8-14-2022

Good Morning!    

       1 Peter 2:24; “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

    It all started at a tree.  Trees on the high plains of South Dakota are rare.  If they are here, someone put them here.  Away from the creeks, streams and rivers, there are very few indigenous trees; the probability is that someone planted the tree.  Sort of like how God planted the trees in the Garden of Eden.  “And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9).  So, the trees began to produce food and beauty and shelter and a peacefulness that only exists in a garden.

   Yet we know the rest.  A serpent, the devil actually, whispered, and deceived Adam and Eve and soon death, sorrow, pain, sadness and all the troubles of the world showed up and the trees that once gave only food, shelter and beauty now gave spears, arrows and ways to provide death.  Wars are fought over the territory that trees now occupy, and trees are often used as shields or walls to protect or hide behind to fight.  The value of trees has shifted.

    Soon empires and rulers began to use trees in despicable ways by using them as instruments of hideous deaths.  Some would impale their victims running a spike through the lower bowel region and exiting through the collarbone region.  The goal was to miss all vital internal organs so death would be slow and painful.  Some empires and rulers preferred to hang their victims from a cross shaped tree and let them slowly die of asphyxiation.  The crueler ones would use nails to add to the pain and the suffering.  Trees had come from things of beauty and of nurturing to things of death and terror.

    It was this kind of tree that Jesus used to win the victory.  On the cross, he crushed the head of the serpent that poisoned the first tree of life.  Now Jesus has made this second tree the new tree of life for us.  With his blood we are cleansed.  With his blood we are redeemed.  So, as we look at this tree we should not be consumed by guilt.  We should not respond out of guilt thinking that we somehow owe God and can repay him.  Rather, we should look at the cross and see God’s unimaginable love and his unfathomable mercy.  Rather than guilt we should feel thankful, joyfully, exuberantly thankful.  We should experience a rebirth of desire, desire to serve God.

    For God invites us by his love to come into his kingdom and to serve him with love.  He calls upon us to see the beauty of this once hideous tree.  He calls us to cling to this cross so that we might always know of his mercy.

Father, we give you thanks for the redemption which you have so freely given to us because of what Jesus has done for us upon the cross.  Lead us to see the cross with hearts filled with thanksgiving and joy.  Let us see the cross as your great gift to us.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

8-13-2022

Good Morning!    

    John 3:17; “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”

    In an earlier phase of my life, I raised pigs and like many pig farmers, we experienced a fire that destroyed our barns. It was a traumatic event. But we had good neighbors who came and helped us clean up and they all offered encouraging words. “You have insurance, that will help.” So, we turned in the claim on a Monday and the next morning our insurance agent told us that the insurance company wanted the fire marshal to check it out. I was terrified!! The fire marshal was going to come, find something I did wrong and poof! There goes the insurance money. He was scheduled to come on Friday, and I did not sleep a wink, in total fear.

    He showed up on time, bright red car with the flashing light bar on top, full uniform with everything looking and being official. I was terrified. He asked me how I was, was anyone hurt, did we need anything, how was my family doing? I answered in short one-word responses worried about what I said. We walked to what was left of the barn and he asked about where did it start. I showed him the general area and the waited as he looked. Suddenly, he pointed, said, “AH HA!” and bent down to pick something up. I thought my heart would stop, I thought, “this is it.” He reached down and picked up a piece of metal with another piece stuck in it. It was what was left of an electrical outlet with something plugged into it.  He said, “this is what we want, if we are going to say it was an electrical fire, we needed to find something plugged in, the insurance company has to pay you now, if they don’t, call me and I will deal with them.” With that, He shook my hand, wished me well and left. It was as he left, I realized, he was there to help me, he was on my side the whole time!

    For many of us as Christians, we look to God in complete fear, fear that he will find out who I am and what I did when in truth, He comes to forgive and to restore, to heal and to give hope. He comes to comfort and give to me safety. He comes to forgive and not condemn. We should be joyous that we can come to him, yet the devil leads us to believe we should hide, fear, lose sleep and live in anxiety. God invites us to be healed and know His peace.

    So, we can come to God and confess all our sins. He already knows our sins; keeping us from he already knows what we fear and lose sleep over. Bring them to him and leave them with Him, at the cross where God wants them left. He does not want us carrying the burden of sin which separates us from Him. He comes to save, not condemn. Find your comfort in that blessing.

Heavenly Father, your mercies are new to us every morning. Guard us and draw us to you that we may know of your peace. Keep us safe in your arms that we may know of the wonder of your love. Defend us from the devil’s lies and distortions. Keep us in your peace. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen!

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-12-2022

Good Morning!    

                  John 20:19; “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

     The hardest part is the waiting.  I have sat with families while they wait for a loved one who is surgery.  Even the most routine, commonplace surgery is still surgery.  It is the intrusion into the human body with foreign objects and chemicals.  It is controlled, planned, and in a clean environment but it is still placing the human body in an undesired condition.  Even with the most common, it seems that all anyone remembers is those words from the surgeon, “there is always a chance that something can go wrong.” 

   When our youngest son was only about six months old, he had a same day surgery procedure.  It was routine surgery; yet, as we handed our new son to the sweet and kind nurse; she morphed into Nurse Ratched (in my mind) and the wait was on and it was one of the longest waits that I have ever experienced. 

    One of the more difficult events during the wait is the telephone call.  Often, during the procedure, a nurse from the operating room will call to the waiting room to inform the family what is going on during the procedure.  Many families struggle with “the phone call;” it is not uncommon for the family to ask me to do the phone call; they are not comfortable with it.  When there is more than one family waiting, you can see a fidgety jump when the phone rings and the nurse at the station calls out a name to be spoken to.  Cognitively, you know they would never call and tell you something went horribly wrong yet emotionally; it is hard to suppress that thought.

    If you have ever experienced that kind of wait; a wait that involved a period of uncertainty about a loved one; you have had a taste of what the disciples went through on Saturday.  The one whom they loved with all they had, their teacher, spiritual leader, friend, confidante, the one whom they thought was the Messiah, was lying in a tomb, killed in the most horrific and humiliating fashion.  Everything had gone completely wrong, and they knew not what to do.  They were lost, like those sheep that Jesus often spoke of.  You can imagine that, if they would have had clocks, each second would have ticked off slowly and loudly.

    So, when Jesus appeared to them, the first thing he offered them was peace.  He was offering a quiet and confident heart and a content spirit.  His appearance, though not fully grasped yet, meant that everything, from that point forward, was going to be different.  It was different for them, for the people they taught, and it is different for you and me as well.  It was certainly worth the wait!

Lord Jesus, your rest in the tomb has sanctified the tombs of those faithfully departed.  As we wait for your promised return, we celebrate the newness of life that you give us.  We celebrate the peace that we have and the certainty of life everlasting with you.  In your blessed name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

8-11-2022

Good Morning!    

     John 20: 24-25; “Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

    Many years ago, I had a great uncle who loved the sport of boxing.  Of course, he grew up in the era of great boxers, Jack Dempsey, Max Schmeling, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and the like.  So, one evening my mom invited him and my great aunt out for supper and then we were going to sit down and watch a fight on TV.  I was watching the start and hollered out to him that it was starting.  The fight had started as he came in and got settled in.  He looked at me and asked, “what did I miss?”  I had to tell him, “the whole fight.”  One of the boxers got punched in the throat; it stunned him for a moment, and, in professional boxing, a moment is the whole fight.  The stunned boxer was met with a crosscut to the jaw and the fight was over.  The whole fight took less than two minutes.  By the time my great uncle got sat down; he missed it all and he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

    It is like that often; isn’t it?  You have important news; you announce it but someone who is not there to hear it simply cannot believe what you announced.  “I just can’t believe it!”  “I just can’t believe he would retire.”  “I just can’t believe they would leave.”  “I just can’t believe this store is closing.”  And these people don’t believe; they won’t believe until they see the empty store; they won’t believe unless they hear it from the person himself.  It might be a question of trusting the person delivering the message; it might be that the news is so out of context of the person involved; it just can’t be.

    This is where Thomas found himself.  We are often tough on Thomas, but wouldn’t we be the same?   The idea that someone, who was dead, was suddenly seen again, alive; would make us wonder, to question the news as well; wouldn’t it?  Thomas takes a normal human view; I don’t believe what I can’t see.

    This attitude is very human, and it is designed to limit a limitless God.  It is designed to make God’s way to conform to what man’s limited thought process can manage to conceive.  Yet God goes so far beyond our limited means.  God, who created the universe and all that is in it with a mere spoken word, is never limited in what He can or will do.  A limitless God has limitless power, limitless, knowledge, but above all, limitless love which moved him to die for you and for me.

    It was the plan from the beginning, for Jesus to die to pay for your sins.  This act of limitless love, beyond our understanding, shows us God’s very nature, even his very heart and it shows the incredible love for us. 

Gracious Lord, through your death and resurrection you show us the greatest love ever displayed.  Help us to trust in this love and help us to share this love to all those whom we meet.  Lead us to celebrate your wonderful mercy and love.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

 

8-10-2022

Good Morning!    
          Luke 24: 45; “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”

     There are many verses in the Bible that, though not hugely significant in terms of our theology, really intrigue my mind.  This is one of those verses of Scriptures.  It occurs after Jesus’ resurrection and has Jesus teaching the disciples.  He starts by telling them “these are the words that I spoke, and this is what the Psalms and the Prophets and the books of Moses say about me” and then he begins to teach them in a way that “opens their minds.”

    Have you ever listened to someone who has such a clear understanding of the subject matter at hand that listening and talking with them really opens your eyes and your mind to looking at the subject in a new way?  I have had this wondrous experience a few times.  I always marvel when I experience it or later on when I think about it.  These people have a knack or a method about them that seems almost “folksy;” they rarely seem or act in some sort of professorial manner.  They never seem to act in a demeaning or condescending manner.  They never seem to be exasperated when they talk about the subject that they love and know so much about.  The amazing thing is how they simply lay the facts out and weave them into an intricate story that seems to complete itself.  As they discuss, any question doesn’t throw them off their speech as it does to someone who is giving a canned presentation.  You can almost hear the love and the reverence they feel for the subject at hand.

    What would that have been like, to be one of the disciples, as Jesus “opened their minds to understand Scriptures?”  Remember that often times during the three-year ministry of Jesus; they were confused and didn’t really understand what was going on.  They knew it was big and life changing but not to the degree that Jesus really changed everyone’s life.  Before they pretty much just muddled through but now, now their minds were being opened and the clarity would set in.  The deeper meanings of the messianic prophecies would make sense now.  David’s psalms would have new and renewed meaning.  All the Old Testament was designed to point to Jesus as the Son of God who would redeem mankind through his death on a cross.  The coming of Jesus began the kingdom of God reclaiming creation from the devil.  The empty tomb meant that death was no longer the great enemy which always won; it was now just a door to heaven until Christ returns and completes what he began at Calvary. 

   “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”  He did it for the disciples and his Spirit offers to us the same benefit.  He opens up his loving forgiveness and his eternal grace and mercy.  He opens up life everlasting and he opens our hearts to trusting his loving promise and offer of peace.  He opened the minds of the disciples; let him open yours as well.

Father in heaven, open our minds to the certainty of the knowledge of your wonderful forgiveness.  Open our minds to seeing the truth in your love.  Open our spirits to cling only to your mercy. Open our hearts that we might go forth sharing that same love with those we meet.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

8=9=2022

Good Morning!    
        Matthew 1:21; “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

     I was watching a video news clip on the internet the other day.  It was a clip from an outside security camera system at a bank.  I couldn’t tell if it was even in the United States, but it showed a man, walking down the street looking intently at his phone.  As he walked along, he headed out into the street.  Suddenly, a man, running from the opposite direction leaps and tackles the man.  Just as they hit the ground, a car goes speeding by; narrowly missing both men.  Had the second man not saved the first one; he would have been a bloody spot on the highway.

   This man was saved, by a total stranger who risked his own life in order to save the life of another.  Perhaps you remember the story of a few years ago when a plane crashed into an icy river and one man, who was driving along and saw it happened, jumped in the river, and started pulling people to safety until he himself died in the icy river.  Those people whom he saved, what do you do, what do you say?  What do you say to the family of that man?  “Gee thanks” sounds a little weak.

    Maybe you feel that way when you think about Jesus.  Many Christians in the world deal with faith from a guilt driven motive.  They feel guilty about Jesus having to die so that they could live.  They respond to feeling the need to punish or deprive themselves.  Within church history, a group called the “flagellants” would whip themselves as punishment for their sins in order to alleviate their guilt.  This truly misses the whole point.

    Jesus came to save us from our sins.  He dove into the icy waters to save us even as he himself died.  Yet it goes beyond this event.  Jesus died but he didn’t stay dead; this was all part of the plan.  He died to save us and lives to change us.  His resurrection changes everything.  Millions of people have died for you in one way, shape, or form.  Think of the servicemen who died fighting in war to protect your freedom.  Think of police officers or firemen or other rescue personal who died keeping someone else alive; only one person rose from the dead for you and that is Jesus.  Yes, he died to save you; but he lives that our life is different; it is new.  Our life is different in that we now can live a life more closely to the way it was designed to be lived.  We were designed to live in God’s presence, love one another and take care of creation.  Now, we are made new again to go back to this existence.  Luther wrote that we are to “thank and praise, serve and obey him” That is the way we say thank you; by loving one another, caring for what God has given us and singing His praises daily.

Father, we give you great thanks and praise for our salvation.  Strengthen me so that I may live my life in service to you.  Lead me to show love to those who you place in my life.  Lead me to show mercy in all that I do.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Lord and King we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

8-8-2022

Good Morning!    

                1 Corinthians 15: 57-58; “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

    I have heard the cry and the lament many times.  “They just don’t listen to me.”  “They don’t seem to care.”  “It is hard when there are only a couple of them there.”  These particular laments came from a Sunday School teacher a few years ago.  I understood her frustrations; she would spend time doing her lesson and then trying to bring in outside material to add to it.  She made unleavened bread one time.  She had a Roman soldier sword and shield.  She was trying but her students didn’t seem to care and probably, more to the point, the parents didn’t seem to care.  There were always plenty of reasons to miss Sunday School and you could tell that the students took their cue from the parents.

    I have listened to fellow pastors share pretty much the same thoughts.  There are times when you feel like what you do has little impact.  I talked to one man who had prepared for Sunday morning services and only had two people show up.  The weather was bad, so he didn’t really expect a whole lot.  “There would have only been 5 if the weather was good” was his dejected remark.  I have listened to counselors who have talked until they were blue in the face only to have those whom they counselled do the exact same thing with the same disastrous results.  How do we cope with these seemingly daunting struggles?

    Paul tells us in these verses.  First and foremost, and the absolute number one thing to always remember is that we have the victory through Jesus.  There is not one more thing that we can or have to add to that.  If nothing else occurs, that very basic fact remains.  Jesus died and we won.  So, our labor for Him is saying thanks to Him.  Our actions are for his glory and for thanks to him.  We do not do them for our own benefit or even necessarily for the person for whom they are aimed.  We do them for God and then let him use the work for whatever he desires.  It is always possible, even probable, that the good you are doing with the intent of aiding the first person actually impacts a third or fourth person of which you are unaware.  For example, the ministry work done to a person in a nursing home may impact the nurses and the nurse’s aides.  You don’t see it, but God uses it.

   So, when you feel that your witnessing is falling by the way; remember you already have the victory and that what we do is for God’s glory.  It is you saying thank you to God for his great favor.  Whatever you do for God, whatever you do in service to him is never in vain.  God blesses you and your work, often times in ways that we do not always see.  Yet Go blesses the ones he loves, and he loves you.

Father, many times we struggle with our efforts and the results that we cannot see.  We are often discouraged by things we do not understand.  Help us to see that we are giving thanks to you for your victory that is now ours.  Thank you for our salvation and the joy that we experience.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen King we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret