Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Today

 

June 2 is one of my favorite days of the year in our family because two important members of my family have a birthday today.   My Dad, Dennis L. Wall, was born on this day.  If Dad was living, he would be 89 years old today.   Today is also the birthday of my daughter, Heather Elizabeth.    When Heather was young, she would proudly tell everyone her age and even add ½ to her age.   However, now that she is an adult, she is a bit more  timid to share her age. 

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is a favorite of mine to see during the Christmas season.  The 1947 movie, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, raises a question that is worthy considering  any time of year.   That question is:   What if I had never been born?   How would life be different if I had never been born?    As I remember my Dad on his birthday and think of who he was and as I think of my daughter Heather and the person she is,  I cannot imagine what life would be like without either one of them.  This world and my world is a better place because Dennis L. Wall and Heather Elizabeth Wall Hutchison were and are  in it.   I suppose it  is biologically correct to say that if my Dad had not been born neither would I and certainly my daughter Heather would not have been born. 

            In Psalm 139:14, the Psalmist praises God as he says: 

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,  I know that full well.

The Psalmist uses the word “fear” not to express fright or being scared.  No, he uses the word to express the kind of awe and wonder that one encounters in a God moment or worship.    I feel awe and wonder on June 2 as I think about two people in my life who were born on this day:  my Dad and my daughter, Heather.      I suspect that there are days you feel the same about some people in your life.   And you know what?  I suspect that there are some who say the same about you.   Have a joy-filled week, you “fearfully and wonderfully made” person-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

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PRAYER

Thank you, Lord,  for the special people in  my life.  My life is better and this world is better because of them.   Thank you, creator God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Always Remember

Memorial Day 2021 is only a few days away.  It is always the last Monday of May, and it is late as it can be in May since it is the last day of the month.    Memorial Day is a national holiday when we remember the many brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in serving our country in our armed forces.    Last Fall, I was in the Washington DC area and visited some of the sites there that serve as a memorial for those who served:   the Korean War Memorial, the Viet Nam War Memorial, and the World War II Memorial.   It is right and it is important that a grateful nation remembers and never forgets. 

Memorials and remembrance are not just a part of the fabric of our nation, but they are also important in the life of people of faith.   Numbers is probably not in the top five books of your favorite books of the Bible.   Despite that, read these words in Numbers 10: 8-10:

⁸ “The sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come. ⁹ When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God and rescued from your enemies. ¹⁰ Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed festivals and New Moon feasts—you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God.”

Do you ever  take time to  really remember all that God has done for you?   In the life of the ancient Israelites, they offered memorial offerings to God remembering all that God had done, was doing, and would do for them.     It is easy to go into a “what have you done for me lately” in our relationship with God and forget all God has done for you particularly when we are overwhelmed by the trials and troubles of life.   I invite you as Memorial Day approaches to not only remember the sacrifices of those who served our country, but to take time in this week and in each day to remember and give thanks for the goodness and graciousness of our God.    Have a joy-filled week!-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

 

·Previous Book:Go to Job

·Previous Chapter : Go to Psalm 62

·Expand: show the entire chapter ofPsalm 63

·Next Chapter : Go to Psalm 64

·Next Book:Go to Proverbs

·Listen to this passage : Psalm 63

·View commentary related to this passage

PRAYER

Thank you, Lord, for all that you have done for me.  Help me, Lord, to show you my gratitude and thanksgiving for all your blessings by always giving you thanks and praise;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Lessons Learned from a Pandemic

 

            Our government and health officials have encouraged us in recent months to do our part to help contain this pandemic.   We have been told to wear our mask and not to gather for mass gatherings.   We have asked to maintain social distance from one another.   While these actions might have been good for our physical health and the physical health of others, I believe that it has not been beneficial for our mental, emotional, and spiritual health.    While I have not  seen any studies about it, I wonder if these social isolation has led to  increases  in the rates of depression in our population. 

            In Genesis 2:18, we read these words:   “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’”    We need to be in relationship and to interact with others.  Think about some of the social effects of this pandemic on normal activities:

·   Linited worship and religious  gatherings for important events  like Easter, Lent, Homecomings, Christmas, funerals, and music programs

·         We have been discouraged from gathering as a family for  good times and special occasions

·  We have been unable to gather in person to support our local sports teams, college teams, and professional teams

·       We have not been able to come together as a community for parades, Christmas tree lightings, and the like

While I am not questioning the merit of social isolation directives by our community and health leaders, I believe that it has not been good for the spiritual, emotional, and mental well being of the general public.   “It is not good for the man (and the woman)  to be alone”.   Perhaps one of the blessings of this pandemic is being reminded how much we need each other and need to be interact with each other.      I, for one, welcome the chance to be able to gather in large groups with people like you again.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER:     I  thank you, Lord and God, for the power, purpose, and possibilities of human relationships.   Forgive me for the times I have taken those human relationships and connections for granted.  Thank you, God, for the people in my life;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Blessed by "Whats Her Name"

 

            One of the miracles that we read about in the gospels is the feeding of the five thousand.  It is the only miracle we find in all four gospels.    The gospel of John tells us a few details that the other three gospels leave out.  Read again these words from John 6: 1- 15: 

 ¹ Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.  ⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.  ⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”  ⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” ¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.  ¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.  ¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

One of the things that is different in John’s version of the story is that he tells us that the loaves and fishes that Jesus used to feed thousands was contributed by a little boy.  An unknown boy.  Thousands of people were blessed with full bellies because of the generosity of that little unknown boy.   It occurs to me that the same is true for us.  We know blessing after blessing each and every day because of the actions of people whose name we do not know.  If you ate a meal today in a restaurant, some person whose name you probably do not know prepared your food or grew your food.   Some unknown person made the clothes you wear… or made the chair in which you sat.    Day after day, there are countless people blessing us whose names we do not know.    You may not be able to thank each and every one of them, but surely you can thank God for them.   Have a joy-filled week.- Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER:     O God,  you have blessed me on this day and in this life in so many ways. You have given so much to me through people whose names are unknown to me.  As I have been blessed, help me to so live that I might be a blessing;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Our Spiritual Parents

 

In a few days, we will observe another “Mothers Day”, a time to honor the mothers in all of our lives.   Mothers that are living will be visited by their children, and showered with calls or cards, flowers or  gifts.  Mothers that are deceased will be remembered with a flower on a grave, a tribute in the church bulletin, or with a brief prayer.    From the gift of life itself, the list is long when you consider the gifts that a mother gives their children.     In cards, words, and letters, children will seek to express to their mother at Mothers Day their gratitude for many gifts.  

In II Timothy, the apostle Paul writes to his younger brother in Christ, Timothy.  In II Timothy 1:5, Paul writes these words:  “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”   In those words, Paul hints that one of the reasons that Timothy was a follower of Christ Jesus was through the faith that he saw in his Grandmother Lois and in his mother, Eunice.   The late William Barclay, a pastor of another era, was once asked what was the greatest theological statement he ever heard.  Barclay replied, “The greatest statement I ever heard in the Christian faith was said not by some great Christian thinker, but by my mother and it was this:  ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’”   

Faith in Christ is not something we inherit from our parents like we do the color of our eyes or the color of our hair.   We cannot live on the faith of our parents.  As someone once said, God does not have grandchildren but only children.  However, there are many people who saw Christ Jesus in the life of their parents or some other adult figure before they ever knew him themselves.   As you give thanks for mothers in your life this week, don’t just remember to thank them for their love.  Also take a moment to give thanks for those mothers who showed you and told you about God’s love.  Have a joy filled week-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER

            O God, we thank you for your presence seen in the mothers of our lives.  Help their godly example to be a continued source of inspiration that we might more fully follow you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.