10-4-2014

 Good Morning All,

         Matthew 14:29; “He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”

     Are you one of those people who have a set routine?  Perhaps you read the newspaper the same way every day.  You drink the same kind of coffee every day.  When you go somewhere you take the same route.  Perhaps your meals have the same combinations like hamburger and french fries but never hash browns.   We all have routines that we follow.  Some occur because it is the easiest way to accomplish our task.  Some occur because of other factors weighing in.  We may have a morning routine that meshes with our spouse and children.  Yet often times it is just the comfort of the routine and the fact that it takes some thought and some energy to change.

    So how comfortable are you with change?  A new hair style or a new restaurant, a change in our job or maybe even a whole new occupation, a new home; for many thoughts of these will keep us up at night.  We are creatures of habit and that can be both good and bad.  It can be very challenging to change but sometimes; change is what is needed.

    Often times we become so comfortable with our life that the devil uses it to make us complacent in our faith life.  We are comfortable where we are.  We might put money in the collection plate once in a while but the amount or frequency hasn’t changed in 10 years.  We read the Bible once in a while but not regularly.  We pray; when we are desperate enough.  This has become our routine and we are comfortable in this rut and the devil tells us we are just fine.

    Yet one of the most remarkable things that Christ does to us is to shake us from our comfortable routine.  He takes us from our complacent life in this sinful world; a life that lets us just skirt along and he changes it and he challenges us.  He takes us as we are broken, sinful beings and changes us into new creations.  He makes us his holy people and then gives to us the power and the authority to bring his kingdom to the world.  Then he looks at us, at our complacent lives, and says, “Come, get out of the boat and come.”

    Now Peter was in a boat on stormy lake late at night.  He got out of the boat.  The Lord called to him and he got out of the boat.  He didn’t last long, this time, but he got out of the boat.  Later in his life, Peter changed from his original routine.  At the start of the gospels, Peter is brash, hotheaded and often speaks long before he thinks.  Yet in his later life, Peter is the apostle of love, patience and hope.  He changed because he was changed.  He truly “got out of the boat.” 

   What about you?  Will you get out of your boat?  Will you step up and live the life that Christ has given you?  Maybe you can volunteer some time at a food bank or a homeless shelter.  Maybe you can mentor a neighbor child who is alone far too much of the time.  What about you, will you get out of your boat?

Father, make me uncomfortable at the sight of pain and brokenness around me.  Break my heart as yours breaks at the pain of your creation.  Move me to get out of my complacent life and be a force of change for you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

10-3-2104

Good Morning All,

        1Peter 5:7; “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you”

      My office habits are not necessarily the greatest.  I am a proponent of “organized mayhem” or “controlled clutter”.  I don’t really file things; it is more that I pile things.  I have a pile on this corner of my desk and then a pile on the other corner of my desk.  One pile is for marriage counseling stuff.  One pile is for the LWML stuff.  There is a pile on an upside down plastic milk crate that has stuff for the next week’s service.  There is a pile on the side table by my chair that has sermon prep stuff.  There is a pile by the printer that is miscellaneous church mail.  There is a pile of books on my library shelves from various study material.  A new pile is forming for confirmation and then there are just the seeds of a pile for Advent material.  It is mayhem but moderately organized.

    Yet sometimes, especially if things get a little hairy and harried, the piles get a little deep.  Sometimes, I just have to stop and take an afternoon and start throwing things away.  I just hope as I go through it that nothing of an importance emerges from the bottom of one of the piles.  So far nothing major has shown up.  But I do find a fair amount of material that really doesn’t need to be kept.  It might be duplicate material, it might be outdated, or it might not seem as valuable or important as it did a few weeks ago.  Sometimes I need to go through the piles in my office.  Sometimes we need to go through the piles in our life as well.

    Sometimes we keep piles of past sins, past worries and past hurts and fears around too long.  Every so often, you need to go through and truly clean house.  When we hold onto these painful, past events, they pull us back from Christ and his love.  They serve to distract us from focusing on God’s grace and his promise of salvation.  It causes us to lose sight of God’s promised mercy in our life.  Holding onto the past pain short circuits our contentedness and our ability to truly enjoy the life that God has for us.

    Jesus invites us to get rid of those sorrows and worries.  He invites us to cast them on his back.  He invites us to replace our anxiety with his peace, peace that only God’s mercy can give us.  So go through your “piles” in your life.  Are there worries that are outdated?  Are there worries that occur over and over?  Are there worries that aren’t important to us at all?  Then cast them away.  Don’t keep the baggage; that only serves the devil.  Cast off the unneeded and the unwanted cares and sorrows of this life.  Jesus has removed our sins and with this, has given to us the certainty of God’s grace.  So clean out the piles that are hurting you.  Give them to God for he loves you and cares for you.

Father of all mercy; help me to clean up the piles in my life.  Help me to throw away those things in my life which cause me pain.  Help me to have a clean heart and spirit that I may better serve you.  Be with those who are struggling with the piles that are building in their life.  Lead them from the destruction of the world and the devil and to return to you and your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret                 

10-2-2014

  Good Morning All,

        John 3:17; “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

     We are in that time of year again that is always interesting to me.  We have once again started our confirmation classes.  It is always interesting to watch a group of 6-8 graders think.  The way they process things is a little different and sometimes pretty insightful.  Our discussion the other day was about the “have tos.”  Kids this age just bristle when they think that they “have to” do something.  They are getting to the age where they feel that they are old enough and independent enough to make their own decisions.  They don’t want to “have to” do something.  They are concrete thinkers who want a pliable life; it gets interesting and I like to make them think once in a while.

    So once again, the questions began.  “Do we ‘have to’ go to church?”  “Do we ‘have to’ say the confession of sins?” “Or the Apostle’s Creed” “or the Lord’s Prayer?” “Or do we ‘have to’ sing the hymns?”  I love these questions; I long for these questions because my answer always throws them for a loop.  Do we ‘have to’….? The answer is “no”.  None of these things will get us into heaven.  None of these things impress God.  None of these things are required of us for salvation.  No, we don’t ‘have to’ come to church, or say the Lord’s Prayer or the Creed or sing the hymns; we don’t have to do these things but because of God’s grace; we get to.

    Because God loves us so much, we get to do these things.  I ‘get to’ come to worship, at the invitation of Jesus, to hear his words of love, of forgiveness and of hope.  I get revitalization in my heart and in my soul from hearing those words of his love. I ‘get to’ confess my sins, release them from me and lay them upon Christ’s throne.  They no longer burden me.  They no longer haunt and taunt me.   They are no longer the devil’s ammunition.  I ‘get to’ say the

Creed where I am reminded of all that God has/ is/ and will do for me.  From my creation, redemption, sustaining, fulfilling, encouraging, guiding, comforting; all my needs are met in God and the Creed helps to remind me of this.  I ‘get to’ speak the Lord’s Prayer, and all prayers, to God.  I ‘get to’ enjoy this holy conversation.  I am given the permission to speak to God, the creator of the entire universe, as I would speak to my dear father.  I ‘get to’ do all of this, and more, because Jesus came to pay for my sins.

    The confirmands always kind of shake their heads.  Many of us do.  We struggle trying to keep straight that God’s love for us precedes any action on our part.  Nothing we do will ever make God love us.  He chose to do that long before you and I ever existed and that love will continue long after you and I have returned to dust. We ‘get to’ live in God’s holy presence and remain in his loving arms.  Because of Jesus, we ‘get to’ have eternal life.  What a deal for us!!

Father, in your mercy you have brought me into your holy family and given to me all the rights and privileges of bring your child.  Guide me to know and to use these wonder blessings that I may grow in faith and serve you in your holy kingdom.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

10-1-2014

Good Morning All,

        Mark 4:36; “And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.”

        I was watching one of my favorite old movies the other day.  Late at night there was a showing of the movie “Jaws.”  For those of you who do not know, the basic premise is that a huge Great White shark is terrorizing a resort and eventually our three heroes go out and try to kill it.  The shark is supposed to be between 25 and 30 feet long.  On the boat is the old sea dog, a veteran of WWII, a young upstart marine biologist and the reluctant town sheriff.  The old sea dog and the young upstart spend much time sniping at each other while the sheriff gets all the “junk” jobs on the boat.

     One of his jobs is to throw bloody fish guts and pieces over the side of the boat trying to draw the shark.  As he is kneeling down over the edge of the boat, the shark jumps out of the water near the boat.  He stands with a look of terror in his eyes; he backs into the cabin where the sea dog and the young upstart are arguing.  He looks at both of them and says, “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.”  He saw the shark, saw his boat and decided right away, “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

    In our verse, Jesus is crossing the Sea of Galilee when a storm hits.  He is asleep in his boat but the others, especially those on the little boats are terrified.  They are convinced that they are going to drown.  They wanted a bigger boat.  There have been many times in my life when I wished that I had been in a bigger boat.  There are always times in our lives when the storms seem so huge and the waves gigantic; we may even see sharks in the water.  There are times I wish I had a bigger boat.  Yet, if I had a bigger boat, would I just have more room for the junk that life tells me I need?

     The truth is that what we need is faith in Jesus to be there to calm the storm.  We also need to remember that “calming the storm’ may not mean removing the event but it does mean to remove the fear and the anxiety that we experience.  We may still face job problems, relational issues, health issues and the like but these events do not define who we are.  These events do not represent “failures” in our life rather they are to show us the wonder of God.  No matter what we face, Jesus is there to calm it down.  It is never about the size of the storm or the size of the boat but about the size of God’s love for us. 

    God’s love for you will always prevail.  Even in the tiniest boat, God’s love for you will always prevail.  The challenge for us is to always look at the waves and the storm through the eyes of faith.  Holding onto the truth that God is always there to guard us and protect us.  We don’t need a bigger boat because we already have the greatness of God.

Father, the storms cause us to fear and we look at the size of our boat and we question.  Give us the faith to trust in you.  Give us the sureness of your wondrous grace in our lives.  Help us to know that you will always calm the storms for us and give to us the peace that the world cannot give.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.           

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret