6-8-2016

Good Morning All!! 

      Philippians 2:11; “and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

      “Kaiser Kurios” vs. “Christos Kurios”.  It doesn’t look like it is that different.  You might even look at it and say, “It is Greek to me” (it is).  Yet in that small difference is all the difference in the world.  That difference is why the early Christians were martyred.  That difference was why so many were tortured by the Romans at different times and places in the early years of the Church.  All that the Roman officials wanted was for everyone to say “Kaiser Kurios” and all was fine.  The early Christians refused and some paid a high price.  The Romans wanted everyone to confess that Caesar is Lord.  That is all the people had to do.  The people could keep their old religion and religious practices as long as it was confessed that Caesar was the highest and greatest Lord.  All the practitioners had to do was say Caesar is Lord- Kaiser Kurios and everything was fine.

    The early Christians wouldn’t say that.  To them, Caesar wasn’t the Lord but Christ is the Lord.  When asked, their response was always “Christos Kurios.”  The Romans saw this as treason and dealt with it in a very harsh manner; no dictatorship can afford for the people to confess anything but the official government line.  Because the early Christians refused to submit, they paid a heavy price; some the ultimate price.  Christos Kurios.

     What about us?  Do we confess Christos Kurios no matter the cost?  Most of us have never had our life, the life of a loved one or even any sort of physical harm threatened against us for claiming to be a Christian, but do we always confess Christos Kurios?  Or do we get intimidated by our surroundings?  It can be tough; when you are in a conversation with a group of people who say that we were lucky to get some rain or that the fates were with us, for us to say Christos Kurios.  When no one else is witnessing their faith, it can be easy to hide in the background.  If it is just me, I’ll just be quiet.  I don’t want to make a scene or give them any fodder to poke fun at me with after all I just want to fit in.  Yet by our silence, we are not confessing Christos Kurios; Christ is Lord. 

     We need to remember that without Christ as our Lord, we have no hope.  We have no future.  While we may come up short once in a while, we need to continue to pray for God’s strength and courage to confess Jesus’ name before men.  We need to trust the Spirit to move within our heart and life in order to confess Christos Kurios.  It is not by our will but by the power of the Spirit that we confess that Jesus is Lord.  Trust in the Spirit; trust in God for his mercy and his courage.  It is how the church grows and souls are saved; by the confession of faith: Christos Kurios Christ is Lord over all.

 Dear Father, forgive us when we are slow to confess that Jesus is the Lord most high in our life.  Give us the courage to witness and to speak with the confidence of the faith which you give us.  Keep us in that faith which places our hope in Jesus that we may be saved unto life eternal.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret         

6-7-2016

       Good Morning All!! 

             Mark 1:35; “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

        Jesus sought out a desolate place.  Have you ever sought out a desolate place?  I would be willing to guess that some of you, when your children were much younger and all you heard was, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!” you sought out a desolate place.  Just some place with a little quiet where I can collect my thoughts and my wits. There may be times when you sought a desolate place because you were tired and you needed a rest and you wanted to make sure you are alone for just a couple of minutes.

    Scriptures often speak of Jesus seeking out a desolate place, especially the book of Mark.  Mark’s account of Jesus’ ministry here on earth is one of a whirlwind of activity.  People are always trying to touch Jesus or get his attention or get him to touch them or have dinner with them.  As we read Mark’s Gospel, you can almost get the sense of Jesus always being tired and near exhaustion.  So we often find Jesus seeking out a desolate place to be alone and to pray.

    It is many times, like our verse, early in morning.  Jesus sets a pattern that is one that we should consider to follow.  First he seeks a desolate place, a place of solitude and quiet.  He does this so that he can truly concentrate on what he is doing; praying to God.  Prayer requires a focus on who God is and on who we are.  Too often in our lives we pray quickly and without thought.  We have an attitude of “let’s get it over with so I can get to the important things.”  Yet the important thing is to start the day off right.

    Jesus shows us by his example the need for and the value of prayer.  He uses prayer to help re-energize his spirit.  He uses prayer to help refresh his soul.  Prayer helps to relieve some of the stress and confusion in our lives.  It connects us back to what is important in our life- our relationship to God.  Prayer helps us to find that footing so that we can regain our balance in life.

    Having a specific and, perhaps, a special place to pray can help you to stay focused on your prayers.  Having that special place that is quiet and peaceful can help to offer the solace that we need and desire.  Setting aside a time and a place to pray, especially first thing in the morning, can help to give us peace and to strengthen our faith by remembering that God, our Father, is listening to our cries and to our fears.  God hears our tears and wipes them away with his Spirit of comfort and hope.

    So find your solitude, your desolate place and pray, every morning take the time to pray.  Speak to God from your heart and listen for his answer.

Father of grace, you lead me to quiet times and places that I may pray to you in peace.  Help me to focus on your Words as they speak to me and to listen to your grace.  Keep me safe and secure in the certainty of your wonderful mercy.  Show me the wonder of your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray.  Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-6-2016

Good Morning All!! 

        Isaiah 60:2-3; “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.   And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

    As much as it is a nuisance for all people, I am fascinated when the electricity goes out.  Because when it does, you really get the sense of what darkness is.  Most of us never really experience true darkness.  We have night lights or there are security lights.  We even use our cell phones to provide light.  There are always enough lights around to give us some semblance of seeing what is there.  It might just be shapes or outlines but we see the forms well enough.  So when it gets really dark, most of us have a sense of awe at what total darkness is like.

    That is what sin does to the world.  It turns it completely dark.  It tries to hide God from our eyes.  The more it looks dark, the harder it is to see God.  This leads us away from God because we do not see Him and we soon try to find our own way.  When we hear the Gospel and the Spirit moves us to faith, we begin to see the light.  It is a little foggy but we see the light.  There are times when we lose sight of God but he continually seeks us out and bring us back to the light.  But what about those who do not see?

    This is the wonderful and daunting task that God gives to us, His Church.  We are to be his light in this world.  We are to be the active agents in this dark world.  We are to be his light in this dark, sin-filled world.  We are to the proclaimers of God grace and forgiveness.  We are to do this with our mouths but also with our lives.  In order for people to see the light, we must be out in the darkness.  We must reach out to people in need with God’s grace.

    Many people say things like, “if I could see God then I would believe” or maybe “why doesn’t God show himself to us to prove everything he claims?”  This is an interesting view.  It calls for the incarnational (the physically living) God to appear to them just like he did in Bethlehem so many years ago.  Even some Christians think this.  The truth is that people do see God every day.  They see God in us.  We are the Church, the body of Christ; we are the incarnation (Physical presence) of God here on earth.  We are called to be the hands and arms of God.  We are to be the very presence of God of among the people.  Luther calls the Church the “masks of God;” the people see us at work but it is really God through his Spirit that is interacting with those around us.

    So take time this week to be the incarnation of God to the people around you.  Take time to be sure that people really see God in your life.  Be the light that shines brightly in this dark and sad world.

Dear Father, make us to shine brightly.  Make us to shine the light of your wondrous love.  Give to us the courage to boldly proclaim your love to this world which too often knows only pain, sadness and darkness.  Move us by your Spirit.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,       

Pastor Bret

6-5-2016

       Good Morning All!! 

              Jude 24; “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy”     

    Do you ever watch “Funniest Home Videos” or on the internet when they show high fashion models and they slip and fall down?  Boy, sometimes they really wipe out completely.  You can watch them go head first into the orchestra pit or photographer’s pit and it is just boom.  I watched one where these girls were modeling swimsuits.  The promoter had them walk out of the shallow end of the pool and on this reviewing stand.  By the time the fifth or sixth one was on the stand, it was so wet no one could walk. So the next ten or twelve were slipping and sliding and falling all over the place.  Some of them looked painful.

    Think of the times when we are walking along and we stumble.  Sometimes we catch ourselves and sometimes we don’t.  Sometimes when we catch our balance; it hurts worse than if we would have simply fell.

    In the Bible, we read where our life is compared to a journey or a race.  If you are in a race, just about the worst thing you can do is stumble.  Not only do you fall down but you usually wipe out a couple of other runners, get stepped on and then blamed for everything.  Or think in terms of someone who is trying to get in a building and the wind and the weather is such that it is almost impossible; sometimes we need someone who will help keep us up and not falling down.  Sometimes we need someone to pick us up when we fall.

    Our verse speaks of Jesus as the one who is able to keep us from stumbling.  This, of course, is the kind of language where we are struggling with temptation and sin and we try and deal with it on our own.  When we do, we always fail; we always stumble.  No matter how many times we try, no matter how many times we fight; we will always stumble and fall.  It is like the models trying to walk on the wet walkway; it is just not going to work.

    The truth is that when the devil sets out to trip us up, to make us stumble; we can never catch ourselves.  The devil has such sly and hidden methods that we are quickly falling before we even know what hit us.  Usually when we stumble and fall we tear our clothes, scrape our elbow or knee and generally end up a little worse for the wear.  After stumbling a number of times, we really are a mess.

    Yet Jesus picks us up and brushes us off when we do rely on our own abilities.  Yet if we keep our faith in him, he will keep us from stumbling so that we are presented blameless before him. 

Dear Lord Jesus, you keep us from stumbling into the devil’s traps and we give you thanks.  Keep us mindful that we cannot stand on our own but that we wholly lean on you in your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret