12-21-2022

Good Morning All,

     Deuteronomy 11:9, “and that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.” 

    We are going to live in a land of milk and honey.  That is a phrase we don’t use much.  It refers to a land that is bounteous and fruitful.  So, do we live in a land that is flowing with milk and honey?

    It is always kind of funny to listen to farmers talk.  Most will always tell you that they farm the worst ground in the area.  One farmer told me that when the soil surveyor came through and surveyed the land; the surveyor told him that he would starve to death before he raised a family on this land.  Another tells the story of sending in a soil sample to a soil lab to be analyzed.  He received a letter from the lab telling him that he sent the wrong sample but that his dog has worms.  A fair number claim to farm in “No Hope Township.”  So apparently, most of us do not think we farm or live in the land flowing with milk and honey.

    A lot of this is just the humble nature of most farmers; they usually don’t brag too loudly about what they do.  Some might be self-preservation.  If you are renting good land, you don’t want everyone to know and then try to bid it away from you.  But deep down, do you live in a land flowing with milk and honey?

    This phrase has always fascinated me because when you look at the land that the children of Israel occupied; it would be hard to call it the land flowing with milk and honey.  It is mostly a desert and is about the only Middle Eastern country without any oil.  They build dams to catch the spring runoff from the mountains to have water for their gardens. How is this, the land flowing with milk and honey?

      The reason that it is the land flowing with milk and honey has nothing to do with the dirt of the land but with the owner of the land.  The children of Israel were living in the land that God was giving to them, as a gift, keeping a promise that he made to their forefathers.  It was a land flowing with milk and honey, not because it grew 250-bushel corn or 75-bushel soybeans, but because the children of Israel were living in the covenant of God’s grace.

      We too, live in a land flowing with milk and honey.  We live in God’s grace.  We are his children, righteous and redeemed before God.  We call him Father and he hears us; he embraces us with the love that we cannot even begin to fathom.  We see that love in the life of Jesus; we see it in the empty tomb.  We see it in the promise of salvation that is ours.  We see it when we join in the communion of saints and the holy fellowship with our fellow believers. 

     We live in a land flowing with milk and honey.  We receive God’s blessings when we deserve his wrath; we receive his mercy when we deserve his judgment.  God’s love for us gives us our land flowing with milk and honey and nothing can take it away.

Dear Father, your mercies are new everyday as we live in your land flowing with milk and honey.  Forgive us when we are slow to see the wonders of your love and the greatness of your grace.  Guide us to live out our lives in such a way that we draw others to live in your land as well.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

12-20-2022

 Good Morning All,

      2 Corinthians 12:9; “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

    “These are the times that try men’s souls.”  That is the opening line of a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine during the Revolutionary War.  It was written at a time of uncertainty during the war.  As you read it, you get the sense of stress that he feels.  This was written during a national emergency when our liberty hung in the balance.  How come, at the end of the day, does it feel like this is the summation of the day?

     Do you have days like that; the ones that really make you stress out?  Granted, it may not be of national importance; but it stills matters to me and it still feels awfully difficult.  Over the last couple of years that I have been taking classes through the seminary I have gotten to know and become friends with some of the other students.  One of the guys who will be ordained in my group is facing a potential transfer which will totally change what he is doing.  Another has lost the financial support of his church to pay for the classes; he took a second job to try and make ends meet.  For them, these are the times that try men’s souls.

    All of us experience those days.  The co-worker that just pushes and pushes our buttons; the child who has moved away and we worry about if they listened to anything we said.  The new in-law who has thrown a monkey wrench into everything; the spouse who doesn’t seem to care anymore.  We deal with vehicles and equipment that always seems to break down at the most inconvenient time.  We have those days that try our souls.

    One thing that I have noticed on those days is that my greatest source of stress is me.  I am the one who places the deadlines and goals in place.  I am the one who has to do it all, all at once, in the fashion that I decide.  Did you notice these past few sentences; there are a lot of “I’s” in them.  Therein is the trouble.  My focus is inward, and I am not listening to the Spirit.  When you have days like this, listen to what Jesus says to us,” My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

     We stress about a lot of things.  We worry ourselves sick about many things that never happen.  Instead of placing our confidence, our faith, in Jesus and his all-powerful grace, we trust in “good old me” and we always fall short when I count on “me.”  When we realize that we are weak, so weak that we are totally helpless, completely unable to do anything for our own salvation, we see that all our hope is in Jesus.  That is what it means when Paul writes “my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Here perfect means complete or accomplished.  When we receive Jesus as our Savior and stop trying to do it all, Christ is there, waiting patiently to give us a hug and the comfort we experience with and though His wondrous grace.

    So don’t carry the weight of the world on your shoulders; trust in God and his ever-sufficient grace to give you the peace to have God’s holy rest.

Gracious Lord, we are often anxious and stressed about many things, but none are ever important, and none ever really matter when we see that all we have, and need is from your benevolent hand.  Be with those who are experiencing the pain of stress and anxiety.  Remove this from their hearts and lives and give them the comfort and the certainty of the hope in your salvation.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret             

12-19-2022

Good Morning All,

      Jeremiah 31:33, “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. “

    It would appear that my curmudgeonly ways are becoming more ingrained. There are very few new shows that I like to watch. Give me the old ones, even though I know the dialogue; they are still the best. Lately, I have been watching a show from my high school days, it is “Emergency.”  That is the show about the fire department paramedics in Los Angeles.  They were always saving someone who had a heart attack, at least one per show.

    It is always fascinating to watch shows where one of the characters has a heart attack.  They always show the monitor that shows his heart rate, and it always goes flat and plays that one long tone before we see the “blip” on the screen and suddenly he is alright.  Everyone cheers because without the amazing skill of the doctor and his beautiful nurse, the patient would have died. 

    It is fascinating to think about the flat-line patient.  In the real world, which signals no heartbeat; shortly you are dead.  It takes something external to bring him back to the living.  In the earlier shows it was always a hard thwack on the chest; the later shows used electronic shock paddles, but it takes something to bring him back.

    We are the same way before God.  In our sinful state, we are dead, dead in sin.  Nothing we can do can change that.  We need an external force to move us.  That force is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross on Calvary.  That saving grace which God feely gives to us through faith makes us alive.

     Faith is an amazing thing.  It brings the Holy Spirit and produces new life in us, new life in our hearts.  Now that we have the Holy Spirit living in us; we now have spiritual impulses in this new heart.  The old has passed away; we are new creations.  This is what Jeremiah was referring to when he wrote, “I will write it on their hearts.”  We have the Spirit which will,” bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).  God’s message is written in our hearts and the Holy Spirit reminds us of that fact.  This then gives us the greatest comfort that we can have; we are God’s people.  We are God’s people chosen by him, claimed by him, loved by him, and saved by him.         

    God’s mercies, new every day, renew us and bring us new life just like that electric shock brings new life to that heart attack victim.  God gives to us new blessings everyday which he wants us to share with those around us.  In this fashion, we return to the purpose which we created, to live in God’s presence with joyful thanksgiving and with love for our neighbor.  With the new beating heart, we are no longer dead but alive in Hm.

Dear heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the blessings of this life and the promise of life eternal.  Forgive us when we fail to trust this great mercy which you shower on us.  Keep us close to you safe in your arms.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-18-2022

 Good Morning All,

      Romans 10: 9-10; “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” 

    How long does it take?  Have you ever asked that question?  How long does it take to take this test?  How long is the service going to be?  How long do I have to stay in the hospital?  How long is rehab?  How long will I be deployed overseas?  How long before we get paid?  We ask that question often usually because we associate the “cost” of doing something by the time we spend doing it.

    If you go into a restaurant, how long do you wait in line to get a table?  This depends on how good the food is and how much time we feel we have until the next appointment.  We place a premium on our time.  This is why people are often amazed at how long it takes you to accomplish some goals.  To be a doctor or a dentist takes college, med school and then internships or residencies totaling 10-15 years.  If you want to be a leader in China, they don’t look at you unless you are over 70.  Some people spend most of their adult lives trying to find certain species of butterflies or certain types of stamps.  Some things take years to complete.

     For someone to study the Hindu or Buddhist religion, they will spend most of their life in study and contemplation at different schools of thought within the religion.  It takes just a few years to be a rabbi but many to be one of the respected scribes who study the Torah and the Talmud.  It takes a long time to be involved in these religions.  This is usually because of the in-depth intricacies involved in the study.  It takes years to be able to clearly understand the nuances of the different teachings.

     That fact is one of the facets which make our Christian faith so unique.  It is easy because it doesn’t depend on us, our knowledge or wisdom plays no role.  “If we confess with our mouth and believe with our heart, we are saved.” This is one of the reasons why I think so many people will be surprised by who is in heaven.  People, that the “religious” types viewed as suspect, will be sharing at the table of the feast with everyone else.  It is not our actions or our knowledge, but it is through our faith that we are saved.  Faith is the component and only God can see faith. 

    The really good news is that we, too, only need faith.  We only need the faith which God gives us through his Holy Spirit.  We don’t need degrees or letters after our name; we need Faith in our heart and a confessing mouth.

Father of all tender mercies, we give you thanks for the blessings which you shower us with daily.  We especially give you thanks for the simplicity of our faith.  Give us a free and willing spirit to surrender our lives to your will and serve you with joy everlasting in your kingdom.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret           

12-17-2022

 Good Morning All,

       James 1: 19-:20; “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.”

    I was listening to the radio the other day and it was playing “American Pie” by Don McLean.  If you are under 70 or so you probably remember it well.  It took forever to play.  The DJ’s used to call it the bathroom song because they could start playing it, go down the hall to the bathroom and come back before the song was over.  It was also known for the meaning of all the lines and the verses, who did this refer to or what is that a reference to.  There is one line about “my hands were clenched in fists of rage.”   This line refers to the anger and violence which occurred in the 60’s and early 70’s with all the riots and the anti-war protests.  It was a time when it seemed anger was the way to move forward.

   It sounds like it is that time again.  You sure hear a lot of anger when you listen to the news or any political review.  The painful reality looks like we don’t talk with each other, we don’t even talk at each other; we talk around each other.  What is really painful is that we seem to take this attitude into all of our life.  Do we really have meaningful conversations with each other anymore?  Do we really listen to each other or are we too busy trying to think of a rebuttal (not reply) for what the other says?  Do we really converse with our co-workers, employers, employees, friends, spouses, children/parents?

   Make a “fist of rage.”  What does it look like?  First, it is closed, tightly closed; like our willingness to listen and to love the other person.  It is shut to any words that someone else can say to us.  We don’t WANT to hear it.  We can but we don’t want to.  Notice how it is turned in.  We turn all our attention inward; we focus on our real or imagined pain, indignation, and self-righteous arrogance.  When our hands are tightly closed, the only thing we can hold onto is our self.  Try to hold someone else’s hand and make a fist; you can’t do it.  When our hands are clenched in fists of rage, either literally or figuratively, our sinful nature focuses selfishly inward causing us to dream up all sorts of real or imagined hurts that we are suffering, and someone has to pay for the pain we feel.  This ties into another line in the song “I saw Satan laughing with delight.”  The devil wins when we are angry because it does not produce the righteousness that God requires.

    Remember what Jesus told his disciples (you and me), “Love one another” “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  There is no place for anger in our lives; it does us no good.  Listen to what is said.  This takes not only our ears but our eyes as well.  How does he look when he says this, what tone does he use, is it from pain that he speaks?  Choose your words carefully.  Wait until he is done speaking, let it sink in for a minute or so, then respond.  Try to speak in a calm and quiet tone.  This is one of the devil’s best temptations to cause us to get angry and then to stumble into sin because of a careless word or thought.  Seek God’s help in controlling your anger, especially if you are actually in the right and the desire to defeat the other is great.  Use a gentle answer to turn away wrath. Anger only produces sin not the righteousness which God requires.

Father in heaven, all too often my fists are clenched in rage; forgive me that I am slow to listen and to forgive as you have forgiven me.  Strengthen me and give me the courage to open my hands to those around me and hold them as dearly as you hold me.  All this we ask in Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

12-16-2022

Good Morning All,

         John 14:28; “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

    I remember watching a documentary show a number of years ago about the USS Indianapolis.  This was an amazing story.  The USS Indianapolis was the ship which delivered the enriched uranium for the first atomic bomb.  Its mission was very secret.  As it was returning, it was sunk by a Japanese submarine.  The return of the ship back to port was either overlooked or not listed but the men from the ship were in the water for three and a half days before they were spotted by a plane.  There were almost 1200 men on the ship when it sunk only about three hundred survived to be rescued.  Dehydration, salt poisoning and sharks got most of the rest.  There is some debate as to how many the sharks actually killed or if they were just taking the bodies of those sailors who had died but either way it was a horrific event.

    They interviewed one of the survivors during the show.  He stated that the worst part of the whole experience was not the three and a half day wait.  It was the waiting for your turn to be rescued.  Some were pulled out by plane, and some were rescued by boat.  All the time the sharks were circling and still claiming victims.  He said that was the loneliest he had ever felt.  He said it felt like a pit in his stomach that just got bigger.  For a while, he probably felt like and abandoned orphan.

     Our verse is part of the portion of John which many call “the upper room discourse.”  This is when Jesus talks to his disciples on the night that he was betrayed.  He was comforting the disciples by telling them that they would not be orphans but that He would ask the Father to send the “Comforter,” the Holy Spirit, to take care of them.  Jesus comes to us through the Holy Spirit; we are not orphans.

    The vast majority of us will never experience what the survivors of the USS Indianapolis did.  Yet in many ways, we do.  The devil does everything in his power to separate you from God’s love; the devil is trying to make you an orphan all alone with no one to turn to.  He wants to torment you and use your pain for his entertainment.  The devil delights in human suffering.  So, whether it is an illness or surgery that takes longer to recover from than we planned on or whether it is a relationship in our family that seems to be more pain than joy.  It may be the pain of job uncertainty, harvest uncertainty or the stresses of changes at school.  It may just be the worry of getting older but not always feeling like it is better.  We all face lots of times when the devil seeks to torpedo us and send in the sharks. 

    Yet through it all, we are never alone; we always have the companionship of the Holy Spirit.  The actual Greek is Paraclete. We don’t have a real good word to translate to it.  It roughly means “the one who travels alongside.”  We use Helper, Advocate, and my favorite Comforter as ways to describe this title or action.  The Spirit is our Comforter because he reminds us of all that Jesus said.  The Spirit brings us to faith and then supplies, strengthens, renews, and refreshes that faith.  Jesus promised to never leave us as orphans, and we never are.  So, the next time the devil whispers to you, tell him to take a hike for you have the Holy Spirit to guard and protect you.

Dear Father in heaven, we give you thanks for the adoption as sons and for not leaving us as orphans who have to find their own way.  Father, we find all our comfort and hope in you; keep us this day from all sin and hold us close to your heart as a loving father cradles his dear child.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s peace,

Pastor Bret              

12-15-2022

Good Morning All,

       Proverbs 16:18; “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

   There once was a small prairie pond which was the home to a frog and two geese.  As often happens, a drought hit the land and the pond began to dry up.  The geese were ready to leave but the frog asked them to stay because he was afraid.  They told him they would look for another pond but when they returned, they told him the next pond was over 20 miles away.  The frog fretted for he didn’t know what to do.  Each day the pond got smaller, and it would soon dry up.  As the geese were preparing to leave, the frog had an idea, an idea that would save him.  He told the geese to find a stick and each of them would hold an end in their mouth, he would bite the stick in the middle and hold on until they reached the next pond.  The geese found the perfect size stick and the frog closed his mouth around it and off they flew to the next pond.  As they soared higher and higher, the frog saw all the land and was impressed with his idea.  They flew over a farmer, who upon seeing this sight, scratched his head and asked,” I wonder who thought of that?”  To which the frog opened his mouth and replied,” I did” as he fell to the ground with a splat.

    Pride goes before destruction and usually with an open mouth as well.  I have been amused at the number of criminals who brag about their thievery on social media like Face Book.   Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.  We see it happen all the time.  Groups work well until someone compliments it and then the individuals want credit.

    The writer of this proverb (probably Solomon) knew full well the danger of a haughty spirit.  It is the kind of spirit that believes it knows better than God.  It can tell God how to deal with certain people, certain situations and solve all problems for God.  Then the shear folly of this falls full into his lap and he is left going splat.  The attempt to tell a joke at someone else’s expense while the other person is there.  Gossip spread that, while really juicy and easy to hear, is completely wrong and hurtful to another.  Bragging about our successes while others know the real events.  All these things make us look small to others but more importantly reflect poorly on how we see the gifts which God has given to us.

     We all love to take credit for good things, that really is human nature just like we like to be where the fun is and seen by many as fun and exciting.  But the devil like to take that and turn us away from God’s love to self-love where we see our self as the center of attention and the most important.  We fail to see that Christ is the center of it all.  The love which we receive from him and through him gives us the wisdom and knowledge and the blessings of this life.  All things we should be thankful for not bragging about.  Our boast should be for what Christ does for his people and how we are thankful to be one.

Dear Father, far too often we are busy boasting and not praising you, we are claiming our successes as our own and our failures are your will.  Forgive us that we are slow to give all honor and glory to your holy name.  Strengthen and preserve us as your people bringing us into a more perfect walk with you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret