8-31-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 28:20; “Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”

         I had a friend who could not wait for whatever we were doing to get done.  When we were in high school and playing football, he couldn’t wait for football to get done.  Then he couldn’t wait for basketball to get done.  When we went to college he couldn’t wait until he was done with classes.  After his children were born, he couldn’t wait until they were old enough to drive and then he couldn’t wait until they graduated.  His job wasn’t any better; he couldn’t wait until he could retire.  He would always look forward to what was coming but he never really enjoyed what he was doing.

    This seems like a sad life to me; yet there are many Christians who live the same way.  It is easy to do and not entirely wrong.  We are eschatological; that is, we look forward to the end of time and look forward to the return of Jesus as King and Lord.  So, for Christians to look forward to the end times is not all bad.  Only when Jesus returns will all pain, sorrow, suffering, sadness, and death finally end.  This is why we look forward to Christ’s return; this is why we pray for Christ to return.  For when Christ comes, we will have the restored and recreated heaven and earth.  Everything will be perfect.

    Yet we don’t want to miss today either.  Jesus told us that tomorrow will have enough worries so live today.  Too often we miss this.  We fail to see the beauty of today because we want the beauty of tomorrow.  Just like my friend missed so much because he wouldn’t see today; he only wanted to get to tomorrow.  He missed a lot of his children growing up because he was trying to hurry them into the next phase.  He missed a lot of companionship today because he was always hurrying to get to tomorrow.

    One of the wonderful gifts that God gives us in our faith is that we have the certainty of tomorrow so we can enjoy today.  We don’t have to wait until we live with Jesus; he already lives in us right now.  He is with us all the time and we can not only take comfort in this; we can revel in it.  We can thoroughly enjoy his presence in our lives right now.  Since we have his guarantee to live with us at all times, we can enjoy the fruits of our salvation right now.  We can see it in the beauty of a star-filled night even when it is cold.  We can see it in the beauty of the eyes of small children as they gaze with wonder and awe at the new things they see and learn.  We can see it in the love that an elderly couple still shares even after all these years.  We can see it all around but we have to stop, look, and rejoice in what God gives us today.  We have his grace to surround us so that we may be forever safe and secure in his loving arms.  Enjoy today for God has given it to you.

Father, lead me to see that each day is a gift from you for me to enjoy in your presence.  Lead me to celebrate my days of faith with you.  Lead me to savor your grace and to look to share it with those around me.  Help me to slow down and live in your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-30-2026

Good Morning!

           Acts 2:6; “And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”

      “Undo, Undo!!”  That is the cry that occurs when you push the wrong button on your computer.  I remember being in a sem class many years ago, where we were all diligently typing a rather lengthy paper.  All of a sudden, one of the guys sitting behind me let out a shriek and started yelling “Undo, undo, undo!!”  His computer did something and his screen went blank.  Fortunately, he was able to recover his work; the undo button worked.

     I don’t know about you but there are times when I wish I had an “undo” button in my life.  There are times when I said or did something I regretted doing or things I regretted not doing and an “undo” button would have been nice.  Maybe you have had that experience as well.  Perhaps a decision or two in your life could have benefitted from an “undo” button.  Perhaps you may even feel that these decisions have negated any hope in your life.  I recently had a conversation with a man about coming to church and listening.  He looked at me and laughed a little and said he didn’t think our ceiling would hold up if he came to church; he had lived a life that he wished he could “undo” a whole lot.

    Our verse is about one of God’s “undos”.  As the Holy Spirit filled the room, people from all over the known world heard the apostles preaching in their own language.  Parthians, Medes, Cappadocians, people from Asia, Egypt, Crete; all over listened to these Galileans preach and could hear in their own language.  In essence, God was “undoing the Tower of Babel.  God’s Spirit is unifying his people, the exact opposite of sin dividing man at the time of Babel.

    This is only one example of God “undoing” man’s failures.  Jesus came to undo all that we have done so that we can stand with God and before God in peace.  Jesus’ death paid for all our sins to undo all the damage that we did and do to our relationship with God.  Jesus paid for all our sins so that he would undo the destructive effects of the devil and the world can have on us.  Jesus’ death gives us new life; we are a new creation; our life experiences an “undo” because of God’s incredible love for us.

   So, if you need an “undo”; God offers you one.  He gives you the chance to start over.  He gives us the chance to change our life from one of pain and sadness to one of peace, contentment and hope.  God “undos” your pain in order to give you new life in him.  Take hold of his promise to new life and hope for today.  God has displayed the way he “undos” our sins trust him to continue to do so.

Father, in you we have new life.  You change my life by forgiving and “undoing” the pain that I cause you.  Lead me by your Spirit to reach out to those around me that I have hurt or that are in any type of pain.  Lead all those in pain into the wonderful comfort of your merciful arms.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

8-29-2026

Good Morning!

              Matthew 1:1; “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

     The last one chosen.  That was the fear of many children during playground games.  Lined up against the wall and two people began to choose.  One by one they get picked until the last few get picked.  It can be a somewhat humiliating situation.  Yet most of us go through it at some time in our life and we survive but at the time it is not real fun.  We always place importance on the right one being chosen.  The tall and lanky ones, who move with the grace of a leopard or a cheetah with all the strength and speed; they have the eye-hand coordination to accomplish just about anything.  They are the perfect player, the perfect teammate, the usually victorious one.  The last ones picked; they usually lost if they got to play at all.

    When we look at the genealogy of Jesus, we expect the names of kings, like David and Solomon or the great patriarchs like Abraham and Isaac.  Yet do we expect the names of Tamar and Rahab?  One acted as a harlot and one was a harlot.  What about names like Abijah? He was a rebellious son who attacked his father.  Certainly, these must have been the last ones chosen.  Certainly, there had to be better choices than these; certainly, there had to be more virtuous options.  Somewhere in the selection had to be the tall, lanky, svelte warriors. 

    The truth is that there are no virtuous people.  Abraham and Isaac lied, denied God, and turned their back on God’s covenant.  David and Solomon took a very “liberal” view of what adultery really was.  Now the world may view some of these people who are listed in this genealogy are great and some are not.  Yet before God, they are all the same.  They are those whom he has chosen to serve him in the manner that he has decided.  Their background, their previous life was of no consequence.  God had a need and a plan for them so he used them to accomplish his goal.

    This is still true today.  There is a place that God can and will use you in service to his kingdom.  Your past, your history is of no matter to God.  God only looks at your future.  You may have always been the last one to be chosen.  You may have been viewed as the biggest loser on the playground but in God’s eye you are someone to be loved, to be wanted, to be chosen as one to serve him in his kingdom.  Your past may be as varied as those in Jesus’ family tree: harlots, cheats, liars, thieves, drunkards, and rebels.  Their pasts were sinful and wicked but they were forgiven by God and claimed as his children.  He does the same for you and me.  Through our Baptism, we are members of Jesus family as well.  We are inheritors of his glorious kingdom.  We are saved by his grace alone and in that we can place all our hope.

Father, you don’t let my past stand in the way of your grace.  Lead me to not let my past stand in the way of my faith.  Lead me by your Spirit to trust in your grace and to live in your wonderful kingdom.  Lead us to be your children.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

8-28-2026

Good Morning!

     Exodus 3:1; “Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

    It is often called a “mountaintop experience.”   It is usually a spiritual experience where you “feel” closer to God.  It can be a very intense experience that can leave you excited, exhilarated, enthusiastic and full of life and a joy of knowing God.  It probably even draws its name from the Bible when Peter, James and John were on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus.  The disciples wanted to stay up on the mountaintop.

    It is easy to see why we think this way.  There are many stories in the Bible where God is on the mountaintop.  Abraham and Isaac had one; Moses had a few; Joshua and some of the judges had met with God on mountaintops.  Elijah met with God on the mountain of God like Moses.  Mountaintop experiences are the types of experiences that many people love to share; they love to relate the greatness, the grandeur and the elation that they experience when they have been to the mountaintop.  But what if there hasn’t been a mountaintop experience for you? 

    Many don’t have this experience.  Just as many cannot tell you the precise time and date that faith came into their life, many have not had a mountaintop experience.  We just live ordinary lives; we never know those real high moments nor do we know those really devastating low moments.  We don’t know the mountaintop but we don’t know the depth of the pit either; we are just plain people who live their life on the plain.

    Yet the joy of the Gospel is for us as well.  We may not ever experience the rapturous heights but we can know for certain that God’s promise of salvation is for us as well.  God gives us the peace and the calm to live the life that he has given us.  We can live with the certainty that God’s love for us is real.  You don’t have to have fallen into the depths of the pit and you do not have to have been on the mountaintop.  Your salvation, and the certainty of it, does not depend on how you feel but it depends on God’s grace and God’s grace alone.  There may be times when you don’t “feel” that god is close to you but he still is.  There may be times when you don’t “feel” his grace but it is continually poured out upon you.

    It is not your feelings that determine your salvation or faith.  It is the certainty of the knowledge that Jesus died for you, a fact an event that occurred in a place called Jerusalem many years ago.  It occurred in order that you might have salvation.  Whether you have been to the mountaintop, been to the depths lived your entire life on the plain or had all three, all that matters is that God loves you and has given to you salvation which we can hold onto by faith.

Father, I don’t always feel like I think I should.  I think that I should do something to make me be saved.  Give me the comfort in the knowledge that your grace comes from you freely.  Help me to know that it does not depend on me or my feelings.  Renew those who feel lost or adrift.  Give them the comfort of the certainty of your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

8-27-2026

Good Morning!

     Psalm 104:34; “May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.”

       As an aid to this devotion, I would encourage you to read all of Psalm 104 when you can.  This is an interesting psalm which teaches us a great truth.  It is a psalm of praise in which praise is given to God for creation.  The whole psalm leads us through creation and in it we see the power and majesty that is God.  It speaks of creation starting in verse 5 and going through verse 26.  We see where God laid the foundation, he caused the mountains to rise up, he waters the trees and so on.  This psalm not only speaks to the actual creation but to God continuing to work his creative force within creation.  We can see that in verses 27-31.  We see what a glorious creation that God has made.

    This is the type of psalm to read or remember when you are experiencing some of God’s exquisite beauty.  Think of it when you travel and see the majestic mountains, or beautiful lakes or rolling plains. It is the type of psalm that, as you read it, you can close your eyes and relive all those beautiful places on the earth that you have witnessed including the sunrises and moonrises, the sunsets and the moonsets, the stars and comets and all the celestial beauty which can cause us to shrink back from the incredible majesty that we see.  It continues to verse 34, our verse which seems like a logical end.  The logical end would be for me to meditate on God’s wonderful creation and enjoying it.  For not only does God provide for us but he abundantly provides for us and we can rejoice in it.

   Yet, the psalm ends with verse 35. “Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more!”  This sounds almost like a cold slap in the face but it really the call of the Christian with respect to creation.  Our goal, our hope is not that we leave creation but rather that Christ returns and restores creation.  Our hope is for the perfected creation in which creation is no longer subjected to sin (Romans 8: 18-25).  We hope for, we eagerly wait for the freeing of creation (and that includes us) from the pain and the decay that sin brings.  We eagerly wait for Christ to return so that death, sin and decay and destruction will end.  We look forward to the King of kings completing the restorative work begun on Calvary.

   So, we as Christians do not see this world as something to be used and tossed aside rather, we see it as God’s precious possession in need of some fixing.  Some we can do but, ultimately, we can only wait for Jesus to return.  So, for you and me to see God in the beauty of his creation is normal or even expected.  Just as you see the nature of the artist in the beauty of the painting so we can see the beauty and the wonderment of God in his creation.  You and I, as humans, are placed in the midst to care for and enjoy this as God’s precious gift to us; so, enjoy and take care of God’s creation.

Father, the beauty of your creation speaks of your love.  Lead me to care for your creation and to enjoy it and to revel in the sights and sounds, the taste, and the texture of your world.  Come Lord Jesus, complete your work, and restore your world.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

8-26-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 11:28; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

        Are you rested from the summer sports and leisure activities? The fall stuff has started with ball games, matches, music and what not. I hope you enjoyed your time of rest in between. Some people call it Thursday.  Are you rested or are you tired?  It seems that we are usually either tired or rested.  It usually seems that we are tired more often than when we are rested but once in a while we are rested.  Don’t you wish you could figure out the “being rested” part more than “being tired” part?

   One of the greatest dangers we face is that we take our eyes off of Jesus and we place our eyes, and our trust, somewhere else.  Maybe you experienced a childhood that left you feeling left out or passed by.  You may have felt tired as you grew up and so you sought out your own solace.  You relied on your skill and wit.  As you grew up you maybe came to see your family, your job, perhaps your marriage as your source of comfort and hope.  Yet trusting these things can leave you tired.  Placing our hope in the things of this world, like wealth, popularity, personal strength, or knowledge may seem like the right path but in the end, it leaves us tired.  It leaves us tired because these things always fall short.  There are always times when these will fail and we will have to figure out a way to make up for the shortfall.  So, the strength we think is here comes up short and we are left tired and empty.

    This is why Jesus invites us to, “come;” he invites us to come and rest.  He offers us the rest of a small baby as she lies against her mother’s chest, sleeping the deep and contented sleep.  She rests in the comfort and safety of her mother’s loving arms, hearing her mother’s heartbeat, feeling the gentle warmth of her mother’s touch.  She sleeps the deep sleep of total rest and comfort.  This is the rest that Jesus invites us to have.

    He invites us to the rest, which results from knowing that all our needs are met.  He invites us to the rest where we trust wholly in his love to bring us that rest.  We do not need to seek anything else for that comfort and rest; it is all in the hands and the loving arms of Jesus.  So, when other things or other people fail us and they will sometimes by selfish aim and sometime by no fault at all; they will fail.  The doctors can only do so much; our spouses and family can only do so much; our wealth can only go so far; eventually, everything else will fail but we will always have Jesus.  He will never fail us.  He never has and he never will.

    We can trust and take comfort, find our peace and our rest in his unfailing love; a love that saved you and me and gives us that hope that we seek and that rest that we desire.  Rest in his loving embrace.

Father of loving mercy, we come to you for rest.  We come because Jesus invites us to come to him for rest. Bring us by your Spirit to hear his invitation and to seek his rest.  Be with those who are tired from the cares of this world.  Give them your holy rest and peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray, amen.

 God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-25-2026

Good Morning!

     Galatians 2:20; “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

        I always remember the line about how “there is no such thing as bad press.”  This usually pertains to entertainers and to the idea that as long as your name is in front of the people, as long as they think about you, then you are still famous.  The public may hear that you were picked up for drunk driving but at least you are still in the public eye.  This is especially true for the not so famous anymore who grasp for past glory.  “No such thing as bad press.”

     You and I may scoff and snicker at that but to a certain extent we are the same way.  We like people to think that we are important.  We like for people to seek us out and “need” us.  We may even harken back to previous experiences to remind people that we are important.  This is partly why people refer back to “scoring the winning point in a crucial game in high school” when they are 40 or 50 years old.  It is why people refer back to a time when they were on a board or served on some committee a few years back; we want people to think we are important and that we matter and that our opinion matters as well.

    We may even shape our relationships around the idea that we are important.  We may attempt to control relationships in this fashion.  When someone threatens to “leave” a friendship or other relationship unless their “needs” are met; they are saying to the world, “I am the important one here.”  These relationships are often toxic and seldom last very long; for when we take the attitude that any relationship is about “me first;” that relationship will suffer greatly.

    Here we need to see that a truly successful relationship has both parties “crucifying” the old selfish self and being reborn, through Baptism, as the new creation that is in Christ.  We see our relationships as Christ does and that is to look to love, to comfort, to aid others more than self.  We live, not to feed the selfish nature, but to be in Christ holy presence and to be Christ to the world; to be his hands and arms, to be his voice and his ear, to be his shoulder and arms.  We are to be the personification of Christ to the world.  We are to place Jesus first in all of our doings, in all of our actions, in all of our relationships.

    So, as we go forward, let us remember that we have crucified the “old me;” we have drowned the me that demands to be first and God has given birth to the new me which is filled with the desire to serve Christ and him alone.  It is not “me first” but “Jesus first.”  

Father of love and mercy, in you we have hope.  Lead me to see that the old me is crucified and that the new me is in Christ’s image and in his Spirit.  Lead me to love and not demand.  Lead me to love and not require others to serve me.  Lead me to be your servant by serving the needs of others.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret