10-28-2017

  Good Morning All,

         Psalm 119:11; “I have stored up your word in my heart; that I might not sin against you.”

     I watched a show on television the other night.  It was about survivalists.  Survivalists are people who expect some sort of calamity that will lead to a breakdown of the government and society.  The survivalists have homes or camps or compounds somewhere away from heavily populated areas where they have stored up non-perishable food and water and guns and ammo.  The survivalists are prepared to stay in these homes for years.  The television show was about “survivalist experts” who rated and ranked the ideas of the participants.  I watched this show and mused about the concern of these survivalist.

    Then I thought back to my youth when almost every community had a “civil defense center” where canned food and water and Geiger counters were stored.  This was in case there was a nuclear attack and you needed a safe place to hide.  There were also pamphlets about what to do in case of an attack.  Farmers were supposed to wait about six months and the scrape the top two inches of soil, which would have be contaminated, off and then begin to farm again.  No one ever said what to do with all that dirt.

    So we prepare ourselves for disasters; maybe not to this level but we do prepare.  Most people who drive in real winter conditions have some form of survival gear in their vehicle.  They may have blankets, water, canned soup in their vehicle in case they get stuck in inclement weather.  Most of us have flashlights or candles in case the electricity goes out.  We need to prepare for some potential disasters in our faith life as well.  There will be times in our life when we will be vulnerable to the devil’s attacks and we need to be prepared for them.

    The best way to prepare for the devil’s lies is to always have God’s truth at hand.  We can do this by reading, studying and meditating on God’s Word.  We can do this by prayer.  By the careful reading of God’s Word, we will store up God’s Word in our heart.  God’s Words become the first thing that comes to mind when the devil’s assaults come and they will come.  They will come at the worst time for you.  They will come when you are grieving a death, suffering a setback at work, when a relationship is going through a rough time, when health questions arise; they will come.  The devil will try to weasel his way into your life, whispering into your ear any lie he can think of trying to cause doubt.  All it takes is doubt, like he gave to Eve, “Did God really say?” 

   By storing up God’s Word in our heart, it becomes the first thing we think of in our head. So when the devil challenges we have God’s truth to come to the forefront.  We will remember, “Cast all your anxieties on him for he cares for you”; or “When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I” or “So do not fear for I am with you do not be dismayed for I am your God.”  Trust God.

Father give me the certainty of your Word and the confidence to trust it when the attacks occur.  Be with those who are in battle at this time.  Guard them with your Spirit and bring to mind all your promises.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

10-27-2017

Good Morning All,

           Ephesians 6:11; “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil”.

      Do you remember this one?

                                        Oh, I may never march in the infantry,

                                        Ride in the cavalry, shoot the artillery,

                                        I may never fly o’er the enemy;

                                        But I’m in the Lord’s army!  

    We used to sing that in Sunday School and loved it.  It had the mandatory actions that you performed for each section.  We sang it fairly well; we knew the words and, like most kids, we liked the actions.  I don’t know if we listened to the words that closely or not but we sang them.

    The words are very true; we are in the Lord’s army.  Maybe not so much because of the actions we take but more because of the actions the devil takes.  Often times, people like to think that by being a Christian we are immune to the devil’s assaults.  Some like to believe that nothing bad will happen in our lives because we are Christians.  Sometimes, when a person begins to come to worship and to faith, they stop soon afterwards because life didn’t get any easier.       

    The real truth is that your life may actually get harder.  The attacks by the devil will actually increase.  At first you may question this but realize that the saints who are heaven are safe.  The devil can never touch them there.  Those in the world who are lost or are unbelievers, the devil already has; he doesn’t need to engage them.  That leaves the true believer, you and me, as the place where the battle rages; we are the frontline battlefield where the shelling (or scheming) is fierce.  

    This is why Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God.  You are in the battle zone; you are the target.  The devil will taunt you and attempt to beguile you with his lies.  So we must be ready to go into battle each day.  This is where our daily repentance as we remember the blessings of our Baptism fit in.  This is where our daily devotional and prayer life come in.  This is putting on the armor in order to do battle with the devil.

    Without God’s armor, we are helpless.  Without God’s protection, we will fall early and easily.  Yet God has promised to guard and protect us.  God has promised to give us the tools and the strength to withstand the devil’s onslaught.  We only need to trust in God’s Word and hold fast to his promise.  Through this, we will ultimately be victorious.  It is by God’s grace and his benevolence that we will always come out the victor.

Gracious Father, we stand up to the devil because of your mercy and grace.  Guard us by your holy hand and strengthen us as the devil attacks.  Be with those who are especially vulnerable and in tremendous need of your protection.  Hide them in the shadow of your wings.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

10-26-2017

Good Morning All,

       Habakkuk 2:4b; “but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

    What do you live by?  Some people live by sight.  They claim that they have to see it.  They claim that they have to have visual contact to assure that something is real or not.  If they can’t see it; it doesn’t exist.  Yet how many things do we not see but we know they exist?  They may be small or far away or exist in total darkness; yet we know they exist.  We experience the result of the actions of these small particles.  We know electrons exist by the shock we get from them; yet we never see them.  So living by sight might not be that great.

     Some live by touch.  They need to feel things to know that they are real.  They need the wind in their face or the spray of the rain to know it is real.  If it cannot be held or touched it is not real because reality has substance.  Yet how do they explain the pain of a heartbreak?  How do they explain sadness or happiness?  We know these exist but we can’t touch them.

     Some people live by knowledge.  They claim that they must have complete understanding of something for it to exist for them.  If they don’t understand it, they reject it.  Everything must fit into their way of thinking.  The problem with this is that it leaves no room for the fact that none of us can ever know everything.  How do we explain new ideas or objects?  We can only deny them if we follow the idea that if I don’t know it then it cannot exist.  It also leaves no room for learning. 

    So how do we live?  Scriptures tell us that the righteous shall live by faith.  But what does this mean?  The easiest way to think of this is that faith means the desire to trust in God’s promise.  The righteous are those who God has declared to be holy, separate from the sinful world.  So we live, separated from the sinful world, because we trust in God’s promise of forgiveness and salvation.  We trust God to deliver on his promises and we separate our self from the world.  This can be a challenge.  When all your friends call abortion a choice, fidelity an old fashioned idea, or homosexuality a lifestyle, what do you do?  God calls these sins and calls us to flee from them.

    They are sins because they go against God’s will and design.  They destroy the gifts that God has given to us.  They pull us back into the pit of despair that God has pulled us out of.  There are others than the three listed and the three listed aren’t any worse than any others.  Sin separates us from God.  It is that simple.  Yet God brings us back into his family by forgiving our sins.  By faith, by trusting God’s promise to forgive, we remain in that family but we must remain faithful to God’s promise and his call to righteousness and holiness.  We are to be his people in this world, a light in the darkness, hope for the hopeless and comfort for the hurting.  We live by faith because we trust in God’s promise.

Wonderful Father, your mercies are new to us each day.  Thank you for giving me the ability and the desire to trust in your promise.  Thank you for declaring me righteous in your sight.  Help me to live the life that you have laid out for me.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret