11-21-2025

Good Morning All,

       Acts 1:9; “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

   “And He ascended into heaven.”  We say it every time we say the Creed; but do we think about it as we say it?  Or are we like the little girl who told her Sunday School teacher that she wanted to be like Andy.  The teacher, somewhat puzzled, asked “Andy who?”  The little girl responded the Andy that ascended to heaven.  We don’t think about the Ascension much, it falls on a Thursday so it pretty much gets lost.  Yet it has tremendous significance in our life even today.

    Just think of the poor disciples.  They are getting to the end of the most incredible 2 months in the history of the world.  First, they experience the pain at the death of Jesus.  They spend a couple of days in total and abject sorrow.  They are afraid that the Jews will come for them next and they do not know where to turn.  Suddenly, early in the morning of the first day of the week, they are told that Jesus is alive and wants to talk to them.  Later that evening, Jesus appears and speaks to them and over the next forty days; he appears to them, eats with them, blesses them, and teaches them the meaning of Scriptures and how they apply to Jesus.  We are now at the end of that forty-day time period.  Everything is coming to a culmination.  Jesus guides them out to a hilltop and there gives one last admonition, a blessing and then ascends into heaven.  It is here that Jesus reigns.

    In the Creed we say that Jesus “sits at the right hand of the Father.”  This is a figurative term which means that the power and the authority of the Father are exercised by Jesus.  This is where we get the phrase “right hand man.”  So, we have Jesus, our Lord and Savior at the right hand of God protecting his church from the onslaughts of the devil and the world.  We will always be safe within the body of Christ regardless of what the world throws at us; the victory is ours.

    It also means that Jesus is there, in heaven, present before the heavenly throne of the Father.  He is there pleading for us, interceding for us as our beloved priest.  Jesus is before God praying for you, praying for your needs, and praying for your safety in this world of troubles.  As the Easter hymn says, “what comfort this sweet sentence gives!”

    So, we have Jesus, ascended into heaven praying for us and then exercising the very power needed to protect us.  We are his and he defends us with his mighty and righteous arm.  We have hope that can withstand all that we face in this life.  Jesus, our protector and defender, guards us with his Spirit as we travel through this life.  Rest in his unfailing love.

Gracious Lord Jesus, through your death and resurrection we have hope and through your ascension we have power to withstand all that the devil throws at us.  We have nothing to fear because of your tender mercy which upholds and sustains us.  Be with those who are battling the devil at this time.  Free them from his attacks and give them the peace that only you can give.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

11-20-2025

Good Morning All,

       Luke 11:9; “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

     If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  That is an adage that we have been taught since we were very young.  It is meant to imply that we should not give up easily.  We should persevere in our struggle and we should get back up if we are knocked down (another old adage).  We, especially in the United States, have been told over and over that, with enough hard work, we can succeed at anything.  Yet many of us do not proceed this way in our prayer life; many use the “one and done” method and it often starts with the “pony prayer.”

    Most of us as a child said the “pony prayer.”  You know, “Dear God send me a pony. Amen.”  We prayed it and: no pony.  Now what?  Do you try again or do you walk away certain that this “prayer stuff” is for the birds.  This is one place where our verse can play a part.

    As we look at our verse, the meaning changes a little when we see that the phrasing in the original Greek puts a little different spin on it.  We read, “ask,” “seek,” “knock, and that is as far as we go.  Yet originally, it meant to continue what you are doing so it really says, “keep asking,” “keep seeking,” and “keep praying.”  It adds the quality of being persistent in our prayer life.  We are not to give it the old once over but we are to continue to pray and not give up.  We are to be persistent in our prayers but not for the reason that many assume.  Our prayers do not “wear God down” rather our persistent prayers wear us down and God uses our prayers, our earnest heartfelt prayers, to draw us closer to him.  Prayer is about us talking to God; yet God uses true prayer to draw us closer to him and persistent prayer does just that.

   So, pray to God and ask for a better life and keep asking, in our prayers we will soon find that, perhaps, what we seek is not that good for us.  Perhaps we will realize where our true happiness and contentment lie.  We keep asking and God answers us.  The answer may be “yes;” it may be “no” or it may be “not now” but we get an answer and it will always be the answer that points to our best interests.  God is always faithful and we can find comfort in that fact.  He wants us to have life and to have it abundantly.  He will always answer our prayers.

   So, keep praying and keep listening to what God is saying to you through his Word.  Keep up this “holy conversation” and God will use it to draw you closer to him and to strengthen your faith.  Don’t stop asking God will answer.

Father of all mercy, your mercies are new to us each day and they roll over us like a river.  Strengthen our search, Lord.  Move us by your Spirit that we keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking. Draw us closer to you that we may be strengthened in our faith and trusting you to always answer our prayer.  Bring comfort to those who are in pain or sorrow.  Give them your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

11-19-2025

Good Morning All,

       Isaiah 25:6; “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.”

    We all have one or at least had one; maybe you are becoming one.  You may even be a full-fledged member- “the grandma who doesn’t know ‘whoa.’”  You know the type; you never leave the table without at least three helpings of everything.  If you pause to catch your breath, they ask, with a very pained look, “You’re not done yet, are you?”  Whatever you do; don’t tell them that you are done.  No one gets to be done.  If you tell them that you liked something, they will make a whole another batch and send it home with you.  You will NOT leave their home empty-handed; you will take the leftovers even some food that didn’t make it to the table because there wasn’t room for it.  As you leave the house, you are pretty sure you will not eat this coming week. 

    The generosity of this type of grandma is incredible.  Many have one simple trait.  They love to cook.  You add in the factor that they love the people that they are cooking for and the combination makes for plates that will never hold the portions.  While they are the subject of family jokes and quibbles; nobody misses a meal!  The food, the fellowship and the love that is exhibited by the host draws us back again and again. 

    Our heavenly Father engages us in much the same fashion.  We see God’s extravagance, not so much in a meal beyond measure, but in the depth of his grace.  God forgives our sins and he is not stingy!  He pours it on; he ladles it on; he slathers us with his mercy.  He does not hold back.  He forgives and forgives and he forgives us with grace that isn’t even on the plate yet!  No matter what we have done; it is in the past.  The feast is waiting for us.

    While God does promise to provide for our physical needs, it is the forgiveness of our sins which shows us the height and depth of God’s grace.  His love overflows even the most wretched of sinners.  He is not stingy with his mercy; it is poured out on us with the largest ladle imaginable.  He serves up forgiveness and quenches our desire for healing and he does it in the richest and most precious method possible; he does it with the sacrifice of his only Son.  Through this all-availing action, through the death of Jesus which paid all the price of our sin, God chooses to nourish us and to bring us back into his loving family and to live graciously in his kingdom.  Feast on God’s mercy and taste the richness of his love.  Taste and see that it is good.

Father of all good things, you feed us with the luxury of your incredible love.  In you we feast on the richness of your grace.  We never cease to be in awe of your love.  Be with those who hunger for your healing.  Be with those who are starving because of sin.  Send your Spirit that they may know you and know of your forgiveness.  Heal them with your touch; feed their souls.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

11-18-2025

Good Morning All,

      Acts 10:44; “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.”

      I was watching a video the other day that showed a variety of pranks being played on people.  Many of these involved water being dumped on someone in many different ways.  Some were using buckets that were tipped off of door frames.  Some were buckets of water being poured out of the second or third story of a building.  One involved a huge water balloon that completely drenched the man and his friend who was standing beside him.  It was funny to watch, probably more so because I wasn’t the one getting wet.

    Yet if we keep that image, the image of a bucket of water being poured out onto a person and the person being completely drenched by the water, this is a good image of how the Spirit works in our life.  First, we want to see how, when the person gets drenched, it is someone else who does the drenching.  The recipient just stands there and gets wet.  He doesn’t go door to door and asks, “Can you get me wet?”  That would probably get him a quick trip to the local police department.  No, it can be somewhat more unexpected.

    The Spirit of God goes out from wherever the Word of God, the Gospel of Jesus, and his saving sacrifice, is preached.  The Spirit enters the hearts of those who hear the Word.  In the hearts of those listeners, the Spirit begins the flame of faith.  Now in some, the flame is blown out and rejected by the listener.  Yet in some, the flame takes hold.  Faith grows as the listener clings back to this wonderful promise from God.  Faith grows because the Word is preached and as the Word is sent out into the world; God has declared that it will not return empty.  It will fulfill its task either to condemn or to bring salvation.

    All believers have had the Spirit fall on them.  For many, it was a soft landing.  We grew up in the church, guided by faithful parents and the message of God’s salvation grew in our hearts and our lives.  Some came to have the Spirit dump fully and dramatically on them.  Perhaps you remember the story of the young man who finally heard the story of God’s grace while he was lying on the floor of the Hughes county jail.  For some it is dramatic and for some it is a calmer ride but for all the Spirit is poured on you; it falls on you because of God’s love for you.  As we get wet from it, we can run away and try to dry out or we can rest in the cooling and refreshing effect that it would have on a hot summer’s day.  God pours his Spirit on us through his Word; we can relish it or reject it.  We can cling to it and have it as our source of comfort and hope or we can walk away and try it on our own.  Clinging to God’s grace through the faith which he instills is the method to live in his peace; choose wisely.

Father, you pour your Spirit on us so that we might be filled with your Word and enliven with your faith.  Fan the flames of the spark that you kindle.  Build us up so that we may grow closer to you.  Build us up so that we may always trust you.  Continue to fan the spark that exists in those who are hurting now.  Send them your healing.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

11-17-2025

Good Morning All,

   Acts 1:8; “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

     This is one of the “biggies” in the Bible.  This is one of those verses that have a great impact on what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  “You will be my witnesses;” that is a powerful statement.  It can be a statement that brings out fear in many a person’s heart.  Its beings fear because often times we have visions of traveling to some far-off distant land and becoming a missionary.  That thought can terrify most of us.  I cannot count the number of people who have asked me, “How do you stand up in front of people and talk the way you do?  I could never do that in a million years.”  Yet Jesus tells us to be his witnesses; how?

    That is a question that has been around for a long time.  Many people have always felt inadequate in being witnesses.  They look at the lack of education, their fear of speaking in public, their lack of understanding or of insight and many other reasons for shying away.  It was common for the “common” man to feel completely unable to be a witness and therefore, someone who falls far short of what Jesus desires from us.  Yet Luther saw it differently and saw within the Scriptures a different truth than what was being expressed at the time.

    Yet Luther saw that the Bible spoke to all people.  It speaks to the clergy, to the farmer, to the slave, to the slave owner to the widow and to the married and the unmarried and to everyone.  In fact, Scripture not only speaks to the person but it actually speaks to the situation that the person finds himself in.  Luther called this idea “vocations.”  It is where we are at any given point in time.  For example, I am a son, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a father-in-law, a brother, a pastor, a neighbor and so on.  But I can also find myself as a customer in line, a driver in heavy traffic, someone who has been put on hold or any one of a hundred different situations.  In each and every one, I can witness to my faith in Jesus.

    A few weeks ago, I was in the checkout line at our local Walmart.  The person ahead of me was incredibly rude to the poor young clerk and berated her the whole time she was there.  This person took an inordinate amount of time to check out and left verbally assaulting the young lady.  When it was my turn to check out, the young clerk apologized for the delay.  Now I could have picked up where the other one left off or I could witness to my faith and tell her that I understood it wasn’t her fault and that I was sorry she had to endure that from the other person.  Fortunately, the Spirit moved the second choice and a young lady’s heart was lifted.  Did she get a huge testimonial?  No, but she did receive compassion and those behind me in line did as well and all who commented said the same thing and a little mercy was shared by all.

Lord Jesus, you call us to be witnesses.  Move us by your Spirit to see that every event in our life is an opportunity to share your love and to have compassion.  The world knows neither; let your light shine through us as we spread the kingdom of God to all who we meet this day.  Move us to have compassion on all.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret      

11-16-2025

Good Morning All,

                 Psalm 23:1; “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

There is a difference in the way we think and the way we should proceed.  Some think one path or method is correct while someone else has a different view.  One example is in how we view the Word of God.  Some see it as a static monograph which only delivers information and thus requires human influence.  Others see the Word of God as alive, active, and dynamic.  They recognize it as the creative and re-creative power of God.  Another difference is that some see the Bible as a book of anecdotal information which gives good advice.  Others read it in a different light.  They read it as God speaking to them in a way that will give them comfort, guidance and hope for their life.  They see a difference in just memorizing the Bible for advice and living in a biblical context and understanding.  There is a difference between believing that God’s Word is right and knowing that it is true. 

   So, in order to follow this line of thought we look at a very familiar verse from the Bible.  The 23^rd Psalm is among the most read, most memorized, and most familiar portion of the Bible.  It is only rivalled by the birth account of Jesus, the Feeding of the 5000, the parable of the Prodigal Son and the resurrection accounts.  Yet some look at this from an entirely spiritual event.  They read it as never in need of another God.  They see it as Jesus being this other-worldly guidance program that will provide for them in the afterlife.  They think that all they have to do is to endure this life and, after they die, everything will be wonderful and they are right to a point.  Everything will be wonderful when we live with Christ.

    Yet this psalm, especially this verse, tells us so much more.  “I shall not want.”  I shall not want for guidance in this life.  God has a plan for you.  He has a plan to prosper you.  We need to listen and more importantly to hear what he is saying and then follow his will.

    I shall not want for renewal.  I am continually renewed and this occurs from the inside out.  It begins with God’s Spirit which dwells within us and seeks to renew us to be new creations in Christ.  This occurs on a continual basis as the active Word of God re-creates us every moment of ever repentant moment.

    I shall not want for courage.  This is especially true as the world bombards us with negative and divisive attacks.  The courage to love ourselves is a vital element for our survival here in this life.  Jesus died for you because he loves you.   You are valued by God and you should value yourself.

    I shall not want for joy.  God has promised to bathe us in the oil of joy as he fills our table and an overflowing cup.  Having joy is one of the surest methods of knowing God’s presence.  Through our total surrender to Jesus, we will we know his will for us in this life as well as the next.

Gracious Lord, in you we have no wants.  All our needs are met by your loving providence. Guide us by your Spirit and give us peace, joy, and the certainty of hope that you desire us to have.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

11-15-2025

     Good Morning All,

       Matthew 6:26; “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

      If you were walking down the street and you saw a penny on the sidewalk; would you stop and pick it up?  Most probably wouldn’t but at what amount would you, a dime, a quarter or does it have to be paper money before you even look?  As I thought about this, I realized how much my actions depend on the circumstances.  If I am in a hurry, I probably wouldn’t even see the penny.  When I am in a hurry, I tend to be in my own little world in my own little mind.

    If I am not in a hurry, it would depend on the crowd.  If it was crowded, I probably wouldn’t stop to pick it up.  It would make a scene and what would they think, a grown adult stopping to pick up a penny.  I would just keep moving; it is just a penny.  After all, it is just a penny and I am too busy and too important to be bothered by them.  I even usually leave them at the counter when I buy something; who really wants to bother with them anyway?

    There are times when I feel like that penny on the sidewalk.  Nobody bothers to pick me up.  Sometimes I get stepped on or worse.  I just lay there not worth the effort to bother with.  My fate as a penny is probably just to be swept into the storm drain during one of the sweeping scenarios that occur in a city.  I feel that way when it feels like I am alone.  There is so much to do and it feels like more just keeps getting piled on.  I feel the weight of the world and I am left alone; the penny that no one will pick up.  Maybe if I was a quarter, I would be more important and someone, anyone, would pick me up.  Maybe if I was shiny and new I could catch someone’s eye but I am old and dull and a little beat up by the way I have been used through the years.  There are times when I feel like that penny; perhaps you do as well.

     The cares of the world, the weight thrown upon us can be unbearable.  Maybe someone has abandoned you.  You just weren’t worth the effort to them; you were only a penny that they wouldn’t pick up.  Maybe your job decided that you weren’t worth keeping.  Maybe it feels like the world has left you behind.  The technology is past you and you can’t afford it anyway.  Your friends speak of trips to the Bahamas or Mexico and you can’t begin to afford that.  You feel like a penny, left on the sidewalk, waiting to be swept into the sewers.

    God sees you and knows that you are worth picking up.  God sent Jesus to rescue you, from the streets, even from the very sewer where you ended up.  Jesus reached down and picked you up and claimed you as his.  He claimed you as his own because he values you.  He was not too busy or too embarrassed to pick you up.  You have great value to him and you always will.  You have enough value that God sent his Son to die for you.  He will never abandon you or leave you to bear the pain of this world by yourself.  His love for you lifts you up and gives you peace.  He gives you hope.

Father, you sent Jesus to pick me up from the sorrows and pain of the sewers that was my fate but now I wait for his return so that I may have eternal life with him forever.  Guard me until that day.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.  

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret