3-26-2016

         Good Morning All!!

      Romans 5:5; “and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

        I always like to watch a movie where our heroes face a situation that seems hopeless.  Most westerns have a time when our heroes are short of water and there is no water in sight.  Most war movies have a time when the heroes are running out of bullets.  Most ocean or water movies have a time when the boat or raft is about to sink.  Most romantic movies have a time when the heroes think they will never see each other again.  We watch movies where it looks hopeless but in the end everything works out.  I think most of us do this because we wish real life was like the movies; everything turns out the way we want it to.

    Yet the real world doesn’t always go that way.  The good guy doesn’t always get the girl, the cavalry doesn’t always appear in the nick of time, and sometimes the boat sinks.  That is the real world; we know this because at one point in time we have all experienced this.  We have had loved ones die, relationships break, jobs lost, health broken.  In the movies, the good guys would not die, the relationships are amazingly restored, jobs saved and health returns.  But only in the movies.

    This is what happens in a broken and sinful creation.  Sin introduced chaos to an orderly system and death was the result.  So the devil keeps telling us that there is no hope.  Most of the world agrees with him.  Most of the false religions of the world offer little in the way of hope.  They tend to have a fatalistic and fearful tale to tell.  Yet we don’t.

    God gives us hope.  God pours his love on us through the Holy Spirit because of his love for us.  God poured out his heart for us by having Jesus die for our sins and then rise again as a sign of the acceptance of that death but also to give us hope.  For as Christ rose from the dead so will we.  We have been given the complete victory over death and the devil.  They will never completely win.  We will rise again and we will live with a perfected, transformed body that is perfect.  We have the victory; God guarantees it.

    What a wonderful promise this is!!  All those people whom we have loved and looked so ravaged by disease and death will be perfect and we will live with them in God’s perfect garden.  All things perfect.  God’s mercy gives us this hope.  So as we wait, we do so with the confidence of God’s grace to sustain us, sustaining us until that time comes when Jesus returns and completes his total destruction and ends death’s reign forever.  That is our hope; death will not win.  All believers will live in eternal glory with Jesus in his wondrous kingdom with the perfected and transformed body which will never experience pain or sorrow, death or disease.  We are victors; we have hope.

Father, through your wonderful mercy you sent Jesus to give us hope.  You have given to us the victory that Jesus earned for us.  We ask that you would strengthen all those who feel as though they have no hope.  Keep us mindful of your mercy.  Keep us aware of your undeserved yet undying love.  Guard and protect us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

3-25-2016

Good Morning All!!

        Acts 3:22; “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction”

     In the late 1970’s, the country singer John Conlee wrote and sang a song called “Rose Colored Glasses.”  It was a kind of lament in that the singer’s wife/girlfriend didn’t seem to love him but he couldn’t bring himself to leave because he wouldn’t look at her flaws only the good things in her.  The chorus went like this:

But these rose colored glasses
That I'm looking through
Show only the beauty
'Cause they hide all the truth

You have probably known someone who did this.  It might have been a parent who refused to believe that their child would get in trouble at school.  It might be the boyfriend/girlfriend who just will not believe their partner isn’t faithful to them.  It happens.  We tend to see this as a negative but our verse for today shows us a different angle.

    Scriptures tells us that we are covered in Christ own righteousness and that we trade our sin for his righteousness.  Martin Luther called this “the great exchange.”  In it, our sinful nature is taken on by Jesus and we take on his perfect righteousness.  So now, as we stand before God he sees Christ righteousness on us.  He looks at us through the glasses that show Christ holiness poured out on us.  Thus he sees us as holy, redeemed children of God.  

     Thus God does not see our sin any longer.  He only sees the perfectness of Jesus.  God sees us as his perfect child.  We may think “if he would only take off those rose colored glasses; he would see the real me.”  The devil loves to play this game on us.  The devil does everything in his power to make us think we are not good enough.  However, that is the beauty of God’s love for us displayed in Jesus.

    God knows our weaknesses and our failures. He knows our pains and our sufferings.  God chooses to see us through the blood colored glasses of Christ’s atonement.  God chooses to have love in his heart, healing in his hand and comfort in his loving arms.  God chooses to love you.  He is not ignoring anything.  The sin he sees is placed on Jesus while the righteousness of Jesus is placed on you.  We have it made because of this great love.  A Love that is beyond our understanding a love that is beyond our measure.  A love that would allow the Father to allow his only son to die and pay the price that a hateful stranger owed.  Greater love we will never know.

Father of all mercy, you look at me and see Jesus instead.  Keep me close to your heart.  Keep me close in your loving arms.  Enliven my faith that I may serve you in all boldness.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-24-2016

    Good Morning All!!

        1 John 1:9; “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

    Every river, lake or ocean has what is called the “high water mark.”  This is the line or level where the water reaches its highest point.  It often leaves and interesting picture.  Above the line can be the dirt and the debris which the water does not wash away and below the line is the cleansed wall or bank.  This is especially true in rivers where the water is moving constantly.  You can see the rocks which are polished below the line but rough and dirty above the line.  What exists above the line is above the scouring effect of the water.

    Do you listen to preacher tell you that all your sins are forgiven but wonder about a few?  Do you think that there are some that are simply above the high water mark?  Do you think that there are some sins, which you commit, that go unforgiven?  Then do you feel even worse because you doubt God’s forgiveness?  If it is any consolation, you are not alone.  Most Christians, at some point in their life, feel this way.  Some feel this way more often than others, maybe you are one of them.  This feeling leads to guilt and guilt is the devil’s best friend.  You may feel that there is something in your life that is just beyond any forgiveness.  It can lead to a couple of things.  First, we may feel that, deep down, God is punishing us here on earth for this sin.  It might be that you don’t feel the same health as you think you should.  Perhaps a friend or neighbor seems to always have more than you do.  Perhaps it seems that the neighbors always get more timely rain than you do.  You constantly feel under a cloud.

    This probably isn’t occurring but guilt will lead us to see it. Guilt does many things to us.  It can even be more debilitating if we let the devil convince us that our sins are soon to be revealed to God and everyone and when they are everyone will look at us in disgust and abandon us as quickly as they can.  This kind of guilt can separate us from those around us as we are afraid to get too close for fear they will see the hidden sin.  They will see where the high water mark is and know what sins are not washed away. 

    Always remember that God’s ways are above your ways and the blood of Jesus washes higher than any sin you have.  The blood of Jesus will always scour clean your heart and soul; it already has.  All you need to do is to cling to this truth.  All you need to do is to cling to the reality that ALL your sins are forgiven, not just a few or just the little ones but all of them.  God wants you to live free from sin so that you can live in his kingdom in joyful service to him.  God wants you to live in hope and in peace.  No sin is ever higher than God’s mercy; nothing is higher than Jesus.

Father, too often I try to hide from you because I think I have sins too hard to forgive.  Guide me by your Spirit to trust fully in the promise of your salvation.  Give me the comfort of your grace that I might rest in your loving arms and content in your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior and King we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

3-23-2016

Good Morning All!!

              Luke 22:53b; “But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

    The power of darkness, what does that phrase mean to you?  I have heard this phrase used recently when discussions were being held about the current presidential candidates and the debates going on.  Evil, deceptive, hate-filled, dark powered are a few of the descriptions.  But what does it mean; this hour is your hour, and the power of darkness?

    This verse occurs in the story of the betrayal of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss but this comment was directed to the priests and the teachers of the law who accompanied the Temple guards and the Roman soldiers.  He asked them if they came prepared to capture a robber.  He asked them about the way he had been in the Temple talking to them but now they came with swords, spears and clubs.  Of course there, in the Temple, it would have been daylight and visible to everyone but now, in the darkness, evil can be displayed.

    This is truly how evil is displayed in the hiddenness of darkness.  It can boil out of the darkness of our sinful heart when we strike in anger at a loved one or a neighbor for no reason.  Our jealousy can supply the heat to cook the pot.  Greed, lust, selfishness feed the boil and can erupt in ways we do not expect.  Other times it sort of oozes out.  We might start out in a caring position, perhaps generous supporting a great mission.  But soon, the money isn’t quite as plentiful as before so we cut back.  Do we cut back on the new vehicle, the extra vacation days or our mission support?  Inside the darkness, we think we are being generous at half the support; why should I give something up for others?  From the darkness of our heart, the needs of our brother are suppressed to the wants of our life. 

    This is why Jesus came to be the Light of the world, to shine truth on the ugliness.  To show us the self-inflicted pain that occurs in our selfishness, how our selfishness is never satisfied, never fed.  It grows and overpowers us but Christ came to defeat tis dark passion.  He came to restore us to his holy family, to restore us to our purpose of taking care of each other. 

    Unfortunately, the power of darkness will continue to plague us until Jesus returns and the final victory is ours.  We will battle it and sometimes it will win but God keeps calling us back through Jesus.  Jesus keeps calling back to the light where we see our true purpose, our true peace and where we find our only hope.  Stay in the light where you will know God’s comfort and peace.

Father of all grace, your mercies are new to us each day and they pour over us like a river.  Keep us in your grace; keep us in your light.  Enliven our faith and strengthen our spirit that we may know the warmth and truth of your loving light.  Be with those who are still lost in darkness.  Bring them into your marvelous light.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

3-22-2016

Good Morning All!!

         Luke 21:37; “And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.”

      So if you knew that you were going to die in the next few days, how would you spend your time?  I know some have used the “24 hours” question as community builder in small group settings but here you have 5 days.  What would you do?  Would you contact all your old friends, would you go someplace you always wanted to go?  You are physically strong yet and quite capable so what do you do?  Well as near as we can tell, Jesus spent most of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week teaching in the Temple.  The last few days of his life, Jesus spent in the Temple teaching.  He taught his disciples, his other followers, the Pharisees who would listen; actually anyone who would listen heard the lessons.

     What did he teach?  He taught a couple of parables, predicted the destruction of the Temple, had supper with Simon the leper that we know of.  He was teaching, preaching trying to bring healing to those who were hurting.  Even as he knew, contemplated and spoke of his impending death he tried to save others.  Yet this really should not surprise us too much; even as he was dying on the cross he brought healing to his mother and hope to a dying criminal.  He spoke forgiveness even to those who were most instrumental in convicting him of his “crimes”.

    Yet this was what Jesus’ whole ministry here on earth was about; he came to bring healing, hope, forgiveness and life.  He came to redeem the lost and broken sinner and never stopped the entire time he was on this earth.  He taught, he healed, he gave hope and life.  He never stopped and he still hasn’t.  He still continues to bring healing and hope to a broken world.

    This should always give us hope and comfort.  Maybe there is someone in your life who keeps resisting listening about Jesus or they keep telling you they will talk later; don’t give up!  There is never an end to our witnessing.  Keep telling them, keep witnessing, keep praying keep planting the seed.  Jesus never stops working on the heart.  The Holy Spirit never stops working on them either.  It may take a lifetime but it is never too late.  Jesus never stops so we should never lose hope.

    This is true if you are the one who feels no hope.  It may take you a lifetime to stop and listen to what the Spirit is saying but it is never too late.  Jesus spent his lifetime here on earth to bring you healing; he can wait your lifetime to stop the struggle, stop the fear, end the sorrow and trust his promise of salvation.  Believe him, that’s it.  Believe that his death on the cross paid for all those sins that hold you down and crush your spirit.  Believe, find comfort, find hope, find rest in His loving arms.  It is never too late.

Gracious Father, we pray for all who are lost or feel lost.  We keep praying that they will hear your voice and know your comfort.  Send your Spirit to bring the comfort and hope that is so desperately needed.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret