3-3-2018

Good Morning All,

        Proverbs 4:20-22; “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh”

    The wisdom of your father or grandfather.  Often times we fail to heed it.  It is just one of those things where we often have to make the mistakes which we are warned about.  We sometimes have to learn the hard way.  Some lessons we learn early on in a painful manner, like licking a frozen metal hand rail.  Some we learn a little later on like when we are told to always do our best.  On that occasion when we don’t, we tend to remember the sting of not trying.

    Some advice, if unheeded, can be very painful.  The failure to follow the care in selecting a spouse, a profession, or other personal choices can be very painful, as we are reminded that Father actually does know best. 

     We find that in our lives one of our greatest weaknesses is that we fail to truly listen to what the other person is saying.  It seems that the closer the person is related to us the more difficult the listening becomes.  We often hear the first and maybe even the second word before we either tune them out or begin to formulate our response.  When it comes to some of our most important relationships, we have we seem to listen the least.

     Yet it is listening that we must do the most.  This is because, first and foremost, God’s Word for us is spoken as all words are spoken.  We must listen to the Word spoken.  God speaks to us and we must listen; not just to the first or second word but to the whole message.  We need to give it our full attention and hear God’s entire message.

    God’s entire message for us is found in Jesus.  His sacrifice on the cross speaks all of God’s love for us.  God’s message to you is that he truly loves you, wants to save you, bring you into his family and return you to the loving relationship which he created us for.  This is why his words have healing and give us life.  His Word is life for us.  It brings us back from being dead in sin to being alive in Christ.

    We keep God’s Word in our heart cherishing it, holding it close as the words of comfort, the words of hope, as the message of our only hope to salvation.  We hear God’s Word, we revel in the Word, and we feast in the Word.  God’s Word provides for us the sustenance for our soul and our spirit.  Our hope is in the Word but we must hear it.  We must not let the noise of this world, its sin and corruption, drown out the Word.  God’s Word to us is life be sure to hear it.

Dear Father, too often we fail to hear your wonderful Word of life and salvation.  We are left with the world’s noise and confusion.  Give us strength and wisdom to follow your Word and to trust in our salvation through you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

3-2-2018

         Good Morning All,

        John 4:24; “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

    I know I shouldn’t have been listening.  I was eavesdropping on a conversation of a couple of gals in the booth next to me.  They looked to be in their late 20’s or so.  They were somewhat dressed up so they were probably having a lunch break form their jobs.  I should have focused on my lunch or the other people milling around but I didn’t, actually I couldn’t, stop listening.

    The first gal was talking about her church and the upcoming events there.  The second gal didn’t say much at first but then said she didn’t go to church.  The first gal asked if she believed in God and the second gal answered yes but stated that she was spiritual but not religious.  She went on to say that she had a “special” relationship with God that couldn’t be defined by religion.

    I found her description to be intriguing to say the least.  It would have been both interesting but probably frustrating to have a conversation with her.  She probably had just enough Bible to have twisted the verses to what she wanted them to say.  She probably watched enough daytime TV and listened to those self-religious ones who twist the Bible to say what they want it to.

    Unfortunately, when someone claims to be “spiritual but not religious”; they are probably not spiritual either.  They may have some of the Bible read but they really don’t understand it.  They cling to a false belief that they somehow decide who God is and that they can control God.  They may think the worship in spirit but they do not worship in truth.

    Worshipping God in spirit and truth means to completely surrender to God.  We are to see that it is only by his grace that we receive forgiveness of sins.  God does not need or is impressed by our “spirituality”.  To God our greatness is non-existent.  Our sinful nature may pat us on the back and proclaim us to be a “good boy” but the harsh reality of God’s law shows us our failures and our shortcomings.  We cannot approach God on our terms or on our merits; it is only by his grace that we can ever enter into his holy presence.

    We receive God’s forgiveness of sins by faith and that is all we have, nothing more.  God calls to us to listen to his Word and to speak to him in prayer.  This is done, not by our own volition, but by the Holy Spirit which guides us in our speaking.  This is done through faith, a faith that draws us to the cross in humbleness.  It is not a gaudy, self-centered act designed to make us “feel good”; rather it is an honest expression of thankfulness and praise to God for his gifts.  It is a faith that recognizes that we do not “fit God into our life” but rather that we surrender our life to God; to his plan and his will alone.

    God calls us to worship him in spirit and truth.  Hear his call and listen to his words of grace and forgiveness.

Dear Father, we often switch our falsehoods for your truth.  Forgive us when we do this and lead us back into your gentle arms.  Keep us secure in your truth.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-1-2018

Good Morning All,

         Matthew 28:19; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

    This story relates to men but it probably has its equivalent with women.  There are many men who have a suit coat or two.  For many of us they are our “church coats.”  If we dig into the inside pocket, we’ll find when we wore it last, a bulletin from a funeral or a wedding or the last church service we went to.  We put the coat on, go to church for whatever the event then we come home and hang it up in the closet until next time we need it.  We wear our coat, show it to those who go to church, then go home and then hide it out of sight, perhaps out of mind, only to take it out when we feel we need it.  Unfortunately, we often view our faith the same way.    

    Many of you recognize this verse as the middle verse of the “Great Commission.”  It is used by many as the command to spread the Gospel.  We cite this verse for when we feel the need to “go witness” or “go do a good deed.”  We put on our faith and parade it around for a while and then we put it back in the closet until we want it next time.  Even if we think this verse supports that thought; it really doesn’t.

    This verse should really be read as a process.  So it should be read it as follows: “as you go on your way make disciples of all nations.” What this verse is really telling us is that we should never put our faith in the closet; we should always wear it for people to see.  At its heart, the Gospel transforms us and our thinking, and the world around us, as we follow a Christ who is alive in the everyday. As human beings we face all sorts of issues and challenges at all stages of our life, and have to make decisions about how best we respond to particular issues. We want our faith to speak into these situations to give us fresh energy and perspectives, and that is where this conversation process should begin.     

    Our challenge is to experience our faith as relevant to our everyday life.  Our faith is to be as visible to the grocery store clerk or our co-worker as it is to the usher at church or the person in the pew behind us.  For example, who is my neighbor, from a biblical view, and how should I respond to him?  Why does there seem to be so much anger and hatred in the world, my country, my community, my church or even in my family and how does God want me to deal with it every day?

    One of the greatest challenges we face is seeing our faith as being just as important on Monday or Thursday as on Sunday.  As you live your life as you go on your way do so wearing your faith, touching the lives of the people around you serving the needs of your neighbor as God has use for you.  With our salvation secure because of God’s grace, we are now free to serve him in all gladness.  We can set out to incorporate our faith in all that we do.  Live your life so that there is no question that others see your faith exhibited and on full display.

Gracious Father, guide us to live a life where everywhere we go we are witnessing to our faith in your grace.  Give us the courage and wisdom to bring your love to those with whom we have contact with.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret