11-16-2020

 Good Morning All, 

        Isaiah 32:18; “My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places”. 

      I often hear people tell me how they need to get away for a while.  They need a break, and they need to rest and recharge.  I recently read where if you are having trouble sleeping, research seems to point to going camping for a week and to be sure and leave ALL your electronic devices home.  This helps to reset our natural clock and the rhythm of normal sleep patterns.  As technologically connected as we are, it can, and often does, disrupt our life patterns and rhythms.  If your life patterns and rhythms are disrupted enough, it can have a detrimental impact on your health. 

    So, it is interesting that Isaiah picks up on this.  Notice in our verse he lists three events or places for us, as God’s children to be.  First, we will abide in peaceful habitation.  Here we can see the relationship that we have with God is no longer one where we are the adversary or enemy of God, but that God has declared peace with us through Jesus.  We live in peace with God.  We no longer hide from God; he draws us into his loving arms.

    Since we are no longer an enemy of God, he surrounds us with his love.  This is what the psalmist meant about us “hiding in the shadow of your wings.”  Just like the young chick is kept safe and secure all nestled into the wings of the hen so to we are secure in our dwelling which finds its place in God’s grace.

    So, we have a peaceful and secure place to live.  We dwell (set up camp) in the safety of God’s mercy.  This is where we are always safe and at peace, living in God’s mercy.  Yet even then, we face struggles every day.  The devil attacks every moment of every day.  It takes many forms; pressure on our time, pressure on the views of the world, pressure about worries about health or wealth or personal relationships.  God helps us deal with this but, just like Jesus, sometimes we need a quiet place to go and pray and rest.

    So, we too, need a place to go and pray and rest in the Lord.  As difficult as it is, we need to take some time and rest in God’s presence.  We need to take some time, find a quiet spot, read a little Scripture, and then take time and pray.  This can help you rest just as much as the vaunted power nap, maybe even more.  It rests our bodies, but it nourishes our souls.  It revitalizes our spirit to make us whole.

    So find a spot, a favorite chair, a bench in the park (it might need to be warmer, but it will be), a seat on the deck; someplace where you can tune out the noise of the world, focus on God’s Word and rest in his mercy.  Take time to listen to God and to speak to God; it is here where we find our resting place.

Father of mercy, in a world that offers no place of safety or rest, you are our shield, our hope and our home.  Guide us to find rest in your arms.  Hide us in the shadow of your grace filled wings.  Be with those who have no peace.  Send your Holy Spirit to strengthen and comfort them.  Be with us gracious Lord.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

11-15-2020

 Good Morning All, 

             Matthew 5:7; “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

       There was a man that I used to know many years ago, he has since died.  You would run into him at the local elevator or the local co-op.  You might see him at the local Memorial Day service in town.  He was just an average run of the mill guy.  There wasn’t anything special about him.  He wasn’t rich or poor.  He was not particularly handsome or ugly; he was just a man.

    Yet he was the saddest and the bitterest person that I had ever met.  He remembered, vividly, every single slight that any neighbor or anyone who he knew had done to him.  He could remember the time someone did not say “hi” to him as he walked down the street.  He remembered the neighbor whose cows got out and into his newly plowed field.  He could remember the time the fuel delivery guy was a day late delivering fuel.  He could remember which neighbor did and did not come to help him when he had been hurt.  He remembered it all and he relived it every time he saw someone who would listen.  He lived his life as a sullen, unhappy man.  He never had a smile or a kind word.  Most people would go out of their way to avoid him.  It must have been an incredible disappointing life.

    This is what the Bible is telling us about forgiveness.  Sin refuses to give forgiveness.  Sin tells you to hold onto the grudge, to make sure you get even.  What sin does not tell you is the unbelievable toll that this attitude causes you.  You have no contentment, you have no peace, you have no joy; you only have sorrow and pain.  Those who are not merciful reject God’s mercy.  Those who are not forgiving, hold onto the sins which God has forgiven but they have not.  So, by clutching to that sin; you reject God.  It is not that we earn mercy or have it by merit, rather it is that we reject God’s mercy.

    When we reject God, we reject the peace and contentment that he gives us; we simply try to walk away.  When we walk away from God, from his mercy, love, gentleness, and hope; we walk toward anger, hatred, jealousy, and an uneasy and unhappy life.  We live the life of that angry, bitter man and that is not the life that God intends for us.  The life he intends for us is one of contentment, peace, love, and hope.  “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you” is what God tells us.  It is the life we can grab hold of, but we must let go first.  We must let go of our sin and then let go of our neighbor’s sin against us.  God invites you to let go of your anger, your pain, and your sorrow. 

    So be merciful, let the sins of others go.  They only cause you pain as you hold onto them.  They only let others control your happiness.  Give them up and enjoy God’s mercy in your life.

Gracious and tender Father, through your mercy you bring us back into your holy family.  Teach us to see that our contentment is about the mercy we show.  Guide us by your Spirit to see that our happiness comes from you and is best expressed by showing love to others.  Be with those who will not let go of the pain.  Give the desire to seek your will and trust in your promise.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

11-14-2020

         Hebrews 12:2; “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

      I confess, I am a “gawker.”  You see, I am the son of a farmer who is the son of a farmer who was the son of a farmer and so on.  I think it is genetic.  All spring, summer, and fall, whenever we drive I love to look at the crops.  It used to be fun to look and see how straight the corn rows were but with auto-steer that isn’t what it used to be.  I still like to look at the grain as it is growing.  I still like to look at the hay as it is being mowed and baled.  I like to look at the cattle in the pasture, especially early in the season when the calves are still young and will jump and play.  Yeah, I am a gawker; I love it.  It scares the devil out of my wife though.

    You see I am not only a gawker, I am a “turner” as well.  If I am looking to the left pretty soon I am driving to the left.  Then as I look to the right I started driving to the right.  When she rides with me; there are at least three “lookouts!” and when she calls me by my full given name and then says “lookout!”; well you lookout.  On those times when she didn’t ride with me; well the ditch was a gentle slope so it wasn’t that big a deal.  

     This event is very epidemic among farmers, especially those who are somewhat age enhanced.  I think it starts from when you first learn to plow.  When you strike out to plow, you pick a spot in the distance.  It might be a tree or a fence post or you might walk to the end and place a flag of some sort.  So as you plow, you keep your eyes focused on that point.  As long as you never take your eye off of that point, you will drive straight at it.  If you look away, even for a second or two you will start to veer off course.  So down through life, you drive where you look.

      This tends to be true in our faith walk as well.  Whatever we look to tends to be the way that we go.  If we look to the Bible for our guidance and answers we tend to stay there.  If we “gawk” and listen to those who spout lies and untruths well, we tend to pull that way.  If we look to those who say God is dead, non-existent or irrelevant, well we tend to think maybe that is so.  If we look to those who say that the most important thing in all the world is personal happiness and that we have, not only the right, but the duty to pursue that at all costs; well soon we start to lose our compassion for others.

    Luther defined a “god” like this: A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need.  To have a god is nothing else that to trust and believe him with your whole heart… that to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God.”  Who is your God, who do you look to?  Who do you see as the pioneer and perfecter of your faith?  Trust in Jesus!!

Father, keep me focused upon your amazing grace and love that I have in Jesus.  Help me to see that this is how I grow and live within the safety of your arms.  Be with those who are distracted and bring their eyes back to you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

11-13-2020

 Good Morning All, 

      John 3:5; “Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”

          “You put your right hand in, You put your right hand out, You put your right hand in, And you shake it all about, You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around That what it's all about.”  Do you remember this?  I think most people at one time or another, in their youth, sang this little ditty.  The thing about this song that is curious; I read on the internet (naturally) one time.  It asked the question: “The Hokey Pokey; what if that is what it’s all about?”

    I giggled, at first, but then thought about the many people in the world who do not know or believe in the redemption of Jesus.  Without faith in your life, what is your life all about?  These people have no meaning of life.  When we do not live in a faith relationship with God, or maybe we have lost sight of that relationship, we cannot understand the ultimate purpose in our lives.  We do not see the true purpose for our life.

    This is where many often go off and look for other ideas.  Some seek total sensual satisfaction.  It might be drugs and alcohol; it might be sex; it might be seeking all the wealth you can find.  Some seek some form of introspective self- religion which leaves them empty.  Through it all, searching for what they will never find.  The good thing is that God is seeking them.

    We find our purpose, not through some strange life or actions; rather we find it because God gives us new life and restores our purpose.  Through Baptism, we have new life, and we live in Christ.  Our life has meaning, it has purpose.  We get a new beginning.  God gives us the gift of a “do over” every day.  Every day we get to live as his dear children.  We see our life as being one that is blessed by him.  We look forward to eternal life with him.  With this new life, with us being born of the Spirit, we now have a new desire in life.  We no longer desire the sinful and the emptiness; we desire to live in God’s grace. 

    Now that does not mean that we do not occasionally slip back into that destructive mode, we still have a sinful nature.  But we do know that it is wrong, conscience and the Holy Spirit will tell us that.  Being shown that it is wrong, we are then shown how to fix it; by trusting in God’s mercy and forgiveness.  We are made his holy children by Baptism and with this we are given new life with a new purpose; to live the life that he has laid out for us and to show his love to those around us and THAT is what it’s all about!

Father of all mercy, we are overwhelmed by your grace and love.  Guide us by your Spirit to trust in you.  You give us new life each day.  Through you we have new birth.  Lead us to rejoice in that new life.  Lead us to live the life of purpose for you.  Lead us to be your light in this dark world.  Guide us by your grace. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

 

11-12-2020

Good Morning All, 

           Romans 15:13; “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

       It was the phone call that every parent fears.  There had been a car accident.  Someone had run through a stop sign, never even slowed down.  Neither car was recognizable.  Six high school kids all together in the two vehicles.  Two were dead, three in serious condition and one was flown to a larger hospital.  When the parents of the one that was flown out arrived at the hospital, the doctors sat down with them and had a rather short discussion with them. 

   The doctors explained that there was internal bleeding and massive head trauma.  They would know more in a couple of days, but the doctors told the parents, “there isn’t much hope.”  That kind of a statement can be very difficult to handle.  No one wants to hear that there is no hope.  No one wants to feel that all is lost.  To lose hope is to lose everything.  That is why the devil tries so hard to deprive you of hope, when you lose hope; you have nothing.

    That is what God gives us; he gives us hope.  He gives us hope because we know that sin, the devil and even death do not hold us.  They will take their swipes at us, but they do not own us or control us.  We have the certainty of God’s promise of salvation.  We have God’s promise of life eternal with him.  This is his guarantee.  Eternal life with God living, celebrating, and rejoicing in the perfect creation; that is what we have waiting for us.  The devil can never take that away from us.

    Even though bad things happen to us, we always have hope.  Hope in the certainty of God’s eternal love.  Hope is the certainty of eternal life.  That is what we cling to.  All those loved ones, some we think left us too soon, will be reunited with us in heaven.  We will share eternal life with all the saints in the glory of God.  We have hope.  The lies and the pain that the devil throws at us are only attacks and not truths.  We are never without hope.  We will face the pain of this broken world; sin causes pain, it always has, and it always will but it will not destroy us.  It will not take from us what God gives us; sin will not take away our hope.

     So even though there may be times of pain and struggle, we can face them.  We can face them knowing that our heavenly Father is there with us.  Keeping us in his arms as we face the battles of this broken world.  We face the fight, but we are never alone, and we know that we will be with our loved ones again when Christ returns, and we are all reunited with him in love and glory.  We face the battles, but we face them with the certainty of hope.  We have hope that God is love and his reign is eternal.  We have hope that our present pain is nowhere near our future glory.  We have hope; we always have and always will.

Father of love, in you we have hope.  Help us to never lose sight of this.  Help us to always look to you for our hope.  We ask that you be with those who feel that they have lost all hope.  Send your spirit of comfort and use us to bring the consolation which they need.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

11-11-2020

 Good Morning All, 

         1 Corinthians 6:11; “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God”

     Earlier this spring, I stopped at a drive through to get lunch.  While I waited my turn, I watched a 3 or 4-year-old boy walk in the parking lot.  He had a pair of rubber or plastic water boots on.  They were bright yellow with black polka dots.  They went up to his knees.  As he walked with his mother, he walked by a small puddle of water.  This puddle was about 6 inches in size and was about two cups of water; it was not much of a puddle, but he tried to jump and splash in it any way.

    That can mean only one thing, it was the time of year when little boys (and some little girls) will hear those words from their mother, “TAKE THOSE MUDDY BOOTS OFF BEFORE YOU COME INTO THE KITCHEN; I JUST SCRUBBED THE FLOOR!”  Even if the little guy only wants a drink of water, or worse, really needs the bathroom; He must be far cleaner than he is to get into the house.  He is banished to be out of the house until he gets cleaned up.  Now mom still loves him dearly, but he needs to be much cleaner before he is allowed in the house.

    This is the exact state that we find our self in when we try to come to God.  Our sins make us too dirty to come into his presence.  We need to be completely and totally clean; we can have no sin present, or we cannot enter.  This presents a great problem all sin so we can never really enter into God’s presence.  So, God does what this little boy’s mother, He comes to us and cleans us up.  Just like mom, who comes outside with a washcloth, God comes to us and washes us with water and Spirit to cleanse us.  Just like mom who pulls the muddy boots off our feet and then carries us into the house so we stay clean; God cleanses you of your sins and carries you forward in grace and mercy into his house.  It is here that we can rest in his comforting presence.

    And just like little boys (and little girls) everywhere, we need to be cleansed every day.  We need to be cleansed of our sins every single moment of every day.  God, because of his incredible love for you, does this as he shows us in our Baptism.  We are washed, cleansed, sanctified by the Spirit.  We are declared holy by this sacred washing.  We are declared clean enough to enter the house, the whole house, where we can come to God, our Father, in that holy conversation called prayer.  We can rest in the comfort of his arms and be renewed and strengthened by his mercy.  We are clean because of his love.

Father of all mercy, you cleanse us through the waters of Baptism.  You wash us clean and give us new birth.  We are born anew into your holy family.  Guide us as we travel this path.  Cleanse us we pray so that we may always live safely in your arms.  In the name of Jesus our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

11-10-2020

 Good Morning All, 

        Daniel 3: 24-25; “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”  He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

     It did not quite go as King Nebuchadnezzar had planned.  He built a huge idol, and all the people were to bow down and worship.  Yet three men told him: “no.”  The king did not like being told no so he decided to teach these men a lesson.  So, he had these men thrown into a fiery furnace, so hot that the men standing outside of it were killed by the heat.  So, the king had these three men thrown into the furnace but when they looked in; they saw four men walking around.  The fourth looked like a son if the gods.

     There are many things we can take away from this story.  The one we want to look at today is that faith does not always keep us out of the fire.  Sometimes we face some huge challenges.  Some seem almost insurmountable and they are if we tackle them alone.  We can face struggles in our families.  Many sociological reports continually show the steady decline in the viability of the family.  In a few years, it would appear that the traditional nuclear family will be in a very distinct minority.  How do we face that challenge?

    We see struggles with our jobs and financial situation.  No matter how much we work or how hard; there never seems to be enough.  On those rare days when we do feel a little ahead, suddenly, the car needs some major repairs, and we start all over again.  Sometimes we struggle with our health and we wonder if it is ever going to be better.

    Sometimes we struggle because of our faith.  We are ridiculed; we are made illegal. We are called intolerant, arrogant, stupid and many other things; some by our own family.  “Get with the times; don’t be so old-fashioned!”  Where do we go?  We go to God.

    No matter what happens in our life, God is the only true hope that we have.  Only God and his grace will see us through.  Yet we might still have to face the fire.  We might still have to be tossed about by a sinful and broken world.  We might still have to face some pain in this world, but we do not have to face it alone.  God is always with us and he gives us his church to be with us as well.  We should always rest assured that our brothers and sisters in faith will stand with us.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ will give to us the consolation that God gives to us.

     In our passage, we often see the fourth man as Jesus.  Yet we could also see him as our earthly brothers and sisters who God sends to be with us at times of trials.  Either way, God is there for us with his Spirit of hope.

Dearest Father, when we face the fires of this life; keep us safe in your arms.  Hold us tight.  Be with those who are feeling the extreme heat at this time.  Keep them confident in their faith and give to them the comfort and the consolation that they need.  In the name of Jesus our precious risen Savior, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret