7-8-2015

 Good Morning All!!

             Psalm 13:6; “I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.”

    Living on the plains of South Dakota is always an interesting time.  Many people around here will tell you that February, March and April were among the driest ever witnessed.  Although not spoken, the dreaded “D” word (drought) was on the mind of many.  Cattle producers were worried about hay supplies lasting as there was none to be found to buy.  Grain farmers were debating whether to plant or wait for rain.  The retired old timers would quote the old saw “plant in dust and your bins will bust” while the active farmers looked at the amount of money being put into dry, cool ground.  I took my cues and was dusting off the sermons and prayers that asked for rain and encouraged patience while trusting God to supply us.  So how did it go?

    Well, I do my gardening in garden boxes.  I use potting soil in lined boxes with an irrigation system in the bottom.  I used a type of potting soil that had moisture retention qualities.  So I spent July 3^rd and part of July 4^th scooping some of the soil out of the boxes, spreading it on a tarp so it would dry out because the boxes had received too much rain.  The pastures have tremendous growth.  If you missed the hail, most crops look fantastic.  What a turn around, what a change, what a phenomenal blessing from God!

    This is one place where we really need a boost.  Too often we expect God to fail us.  We expect God to take something from us or deny us and so we spend a lot of time missing the joy around us.  God deals with us bountifully, we only need to look around us as we are surrounded by God’s grace.  He pours his love out upon us.  He offers us his peace and he uses the people around us to do this.  He uses the created things that surround us to give us hope for our day.  He blesses us bountifully at all turns as we are promised eternal life, with him in paradise.  A promise paid for by Jesus and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit is ours, always.  So we can always look to this as a sign of God’s bountiful love for us as he delivers to us his bountiful mercy every day.

    Being a Christian means starting each day new, revitalized by the forgiveness which is bountifully poured out upon you.  Thus each day we, by faith, are renewed, refreshed and restored.  We live a life with much potential because of all that God gives to us.  It is the devil that wants you to focus on what you don’t have but what we don’t have is miniscule compared to what we do have.  We have his love and mercy and promise of eternal life.  We know that he has defeated the enemies in this world for us and that he has promised us abundant life.  For this we should sing his praises forever.

Father of all good things, your blessings pour over us and refresh us each day.  Help us to focus on your incredible mercy and wondrous kindness which never ends.  Lift up our eyes to see your mercy.  Help us to point others to your hope.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-7-2015

  Good Morning All!!

            Job 28:28; “And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

    Do you remember the TV show Kung Fu with David Carradine?  He plays a ½ American ½ Chinese man who comes to America from China to find his half-brother and avoid arrest in China.  The thing I remember about this show was the slow motion fighting and all the flashbacks that David Carradine’s character had.  They were always showing him as a young boy being trained in martial arts by his master.  They seemed to focus on the times when he needed to make a decision.  He focuses on the wisdom imparted on him by his beloved teacher who always called him “Grasshopper”. 

   A lot of people focus on wisdom and attaining it.  When a politician displays wisdom we call them statesmen; they display a quality that places the country over their own personal politics or agenda.  We often call people who have a lot of experience wise and will seek them out perhaps even as a mentor as we explore our new job.  Most of us express that there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom and would rather have someone wise making the decisions.  Wisdom seems to imply anticipating outcomes better then just a knowledgeable decision.  When surveyed, most voters want to elect someone who is wise in their decision making.

   What about you, are you wise?  Scriptures tells us that the fear of the Lord is wisdom.  Wisdom is knowing what God desires of us.  We know this by what God has revealed to us; basically the Ten Commandments.  Wisdom comes from studying God’s Word and searching it for wisdom and guidance.  Wisdom leads us to see that God’s Word leads us to live in a harmonious and orderly fashion.  When we oppose God and his will, we find our lives out of sync, often times disrupted, filled with discontent, pain and sorrow.  Wisdom shows us that there are two directions in life; one is God’s way which gives us life and one is the way of destruction.

    Thus the Bible defines understanding as turning from evil.  We see just knowledge falls short.  Understanding requires action; understanding is turning from evil and thus turning toward God.  This choice is made possible for us by Jesus whom we see as Wisdom incarnate.  We see Jesus as healing us so that we can choose life and we can choose to live by God’s will.  So search God’s Word, learn his wisdom and live accordingly.  You will find a life of contentment in his peace.

Gracious Father, give me your wisdom.  Teach me your ways that I may know your wisdom and will.  Lead me to live the life that you desire me to live.  Lead me to walk humbly before you that your will is done.  Lead me to live the life that you desire that others will know your mercy through me.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

7-6-2015

Good Morning All!!

        Ezekiel 2:3; “And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day.”

     Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over eighteen. Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred.  So do you think you would have applied to be a pony express rider?  Would you take any job if the description was painfully honest?  Would you take the job that was described as low paying, on-call at all times, must be patient and willing to live in a sleep deprived state for many days and often wear stained clothes?  Most of us would laugh that job off until we remember that this is usually the first (and perhaps more) year of a new parent.  We tend to like the jobs that have a “friendlier” description.  We would rather hear the softened version of what is going on.

   It is possible that the prophet Ezekiel would have preferred to hear a different description of the call that God gave him.  Most preachers would not like to go to preach to rebels and more specifically, a nation of rebels.  Most preachers want to hear about successful outreach programs and active Bible studies.  They want to hear about vibrant volunteers and a congregation that friendly and welcoming to strangers.  Unfortunately, most preachers get called to congregations that are rebellious and have been for generations ongoing.  They are called to serve there because that is where the sinners are; those people who are desperately in need of God’s grace; people like you and people like me.

    God calls pastors to go to places that need to hear his grace and mercy.  This place of rebellious people, this church for that is what the church really is; it is a collection of rebellious people who confess their faults, sins and shortcomings and who desperately need God’s mercy and come together for comfort and support.  We come together to share our pain and to share our joy.  We come together as God’s redeemed people, cleansed by his baptismal grace.  We are made new; we are made whole and given the wondrous gift of salvation.

    We will slip and fail in keeping God’s will; we will rebel and try to go our own way but God, in his mercy, will keep calling us back to the life of repentance in that baptismal grace and restore us to our place in his family.  We are a rebellious people but, more importantly, we are a redeemed and forgiven people; we are chosen by God to be his family, to be his people, to be his church.  So we struggle each day, seeking to do his will, sometimes succeeding but sometimes failing but always forgiven by our loving and merciful Father.  God, in his mercy, made you new; so go out and be new.

Father, too often I rebel against your will and experience the pain of its failure.  Forgive me when I fail.  Pick me up and guide me in your path.  Lead me to be the servant you need and the disciple you desire.  Guard me from all of the devil’s attacks.  In the precious name of Jesus I pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

7-5-2015

Good Morning All!!

        Ephesians 6:18: “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints”

    Maybe you remember the “Tim the Toolman” who always wanted more power.  He was always trying to increase the power whether it was a dishwasher or a lawn mower or a car.  Unfortunately for him, but lucky for those who watched TV, it usually resulted in some comic adventures.    

    We, as God’s redeemed children, have access to the greatest source of power that the world cannot even fathom.  We have the power of prayer.  Prayer is one of the gifts that God gave to his Church; the “royal priesthood”.  Prayer, as a gift from God, comes with three elements to it.  It comes at God’s command.  It comes with His promise and it comes with His blessing.

   God commands us to pray.  God knows that we need to be in constant contact with Him.  God knows that the devil, even though defeated, will continually poke and prod at us.  The devil will always whisper in our ears to try and cause doubt.  Prayer keeps us connected to God.  That is why we are to pray constantly; we are to be constantly connected to God.

   With this command comes a promise.  God promises to answer our prayers!!  The Creator of the universe takes the time to listen to us.  God the Father inclines his ear to us.  He leans down to listen closely to what we say; like a loving grandparent leans in close to hear every word of a grandchild.  We have that promise.

   With the promise to hear our prayers comes the blessing of answering our prayers.  These prayers are answered when we pray according to God’s will.  We are to pray to advance God’s will.  When we pray like that, God answers.  When we pray to move God’s will forward, when God’s house on earth, the church, is truly a house of prayer; heaven moves with all its potent plans as God’s people are clothed with the triumphant victory wardrobe and the world sees results.  Prayer is at the heart of the sanctified life with power to change the world.  No matter what the events of the day occur and no matter how dark events look; prayer works the power of God in us and through us.  The Word of God; in the hearts of men (and women) changes lives and that cannot be stopped.  We express this change through prayer.

    So we pray; we pray for all the saints now and to come.  Just as the saints that went before us prayed for us; we need to pray for those who are to come as well.  Pray and see what happens.  Set up a prayer group and agree to pray at the same time every day and share your prayers; the thanksgivings, the intercessions and the supplications.  Prayer is our greatest source of power and we rarely use it.

Lord Jesus, just as your disciples asked you to teach them to pray; we ask that you teach us.  And yet as they fell asleep and were unable to pray; we too fall asleep.  Forgive us our frailties and our weaknesses.  Empower us to go forward praying for our needs and the needs of all the saints that Your Holy Will shall advance.  In Your holy and powerful name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret