1-4-2016

        Good Morning All!!   

        Philippians 4:6; “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

     With the Christmas season almost done and Lent looming in the horizon, I decided to attend a Lenten workshop.  You do this to get some ideas and direction for Lenten services.  We left a little early to see number 3 son and family.  It is a day and a half conference; we booked a room for two nights.  It was just my wife and me but between us we had SEVEN internet capable devices.  I had two computers (mine and the one we use for church services), a nexus (reading material) and my smartphone.  My wife had her computer, Kindle and smartphone.  I don’t know who we were planning on communicating with but we were ready.

    When and how did that happen?  I have used a slide rule in my math education; I am not supposed to have this much stuff.  Maybe that is a sign; people who do not know what a slide rule is for probably have everything in or on the cloud and just a phone.  I really think that when I start using the cloud; I will be way out of bounds and my comfort zone.  Yet the one thing about our current time of history is how completely in contact we are at almost all times.  We took some of our high school members to a concert in the Black Hills.  We stayed in a cabin that did not have cell signals; a couple of the gals got the dry shakes.

    We spend so much time trying to stay “connected.”  Yet do we spend that much time trying to stay connected to God.  What if we spent as much time in prayer as we do on our phone or Facebook?  To many this sounds impossibly excessive.  Yet we need to remember that being in prayer does not mean that you are always kneeling with your eyes closed and your head down; prayer means being in communion with God.  We remember the wonders that God has poured out upon us.  We remember that, in all challenges, God provides for us.  This is what it means to pray constantly.   To call upon God to help you remember the promises that God has made to us.  This is what prayer is about; it is not about you changing God or about you bringing something to God’s attention.  Prayer brings to mind the understanding that God has already provided for our needs.  Prayer reminds us that God has already spoken to our pain, to our fear and to our sorrows.  Prayer helps us to focus on all that God does for us, even when we are in great pain and we do not see clearly; the healing is already beginning.

   So stay in constant prayer.  Keep what God does for you in the front of your mind, not hidden in some dark back corner.  Remember all that he does; hear his words of love in all that you do.

Father of all mercy; incline your ear to hear our prayer.  Bring to mind all of the wonderful promises that you make to us every day.  Remind us of your mercy.  Remind us that in all we do, your grace abounds around us.  Be with those who are struggling with all that is occurring in their life.  Calm their fears heal their hearts and dry all their tears.  Restore their hope.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret                         

1-3-2015

Good Morning All!!   

       Romans 12:18; “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

    I have been reading in the news and on various blog sites about how “unchristian” Christians are.  Each writer or commentator takes umbrage at one thing or another.  I find it interesting that people, who by their own admission are not Christians, are such authorities on being Christian.  I certainly don’t know exactly what it means to be Muslim, Jewish, Hindu or Buddhist.  I guess I have the same amount of knowledge about being one of these other adherents as the non-Christian does about being a Christian; I know enough to get myself in trouble claiming to know.

    Yet, despite the shrillness of others who are clueless, we as Christians should always take a measure of ourselves to make sure we are living as Jesus’ followers.  Within our understanding, this is living the sanctified life.  We are already God’s children.  We are justified by the blood of Jesus, declared holy and righteous because of his sacrifice.  Jesus gives to us his righteousness in exchange for our sin.  Thus we are now new creatures, holy before God.  So what does this mean in our everyday life?  Since we are changed from our sinfulness to God’s holiness, our actions are not as this world lives but as God’s Spirit would have us live.

   The Apostle Paul writes of this often in his epistles.  It is an attempt to answer the question, “Now I am a Christian, now what?”  Our verse for today is part of a larger segment in the book of Romans that Paul addresses this question.  In the book of Romans especially chapter 12 and in many ways chapter 13 speaks of how we should act as Christians.  Paul tells us to be living sacrifices to God, using the gifts that he gives using gladly spreading the Good News of Jesus.  In all of our actions and deeds, we are to show the love that God shows us to others.

    Our verse addresses what seems to be an issue in our nation today.  There seems to be a greater level of incivility in the world.  It seems to be hostile and angry about everything.  Paul admonishes us to live peaceably with all.  As best as we can, as much as we can that depends on us, live peaceably with your neighbors.  Share God’s love, we don’t have to argue or spend a lot of time explaining our faith, especially to those who only seek to attack.  Scriptures tells us the best way to communicate our faith is to live it.  To those who look to our actions of love and want to learn more; it is an invitation.  To those who hate and only want to attack and destroy, our actions of love are as burning coals on his head.  Treating your enemy with love goes against everything the world believes and confuses and confounds the unbeliever; it speaks to the love of God for the lost world.

Father in heaven, give me the wisdom to live peaceably with my neighbor.  Give me the understanding and the nature to seek to share your mercy.  Guide me by your Spirit that I may love as you love and live with a zeal for your service.  Lead me to those in need of your grace.  Move my heart to have compassion as you do.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-2-2016

Good Morning All!!   

       Luke 2:6; “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth”.

    Even in 2016, with all the technological skills and knowledge that we possess; the birth of a child is a surprise.  We might be able to come pretty close to the time but, if it is allowed to follow the natural flow of events, birth is an unknown quantity.  So you have to have a bag packed and be ready to go.  In South Dakota, in the wintertime, you usually need a “snow home” close to the hospital, just in case.  Now if we knew the exact time, this wouldn’t be a worry.  We would know the moment we would have to be at the hospital and plan it out many days, maybe even weeks, in advance.  Yet birth, ultimately is still a mystery.

    Scripture uses birth as a symbol of new life.  Birth is almost the universal sign of life.  It announces a newness or a refreshing of events.  For many, we like to view the New Year as a birth; we try to start over, to correct bad habits, to do better, to improve what and who we are.  Scripture also tells us that all birth, all life is an act of God.  We read of the barrenness of Sarah, Rebekah, Hannah, and Elizabeth and how God brought about life in their wombs with the births of Isaac, Jacob, Samuel and John the Baptist.  Add to these the virgin birth of Jesus to Mary and we can see how God uses birth to accomplish the task he sets out to remedy.

    That is what we see in the birth of Jesus.  God had long promised that a Savior would be born but the exact time was not known by man.  So they waited and waited and just like the prophets had foretold, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. At a time and place that few men would have chosen as the likely birth of the Redeemer of all creation.  Yet with that birth, God brought about new life for man with a hope that had long been forgotten.  With the birth of Jesus man would get new life, a rebirth, into God’s holy family.

    Through the physical birth of Jesus, we receive our spiritual birth.  This is what the Apostle John was speaking of when he wrote “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”  This new birth occurs because God and his gracious will aims to restore us and to make us whole.

    So with this birth of Jesus, and our rebirth through Baptism, we have new life, new hope.  We have God’s promise of salvation and the certainty of his presence in our life and of his protection and mercy.  We can face the events of this coming year, confident that God is there to carry us through whatever we face.

God of mercy, through the birth of Jesus we now live as a people who have hope.  Through our rebirth you have brought us into your holy family.  Keep us safe in your loving arms.  Heal our pain and comfort our sorrows, wipe away our tear and keep us certain of your love.  Lead is to be confident of your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

1-1-2016

 Good Morning All!!   

          Isaiah 40:11; “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

    It is one of the more recurring themes throughout the Bible; the idea of the strong arm of the Lord.  The use of “the arm of the Lord” is often used to show God’s power and his might as in “I will rescue you with my powerful arm and with mighty acts of judgment.”(Exodus 6:6)  We see God’s arm as displaying God’s power, wrath against evil, defending his people and acting on behalf of the people or objects he wishes to protect or correct.  We see that God’s might and power is always in control, always superior to whatever stands opposed to him.

    This is what makes our verse today so unique.  Rather than power and might we see tenderness and love.  It is something along the line of when we see soldiers who stop and carry children to safety; or perhaps when we saw the story of the policeman who stayed and comforted his wounded horse.  It is also along the line of the farmer or the laborer who has hard and calloused hands then gently caresses a child or his spouse.  It is this juxtaposition of incredible raw strength combined and even superseded by true love and compassion.  We don’t often expect the two to go together.  They are often shown as opposites.  Yet in God we see the greatness of the tow fully entwined in one God.

    This means for us, as the lambs that the shepherd gathers in his arms, we have God’s love, compassion, comfort, consolation and mercy always poured out upon us.  We know that in all that happens, God’s love for us is always there to give us hope.  This is then elevated because in all things, God’s powerful arm will defeat all enemies.  We might even picture it in our mind with God as a warrior who has picked up us, wounded in the fray, and carrying us in one arm, gently and lovingly.  In the meantime, the other arm is swinging the sword to fend off and defeat the foes.

    In a more practical thought, as you lie awake at night struggling with your doubts about your future, whether it is fits of loneliness, or health concerns, or relationship struggles or finance worries  or any other fears that consume you; God is holding you in his arms offering you the comfort of his mercy and grace.  We have the certainty of his promise to never abandon us but to prosper us with his love.  We can tie to this that God’s powerful arm will always win.  God’s powerful arm has already defeated all our enemies.  We can rest knowing that God has already won the battle for us and we can trust in his loving arms to shield us and keep us in his glory and victory.

Gracious Father, in your love you hide us in your wings; you protect us in your powerful and loving arms.  In you we have peace.  Keep us mindful of your great love.  Keep us at peace in the knowledge of your power at work for us in your total love.  Defend us through all our battles.  Calm our hearts and strengthen our faith.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-31-2015

Good Morning All!!   

          Psalm 9:18; “For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.”

    When we look at the news, it seems that the number of people in the world that seem to be regarded as “disposable” or to be “throw-aways” is on the rise.  It looks as if more and more the world has the attitude of someone is not “worth the effort.”  We see the teeming number of refugees from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Central America in ever greater numbers.  Some in this country want to build walls and keep them out; some want to open the doors wide and invite them in. 

     The vast majority of us have never been in this position but there are times when we tend to feel like the world around us has left us behind.  It can occur in many fashions.  It can occur when we refuse to follow the crowd and soon we are left out of all the activities.  We are soon lonesome.  It can occur when we don’t look or act like everyone else and the world tosses us aside.  It occurs when the world views us as having no great or useful value.  It can occur if you are poor, it can occur if you have an illness or a disability, it can occur as you age and your usefulness seems to decrease to the world.  The world is cold and cruel.  It will, eventually, chew up and spit out everyone defining them as useless and having no value.  The world will declare you to be worthless, disposable and something to throw away.

    It was into this world that Jesus came declaring that all have value.  All are of God’s creation.  It is God who determines the value of a person and his life.  It is God’s decision and he placed the value of life as that of his own dear Son.  Jesus suffered and died because God loves you, he values you that much.  God has promised to never forget and to always give us hope.  No matter what the world values you at, no matter how much the world thinks you are “worth”; you are worth the life of Jesus.  You are worth the life of the Son of God.  You are of unmeasurable worth to God.

    So don’t listen to the world as it beats you down.  Don’t listen to those who only see value in what you can do for them.  Listen to God who values all from the newest unborn to the oldest one born still living; God values you.  Whether you are handicapped, broke, lost, confused, or whatever label the world chooses to impose on you; God looks at you as his child, his redeemed, his beloved from all ages.  We are valued by God; nothing can or will ever change that.  God has declared his love for us by sending his Son to redeem us; we are always his and his love will always carry us.

Father, there are many that the world deems as worthless, yet in your mercy you claim all as your children.  Send your Spirit to move all those who are hurting to hear your message of hope and salvation to cling to your wonderful promise.  Bring peace and hope to all who are lost and hurting.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret