11-9-2018

 Good Morning All,

        Mark 10:25; “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

    What is the name of your camel?  I name mine “Clyde” partly to honor Ray Stevens.  Clyde might be a cute name for a camel but camels really aren’t cute.  They can be a lot of work.  They are expensive and need some special handling.  You might be wondering about this information.  Well, we all have a camel, whether we name it or not, whether we like it or not; we all have a camel.  The real name of that camel is sin and we all have a camel.

    In order for you to get into heaven, you need to get your camel to go through the eye of a needle.  Now a lot of theologians like to claim that this is a metaphor or a hyperbole or they try to explain it away.  I remember one time the thought was that the eye of a needle was a small door in the city walls that could be accessed after the main doors were closed.  In order for a camel to go through this opening, it would have to be unloaded and then crawl on its knees to fit.  This is an interesting story but completely misses what Jesus is saying here.  Jesus means exactly what he says.  It is easier to for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.  So if you want to get into heaven, you need to fit your camel through the eye of a needle.

    So how do you get into heaven?  You have to get rid of your camel.  The sins that we lead around, that weigh us down, that separate us from God’s love needs to be gone.  They won’t leave on their own; they’ll hang around and grow and last a life time.  But if you want to get into heaven, you have to fit the camel through the eye of a needle; good luck with that!

    So what chance do we have?  Well, by our own skill and ability; none.  You can never fit a camel though the eye of a needle and you can never get into heaven.  We aren’t good enough; we fail every time.  Yet this is where God shows his incredible love.  He sent Jesus to take care of your camel; to remove your sins as far as the east id from the west.  How do we get into heaven? Through Jesus and through Jesus alone. 

     While some may be offended that they cannot get into heaven on their own; we really can and should take comfort in that truth.  Jesus has already done the heavy lifting.  He has accomplished what we cannot.  It is taken care of, by Jesus.  We get into heaven because of Jesus and no camel, no level of sin, will stop us.  It is not dependent upon me and my goodness (which doesn’t exist).  Rather, it depends entirely upon Jesus’ righteousness (which does exist) and even if you feel you have a whole herd of camels; Jesus frees you from them and invites you into heaven with Him all you need to do is believe this is true and trust that it will bring you home.  God’s grace gives us hope, gives us comfort and gives us eternal life with Him.

Father of grace, you draw me into your family because of Jesus.  Give me the strength of faith to always trust this and always hold onto you.  Protect us from all the devil throws at us and lead us home.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

11-8-2018

Good Morning All,

        John 1:16; “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” 

    In a few days, you can have cold turkey sandwiches.  You can make turkey potpie.  You can make turkey chili.  You can make turkey tostados.  You can try turkey lasagna.  You can try turkey tetrazzini.  You can make turkey a la king and the list goes on.  Many people face leftover turkey today, tomorrow and the next few days.  Thanksgiving Day meals are very often a massive feast.  One thing we can usually figure will happen and that is leftovers.  Leftover turkey, leftover stuffing, leftover cranberry sauce, leftover green beans; lots of leftovers. 

    One thing about having leftovers is that you know that you are full from the first time you ate it.  You ate and ate but still have some leftover for later.  Sometimes you have more leftover than you ate the first time.  Then you have all that left to eat.  The interesting thing is that there are some foods that taste better as leftovers than as “first overs”.  I think oyster stew and most chilies taste better a day or two later.  But you have to have a lot to start with so you can have enough leftovers to enjoy.

    That is the point of our verse for today.  Because of the fullness of the grace that Jesus brings into our lives.  He brings it into our lives through his all availing death on the cross.  He confirms it with his resurrection from the grave.  Through that single event, his death on the cross, our lives are completely changed.  We are never again what we were.  We are no longer just toys and playthings for the devil; we are God’s redeemed children.  We no longer are the devil’s tools; we are God’s beloved children.

    We have enough grace, more than enough, to face the devil’s challenges.  The devil can no longer assault us but rather must deceive us and he tries and tries.  Painfully, sometimes he succeeds.  We slip and fall into his trap and we suffer for it but God is there, through Christ, waiting for us with grace upon grace.  He keeps calling us back to his redeemed family, calling us with his grace.

    Now this grace is never “just enough” grace; we have tons of “leftover grace.”  We will have grace upon grace.  We have more than enough grace to bring us through.  This is an incredible truth to hold onto.  No matter what occurs in our life, not matter how horrible the sin we commit seems to us, we have grace upon grace.  God will always forgive us and, with true faith, we receive the forgiveness of sins.  We don’t want to waste it nor do we take it for granted.  The cost to God was far too great to treat our grace cheaply.  But the grace is ours, grace upon grace, more grace leftover than we will ever use no matter how much we need. 

Father of all grace, we give you thanks for the grace that you bestow upon us.  We know the wonders of your love as we look to Jesus.  Keep us mindful of your love and guide us to see the devil’s lies and tricks.  Be with those who feel that there is no grace available for them.  Bring them to the truth of your amazing grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

11-7-2018

Good Morning All,

               Mark 1: 17; “And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

      The other day I was talking to one of the members of our church who is an avid fisherman.  I asked him how fishing was going and he said it was going “real good”.  He said the river (Missouri) was way up and “things” were biting pretty good.  He said he had caught some walleye and some northern over the weekend and most were “keepers”.  A “keeper” is a fish that you keep and not throw back into the river so it can grow more.  A “keeper” is a successful catch; a “keeper” is the goal of every fisherman. 

     That is what we are to do as “fishers of men”; we are to catch keepers.  The thing is, to God, all are keepers.  God wants all to be saved.  No matter what has occurred in your life; to God you are a keeper.  If you have betrayed a marriage or ended a pregnancy or stole or killed; it doesn’t matter; you are a keeper.  If you have been abused and made to feel worthless and unlovable; God sees you as a keeper.  God sees all his children as keepers.  He wants them all caught and brought to him.  He sends out believers to “catch” those who are still waiting.

    So as God sends us out to be the fishermen, we need to see that all are keepers.  We need to lose our own selfish views that same are unworthy or are too bad for God to want to keep.  We need to understand that the only reason we are a keeper is because of God’s love and not our own self value.   We, by nature, are not worth keeping.  We are only worth keeping because of God’s great mercy.  Yet we are made worth keeping because of Jesus sacrifice for us.

    So you are worth keeping and I am worth keeping; so is the homeless guy or the unwed mother.  The guy with the addiction is a keeper.  The lady that no one speaks kindly to is a keeper.  In God’s eyes, we are all keepers and isn’t that what really matters?  What really matters is that you are a keeper to God.  You have value to God; his love for you is beyond measure and he wants to keep you in his loving family.

    So as we go out today, try and see people as God sees them.  Try and see them as your brothers and sisters, as someone that is a keeper to God ad should be a keeper to us as well.  Look past the shallowness of the world and see someone who God loves so much that he sent his Son to die for them just as he sent his Son to die for you.  To the world, no one is a keeper but to God we all are.  So free yourself from the sadness and the guilt of believing that you are not worth keeping because you are worth keeping.  Just remember that those people who you see each day are worth keeping as well and that God desires that you “catch” them.  God desires that you share with them God’s love and mercy.  Show them the kindness and love that God shows you.

Father of all mercy, you desire to keep all people saved.  Keep us safe in your loving arms.  Guide us to those who are in most need of your mercy.  Guide us to those who are in need of your gracious forgiveness.  Help us to bring them peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our Risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret