1-21-2020

        Good Morning All, 

Joel 2:13; “and rend your hearts and not your garments.”  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.”

     I was reading an article the other day about the cost of forgiveness.  The author was telling how people would go about buying their forgiveness, from husbands that brought home flowers to wives that baked pies or favorite meals; the author made a claim that forgiveness was earned or at least paid for.

    We often hear that.  A person wrongs another and then must pay, sometimes for a long time, for their forgiveness.  We often call this the price of forgiveness.  It is a common thought, totally wrong, but common.  Buying forgiveness is not possible because forgiveness is given and not bought.  If you buy something, you have earned it because you have enough to pay for it. 

    There are many people who believe that they can buy forgiveness, so they have no need to change their ways.  As long as they can pay someone enough to continue what they are doing, they feel no need to change.  Sort of like the little boy who told his mother he was going to hit his sister.  His mother told him he would lose his allowance if he did.  The little boy looked his mother and said, “It’s worth it!”

    In many ways, the Israelites thought along this path.  A few more offerings, a few more sacrifices, a few more hollow prayers offered, and they were “forgiven”.  It seemed simple enough except that it is not accurate.  Forgiveness from God is given to us, freely but with the desire by God that we change our ways.  God wants us to change from the sinful actions because sinful actions still cause pain, suffering and harm.  Think of a person who pollutes the environment, pays a fine for doing so and then continues to pollute.  The damage remains and continues to grow.

    The person who attacks another, whether physical or emotional, inflicts pain both on the victim and upon himself.  God has repeatedly told this to us.  The pain is shared by both, so the healing requires both to work.  So, the offending party needs to repent to “rend his heart” as our verse says.  We need to tear our heart, remove the desire to sin and to repent of our sins; that is to turn away from sin and turn to God.

    God calls to us with his words of forgiveness and his words of love.  He calls to us to come to him and to live in his kingdom.  He calls to us to reconcile with our brothers and sisters as one family unto him.  God is calling, are you listening?

Father of grace, you forgive us so that we may be empowered to forgive others.  We see and experience your mercy and you lead us to show mercy to those around us.  Give us the strength to rend our hearts and turn to you in true faith.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

1-20-2020

        Good Morning All, 

      Philippians 4:13; “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

    Do you remember the story of the little train that could?  This was the little train that made it over the mountain by saying, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”  Then when it made it over the mountain it said, “I thought I could, I thought I could.”  This is one of the first stories that children read, and it is designed to encourage children to try new things and to have confidence in their ability to succeed.

    I used to use the contrarian version of this when I coached baseball.  I would tell my players that if they thought that they would fail then they would fail.  If a batter thought, he would strike out then he would more than likely strike out.  It is similar in the idea that you must have confidence in your ability to succeed.  If you lack confidence, then you can almost guarantee that you will fail.

    Paul is telling us something similar.  When we read “I can do all things” it might be better to read it as “I can endure all things”.  Paul isn’t telling us that we are the little engine that could.  There are things we cannot do.  I cannot swim or run a mile in 5 minutes.  This is not what Paul is telling us.  He doesn’t mean that with enough determination we will be successful; he means that by clinging to our faith, we can endure everything that the devil and this world can throw at us.  We will endure until the end when we receive our crown of righteousness.

    God gives us the power to endure.  It might not be the power to avoid.  We may experience some of the worst things that the world will throw at us.  It might be health problems or relationship problems or any one of a myriad of other events and tragedies.  The world is still a broken place and still suffers from the ravages of sin.  Pain still occurs but we know that through it all, we will endure.  Our eternal hope is secure because of Jesus and his sacrifice.  Because of that we can endure everything for it is through Christ’s atoning work that we have salvation. 

    No matter what the devil throws at us, no matter how much he may try and torment you with his whispers of doubt and lies of despair. We can endure it through the strength of Christ.  We can do all things through him who strengthens us.  We can endure, persevere and then prevail.  God has promised us the eternal success of our salvation.  We will be restored, body and soul, when Christ returns.  But until we meet him in glory, we will wait, and we will endure for God’s grace goes with us.

Father of all grace and mercy, because of your undying love we will endure.  You have promised to restore us to perfection with you.  We wait in your loving arms.  Be with those who feel that they are at the end of their strength.  Be with those who are wavering under the weight of the devil’s attacks.  Give them the certainty of your eternal love and grace.  Strengthen and preserve them Father.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-19-2020

Good Morning All, 

           Mark 1:15; “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

       The kingdom of God; what do we mean by that?  Some will tell you that it refers to heaven; it refers to the place where God will perfectly rule.  Some see it as a future place and a future event.  Some read this and think that this phrase refers to Jesus himself.  Hence the reference to being “at hand” as in “I’m standing right here!”  These are a couple of ways to look at it but there is another way to view it.

    The kingdom of God really can be viewed as God, through Jesus, actively restoring all of creation to its perfect state.  Think of it as a wave moving through a pond or a lake.  It begins and moves through the whole pond.  The kingdom of God begins with Jesus entering into the world and going about village to village, person to person, bringing healing to those with whom he has contact with.  We see it in each event of Jesus’ life here on earth.  He brings healing, he brings compassion, he brings about the cares for the physical as well as spiritual needs of the person.  In short, we see God in Christ has come to reestablish his rule over creation, and his desire to restore everything that is broken or twisted or amiss or dying.  All of the different manifestations of creation’s brokenness give rise to the Savior’s compassion.

    This occurs now, not just at some future event.  Jesus comes to give us healing now.  He comes to free you from the past.  He comes to heal your brokenness.  So whether you are a young person that society has declared unworthy and unfit because of past events and choices; Jesus will pull you from this brokenness and give you hope for a better today.  If you are a not so young person who has a lifetime of struggles and failures; Jesus wants to heal you and for you to change for today.  We are not defined by the past; God defines us with a future and there is no amount of the past that cannot be overcome.

    Never underestimate how much God wants to begin your healing right now.  You are his beloved child.  Just as an earthly father would want his child to be healed today from any illness or affliction so our heavenly Father seeks the same truth.  God, through Jesus, comes to you seeking to bring you healing.  He seeks to help you address all of your needs.  He does this through the use of created things around you to bring you hope.  He has given this task to his church.  This is the task of the church; to bring about healing and hope to the world that is lost and broken and it does it one person at a time; attempting to heal one wound at a time.  The kingdom of God is at hand; grab hold and let it begin the healing.

Father, your love moves you to give us healing.  Be with those who are suffering at the hands of the world and are left to feel rejected and reviled.  Use us to be your hands and voice to bring about the wonderful message of hope that is your holy Gospel.  Direct us by your Spirit to those in need and help us to draw them to you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-18-2020

Good Morning All, 

             Galatians 6:2; “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

    “Can I help you?”  That is a question that gets asked in many different settings.  We hear it when we walk into a retail store and we start to look at a piece of merchandise.  We might hear it if we walk into a room or an area of a building where we are not supposed to be.  Usually, the person asking will direct you to the appropriate area.  I hear it a lot when I am in a hospital or in a nursing home and trying to find a specific room number for a patient.  The nurses and the nurses’ aides are really very helpful.  Eventually, I find everyone I am looking for.  “Can I help you?” is also the question which Paul tells us as Christians to ask, especially of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are to make ourselves available and useful to one another.

    As we look at this, the “law of Christ” is that we love one another (John 13:34).  Paul is telling us that when we bear each other’s burdens, when we come to the aid and comfort of a brother or sister in Christ, we are showing that we love one another.  Yet we often struggle with this task.  We find it difficult, “I don’t know what to do!” is the phrase that is most often muttered; sometimes as an excuse but often times as an honest plea for direction because at some point in time, our theology has to be our biography.  We must live the faith we profess.  One way to think of this is in the poem entitled “Sharing” by an author unknown.



    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my bread with you, and sometimes share a sorrow, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can sit an hour with you, and I can share a joke with you and sometimes share reverses, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my flowers with you, and I can share my books with you and sometimes share your burdens, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my songs with you, and I can share my mirth with you, and sometimes come and laugh with you—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my hopes with you, and I can share my fears with you, and sometimes shed a tear with you—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my friends with you, and I can share my life with you, and oftentimes share a prayer with you—as on our way we go.



Father in heaven, help me to see that sharing burdens with my brothers and sisters brings about healing and hope.  Guide me when I feel weak or afraid to offer a simple glass of water or a simple piece of bread.  Help me to see that the greatest gift I give is my time and my heart.  Lead me to bear my brother and my sister up that they may know your holy peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-17-2020

Good Morning All, 

         Ephesians 4:32; “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

     It is the call throughout the Bible; we are to forgive.  We are to forgive one another even as God has forgiven us.  This is our goal; we aim for it, we desire it, we seek it and yet we struggle with it more than almost anything else.  It is the sinful nature in us that we battle every day.  It is that sinful nature that we need to drown every day through repentance and absolution.

    Forgiveness must take place every day.  First, we need to come before God asking for the forgiveness of the sins we commit.  We need to do this in order to see our need for this forgiveness and for the fact that we are freely forgiven by God.  We are then to see that there are others who seek and need our forgiveness, and this includes forgiving ourselves.  This forgiveness needs to occur each time the thought to “un-forgive” in our life.  Every time we recall the hurt and we think that forgiveness may not be what we want to give.  We may want to hold onto the anger and the pain.  Yet we need to struggle with this and ask God to continue to turn our heart so that we can forgive and release the pain and sin.

    In order to do this, we may have to leave a toxic or poisonous relationship.  If we find ourselves being dragged back down by the attitudes or actions of others, we may have to walk away, at least until we have healed some.  We may have to avoid those who want to keep us living in the pain and the sorrow.  We need to forgive but we may need to walk away, at least until we can leave the toxic portion behind us.

    We also need to remember that forgiveness can be more of a process than an event.  We may have to revisit it more than once.  We may even find that it occurs in increments.  For us, forgiveness may be a long and slow process, but it is a process that we must choose if we are to be healed and healing is the goal.

    The thing we need to always remember is that forgiveness is about healing.  It is about healing the pain that we either experience or cause.  Forgiveness is not about giving or taking but it is about being healed.  It is about healing the brokenness in the relationships that we have.  Forgiveness from God heals our relationship with God.  Forgiveness heals the rupture inside of us.  Forgiveness heals the rupture in our relationships with others.  Forgiveness brings about the healing that can restore us to the life which God created us to live.  Forgiveness provides the balm for our wounded souls.

Father of mercy, lead us to forgive.  Lead us to follow the path of healing and restoration.  Lead us by your Spirit to seek out the love that you give to us.  Lead us to live in peace.  Lead us to live in the joy of your mercy.  Heal us that we may be yours.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

11-16-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Galatians 4:5; “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

     There was a young man who was troubled about his past.  He had been adopted at a very young age and had no recollection about his “real” parents.  He loved his adoptive family but felt there was a hole in his life as part of it was missing.  All he knew was that his mother had given him up at a very young age because she was unable to care for the young man and his brother.  He knew he was loved but always wondered about his past.

    Yet one day while in a weekly Bible Study, they looked at Galatians and about receiving “adoptions as sons.”  Suddenly he saw his life and faith in a new light.  “I was adopted by my parents and given a new family.  In the same way, I have become a member of God’s family and given a new identity, God’s identity.”

    Adoption is a fascinating event.  It is, at one level, very personal and emotional.  Yet it is also very much a legal event.  Adoptions must be formalized in a courtroom with a judge present.  So, while adoption is a very subjective event with all the warmth and emotional actions; it is also very objective in the way it works.  Adoption is bridge between the personal and the legal.  It takes a legal action and morphs into a very personal, new relationship between the parent and the child.

    All believers receive the adoption of sons.  We receive this in a very personal way; we receive it at Baptism.  Here we are received, one at a time by name, into God’s family and we receive this adoption because the only natural son, Jesus, gave up his life for us.  As a result, God makes us his sons, by adoption.  We are his beloved children in a very legal sense.  We have the full rights of sonship; we are co-heirs with Jesus in God’s kingdom.  We are co-heirs to eternal life and to the holy kingdom which will last forever.  We are the beloved sons and daughters in God’s family.

    Yet it is also very personal.  God chose you.  God chose you from before the foundations of creation were set.  God chose you to love and to declare a child of his own.  We not only have all the legal rights of a family member; we also have the familial rights.  We can come to our Father with our fears and our worries, our cries and our sorrows and God has promised to listen to us as a loving father listens to his dear children.  He has promised to comfort us and to hold us close in his loving arms.  We are safe in his protective care.  We are loved by our Father.

Gracious Father, you claim us as your children through the waters of Baptism.  We are marked as your dear children.  Our names are written in the palms of your hands.  Guard us by your Spirit as we are made part of your holy family.  Give us the certainty of your grace.  Lead us to live full and peaceful lives in your kingdom. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

1-15-2020

       Good Morning All, 

        Habakkuk 3:18; “yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”                                                                                                           

       “Is everybody happy?” was the catchphrase of a depression-era singer named Ted Lewis.  He would ask it and then answer “yessir.”  This banter seemed to resonate with many of the people who listened to his songs or watched his shows.  His band was one of the few that remained together during that era. 

    Is everybody happy?  Given that we are in a far better economic condition than The Great Depression, we should be.  Yet when you listen to people; they don’t like their job, they don’t like the way they look, they don’t like the way their life is turning out.  The amazing thing is that often, if one phase of our life turns better and we should be happy, we simply focus on a different element in our life that we are unhappy with.  So, many spend a lot of time unhappy.

    The word happy comes from the same root word as happening which thus implies that happiness is something that happens to you.  It is an event and can be very circumstantial.  You can be happy when you make your last car payment, or your friends come over for the Super Bowl.  Yet this becomes problematic; how do we respond when the car needs repairs or the friends go home?  Happiness can be fleeting but God gives to us something far better than happiness; God gives us joy.

    While temporary happiness depends on the circumstances, true joy can defy the circumstance.  Happiness is a feeling whereas true joy is an attitude.  True joy, true Godly joy, is that deep seated, deeply held, deeply settled confidence that God is in control of every situation, every event, every occurrence in my life.  True joy comes from the knowledge that a loving, caring Father in heaven is looking out for us and protecting us from the devil’s harm.

    This does not mean that the life of a Christian is an easy lot.  In the Gospels, God promises his children four things in this world.  We will have his peace, his power, his purpose but we will have earthly troubles.  Yet we can find joy in the fact that God’s peace, power and purpose have defeated the world and its troubles.  It is by living in joy that we show the world and our neighbors what faith in God’s promises brings into our life.  We have the fruits of the Spirit love, JOY, peace, etc.  It is no fluke that joy is listed this high in the list second only to love and serving as a bridge or connector to love and peace.  It is tough to have true peace if we have no joy and everything is impossible without love.

    We need to see that true joy is found, not in having or possessing but rather in being or existing in God’s grace as God’s children.  True joy comes from the knowledge that, despite whatever the world throws at us; we are the victors through Jesus.  This is our joy; God has reconciled us to himself and we have true hope in him-life eternal.      

Father of all joy; guide me to walk in your joy and peace.  Guide me to live in the certainty of your love.  Grant me the peace to know the true joy that you want me to have.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret