6-24-2021

 Good Morning All!

        Ezekiel 36:26; “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

    On Dec. 3, 1967, the world’s first human heart transplant occurred.  Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the procedure in South Africa on a grocer who had chronic heart disease.  He lived 18 days with the new heart before he died of pneumonia.  That was an amazing feat some 45 years ago; today some 3500 transplants and performed yearly with the average survival time of 15 years.

    A new heart, it was an incredible feat at the time.  The nightly news programs counted each day that the patient survived.  Many people wondered if this were the end of dying (it was not) but all saw it as a definite change in the way we all would live our life.

     In our verse, God promises his people a new heart and a new spirit.  The interesting thing about this verse is how God refers to removing the heart of stone and giving you a heart of flesh.  When God created man, he placed man in the garden to tend it and to live in harmony with his companion and to live quietly and joyfully in the presence of God.  This is what we were supposed to be, but sin entered the world and it hardened man’s heart turning it to stone.

     Some may wonder at this idea but look at the nature of the sinful world.  How else can we explain the brutality that man will cause to another human being?  We see the indiscriminate destruction, the willful refusal to come to the aid and comfort of people in distress.  Starvation and rape are viewed as “legitimate” methods of war.  Violence is common and hatred is the norm.  We must have a heart of stone to act this way.

     As God reveals the truth to us, we see our abysmal failure in any attempt to live a God-pleasing life.  Man simply could not overcome the sinful desires which he had.  His heart was so hardened and so closed to what we were supposed to be that he no longer had a human heart rather he had a heart of stone.  So, God performed a heart transplant.

     As we read this, we see it as baptismal language or talk.  Remember that through Baptism we receive the Spirit of God, and we drown the old Adam and become new creations.  Through Jesus’ atoning death, Baptism now saves us.  Because of the work of Christ, we receive this new heart and new spirit.  God is restoring us to our original intent; to be human; to live in his glorious presence and to live together with God’s true gift of love and peace.  We see this promise given to us through Baptism.  We see God removing the stone heart and replacing it with a human heart filled with his Holy Spirit.  It is through this gift that we can now live as God designed us.  We no longer need to fear the devil, but we can look for ways to live our life in harmony with each other in the presence of God and in his mercy.  We receive many gifts from God through his grace but receiving a new heart, which actually does end dying, may be one of the greatest.

Gracious Father, your mercies are new to us every day.  We thank you for the gift of a new heart and our new life.  Move us to live our life in service to our neighbor as we live in peace before you.  This we ask in Jesus precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

6-23-2021

 Good Morning All!

          Hebrews 10:23-25;” Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

    “Hang in there”, “Don’t give up”, “Keep trying”; how many times have we offered these words to our children and grandchildren when they are trying a new venture.  Whether they were trying to play a band instrument or try a new sport or maybe a new class at school or a more challenging 4-H project, we encourage our children to keep trying.

     Perhaps you have offered these words to someone who is experiencing a personal tough time.  It may be a family relationship issue; it may be job related; it may be health related; it could be any of several things.  We tell them to hang in there.  We may have no idea what we mean by that, but we do not know what else to say.

     The author of Hebrews offers us this same exhortation; except he gives us a little more background and support.  In the previous portions of Hebrews, we read where the atoning sacrifice of Jesus is all sufficient for our salvation.  We no longer have to offer animal sacrifices or pay the priest for his sacrifices; Jesus’ sacrifice is complete.  So, what do we do now?

      We hold onto that promise; the promise that we are redeemed and washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.  We hold on tight to the confession of our hope and that hope is based on the certainty of the promise of eternal life.  Since our salvation is secure, now what?  What do we do with all the time we spent doing sacrifices and making offerings to God for our sins? 

    We have to figure out how to stir each other up so that we show love for one another by doing good works.  We remember that a “good work” is anything that glorifies God and benefits our neighbor.  It might be going to some far-off place as a missionary; it might be sitting down and listening to a neighbor who is lonesome and has little company.  Our salvation is secure now let us live a life that is free form the worry of salvation and live a life of joy as God designed us to do; loving one another.

     Yet we need to keep gathering with our fellow believers.  This is where we hear God’s Word spoken to us.  This is where we hear God’s Words of redemption.  This is where we join for the soul nourishing meal.  We join for the same reason any family joins together; to show the love and affection to our brothers and sisters, our uncles and aunts, our parents, and grandparents.  We join for those times when we need comfort and consoling as well.  We look to our family for support when we need it and to offer it when others do.  God made man to be a communal creature not a loner; we join to meet this need and to receive this blessing.  So, hang in there; hold fast to the confession of our hope.  God has promised us eternal life because of Jesus.  We have that as a certainty.

Lord Jesus, you are our hope and our confession.  Thank you for the gift of salvation which you give to us freely.  Use us as your hands and mouth to proclaim your love to those who are most in need of it.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

6-22-2021

 Good Morning All!

      Proverbs 18:24; “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” 

    One of the fascinating side impacts of the coronavirus pandemic was the rise in tele-working or communicating.  We use Facebook to show our worship services and we use a website called “Zoom” to teach classes or even have counseling sessions and meetings.  Zoom is a two-way visual communication through the internet.  If you remember the TV-telephone from the “Jetsons” that is pretty much what it is.  It is amazing how we can stay in contact with each other anymore.

    I think back to when I was in high school and college; if you wanted to be in contact you either wrote a letter or made a long-distanced phone call, which was expense.  If you mailed a letter, you waited until the other person got it and then waited for them to write back.  It was difficult to keep in touch and we often felt as if the friendship or the family was drifting apart a little.  You felt like you were farther away than you wanted to be.

     Sometimes, we feel that way about God.  Sometimes, it feels like He is a long way away and not answering his mail very fast (or his phone battery is dead).  Most of us know those times.  A family member is lying there close to death, we have a lot we want to say but do not know how.  We wonder where God is; is he listening at all?  We are finally getting things to feel like they are going smoothly; then the car dies and how do we afford a different one.  We finally find the perfect job and our spouse gets transferred to a different town, now what, God are you listening at all?  The neighbor kid who went off to join the army just came home without any legs, how can this happen? 

     Sometimes it seems that we are all alone and the weight of the whole world is on our shoulders.  It can even seem like all our friends are no longer around to even care let alone help us.  Even though it does not seem like it, God is still there holding us close, closer than anyone.  We still live in a sinful world; bad things happen even to God’s children.  The difference is that we know that God is still there to comfort us and to console us and to give us courage to give us hope.  We live with the hope of the resurrection.  We live with the hope of eternal life.  We live with the certainty that we will be re-united with our loved ones and all the faithful who will gather at the throne of grace to celebrate the feast that will never end.

      Along with that promise, God has given us a family that will love us and comfort us with hugs and shared tears.  We still grieve at death, but we grieve as one who knows that soon we will all gather together in heaven.  God may feel like he is far away but he really is not that is just our sinful nature trying to drive us away from God so the devil can torment us.  Yet God is holding us close standing with us closer than any friend or brother ever can.

      We can, and are, always in contact with God.  He is as close as your Bible and your prayers.  We can read what God reveals to us and he will listen to your prayers.  The Spirit will bring you peace, the kind of peace that only God can bring.   

 Dear Father, we rest in your loving arms.  In your mercy we find rest.  Protect us from the devil and his ways and give us that sense of hope and comfort that we can only receive from you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen,

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

6-21-2021

 Good Morning All!

1 John 4: 12; “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

     His love is made complete in us.  How we read and understand this has a great bearing on our life.  How we understand the word “complete” affects our understanding.  There are two ways to look at this.  The first is the more common way of looking at it.  If you go to a movie when the credits run; it is over or completed.  If you run a race, when you cross the finish line, you have completed the race.  It is done and over. When you have combined the last acre, harvest is complete; it is finished.  This is how we usually use the word complete.

     Yet the word complete can also mean something a little different.  Think for a moment about baking some cookies.  We mix the ingredients, turn on the oven, bake the cookies for the allotted time and then take them out of the oven.  We have completed baking the cookies but then what?  Well in our household, we eat them!!  Completion here is not an end but the next step in a process.  Here a better analogy would be to be eating the cookies while you are baking them.  Just as soon as you can pick one up, find that cold glass of milk and have at it.  His love is made complete is like when we are made disciples.  This is a process that will take our whole life to finish.

     This is why we do not wait for his love to be finished before we enjoy it.  As each little cookie comes out of the oven, eat it, and enjoy.  God’s love is continually poured into, onto, and throughout our life and body.  Because of God’s great love and promised mercies, we are able to love others as God loves us.  As we love others, we experience the joy of God’s love in our own life.  We do not earn God’s love, we experience it.  We can relish in the process of being made complete. 

     Most of us have made cookies with a small child, either a son or a daughter or a grandson or granddaughter.  For that child, at that moment, knows only joy and excitement.  They have this loving anticipation of something wondrous being given to them.  We have that same experience.  God’s love, his undeserved grace and mercy, is something we can experience, we can anticipate the wondrous gift we have, and we live with that loving anticipation of something amazing about to be given to us.  The only thing more enjoyable than baking cookies with a child is when they are encouraged to share them with someone else, someone special in their lives.  The wide eye joy that they have as they share this gift of cookies that they were part of because of the love of a parent or grandparent, is a marvel unto itself.  We too, have that same joy.  God’s love is being completed in us as we love one another. 

 Dear Father in heaven, as your love is completed in us, keep us active in your service by showing your love, given to us, to all those that we see.  Help us Father to share that gift of your love especially to those who are in most need of you love and care.  Make our hearts to ache for those who suffer and cause us to use your love to reach to them.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.   

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-20-2021

      Good Morning All!

        John 20:30; “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

    People don’t write letters like they used to.  This is unfortunate for many reasons.  One reason is that we are losing our ability to express ourselves with the written language.  Now we twit on twitter and use ridiculous shorthand words which are ruining our language.  We no longer take the time to craft a letter which conveys our deepest thoughts and feelings to be shared with someone whom we love or trust.

    The second reason that it is a sad event is that personal letters and diaries are among the best resources for historians to determine what life was like.  Oh, there are many official documents but those are written by people who have a stake in what others believe.  The king will always want his subjects to hear how brave and wise he is.  Yet it is in the personal letters and diaries that we find the true thoughts of people at the time.  An example is “The Private Diary of Dr. Samuel Pepys”.  This is one of the primary sources about 17^th century England.  He gives first-hand account of the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London.  Much of our knowledge of the Revolutionary War and the Civil War comes from the letters that soldiers wrote home to their loved ones.   Yet today we do not often write so we often do not give a clear explanation of what we are trying to communicate.  In our feeble attempts we fail.  That is not the case in our verse for today.

    The Apostle John is very specific about why he wrote his Gospel and epistles.  The Holy Spirit is telling us the whole purpose, not only of John’s Gospel, but the entire Bible.  Why are we told some things but not others?  Why are there apparent “blanks” in Scriptures?  Why don’t we hear about Jesus between the ages of 13 and 30?  What about all the people who appear briefly in the narratives but then just as quickly disappear?  The answer to these questions is in our verse “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” 

     The Bible is God’s way of revealing to us how we are saved.  It is not designed to be the entire historical compendium; rather it contains the information about our salvation and the source of hope.  From Adam and Eve and the fall into sin through Jesus’ glorious return in the Revelation of John, the central message is the Gospel of Jesus.  As we look at each book of the Bible, we can see the Gospel of Jesus and his atoning sacrifice.  Sometimes it is foreshadowed like with Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac (his only son) or flat out prophesied, “he was wounded for our transgressions” but it always points to our need for a Savior and who that Savior is.  God reveals this plan to us in the Bible.  There are many things about God which are not revealed to us; things we accept by faith.  Yet our salvation is clearly explained so that we may believe and by believing have eternal life.

 Dear Father, your grace is wondrously poured out on us daily.  Without it we are lost.  Give us the power of your Spirit and the faith to hold onto our hope of salvation.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

6-19-2021

 Good Morning All!

        1 Corinthians 13:13, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

   This is the last verse of, probably, one of the read passages of Scriptures.  Psalm 23, Luke 2, John 14, then probably 1 Cor. 13 would be the top to me.  This passage is most often read at weddings, and it has a very airy and a feel-good quality.  This is one of the passages that scoffers and unbelievers look to when a Christian dare speaks of God’s law.  “I thought you guys were all love and that stuff; what you are saying doesn’t sound like love to me.” (sigh) 

    The sad thing is that when we lift this passage out of its context; we change the meaning that Paul has for it.  But we will trust the Holy Spirit to speak what needs to be heard and look at it from the perspective that many of us read this, as a definition of love.

    We use the word love very loosely.  I love my wife; I love picking apples; I love Canadian bacon and black olive pizza; but do I really equate these three as the same?  Some do.  What we need to do is to look at how we define love and how God defines love.  We look at this passage as the definition of love.  What we see is that love, true godly love, is focused outward.  It is about me giving to you because I love you.  God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son; this is love.  True love is not focused on me but on thee.  We actually can look at like this.  Love is one thing; the other is lust.

    Lust in this situation is not just how we look at an opposite gender individual.  Lust is about satisfying me.  When we speak love words they are “you” or “them”; lust words are “me, myself and I”.  If you listen to couples who are seeking a divorce, you hear phrases like, “I fell out of love” or “I need my space” or “I feel the need to explore me”; all the focus is inward on my wants, my desires, and my satisfaction.  Love is about others.  So, in many ways, chapter 13 does help us to define love.  It is patient, kind, bears all things, endures all things, and never ends.  Lust does not.

    Unfortunately, many in the world see love as conditional.  Conditional love is lust; it is about meeting my wants first and foremost.  What is sad is that so many see this as love.  I will love you if you love me.  I will give you gifts if you give me some.  I will stay with you if you keep me interested.  I will love you forever if someone better does not come along.  True love is not a two-way street; true love is me loving you with no strings or requirements.  That is love; anything else is lust.

    Can you love like that?   I know I can’t.  Yet this is the kind of love which God wants us to have; the same love He has for us.  Fortunately, God’s love is this way for me; even when I sin (which is often) God still loves me.  He calls me back with his forgiveness and his love.  He continues to mold me and shape me to try and show this love to others.  When I deal with others, like the line at the elevator, or the checkout clerk at Wal-Mart and I remember how God treats me, I try a little harder to be patient and kind.  I do not do this because it earns me anything it simply brings me closer to Jesus.  The same is true for all of us.  These three remain; faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.

Holy Father, your love is demonstrated in our lives at every turn.  Too often we miss it by rushing other directions or ignoring the signs.  Forgive us for being slow to love as we are loved.  Guard us and guide us by your faithful hand to love as you continue to shape us and mold us into your holy image.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

6-18-2021

 Good Morning All!

          Jonah 4:11, “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left?”

   This is the somewhat haunting end to the book of Jonah.  Most of us have a very minute knowledge of Jonah.  He was the guy swallowed by a great fish.  What we do not often realize is that Jonah is the Old Testament version of the “Prodigal Son.” The Prodigal Son took his inheritance, squandered it, and then came home to his father who then threw a huge party for him.  The older brother, who stayed home and worked hard for the father, was jealous and would not celebrate with his younger brother.  The older brother was not happy that his younger brother had returned and was back in the family.  He wanted the brother to be “dead” to the family.  Jonah wanted God to destroy Nineveh because it was a powerful enemy of Israel.  He too, wanted them dead but literally.

     Jonah, like the older brother, was jealous to the point that he hated Nineveh and wanted God to destroy it.  He just could not handle the fact that the Ninevites had repented, and God had spared them.  In the last chapter, Jonah is complaining to God about saving them and God asks this question of Jonah to which no answer is given.  “And should not I pity Nineveh?”

    Jonah hated Nineveh and all that it stood for.  As far as he was concerned, they were the worst people ever and should be wiped of the face of the earth; at least that is what he (Jonah) would do if he were God.  So, the question is who is your “Nineveh?”  Who is it that, if you were God, you would give the holy zap to and be gone with them?  There are many candidates.  On the large level, we have the terrorists and the rogue governments that are causing so much havoc in the world.  If we bring it in a little closer, maybe it is the opposing political party or its candidates and some of the incredible things they say.  If we bring it even closer, is it the guy that you work with who knows when to work when the boss sees him but slacks all the time, or the neighbor who always claims to have a little better yield, maybe it is your mother or father in law who always knows how to do it “right” and just wants to make it easier for you, maybe it is the team that you just can’t quite beat and they remind you of that.  We all have a “Nineveh.”

    But God calls us to go to Nineveh and preach the Gospel to them, can we, do it?  Jesus told his disciples to pray for your enemies.  We should too.  First, we should ask for forgiveness for our thoughts and maybe our words and deeds.  Then we should pray for them; pray that God would change their heart as He changes ours.  Then as we pray that God will do something; we need to listen as he tells us to “go do something” to reach out in love and begin to rebuild the relationship to reconcile with our neighbor.  It may take several tries, but God calls us to keep trying.

    God looked at you and at me and had pity on us for we were sinners.  He had such great pity that he sent Jesus to die for us.  As we ponder on that great blessing, we hear the question of Jonah; “and should not I pity Nineveh?” 

Dear Father in heaven, your mercies roll over us like a great river.  Forgive us that we are slow to forgive and slow to reach out to those whom we view as Nineveh.  Give us the courage, patience, and loving heart to reconcile with those who we struggle with.  Help to love those that you bless and seek out.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret