6-17-2021

 Good Morning All!

    Deuteronomy 11:9, “and that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.” 

    We are going to live in a land of milk and honey.  That is a phrase we don’t use much.  It refers to a land that is bounteous and fruitful.  So, do we live in a land that is flowing with milk and honey?  It is always kind of funny to listen to farmers talk.  Most will always tell you that they farm the worst ground in the area.  One farmer told me that when the soil surveyor came through and surveyed the land; the surveyor told him that he would starve to death before he raised a family on this land.  Another tells the story of sending in a soil sample to a soil lab to be analyzed.  He received a letter from the lab telling him that he sent the wrong sample but that his dog has worms.  A fair number claim to farm in “No Hope Township”.  So apparently, most of us do not think we farm or live in the land flowing with milk and honey.

    A lot of this is just the humble nature of most farmers; they usually do not brag too loudly about what they do.  Some might be self-preservation.  If you are renting good land, you do not want everyone to know and then try to bid it away from you.  But deep down, do you live in a land flowing with milk and honey?

    This phrase has always fascinated me because when you look at the land that the children of Israel occupied; it would be hard to call it the land flowing with milk and honey.  It is mostly a desert and is about the only Middle Eastern country without any oil.  They build dams to catch the spring runoff from the mountains to have water for their gardens. How is this, the land flowing with milk and honey?

      The reason that it is the land flowing with milk and honey has nothing to do with the dirt of the land but with the owner of the land.  The children of Israel were living in the land that God was giving to them, as a gift, keeping a promise that he made to their forefathers.  It was a land flowing with milk and honey, not because it grew 250-bushel corn or 75-bushel soybeans, but because the children of Israel were living in the covenant of God’s grace.

      We too, live in a land flowing with milk and honey.  We live in God’s grace.  We are his children, righteous and redeemed before God.  We call him Father and he hears us; he embraces us with the love that we cannot even begin to fathom.  We see that love in the life of Jesus; we see it in the empty tomb.  We see it in the promise of salvation that is ours.  We see it when we join in the communion of saints and the holy fellowship with our fellow believers. 

     We live in a land flowing with milk and honey.  We receive God’s blessings when we deserve his wrath; we receive his mercy when we deserve his judgment.  God’s love for us gives us our land flowing with milk and honey and nothing can take it away.

 Dear Father, your mercies are new everyday as we live in your land flowing with milk and honey.  Forgive us when we are slow to see the wonders of your love and the greatness of your grace.  Guide us to live out our lives in such a way that we draw others to live in your land as well.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

6-16-2021

 Good Morning All!

             2 Corinthians 12:9; “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

    “These are the times that try men’s souls.”  That is the opening line of a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine during the Revolutionary War.  It was written at a time of uncertainty during the war.  As you read it, you get the sense of stress that he feels.  This was written during a national emergency when our liberty hung in the balance.  How come, at the end of the day, does it feel like this is the summation of the day?

     Do you have days like that; the ones that really make you stress out?  Granted, it may not be of national importance; but it stills matters to me and it still feels awfully difficult.   All of us experience those days.  The co-worker that just pushes and pushes our buttons; the child who has moved away and we worry about if they listened to anything we said.  The new in-law who has thrown a monkey wrench into everything; the spouse who does not seem to care anymore.  We deal with vehicles and equipment that always seems to break down at the most inconvenient time.  We have those days that try our souls.

    One thing that I have noticed on those days is that my greatest source of stress is me.  I am the one who places the deadlines and goals in place.  I am the one who must do it all, all at once, in the fashion that I decide.  Did you notice these past few sentences; there are a lot of “I’s” in them.  Therein is the trouble.  My focus is inward, and I am not listening to the Spirit.  When you have days like this, listen to what Jesus says to us,” My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

     We stress about a lot of things.  We worry ourselves sick about many things that never happen.  Instead of placing our confidence, our faith, in Jesus and his all-powerful grace, we trust in “good old me” and we always fall short when I count on “me”.  When we realize that we are weak, so weak that we are totally helpless, completely unable to do anything for our own salvation, we see that all our hope is in Jesus.  That is what it means when Paul writes “my power is made perfect in weakness”.  Here perfect means complete or accomplished.  When we receive Jesus as our Savior and stop trying to do it all, Christ is there, waiting patiently to give us a hug and the comfort we experience with and though His wondrous grace.  So do not carry the weight of the world on your shoulders; trust in God and his ever-sufficient grace to give you the peace to have God’s holy rest.

Gracious Lord, we are often anxious and stressed about many things, but none are ever important, and none ever really matter when we see that all we have, and need is from your benevolent hand.  Be with those who are experiencing the pain of stress and anxiety.  Remove this from their hearts and lives and give them the comfort and the certainty of the hope in your salvation.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

6-15-2021

  Good Morning All!

         Romans 10: 9-10; “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” 

    How long does it take?  Have you ever asked that question?  How long does it take to take this test?  How long is the service going to be?  How long do I have to stay in the hospital?  How long is rehab?  How long will I be deployed overseas?  How long before we get paid?  We ask that question often usually because we associate the “cost” of doing something by the time we spend doing it.

    If you go into a restaurant, how long do you wait in line to get a table?  This depends on how good the food is and how much time we feel we have until the next appointment.  We place a premium on our time.  This is why people are often amazed at how long it takes you to accomplish some goals.  To be a doctor or a dentist takes college, med school and then internships or residencies totaling 10-15 years.  If you want to be a leader in China, they do not look at you unless you are over 70.  Some people spend most of their adult lives trying to find certain species of butterflies or certain types of stamps.  Some things take years to complete.

     For someone to study the Hindu or Buddhist religion, they will spend most of their life in study and contemplation at different schools of thought within the religion.  It takes just a few years to be a rabbi but many years to be one of the respected scribes who study the Torah and the Talmud.  It takes a long time to be involved in these religions.  This is usually because of the in-depth intricacies involved in the study.  It takes years to be able to clearly understand the nuances of the different teachings.

     That fact is one of the facets which make our Christian faith so unique.  It is easy because it does not depend on us, our knowledge or wisdom plays no role.  “If we confess with our mouth and believe with our heart, we are saved.” This is one of the reasons why I think so many people will be surprised by who is in heaven.  People, that the “religious” types viewed as suspect, will be sharing at the table of the feast with everyone else.  It is not our actions or our knowledge, but it is through our faith that we are saved.  Faith is the component and only God can see faith. 

   This is part of the reason why we should be very careful in how we judge others, especially our Christian brothers and sisters.  We do not know what is in someone else’s heart so we can only trust in God for his truth and allow them to live their life.  At times, we may have to address them if they are engaged in public sins, but we can only say what the Bible teaches and not what will happen to them.  We can say, “This action is contrary to God’s teachings” while we cannot say to someone, “You will go to hell for that.” 

    The good news is that we, too, only need faith.  We only need the faith which God gives us through his Holy Spirit.  We do not need degrees or letters after our name; we need Faith in our heart and a confessing mouth.

Father of all tender mercies, we give you thanks for the blessings which you shower us with daily.  We especially give you thanks for the simplicity of our faith.  Give us a free and willing spirit to surrender our lives to your will and serve you with joy everlasting in your kingdom.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret           

6-14-2021

 Good Morning All!

         James 1: 19-:20; “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.”

    I was listening to the radio the other day and it was playing “American Pie” by Don McLean.  If you are under 70 or so you probably remember it well.  It took forever to play.  The DJ’s used to call it the bathroom song because they could start playing it, go down the hall to the bathroom and come back before the song was over.  It was also known for the meaning of all the lines and the verses, who did this refer to or what is that a reference to.  There is one line about “my hands were clenched in fists of rage.”   This line refers to the anger and violence which occurred in the 60’s and early 70’s with all the riots and the anti-war protests.  It was a time when it seemed anger was the way to move forward.

   It sounds like it is that time again.  You sure hear a lot of anger when you listen to the news or any political review.  The painful reality looks like we do not talk with each other, we do not even talk at each other; we talk around each other.  What is painful is that we seem to take this attitude into all our life.  Do we really have meaningful conversations with each other anymore?  Do we really listen to each other or are we too busy trying to think of a rebuttal (not reply) for what the other says?  Do we really converse with our co-workers, employers/employees, friends, spouses, children/parents?

   Make a “fist of rage”.  What does it look like?  First, it is closed, tightly closed; like our willingness to listen and to love the other person.  It is shut to any words that someone else can say to us.  We don’t WANT to hear it.  We can but we do not want to.  Notice how it is turned in.  We turn all our attention inward; we focus on our real or imagined pain, indignation, and self-righteous arrogance.  When our hands are tightly closed, the only thing we can hold onto is our self.  Try to hold someone else’s hand and make a fist; you cannot do it.  When our hands are clenched in fists of rage, either literally or figuratively, our sinful nature focuses selfishly inward causing us to dream up all sorts of real or imagined hurts that we are suffering, and someone must pay for the pain we feel.  This ties into another line in the song “I saw Satan laughing with delight.”  The devil wins when we are angry because it does not produce the righteousness that God requires.

    Remember what Jesus told his disciples (you and me), “Love one another” “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”.  There is no place for anger in our lives; it does us no good.  Listen to what is said.  This takes not only our ears but our eyes as well.  How does he look when he says this, what tone does he use, is it from pain that he speaks?  Choose your words carefully.  Wait until he is done speaking, let it sink in for a minute or so, then respond.  Try to speak in a calm and quiet tone.  This is one of the devil’s best temptation to cause us to get angry and then to stumble into sin because of a careless word or thought.  Seek God’s help in controlling your anger, especially if you are in the right and the desire to defeat the other is great.  Use a gentle answer to turn away wrath. Anger only produces sin not the righteousness which God requires.

Father in heaven, all too often my fists are clenched in rage; forgive me that I am slow to listen and to forgive as you have forgiven me.  Strengthen me and give me the courage to open my hands to those around me and hold them as dearly as you hold me.  All this we ask in Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

6-13-2021

 

Good Morning All!

         John 8: 31-32; “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

    If you have been watching or reading the news, you have heard of the new phenomenon of something called “alternative facts.”  It would appear that the phrase “alternative facts” has different meanings dependent upon who uses it.  To some it means that there are more than one set of facts or truths about a situation.  To others it means lies and distortions.  Whatever the phrase means, it might very well be our new future.

    Many of us grew up at a time when we held to absolutes and truths.  There were specific facts which led to specific conclusions.  An example of a truth that many of us held was that the good of the whole was greater than the good of the individual.  Think of John Kennedy and his “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”  This was held up as the standard by what we lived by.  There may have been differences in the best way to achieve that truth but there was only that truth to aim for.

    The next generation grew up and lived with the idea that there was no single truth.  You could find many truths which we just as equal and valid.  We saw the rise of the phrases “competing studies” or “socio-economic biases” or “competing facts”.  We still held to truth but that truth could be crafted by our selective use of facts.  We would search for or create facts to back up our truth.  We might accept someone else’s facts as valid for them but not for us or we might reject them completely out of hand.

    Now, we seem to be entering an era when truth is whatever you declare it to be.  You do not need any sort of facts; you only need the desire to accept what you think or believe is true or at least true enough.  That is all you need to trust “alternative facts” or “alternative truths”.

    No matter how they try, the world and the devil will never change the great truth of our life; Jesus died to pay for your sins and that by believing in Him you will have life.  This is the truth that has been since the foundation of the earth.  It was God’s plan from before the beginning of time to redeem us from our sin and to give us life and salvation.  We may hear “alternatives” to this great truth but they are not alternatives but mere lies by the devil to deceive us.  We must always hold to the truth; Jesus died that you may live.

    This truth is the basis for all our hope.  Because Jesus died for us we now can face this world knowing the, despite every lie that it tells us, we have victory over it.  We have eternal life and God’s promise of always being there for us.  Jesus died and now lives so that we may be children of God, living in his grace, comforted by His Spirit, nourished by Jesus’ body and blood in the sacrament, and certain of what is ahead of us.  Ahead of us waits our eternal salvation.

Gracious Father, your Word is truth and in you we have all truth.  Keep us mindful of our redemption and preservation through Jesus.  Keep us in your loving arms.  Guard us from all deceptions and lies.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

6-12-2021

 Good Morning All!

        Hebrews 12:2; “We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne.”

    A few years ago, we attended the National Youth Gathering in San Antonio, Texas.  We went to a “Six Flags” amusement park.  There were some impressive rides there.  One of them was a swing seat that they strapped you in and then pulled down on four bungee cords and then let go.  You shot straight up and at the top you were 30-35 feet in the air with nothing around you.  One girl did that.  Many wanted to try the roller coaster.  It had some steep drops and sharp turns.  The first bunch got on and I waited with the next bunch.  This group was a little nervous about the ride.  So, I shared with them my secret for riding a roller coaster.  I told them, “Don’t sit in the front car but about three or four back from the front.  Then don”t look around, just stare at the car in front of you.  You won’t go anywhere that the car ahead of you goes and it won’t move compared to you.”  Part of the reason it is hard to ride a roller coaster is because our vision is shaken and thrown about and things become a blur and affect our sense of balance and stability, by focusing on the car ahead, you reduce this effect.

    This is the same effect that the devil and world want to have on you.  They want you looking all around and at the dizzying colors, shapes, blurring images, hearing a cacophony of strange and unintelligible sounds.  This will confuse you, make you sick, make you uncomfortable and cause you to doubt.  So, Scriptures offers us this wonder guidance, “We must focus on Jesus!”

    Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus because he has endured death and overcame it so that you would have life.  It is in your possession.  It is yours to keep and to remind you of the greatness that is yours.  When Christ returns and the fullness of time is complete, we will have eternity to spend with Jesus in the perfected creation.  That is our hope; that is our future.  But the devil does not want you to focus on the eternal bliss that awaits us.  He will do everything he can to distract, confuse, blur and. ultimately, make you lose sight of Jesus.  Then he can torment you in many a varied fashion.

    So, we try and stay focused.  We try to keep our eyes fixed straight ahead and look to Him in all situations and all circumstances.  Sometimes the devil wins and draws our attention away, but Jesus is always calling us back to focus on Him and Him alone.  Jesus is our hope and our defender.  He is the source, the very reason for our faith and by clinging to Him and Him alone, we can enjoy the comfort of His great promise.  Focus on Jesus and do not suffer from the distractions the devil throws at you.  Remain firm in Jesus’ loving arms.

Father of all mercies, keep me ever focused on Jesus.  Keep me secure in the certain knowledge of Your grace and mercy.  Send Your spirit of hope and comfort to those who are being tormented by the devil and keep them in Your loving embrace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our Risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

6-11-2021

 Good Morning All!

        Joel 2:21; “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!”

    “Fear not!!”  Does that sound familiar?  That phrase gets used a lot in the Bible.  God tells his people repeatedly that they do not need to fear; that He is with them and will protect them.  He comes to them in peace; to offer them his grace.

     “Be afraid, be very, very afraid!!”  We hear that a lot today.  Men use fear to drive people in a direction that the fear mongers want you to go.  If you listen to the Republicans, the day that a Democrat gets elected you will see the hammer and sickle over the White House, UN troops on every corner and we will all be communists.  If you listen to the Democrats, the day a Republican gets elected you will see the re-establishment of the Jim Crow laws, we will go back to the Cold War, we will do away with the Voter’s Rights Act and equality will go the way of the way of the 8-track tape.  Isn’t it funny how God offers us hope and man only offers us fear?

     The book of Joel is a short book, only three chapters.  We do not know much about Joel, but he plays a big role later on.  When the fist Pentecost occurs, the disciples quote Joel about the coming of the Spirit.  The other is that Joel uses the phrase “the day of the Lord” to refer to God’s final judgment of man or the end of times.  Peter, Paul, and the other epistle writers use this phrase to describe Jesus’ return as in 2 Peter 3:10 “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

     Joel speaks of three instances of “the day of the Lord”.  The first is the immediate plague of locust and a drought.  The second is the imminent threat of invasion and the third is the ultimate final day of the Lord.  You may or may not face locust and drought; at times, this spring it felt like it.  We usually do not fear too many invaders in this country; the last one on the mainland of the United States was the British Army during the War of 1812.  The first two references to “the day of the Lord”, we probably do not worry about too much.  However, eventually, we will face the final judgment day; we will face the day when Jesus returns as judge and king.

     The good news is that we do not have to worry about that one either.  In fact, we should look forward to that day!  We should look forward to the day when Christ returns and death, the final enemy, is totally destroyed.  We should look forward to the day when we live in Jesus’ holy presence and see him face to face.  We don’t have to fear that day; we should be glad and rejoice!”  The Lord truly has done great things.  We are covered by Christ’s righteousness; we have nothing to fear when Christ returns.  We will join Him in the sky as He returns to claim us as His own. 

    The really amazing thing is that we can look at our life and see three “day of the Lord” that are truly wonderful for us.  We have our birth, our re-birth (Baptism) and the day when we go to live with Christ for eternity.  All three days God blesses us and sustains us, giving us life and a hope to cling to until the final day of the Lord.  Oh, the great things He has done!!

Gracious Father, your mercies are new every day for great things you do for us.  Give us the courage to “fear not”, to live our life with the certainty of our salvation and to go forth with the bold confidence in the hope which you have given to us.  Guard us and protect us until that day shall come when we are united with you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen. 

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret