6-7-2019

Good Morning All,

   Deuteronomy 4:31; “The Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you, destroy you, or forget the promise to your ancestors that he swore he would keep”

    I know I show my age with this but “MASH” was one of the most amazing television shows I remember watching.  It offered some good bits of wisdom every so often.  I was always fascinated by how the main characters evolved through the years.  Major Houlihan went from a ditzy bimbo to a highly skilled and compassionate nurse.  Hawkeye went from a gold-plated womanizer to an early version of the “equal rights” man.  I found the change in Father Mulcahy to be the most interesting.  He went from being a bumbling incompetent person to being a highly compassionate and very wise.  His observations were always timely and worth hearing.  Radar seemed to grow up and went from a goofy kid to a major component of the operation of the unit.

    One of the segments that I remember best is the one where Radar’s widowed mother started dating again.  He was nervous and asked Hawkeye for his advice.  Hawkeye told him how when his widower father started to see a woman, Hawkeye made them miserable and the woman left and now his father was still all alone.  Hawkeye offered this observation, “Loneliness is everything it is cracked up to be.”

    I don’t know why that line stays with me.  I think it has to do with the fact that man was created to be a creature of relationships.  We were created to have a very close relationship with God.  Adam and God used to walk in the garden in the cool of the morning; now that would be an experience.  Man was also created to have a loving and caring relationship with each other as well.  Sadly, sin ruined all this.

    We desire to be in a relationship but sin warps our view of this relationship.  How many times do we hear someone say something and then misread the message?  How often do we perceive something completely wrong?  We really do this when we look at our relationship with God.  The devil and our sinful self tells us that God is a “no fun” guy who only makes rules that we can’t keep in order to punish us.  The truth is that God’s will is what is best for us and will restore us to the type of life that will truly make us content.

    God is always with us even when we don’t feel it.  It is our own selfishness that causes our loneliness from God.  We turn from God not the other way around.  God continually seeks us out trying to bring us back into his flock.  We are hounded by his goodness and mercy constantly driving us back to his grace.  We only need to surrender and trust in his love for us.  When we stop fighting we will stop being lonely.

Gracious Lord, I often feel all alone.  Yet I know that you are with me; you bring me comfort and hope.  Strengthen me with your grace that I may live in your family and in harmony with my fellow brothers and sisters.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-6-2019

Good Morning All,

   Colossians 1: 21-22; “Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude.  But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame.”

       There is something known as “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”  It is what it sounds like.  It is an area where garbage, mostly plastic, floats in the Pacific Ocean.  It gathers in an area where the predominant currents are weak.  So as garbage flows on the current, it gets blown into this dead zone area and just floats there.  Eventually, it gathers together and forms something of a floating island of garbage.

    Many of us can relate to this story.  There probably have been times, maybe even now, when we feel like we are part of “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”  We feel our life is listless, not going anywhere and just plain garbage.  Maybe you have been out of a job for a couple of years; the one you have is half the salary and no benefits and it doesn’t look any better.  Maybe your health has been going downhill for a few years now.  Maybe you don’t remember the last time your spouse said, “I love you.”  Maybe you just don’t feel connected to God or anything else; your life feels like “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”  We just feel nothing; it is like we are dead.

    Life throws a lot at us.  The devil plays hardball all the time.  Any chance he gets, he wants us to be dead, to live in “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”  The devil wants us disconnected from our loved ones but to especially feel like we are disconnected from God.  When we feel this way, we are lost in the sea that is despair and sadness.  We just float there because there is nothing to move us.  The current is away from us so we just float in this sea of garbage; we have no hope or comfort.

    Just like that garbage, we cannot move unless something moves us.  This is what Jesus did when he came to earth to die for our sins.  He moved us out of “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” and into the flowing current of his love and grace.  There was no way for us to move so God moved us.  We were dead in our sins but made alive in Jesus.  This occurs to us every day.  God makes us alive, every day, by his grace and mercy.  This is a truth, a promise; it is a certainty.  We may or may not “feel” it but God’s grace is active and alive in our lives.  He desires you to be saved, to be comforted, to live your life in his love.  He desires us to live, not in “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” but in his wonderful kingdom of grace.  We can live secure in his mercy certain of our salvation and the blessing of today and the comfort for tomorrow.

Father, too often we feel like we are in a sea of garbage with no hope.  Give us the confidence in your grace to see that we are never alone and living in the sea of garbage but are always living in your wonderful grace.  Keep us alive in this knowledge, move us by your grace to hold onto your loving truth.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-5-2019

          Good Morning All,

      Judges 6:15; “Gideon said to him, “Excuse me, sir! How can I rescue Israel? Look at my whole family. It’s the weakest one in Manasseh. And me? I’m the least important member of my family.”

    “I am just not ______ enough!”  I hear that a lot especially from teenagers but not just them; from others, as well.  All you have to do is fill in the blank.  I’m not pretty, smart, tall, thin, popular, young, spiritual or any of a hundred other words but all of them say the same thing; I am just not good enough.  I have little, if any, value at all.  Deep down, nobody really likes me; if all the truth was told nobody would miss me if I was gone.

    Have you ever felt like that?  I think most people have at one time or another.  It is most common after some disappointment.  The date with the pretty girl that you hoped for that didn’t happen, the boy from your math class that never called, the job you didn’t get, the group of friends that have fun when you aren’t there, the time someone forgot about you; all work up to feeling not _______ enough.  It is those setbacks that the devil loves to see.  He is there before we can even react and he whispers in our ear, “you really aren’t ????!!!!enough.”

     This is one of the most painful things the devil does to us.  His best tool is always “doubt” and when we doubt it gives him a slight crack in the door to walk in.  If you have ever had the “not ______ enough” run through your mind you know it will quickly run through your mind, then your heart and then your spirit.  It can literally kill you with the pain and separation that it can cause.

     This is why it is so important to always remember who you are.  Remember “who you are” and not “what you are”.  You are a redeemed child of God.  That is who you are and there is nothing above that.  “What you are” is the situation that you are in and that will change frequently throughout our lives.  You might be not old enough now, you will be.  You might be out of s job now but you won’t be forever.  It might be too wet now but it won’t be forever.  Our life changes, sometimes it is not as pleasant as other times but it changes; what doesn’t change is God’s love for you.

    We often don’t think of it but God truly “double” loves you.  First, we are loved because he created us.  When we were created God declares us as “very good”.  Then after we sinned, God bought us back again.  There is no doubt of God’s love for us, we are enough for him to love because he loves us entirely.  No matter “what you are” the important thing is “who you are” you are a loved, redeemed child of God and that will never change!

Dearest Father, many times I feel that I am not enough and not worthy of love.  Yet through this all you continually to love and sustain me.  Give the faith to always trust in the certainty of your love.  Your grace and mercy give me the hope for tomorrow.  Reach out to those who particularly feel that they are not enough.  Use me to comfort and console them.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-4-2019

Good Morning All,

            1 Chronicles 20:5; “When more fighting broke out with the Philistines, Elhanan, son of Jair, killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath.  (The shaft of Lahmi's spear was like a beam used by weavers)"

    Several years ago, when my sons were still in high school, we went to a game against a sometimes opponent.  This team, though from a small school, had one really big, good player.  He could really dominate the game.  He was finally a senior and everyone thought that, after this year, we would finally be rid of him.  Yet, as we took the program for the game and all sat down; we noticed that now this team had an 8^th grader, same last name and very, very big.  One of the fathers sitting behind me exclaimed, “Son of a biscuit, he’s gotta brother!”

    I wonder if this was the Israelites reaction to Lahmi, the brother of Goliath.  Just when you thought it was safe to go back to war with the Philistines another giant brother shows up.  There was another one to fight, another one to defeat and they did defeat him.  We are not told much beyond this verse but Goliath had a brother and, just as Goliath was a troublesome foe, so too was Lahmi.  Yet both were defeated by men faithful to God and His covenant.

    As I read this part of Scriptures, I am reminded of people who think God does not love them.  They claim to pray that God will remove a specific temptation form their life and then turn around to find something else to take the place of the first temptation or struggle.  Temptation has many brothers.  It comes to us in obvious ways; it comes in subtle ways.  It comes through hidden ways; it uses backdoor ways to enter our life and our struggle.  Temptation will always be there.  At every turn, the devil, the world and our sinful nature will tempt us to sin.  It is a battle that, if we fight it alone, we lose.  Yet, fortunately for us, we have a Brother too.

    Our brother is Jesus.  He came into this world to fight our fights.  He came to win the battles that we cannot.  He conquered the devil, sin and the world for us.  He conquered them so that we might have hope.  He conquered them to give us the victory over them.  They hang around and sometimes a new one shows up but Jesus has given us the power to defeat them.  He gives us his Spirit to stand firm and even if we fall, his love and grace picks us up and gives us courage to try again.

   Just like any schoolyard scrap, it is best to have the strongest brother on your side.  Jesus is stronger than any temptation the world can throw at us.  He gives us courage and strength to stand and forgiveness when we fall.  He has redeemed us and never will abandon us.  He holds us close so that nothing can ever overtake us.  We are his and no temptation, or its brother, will ever change that.

Father, you sent Jesus to be our brother.  He carried our burden of sin and redeemed us on the cross.  Guide us to be strong and to stand against temptation.  Strengthen us by your Spirit.  Defend us as we go.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-3-2019

 Good Morning All,

            James 1:11; “The sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up plants. The flowers drop off, and the beauty is gone. The same thing will happen to rich people. While they are busy, they will die.”

    Did you ever hear that old Janis Joplin song, “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”  It is one of those songs that only a few people probably remember.  She sang about wanting what everyone else had but she didn’t have but “worked hard all her lifetime with no help from her friends.”  Maybe you heard Harry Chapin and “Cats in the Cradle” about a man who chased money and missed his son growing up.  Or maybe you remember the movie “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”  Everyone was looking for some buried stolen money.  A little bit of greed sure caused a lot of trouble. 

    There is always greed in the world, many want something for nothing or at least they want something more than they have.  The sad thing is that there are even people in the church who promise that you will make money and get rich if you are a Christian.  They use verses like this one and promise an easy life to the believer.  If, and usually when, this doesn’t happen; strife occurs.  Faith does not promise an easy life what God offers us is a contented life.

    Many of us don’t feel that we are rich.  Most of you would claim that you were barely getting by.  Yet from most of the world’s view, you have wealth beyond imagination.  What most of us lack is contentment with what God has given us.

    Most of us have seen, maybe experienced, the way greed can cause trouble.  If you don’t believe me, just ask s family where the parents died without a will.  Sometimes those family breaches never heal.  So, what does Scripture really tell us?  How do we understand this verse?  First, what God promises us is not wealth but contentment, being satisfied with what you have.  If we truly look, the greatest treasures have no monetary worth but are truly priceless. 

    God shows us this in many simple ways.  We see the beauty of a sunrise or sunset.  We get a call from a friend we haven’t seen in years.  We spend time with family and friends at a lake or a picnic in the park.  We look outside and remember the words of the Psalmist when he wrote; “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky displays what his hands have made."  The key to our happiness is not necessarily success but contentment.  Enjoy the blessing that God gives you.  Don’t look at what others have or at what you don’t have; look at what God has given to you.  Be content; that is his gift that will enrich you.  That is how you are truly rich. It is not what we possess but what God has given to us.  He has given us salvation, hope, comfort and all of his love; this is how we are enriched.

Dearest Father, too often we look at the world and define riches by its measure.  Help us to see that true wealth is found in your grace and in the many blessings which you have showered upon us.  Help those who are struggling now to see the blessings in their life.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

6-2-2019

Good Morning All,

         Psalm 84:10; “One day in your courtyards is better than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather stand in the entrance to my God’s house than live inside wicked people’s homes.”

    I really enjoy the two to three weeks around the equinoxes.  Our church is orientated east and west.  We have the altar on the east and a large stained-glass window on the upper west part.  During the times of the year when the sun shines directly into this large stained-glass window it creates a thing of beauty.  Behind the altar is the large cross and it hangs on a wall that is gold leaf.  When the sun is most of the way set so it looks like it is touching the bottom of the window, the gold leaf looks like it is shimmering.  It is really pretty.

    My wife and I have tried to photograph this but we can never capture the true beauty of the shimmering gold behind the cross.  The entire chancel area looks like it is glowing.  There are many times when I will just sit and watch this happen.  I usually take my computer to get something done or else copy some material on the copier but I like to be there and watch.  When it is at its best, I like to just sit and watch and enjoy the beauty of the sight and the quietness of the evening.  You cannot photo this or video it; you have to be there and experience it.

    This is true of many things in life, you really have to be there to experience it.  You might get a better view of a ballgame on TV but you really do not experience the excitement and the atmosphere unless you are there.  You cannot appreciate the majesty of the Grand Canyon unless you stand by it.  You truly get the benefit of the worship life when you attend a worship service.

    You can listen or watch one on TV or listen on the radio or do the internet access thing but nothing beats being there.  Nothing beats the sound of the organ or the sound of the people as they speak the responses to God’s Words.  Nothing beats being there and looking at the minister standing in front of the altar and the cross as he announces God’s forgiveness.  You can’t beat being there. When you listen to God’s Word read and preached to you; you can’t beat being there.  When you share in the Lord’s Supper and receive the nourishment for your soul; you can’t beat being there.  When you gather together in fellowship with your brother and sisters in Christ; you can’t beat being there.  So, make the time to go to the house of the Lord; make it a priority.  It is a spirit enhancing time.  God uses it to speak to you; be sure and listen.  It will make you glad that you went to the house of the Lord. 

    Gracious Father, you call and gather your people to hear your wonderful words of forgiveness, hope, comfort and salvation.  As we gather together, you give us your peace.  Gather all your people Father so that all may be blessed.  We pray especially for those who have missed your call and experience the emptiness of this world.  Send your Spirit to bring them home.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-1-2019

Good Morning All,

         Hebrews 12:2; “We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.”

    Some of our high school youth group is going to Minneapolis in about six weeks.  I am sure there will be a push to go to Valley Fair while we are there.  This might not happen because the girls outnumber the boys so the Mall of America may be in our future.  Either way, there is a potential for a roller coaster or two.  Roller coasters have always fascinated me.  The simple and basic mechanics that are needed get multiplied in so many directions that it is amazing how they pull it off.  It is also interesting how people react to riding on a roller coaster.  Some can’t get enough and some can’t get far enough away. 

    One of the tricks to riding a roller coaster is to focus your eyesight on the car right ahead of you.  This allows your eye to stay on a fixed point and reduces the effect of everything going by in a blur.  Since your eye can focus on a spot that doesn’t move, you do not get as dizzy or light headed as you do when you look out to the places around you.  This is the same truth that applies to our faith as well.  Keeping our eyes focused on Jesus makes the ride easier to experience.

      When sin entered God’s perfect creation, chaos became the prime mover.  Random events with little, if any, logic to their occurrence became the dominant reality.  Soon, mankind was being bounced from one event to another and it was difficult to keep one’s bearings.  Our area has seen some of the wettest days we have seen in years.  The temps are cool and now it looks like we will go to hot in a few more days.  Markets go up and down like a yo-yo.  Add to that the personal costs of stress and worry added to other stresses of health of family and loved ones and it is easy to get dizzy in a hurry.  Yet we have a way to deal with these events.  We are given the blessing of knowing our salvation is sure in Jesus.  Knowing this, we need not fear the dizziness.  We can keep our eyes fixed on Jesus because he does not move, he does not change.  The love and grace of Jesus are a constant in a world that knows no other constant.

    In South Dakota, the old joke is “if you don’t like the weather wait a couple of days, it will change.”  As people of faith, we can look to Jesus and remember that nothing else matters except his love for us, shown by the empty cross and the empty tomb.  The only constant is this world is that everything changes.  The only constant we need is that Jesus never changes.

Gracious Father, in our world of confusion and sorrow you give us Jesus to cling to.  In this world of pain and suffering you give us hope in Jesus.  Guard us on our journey and keep us ever focused on Jesus.  Be with those who are in pain and are being tossed by the chaos of today.  Calm their hearts, lift up their spirits and strengthen their faith so they may know your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret