If You Are Happy, Notify Your Face

 

          It was one of those “okay” kind of days.  You know those kind of days, don’t you?  You have had those days that are somewhere between very great and very bad.  As I made my way down the hall in the nursing home, I saw her coming down the hall offering me a smile as wide as the state of Texas.  I do not know her name or address.  Though I do not know whether she was a Christian or not, there was something about that smile that touched and blessed me.  As I went on my way, my steps were a little brisker and I held my head a little higher.  An “okay” sort of day became a great day thanks to a lady whose name I do not know.

          I recall a song that I heard at a youth rally more than 30 years ago whose words say, “If you’re happy, notify your face.  Wipe off that frown, and put a smile back in its place.  Lets share Jesus with the whole human race.  If you’re happy, notify your face.”     There are times in the lives of all of us when we do not feel joy in our heart, but if we really think about it most of us have an abundance of days when we are blessed by God in great and wondrous ways.  Perhaps the greatest gift and witness for Christ you can give this day is the gift of a smile to a person you don’t even know.  You will be glad that you did, and so will they even if they do not know your name.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 PRAYER

          O God,  thank you for the blessings of this day and this life.     As I have been blessed,  help me to be a blessing to others even through a smile;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

No Walls In Heaven

 

We are surrounded by fences in the neighborhood where we live.    The neighbors across the street have a fence in their back yard.   When new neighbors moved in next door, they soon installed a fence in their back yard.  A couple of months ago, our neighbors on the other side of our house also installed a fence along with “No trespassing” signs on the fence.    Perhaps you have heard the saying “Good fences make good neighbors”.      Perhaps our neighbors see their fences as a  good way for us to become good neighbors.       I see merit in fences when you have a young child or when you have a dog.  Fences can be a good safety tool for young children, pets, and for neighbors.

Walls are similar to fences.   Like fences, walls keep people or creatures in and keep others out.   As I write this, they continue to build a wall along our U.S. border with Mexico in hopes of keeping persons from illegally entering into the United States.   About 10 years ago, Ann and I travelled to the U.S. border in Arizona and saw the wall there with Mexico on the other side.    Some of you reading this are old enough to remember that November day in 1989 when the Berlin Wall (that separated the city into East Berlin and West Berlin) was torn down.        Back in my seminary days, one of my seminary friends told me one day:    “Randy Wall,  I have some bad news for you.  I saw it on a church sign.   The sign said ‘No Walls in Heaven.’”        No walls in heaven is a troublesome thought when your last name is Wall like myself.  

We read something similar in the book of Ephesians.   In Ephesians 2: 13-15 we read: 

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,

While neighbors build their walls or fences to keep people out or to keep children or pets in and while a wall  is built along our U.S. border,   Christ Jesus comes to do something different:  to tear down walls or fences between people and between persons and God.   Christ Jesus wants there to not only be no walls in heaven, but nowhere else!     Have a joy-filled week. Happy Thanksgiving to each of you.--   Pastor Randy Wall    

 

PRAYER

            Mighty and merciful God, your mercies are new everyday.   We thank you for your grace-filled love that breaks down the walls that humans build between one another for our sinfulness that creates a wall with you.   Forgive us, and bring us closer to you.  Amen.   

"Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone"

 

Joni Mitchell is a singer and songwriter from another era.  Born in Canada, she came on the music scene in the late 60’s and early 70’s here in the United States with a number of songs.  She left her fingerprint on the music scene with some great music.    I have been thinking about a line in one of her songs recently that goes something like this:   “Don’t it always seem to go that we don’t know what we have got until it is gone.” 

One of the things that all of us have faced in 2020 is the loss or limitation of freedoms and privileges that  we known as human beings and as citizens of the United States of America because of this pandemic.   Here are a few freedoms and joys that immediately come to my mind that have been impacted by COVID 19:    church involvement… spending time with friends and family… going out to dinner with family.   In 2020, all those freedoms and joys have been either eliminated for a period of time or severely limited.  “Don’t it always seem to go that we don’t know what we have got until it is gone.” 

In Luke 17, we hear the story of an encounter that Jesus had with a colony of lepers.  Leprosy was a skin disease in Jesus’ day that greatly impacted people’s lives.  If a person was diagnosed with leprosy, they were quarantined away from family, friends, and their entire community.   They were considered spiritually unclean and could not worship with their family of faith.   Luke 17 tells us that Jesus healed 10 persons from leprosy, but only one of the 10 persons took the time to offer their thanks to Jesus for the healing.    

“Don’t it always seem to go that we don’t know what we have got until it is gone.” I suspect that all of us are guilty of taking for granted the blessing of people and freedoms we know in our lives.    A pandemic called COVID 19 has certainly reminded me that I have.   I encourage you to join me in following the example of that Samaritan man in Luke 17 and give thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for those precious gifts in your life in this season.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

  

PRAYER

            Thank you, God.   Thanks seem too small a word to declare our gratitude for the gifts that are ours in this life.  Forgive us for the many, many times we have taken you and your blessings for granted.   Help the thanksgiving we offer with our lips be revealed in our actions;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

An Attitude of Gratitude

 

One of the things you may or may not know about me is that my father was an alcoholic.  I say that not to seek your pity or your sympathy, but to help you understand who I am.    My Dad was a good man and had many wonderful attributes, but he  also faced an addiction to alcohol that left scars on his life and the life of his family.    For many years, I shunned or avoided facing how his alcoholism affected my life but began to come to terms with it about 30 years ago.   For several years, I attended regularly a support group for adult children of alcoholics.    The group meant a lot to me in those years, and I grew a lot through my attendance.  One day, one of the other group members talked about making a gratitude list.    I discovered that a gratitude list was simply a list of those things that you are grateful for in your life.   Though I have not attended an adult children of alcoholic group in decades, I still remember the gratitude list and find meaning in doing that.       I find myself feeling led to do the same this time of year  as Thanksgiving Day approaches and we get closer to the end of the year.     

 

Perhaps there are some in anger or sadness wondering  what there is to be thankful and grateful for in 2020.   Many have faced the loss of jobs or income… sickness… school stoppage.   I thought about that when I read the book of Philippians recently.    Paul certainly faced his challenges.   While many see him as the great missionary and an apostle, that does not mean that life was easy.    He writes the Book of Philippians while he is in prison for his faith in Christ Jesus.   We also know that he was facing a “thorn in the flesh” though no one knows exactly what that was.   Despite all of that, read  these words that we find in Philippians 4:  4-7: 

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In those words, we find the words of Paul ooze with words like “rejoice”, “thanksgiving”, and “peace” despite the imprisonment and “thorn in the flesh” that he faces.    Paul sees gratitude despite it all.    Despite the challenges of 2020 for all of us, my heart feels gratitude.  Here are a few things on my gratitude list in these days:

·         I am grateful for my family (my wife, children, grandchildren, and others) as I remember those who have lost loved ones this year to COVID-19 and other illnesses

·         I am thankful for the priviledge to be a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ and share the love of Christ Jesus as I remember those who have lost jobs or do a job they do not love

·         I am thankful for my health knowing so many who face health challenges

·         I am grateful that the social distancing and staying at home has allowed me to spend more time in God’s word and prayer this year

These are some things on my gratitude list in November, 2020.   I encourage you to write your own.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

  

PRAYER

            Lord God,  you are the giver of all good things.   You are the one from whom all blessings flow.     Thank you for all the blessings in my life.   Give me a heart to see all the goodness that is so freely given;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

A Different Lost Colony

 

North Carolina is a beautiful state, and one of its beautiful places are the Outer Banks.  When Ann and I travelled there some time ago, one of the things we did was watch the outdoor drama, “The Lost Colony”.   The “Lost Colony” outdoor drama is over 50 years old, but the story it tells is much older than that.  The story goes that in the late 1500’s Queen Elizabeth I gave permission to Sir Walter Raleigh to establish a colony in the New World we know call the United States.  A small band of  men, women, and children set sail and settled at what is now known as Manteo, North Carolina.  When rations became low, Ralph White and a few others set sail for England to get provisions.  When they returned many months later, they discovered a “lost colony”.  What happened to the colonists remains a source of mystery and speculation  even to this day.

            It occurs to me that in the church of Jesus Christ we have our own “Lost Colony”, and it is that group of people that get lost from our pews, our programs, and involvement in the life of our church.  They are the people that joined our church and were involved in the life of the body of Christ.  Though we might see them in the grocery store or in the community,  we never see them in the life  and ministry of the church.  As Ralph White and company searched for the colonists lost from Roanoke Island, so it is our responsibility as the church to be concerned about their welfare.  Perhaps they are not involved in the church because of something that has happened in their life where the body of Christ, the church, might be a source of support and strength.  Perhaps they are not involved in the life of the church anymore because of an unfortunate encounter in their relationship with someone in the church.  In Luke 15, Jesus tells us not about a lost colony, but about a lost sheep who is sought out by the shepherd.  As God’s instruments in the world today, it seems imperative on we who are the church to search for those lost colonists who once were a part of our church.  It might be that not only their soul depends on it, but our soul depends on it also.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall 

PRAYER

            Lord God,  we pray today for those who have vanished from the life and program of our church.   Remembering how your love searched and sought us, help us to reach out to them;  in the name of Jesus Christ we pray and we serve.  Amen.