain that holding onto the sins of others causes us. 

    This is part of the reason why Jesus uses such an extreme number of “counted” forgiveness.  In this, we see the burden of carrying the sins of others.  All the work, all the time, all of the effort to keep track of each and every person we know would be burdensome beyond belief.  Yet we often try to do this in our heart and we see the pain we experience just like that couple who was visiting their pastor.  When you see the pain of others and when you feel your own pain because you hold on to the sins of others.

    So Jesus reveals to us the most needed element in a contented life; we need to forgive others in order to let go of the burden of keeping track of those sins.  It is remembering this pain that hurts us.  Always remembering causes the burden.  Let it go; forgive as you are forgiven.

Dear Jesus, teach us to forgive as you forgive us.  Lead us to see this is the source of our contentment.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret