"I Don't Like Change

 

“When you are reluctant to change, think of the

Beauty of autumn.”  -   VV Brown

“I don’t like change”,   the man said as  we rode together down the main street of the town where he lived.  His community was changing as the city of Raleigh had began to creep into that Franklin County town.    I suspect that many of us would echo those thoughts.   People in general are reluctant to embrace change.    Many of you reading this can remember the consternation that many felt when Coke decided years ago to change the formula for Coke.   Younger persons reading this will remember the loud protest made on social media when Cracker Barrel decided months ago to change their logo.  

While many of us might approach change with reluctance if not disdain,  it happens though we might feel grief about it.   Most parents feel a little nostalgic if not tearful when they drop off their child for their first day of kindergarten or they see their child walk across the stage to receive their high school diploma.   Perhaps every married couple on their golden anniversary looks back on old pictures and notices how their physical appearance has changed from the day they said their wedding vows 50 years ago.  

Change can also be a beautiful time in the season of life.   We certainly see that exemplified in stories in the Bible-  Saul of Tarsus changed into the apostle Paul when he is confronted by the voice of the Lord Jesus on the Damascus Road from a man who persecuted Christians to a man who told others about the “new creation” that God did in his life and can do in each persons life….  Peter the fisherman changed from a man who died Jesus not once or twice but three times into a Rock who gave a sermon on the day of Pentecost where thousands of souls became followers of Jesus.  

No matter who you are and what you have done…. No matter how deep may be your pain or how deep your sin,   there is a God in Christ Jesus that can change you and make you a new creature in Christ if you are ready and willing for that to happen.   Are you ready for God to make you His instrument?  How about today?    Have a blessed day.-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  as you changed Peter and Paul long ago, change me more fully and completely into the image of Christ;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

The Ministry of Presence

 

“I don’t know what to say.”

It is a phrase whispered in hospital hallways, muttered over back fences, and choked out in the quiet corners of funeral homes. Sometimes, it is a simple admission of helplessness. Other times, it is a plea, a question directed at the universe hoping that someone might provide the perfect, "magical" words to mend a shattered heart. Often, it is voiced with a sharp edge of anguish, the heavy weight of tragedy and illness stripping away our vocabulary until only silence remains.

We see this silence modeled in the ancient story of Job. In a single, devastating season, Job suffered the loss of his children, the ruin of his livelihood, and the physical torment of a relentless disease. When his friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—arrived, they did not lead with a sermon or a list of platitudes. Instead, they recognized the magnitude of the moment. Job 2:13 tells us: “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”

They offered him the ministry of presence.

In the face of overwhelming sorrow, the most precious gift we can offer is rarely our advice, but our proximity. Long after the specific words of a sympathy card have faded from memory, the image of the person who sat in the silence with us remains. Our presence says what our tongues cannot: You are not alone.

As we go about our week, let us look for those who are sitting in the "dust" of their own lives. We don't need to be experts or orators; we simply need to be there.

Have a joy-filled day.-     Randy L  Wall

PRAYER

            God, help us remember that we can be your servants not just by what we say, but what we do.  We pray for all those who know sorrow or heartache this day.  Give us the wisdom in the presence of those who know great need  to let our actions talk louder than our words; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  

Size Does not Define the Victory

 

We live in a "Walmart world"—obsessed with the idea that bigger is always better. We supersize our meals, our buildings, and even our expectations of the church, assuming that impact is measured by volume.

God operates on a different scale.      The Gideon Principle

When Gideon prepared to face the Midianites, he had 32,000 soldiers. God looked at the crowd and said, "Too many." Through a series of divine "downsizing" maneuvers, the army was whittled down to just 300 men armed only with trumpets and jars.

The Result: Victory didn't come from numbers; it came from the source.

---

Small Hands, Great God

We often play the "Who, me?" card. We look at our small congregations or our modest talents and feel like Moses—begging God to send someone more "qualified." We laugh at the Great Commission because we feel too tiny to reach "all nations."

But remember:

• The Original Team: Jesus gave the Great Commission to fewer than a dozen people.
• The Weaponry: Your "spiritual gifts" aren't small when they are fueled by an infinite God.
• The Shift: We need to stop obsessing over our lack and start believing in His abundance.

The Bottom Line

Stop measuring the church by the seating capacity and start measuring it by the Sending Capacity. It is time to trade the "Walmart mentality" for a "Gideon faith."

Don't look at what you aren't; look at who He is.-     Randy L. Wall

PRAYER -   Lord, forgive me for the times I focus on what I am not and am blind to how great and able you are.  I praise you that you are a God that can do more than we ask or even imagine.  Help me to trust that you never call your people to do anything without enabling them to do it;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

The Addiction We Do Talk About

 

Today, I am writing about a topic that might make some uncomfortable, but I think it important to consider:   pornography.   If you do not want to read this, feel free to stop now.    If you choose to continue reading,   I believe I have something important for some people to hear.     As some of you know that might be reading this,   I am not only an ordained pastor but also a licensed clinical mental health counselor in NC and a licensed professional counselor in SC.    While I am not serving as pastor at a church at this time,   I continue to serve via virtual counseling.    In the last few years,   I have seen a number of persons who were struggling with an addiction to pornography.    There are several things these persons have in common.     First, they are all male ranging in age from their early 20’s to their late 60’s.     Secondly,   they all confess to be Christians.   Most of these men are heavily involved in their church.    I certainly did not seek out to counsel persons about pornography, but God is giving me that opportunity. 

I remember many years ago going to a home to visit a home.   As I knocked on the door,   I could hear some noise inside.   Despite the knocks,  no one came.    At a later time,  I saw the occupant of that home.      The man acknowledged that he knew that I stopped by, but he did not answer the door because he was looking at a movie laced with pornography on his television.     I share that anecdote to illustrate that pornography is easily accessible in the world we live in today.  Some of you perhaps remember a time when pornography was something that one encountered at a x-rated movie theatre or via a magazine that came to your home in a manila envelope or you skimmed at a local store.   Now, pornography can be encountered on social media, web sites, and the like with ease on a smart phone or other devices.    Of course,   there are many things on television via movies, ads, and television shows that certainly have sexual content. 

There are many people that think that pornography is harmless since it is something that can be easily done in the privacy or comfort of their own home.      One of my clients once thought that, but now sees things differently as he seeks to break free from porn.    The reason why I am writing this blog post on what some perhaps find an uncomfortable topic is this:   porn can and does hurt others.     Pornography can and does harm relationships.    I have encountered clients that stated that their marriage or relationship was troubled since their wife or girlfriend found out they were looking at pornography.    I have worked with clients whose marriage ended in divorce principally because of their pornography addiction.  I also have worked with clients that lost their jobs because their employer discovered them viewing pornography in their workplace.   

If pornography is a part of your life,  I earnestly encourage you to get help and to quit fooling yourself that it is harming no one.   Please get help.    I do not think that God wants pornography to be a part of your life.   Perhaps you know someone important in your life who is struggling with pornography.      Feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to offer a few things that might help you.    Thanks for reading.    God bless.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --  O God,  I pray for all those who are struggling today with addictions including those who struggle with pornography.   Grant them a willingness to find strength and a new direction in you;  through Christ our Lord.    Amen. 

We Know Not When

 

“I never saw it coming.”     I suspect that you have said that phrase before or heard it said before.  You never saw it coming that a friend died that day… or that you lost your job or the company was closing… or some other experience that was sudden and shocking.  There are many things in life that are predictable-   that a couple we know that has been dating or been together for years finally decides to get married…. or that in a few weeks the trees and bushes will begin to bud or flower.    We expect those things.    But then again, there come those things in life that we do know are coming.   

There are some global events that folks did not see coming.   My Dad would tell the story about that Sunday afternoon when he and his parents heard the news about the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor.    My Dad was still a boy in those days, and even his adult parents did not see that coming.     I still remember that Tuesday morning when I heard the news about planes flying into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and a plane doing the same at the Pentagon in suburban Washington DC.   I did not see it coming, nor did any of the people in those buildings on that September day.   

There are some things in our faith as Christians we will not see coming.    That is a part of what Jesus gets at in the words of Matthew 24: 36-37 where we read:  

³⁶ “No one knows when that day and hour will come^[a]—neither the heavenly angels nor the Son,^[b] but only the Father, ³⁷ because just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. 

We know that God came.    Why, God came in a form that took all humanity by surprise-  as a tiny baby born to a teenage peasant girl named Mary.      We spent days celebrate that coming just weeks ago.     We also know that God will come again.    Generations of Christians facing trial and trouble have found solace in that thought and hope.    The apostle Paul even thought that Christ would come again during his lifetime.    But we do not know when though through the years some folks have claimed they had a special knowledge about that.

There are some things in life we do know when.   When a baby is born through natural means,  we do not when that time will be.   On this winter February day,  we know not  when it will be a snow day or a sunny day.    We do not know.  So, we live like soldiers waiting for their orders to come down.    We work for the Master, and we stand ready for the hour when Christ will come again or call us home to heaven.   Come, Lord Jesus!   Have a good day.-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  who has come and is coming:   we wait with expectation for the day you shall return and take us home.   Help us live each day with hope in you and in eagerness to serve you;  through Christ our Lord.    Amen. 

Don't Forget the Baby!

 

January is a time of year when people spend time putting things away!    A few weeks ago,  those Christmas decorations were front and center in our homes and our hearts.   Yet, now those Christmas decorations are going back to the places where we put them for the other days and weeks of the year.   A few weeks ago,  Christmas gifts were on our minds.   First, we were buying the gifts followed by wrapping the gifts and putting them under our tree.   Finally, there came that time when we gave gift or opened our gifts.   Unless we chose to send them back, now we are putting those gifts into the newfound place they have in our homes or in our lives.  

 There is one thing that I hope you will not put away, and that is Jesus.   I remember back in the 1970’s when friends of mine had their first child.   That little boy  was certainly wanted by his parents and lavished with attention.     A few weeks after that,   these new parents were on their way to church or some other familiar destination.    After they were a couple of miles down the road, they realized to their horror they had forgotten something really important-  THEIR NEWBORN SON!    

 As you advance into the new days and weeks of this new year,  take Jesus with you!    Do not put the child/ King away like you do the Christmas decorations that will remain dormant and hidden for the next 10 to 11 months.     Do not put Jesus in your closet like you do new dress pants or a new sweater.    Keep Jesus front and center.  Keep him close, even in your own heart!     Let Him have a prominent place not just in your home but in your life. 

 There are folks who seek to have Christmas without Jesus.    I am not sure how they do it, but they try.     There are some folks who trot out Jesus at Christmas to display when they have not given him much attention since last Christmas.    The Lord Jesus does not want to be someone who comes to mind for only a few weeks every year.  No, he wants to be a part of your world and in your life 365 days a year.   

Thanks for reading.    I hope that this new year is your best year yet!   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall  

PRAYER --  O God,   I celebrate in these days the good news that Christ has come and is coming.  Help me, God, to make Christ a part of my life each and every day; through the King of Kings,  Lord of Lords I pray.    Amen. 

 

 

S.D.G.

 

I love Christmas music.     One of the challenges I faced when serving as a local church pastor is that there is so much great Christmas music and it is challenging for any local church pastor and church music director to share all of it during the Sundays of December.     One of the ways that I found to share more of the good Christmas music was to incorporate a “Service of Lessons and Carols”  into some worship experience during the Advent or Christmas season.

Most every year,  my wife Ann and I will make plans to go to at least one musical experience during the days leading up to Christmas.   In 2024,  we had the experience of attending a presentation of Handel’s Messiah in downtown Charlotte.    Whether the music of the Messiah is “your cup of tea” ,  it is a beautiful piece to experience.   If you have never heard the full version of the Messiah, know that it is filled with Scripture and has three parts as follows:  the first part focuses on the prophecies of the Messiah;  the second part focuses on the passion and redemption of Christ Jesus; and the third part focuses on the resurrection of Christ Jesus. 

As I prepared to attend the Messiah last year,  I did a little study of the background of the piece of music that was written in the 1700’s.   One of the things I was reminded of is that at the end of his composition of the Messiah,  Handel  wrote three letters:  S.D.G.      Those three letters are an abbreviation for a latin phrase:  “Soli Deo Gloria” which in English means “To God alone the glory”.     

Several years ago,  I came across a copy the Westminister Catechism that had belonged to my Grandparents.      They attended the Presbyterian Church and it was used in the process of becoming a member of the church.   In that catechism, persons learn a series of questions and answers.  One of the first questions is:    “What is the chief aim of mankind?”       The answer to that question is this:    “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Whether we be a musical composer like Handel… a pastor preparing for a Christmas Eve Service… or a parent trying to maintain their sanity amid the fever-pitch stresses of  daily life  with young children,   are we living our life to give glory of God?      In these December days,  surely many of you will hear that passage of scripture that says “Glory to God in the highest” or perhaps you may sing that song whose chorus says “Gloria in Excelsis Deo.”      Glorifying God is not just a song to be sung at Christmas or a portion of scripture to read this time of year.      No,   it I a way of life that all those who bow their knee at the babe of Bethlehem are called to aspire to.     Let it be in these days and everyday.   Merry Christmas-   Pastor Randy Wall

 PRAYER --  O God,   I celebrate in these days the good news that Christ has coming and is coming.  Help me, God, to seek each and every day to give praise and glory to you, the King of Kings,  Lord of Lords.    Amen.