5-14-2022

 Good Morning!

Luke 10:34; “(He) went to him, and cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

    This verse comes from the parable of the “Good Samaritan.”  This is one of the better-known parables in the Bible. Most know the story, a man is robbed, a priest and a Levite pass by him, but a Samaritan stopped and helped the beaten man. That is when our verse shows up.

     We spend a lot of time hashing over this and other parables. That is the interesting thing about parables, as you read them, they tell you different things. You must be careful not to over read them but there is much to be seen. It is always important to keep the context of the story in mind. Who is the story told to and what is it about the listener that needs attention?

    The story is told to a lawyer, (you know that will make it interesting). The lawyer is trying to justify himself for his own salvation. So, Jesus tells him this story.  Most of the time we read this as a moral story of how we should act; we should be the “Good Samaritan.”  But there is a different way to read this.  Remember the lawyer is trying to justify his actions. He wants to think that there is something he can do to save himself but there isn’t.

    The lawyer, and you and me, are really the man who is beaten up. Helpless and hopeless in our life. We are left along the side of the road to die. False teachings of this world, self-induced lies, the devil’s deceptions, all pass us by when we are beaten down and hurt. There is no hope; we cannot really help our self. We are lost and beaten. We are beaten by the disappointments in our life, by the frustration of relationship struggles, by the overwhelming of one failure after another. We often times don’t even see the attackers and then they launch on us with a fury that we cannot withstand. We are left beaten and robbed, robbed of hope.

    Yet Jesus comes along, and he cleans us up (Baptismal language) He carries us to a place of safety (the Church), and he feeds us (Communion) and he tells the innkeeper that he will return (Second Coming).  Jesus is the one who saves us. He is the one to pick us up and to fix us. All the phony thoughts all the half-baked promises that the world makes always pass by on the other side of the road. This includes any delusion that you and I have that we can save our self or even justify our actions.

     Much of the time, we may feel beaten and destroyed. Yet Jesus comes to us with his healing comfort and picks us up and binds our wounds. He makes us whole again. He gives us a place of safety to rest. Isn’t that what we really need, is rest? God protects us from all the devil’s lies and his arrows of pain. He carries us to the inn where we are safe. It is by his grace that we are made whole.

Dearest Jesus, many times do we feel beaten and robbed in this world. Yet you pick us up and clean and bind our wounds. Give us the certainty of hope that we will always be safe with you resting in your loving arms. In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

5-13-2022

 Good Morning!

        2 Samuel 4:9; “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity”

    “I am just not ______ enough!”  I hear that a lot especially from teenagers but not just them, from others as well. All you have to do is fill in the blank. I’m not pretty, smart, tall, thin, popular, young, spiritual or any of a hundred other words but all of them say the same thing; I am just not good enough. I have little, if any, value at all. Deep down, nobody really likes me; if all the truth was told nobody would miss me if I was gone.

    Have you ever felt like that? I think most people have at one time or another.  It is most common after some disappointment. The date with the pretty girl that you hoped for that didn’t happen, the boy from your math class that never called, the job you didn’t get, the group of friends that have fun when you aren’t there, the time someone forgot about you; all work up to feeling not _______ enough.  It is those setbacks that the devil loves to see. He is there before we can even react and he whispers in our ear, “you really aren’t _____ enough.”

     This is one of the most painful things the devil does to us. His best tool is always “doubt” and when we doubt it gives him a slight crack in the door to walk in. If you have ever had the “not ______ enough” run through your mind you know it will quickly run through your mind, then your heart and then your spirit. It can literally kill you with the pain and separation that it can cause.

     This is why it is so important to always remember who you are. Remember “who you are” and not “what you are.”  You are a redeemed child of God. That is who you are and there is nothing above that. “What you are” is the situation that you are in and that will change frequently throughout our lives. You might be not old enough now, you will be.  You might be out of a job now, but you won’t be forever. It might be too wet now or too dry now, but it won’t be forever. Our life changes, sometimes it is not as pleasant as other times, but it changes; what doesn’t change is God’s love for you.

    We often don’t think of it but God truly “double” loves you. First, we are loved because he created us.  When we were created God declares us as “very good.”  Then after we sinned, God bought us back again. There is no doubt of God’s love for us, we are enough for him to love because he loves us entirely. No matter “what you are” the important thing is “who you are” you are a loved, redeemed child of God and that will never change!

Dearest Father, many times I feel that I am not enough and not worthy of love.  Yet through this all you continually to love and sustain me. Give the faith to always trust in the certainty of your love. Your grace and mercy give me the hope for tomorrow. Reach out to those who particularly feel that they are not enough. Use me to comfort and console them. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

 

5-12-2022

Good Morning!

    1 Samuel 17:4; “The Philistine army’s champion came out of their camp. His name was Goliath from Gath. He was seven feet tall.”

       I sat back and listened as the youngsters were talking. It was your typical young pre-teen talk. They were talking about one of their opponents for the upcoming “Y” basketball tourney. “I hear he’s 6’ 4”!” “I hear he can dunk it!” “He can’t be only 12!” They were nervous until they saw him. He was about 5’ 10”.  He could barely get both feet off the floor at the same time; a couple of times he tripped over his own shoelaces. Their “Goliath” wasn’t much of a Goliath.

    Goliath is one of those epic characters in the Bible. Different translations have him from seven feet to ten feet tall. His armor weighed in at 125 pounds and the head of his spear weighed 15 pounds.  He was the biggest, baddest man in the Bible. He was the fear of the Israelite army. He put down the challenge to have a man on man fight with the winner winning the war and the loser losing the war, as in servitude, high taxation, slavery, all that stuff. Every single soldier feared him but who wouldn’t? He was a giant of a man who could probably tear you limb from limb.

    The story of Goliath isn’t entirely about his size, but it does play a part. We all face our own “Goliath” and often, just like those young boys, he never really measures up. Remember when you or one of your children moved up a grade and you went from sitting in one room to changing rooms? The first time or two can be scary. I remember in college having a class in the auditorium of a building and it took me three tries to find it. At the start of the third pass, I was convinced I would flunk out of college and become a hobo (actually a gypsy).  There are a lot of times when we face something in our lives, and it seems like a Goliath staring us in the face.

   There are doctor’s appointments, the tax audit, the employee evaluation, the loan application, the weather, any of these can become a “Goliath” in our life if we let them. And if we let them, the devil will make sure “Goliath” goes from 5’ 10” to over 9’ tall in a hurry.  This is what he does best; to find our worries, our fears, and blow them up entirely out of proportion.

    The answer to Goliath in the Bible was the faith of a young shepherd boy. The answer to our “Goliath” is the exact same. God has promised to be with us and to sustain us from the devil’s attacks. So remember, when you see a “Goliath” God gives you a way to see it for what it truly is, just part of life.  God blesses us with the certainty that his love will always triumph in our life. His love will conquer all.

Gracious Father, many things appear to be a “Goliath” but with your mercy, we know that they are not. Give us the strength of faith to trust in you. Help us to defeat our “Goliaths” as David did, by faith. Be with those who are facing their “Goliath” now. Give them the confidence to face it down. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-11-2022

 Good Morning!

          2 Corinthians 4:15; “All this is for your sake so that, as God’s kindness overflows in the lives of many people, it will produce even more thanksgiving to the glory of God”.

    Have you ever come into your house after a few hours of being outside in the heat? Maybe you were weeding your garden or mowing the lawn on one of those hot sticky days. Maybe you were doing those exercises that the doctor wants you to do; maybe your job requires you to be outdoors. Even after a short time outdoors, everything sticks to your body; your clothes, the dirt, the dead grass, the bugs, everything just sticks to you.  As everything sticks to you, you are aware of how uncomfortable you are; you are hot, tired, sore and in need of some relief.

    If you are like me, you head straight for the shower. There is nothing like a nice cool shower on a hot day to wash away some of the grime and to cool me off.  As you drag yourself into the shower, you can feel the heat just wash away and the grime seems to melt right off. You begin to feel that “squeaky” clean sensation. You begin to feel refreshed.

    This is how God’s grace works in our life. We spend the day out in the hot sun and in the dusty grime of life. The devil continually spews his venomous attacks. The heat of this life is used by the devil to attack us, to make us uncomfortable, to attack the peace and contentment that God gives us.  The devil takes advantage of every heat wave to try and cause us discomfort. He takes each setback or struggle and tries to turn up the heat. He takes life and tries to cause us discomfort.

    He then throws in the grime of doubt and despair to make our discomfort even greater. It wears us down; it takes the energy out of us. We are tired, hot, weary, and beaten down.  It might be a job setback or a health setback or a relationship problem or any of a number of other events that cause us pain and sadness.

     Yet God comes to us with his kindness flowing over us like a refreshing shower or a dip in a cool pool of water. It cleanses us and refreshes us. It gives us hope. It overflows in our lives and in our souls. God gives to us the certainty of tomorrow. We never have to worry about tomorrow because God will take care of it. We only need to trust in him for his mercy. We only need to be refreshed by his wondrous overflowing river of grace.

    As this grace overflows us, it pours out into the loves of those around us. It flows out to those whom we meet who are hot and grimy, who are tired and in need of rest. God uses you and he uses me to bring this life restoring water to those around us who are in need. God pours out his mercy to the people around us through us. He doesn’t have to, but this is the way that he chooses to do it. God pours out his river of grace through people, like you and me, who make up his Church. So that thanksgiving may come from many to the glory of God.

Dearest Father, your mercies run over us like a flowing river, and we are blessed by you through this loving gift. Wash away our dirt and our grime and give us your peace. Be with those who are especially in need of your mercy, in need of your overflowing kindness. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’ Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-10-2022

 Good Morning!

      Psalm 136:4; “Give thanks to the only one who does miraculous things—because his mercy endures forever.”

    As I sat eating lunch the other day, I watched an event occur that was something to watch. A young family went up to the food counter. It was a dad; a mom and three kids probably age 6 on down. They went and got sub sandwiches and the one boy about 4 or so didn’t seem to like the choices that were being made for him.  He didn’t want that bread or that cheese or that kind of meat. Soon he was making it plain to almost everyone in the food court that he didn’t like the situation at all. He started yelling, crying, wailing, and screaming all at the same time.

    It is always a challenge once the children outnumber the parents. As soon as one acts up the others seem to join in. Soon all three were fussing; the mother looked mortified. It always seems like everyone in the whole city watches as your child acts up and there is never a hole to hide in. I watched and wondered how this was going to pan out; it didn’t look good. As soon as the food came, the mom took the two who weren’t as loud and sat down and fed them; score two for the mom. Yet the loud 4-year-old was still going strong. The father took him to the side and tried to talk to him calmly, trying to settle him down but it wasn’t working. The father tried to reason with him, but the little guy was 4; you can’t reason with a 4-year-old.  The 4-year-old finally pulled out the big gun and yelled, “I HATE YOU!”  The father simply kneeled down in front of the boy and hugged him tight and told him, “That’s ok, I will always love you even if you hate me.”  I was truly impressed.

    We are just like that 4-year-old. Our sinful actions yell out to God for everyone to hear, “I HATE YOU!”  I know that sounds harsh, but it is true. Yet just like that father, God holds us close and tells us that he loves us. Not just when we behave but even when we don’t, even when we act like spoiled selfish children. God’s love began before you were born and will continue after you are dead. This is his mercy for us. Mercy is like the love that a mother has for her nursing child as he is held close to her bosom. It is unconditional and begins even before the birth of the child. It is deep and personal. It exists for us at all times even when we don’t deserve it.

    God’s love is never ending and in limitless supply. His love is there when we are angry or sad, lost or confused. It is there when we feel lost or abandoned. At all times, God continually hugs us and calmly tells us, “I will always love you even if you are angry, even if you are sad or lost or confused. I will always love you.”

Gracious Father, your love for us lifts us up as the tide lifts a boat. Through your mercy we have our salvation. We have hope for tomorrow and comfort for today. We ask that you give extra love to those who are truly lost and confused, saddened by this world. Comfort them we ask in Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

 

5-9-2022

 Good Morning All!

Romans 8:26; “At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words.”

      Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you are unsure what to say? Like when your nephew brings his girlfriend to meet you and she dresses and acts like Miley Cyrus and his parents ask, “What do you think?”  Or your boss’ new comb over is really goofy and he asks how he looks?  Or someone redecorates their home, and you are at a loss to comment on it. There are times like this that most of us would just stutter or mutter or cough. We just don’t know what to say.

    Sometimes this happens because we don’t understand the conversation. I get this when I get talking about how my smartphone works. (I hate it that my phone is smarter than I am). When I talk to the gals who sold me the phone, I nod and agree but don’t really know what is going on. Sometimes the discussions involve a foreign language or phrases, and we just mutter some gibberish to go along with it. We cannot express in words what we want to say.

     There are times in our life when this is painfully true. What do you say when the doctor tells you that you have cancer and there is nothing they can do? What do you say when the job you had and loved for years is now gone? What do you say when the one who you have always loved just doesn’t respond to you anymore? What do you say when you cannot express in words what is in your heart?

    We know we should go to God with our fears, our pain, and our despair; but what do you say when the words are not there and the pain in your heart is too great? Too often we follow the theory that if you don’t know what to say then don’t say anything. But God tells us something different. God shows his love for us by hearing our cries and our pain even when we cannot express them. Even when we sit up all night, not saying a word but feeling weight of the whole world upon our shoulders, not knowing what to say, God hears you and he brings to us his comfort.

    He gives us the faith to stand. It might not always seem like it, but he gives us the faith to stand. The pain will be real but temporary; God’s promise of hope and comfort are everlasting. He will give us comfort for now, using his fellow redeemed children as his hands, arms, and shoulders. He is our God, and he has promised to hear us and to care for us even when we do not have the words.

Dearest Father, often our cries are unspoken for we have no words to express our pain and our loss. Yet you hear us and through our pain you bring us comfort and you bring us hope. Hear our cry and hear the cry of our brothers and sisters who feel extraordinary pain right now.  All this we ask in the precious name of Jesus, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-8-2022

 Good Morning All!

     Hebrews 11:1; “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.”

    I have always been a “people observer.” I especially like to watch my sons interact with their children. Occasionally, I watch and giggle a little as natural events occur like a child’s propensity to “why?”  At first, it will be cute and funny; it won’t take long to become exasperating. From long explanations turning to “because I said so,” moms and dads get flustered after about the sixth or seventh “why?”

    The thing is, for children, this is a sign of two things; first is their natural inquisitiveness and secondly, they believe that their parents know everything. It is usually when mom and dad realize they don’t know everything that the frustrations kick in. We all did this but as we got older, we began to ask why because we were skeptical, and we doubt what we hear. This is part of our sinful nature.

    First, we are by nature inquisitive, just like any child but as we get older our questions get harder for us to decipher. This is because of our sinful nature which clouds things for us. In our imperfect state, creation is a mystery to us. We no longer understand it as we were designed to; sin clouds our vision.

    This is because in our sinful state we have replaced love with selfishness; we have replaced respect with arrogance; we have replaced love with hate, and we have replaced trust with doubt. All of this clouds our vision like a foggy morning makes driving to work difficult so do these selfish and foolish choices. We listen to the devil who tells us to “prove it” to our own vain notions while God tells us to “believe it” and to trust in his promise.

    We struggle much because we see faith and reason as opposing each other. In reality faith can be in opposition to sight. What we see with our sin infected eyes and arrogant selfishness leads us to “see” what we want to see and to cling to what we think we want to cling to. The devil says “see it” but then deceives and clouds our vision. God says have faith, believe it. That is what we ultimately have and that is faith.

     There will be times when the doubts will seem to outweigh the faith, but God is there to support us, to build us up, to reinvigorate us. Life is a challenge, but God gives us the tools to battle life. He gives us faith, hope and love. He gives us comfort, consolation, and a voice that he listens to when we call upon his Name. We need to trust in God’s grace to sustain us. We need to have faith- the desire to cling to God’s Promise with all we have, especially because that is all we have.

Gracious Father, our eyes often deceive us. We foolishly place our confidence in our own doing. Give us the strength to see you through our eyes of faith and to trust in your promise. Help us to cling to you in all that we do. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret