David J. Brett

Peace

2026-05-15T00:00:00Z

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 In John 13, Jesus sat down with his disciples for the Passover Meal. He is still sitting at the table in John 14. He is giving his disciples instructions about what was coming. How to handle those things, he then gives them what we call John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” As we examine the Biblical view of peace, I would note that peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is the profound awareness that God is sovereign. He rules and reigns. I am one of his children. He is working in my life, and even when I walk through a storm, he is with me. He is watching over me. He sees my life. He sees every life. He can work his will in me and through me, and in everyone else, in a manner that allows us to see him at work. That awareness gives me the serenity of the soul. Now I enjoy the absence of conflict. Sometimes I even go out of my way to avoid it. But sadly, it is a fact of life. It is life on life’s terms. Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a conflict. In those times, I try to lean into his peace and his presence. I have learned to ask myself, “What is the invitation of Jesus in this moment?” What would he do, and say, and act? Then I pray God give me the courage to do the right thing in the right way, so that I can be an agent of peace and healing. In Jesus name, amen.

Looking back, looking ahead

2026-01-20T00:00:00Z

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. ~ Philippians 3:13-14

This time of year, I find myself looking back not just at the last year but at a lot of things. Looking back is a dangerous thing. You can romanticize the past. Remember only the good stuff, and forget the challenges, obstacles, and heartache. Or, dwell only on the mistakes and the failures. A healthy, honest look back is both. I don’t want to rewrite my past either positively or negatively. I want to be able to look back and learn and grow.

In Philippians 3, Paul is writing about how his past had a claim on him. To me, he is saying that his past claimed him. It defined him. In saying that, he is forgetting the past; he is saying it no longer defines him. He is moving on. But notice this as well. Whenever Paul shows up in a new city and visits the synagogue and its ruler, he introduces himself by reference to his past: born of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee of Pharisees, circumcised on the eighth day. In other words, his past had become credentials in the present, opening doors to preach the gospel. To me, that is the healthiest way to use and recognize my past as an opportunity in the future. My past no longer defines me because my relationship with Jesus Christ defines me. He is my Lord. My redeemer. He is the one who reached into my life and offered me salvation and hope.

He redefines who I am and how I live. My past no longer defines me. However, it is relevant to who I am and how it has shaped my life and at times it provides credentials in the present to open doors of opportunity. However, it is not what defines me. A greater, more powerful reality defines me – the love of God expressed through Jesus Christ. In that knowledge, I am secure. Amen.

Spiritual Mentors and Gratitude

2025-12-10T00:00:00Z

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don’t have anything to do with foolish arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ~ 2 Timothy 2:22-24

Imagine, for a moment, that you get home from work and go to the mailbox to pick up the day's mail. In the mailbox are the usual advertisements, invites to an investment seminar, a prearranged funeral service, an invitation to a credit card, and a personally addressed envelope. You throw everything away except for the personal envelope. The name in the upper left-hand corner is a blast from the past. You open the envelope and find it’s from a spiritual mentor from years ago. It is someone who walked with you, encouraged you, and saw the gifts in you before you did. The note card this time is to encourage you once more. As you read the note, it feels like you are hearing from the apostle Paul. He is telling you not to give up. To flee temptations that will get you off track. He is saying to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Do the things necessary to have a pure heart. Don’t get mixed up with foolish arguments. Be kind to everyone. Teach the Word faithfully, accurately, passionately, and never – never allow resentment to slip into your life. Resentment is an emotional cancer; it will rob you of your gratitude and thankfulness. If resentment is left unchecked, it will become the lens through which you see all of life, others, and eventually how you see yourself. It is essential to know that the antidote to resentment is gratitude and thankfulness. We live in a world that leaves little room for either gratitude or thankfulness. You have to look for it in your life intentionally. This world, this culture we live in, is no friend to godly spiritual formation. However, you have God’s Spirit living in you, and he can empower you to live in thankful, grateful ways. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Love of Christ

2025-12-05T00:00:00Z

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,* may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God*. ~Ephesians 3:17-19

Paul is writing to the Ephesians, and as he brings his letter to a close, he writes the above words. Interestingly, he starts with "being rooted and established in love." That is where it all begins, being rooted. Paul is praying that their roots go deep. It is somewhat reminiscent of Psalm 1, "Blessed is the one*...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.** That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season*..." The psalmist is describing someone whose roots have gone deep. When your roots are deep, regardless of the situation of life you have stability.

Reflecting on this passage, we see that Christ's love is immeasurable and all-encompassing, reaching every part of our lives. When we truly experience this love, it transforms us from the inside out and empowers us to live with greater faith and compassion. The roots provide nourishment. The roots sustain the tree during drought.

Paul is saying, Find ways to help the roots go deep. Notice the following phrase he writes... "to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,* and to know this love that surpasses knowledge."*

As I have begun to study the contemplative process, I find meditating on and contemplating the breadth, depth, height, and length of Christ's love to be quite transformative. I feel he is helping me see things differently. He is helping me hear people in a new kind of way. I find myself pausing and asking myself, "What is the invitation of Jesus in this moment?"

It is pretty ironic that after 40 years of ministry, I still have so much more to learn. So much more to embrace and see. In a way, I am at a different stage of life and ministry. My prayer is that I will help people see how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love of Christ is for them. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Gratitude

2025-12-01T00:00:00Z

The table. The Table represents so many things in my life. Many great memories are made around a table. Sitting around talking about life. Living. Hurts. Successes. Hopes. And dreams. For me, the table is a sacred space. Not because of the wood, the finish, or the food that sits on it. It is sacred when people, when family, sit around it and share their hearts, their dreams, and when love is given to each other. We celebrate our commonality. We celebrate that we are family. We celebrate that all of us are created in the image and the likeness of God. We celebrate our personhood. We celebrate each other. I celebrate that I get to be part of this incredible group of people called "my family."

Jesus invites us to his table. His table of thanksgiving and his table of sacrifice. *The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, *"This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." -- 1 Corinthians 11:23-24. He invites us to be part of his family, and that is the most beautiful sense of belonging.

I love the words of Psalm 136:1 -- We give thanks to the LORD for he is good and his love endures forever!

During Advent, I'm focusing on gratitude as a spiritual discipline. It started a couple of weeks ago when I was reading, Sacred Fire, a book by Ron Rolheiser. He tells this story...He is in seminary when, one afternoon, he plays soccer and seriously injures his knee. The injury required a week-long hospital stay. He gets put in a room with three other guys. One of the guys is a truck driver, around 50 years of age. He is suffering from some abdominal issues, and he is in a lot of pain. One night the pain is very unbearable. He rings for a nurse. She gets to the room. She washes his face. Cleans him up. Administers the painkiller with a syringe.

After a few minutes, the medication takes effect, and he relaxes considerably. Just as the nurse turns to leave the room, he speaks to her in a very clear voice, "I really appreciate you doing this for me."

She replies, "No need for thanks. I am just doing my job."

But he answers her, "Ma'am, It's nobody's job to take care of me. So when you do this for me. I need to say thank you."

Did you hear that "It is not anybody's job to take care of us. So we should be grateful when somebody does." There is a lot of wisdom in that statement. Rolheiser then says, "Gratitude, both in terms of our recognition of our need for it and our expression of it, is the basis of all virtue."

If you are a devoted follower of Jesus, you must be fueled by gratitude. Our spiritual maturity is directly related to the degree of our gratitude. I read somewhere that to really understand a term or a concept, look for the definition, the synonyms, and even look at the antonym of the term, find its opposite meaning. I found this -- the opposite of gratitude is resentment.

Wow. I read that statement, and it stopped me in my tracks. We live in a day, a culture that finds resentment so very easy. You get wronged. Overlooked. Slighted. Expectations are not met. You take offense because of something or someone. We need to lay our resentments at the foot of calvary. We need to ask God to free us from them. Ask God to redeem. Rebuild. Restore. We need to remember that on the night he was betrayed, he gave thanks. As I finish up 2025, I am practicing thankfulness and gratitude. I am giving thanks. In Jesus' name, amen.

Life as Musical Chairs

2025-09-11T00:00:00Z

*And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called a**ccording to his purpose.*For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, ~ Romans 8:28-29

Paul is writing to the church in Rome. He has not yet been there. But the plan was to eventually not just visit Rome but to set up a base of operation there and continue the westward move of the gospel. In Romans Paul is laying out the truths of the gospel. He is unpacking the doctrine sin, justification, redemption, and the list goes on. Romans 8 is something of a transition in Paul's thought. He opens the chapter with, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death..."

In Romans 8 he continues and then tells his readers in verse 28-29 that God has this ability, when he is given opportunity, to take the lives surrendered to him and do a work through them and with them and for them. It takes time. It takes opportunity. It takes patience.

I am currently reading a book entitled, An Invitation to Solitude and Silence. At one point the author describes the Christian life as that game we played as children called Musical Chairs. In case you don't remember the game; it begins with a number of students standing in a circle around a group of chairs. There is one less chair than there are students. The music begins and the children circle the chairs. When the music stops the students with hearts pounding and palms sweaty find a chair to sit in. All but one get a chair. One child gets left out.

The author of the book uses this child's game as a metaphor for life. She describes this as life. You are going through life and the music stops and you have to find a seat somewhere anywhere. You sit right where you are. You are just looking for a seat to sit in, not really caring which chair it is. You just need to be seated. Fortunately you find one, but it is not really the seat you planned on but there you are. You could be seated with delight and triumph, since you got a seat, or it could be that one student left out. And you stand there in sadness and tears because yet again you are on the outside looking in.

Romans 8:28 tells us that we meet God in our triumphs and in our tears. We meet Him in those unnerving, and unhappy moments of life because he promises to be there. No matter where you may be sitting or standing, his promise is to be there for us. It is hard because life on life's terms can be overwhelming. We are not in control of the events of life. However, we are in control of our attitude about life and through life. It is easy, oh so easy to become bitter about the stuff that happens to us. Because it rarely goes as planned. But there is an option available to us: we can become bitter about life or we can become better about life. One little vowel says it all. The vowel, "I". It is all in how I choose to handle it. How I choose to understand it. How I choose to allow it to shape and change me. And it can change us deep In our souls. Right there, deep down where we store the memories of the past. Memories that shape our futures. And yet it is there that the Word of God speaks. It cuts through the darkness of heartache, and abandonment and brings us hope and healing. The choice is ours. The work is his.

Oh wait, the music has started again. I have to get up. I have to get a chair.

Lord help me. In Jesus name amen.

Broken Windows and Romans 3:23

2025-08-26T00:00:00Z

Recently, I started reading a book entitled Broken Windows of the Soul. The authors, Arnold R. Fleagle and Donald A. Lichi, PhD, borrowed the idea from some research from Stanford University. Several years ago. Stanford professor Philip Zimbardo took two cars and parked, one on a street in affluent Palo Alto, CA, and the other in a sketchy neighborhood in the Bronx, NY. As part of the experiment, he removed the license plates and raised the hoods. And abandoned the cars to their fate.

Within 10 minutes, the car will be in the Bronx. Started losing parts. People were helping themselves to the parts of the vehicle. Within 24 hours, virtually everything of value had been stripped. Then, random destruction began until the entire car was trashed. In contrast, the car parked in upscale Palo Alto sat untouched for a week. Then the professor smashed one of the windows with a sledgehammer. Within a few hours, it too was demolished.

Zimbardo developed what he became known as the Broken Windows Theory. His theory suggested that even minor disorders can have unintended consequences. The broken window was just the tipping point. After one of the windows was broken and left unattended, the entire car was soon trashed.

In the 1990s, New York City took on the experiment and tested the broken windows theory. The police chief selected two high-crime precincts and ordered the police to fix the broken windows and have a zero tolerance for crimes. They washed the subways of graffiti daily. They cleaned the street. They towed away abandoned cars. They arrested people for painting graffiti and jumping the turnstile to the subway. Arrests for misdemeanors soared. Arrests for major crime dropped dramatically. The neighborhoods became transformed. Every precinct showed double-digit decreases in crime.

Broken windows are a metaphor for the astonishing speed with which life can unravel. A single broken window soon attracts people who smash more windows. After all, breaking windows is fun. Isn't it? Pockets of disorder, graffiti, litter, etc. Communicated that authorities don’t care and will not enforce standards.

The concept of broken windows has critical spiritual applications. Paul says in Romans 3:23 that… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Let's be brutally honest. All of us have broken windows in our hearts and in our souls. The wisdom of this world simply tries to apply a band-aid to that wound, and it is never enough.

In our journey toward healing and wholeness, it is the availability of God’s love and his wisdom that guides. There is a wholeness that God wants to bring into each of our lives. God longs for the opportunity to repair the broken window of our souls. He wants to restore the lost remnants of personhood. Give a Peace beyond comparison. Gives us a wholeness and a purpose. The question becomes…

Have you left any broken windows unrepaired in your life?
Have you been guilty of allowing the litter of sin to remain like unwashed graffiti in your soul? Listen to what the apostle Paul writes… Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. – 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23 (NIV)

Habits of the Heart

2025-06-24T00:00:00Z

Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither&emdash;
    whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3

The psalmist opens the book of Psalms with these words. "Blessed is the one..." It is a roundabout way to describe blessedness. But it starts with what blessedness doesn't do. It doesn't walk with the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, nor does it take a seat in the seat of the mockers.

It is interesting to note the progression in this journey. It starts with simply walking with someone through moments in life. But that walking takes on a different dimension when you begin to "walk in step with the wicked." It takes on a deeper meaning when you find yourself stopping and standing and stalling in the way of sinners. Finally, you find yourself sitting in the seat of the mockers or as the KJV puts it "the scornful."

To me the passage describes our habits and where they can take us. A simple "innocent" habit can open doors for other things in our lives. As that habit develops it grows and becomes more of a lifestyle and a predictor of future behaviour.

A Christian musical group, Casting Crowns, explains it this way...

It's a slow fade
When you give yourself away
It's a slow fade
When black and white have turned to grey
And thoughts invade, choices made

A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

I don't know if Casting Crowns had Psalm 1 in mind when they wrote their lyrics but it sounds descriptive. It is also imperative to note that the psalmist doesn't stop there. He continues and says, Blessed is in those whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditate on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season.

In other words, the psalmist is saying good habits can take you to good places. And not just take you there but can help you put down good habits deep into the soil of God's redeeming love and no matter what season of life you find yourself in you will prosper in the things of God.

Thank you Jesus. Amen.

June 5 Three Miles an Hour

2025-06-15T00:00:00Z

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. ~1 Corinthians 11:1

Paul is writing a word of correction to the church at Corinth. Paul launched the church years earlier. He led them for several years, and then he moved on to plant some other churches. Now the church is in turmoil. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is an attempt to bring correction and order back to the church.

It is interesting to observe that as he brings correction he says, Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. Sounds simple enough. But it is far more complex that it seems. Paul lived in the first century. I live in the twenty-first century. 2000 years have elapsed since Paul or even Jesus walked the earth.

Someone recently pointed out to me that Jesus and Paul lived life at three miles an hour. That is the basic speed that humans walk. Now granted some folks in the first century had horses and chariots and traveled faster than three miles an hour. They are more of the exemption than the rule.

It is interesting to note that this morning my morning ritual is to get up, get ready and then head out to Starbucks for my morning coffee. On my way to get my coffee I try to take the fastest route possible. I get aggravated when I catch a red light. I need my coffee! I sort of live life at 60 miles an hour. I drive 99% of the places I go. The only time I really walk is when I walk our dog. Millie. Since we have gotten our dog I have become the official dog walker. I should note that Millie walks at her own pace. She does a lot of sniffing along the way. She has slowed my life down. In our walks I have noticed some new things. Houses for sale. Home owners who do their own lawn work. What cars people drive. Other people who walk their dogs. I have even met some of our neighbors as well.

I have learned that there is something to be said for life at three miles an hour. Now I should note that I am not about to trade in my truck. But I think that I do need to experience life at three miles an hour more. At three miles an hour you can hear birds chirping. Neighbors talking. Dogs barking. At three miles an hour you notice a lot more. I kind of like noticing things around me more. I especially like walking Millie at night. The night sky is rich with the splendor of stars, planets, and the Milky Way.

It reminds me of Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

All of that is easy to miss when you are traveling at 60 miles an hour.

In Jesus name. Amen.

A Theology of Hats

2025-05-23T00:00:00Z

Today I write a devotion of a different sort. Usually, I start my time here with a Scripture. Then an explanation of context. Then an application of some kind. Today I begin with some thoughts that I have about life. My life.

I think my life could be describes as a series of different hats that I wear. I have a variety of hats. Baseball hats. And an Irish Boston Scally cap. That is my favorite. But more than that I wear the hat of pastor. Teacher. Counselor. I also wear the hat of husband. Father. Friend. Those three last three hats are a treasure to me. All three of those hats are very important to me. All three of those hats have been transformational in my life. They have taught more about the practical dimensions of God's love than my theological academic training provided. Those hats allowed me to become more of a person that I wanted to be and needed to become.

It is interesting to note that the hat of husband helped me deal with my selfishness. Oh, it is still there, but it not what it used to be. This hat really did teach me that love is kind. Patient. Forgiving. Keeps no record of wrongs. And it is willing to compromise and wait. And love doesn't fail. With the hat of husband came the hat of dad. There are only three people in the world that get to really see me wear that hat. It is one of my greatest treasures. I have learned to play with my kids. Laugh with them. And cry with them. I have helped them move. They have helped me, and their mom move. We have walked through the valley of the shadows together. We have seen incredible sunrises and sunsets together. They are my greatest legacy. I can feel their pain. Their heartache. Their joys are my joys. Their successes are my successes. I am so proud of the people these three are and are becoming.

The third hat is one of the more interesting hats I wear. I don't seem to wear it enough. Between work. Things at home. And life itself. I wish that I could wear this hat more. Recently I read an article by Scott Sauls. He mentions the miracles of Jesus. Jesus healed the lepers. Gave sight to the blind. Opened deaf ears. But one of his greatest miracles was his deep profound friendship with twelve 20--30-year-old males. When I read that I had to laugh. The laughter quickly turned into a sobering reality. I realized that I need to work on that one. With God's help I will.

The other hats that I get to wear are pastor, teacher, pastoral counselor and those other vocationally related hats. I have come to the place in my vocation that I realize that I "get" to do this job. I love what I do. Now in the interest of complete disclosure I get frustrated, even aggravated at times with people and circumstances. And at times I fantasize about leaving it with them and simply working at Home Depot. To me the joy of wearing my pastor hat is when I see the internal spiritual light go on. Oh...that is what that means. Oh...that is why I should forgive. Walk in love. Be kind. Generous. The results far outweigh the frustrations.

The final hat I should mention is the most important one -- the hat of following Jesus. This hat is the most significant of all. It is not just a hat is the reflection of my heart and my soul. To be more like Him. To more like him in my relationships. My home. The church I serve. This is the hat that reflects true heart transformation. This is my favorite hat to wear. This is the hat that I should always be wearing. Never take it off.

In Jesus name amen.