1-4-2015

 Good Morning All,

         Colossians 3: 12-13; “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;  ⁽¹³⁾bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

     As I have often stated, I like to watch movies and most types of movies.  One type of movie that I really don’t like is the “Christmas genre.”  It is not that I am a Scrooge or the Grinch; it is that these movies are all the same basic story.  Our hero comes to a small town looking to make a new or fresh start.  In the process our hero falls in love and then, in a fit of undecidedness, has to decide if going back to the past life is right or staying with the new life is right.  Usually our hero stays and kisses the new love interest while it starts to snow and the wizened members of the community smile knowingly.  The one variation is that our hero goes back to clear up what needs to be cleared up promising to return in the spring.  I liked the first one, even the first six or seven but after that; well that is why our house is a multi-television house.

    There is a grain of truth in this type of movie; it is hard to move forward if you do not rectify the past.  In many ways our verses for today reflect this as we get going into the New Year.  All Christians seek the first part of our verse.  We want a heart of compassion; we want to be kind; we want to be humble, gentle, and patient.  We may even have these as New Year resolutions.  Yet, in a few weeks, we may find ourselves struggling with them and we may even abandon them.  We may even be questioning why we are doing so.  It is somewhat amazing that the second half of our verse (verse 13) helps to answer this. 

    Until we forgive, really and truly forgive, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to truly experience the desires of verse 12.  As long as we withhold forgiveness, there will always be darkness, bitterness and anger within our heart.  That is why, sometimes, in order to go forward, you need to go back and fix the pain.  You may have to ask for forgiveness; you may have to forgive.  Either way, holding onto the pain will darken your heart.  Holding onto the sin will deprive you of the compassion, the kindness, the humility, the gentleness and the patience that God desires you to have.  God desires you to have these because these give us contentment that we seek.  These allow us to live in peace; the peace that most of us so desperately seek.

   So as you look to the New Year, you may need to clean up prior years.  You may need to start with forgiveness; that is what God does with you.  First God forgives you, out of love, that you may be his redeemed child.  First we must forgive then the other gifts will follow.

Gracious Father, through you we receive forgiveness.  Give us the strength to forgive others.  Give us the desire to seek forgiveness where we have caused pain.  Move our hearts that we might rise to be the children that you desire us to be.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-3-2015

Good Morning All,

         Hebrews 6:19; “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,”

      Earlier in December, I was watching one of the old swashbuckling movies about a pirate who really wasn’t a pirate.  He was really a member of the English navy who had attacked some Spanish ships but it turned out that England and Spain were no longer at war so he was branded a pirate.  He was trying to get to England to clear his name.  During a key moment in the movie, our hero ties himself to the deck of the ship so he could steer the ship during a huge storm.  He had them tie him to supports for the steering system and then fastened a rope to the floor and then a chain was attached to his leg and it was fastened to the ship.  In the end he made it through the storm and guided the ship through the dangerous shoals.

    I don’t know if you have ever faced a time in your life when the wind and the rain and the huge waves of life are buffeting you about but if you have; you know the feeling of hopelessness.  There are few feelings in this world that leave us as empty and as lost as feeling that we have no hope.  There is no greater sense of loss.  There is no greater sense of being completely isolated and alone than when we feel a situation is hopeless.  It can be a job that disappears, it can be a relationship that is crumbling, it can be health issues that are overwhelming us, it can be a summer of no rain; there are many ways to experience hopelessness but there is only one way to have hope.

   The writer of the Book of Hebrews uses this logic for our hope.  God made a promise to Abraham and God took an oath upon himself to keep that promise.  Now we know that God is unchangeable so any promise that he makes; he keeps.  He made a promise to Noah, He made a promise to Abraham and he made a promise to you.  The promise to you was that of eternal salvation with him.  It is also a promise of love right now.  We don’t have to wait until we die for God’s promise to give us comfort, to give us hope.

    We can, and should, tie our self to God’s promise.  We can anchor our self in God’s perfect grace, his promised mercy to us, and his amazing love to give us hope.  No matter what we face, no matter what we fear, God’s perfect promise is there for us.  We are never alone and our life is never hopeless.  God has promised to care for you as a Father cares for his children.  His love for you knows no bounds.  His love for you has no limits.  We can always turn to this promise; we can cling to this promise; we can rely on this promise to give us his grace and mercy.  God’s promise will never fail you; it never has and it never will.

Father of all hope; help us to keep our anchor in you.  Help us to keep our hope secure.  Though the world and the devil attack us, keep us attached to you.  Be with those who are fighting the battles of life, especially those who feel that they are losing the battle, give them the hope of your sacred promise and give them comfort and peace.  Give them your loving and precious peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

1-2-2015

Good Morning All,

       1 Corinthians 12: 31; “But earnestly desire the higher gifts.  And I will show you a still more excellent way”

     With the New Year comes the tradition of making resolutions.  Maybe it is to lose weight or stop smoking; maybe it is to go to church more or to be friendlier to those around us; we make resolutions.  Then we try to keep them, for a while anyway.  I always think of the joke on the internet that shows a gym on December 31^st and it has one guy exercising. Then it shows January 1^st and the gym is full.  Then it shows Jan 2^nd and the gym is empty again with that same one guy.  There is more truth in that then many of us want to admit.

    One of the reasons for our failure is that we aim too high or are too ambitious.  This makes success difficult and failing to see success, even small success, can cause us to give up.  Another reason is that we tend to want success without change.  In order to lose weight might require a change in diet and physical activity.  It might mean leaving donuts alone.  It might men getting up earlier in the morning.  It might mean a lot of things we don’t enjoy.

    So as we enter the New Year, making resolutions, let’s make one that will be truly beneficial to those around us and to us as well.  Let us earnestly desire the higher gifts.  These higher gifts are faith, hope and love.  So as we face the New Year, let’s strive for greater faith.  God gives us faith.  Faith is the desire to trust God at his Word.  Faith is the desire to trust that God will do what he says he will do.  Yet we can build our faith, we can strengthen it by using it.  We can strengthen it by reading and listening to God’s Word, through prayer and through proper use of the sacraments.  These are all faith building items.

    Hope is designed to help us focus on the future.  Hope tells us to look forward to better times and not to look back at our failures and shortcomings.  Hope builds us up so that we can withstand the arrows of the devil today.  Hope builds us up so that the pain of this world can be seen as only temporary while our eternal salvation with Jesus is set and waits for us.  Hope builds us up to thrive in this life because of the certainty of tomorrow with Jesus.

    Love is the greatest because love is eternal.  Faith and hope will fade away when we meet our Savior face to face but love will always remain.  Love always builds up and makes our life better.  Love, true love, makes the lives of others better as well.  Love inspires and elevates everyone.  It lifts up the broken hearted and heals the pained soul.  Love reduces sorrow and eases heartache.

   So this year, let us earnestly desire the greater gifts.  Not a new car or a slimmer waistline but greater faith, inspired hope and godly love.  These will make for a great New Year.

Father, as we move into a new year, move us by your Spirit to live in greater faith, stronger hope and with love in our hearts which pours out upon our neighbors.  Build us up so that we may serve you with greater vigor and with an intense sense of devotion to your service.  Guide us by your Spirit.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-1-2015

 Good Morning All,

        Genesis 1:31; “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day”

     One of life’s great pleasures for me now is to watch my grandchildren grow. I watch them play and marvel as they accomplish new tasks and solve problems and overcome past struggles.  I still have on my cell phone the video as we watched my grandson first attempt to climb down steps on his own.  He continues to grow and we look forward to watching his sister grow and develop as well.  It is what parents and grandparents do; we revel in the growth and development of our children.  We look forward to sharing those events as we go.

    It is an amazing fact that this is how God looks upon us as well.  You are his dear children who he looks forward to walking in the cool of the morning with.  You are the children he likes to gaze at as we sleep.  You are the reason that God’s view of creation went from good to very good.  This is a phenomenal event.

    Think of all the beauty that exists in God’s creation.  Think of the beauty of a sunrise or sunset.  Think of the majestic beauty of a mountaintop or the splendor of a lush valley.  Think of the beauty in the stars or the amazing view that exists throughout the animal world or the shape of the clouds.  Think of how the psalmist wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”  The beauty of God’s creation is above everything, yet, God chooses to watch you.  It is you that he chooses to love.  It is you that he chooses to have this loving, fatherly relationship with.  It was no other creature that was made a living soul.  It is you.

    So as you begin this New Year, begin it with a renewed faith in the truth.  This truth is that God’s love for you knows no bounds.  His love for you causes him to give you the forgiveness that you so desperately need.  His love for you gives us the hope that we can hold onto when all looks hopeless and lost.  His love sustains us when all else fails.  So if your last year was particularly difficult and your struggles tough; let’s look forward to the grace that God bestows upon his people.

   Strive to leave the past in the past.  Strive to leave the devil’s assaults and lies behind you.  Don’t let them drag you down.  Leave the anger, the bitterness and the sorrow behind.  These are tools the devil uses to hold you down and to keep you from experiencing God’s wonderful grace.  You are the apple of God’s eye; live with the joy and peace and comfort that God desires you to have.  God views you as very good, worthy of redemption by Jesus.  Trust in his mercy for this coming year.

Father, in you we have hope for your mercies are new to us each day.  Keep us strong in our faith and give us the courage to live as your children.  Be with those who are battling the attacks of the devil.  Lead them to your safe arms.  Give them comfort in your grace and keep them in the knowledge of your salvation.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret