5-15-2020

Good Morning All, 

           Romans 8:27; “And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

     I was watching an old Jimmy Stewart movie the other day titled “Anatomy of a Murder.”   It is based on a true event where a soldier walks into a tavern and kills the owner and then leaves.  The version of events that he and his wife state is that the tavern owner raped the wife one night.  The wife goes home and tells the husband; he loads his pistol, drives down to the tavern, and shoots the tavern owner.  The soldier is acquitted because of something called “irresistible impulse”.  This is like an insanity plea in that the person is unable to resist the impulse to do what he does.  Usually, the person experiences some form of intense emotional upheaval.  The soldier is found not guilty.  It is a good tense movie with some big names and has an ironic twist at the end.

    Throughout the trial, the back and forth was “what was on his mind?”  “What was he thinking?”  “Did he know that what he was doing was wrong?”  The defense and the prosecution went back and forth until a not guilty verdict comes back.  The question came down to how we know what another person is thinking.  How do we know?  We cannot look into their mind or heart and see what their desire is; we can only guess.  So how do we know?

    The deep-down basic truth is that we cannot ever know with 100% certainty what another person is thinking or what their motives are.  There is always some level of uncertainty.  For us as humans we can never be sure, did the man in the movie really know what he was doing, or did he have a hidden reason?    We may never know what someone thinks or feels but God does.

     This can be one of the great comforts in our life.  There may be times in your life when you only know the pain or the sorrow.  You only know the hurt; you do not see any remedy or relief in sight.  You only seek to have the pain relieved.  You seek after God’s grace to heal you.  You may not know how to find it; you only know that you need his love and grace desperately.  We may not know what to say or how to say it, but the Holy Spirit searches our heart and our soul.  He knows our mind and our needs.  He knows how to pray and what to say in these times of pain and sorrow.  With the Spirit’s intercession, God has mercy on us.  With the Spirit’s intercession and cries for mercy for us, God responds with his grace and sends us comfort; he sends us hope.  We are his dear children; he will never fail us.

Father of all grace and mercy, through your great love and mercy we have the comfort of your loving arms surrounding us and lifting us up in times of distress.  You heal us in your great compassion.  Send your knowing and searching Spirit to seek out the hurting, the suffering and the lost.  Heal their pain and bind their wounds.  In the precious name of Jesus our Risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

5-14-2020

Good Morning All, 

          2 Timothy 1:5; “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”

   Who did you hear it from?  Who was the first person you remember who taught you about Jesus?  Most would probably say a grandmother or grandfather or mom or dad or a favorite Sunday School teacher or maybe even an aunt or an uncle; most learned at an early age.  For some it was much later, your spouse or a friend or co-worker might fit the bill, but we all have one thing in common; someone told us about Jesus.  It is one thing that makes faith so precious and valuable; your faith has been handed down from one generation to the next.  If you could do it; you could trace your faith back to the original 12 apostles and then to Jesus because that is how we get it.

    “Faith comes by hearing”, Paul tells us and if we hear someone talks and it is usually a family member or close friend the first time.  This is the way it works; this is the way God designed it.  From the earliest times, God designed that faith would be handed down from one to another.  After the Exodus, God told the people of Israel to be ready when your children ask about the ceremony of the Passover and to tell the children what God did for them and how he saved them.  Early on the directive was to teach the children and teach them at an early age.  At Mount Sinai God directed them to “impress them upon your children’s heart”; that means to pass the faith onto the next generation.  Give it to them like the precious gift that it is.

    Our verse refers to Timothy as Paul was writing to him for the last time.  Paul commented on Timothy’s faith and how that faith had dwelled and been passed down to him from his mother and grandmother.  The one who Paul viewed as his adopted son in Christ came to faith because of his mother and grandmother; just the same as many of us.

     This is how God designed the passing of faith; by the quiet and gentle teaching of one to another.  There is no earth shattering events just a simple growing in the faith.  We all know that our children watch us like hawks. They observe our choices and decisions and compare them to what we say we believe. Children do as we do, not as we say. When we choose according to life, following God’s precepts, we demonstrate authentic faith to our family. We prove our love for God, our ability to hear His voice, and our desire to cling to Him by choosing to follow His direction. One way that our family chose to do this was by praying for our neighbors. Often, we would go door to door with our small group and ask our neighbors if we could pray with them. This action proved our belief system more to our children than a thousand Sunday school lessons. It was faith in action, in practice; faith made real. 

    So, live a faithful life; let your children see your faith in practice; prayer, Bible reading, worshipping together all make great and proper impressions.

Father, thank you for those loved ones in my life who passed the faith to me.  Give me the wisdom to pass my faith onto the next ones.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-13-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Isaiah 53:7; “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”

      I remember watching an old gangster movie.  There was a turf war between three rival fang families.  During the middle of this gang war, one of the members of one of the families turned over and became a member of a different family gang.  The first family met and decided that they could not allow this to happen, so they decided to have the man killed.  If they let one man defect, then who knows how many more would try.  They could not allow this, so they decided to make an example of the defector.  “It was nothing personal” the head of the gang even kind of liked him but, “this was business.”

    “Nothing personal, just business”; how often have we heard or used that phrase in our conversations?  It is designed to put distance between the people involved.  If we can distance our self from the consequences of our actions, it makes it easier to continue in a guilt free manner.  After all, what we do for the sake of business is just that; it is business, it is never personal even if that business is murdering a former friend.  We may not go to that extreme, but we may not think twice about sabotaging a co-worker’s reputation or undermining a neighbor’s chance at expanding his business.

     We like to have things as business and not personal but when it comes to the death of Jesus, it is extremely personal.  He was betrayed with a kiss on the cheek, up close and personal.  He was abandoned by his closest and best friends at the time of his greatest need.  He was beaten with fists and rods and with a whip; his attackers were close enough that his blood splattered on them in an up close and personal manner.  The nails were driven in his hands by someone else’s hands.  It was all personal; driven by anger, jealousy, and hatred.

    It was personal; Jesus’ death was very personal.  It occurred because Jesus personally loves you.  He loves you enough to have taken up the odious task of dying for you.  He loves you enough to have taken the greatest step anyone can take; he died for you.  He died for the sins which you committed that have taken you away from God’s perfect garden.  By his death, he has restored you to the rightful place in his kingdom.  By his death, he personally saved you.  It was not business or an obligation; it was a greater love than we can ever fathom.

Gracious Father, your mercies are new to us every day.  Because of your great love for me, because you personally chose me to be your child, you sent Jesus to die for me and to bring me salvation.  In your grace, you give me hope.  Keep me strong in my faith that I may ever hold fast to you.  Keep me strong in my allegiance to you that I may ever serve you in your kingdom everlasting.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-12-2020

    Good Morning All, 

          Ecclesiastes 3:1; “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven”

“Some days are diamonds some days are stones    
Sometimes the hard times won't leave me alone
  Sometimes a cold wind blows a chill in my bones
 Some days are diamonds some days are stones.”

This is the chorus to a song by John Denver entitled “Some Days are Diamonds and some Days are Stone.”  It was a song that was more of a lament about the breakup of a relationship between a man and a woman and how the singer suffered from it.  Some days were good, but some days were not so good.

    For many of us, this does not describe a relationship meltdown; it is our life.  Someone who lives with chronic pain can tell you about this very easily.  Someone who has or deals with someone who has some form of condition like being bipolar or schizophrenic or early forms of dementia can tell you that “he has some good days and some bad days” or “some days are diamonds and some days are stone.”

    This can also occur when we experience some great upheaval in our life as well.  The sudden death of a spouse or a loved one, the loss of a job, a divorce, even a shattered dream can cause us pain.  Some days we can function quite well but some days we just want to stay home, in bed with the lights off and just cry.  Some days are diamonds and some days are stone.  There are god days and bad.  There are wonderful times and horrible times.  The birth of a child or grandchild, a marriage, a job promotion, we often see this as wonderful events “diamond days” you could call them.  Yet we have those other days as well, a health report that ends with “there is nothing more we can do” or a knock on the door and a man in a uniform telling you “I am sorry to tell you that there has been an accident and no one survived…”  or “I’m sorry, I don’t love you anymore.”  These days are definitely “stone days.”

    What we need to remember is that God told us this would happen.  That is what the first part of the third chapter of Ecclesiastes is about.  There is a time for everything under the sun.  There will be times that are very painful for us.  There will be times of brokenness in our lives; so, he encourages us to be ready for them; but how?

   We need to know who is in control and that no matter what; our salvation is secure, and God’s comfort is always there for us.  We need to know that while God may allow the pain to run deep; it will never run wide.  Our pain will never darken God’s love for us.  Our struggles will never cause God to turn his back on us.  We can focus on God’s love to help ease the pain.  God places a wall on our suffering; we can give thanks that it exists.

Gracious Father, at times I am at my wit’s end.  At times I am broken and downcast.  On the days of stone let me know your love, let me know your mercy and on my days of diamond remind me to sing your loud praises with joy in my heart.  For you are our God and we are your people.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

5-11-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Deuteronomy 32:10; “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.”

     There is a story about a young teacher who gave an apple to each of her students.  She told them to look at them closely, study them.  She told them to feel the shape, notice the texture, the different bumps, and nicks on the skin.  She told them to carefully study their apple, to close their eyes and to visualize and imagine what it looks and feels like.  Next, the teacher collected the apples and put them in a basket.  She mixed them up and then had the students come forward and pick out their apple.  Each student was able to pick out their apple.  They knew the apple that they had studied and claimed as their own.

    In our verse, we read about being the apple of God’s eye.  This thought or idea is referenced four or five different times (depends on translation) in the Old Testament.  Its meaning in the Bible is the same as what we normally use it as; to have or to be someone special and that we keep close tabs on.  For some of us we may keep a close eye on a nephew or niece or a neighbor kid that has a special attachment.  Maybe they share your interest or hobby, maybe they just are the apple of your eye.  You feel an affinity for them, so you always watch for them and always look out for their well-being.  Perhaps you send them a card for their birthday or just a note saying you are thinking of them.

    We see that God has that same yearning for us.  He knows us, personally and intimately.  He reached down into our messy world and picked us out and knows us.  He knows each of us by our own bumps and marks.  He knows them by the way which we got them, through the struggles and battles of life.  Yet through all our struggles, he never left us; he never abandoned us.  He sends us his words of love and encouragement; he sends us his words of hope.  He feeds and cleanses us with his sacraments.  We are never out of his sight or out of his love.  He rescues us because of his incredible love for us.

    So, despite our struggles in this life, we are never alone; we are never left to battle the fear and the despair on our own.  We never need to feel lonely because we are never truly alone.  God is always there to give us the comfort and the hope that we need.  We are the apple of his eye.

Father, your love for us is beyond what we can ever imagine.  Keep us in the shadow of your wings of mercy and nurture our faith that we may stand strong in facing this life’s battles.  You give us the courage and the hope to overcome.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

5-10-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Ruth 4:15; “He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

     The story told in the Book of Ruth is an incredibly unique story.  It starts with a man, his wife and their two sons moving to a new country.  While they are there, the husband dies.  Yet the two sons each got married so life went on.  But then it gets tragic; both sons die.  So, it is the woman, her name is Naomi, is left in a strange land with her widowed daughters-in-law.  This is not a real good way to be.  Women had very few ways to earn a living.  They were wives and mothers, or they were beggars or prostitutes.  Occasionally they might be heralded as a prophetess or a priestess, but this was exceedingly rare.  Most women faced a brutal life outside of a marriage, especially in a foreign land.

     So, Naomi decided to pack up and go home to Bethlehem but even that was not a great option.  She had been gone so long she wasn’t even sure she had any relatives who might consider taking her in.  So, she tried to get her two daughters-in-law to go back to their family as she had nothing to offer them.  One went back but one, named Ruth, went back with her.  Yet as she travelled; she was despondent and sad; what fate faced them when they returned?  Naomi was so sure that nothing good awaited them that she told anyone who asked to call her “Mara” because her life was bitter.  Yet God acted.  A redeemer, a man named Boaz took her back and then he married Ruth.  This provided for Naomi and she no longer had a life of pain and struggle ahead of her.  She had, as our verse says, “a restorer of life and a nourisher in your old age.”

    Have you ever experienced a time in your life that seemed beyond hope?  Maybe you feel that way right now.  It may seem like there is nothing left for you; it may seem that all things of value are gone.  The people you loved, the job you adored, the health that you enjoyed are now all seemingly long gone.  The thing we must do is to hang on.  We need to hang on to our faith and to trust in God’s mercy.  Even in our darkest hour God has sent us a redeemer to buy us back and to rescue us from our sorrow.

   Jesus came for that reason; to rescue us from all our sorrow and our despair.  God can be and should be trusted to reach down and to lift you out of the pit of despair and from the deep waters of hopelessness. He knows your pain and knows your sorrow.  He is able to lift your burdens and to carry your heart.  He will restore you; he will nourish you and he will provide for you and all your needs.

Father, you are our only source of hope.  In you do we find our redemption through Jesus.  Lift us from the well of sorrows.  Pull us from the deep waters of despair and lift our hearts and our spirits that we may know your joy.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

5-9-2020

Good Morning All, 

        Psalm 18:30; “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”

    “Thick skinned”; it is something that we tell ourselves we have to be.  “You have to be thick skinned to be a ________.”  You can fill in the blank with a teacher, or a coach or a nurse or a secretary or whatever profession that you wish.  We all know that we face times, times of stress or attacks, when we need a thick skin to avoid the pain that can occur when cruel remarks or times of harsh criticism strikes.  You might be the clerk who has to listen to a customer berate you for the store not having the product they want to buy.  You might be the waiter or waitress who has to listen to the customer who is dissatisfied with the quality of the meal.  You might be the employee who receives the blame from your boss over the loss of a sale.  The list goes on and on.  There are many times when we need to be thick skinned.

    Our verse speaks of God who provides a thick skin for us.  The word shield here roughly translates to the scaly hide of a crocodile.  It was one of the better shields at this time.  It was lightweight, easy to carry and maneuver but able to resist the attacks that were launched at it.  This is how we can see God.  He protects us from the attacks of the devil.  He is able to quickly and easily respond to all the different ways that the devil will attack us.  Whether it is through causing doubts, or encouraging fear, or causing intense sorrow; the devil has many ways to attack us.  Yet we only have one defense, we only have the Word of the Lord as our shield as our thick skin.  And we know that the Word of the Lord is living and active.  We know that it will protect those whom he loves, and he loves you.

    So, when the battles of this life occur, we need to seek out our refuge in the only sure defense that we have; we need to hide in God’s eternal love.  We will face problems in this world; God has warned us of that.  We know that they are only temporary and that the devil will not win.  We know that our victory is guaranteed by the blood of Jesus and that victory has been given to us through faith at our Baptism.  It is at our Baptism, where we are marked and claimed by God, where the down payment for God’s promise to us is made, that we begin to get to use the shield forever.  The shield is given to us to protect us from the devil and his pain.  We are given God’s great promise of love and mercy.  We have God as our shield, and nothing can ever harm that.

Father, you are our rock and our fortress.  You alone give us hope.  In you we have a shield to defend us from all that the world throws at us.  You lift us up with your mercy that we might be saved by you.  Grant us peace in this life that we may ever hold fast to you.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret