5-3-2014

Good Morning All,

         2 Corinthians 5:7; “for we walk by faith, not by sight”.

     As I watch my grandson grow, I wait anxiously for that day in the not too distant future when he begins that trek that will drive his parents crazy.  If you have raised a child you know what that is; it is so simple yet it is so maddening.  You know the path.  That sweet little cherubic face will look up to you with all sweetness and sincerity and then crush you as they look at you and ask, “Why?”

    At first, it will be fun.   “Why is the light on?”  “Why does the water do that?”  “Why is that green?”  But soon, very soon, the questions become harder and harder.  Then one answer brings on two more questions and soon his parents will be a quivering mound of “I don’t know.”  I will snicker; I went through that three times.

    Yet this shows a very real human characteristic, we are an inquisitive species.  Because of this nature, we tend to rely on our senses to resolve our issues.  The senses send the information to the brain which solves the conflict that the question causes or so we think.  The problem is that sometimes we don’t know all the facts that are involved.  So we ask “why?” and sometimes we don’t get told “why.”

    God reveals to us what we need to know in order to live a life in his gracious kingdom.  He tells us that he loves us.  He shows us that he loves us.  His actions are his love in motion.  God tells us in his Word that he loves us and that he wants us to be with him.  God shows us that he loves us by sending Jesus to take our place.  His action, by the Holy Spirit, enables us to trust in his promise and to live the life that he wants us to have.

    God gives us peace.  God wants you to have peace.  It is this peace that will give us the contentment for our life.  He gives it to us so that we don’t have to ask “why?” because it is all in his hands.  We don’t have to solve the “whys?” we only have to live by faith, trusting in God’s love to provide for us and to keep us safe.  We don’t walk by what we see or feel because that can be misleading and very destructive, rather, we walk by faith trusting in God’s mercy to see us through.

    Many will say, “I have to see it to believe it.”  God tells us to see it with our eyes of faith; to trust in the certainty of the promise.  God’s promise is more certain than the distorted images that can and often do occur in this life.  The Apostle Paul tells us that in this life we see through a misty mirror but in faith; we see clearly God’s love for us in this life and forever.

Almighty and most gracious God, through your great promise we can see our hope and our certainty.  Through our eyes of faith you show us the wonders of your mercy and the benevolence of your grace.  Keep us ever mindful that while our physical eyes may deceive our eyes of faith depend upon you.  Be with those who are not seeing clearly at this time.  Open their eyes of faith that they may see.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,            

Pastor Bret

5-2-2014

Good Morning All,

        Matthew 5:16; “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

      Did you ever see the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus”?  It was in the mid 1990’s and starred Richard Dreyfuss as Glenn Holland.  He was a musician who became a teacher so he could have time to spend with his new wife and then have time to write the one great musical masterpiece which would give him worldwide acclaim and lots of money.  During the span of his teaching career, he never gets this great musical piece written.  Through all these years though he has an impact on the children of the school and the lives that they lead after graduation.

     As the thirty year career ends, he is invited into the arena area where dozens of his former students are gathered to play in his band, including the governor of the state.  It is at this time that he realizes that the opus (great work) that he was trying to write was being written in and by the lives of the young people who he touched and influenced.  It is a rather heartwarming movie.

    It also can and should describe our lives as well.  Let your light so shine is not so much about being a blazing searchlight as a gentle flashlight that points the way.  Through our interactions with others, our faith should show through.  We, as Christians, know what is important and what isn’t quite so important.  So when those around us point the wrong way we can gently point the right way.

    There are many ways to do this.  The most prevalent is to act as a mentor/coach to a younger person.  It might be the new guy at work or the high school kids down the street.  You do this by coaching or organizing events or just being there to help with homework if you can.  It isn’t very often that we are to be huge, bright spotlights; we are to be gentle flashlights that point the way to a more peaceful and contented life.  So when those around you seem to be off kilter over some minor event, you can interject some sanity.  We know what is right, true and important.  We know that it is our saving faith in Jesus that gives us the confidence to trust in God’s mercy in our life.  That is what matters, everything else comes in second maybe even fifth or sixth.

    Let your light shine and let others be drawn to this light.  Let them see the comfort that you have from your faith.  Let them know that the courage you have is not your own but from God.  Let them know that above everything else, you are a redeemed child of God and that trumps everything else.  God’s grace is alive in you, let it out.  Give this grace a place to show and let it show to those most closely around you.  Show it to your family, your friends, your neighbors and your fellow Christians.  Let your light shine, be someone’s opus.

Merciful Father, in you we have forgiveness.  Give to us the courage to shine into the light of the world.  Give to us the strength to let our light shine.  Help us to change people’s lives by living the life which you have laid out for us.  Help us to show your love so that they may see your glory.  Bring them to faith, dear Lord.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-1-2014

 Good Morning All,

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

     If you receive an ad or an offer in the mail in which you can buy something you need for a discounted price, do you take full advantage of the offer or not?  If you get the chance to buy 10 gallons of gasoline for $2.00 a gallon, would you buy all 10 gallons or would you only buy 5 gallons?  It may seem like a silly question yet, is it?  If you had in your possession a winning lottery ticket, would you settle for less than the full amount that you were entitled to?  Again, it sounds silly, but is it?

    Yet so often that is what we do with our faith.  We take just a little and live with it rather than live it. We go to church, most of the time anyway.  We go to a Bible Study class, once in a while.  We may even read the Bible on our own, if the satellite TV isn’t working right.  We pray, when all else has been done.  We believe that God forgives our sins but we don’t let it or maybe don’t want it to change our lives.

    God has a great and wonderful life planned out for you.  He gives us all we need to live it and live it to the fullest that he gives us.  Jesus told his disciples that he came to give life and give it abundantly; yet too often we only take advantage of a portion of it.  We fail to grab onto the wonderful life of love that he gives to us.  We hold back, thinking that the things of this world are so wonderful and, like a moth gets drawn to the flame, it entices us until we get burned, sometimes seriously burned. 

    God gives us the gift of life eternal and with that we need to understand that our life here on earth is but a twinkling of the eye when measured against eternity.  Yet he gives us the tools to face this life.  He gives us his Word both spoken and then the held and eaten Word.  Jesus nourishes us with his precious body and blood.  We have the adoption of sons of God.  We can call upon his name for hope, for comfort, for direction, for peace or for any one of a myriad of things that we need to support this body and life.  God gives us all we need, he gives us the desire to trust in his promise but we have to trust that promise.  When we hold back, we lose.  When we hold back, we are showing a weakening of faith and it is faith that truly makes us strong.

    So pray for faith and more faith.  Use the tools that God gives you.  Go to worship and really listen and experience God’s love spoken to you.  You can hear it in the hymns, you can hear it in the liturgy, you can hear it in the absolution, you can hear it in the sermon, you can taste it in the sacrament.  You can hear the voices join together in God’s praise and then you can take it with you and use it throughout the rest of the week.  God has great plans for you; grab them and live!!

Father of all grace, you give us life.  You have wondrous plans for us to give us life and hope.  Guide us by your Spirit to live that life in faith that we may enjoy the sweetness of your love.  Be with those who are lost and missing the tenderness of your mercy.  Bring them home safely.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen  

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret