9-12-2015

Good Morning All!!                       

          Philippians 2:15,” that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

    Why are we here?  This isn’t some metaphysical, highly theological abstract question; it is an honest question.  Why doesn’t Jesus take the Church out of this world to be with him now?  He could leave a few really good evangelists and take the rest of us to heaven.  That could be a very workable plan, we could all be saved, safe in heaven, enjoying eternity with Jesus; what could be better?

    Nothing could, or will, be better.  However, Jesus has a mission for the Church and that is to serve as lights in the world in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.  Does that describe our world or what?  Jerry Sandusky basically calls everyone liars in his conviction of abusing young boys.  Abortions are common and “acceptable” choices.  There is a debate in England about the “acceptability” of post-birth abortions (murder).  One in five Americans claims no religious affiliation.  That doesn’t count those who “claim” affiliation but aren’t sure what that means.  We live in a crooked and twisted generation.

     Yet into the twisted generation that was Judea and Galilee of 4 BC, Jesus came and healed those whom he touched.  He brought the good news of salvation and the healing of the Holy Spirit to a crooked generation.  He brought God’s reconciliation into the world and through His death and resurrection gives us hope; hope for a better tomorrow.  The devil loves a crooked and twisted generation.  He can spin us and toy with us; using us as his playthings.  The devil loves things like the debates about aborting a live child.  He loves it when people think that abusing people is an “acceptable” choice.  It is all about choice, isn’t it?  We are “free” to make whatever bad choice we want regardless of who we hurt.

     This is why Jesus wants us, his Church, to remain in the world; for a while anyway.  Jesus calls us to be that light in this dark world.  We are that light when we comfort the family who just had a baby die.  We are that light when we give food to that family is hungry.  We are that light when we show mercy and compassion to that person who is sick and has nowhere else to turn.  We are that light.  He ties this all together when Jesus taught about the unforgiving servant or when he told the Pharisees,” I demand mercy not sacrifices” Jesus wants us to be that light in this world.  We are to bring the Gospel to all those we meet and see.  We are to show that hope.  We live those problems; we live those troubles but we live them with hope, the certainty of God’s eternal grace and God’s eternal riches.

    Dear Father, give us the strength to be your light in this crooked world.  Give us the wisdom to know how to be that light and give us the endurance to outlast the devil and our sinful nature as they attack us while we do your work.  All this we ask in Jesus precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-11-2015

        Good Morning All!!                 

         Romans 1:16; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

    We still have a long ways to go.  The presidential election is still is long ways away and I could take a time out or a quarter break or a heat time out or something.  It really wears on a person.  I think of us tire of it so quickly because of the negativity.  Many years ago, a political planner came up with the theory that if you could make someone negative rating (people who do not like or approve of the candidate) 40% or higher, the candidate would lose.  So now the norm for politicking is to try to run the other guy down.  This does two things.  It forces the second candidate to defend against the negative accusations and it keeps him from stating the direction that he wants to go.  I wish they would tell me what they are for.  I wish I knew what they supported or wanted to accomplish instead of telling me how bad the other guy is.  Tell me what you support.

    Many Christians have found themselves in the position of the second candidate.  We spend a lot of time telling people what we aren’t.  We aren’t hateful.  We aren’t out to force our beliefs down anyone’s throat.  We spend a lot of time telling people we aren’t angry like that; we aren’t seeking to hurt anyone.  We spend a lot of time saying what we are not; we should be spending our time saying what we are for.

    Paul proclaimed with a great boldness that he was not ashamed of the gospel.  He knew it had power.  He knew that it had the power to win over all his enemies.  Paul knew that he had nothing to fear.  Jesus had destroyed Paul’s greatest enemy, death, so Paul knew that nothing else could destroy or harm him.  So he preached boldly; he embraced God’s mercy.  He lived his life with full boldness and full confidence and we can too.

    We don’t have to keep telling people what we are not if our life and actions show who we are.  We need to live as bold and as confident as Paul did.  We need to show God’s love to our neighbor and to those who seek to quiet us, who seek to change us or even seek to destroy us.  “Let your light shine” was how Jesus spoke of our actions.  Live your life in such a way that God’s love in seen in you.  It is not hatred or anger but God’s love that we reflect.  It is his healing that we bring not his judgment.

    God will judge; not us.  God will determine; measure and find wanting or worthy.  We are simply the beacons that shine and point to the truth.  We are to bring the healing and the hope of Christ to this broken world.  We have God, his love, grace and truth.  Live boldly in his grace.

Father of mercy, lead me to boldly live my life as a witness to you.  Lead me to bring healing and mercy to this broken and hurt world.  Guide us by your Spirit.  Keep me strong in your Word and confident in my faith.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

9-10-2015

        Good Morning All!!                 

         John 1:29; “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

    I remember listening to a group of firemen talk one time about having to assist the sheriff in cleaning out a house.  It seemed that the person who lived there had dozens of cats in the house and never let them out.  They removed the cats, some dead, some barely alive in the house that was filled with stench.  They said the ammonia smell that hit you when you opened the door almost knocked you out.  They wore their full turn our gear and even then had to rub mentholated petroleum jelly under their nose to be able to stand the smell.  Even then, they could only be in the house for a few minutes at a time or else their eyes burned and they got headaches.  In the end, the house was destroyed because it could not be cleaned or repaired.

    If you have never experienced something like this, it can be very difficult to imagine.  The overpowering stench can literally take your breath away.  It can actually cause you to pass out and maybe even die.  Most of us cannot imagine this much less ever experienced it.  A stench that drives you away; a smell that does not even allow you to enter the building is beyond our comprehension.  Yet this is how God views our sin.   

    Sin is what separates us from God.  It is not God’s anger at our sin that drives us apart; rather it is God’s total revulsion at the smell and the stench of the sin that drives us from him.  This is part of why the sacrifices in the Old Testament were often times burned in an attempt to dilute or mask the stench of our sin.  Imagine; burning oxen and ram flesh smells better to God than our sin does.  Yet God loves us completely and does not want to stay separated from us.  His desire is for a loving relationship with us.  So he designed a plan that would remove the stench of our sin by removing our sin from us.  He sent Jesus to be covered in our stench and our sin in order that you and I could be saved.

    This is why John called Jesus “the Lamb of God.”  His sacrifice was to be pleasing enough to God to remove the stench of sin and corruption from us so that we might stand before his presence.  Our sin was enough of a stench to drive God and Jesus apart and cause Jesus to lament when God had forsaken him in the terrible stench of mankind’s sin in the stench of our sins. 

    So as God cries against our sin, it is not out of anger but out of sadness.  His desire that we live without sinning is not for vengeance but for a desire to have a meaningful relationship with us.  His desire is that we live in his presence and we can only do this if the stench of sin is gone.

Father of mercy, in your great love, you have freed us from the disgust and the stench of our sin.  Keep us in your great grace and guide us by your Spirit that we may turn from sin and follow you completely.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

9-9-2015

        Good Morning All!!                 

        Ephesians 4: 12-13; “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,”

     I spent much of my high school and college years watching the television show “M*A*S*H.”  I still watch it if I can find it.  I was not and am not sure how completely accurate the show was but I think a lot of it was relatively close.  I think the way they portrayed human reaction to the stress of warfare was close.  I was always fascinated by the Battalion Aid station stories.  The battalion aid was the forward most medical positions.  The wounded soldiers would go there first and be treated and then either sent back to fight or sent for more surgery.  The battalion aid workers were definitely on the frontline for bringing healing to the wounded.

     That is kind of how we can read this portion of Scriptures.  The word for “equip” in Greek is “katartismos.”  The really interesting thing is that this is the only place in the Bible that this particular word is used.  When it is used in other Greek writing, it is used in reference to supplying an army.  It is used to mean the forward supply units, the rest units, the medic units and the like.  We can think of it as bringing in the soldiers from the front line, tired, wounded, needing encouragement before they go back to the fighting.  Paul wants us to see the Church as providing this needed service for believers everywhere.

    So as the believers come to the Church, it is the Church’s primary job to bring healing, to give rest, to feed and nourish and to encourage the believers as they battle against the devil and the ways of this world.  The first job of the Church is to heal and we do that by pronouncing God’s forgiveness to the wounded.  We nourish with the sacraments and we encourage with God’s Words of hope and salvation.  We bring healing and hope.

    So, just as the medic doesn’t berate the wounded soldier for being wounded; neither should we berate the wounded Christian for needing healing.  It is our task to being about healing.  However; just as a commander may warn his soldiers that such action is dangerous and causes pain and suffering; so the Church warns the same thing.  This is why Jesus told those whom he forgave to “go and sin no more.”  Do not continue in the activities or make life choices that damage your relationship with God.  Do not walk in a path that goes against God’s will and design.  When you do this, you sin.  It is this sin that causes our wounding.  This is why we teach “sin no more”.  It is to protect us from a wounding that could destroy us.

Father, your healing touch is needed by all your children.  Send us the grace to deliver this healing.  Send us your mercy that we may receive your healing touch.  Give us wisdom that we may go and sin no more.  Guard and protect us by your mighty hand.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret