7-19-2022

 Good Morning!    

      Proverbs 30:8a; “Remove far from me falsehood and lying”

    This is a portion of what is often referred to as “The Prayer of Agur.” He is one of the many people who make a brief appearance in the Bible then fade away into oblivion. We often know very little about these characters, they make the Bible, but the sands of time are cruel to them, and we lose them to the ages. Some only get a line or two but here Agur gets an entire chapter in the Book of Proverbs.

    Agur must have been quite a character. He claims no wisdom, seems to imply he just collects things (maybe wise sayings?). He seems to be a street wise man with much insight into the real world where he makes his living, not in a palace or a temple but real work that requires skill, a keen eye, a sharp mind, and a quick wit.  We are going to look at this short two petition prayer over a couple of days and see what Agur has to ask God to give him.

    “Remove far from me falsehood and lying.” That seems like an appropriate petition. The world is full of deceit. The devil is called “the father of all lies” and he attempts to deceive us at every turn. As we listen to the news, it seems more and more prevalent. Who do you believe, who do you listen to, who do you trust? It seems to get harder and harder every moment. So Agur prays that God will protect him from the lies “deliver us from evil” seems to be very needful and desirable. We seek the truth and here we pray that we may hear, and know, the truth. But Agur goes further than just wanting to hear the truth. Agur wants to live the truth.

    Agur does not want to hear lies, but he also does not want to spread them. He does not want to be led down the wrong path, but he does not want to lead others into falsehoods either. This can be intentionally or accidently. Think of a juicy piece of gossip that you just have to share. You trust the person who told you the story, but if it is wrong, it is still a lie and someone who trusts you will believe it and the path of falsehood and deception is continued. Agur’s prayer is one for truth, both giving and receiving. In this petition, we are asking for truth because without truth, the is no basis for our statements or beliefs. Without truth, the base upon which we build our lives, our families, cities, and nations crumble and fall away.

    It is vital that we look to Scripture for God’s direction towards truth. It is important to know that while the world and the devil will always try to destroy us with lies, God seeks to build us with his truth. The truth of our salvation through Jesus, the truth of our having eternal life in his kingdom, the truth of our being able to face the world and its lies because we know truth, we know Jesus. So, pray and pray often. Pray for the many things you need but do not forget to pray that God will remove all falsehoods and lies from your path, today and every day.

Gracious Father, remove far from me falsehood and lying. Keep me on the path of your righteousness and truth that I may speak of your grace, love, and mercy and that I may live as your faithful servant. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-18-2022

Good Morning!    

   Matthew 22: 9-10; “Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.   And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

    It was to be the wedding feast of all times.  The king’s only son was getting married, and it was going to be a party to end all parties.  All the really important people were invited, the date was set, and the preparations were under way.  There was to be all kinds of special food, only the choicest cuts of meat, the finest wines, the most delectable desserts, wonderful music, absolutely the greatest event of a lifetime.  People would talk about this for ages to come.

    Then some cracks started to form.  Some of the nobles, who thought they should have been the king anyway, decided that they “had a prior engagement” or that they “would be unable to attend.”  The banquet hall would not be full.  It was rapidly becoming obvious that the hall would probably be more empty than full.  Eventually, it would be almost entirely empty.  Those who were invited thought that the king was of no importance, and they really did not want to bother with going to a reception for his son regardless of how good the food was.  They assumed that the king would crawl to them, begging them to come to the party.

    The king had a different idea.  He still wanted this celebration to go on.  So, he had his servants go out into the city and into the countryside and invite anyone they met.  They invited the lepers and the homeless.  They invited the sick and the lame.  They invited everyone to fill the banquet hall.  The feast went on and on; the invited guests were excited because they never expected to be invited to such a wonderful party and those who were invited but stayed home; they missed it all.

    Jesus told his disciples this story to show them how great God’s love for us truly is.  We are the outcasts.  Our sin puts us in that position.  Our sin also causes us to feel the pain of this separation.  When we struggle, we are all alone.  When life goes down a hard or difficult path, we are lost.  The pain of sin is like being a leper; we are left on the outside looking in.  Yet God has a better way.  He comes to you, and he comes to me, and he invites us in.  We are taken in, we are cleaned up, given new clothes and then fed a most wonderful meal, the best ever. 

    That meal, our heavenly meal, awaits us.  The king’s messengers invite us in.  We are being cleansed even as we wait for the wonderful feast.  God loves us, cares for us, comforts us, defends us, and gives us hope.  We are no longer on the outside looking in; we are in the banquet hall.  We are waiting for our table to open up.  When it does, the feast will be beyond anything we can ever imagine here on earth.

Father of love, you bring us to your feast by the Spirit.  You fill us with your splendor.  Renew us by your grace and keep us in the certainty of your tender mercy.  Guard us and guide us.  We ask that you especially be with those who feel excluded from life’s joy.  Give them the comfort of your loving arms and lead them to know your loving will.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’ Peace,

Pastor Bret 

7-17-2022

Good Morning!    
                 John 1:16; “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” 

    You would think that we would learn, but we don’t. All the kids and grandkids were around for the 4^th of July, so we had to eat meals, so we prepared for meals. Now, there may be 6-8 adults and then 5 grandkids 10 on down. We cook and prepare like the SDSU football team is moving in. We might have 3 or 4 meals together, but the leftovers start on the first meal and then seem to multiply, exponentially from there. We have even started to bag them up and portion them out to the families as they leave and hunt them down if they conveniently “forget.” You can only take so many leftovers. We finally finished our 4^th of July ones but will we learn? No, probably not. There will be leftovers, on that you can rest assured. 

    One thing about having leftovers is that you know that you are still full from the first time you ate it.  You ate and ate but still have some leftover for later.  Sometimes you have more leftover than you ate the first time.  Then you have all that left to eat.  The interesting thing is that there are some foods that taste better as leftovers than as “first overs.”  I think oyster stew and most chilis taste better a day or two later.  But you have to have a lot to start with so you can have enough leftovers to enjoy.

    That is the point of our verse for today.  Because of the fullness of the grace that Jesus brings into our lives.  He brings it into our lives through his all-availing death on the cross.  He confirms it with his resurrection from the grave.  Through that single event, his death on the cross, our lives are completely changed.  We are never again what we were.  We are no longer just toys and playthings for the devil; we are God’s redeemed children.  We no longer are the devil’s tools; we are God’s beloved children.

    We have enough grace, more than enough, to face the devil’s challenges.  The devil can no longer assault us but rather must deceive us and he tries and tries.  Painfully, sometimes he succeeds.  We slip and fall into his trap, and we suffer for it, but God is there, through Christ, waiting for us with grace upon grace.  He keeps calling us back to his redeemed family, calling us with his grace.

    Now this grace is never “just enough” grace; we have tons of “leftover grace.”  We will have grace upon grace.  We have more than enough grace to bring us through.  This is an incredible truth to hold onto.  No matter what occurs in our life, not matter how horrible the sin we commit seems to us, we have grace upon grace.  God will always forgive us, and, with true faith, we receive the forgiveness of sins.  We don’t want to waste it, nor do we take it for granted.  The cost to God was far too great to treat our grace cheaply.  But the grace is ours, grace upon grace, more grace leftover than we will ever use no matter how much we need. 

Father of all grace, we give you thanks for the grace that you bestow upon us.  We know the wonders of your love as we look to Jesus.  Keep us mindful of your love and guide us to see the devil’s lies and tricks.  Be with those who feel that there is no grace available for them.  Bring them to the truth of your amazing grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

 

7-16-2022

Good Morning!    

            John 10:27; “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”      

     I read a story the other day about a young girl of about 4 years old.  She had been deaf since birth, but they were going to try cochlear implants.  After they had completed the operation, the first voice she heard was her mother waking her up.  Given that almost everybody has a cell phone with a camera on it; they caught the expression on the little girl’s face.  It showed surprise and excitement; it showed happiness and delight.  She had heard her mother’s voice for the first time, and she was ecstatic.

    Watching people respond when they hear a voice that they know is just as interesting.  I remember when each grandchild was at that stage of first recognizing voices. They would hear a voice, either on the phone or the screen and recognize it and then try to figure out how to get the “voice” out of that thing. Sometimes when they are in church and don’t see me but hear me first, they would turn and look up.

     When Jesus speaks these words to the Jews who did not believe in him, he was explaining to them that the reason they didn’t understand his teachings was because they had no faith.  Without faith, they could not hear Jesus.  Without faith, we can’t either.  That is what Jesus is telling us as well; without faith we won’t hear his wonderful words of grace and forgiveness.  Those words will only be so much mumbling.

    It is by faith that we hear and accept those wonderful words.  It is through faith that we receive the blessings of God’s grace in Holy Communion.  It is faith that lets us hear.  Without faith we are deaf to God’s beautiful sounds of love and mercy.  It is faith that allows us to follow Him. 

    Yet even this faith is a gift from God.  He gives us the desire to cling to his promise with hope.  That is what faith is; it is the desire to cling to God’s promise.  It is the desire to trust the Words of Jesus, “He that believes shall live.”  Isn’t that what we all desire?  Isn’t that what we all want, to know that we are forgiven of our sins?  God tells us over and over, “Your sins are forgiven.”  All we need to do is trust this saying, trust in this promise.  We don’t have to do anything especially hard, like climb a mountain, we only have to believe, to trust those words to be true.  When we do, we will be like that little girl who heard her mother’s voice for the first time.  We can be excited that we are saved; we can take comfort in the certainty of our salvation.  We can find our contentment as we follow Jesus down the path that he leads us.

Dearest Father, we hear the voice of Jesus, and we rejoice in the love that we have.  Comfort us with your words of hope and forgiveness.  Keep us mindful of our salvation in you.  Reach out to those who do not hear your words and do not know you.  Help them to leave their pain behind and to trust in your gracious love.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

7-15-2022

Good Morning!    
            Matthew 18: 21-22; “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

    The young couple was sitting in the pastor’s office.  They had just gone through another major argument/ blowup.  They were sniping and fighting, again.  He didn’t listen; all she did was nag.  He never helped; she was never satisfied.  The list never ended.  One sat in one chair while the other sat in a different chair as far apart as possible.  Both sat with their arms folded, frowns upon the face, not a lot of joy here.

    So, the pastor started with a couple of Bible lessons.  First, they read about Peter when he denied Jesus three times.  The pastor asked, “Have you ever felt that the other denied you?” They both answered “yes!”  Then they read about when Jesus restored Peter by telling him to “feed my sheep.”  The couple was asked, “Did you forgive the denial?”  Neither answered because each knew where this was going.  So, the pastor asked, “Would you forgive the other at least once?”  Both agreed that once was not too much to ask or to do for each other. “We all make mistakes”

   So, then they looked at our verse.  How many times do we forgive?  This translation (ESV) says seventy-seven times.  Others say seventy times seven.  Either represent a number beyond which we would keep track of.  We also want to remember that Peter’s number represents more than twice what was expected at the time of Jesus (3 was expected).  So even he was speaking of an attempt to give more than most.  Jesus’ answer went beyond any human thought.

    The truth that Jesus is teaching us is that the true key contentment in our life is the willingness to forgive; even beyond willing, we must desire to forgive.  The desire to forgive is the basis of our faith and our salvation.  God wants to forgive you.  That is why Jesus came to die for you and to remove your sin; this was because he wanted to forgive you and to show you his love for you.  So here we see where Jesus is telling us the essence of our earthly contentment: to forgive others.  By forgiving others, we let go of the pain that holding onto the sins of others causes us. 

    This is part of the reason why Jesus uses such an extreme number of “counted” forgiveness.  In this, we see the burden of carrying the sins of others.  All the work, all the time, all of the effort to keep track of each and every person we know would be burdensome beyond belief.  Yet we often try to do this in our heart, and we see the pain we experience just like that couple who was visiting their pastor.  When you see the pain of others and when you feel your own pain because you hold on to the sins of others.

    So, Jesus reveals to us the most needed element in a contented life; we need to forgive others in order to let go of the burden of keeping track of those sins.  It is remembering this pain that hurts us.  Always remembering causes the burden.  Let it go; forgive as you are forgiven.

Dear Jesus, teach us to forgive as you forgive us.  Lead us to see this is the source of our contentment.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

7-14-2022

 Good Morning!    

     Isaiah 64:8; “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter ; we are all the work of your hand .”

       There was an article that I read a while back about a man who attempted to swindle some people out of their money.  He told them he was investing it wisely, but he was spending it on financing his lifestyle.  He bought fancy cars, took expensive vacations, and bought expensive artwork.  When they finally caught up to him, most of the authorities warned the duped investors that they may only get back a fraction of their original money.  They sold all of the con man’s possessions to help recover the losses.  They were stunned when some of his artwork, especially some of the vases and pottery, brought incredible amounts.  The original investors actually made more money from the sale of the artwork than they would have from the con man’s claimed investments!

    It is amazing how much some artwork can be so expensive.  There was a vase from the Chinese Qing dynasty that sold for over $80 million.  So, what made that vase so valuable?  It was only painted baked clay; where does its value come from?  Mostly it came from its age and the rarity of the piece.  It also came from the skill of the potter who made it.  It came from the potter’s ability to mold and to shape that lump of dirt into an artistic expression that would become almost priceless.

    This is how we should view our self and each other.  We are really only lumps of clay; in and of itself, clay has very little value.  But once the clay is molded and shaped by the masterful hands of the craftsman, it has great value.  Our value is not in what we are but in who has crafted us.  Our value is because of God’s work in us and for us.  We have value because God says we do.  Yet it goes beyond this simple fact.  I have value because of Jesus Christ but so do you.

    We need to remember that it is not a “me” world.  This is God’s creation and “we” live in it.  All of God’s children have great value.  We need to see that the value of everyone is high.  No one is of “no value.”  All have the same price exacted for their soul; the price of God’s only Son was paid for each of us.  It was paid for you, but not just you; it was paid for everyone.  Everyone should be viewed as God’s redeemed child, my brother and sister, your brother and sister.  This is why God wants us to love each other as he has loved us.  We are his children, and we are brothers and sisters.  So, God wants us to care for each other holding each other as valuable works of art products of the master’s hand.

Gracious Lord, you have molded and shaped me to be your child.  Guide me so that I will extend to those around me the love that you have for me.  At times I will fall short; lead me to repent.  At times others will fall short; lead me to forgive.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.                                                                    

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-13-2022

Good Morning!    

     Acts 4: 29; “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness”

    There is the story of Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe who, when in command of the 101^st Airborne Division, found himself and the division surrounded by a much superior in strength German Army was given the terms of surrender by the German Command.  The German Command listed how superior the forces were, how there was no escape or hope, how this would spare civilian life, and so on; gave the general two hours to respond.  His answer, quite famously now, was,” Nuts.”

    At first the German Command couldn’t figure out what he meant.  Eventually they did and began an assault on the city, but the Americans held off until reinforcements arrived and drove the German army back.  When threatened with destruction, the general responded, “Nuts.”  This was a bold statement and a bold act.  When news of this travelled through the ranks of the American forces, they probably puffed up a little, taking pride in their officer’s confidence in them.  Perhaps the Germans were somewhat dismayed, outnumbering and outgunning the Americans yet they did not surrender.  

    Our verse is part of a longer prayer that the Apostles prayed after Peter and John were released from being imprisoned over the preaching of Jesus Christ.  The Apostles and their fellow believers were faced with persecution and death.  They didn’t ask that the persecution was removed, they asked for boldness to speak God’s Word.

    This is what we need to do.  We need to ask God to give us boldness to proclaim his Word.  We need to proclaim his Word of forgiveness, of hope, of truth.  We need to boldly show the world what God’s love truly looks like.  Instead of backing away in fear we need to boldly speak out.

    God encourages us to ask for boldness, to ask for strength and not less work.  We often fail to see that when others see your faith in action; they are moved by it.  They may be jealous, or angry; they may see it and marvel at your strength and calmness.  But what they do see is your faith and through this they see God in action.  God gives us the opportunity to witness to our faith in him.  Sometimes it may be a challenge, but we need to remember that God is with us and guides us on our way.

     The thing is that this boldness may be most needed in your own family.  This may be where God has placed you to be strong.  Trust God and his Word to sustain you.  You don’t need to be overly boastful or arrogant just truthful about God’s love in your life and how it impacts you today.

Gracious Father, give me boldness to proclaim your Word to the world around me.  This broken world needs to hear of your love more than ever, guide me by your Spirit to proclaim it loudly.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret