11-7-2021

 Good Morning All!

        Joshua 1:5; “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” 

     A few years ago, we purchased a refrigerator. The salesman promised that we would be happy with it and would have years of trouble-free use.  Then he tried to sell us the extended warranty. It kind of made you wonder about his promise of years of trouble-free usage.

    Many years ago, my dad bought a boar from a guy. Dad asked him if he guaranteed the boar; the guy said yes. Dad asked what if the boar was sterile. The guy told him he guaranteed that he would sell dad another boar. He did not bring a boar home that day.

    We can go through life and have a lot of promises made to us. Many come with a lot of fine print attached. Many are not worth the time it takes to listen to them. But some are made to be kept. We promise our spouse that we will love, honor, cherish and be faithful until death do us part. This is probably the most important and sacred promise that we make.  Yet even this one can fail. Sin even has its tentacles in this.

    It would appear that we live in a world where there are absolutely no promises worth hearing.  This is because we are unable to truly keep any promise we make. We may try but eventually we fail. Sin does that to us.

    This is what makes God’s promise so extraordinary. This is what makes it so important for us to have faith in Him. He promises to never leave or forsake us. This is a most wondrous gift to us. Yet many, even believers, fail to grasp the width and depth of this promise.

    Many think that God is sitting in heaven watching us, even watching out for us. Yet his promise is so much more than that. He is with you. Through his Holy Spirit he lives in you and thus experiences your life. God is not some distant entity; he is the eternal, loving Spirit which gives us meaning to our life, which gives us hope. God has shown this to us by the birth of Jesus. In that birth, God became man and experienced all that this life has to offer. Through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension we have the new hope for the new life. We have the forgiveness of sins. We have the promise that God is with us.

    We have the same experience which the Israelites had when they were in the wilderness and God’s Presence rested in the Tabernacle. God’s Presence is with you every day and he will never leave you. The glorious fact is that this promise depends on the nature of God and not on our qualities. God is with us to share our life and to carry our burden. The devil and the world will fling all sorts of junk at us, but God is there to shield us, to protect us and to keep us safe within his loving arms.

Dear Father, we give you wondrous praise for your promise to never leave us. Even when we try to leave and go our own way, you are there to return us to your arms and safety. Continue to keep us within your gentle hold. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-6-2021

  Good Morning All!

         Matthew 5:7; “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

     Jesus once told a parable about a king who was settling his accounts. He called a man before him who owed about 200,000 years’ worth of wages to the king. The man said he would pay the king back. The king had mercy and forgave the debt. The man then went out joyful at his good fortune. Until he met a friend who owed him about 3 months were of wages. When the friend asked for time, the first man went into a rage and had his “friend” thrown into prison until the debt was paid. When the king heard this story, he called the first man in and asked him, “I showed you mercy, shouldn’t have you?” Then he had the first man thrown into prison until his debt was paid.

    One time I listened in a Bible study while the leader of the study rationalized how unlikely this scenario was. This person was so callous and out-of-touch that he must be almost psychotic. This act so lacks sensitivity that it is almost off the charts.  After all, what kind of a monster would put anyone, let alone a friend, in prison over an insignificant sum of money?  There was a hearty round of agreement, and everyone went away feeling good about themselves. As we left, I kept thinking of the prayer of the Pharisee who said, “I thank you, my God, that I am not a sinner like that man!”

     Don’t we throw people into “prison” all the time? Don’t we demand that all debts, no matter how small, get paid? Think of your brothers or sisters, have you ever been mad at them for a couple of days because the messed up your room?  Did you try to get even? What about your spouse? Do they ever do something that leaves you with the feeling, maybe you even say it; “They knew I was mad at them over this.”  Not all prisons have steel bars and locks. Some are made of our anger and our judgmental attitude. Yet we leave church having received God’s forgiveness, but we punish our children for making us be two minutes late for church.

    We are that man. Our sinful nature does a good job convincing us otherwise, but we are that man.  We stand and gratefully receive God’s forgiveness of our sins, yet we extract from our family and friends payment for every sin, real or imagined, and we put them into our emotional prison until they pay. If that, is you, and it probably is at one time or another, God is speaking to you.  Look at the debt that we are forgiven. The amount that the first man owes in the parable is absurdly high to make the point; we can never pay that debt only God can forgive it. Yet someone messes up our room, causes us a little inconvenience, hurts our feelings or some other small matter and we imprison them for days or weeks until they pay.

    If that, is you, listen to God’s Word of forgiveness and heed his warning. Be merciful and you will receive mercy.

Dear Father, too often we refuse to forgive others. We would rather keep them in our prisons. Forgive us when we do this and give us the insight to see when we do this and give us the strength and wisdom to do so. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-5-2021

 Good Morning All!

         Proverbs 4:20-22; “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh”

    The wisdom of your father or grandfather. Often, we fail to heed it. It is just one of those things where we often must make the mistakes which we are warned about. We sometimes must learn the hard way. Some lessons we learn early on in a painful manner, like licking a frozen metal handrail. Some we learn a little later like when we are told to always do our best. On that occasion when we do not, we tend to remember the sting of not trying.

    Some advice, if unheeded, can be very painful. The failure to follow the care in selecting a spouse, a profession, or other personal choices can be very painful, as we are reminded that Father does know best.

     We find that in our lives one of our greatest weaknesses is that we fail to truly listen to what the other person is saying. It seems that the closer the person is related to us the more difficult the listening becomes. We often hear the first and maybe even the second word before we either tune them out or begin to formulate our response. When it comes to some of our most important relationships, we have we seem to listen the least.

     Yet it is listening that we must do the most. This is because, first and foremost, God’s Word for us is spoken as all words are spoken.  We must listen to the Word spoken. God speaks to us, and we must listen; not just to the first or second word but to the whole message. We need to give it our full attention and hear God’s entire message.

    God’s entire message for us is found in Jesus. His sacrifice on the cross speaks all of God’s love for us. God’s message to you is that he truly loves you, wants to save you, bring you into his family and return you to the loving relationship which God created us for. This is why his words have healing and give us life. His Word is life for us. It brings us back from being dead in sin to being alive in Christ.

    We keep God’s Word in our heart cherishing it, holding it close as the words of comfort, the words of hope, as the message of our only hope to salvation. We hear God’s Word, we revel in the Word, and we feast in the Word. God’s Word provides for us the sustenance for our soul and our spirit. Our hope is in the Word, but we must hear it. We must not let the noise of this world, its sin and corruption, drown out the Word. God’s Word to us is life be sure to hear it.

Dear Father, too often we fail to hear your wonderful Word of life and salvation. We are left with the world’s noise and confusion. Give us strength and wisdom to follow your Word and to trust in our salvation through you. Be with those who are especially in need of your Spirit of comfort and peace. Bring rest into their life this day. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

11-4-2021

 Good Morning All!

    John 4:24; “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

    I know I should not have been listening. I was eavesdropping on a conversation of a couple of gals in the booth next to me. They looked to be in their late 20’s or so. They were somewhat dressed up, so they were probably having a lunch break form their jobs.  I should have focused on my lunch or the other people milling around but I did not, actually I couldn’t, stop listening.

    The first gal was talking about her church and the upcoming events there. The second gal did not say much at first but then said she did not go to church. The first gal asked if she believed in God and the second gal answered yes but stated that she was spiritual but not religious. She went on to say that she had a “special” relationship with God that could not be defined by religion.

    I found her description to be intriguing to say the least. It would have been both interesting but probably frustrating to have a conversation with her.  She probably had just enough Bible to have twisted the verses to what she wanted them to say.  She probably watched enough daytime TV and listened to those self-religious ones who twist the Bible to say what they want it to.

    Unfortunately, when someone claims to be “spiritual but not religious;” they are probably not spiritual either.  They may have some of the Bible read but they really do not understand it. They cling to a false belief that they somehow decide who God is and that they can control God. They may think the worship in spirit, but they do not worship in truth.

    Worshipping God in spirit and truth means to completely surrender to God. We are to see that it is only by his grace that we receive forgiveness of sins. God does not need or is impressed by our “spirituality.”  To God our greatness is non-existent. Our sinful nature may pat us on the back and proclaim us to be a “good boy,” but the harsh reality of God’s law shows us our failures and our shortcomings. We cannot approach God on our terms or on our merits; it is only by his grace that we can ever enter into his holy presence.

    We receive God’s forgiveness of sins by faith and that is all we have, nothing more. God calls to us to listen to his Word and to speak to him in prayer. This is done, not by our own volition, but by the Holy Spirit which guides us in our speaking. This is done through faith, a faith that draws us to the cross in humbleness. It is not a gaudy, self-centered act designed to make us “feel good;” rather it is an honest expression of thankfulness and praise to God for his gifts.  It is a faith that recognizes that we do not “fit God into our life” but rather that we surrender our life to God, to his plan and his will alone.

    God calls us to worship him in spirit and truth. Hear his call and listen to his words of grace and forgiveness.

Dear Father, we often switch our falsehoods for your truth. Forgive us when we do this and lead us back into your gentle arms. Keep us secure in your truth. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

11-3-2021

 Good Morning All!

            Matthew 28:19; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, “

    This story relates to men, but it probably has its equivalent with women.  There are many men who have a suit coat or two. For many of us they are our “church coats.”  If we dig into the inside pocket, we will find when we wore it last, a bulletin from a funeral or a wedding or the last church service we went to. We put the coat on, go to church for whatever the event then we come home and hang it up in the closet until next time we need it. We wear our coat, show it to those who go to church, then go home and then hide it out of sight, perhaps out of mind, only to take it out when we feel we need it.  Unfortunately, we often view our faith the same way.

    Many of you recognize this verse as the middle verse of the “Great Commission.”  It is used by many as the command to spread the Gospel. We cite this verse for when we feel the need to “go witness” or “go, do a good deed.”  We put on our faith and parade it around for a while and then we put it back in the closet until we want it next time. Even if we think this verse supports that thought; it really does not.

    This verse should really be read as a process. So, it should be read it as follows: “as you go on your way make disciples of all nations.” What this verse is really telling us is that we should never put our faith in the closet; we should always wear it for people to see. At its heart, the Gospel transforms us and our thinking, and the world around us, as we follow a Christ who is alive in the everyday. As human beings, we face all sorts of issues and challenges at all stages of our life and have to make decisions about how best we respond to particular issues. We want our faith to speak into these situations to give us fresh energy and perspectives, and that is where this conversation process should begin.

    Our challenge is to experience our faith as relevant to our everyday life. Our faith is to be as visible to the grocery store clerk or our co-worker as it is to the usher at church or the person in the pew behind us. For example, who is my neighbor, from a biblical view, and how should I respond to him? Why does there seem to be so much anger and hatred in the world, my country, my community, my church or even in my family and how does God want me to deal with it every day?

    One of the greatest challenges we face is seeing our faith as being just as important on Monday or Thursday as on Sunday. As you live your life as you go on your way do so wearing your faith, touching the lives of the people around you, serving the needs of your neighbor as God has use for you. With our salvation secure because of God’s grace, we are now free to serve him in all gladness. We can set out to incorporate our faith in all that we do. Live your life so that there is no question that others see your faith exhibited and on full display. Gracious Father, guide us to live a life where everywhere we go, we are witnessing to our faith in your grace. Give us the courage and wisdom to bring your love to those with whom we have contact with. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

11-2-2021

 Good Morning All!

        Psalm 96:11; “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;”

    Did you ever eat a frozen TV dinner? They came into a sort of vogue during the late 1950’s into the early 1960’s. You could eat them on a TV tray in front of the TV. The theory was to break the humdrum of dinner around the dinner table with something different. (Now the dinner table would be different.) They used to come in a metal-like tray that was divided into different compartments. There was the entrée which was a piece of chicken or some mystery meat. There was a smaller compartment that had usually corn, one with potatoes and then one compartment which had some dessert usually a brownie or, if you were lucky, some type of cobbler. Some of it was too hot to eat and some was still frozen in the middle.

    We were supposed to view them as special, a kind of treat. They really were not that good. Now if you wanted a treat; that was the pot pie. It at least tasted like meat. The crust was flaky, and the filling was way hot. I used to peel the top crust off and then dump the rest of the pie on a plate and let it cool off while I ate the crust. The pot pie was definitely better than the TV dinner.

    These two types of meals can somewhat relate to the way we view life.  Many try to compartmentalize their life. Work goes into the entrée compartment and then family and friends in one, hobbies in one and often God and faith in the small dessert compartment. Trying to keep each separate and not letting anything influence or touch the other.

    God would rather we be like the pot pie. Everything in our life affects our whole life. Struggles at work often appear at home or with friends. Yet above all, we are not to keep our faith locked away but rather it should permeate our lives.  Our faith should show up in every facet of our life. Our co-workers, our friends, our families should all be aware of our faith. God’s light should shine through us.

    There are times when this is hard to do. We may feel uncomfortable around friends or co-workers, but God calls us to be his hands in this world. We are to bring his love to the hurting, his comfort to the sorrowing and his Gospel message to all. Just as all of nature will join together and sing out praises to our God so should our lives at every turn and every event.  Because of God’s great grace, we can have joy in every circumstance. The joy is not because of the circumstance but because of God’s great love for us.

Dear Father, help us to sing your praises in all parts of our lives. Let us bring light to al in darkness. Guide us by your Spirit to be your hands in this world which knows only pain. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-1-2021

  Good Morning All!

          Matthew 25:35; “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” 

      Have you ever been hungry? I do not mean the kind of hungry you get if you skip lunch and then eat a late supper.  I mean two or three days hungry. The kind of hungry where you think a can of cat food or dog food might be ok.  I have never experienced this type of hunger, not even close.

    Have you ever been thirsty? Many of us can somewhat relate to this.  A spicy or salty meal in the summertime without a glass of water around can be uncomfortable. But have you ever been so thirsty that you were unable to function? Have you ever been so thirsty that you have a headache and cannot think clearly? I have never been that thirsty.

    Have you ever been a stranger somewhere? Most of us have had “first day jitters” when we start a new class in a new school or a new job; but have we ever been in a place where we do not speak the language or know the customs and everyone else looks on us with a sense of suspicion because we look, sound and act differently than they do? I have never experienced that.

    These are just three of the “people” whom Jesus describes as his brothers. These are the “measure” of a Christian. Not because we must do some level of works to earn our way into heaven; rather it is the sign of a life laid down.  It is a sign of the love of the Savior showing through us.

    Most of us in this country may not ever really face someone who is really that hungry or thirsty; that is not to say it does not exist or is not a problem but rather that we have many ways to address this issue in this country and we continue to strive toward that end.  Yet we do meet many strangers.

     Some of those strangers do speak differently than we do but some do not. Some of those strangers look differently than we do but many do not. Some of the strangers we may see and know from everyday life but how do we interact? The person who works at the grocery store or large box discount store, would we invite them into our church? Would we stop and invite them into our life to listen to their story, to hear their struggles and challenges? Would we try and gain them as a brother or sister in Christ?  Would we truly welcome them in?

     This is part of the surrendering of our lives to Christ. This is part of living the sanctified life which God calls us to live. The world will attack it, but God rewards our faithfulness. It is by his grace that we live and his grace that we are saved.

Father of mercy, in you alone do we have life. Give us the courage to live the life which you created and then recreated us to live. Use us to bring wholeness to the hurting and mercy to the suffering. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,          

Pastor Bret