10-14-2019

Good Morning All,

         Ephesians 2:10; “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

    It seems that each generation tries to make a movie that answers the age-old question about the meaning of life.  Why are we here?  One generation watched “2001: A Space Odyssey” another one watched “The Matrix”.  Both are very deep and require a serious watching.  There are other movies and other stories.  Many offer some interesting views, some offer whimsical views and some offer some deep and insightful views.  But the question remains, why are we here?

    Most people, at one time or another, ask themselves this question.  Some go on long and intense personal quests to determine this.  There was a time, about when I was in college, that deep introspective meditation was supposed to “give you the answer.”  I remember a time in a psychology class when the instructor tried it.  One of the wags in class said the only he found was lint in his belly button.  The professor was flustered, the class erupted and we never tried it again. 

    The problem with this is that many presume that the question, “why am I here?” is a question that is subjective and dependent upon the individual.  While this may please our sinful nature, it goes against God’s plan and design.  God’s plan for you is to bring him glory in all that we do.  This includes your worship/devotional life, you family life, your interaction with your fellow believers and with those unbelievers.  Every action we take should bring God glory.  This is where we find our purpose in life, this is where we find the contentment in our life, it is where we find our peace.

    It is when we seek our own glory, our own selfish desires, our own foolishness that we scatter before God.  This is what causes us to run from God.  Yet God in his mercy calls brings us back from the four corners of the world to be his family.  It doesn’t matter what you were, what sins you committed, what caused you to run to the furthest corners of the world; God calls you back.  He calls you by name to be his own redeemed children.  That is who you are, a redeemed child of God. 

     The “why” you are here, is to bring glory to God by living the life that he has given to you, to walk in the paths and do the good works which he lays out for you.  This is our purpose; to live in God’s presence bringing him glory and giving us contentment.

Dearest Father, you bring us in from the furthest corners of the world and reclaim us as your people and children.  Give us the strength to see your will is our best and only hope.  Keep us close to you that we may be safe in your arms.  We ask that you especially call those brothers and sisters who are still at the ends of the earth; who are lost and struggling.  Bring them back to your grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

10-13-2019

Good Morning All,

         Acts 7:56; “And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

    It is a common event.  When someone comes into a room, you rise up and greet them.  It is a sign of respect, honor, and happiness.  We show respect by rising up and stepping toward them and greeting them.  We show them honor.  By rising, we are also offering them our seat.  We also show our happiness as we rise and go and greet them as they enter.  These are a few reasons that we stand when someone comes into a room.

    Our verse is a rare one.  This is the only place in Scriptures where Jesus is described as “standing” at the right hand of God.  Usually, he is “seated” at the right hand of God.  So, what does this mean?  When Jesus is seated it is as the one who has the power and authority.  As Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, he rules.  He rules with all the power, majesty and authority that God the Father bestows on him.  Remember, Jesus is the Word and it is by the Word that all was created and is sustained.  It is from this seat of power and authority that Jesus rules the universe.  He is the King and the king never has to stand when someone enters; the king remains seated and the person who enters comes and bows before the king.  So why does Jesus stand in our verse?

    This verse is part of the story about the stoning of Stephen.  As Stephen is dying, he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  Why?  Perhaps because the King was getting up to welcome home one of his blessed children.  Jesus stood to welcome Stephen home.  Isn’t that an amazing thought?  The King of kings and Lord of lords stands and comes and welcomes the believer home.  Think of how great of love this is, the King rises up and greets the beloved child as he comes home.

    So how does that impact you, right now?  Just think, if Jesus loves us enough to get excited when we get to heaven; think how much he loves us right now!  As He anxiously awaits our arrival, He watches over us.  He guides us, guards us, comforts us and gives us the certainty of hope.  He wants us to succeed in this life, to make it to our eternal perfect life.  He wants us to live the life which we are designed to live; a life of love and contentment.  He offers us peace.

     We can live our life with the full knowledge that Jesus is not only waiting for us but is anxiously waiting, excited for our arrival.  This love permeates all of our life.  Jesus eagerly awaits our arrival.  His love moves through all of our life and all of our actions.  He waits for you with his love.

Dearest Jesus, in your great love for us you are eager to greet us.  Give us the faith to trust in your mercy to sustain us, to trust in your grace to keep us strong.  Gather us around your throne and keep us safe.  Be with those who are lost and fail to see your love in their life.  Use us to bring your love to them.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

10-12-2019

Good Morning All,

  Romans 10:13; “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

    Our group of Lutheran churches have joint confirmation classes once a month.  I find them to be very enjoyable and enlightening.  Hopefully, for the small churches that bring one or two students, they do not feel so alone when they see there are seventy or so of them in the area.  The pastors take turns teaching the class and it gets interesting.  During a break in the session I just taught, one bright young man asked me about the “contradictions in the Bible”

    First, I told him that there are no contradictions in the Bible.  We may not understand or, more likely, we misuse the Bible for our own ends and that leads to trouble.  But I let him choose the path and we went down it.  He asked how does this verse, this part of Romans, match up with the part in Matthew 7 where Jesus says, “not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Apparently, he had been challenged by a friend or acquaintance and wondered what was what.

    Since time was short, we went right to the heart.  This is Scripture showing us the difference between knowing about God and knowing God as the one in whom we place our faith.  I talk to many people who will tell me they know all they need to know about God.  The conversation goes like this, “I know who God is and I know who Jesus is and that is good enough.”  They walk away, smug in their answer, and I hear the words of Matthew in the back of my head, “not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord will enter.

    So how does this fit with Romans 10?  Romans 10 is spoken by people of faith, people who truly place their faith in God.  Romans 10 speaks to people who know God, not just about God.  In Matthew, Jesus is portraying the truth that faith changes you.  Faith changes the way you speak, the way you act, the way you treat people, the way you look at life in general.  True faith is seen in your life.  The way you live is the way you believe.  If you truly trust in God’s saving grace, you will live and act in that manner.  If you do not believe that God’s grace has been poured out upon you then you live another way.  You can think that you know all about God.  You can even go through the motions of religion but without faith, they are empty and hollow.  They are, like Jesus called the Pharisees, “whitewashed tombs”.

    As class began, you could tell the young man was thinking a little more broadly about how the entirety of Scriptures covers our whole life.  He was thinking and that is always good.  I hope next month to see him again and visit some more.  Hopefully, he truly calls upon the Lord, he sees God’s grace as abundant in his life and he lives as one who trusts in God’s loving will.  Hopefully, you will also.

Father, you give me faith to move mountains yet too often I let it lie dormant.  Move me by your Holy Spirit to trust in your great mercy and to know you as my only Savior.  Be with those who struggle mightily this day and give them the courage, the confidence and to find the comfort in your holy name.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

10-11-2019

Good Morning All,

       Acts 1: 10-11; “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

    How long do you suppose the disciples stood there and looked up?  I bet it was quite a while.  I bet it was quite a while before the angels said, in effect, it is time to move along.  They were watching as Jesus, the one who had instilled so much hope in them, ascended into heaven.  There gaze upward would have been filled with joy but a certain sadness as Jesus left them.  The Gospel of Luke sys they returned to the Temple singing with joy.  Yet, you can’t help but wonder if it was a little bittersweet.  Jesus had left them but he left them with a promise; a promise to always be with them and to never abandon them.

    Their gaze upward was also based on a simple promise; he would return.  He would return and finish the work begun.  You wonder how often the disciples would look up.  Jesus did whenever he prayed.  Stephen did when he was being stoned and he gazed into heaven and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  The Apostle John did when the revelation was given to him.  Peter did when the Spirit revealed truth to him.  I would guess they all looked up, looking for the hope that knew was to come.  They looked often to see if they could see Jesus coming back.

    I think that is one of the troubles we Christians have today; I know I do.  We don’t look up.  We tend to look down and around and back.  We look back and think of a time (real or imagined) when Christianity was the strong voice in the country.  We look around and see strife, chaos, suffering and despair.  We look down because we feel so overwhelmed, so beaten down.  We are in the middle of a snowstorm; the early part of October and we have most of the crops still in the field.  It was a battle to get them in and now it is a battle to get them out; it is easy to get discouraged and defeated.  Meanwhile, some are battling health issues with little improvement in sight.  Relationships are breaking, churches are shrinking and it looks hopeless for many.  To all this, Jesus says, “look up!”  Look up and see where our help comes from!

    Jesus has promised to return and the ancient church would cry “Marana-tha: come, O Lord!”  The current church should do the same.  Look up and pray for Jesus to return and bring about peace; look up to the heavens knowing that each day is one day closer to our total redemption.  Look up and remember that our hope is not in this world but in Jesus.  Look up and remember that Jesus overcame all this struggle so we might have peace in his name and comfort in his arms.  Look up; for the Savior who ascended will return as king of kings!  Look up!

Gracious Father, keep our hearts and our minds focused on things above.  Keep us looking to you for all our hope and comfort.  Keep us ever mindful of your great mercy.  Keep us in your loving and protective arms.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen!

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-10-2019

Good Morning All,

       Genesis 1:27; “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

    It is one thing that I am completely flummoxed by.  I get calls to visit moms and new babies in the hospital.  It is a wonderfully joyful time.  Yet, someone will inevitability ask, “who does he (or she) look like?  I really never know.  In a few months, I can guess; you see a dimple show up or the eye structure or the turned-up nose; then I can kind of tell but my usual thought is “he looks like an angel.”

    Sometimes, it is almost uncanny how much a child looks exactly like one of the parents.  They look like a “mini me.” It really gets interesting if and when they start standing like the parent or start to adopt the mannerisms and movements of the parent.  When little girls who look like mom and then they go to a similar hairstyle or similar style dress it can be amazing.  We use the phrase “the spitting image” to describe these children. 

     In our verse today, we see the phrase “image of the God”.  To many people, this sounds like we are the “spitting image” of God.  Yet we know that God does not appear like us; God is Spirit without bodily form.  We know this means that we were created as God, with perfect knowledge of his will and a heart that desired to follow it.  But sin removed that and so this image became so tarnished, we no longer are in the image of God.

    When we want to truly see God, we only need to look to Jesus.  We see God as a loving and compassionate God.  We see it when Jesus healed the blind, the deaf and the lame.  We see it when Jesus fed the multitudes.  We see it when he had mercy on the woman caught in adultery.  So, what does this mean to us?  It means that God is an unchanging God; he had compassion, love and mercy on the people as he walked the earth and he does the same today.

     Scriptures uses many metaphors to describe the people who are lost in sin.  One that I like the best is that of sheep who were poorly sheared.  They are beaten, bloodied and completely lost.  There are many days when that is how I feel but as I sit and look at it, I remember the words of Jesus.  I remember his words of love, his words of compassion, his words of grace and his unending words of forgiveness.  I hope you do as well.

    When you think of God, remember his image as dying a horrific death because he loves you.  Remember his resurrection as a sign that what he did was enough for you and that God said this is enough.  Remember his ascension because where he goes we will follow.  Remember his promise to return to restore perfection to this creation.  Remember that you are a child of God and nothing will ever change that.  Remember the love that God shows through his image- Jesus.

Father of all love, give us the wisdom to see your love shining through in Jesus.  Often, we wonder about who you are, we fail to see your love for us shining as a beacon through the life of Jesus.  Help those who are struggling now to see your wonderful grace and give them the consolation and peace which they need. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-9-2019

Good Morning All,

       Psalm 17:6; “I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.”

    “If there is something strange in your neighborhood; who ya gonna call?”  Some of you are already singing along.  When there is trouble who do you turn to?  This has been a theme of many movies and TV shows.  Mission: Impossible, Charlie’s Angels, many of the lawyer shows and many of the detective shows like Rockford Files, The A-Team all fit the bill.  When you are down to the last straw and you can’t find anybody to help these are the people you call to fix stuff. 

    Our verse is from a psalm of David when he is in great crisis.  We don’t know exactly when in his life this occurred (there were many!) but the entire psalm speaks to David’s trust in God to act and to act with justice and it also speaks to a glorious heavenly hope.  Notice in our verse, David prays (call upon you) because he knows God will answer! 

    In our pluralistic society today, you can find many answers.  Most of the answers actually end up telling you to just ask yourself for you know what is best for you.  So, when the Bible tells us that this path is the best for us and the world tells us a different path is acceptable, who do you turn to?  God gives us the Commandments because this is how we best achieve our maximum potential and our greatest happiness.  When God speaks of respect for each other in terms of those in authority or of our own body or the health, property, or reputation of our neighbor; we benefit from this as well. 

    Yet the world tells you that you can ask anyone we want and take whatever advice we want.  So, the question we have to decide is, do we want the guidance and direction of the omnipotent Creator who loves us enough to have his only Son die for us or do we want those of the world who seek to take advantage of us, who want to manipulate us and take from us what God has given?  Who are ya gonna call?  Who are you going to trust?  That is what it really comes down to.  Do you trust God, who loves you, redeems you, and has given you the hope of salvation and eternal life or do you trust the devil and the world?  Both of these seek to destroy you, to deceive you and to make your life a literal living hell?  To what person could we go?

    David saw challenges but he knew hope.  He knew where to find his answers.  He knew that his skill, wisdom and acumen were of no avail.  He knew that his hope was in God and he knew that this God, his heavenly father, would care for him and answer him.  That same true is ours if we grab hold of it.  God will answer when you pray.  This is our confidence.

Dearest Father, in this world you are our only hope.  You are our only source of comfort and consolation.  Give us the wisdom and courage to trust in your unfailing love.  Give us the courage to cling to you as our only source of hope.  Give us the peace that we so desperately need.  We ask this in Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’ Peace,                                                                      

Pastor Bret    

10-8-2019

Good Morning All,

       John 14:6; “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

    We were finishing up our gardening projects for the year.  We had picked the squash and were finishing the pumpkins.  As I was standing in the middle looking for more pumpkins, my wife said, “right, right of your left foot!”  I almost twisted into the ground trying to follow those directions but I did finally see the pumpkin. 

    Giving directions seems so easy but receiving them can be hard.  Ask a local person for directions and you might get, “go two, three, four miles up this road and turn where the Johnson’s barn used to be then head north for three, four, five miles then turn left at the dead tree; you can’t miss it.” Or my favorite, “you can’t get there from here.”  Most now rely on GPS but even they can lead you astray if you are not careful.

    We all like to be told exactly what to do and how to accomplish it.  Just give me simple directions and life will be good but we seldom get good directions and we are left confused.  Our verse helps us out.  This verse occurs during the time when Jesus and the disciples are in the upper room on Thursday before Jesus is crucified.  He is explaining everything to the Disciples but they are still not quite clear.  Jesus tells them that he is going to prepare a place for them and then will return to get them and you know the way to go.  Thomas asks, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?”  Jesus responds with our verse.  “I am the way.”

    How do we get to heaven?  How do we survive this world?  Where do we find hope?  Where do we find peace?  Where do we find justice?  Where do we find eternal life?  When you are looking for the answers; when you seek the direction to go, Jesus is the answer!  He brings us hope and peace, life and eternal joy.  Jesus truly is the answer to all these questions; so why is it so hard?

   It is hard because we don’t like to take directions!  We would rather take our own path because we think our path is better or at least as good.  So, we try to change God’s law and follow a different route but it always leads to failure and ruin.  We listen to the wrong voices and we go further down the hole, more confused and completely lost.  Yet Jesus continues to call us back, back to the truth of who he is, what he does for us and how he gives us life eternal.  It is Jesus who calms every storm; it is Jesus who relieves each fear; it is Jesus who rescues us from all the devil throws at us.  In Jesus, we can have confidence and boldness as we go forward knowing that we are safe within his eternal kingdom.  Jesus is what we need for peace in our lives.

Father of all mercies, give to us your peace.  Lead us to follow the voice of Jesus and to see him alone as our hope and comfort.  Defend us from the arrows of the devil and the doubts of our own heart.  Keep us safe we pray, in Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret