Real or Only Skin Deep

           (Note:   The following is a piece I wrote several years ago that I believe is applicable today.   Enjoy.-  RLW)

 Halloween is almost here.   My grandchildren will join scores of children that will be something they are normally not for an hour or two.   On Halloween, some sweet little girl will become a mean, ugly switch and a small, frail little boy will become a mighty super-hero like Spiderman.

            One of the dangers that we face  in our walk with God is that our faith might only be skin deep.   As the children at Halloween appear to be something they are not for a while,  there is always the danger that we only “appear” to be a follower of Christ Jesus for a while.   As a pastor, I find that possibility to be scarier than anything that I will see at Halloween. 

You know the kind of people that I am talking about:   they are people that praise God’s name on Sunday, but they profane God’s name the other 6 days of the week.  They are people that serve the Lord on Sunday, but they serve the devil on Saturday nights.   Jesus speaks about  such a danger in Matthew 23: 27-28:  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside you are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”  

            Why children might become something they are not for a while at Halloween,  children of God are persons who are “really” followers of Christ all the time.  They don’t just wear their faith on their sleeve because Christ Jesus has found a place to reside in their hearts.    That is my hope and prayer for all and each of us. 

PRAYER

            God, forgive me for the times that I have served you only with my words.  Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Two Loves and October

            One of the many things I like about living in the Carolinas is the fact that we truly experience all the seasons of the year.   We know cold weather and a little ice and snow in winter.   We also experience the blooms and buds of Springtime as the dormant flora comes back to life.   We know the warmth of long sunny days and the metamorphosis that takes place in the fall as green leaves are transformed into colors of red, orange, and the like.

I love all the seasons of the year and enjoy the changing of the seasons.    But if I had to pick a favorite time of year,  I suppose it would be the season of Fall.   I love autumn, and one of the reasons is two important events in my life  that happened in this month of October.   October is the month that I fell in love with two persons that are very important in my life:   my wife, Ann, and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

I cannot tell you the moment that I fell in love with Ann.   I cannot tell you one thing that caused me to love her and know that I wanted her to be my wife.   What I can tell you that marrying Ann Wall was one of the best decisions of my life and I am a better person because I have her as a part of my life.   While I am the one who might stand in the pulpit and is more visible in the public eye, she is the better person and one of the most kind-hearted, patient people I have ever met.    I  am so grateful to have my wife, Ann, in my life and I cannot thank her enough or thank God enough for her.    

It was October, 1970 when I fell in love with the Lord Jesus.   My home church had a group of lay men, lay women, and youth visiting that weekend.   They shared through that weekend what the Lord Jesus had done in their life.   As that weekend came to a close,  I wanted the Lord Jesus to change my life and be  my Lord and Savior.   I became a Christian and a follower of the Lord Jesus.     In a matter of months, I heard a call to be a pastor.  I am so grateful that the Lord Jesus came into my life.  

In the Book of Acts, we find the story of the “Damascus Road experience” of the apostle Paul not once or twice, but told three times.   We hear the story when it first happened and we hear the apostle Paul recount the story to others.    For the apostle Paul, it was important to remember.   I believe it is important for me to remember  what Christ Jesus did in my life.  It is important to not just remember that “old old story” from long ago, but it is important to remember that story as we continue to go forward with our relationship with Christ. 

 In the early days of my ministry, there was a professor at Duke named James T. Cleland.   He died many years ago, but I still remember one of the things he said:  remember your conversion experience.  Remember and give thanks again and again for what God has done and is doing in your life.      Have a joy-filled week.-    Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   God,  thank you for the blessing of people who love us and transform our lives.   Thank for the wonder of your love for us.   Let my life be a living tribute to that love.  Amen.    

Seeking Me... and Seeking You

            One of the preaching professors in my early years of ministry who had an impact on me  was the late Rev. Dr. James Cleland.   He was the preaching professor at Duke for many years and also the Dean of the Chapel there.  Though I never formally was a student in one of his classes, I stayed alert to what he said as a “wannabe” preacher.    At some point in time in those early years, I recall hearing him say in his thick Scottish brogue “Remember your conversion experience.”  I find myself doing this when the month of October comes around each year.   As  God in his wonder and wisdom turns green leaves  into hues of red, yellow, and the like, I think of how God changed me.   You see, it was in the month of October when I gave my life to Christ.  I was a high school senior when a group of men, women, and youth came to my church in 1970 for a laity-led event called a Lay Witness Mission.   In the course of the weekend, I gave my life to Christ.  

There is the temptation when a person gives their life to Christ for them to wallow  in the glory of their own actions with perhaps a hint of pride and self-congratulations saying to the world and to others “Look at what I did.”  As I reflect today on my conversation experience, I realize it was not so much me seeking God as God patiently and relentlessly seeking me.   Through the course of the human events of my life in ways that I did not see nor completely understand at the time,  God was seeking me and wooing me to be His own.  God sought me through events that seemed like the end of the world at the time (like the separation and divorce of my parents).   God was seeking me and calling me to be his disciple through Sunday School teachers who said in their actions that I was important and the boy next door who invited me to church.   In ways that to this day I don’t completely understand, God was calling me to “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men and women.”.  

I tell this story again and reflect on it again not because I am so special, but because I want you the reader to realize that you are special.    Before you were ever born, God was seeking you and yearning for you to be His own.  And though the years have passed since that day, God still is seeking you!     He still wants you to be His disciple not because you are so great, but because He is so great.   God may not be calling you to be a preacher, but he might be calling you to be th e best “butcher, baker, or candlestick maker” you can be for His glory!  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   God,   all glory, honor, thanks, and praise for the call and claim you have on all people including me.   Thank you for loving me and transforming me.  We love you, Lord.  Help us to love you more;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Right Under Our Nose

            The summer of 2019 provided my wife, Ann, and I the opportunity to travel to a number of states far away from our home in North Carolina.  We live in a beautiful country and I am grateful for the chance we had to see some of its beauty:  the grandeur of the Rockies as we stood on the summit of  Pikes Peak in Colorado… the glory of a thunderstorm moving across the plains of southern Colorado… the rocky, rugged Maine coast… the wonder of a sunset over the Blue Ridge mountains.   These are some of the sights we saw this summer, and what a joy it was to share it with my wife.

It occurs to me that sometimes we can get so busy and consumed with the thought of the beauty of places far away from home that we miss the beauty and wonder of what is right under our noses.   Perhaps you do not have the time, health, or monies to go to far away places.   I encourage you to see the wonder of God and His creation right around you.   These sights will not cost you airfare, lodging, or a rental car.   They are waiting for us to see if we will simply take time to behold them.  Here are a few sights that come to mind:

A hummingbird hovering as it drinks the nectar from a feeder

A sunrise to begin a new day and a sunrise as day ends

The fog rising as the ground feels the warmth of a new day

A full moon rising in the east

The changing of the leaves on the trees around you from green to autumn colors

The sight of a young child discovering the world around it

            Look and listen to the world around you that awaits your discovery and awareness.   And as you discover it,  remember that it is a gift from the mighty, omnipotent God.  Have a  joy-filled week. --  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   God,  forgive me for the times that I yearn to see the wonder of places far away but miss the wonder of the things that are near.   Still my body and spirit to see the wonder of our handiwork right around me;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.