3-14-2025

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 an 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 weren’t that good.  Now if you wanted a treat, that was the pot pie.  It tasted like meat at least.  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.  We should seek to live out our faith in every aspect of our lives. We should respect all people and show love and charity to all. Too often, we live our faith on Sunday but in Monday, we live as the world lives. Our faith should show up in every facet of our life.  Our co-workers, our friends, and 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.

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

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-13-2025

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 don’t 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 can’t 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 don’t 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 doesn’t exist or isn’t 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 don’t.  Some of those strangers look different than we do but many don’t.  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 lives 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

3-12-2025

Good Morning All,

    Hosea 14:4: “I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.”

    If you are of an age that actually wore leisure suits when they were in style, tried to disco and had hair, lots of poofy big hair, you probably remember a phrase called “free love.”  There are many ways to describe “free love,” but actual “love” probably isn’t one of them.  It was actually an excuse for wanton sexual exploitation and desecration of one of God’s great gifts. 

     Some of the fallout from “free love” is sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS; breakdown of the nuclear family, breakdown of trust between a man and a woman, a loss of a rudder in life, a loss of concern for our fellow man; I could go on but that are some of the “high” points.  It is somewhat telling that these effects were evident in Israel at the time of Hosea.

     Hosea was sent to prophesy to the nation of Israel and to preach repentance to a nation which had abandoned their sacred covenant with God and took up with idolatry and all of its immorality.  In order to show the Israelites how God felt about their falling away from faith (apostasy) from being faithful; God told Hosea to marry an active prostitute and then the children she bore were not his children.

      God compares the lack of faith, the infidelity of the people, with the lack of fidelity in a marriage.  God shows himself as the faithful husband while Israel is the unfaithful wife.  There are very few betrayals which are more painful than those of an unfaithful spouse.  It can rip your heart out and often leads to the death of the marriage.  This is why adulterers were stoned in earlier biblical times; their actions were viewed as ending a life.  The pain felt by those who experience an unfaithful spouse is harsh.  Although repentance and forgiveness are the goals, often the pain is too great, and the wound is too raw.

    So, as we think of this pain which the Israelites caused to God, then the willingness of God to forgive.  God tells them that he will heal their unfaithfulness and will love them freely; that is without condition or reservation or less than he did before.  Through this God reveals his nature to love.  God is predisposed to love us; it is only when our sins and impenitence cause God to punish us. 

     In many ways, we are the Israelites.  We refuse God’s grace and then lust after false gods and idols.  These may be fame, fortune, or a number of other issues but all reflect a selfish desire to be our own god.  Even though our actions deserve punishment; God shows us his mercy and grace.  He heals us and loves us freely without condition.

Dear Father, we often turn from you to our plans and schemes.  Forgive us and heal us; bring us home to you.  Heal our doubts and cover our fears with your wonderful love.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

3-11-2025

Good Morning All,

       Hebrews 12:2; “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

    There is a trick that you can play on your friends.  Place a length of 2X4 on the floor and have them try to walk the length of it.  Often times, they will take a few steps and then stumble off.  You can then get on and walk from one end to the other without any trouble.  The secret is where to look. 

     If you try to walk a straight line on a board or even just a marked path; if you look down at where you are walking, you with tumble and stumble.  If you look up and out at a point ahead of you and keep your eyes focused on that spot; you can walk a straight path.  By focusing on our goal, the walk will be straighter than if we focus on each step.

     Back in the days when farmers plowed, the straightest plow furrow came from the farmer looking off into the distance and focusing on a tree or a fence post and then driving straight at it.  It is important to see the goal when we strike out on our path.  This is true of any journey.  If you don’t know where you are going, it is easy to get lost along the way but how do you know you are lost if you have no destination to go to?

    Our spiritual life is the same way.  As we walk along if we look down, we will stumble.  If we keep focusing on the world around us it will destroy us.  The world will always question us about our faith, and it will ask questions which we cannot answer.  We all experience or observe things which make no sense to us and which we cannot change.  We continually ask why; why do these events occur?  Some may be big events; why do people die when they are so young?  Why do they die when they are so young?  Why do we see these senseless events?  Why?

     Some of these events may be smaller, at least to others.  Why does my spouse seem to pull away from me?  Why do we feel more like friends than husband and wife?  Why do my children seem indifferent to me?  Why do my colleagues seem to avoid me?  All these events and others can shake us to the core.  We may even stumble to our Bible and look for an answer and not feel like we hear any response. 

     People often decide to blame God at this point.  It is easy to do; he is God, he can fix it.  This is true but when we say it, we always quietly add that qualifier to the end; and fix it like I want it.  There is where we really begin to stumble because the devil has us replacing God with our selves.  There is a lot of pain in this world and you, and I can never solve all of it.  We can only attempt to comfort those around us and to bear each other’s burden.

     One thing we often do which gets us into trouble is that we look to the wrong thing.  We need to look up and look to Jesus; we need to keep our mind and our faith in Jesus.  The terrible events of the world do not reveal God to us but reveal the world to us.  God reveals himself to us through the cross and the empty tomb.  He is our hope and our salvation.  We will experience pain and sorrow; that is the lot of mankind.  But we know that a brighter day awaits and in that our hope is laid.

Dear Father, the world would have us look around and demand from you the mysteries of the universe.  Forgive us when we question you and your will.  Give us faith to trust; give us faith to look only to you and give us the hope of eternal life and the resurrection for which we wait.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

3-10-2025

Good Morning All,

       Zechariah 7:10; “do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 

    It is the question which man has asked since the time when Cain killed Abel.  It comes in various forms, but it is the same question.  Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The lawyer who questioned Jesus wondered, “Who is my neighbor?”  What do I owe my neighbor?  How am I supposed to treat others?  What are the expectations and demands?

    God’s law requires us to treat others, all others, well.  We are never ever to treat them with disdain or ill will.  We are to love one another, and this is how we are to display it.  God introduces this to the Israelites on Mount Sinai with the 10 Commandments.  With the commandments, God gives us to levels of action.  The first is the vertical relationship we have with God.  This is a liturgical or worshipful relationship we have with God.  We owe to God our total and complete praise, thanksgiving, honor, reverence; we owe him our love.

    The second level of relationship we have is on a horizontal level which we share with other people.  Here God tells us to live an ethical relationship with our neighbor.  This involves what we should not do to our fellow man, but it also includes what we should do for our fellow man.  God reminds the children of Israel that they were once the suppressed, oppressed people.  God chose them to be his people.  Through them, God will bless the nations of the world.

    This now applies to us as God’s chosen children.  He tells us that we are not to oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner (alien) the poor or anyone else.  We are to love them.  We too, were once oppressed, not by men but by the devil and our sinful nature.  We too were once enslaved, and we are to remember this and not enslave others.  We are to be God’s freeing agents.  We are to free men from the enslavement by the devil.  We do this by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus to them but our commitment to our neighbor does not stop there.  We are to aid, comfort, defend and protect those who are unable to do so themselves.  This is the message from many of Jesus’ parables.

    The parable of the Good Samaritan, the unforgiving servant, the rich man and Lazarus, the rich farmer all play to this theme.  We are to take care of our neighbor.  So, as we look at this theme we can see the answer to these questions: am I my brother’s keeper? Yes.  Who is my neighbor? Anyone in need.  The color of their skin, their gender, their socio-economic status, their wealth, or power, none of these are to be factors in whom we help.  We are to come to the aid of any who needs it. 

    This can be a daunting task, but it is one which God calls us to, which God will enable us to do and to which the world needs so desperately.  Follow God’s will to treat others ethically and with his love; just as he treats you with mercy that we do not deserve.

Gracious Father, your wondrous mercy flows over us like a river.  Grant us the strength and wisdom to love those whom you have placed into our lives and who are in need of the mercy we show because of your Spirit and will.  Bless those who obey your will through your love and grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret             

3-9-2025

Good Morning All,

       Psalm 147:3; “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

    Many older houses have some cracks in them.  They can show up because the house settles, and the foundation shifts a little.  Sometimes they can occur because of the temperature differences between inside and out.  The difference causes stress on the wall which can then cause the wall to crack.  These stresses can cause the wall to crack.  The crack is not the intent, rather it is the result.  Some would call this collateral damage.

    Collateral damage occurs in our life as well.  Stress and strain which occurs elsewhere can show up in other places.  Many have experienced it.  Many have experienced it from both sides.  Perhaps the stress of work can cause the problem.  Maybe it is the stress of fighting the weather both physically and emotionally.  This stress can cause us to lash out and hurt others for the stress we feel.  We lash out at our spouses, children, friends, and we cause cracks in our relationships.

    Perhaps you experience the collateral damage, those cracks.  Maybe you feel the pain of an unloving spouse, a rebellious child or a boss that makes your job painful.  These cracks hurt.  They can cause us all sorts of problems to us.  If we experience one crack in our life; we may fear a new one.  An experience as a child may continue to hurt as an adult.  If you were hurt by a parent; you may struggle with being a parent.  The cracks can affect us for a long time.  Some may try to fix the cracks; we cover them up, but they will often re-appear when those stresses to the foundation occur again.  Ultimately, the only way to fix the crack is to fix the foundation.

    We need to see what our foundation is set upon.  Jesus tells us that a house built upon the sand will not stand up in a storm.  We need to be built upon the rock which is faith in Jesus.  Yet perhaps the greatest gift we have is that even though we sin and sometimes our foundation is not that solid; God forgives us.  He heals our broken heart and binds up our wounds.  He restores our soul; he fixes our foundation.  He also fixes those cracks in our walls; those blemishes which can show in our lives. 

     We need to trust in God’s promise so that we see past the stresses.  We need to keep our hope in his unending grace.  God’s active power not only rescues us in times of struggle, it also gives us hope and confidence for our journey as we continue. This is our only hope.  Only by trusting in God and his mercy can we stand up to the stresses of life.  Only faith in him can heal the cracks in our lives.

Dear Father, we face the challenges of life and when we face them on our own strength we crumble and crack.  Give us the strength to stand tall by your grace and power.  Be with those who are struggling at this time. Calm their fears and hearts. Keep us held in your arms.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-8-2025

Good Morning All,

          Psalm 27:14; “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”   

    Think of some of the phrases that we hear that drive us crazy.  Some of mine are “I’ll get right on it.” Or “I’ll do it when I get time.”  Or “We’ll be with you with the next available operator.”  Or “You’re next on the list!”  Or “We’ll be back in 15 minutes!”  All these phrases can test on patience; they test our ability to wait.      

    We don’t wait very well.  Your computer downloads are too slow, the microwave is too slow.  The big box store needs more express checkout lines.  Everything we deal with needs to get done quicker and quicker.  Waiting is not something we do very well.  If it isn’t a fast-food restaurant it has to be fast dining; whatever that is? 

    We thrive on instant access to everything.  Do you want to know the temperature in a dozen different cities around the world? You can find out in an instance.  Do you want to find out about a favorite star or athlete?  You can do it in an instant.  You can order clothes to be delivered in a couple of days.  We desire speed; the store where I don’t have to wait is the store that I will shop at.  

    That part of our nature, the part that doesn’t like to wait, is one part that causes us to struggle in our faith life.  God’s time is not always our time.  God’s ways are not the same as our ways.  So, when we see or experience an event; we want an answer, and we want it now.  Our prayer is often “Lord, give me patience and give it to me now!”  So, when I want an answer; I expect God to deliver.

     This is part of why God tells us to wait for the Lord.  To “wait” means to trust that God will deliver on his promises.  We are expectant of something wonderful happening.  Just like the expectant mother waits joyfully for the birth of her child, so we wait for the Lord.  We need to trust in God’s grace and mercy for we can take heart, we can find our confidence in that God will keep his promises.  God has kept all his promises so far and is faithful to keep them all tomorrow and forever.

    So, you and I need to learn about being patient and about waiting for God.  If we look at Scriptures, we see a lot of waiting.  Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born.  Jacob and Rebekah waited 40 years after they were married for their sons to be born.  Moses waited 40 years for the Lord to call him back.  David waited 15 years after being anointed as the next king to be the next king.  How long will you wait?  How long will you and I wait for God to answer our prayers?  It is a hard question to answer but one which we need to strive for; one we need to ask God to lead us and guide us as we go forward.  Patience results in humbly trusting God.  It is as Paul wrote endurance (patience) produces character and character produces hope and hope never fails.

Dear Father, our patience is weak, and we do not like to wait.  Mold us into the disciple who waits, who is patient and trusting.  Mold us into the disciple who knows only faith in you.  Give strength and courage to your people.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret