10-7-2019

Good Morning All,

Ephesians 2: 8-10; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”.

    The good and wonderful news of the Gospel!!  You cannot do anything; now go and do everything!!  I am sure you have read that line two or three times and still are not quite sure what I mean.  That is fine; let’s look at it this way.

    First, we cannot do anything to make our salvation happen.  Salvation is the work of God for us through Jesus by the Holy Spirit.  We are saved from eternal damnation because God chose to save us from ourselves.  He sent Jesus to die in our place so that we would have life, so that we would have a life filled with joy and happiness.  The kicker here is that joy and happiness are measured by God’s standard and not ours or the worlds.  Here we painfully see that we may think that joy comes from money or fame or power; but in Christ, we see that true joy comes from one source and that is we are the beloved, redeemed children of God.  He calls us by our own name and declares us righteous and holy in His Name.  We do nothing to achieve this.

    Since we do not have to work to earn our salvation; we are free!  We are free from all the constraints of the Law and the pressure to pay back the debt for the sin which we owe.  We are free to be happy and joyful.  The kicker is God still determines what truly makes us happy and joyful.  We may chase after our own hollow dreams but we will never be truly happy.  We can see this when you see movies stars or other famous people, who have everything that the world says is needful for happiness; we see these people turn to drugs, alcohol, even suicide to escape the pain of the hollowness of their lives.  True happiness comes from doing what God wants us to do.  So, what is that?

   Honestly, I don’t know.  It depends on what talents, skills and vocations in which God has placed you.  If God gives you the skills, desire and ability to be a brain surgeon; then be the best brain surgeon you can be and give glory and thanks to God for the chance to do so.  If God wants you to be a teacher; be the best teacher you can be.  If God wants you to be a ditch digger then do it for the glory of God and be the best you can.  Don’t measure yourself against other people or against what the world defines as successful.  You are a redeemed child of God and God gives you the talents he wants you to have in order to accomplish his will.  Do that with all the joy you can find.  The great joy is that God has empowered us by his Holy Spirit to have the desire to follow his holy will.  We can set our eyes on serving God in all that we do.  We can, and should, go forward with the boldness that only God can give us; because he already has!!    

Dear Jesus, we see the hollowness of the world and know that true happiness comes from you.  Give us the power to trust this truth.  In your name we pray, amen

God’ Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-6-2019

Good Morning All,

     Deuteronomy 4:31; “For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them”

  I admit it; I always feel a little proud when we get back from the National Youth Gathering.  Oh, the kids learn a lot and experience a lot.  I simply take a small amount of pride in that I brought the same kids home that I took to the gathering.  This is the third gathering for me and I haven’t forgotten one yet.  Lost a couple for a while but we found them and brought them home safely. 

    I haven’t always been that successful.  I forgot a son at a basketball game.  I forgot a baseball player once and had to go back and get him.  I lost a son at the all-state chorus one year; actually, I did that twice with the same son!  So, my record isn’t really that good.

    I know these are a little humorous but deep down nothing is as painful as being forgotten.  If you ever seen a group of people being listed and one person is left off; it hurts.  If you have ever been forgotten, you know what I mean.  If you have ever seen the look on the face of someone who has been forgotten, you know the look of pain.

    Our verse is God telling the people of Israel that He will not forget them.  They will forget him; they will chase after other false gods and reject him completely but God will not forget them.  God’s promise rests upon his unfailing grace.  He repeats this promise over and over throughout Scriptures.  In Isaiah, God tells his people that a mother will forget her nursing child before He forgets his people and his promise.

    Yet God tells us that this loving mother will forget her child before He forgets you.  What a promise for us!  God will not and does not forget you.  He knew you before you were even formed and he will know you long after everyone else has forgot you; God never will.

    I know that there are times when we think God has forgotten us.  Maybe lying on a hospital bed, wide awake at three in the morning, hearing the noise in the halls, the noise of the machines and even the noise of your own breathing; causes you to wonder, “Has God forgotten me?”  Maybe you sit day after day in your apartment or home and no one ever visits you anymore, “Has God forgotten you?”  Maybe family relationships, job related relationships, business relationships or any other type seems to be breaking down and you wonder if God has forgotten you.

    God has not forgotten you.  He may be using these events to show you the truth.  We often see God’s grace the easiest when we recognize that we are completely helpless and the only true source of hope and comfort comes from the Savior’s arms.  Trust in God’s love for you and then enjoy the safety of his loving arms.

Dearest Father, you are our hope and security.  In you alone, we have true peace and comfort.  Keep us safe in your arms.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace

Pastor Bret

10-5-2019

 Good Morning All,

  Romans 8:17; “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

    Do you ever read the ads for car dealerships?  Do you ever notice the great prices they have for “qualified buyers”?  Have you ever read what it takes to be a “qualified buyer”?  Usually the buyer has to have enough money to have no need of financing a car!  The same can be said for some home refinancing offers. 

    The same can be said of applying for a job.  You have to be “qualified candidate.”  In other words, you have to have more skills than they need and be willing to be paid far less than you are worth to get the job.  Yet you have to be “qualified” or else don’t even apply!  Life is packed full of you needing to be “qualified”; you have to “qualify”, by getting good grades, to pass form one grade to the next.  You have to “qualify” to get into college.  You may even have to “qualify” to go on date with someone.  You have to qualify for much in life.  You even have to qualify to get into heaven.

    Yikes!! How can I qualify to get into heaven?  I can’t even qualify for a car loan; how can I possibly qualify to get into heaven?  I can look at my life and see that my “qualifications” are a little weak.  I haven’t murdered anyone but there have been a few people who got the “if looks could kill” stare.  I have never lied in court but have enjoyed a gossip session or two.  I have, a time or two, wished that I had what my neighbor has.  I try to honor my parents but make sure they know “just how much I am giving up” to be with them.  I have never cheated on my wife but there are many pretty women in this world.  I have, on occasion, used proper “hog loading” language a time or two.  There are a lot of times when I think God should have asked my opinion on the way certain events turned out.  I am pretty sure my qualifications are not just weak but down right pitiful.

    Fortunately, God does not save the qualified; he qualifies those who he saves.  He makes us his children and thus heirs to his eternal kingdom.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God qualifies us for a share of the inheritance, heaven.  God makes us worthy of heaven by his grace.  We get heaven because of what Jesus has done.  We are brought into God’s family by Baptism; made heirs to the heavenly kingdom.  We are qualified, not by our actions or self-professed righteousness, but by God’s incredible mercy showered down on us.  So, we give thanks to God, for he truly qualifies us for his heavenly kingdom through his grace.

Gracious Father, through your love we are qualified to be heirs of heaven.  Give us the joy of knowing that our salvation depends on you alone.  Your grace is sufficient for us.  Bring us the comfort of living our life in confidence of your mercy and grace.  Bring us to share with others the wonders of this joy.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-4-2019

Good Morning All,

          Isaiah 55:6; ““Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.”
   When the phone rings in our house, the question shouted out often is, “are you near that to get it?”  Yes, no, sort of, not really; are all acceptable answers.  It is amazing how this distance changes when you have expectations for the call.  When one of our sons plan to call home, We are usually always near to answer it.  When it is election time and we are getting the election year phone call, no one is usually near.  When it is something or someone we want to talk to, we are near.  When we don’t, we try to be far.  The thing is; we can’t be both. 

    In our verses for today, God tells us he is near but maybe not for long.  There are a couple of ways to read this.  First, God is near.  He is near you all the time.  Through the Holy Spirit he speaks to you, reminding you of what he said, encouraging you to have faith.  God is near to you when you fear or when you cry out.  I was visiting with a lady who told me about her husband having some surgery.  She commented on how calm he was going into surgery.  He told her that it was all in the Lord’s hands.  He knew what it meant to have God near.

    Sometimes we aren’t too sure we want God near.  There are times when we don’t want God to see what we are seeing, to hear what we are hearing or to know what we are thinking.  We often try to hide from God.  Adam tried it and failed and when we try it we fail.  God is always near even when we don’t want him there.  He is there calling us back to him.

    Sometimes we really feel that God is far away.  We call to him, we cry to him, we pray in earnest to him and we just don’t seem to hear from him.  We cry that he is far away.  The problem with this is that He isn’t far away; we are usually looking the wrong way.  We too often pray for selfish reasons for selfish things.  When we don’t hear the answer we want, we assume that God is distant from us and not listening.  It is at these times that instead of speaking to God, we should be listening to God.

    There are times when we are glad that God is far away.  When you are far away, you see the bigger picture.  God always sees the bigger picture.  We only see a small part of what our life entails.  God sees it all and knows it all.  When he is far away, he sees and knows what is best for us.  When He is near, his comforting touch will give us peace and give us hope.  Pray to the God who is near to hear and pray to the God who is far so that you may have confidence in your life.

Dearest Father, you are so near to us that we know our salvation is certain and our comfort and hope is true.  Guard us from feeling far from you so that we may always know the peace that you give.  Help us to bring others to know that you are near to them and that they will have comfort and peace in you as well.  Be especially near to those who are in pain both of body and spirit.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-3-2019

Good Morning All,

       Acts 4:12; “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

  This is kind of directed to those avid sports fans out there.  You know who you are.  You dress up in the team colors.  You sit in the same chair to watch the game because “they always win when I sit in this chair wearing my old team jersey.” When you watch a football game and in the closing seconds of the game, needing a field goal to win the game; do you cross your legs and cross your fingers?  Do you, as a fan, do everything you can, from the comfort of your living room, do everything you can possibly do to influence the outcome of the game?  Do you? 

    No, you don’t.  Nothing you do in your living room impacts the game one iota.  Very little you do at the game in person impacts the game.  When the athletes are focused in on the game, they tend to be able to ignore the distractions around them.  So, the next time the team you cheer for wins a game and you think it is because of your lucky socks; I am sorry to tell you; you had nothing to do with it.

    The same is true for our salvation.  You had nothing to do with it.  You didn’t seek out God, you didn’t figure it out, you didn’t “find Jesus” (He was never lost); you didn’t come to your senses, you did nothing at all.  You were a lost and condemned soul with absolutely no chance whatsoever of ever getting to heaven.  Fortunately for you and me, God saves us as a wonderful, precious gift.  He gives us salvation.  It is a gift and a gift, by the very definition of the word, cannot be earned.  God saves us as an act of unmitigated love.  There is no comparable event in our world.  God’s love for you is above and beyond anything that exists.  The salvation which God gives to you is priceless and you get it given to you.

    The really great thing about you have nothing to do with your salvation is that with it all being dependent upon God; we know it will get done right the first time.  We cannot forget to sign one of the papers, or lose the registration, or forget the appointment, or be on the phone or get lost on the way to the signing, or even just have a copy of your birth certificate instead of a certified original.  We don’t need to bring anything.  God takes care of it all and it does impress him that you always sit in the fourth pew on the pulpit side; you don’t get to heaven that way.  It doesn’t matter how much you put in the collection plate; you don’t get to heaven that way.  Of course, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to church for thirty years or you haven’t put a dime in the collection plate; God still saves you.  Our “greatness” doesn’t impress and our weaknesses do not eliminate; God saves us out of love and not because of what you do or do not do.  He also doesn’t exclude you either.  God’s grace is for everyone to claim by faith.  God even gives us the faith to cling to him and his promises; so, hold on tight receive that gift of salvation and trust in it forever.

Dearest Father, your gift to us is all we need. Give us the sense of peace and comfort that we have when we trust you for all our needs.  Be with those who are most troubled by the cares of this world and give them your grace to see the truth and to cling to it.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-2-2019

  Good Morning All,

    Psalm 119:19; “I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!”

     There is something about traveling that seems to split people into two groups.  The first group is the “get there” group and the second group is the “see there” group.  The first group see the travel as the means to the end.  The goal is to travel from point “A” to point “B” and that is it.  These people look for the shortest route, the quickest route, or the most expedited route for their travel.  For them the journey is about the destination.

     The second group tends to travel at a less stressed pace.  While the first group will take the interstate or an airplane, the second group will take more secondary roads and stop more frequently. This group tends to stop often at the little roadside parks or monuments or the little mom and pop cafes in the smaller towns.  For these people, getting there is half of the fun.

    I have to admit I am a “group A” who wants to be a “group B.”  When I travel, it is usually for the express purpose of getting somewhere.  There is a meeting or event that I need to be at so the travel simply accomplishes this task.  Yet every so often, I like just to go and see “what’s what.”  Sometimes I like to travel just to see what is out there.

      In our faith life, we can be in either group.  We can be a “group A” person.  With heaven in our sights, we can focus on this and travel down the path without a nod to the left or right.  We can do this by going to church diligently, studying our Bible, praying and being faithful to the sacraments.  We can live this life, enjoy this life and enter into heaven when God calls us home.

    Or we can be a “group B” person.  We have eternal life; that’s promised.  We have the journey ahead of us, laid out by God, for us to live; so, live it!  Enjoy the path that God gives you.  See the people along the way and then interact with them.  When the youth were at the national gathering, it was fun to watch them interact with kids from around the nation.  For a while, they have new friends.  You should as well.  God gives to us the opportunity to enjoy life as he wants us to live. 

     Enjoy the trip.  Enjoy the time that God gives you and enjoy the journey that He guides you on.  This is part of God’s blessing for your life.  God wants you to enjoy life.  The devil and the world will try to make it uncomfortable or somewhat painful but we have God’s assurance that he is with us, protecting us from all the devil hurls at us.  You only have a short time here; enjoy it.  Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, enjoy the wonders of God’s creation, enjoy the gifts that the Spirit brings into your life, reach out and touch the life of another person whom God has placed into your life.  Enjoy the pilgrimage; keep your strength in God.  Hold fast to the faith and never let go.  Through God’s grace, we have the blessings of this life to enjoy, whatever that means, God’s grace is there for his redeemed children.

Precious Lord, give us peace in our lives.  Give us the peace to see the blessings which you bestow upon us.  Show us the joyful moments and help us to see them as one of your gifts.  Be with those who feel no joy, heal their hearts with the assurance of your love.  In your wonderful name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-1-2019

Good Morning All,

Matthew 6:24; ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

   There is a story about Luciano Pavarotti as a child growing up.  His father introduced him to music and the young lad was so taken by the wondrous task of making music that his father enrolled him in a music academy.  There he learned from some of the most skilled and talented music teachers in the world.

    When he finished the academy, he returned home to his father. He was torn between singing the music which he loved and teaching others to love this music as much as he did.  His father knew that Luciano could not do both and do both as well as he would want to do it.  So his father looked at him and told him, “You can’t sit on two chairs; if you try, you’ll fall on the floor.”

     This is what our verse is talking about.  It is also what Jesus was talking about when he said a man cannot serve two masters.  We cannot be friends of this sinful evil world and also be faithful to God.  The ways of the world lead us away from God not toward. We have to remain faithful to God or we will “fall on the floor”. 

    This leads many Christians into trouble.  We tend to shy away speaking for God’s Word and truth.  We tend to be silent rather than speak.  In doing so, we are being a friend of the world.  When we quietly watch we are accepting and supporting the world.  This can be tough when it is one of our family members who live together without marriage or who profess to be gay or choose to walk away from the Church.  It is very hard for we fear that if we say anything we will only drive them further away.

    It is how we give this message that makes the difference.  We need to speak with love but we need to speak.  It will be tough.  It requires prayer and thoughtful study and maybe some advice from a pastor or a counselor.  When you have the facts and trust God to speak for you through the Spirit, you can speak comfortably and speak often.  Sometimes it only has to be that you miss them.  Yet we need to speak, otherwise we are trying to sit on two chairs.

     Keep talking; keep the conversation open.  Try and avoid any chance to say “I told you so”; just be there to help pick up the pieces.  Always show the compassion of Jesus whenever you speak but we need to speak.  This is part of making disciples of all people.  The painful truth is that seeds planted today may not take root for many years; we might not even see it but the seeds need to be planted.  God encourages us to speak his words of grace to a world that knows only the lies of this world.  We cannot be a silent friend of the world and be a friend of God.  We need to sit on God’s chair and his chair alone.       

    Dearest Father, too often we are seduced by the world led to believe that our silence is the right way to go.  Give us the voice to speak your truth to a world that knows only lies.  Move us to do so with the love and compassion of Jesus that we may truly touch the lives of those whom we meet.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret