A Christmas Gift Never Given

 

Most all of us have Christmas memories that are unforgettable and continue to linger.   For some of us, those memories are good and for others of us those memories are not so good.   Christmas 2000 was a Christmas that I will never forget.  My late Mom was in the hospital and nursing home that Christmas recovering from back surgery in early December 2000.   I remember making my way from my home to my hometown of Burlington to visit her in the hospital before I  had some “Christmas moments” with Ann and our girls.   It would turn out to be my Mom’s last Christmas before her death in August   

My brother Tony, my step-father Beamon, and I had made the decision that we would not exchange  Christmas gifts until Mom was able to be back home.    Since Mom had been sick, I had bought her a nightgown for her Christmas present.   Though Ann and the girls were much more proficient in wrapping Christmas gifts that I was, I insisted that I would wrap her gift even though the gift wrapping was far from perfect.

Shortly after her death in August 2001, I discovered her Christmas gift in a closet.   It was a Christmas gift that was never given.   Nursing home visits, rehab, physical therapy, and other things seemed to get in the way of giving her that nightgown.   Though my memory is a blur over 20 years later, I seem to recall that I took the nightgown and donated it to the local Goodwill Store.  Perhaps some other person got the benefeit of a gift that was never given. 

In these December days, many will offer gifts to young and old:   children, family, friends, co-workers, community helpers (like the postman and the person who delivers our newspaper).   I wonder if there is a gift that you will not give this year?

·         Will you offer the gift of an “I’m sorry” to a friend or family member with which a dispute still lingers?

·         Will you offer the gift of a visit to a friend or family member you have not seen in the longest time?

·         Will you give the gift of taking time to spend with God in prayer and praise and get re-acquainted on His Son’s birthday?

While Christmas is only days away, there is still time and these are gifts you can afford if you would only invest the time.    Have a joy-filled week and a blessed Christmas. Emmanuel, God is with us.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --   God, we give you thanks for the unspeakable gift that is ours in Jesus Christ.   Richly we have been given.   Let us richly give.   Amen.

Untied Church, Untied World: A Christmas Hope

 

Two of the things that have not changed through the years of my life about Christmas is there is always a nativity scene somewhere and most church always seem to have a Christmas pageant.   When I was a boy, we had a wooden nativity scene on the front lawn of our church.   Today, I see them not just at churches but sometimes in the yards of homes in neighborhoods.   Regarding Christmas pageants, I was in a few of them as a child starting out as a shepherd and then being promoted to a wise man walking down the aisle of the church.  

I always assumed as a child that the main characters surrounding the birth of Jesus showed up at the same time just like aunts, uncles, and cousins showed up at our grandparent’s house at Christmas for food and gifts. A college degree  in religion from Methodist University and a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School taught me a different view of the  birth of Jesus.  Wise men?   Formal education taught me that the wise men got there far later than the shepherds because they came from far away and, on top of that, they were probably of a different religious tradition.   Shepherds?     Even though the sheep  at a petting  zoo look cute, those shepherds were considered to be sinners by the religious leaders of the day.    Mary, the mother of Jesus?    Formal education taught me that even though Mary was seen as “highly favored” by the angels, she was looked at with scorn and shame by her community and religious leaders alike in her day.     The real story about the people in the nativity scene at church or the church Christmas pageant was a little bit different.

I wish this Christmas could be a different story for us.    Our family does not gather together anymore at our grandparent’s house because grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even some  cousins have gone  to their  eternal reward.   However, that is not the only thing that is different.    We do  not seem as a people to COME TOGETHER or BE TOGETHER anymore.     In our country, we seem less like the United States, but more like people who are known to be liberal  or  conservative… republican or democrat or independent… rural , urban, or suburban.    Decades ago when the General Conference of the United Methodist Church  was meeting, one hotel  put on their marquee “Welcome UNTIED Methodist”.     In these days, that spelling error is becoming a reality as United Methodist Churches and people  become untied amid differences of opinion about issues many see as quite important.     

I wish this Christmas could be a different story.     Long ago in Bethlehem, shepherd-sinners… wise men from far away places with different beliefs… Joseph and a formerly pregnant and shunned  Mary came together despite their differences to praise the name of the new born King, Christ Jesus.   Like the different people with their blemishes and differing beliefs around the manger of Bethlehem, I wish we could put down our social media post and our vicious rhetoric in our untied country and untied church to be together at the feet of Jesus and in the name of Jesus.    I may not agree with you and you may not agree with me, but I know that I need you and know that we all  need the peace, presence, and power of the Lord Jesus.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy L. Wall

PRAYER --   God,  forgive us for the times we have focused on what divides us instead of what unites us.   Knit us together, O God, through the bonds of your love that came down full of grace and truth in Bethlehem;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Be Think-ful

 

The people of the United States will celebrate a holiday this week:  Thanksgiving.   Thanksgiving first was a national holiday back in the 1860’s when President Abraham Lincoln declared the 4^th Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.   That period in the 1860’s was a time similar to our time now.   Americans fought Americans, and brothers fought brothers in a time of civil war.   Despite that, President Lincoln was wise enough to see beyond the current state of affairs to realize that there was much to be thankful for. 

Many years ago, I heard the story of a young man who had a speech impediment.  I do not know the cause of his speech impediment, but am told that as he spoke to a family member one day he uttered the following:    “We…we…we…. Aaaalll…. Needddd… to… be… moooreee.. thiinnkful”.    Anotherwords,  “we all need to be more thankful”. 

It is easy for all of us to think we earned this or deserved that, or to believe that we are entitled to something.   Yet, think about it.    Really think  about it!     There are so many gifts and blessings we know regularly    I am certain that this is a busy week for many of you as you prepare to gather with family or friends… make plans to travel far or near… or prepare a meal or a dish for a thanksgiving gathering.   I encourage you as I encourage myself to THINK ABOUT IT.   Take time this week to look at your life in all its craziness or serenity and consider all the goodness you know.   And most of all, see in the midst of it all the certainty that so many of the blessings you know are ones that find their source in our living and loving God.   Happy Thanksgiving.   Have a joy-filled week.   -  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --   Living and loving God, I want to say thank you for all the goodness that comes my way each day knowing that you are the one from whom all blessings flow.   Bless families and friends in their gatherings, and bless those who travel;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.

The Story of Marine Corporal Ira Hayes

The people of the United States will remember our veterans in a few days as we observe Veterans Day.   Some will take a holiday from work, and some will pause and reflect on those who wore the uniform of our nation’s military.     While Memorial Day is a time when we remember those who  made the  ultimate sacrifice as they gave their lives, Veterans Day is a day and time when we remember those men and women who served in the military and came home.

Many of you have seen the iconic picture found above.   The picture was taken during World War II and shows our nation’s military raising the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima.   Among the folks who fought on Iwo Jima and raised that flag was a man named Ira Hayes.  He was a native American by birth, and lived in the state of Arizona.   He served our nation not only in the U.S. Marines, but he also came home and was a part of a team of “flag raisers” that toured the country after that photo was taken raising monies for the war effort of World War II.   Thanks to Ira Hayes and his associates, millions of dollars were raised for the war effort.    Unfortunately, the war left scars upon the heart and soul of Ira Hayes.   He suffered post traumatic stress disorder and he dealt with the scars of the war by drinking alcohol.   Ira Hayes died in January 1955 at 32 years of age.   The coroner maintained that Ira Hayes died from alcohol poisoning.   What a sad death for this man that truly was an American hero.

In I Samuel 7:11-13, we hear this story where Samuel puts up a memorial to remember how God has helped them:

¹¹ The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.  ¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,^[a] saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”   ¹³ So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel’s territory. Throughout Samuel’s lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines.

Let us raise our Ebenezer and remember those who wore our nation’s uniform and served on this Veterans Day.   The greatest way we can remember them is to make sure that each of these men and women who served us have the help they need after they leave the battlefront and come back home.   Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --   Living and loving God, we thank you for those who served our nation as they served in the military. As they gave liberally to take care of us, let us give liberally to help take care of them; through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

The Beverly Hillbillies and Us

 

Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,
Then one day he was shootin at some food,
And up through the ground came a bubblin crude.
Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.

Well the first thing you know ol Jed's a millionaire,
Kinfolk said "Jed move away from there"
Said "Californy is the place you ought to be"
So they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly.
Hills, that is. Swimmin pools, movie stars.

Some of you reading this will recognize the words above.   If you grew up in the 1960’s as I did or if you are a fan of old television shows, you will probably recognize that these words came from the theme song of “The Beverly Hillbillies” television show.   A man who lived far back in the hills one day had the fortune (or misfortune) to have oil discovered on his property making Jed Clampett and his family rich.  

Suddenly, Jed Clampett and family headed to live in a mansion in Beverly Hills, California.   Most of the comedy in the show came from the fact that though the general public and the bank knew that the Clampett family were rich, they did not act  like it.   For example, they felt they had to make their own soap and had to hunt for their dinner instead of going to buy  it at their local grocery store.   Their mindset came telling them they were poor when they had riches that were the envy of many. 

I believe the story of the Beverly Hillbillies is a spiritual metaphor for so many of us.   Though the Bible tells us in Phillipians 4,  “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus our Lord”,  we (like Jed Clampett and family) have a poor, “woe is me” mindset.  So much of the time, we listen more clearly and attentively to what the world tells us instead of the truth of the gospel.   We know the “treasure” of the abundant life in Christ but let the cares of this world make us blind to that truth.  

Friends, you are sons and daughters of  the mighty, omnipotent God who offers you more than you can ask and imagine.    Live in the joy and riches of His grace.   Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --   God, thank you for the riches that are found in your abundant grace that is more than we ask or imagine.   Forgive me for the times I fail to live like it.  Help me to abide more fully in you; through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bojangles

 

There is a chain restaurant  in our area named Bojangles.   It is well known for  two things: their chicken and biscuits.   My wife Ann and I have been known to frequent that place every now and then or to wait  in line at their drive-thru window.    There was someone else at a local Bojangles location a few months ago:  Dale Earnhardt Jr.   If you are NASCAR fan or a racing fan, you probably know of Dale Jr.  He was recently elected as a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame having retired from racing a few years ago.  From news reports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not in the restaurant eating a biscuit or in the drive through ordering a meal.  No, he was working in the restaurant.  He is a spokesman for  Bojangles, and I suppose it was a way to bring publicity to Bojangles.  While there is nothing wrong with working at Bojangles.  I am grateful for those  people that do especially on those days when I am one of their customers.  However, I never thought that he would be working at a local Bojangles location.  

The Book of Jonah is a short book in the Old Testament.    Why, it is only 4 chapters long.   Even those who are not believers and read the Bible regularly know about Jonah in the belly of the fish (or whale).    While I will not take time to discuss every aspect of this book of the Bible, one of the things that Jonah tells us about is that while Jonah is in the belly of the fish, he prays to God.  God hears his prayer and Jonah winds up being spit up  by the fish on the shore.   None of us would expect Jonah to be in the belly of a fish or for God to show up there hearing the prayer of Jonah anymore than most racing fans  would expect Dale Earnhardt Jr. to show up to work at local Bojangles Restaurant.

We serve a God who always shows up in the most unlikely times and places:

God shows up for Elijah not in the thunder but in a still small voice

God shows up for Moses in a bush in the desert that is burning but is not consumed

God shows up for Paul in a bright light on the road to Damascus

I  would not expect Dale Earnhardt Jr. to show up working in my local Bojangles Restaurant but he did.  Thanks be to our God who shows in the most unlikely of times and places.   Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER    Almighty God,   we give you thanks that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Thank you, Lord, for always showing up.   Give me a vigilant hear to see you;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Changes Come and Go

 

Have you noticed?   The days are getting shorter.  Though there are still many warm days, there the temperatures are not as  hot as they were in July.   Fall is officially here and it is starting to look like.  The times are changing.   One of the gifts of living in my part of the world is that we indeed experience all 4 seasons.   I cannot imagine what it would be like to live in a place where you never saw snow on the ground or ice glistening on the tree limbs… or saw the tree leaves change from green to hues of orange, red, or yellow.  

Changes is hard for all of us.   Many struggle when a software they use in their job has an upgrade.   Students struggle when they adjust to a new school or a new teacher.    What car driver has not found themselves confused when they encountered a detour on a familiar road or a new traffic pattern.

While change is sometimes hard, it also can be good.   When an infant cries, sometimes perhaps they cry because they need a change of a diaper.   Change sometimes is not just good, but change sometimes is of God.   Here are a few examples:

·         No one but God could have changed a man named Saul from a persecutor of Christians to a great missionary

·         No one but God could have changed Peter from a rocky commitment to Christ Jesus into the one who preached a sermon on Pentecost that led to  3000 souls giving their life to Christ

·         No one but God could have changed David from being a shepherd boy to be a great King and Psalm writer

·         No one but God could have changed Joseph from being a little brother shunned by his elder brothers to being the prime minister of Egypt

·         Last but not least, no one but God could have changed a dead, crucified Jesus from one whose life was over into the risen living Lord

The times are changing.   Thanks be to God for the miraculous changes He works in all of us.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER    Almighty God,  we give thanks that though the seasons change and the world changes that your love changes not.   We give thanks for the changes you have wrought in our lives; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Trusting the Master Mechanic

 

I took my car in for service a few days ago.   Some of my peers are quite proficient at working on their cars.  I am not.  I can change the oil and do my best to make sure it is done regularly.  I try to check the fluid levels under the hood regularly and make sure the tires are regularly rotated and inflated to the appropriate tire pressure.   That is about it when it comes to  my auto mechanical ability. When it comes to getting my car serviced, I travel with my car to my local mechanic and remind them of my name and what is the problem.   And then, I let them do their job and correct the problem.  Most of the time after I pay the bill, I get back in the car and drive away realizing in the first few miles of my journey that they have fixed the problem.

As I was leaving the mechanic recently, this truth hit me hard between the eyes:   IF I CAN SO ABLY TRUST THE MECHANIC WITH MY CAR, WHY DO I HAVE A HARD TIME TRUSTING THE CREATOR GOD WITH THE PROBLEMS IN MY LIFE.   Things sometimes break around our house:  the air conditioning does not work as it should… the microwave does not microwave.   I do my best to assess the issue and see if I can correct the problem.   Is it a circuit breaker that has tripped?   Does the thermostat need to be re-programmed?   When I have reached the end of my skills, I call the service tech and put it in their hands.   Why do I have a problem doing that with my very own life. 

Everyone has trials and troubles that  bother or pester them.  Sometimes, those troubles are ones that I created or simply circumstantial.   Sometimes, I find myself carrying the troubles of members of the congregation I serve or members of my family.   Oh, for the wisdom to do what I can and then allow God to do the rest.    Genesis 1 tells us that when God created the heavens and the earth, His creation, he exclaimed “It is good”.   God has done a glorious job in this world before I  was even born.  Oh, for wisdom to place the cares of my life and the cares of those I love in the hand of the Master Mechanic trusting Him to mend and repair.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER    Almighty God,  we give thanks  for creating us and loving us.  We cast our cares on you trusting the promise that you care for us.  Hear our prayers, O Lord.   Help us to trust you more knowing you can do for us more than we ask or imagine; through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

A Job That Never Ends

Another Labor Day has passed.    Labor Day, like many of our holidays, has been made into more than what it was intended to be.  While Labor Day was created  as a day to honor American workers and how their work contributes to our quality of life,  most of us see  Labor Day as an opportunity to have a long weekend and as the “unofficial” end of summer.  

I find myself thinking about work in these days even though Labor Day is over.   I have known work up close and personal.  While many of you know my work as a pastor, there were a number of other jobs I had before I became a pastor.  They include: newspaper delivery boy… mowing yards for $1.50 a yard… stock  clerk at the A & P Food Store… mill worker at Burlington Industries… short order cook at our college grill… and working in the Stores Dept. at Duke Power Co. ….and the dream job of every college-age young man of being a night security guard for women’s college dormitories.     Then in my 20’s, I entered into this  holy, sacred work called pastoral ministry that I continue to feel called to even though I am at retirement age.    

Work has been central to life for humanity since the beginning.   In Genesis 2:15, we read these words about work:  

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it

While many of us use the work “job” to talk about our work, I prefer the word “vocation” to talk about my work as a pastoral minister.   The word “vocation” comes from the latin word “vocare” which means calling.   I believe that my work as a pastoral minister is a holy and sacred calling.   As a person who now has been a pastor for 48 years, I know that I probably have fewer days in front of me as pastor than I have behind me.   How many more days, Sundays, weeks, or months will I serve as a pastor?   I do not know.   This I know:  there is a work and job that never ends and you never retired from, and that is the work of serving the Lord.

Robert Cushman was one of my professors when I was a student at Duke Divinity School.  Former dean of the Divinity School, he was in the final years of teaching when I was in Christian Theology class.   Dr. Cushman was also an ordained pastor and the son of a Methodist Bishop.   I was there when Dr. Cushman retired as a pastor.  I remember in his remarks he said this:   “Though I am retiring as a pastor and a member of the Annual Conference, I will never retire from serving the Lord.”   Whatever your work status these days, may those words be true for all who follow Christ.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER    Almighty God, thank you for the high and holy calling to be your disciple.  Through the power of your Spirit and the grace of Christ, help me to do the work you have called me to do;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

Smarter Than a Jeopardy Champion

 

School is starting in these days. Though I have grandchildren heading to school in these days and one daughter who will be working in schools, it has been a few years since I have formally been  a student.  School is different today that it was when I was in school.   The challenges student and teachers alike face are bigger than when I was in school.   I regularly pray for my grandchildren as they are in school and for my daughter as she works in school.   I particularly pray for their safety.   I know that prayer is not a part of the everyday school life of  all schools these days.   Of course, as a wise person said many years ago, as long as students face tests, there will be prayer in schools.   I know I certainly have prayed sometimes before taking a test.    

There is something I pray for my grandchildren as they go to school even as I pray for their safety.   I pray that they may have wisdom.   There are lots of people who have intelligence.  The television screen is filled with such folks every weeknight if you watch the television show “Jeopardy”.   There are also lots of intelligent people in advanced placement classes in high school or who graduate with honors in our high schools, colleges, and universities.    Wisdom is not always synonymous with intelligence.    I know that from personal experience for some of the wisest people I have ever known did not have a high school degree much less a college degree.

In I Kings 3, we read about another who prayed for wisdom.  His name was Solomon, and he was taking on the task of being King of Israel in place of his father David.  Read here the prayer for wisdom that Solomon makes to the Lord: 

⁶ Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. ⁷ “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours

Perhaps my grandchildren on their worst days might like for me to pray they pass a test or they have a grade point average that will get them a scholarship into the school of their choice.   I am afraid I do not pray for that, but I do pray for them to have wisdom.   Their lives will be better and this world will be better for it.   A matter of fact, all our lives will be better for it.   The world certainly needs more wise people rather than more Jeopardy contestants.  Have a joy-filled week!-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER    Living and loving God, give us wisdom as the face the challenges of our life and this day.   Give us wisdom to discern what is your gracious and perfect  will;   through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Their Story and My Story

 

My story begins with their story.  A young man fresh out of high school working in a shoe store.   A teenage woman only 17 years old, still in high school, and looking for a pair of shoes.   I don’t know if he was more interested in a sale or the woman that day but a chance encounter in a shoe store led to a series of dates and finally to a trek  down to Chesterfield County SC where they were married by a justice of the peace surrounded by their family.   She was a rising senior in high school, and tried school for a few weeks when it started again.  However, it is hard for a young woman to be a wife, student, and employee at the same time so she quit school because having a paycheck seemed more important  at that time than having a diploma.

In a few months, that young married woman found herself pregnant.   This was her first pregnancy, and she was excited along with all the family.   A child was on the way.   A few months later, their joy and glee turned to woe and concern.  The doctor said that something was wrong.   Hard choices had to be made, and one of those choices was whether to follow the doctors orders and be on bedrest or continue to work her job.   Even with bedrest, the doctor still thought there was a possibility the baby would be born dead or deformed.  Though it was hard for them to make it on one income, she chose the former instead of the latter.  She spent 7 months of a 9 month pregnancy on bedrest.   In a few months, they could no longer afford  to have their own place and moved in with her parents.  

On a hot, humid afternoon in  August, the time came for the baby to be born  and they made their way to the hospital.  Would the child be born dead or alive?  Would the child be deformed like the doctor said?   To  new parents named Dennis and Shirley,  a child was born in a thunderstorm that August day.   They named the child Randy.  That child was me. And so, my life began.

 

When August rolls around every year, I celebrate another birthday.   But more than that, I remember not only the mother and father who gave me life, but give thanks to God for the gift of life.   In these days I echo these words from Psalm 139: 13-15 which say:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you   when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

 I am “fearfully and wonderfully made”.   And you know what?  So are you.  Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER    Creator God, thank you for giving me life and for the abundant life in Christ.   In times of darkness and gloom, help me to especially remember that I am fearfully and wonderfully made; through Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

What's In A Name?

 

What’s in a name?   Most people either have a nickname or know someone who has a nickname like “Shorty”, “Slim”, or “Goofy”.    While those names might not be the real names for the persons, they acquired them because they say something about the person or their character.    I am told that some Native American tribes in the past had the custom of giving persons a temporary name.  Once the person had lived a few years and the community got sense of the person they were, they gave them a more permanent name that said something about  who they were.

In the book of Acts 4, we read about Joe.  Joseph was his full name.   He was a levite, from the priestly lineage of Aaron, brother to Moses.    But he had another name.  Listen to what Acts 4:36 says about him:

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.  

 I want to be “mo’ like Joe.”    I want to be more encouraging.   In 1963, Morris West wrote a book titled The Shoes of the Fisherman.   The book tells a fictional story about the Pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church.   There is a scene in the book where the Pope escapes the pressures of  the papacy and Vatican City and travels out on the streets of Rome.  In a neighborhood, he comes across a home where a family is dealing with the death of a love one.   The call goes out on the street for a priest, and the disguised Pope rushes to the bedside where he offers  last rites for the deceased before  they take their last breath.   As the Pope lingers in the home beside the bed side with grieving family members, some members of the Papal staff discover him.    As the Pope hestitates a departure, one of his staff tells him:   “Father, come now.   Dying is easy, but it the living that gets us down”.     There is much in the world that can easily get us down:   news reports,  social media attacks,  economic tensions, politics, and much more.    

 I want to be like Joe.   I want to encourage my  grandchildren as they grow up and my children as they maneuver the challenges of parenthood, marriage, and living in this 21^st century.   I want to encourage friends and fellow believers as they face the challenges of these days.  In Acts 11: 22-24, it speaks further about  Joseph better known as Barnabus: 

²² News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. ²⁴ He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

 Mo’ like Joe.   That is my goal and aim for  myself.   The world surely needs more sons and daughters of encouragement.   How about you?   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER     I give you thanks, O God, for the  family, friends, and fellow believers who have encouraged me through the years.  Help me to do the same; through Christ our Lord. Amen.  

Change Happens!

 

Brodie was a businessman in a small town in North Carolina where I  served as a pastor at a local church over 30 years ago.   He worked at a successful business that did  well.   I patronized the business regularly as I have always felt that we should support local businesses.   They are the lifeblood of the economic health of a community.  One day, Brodie and I got to talking about change and he was quite adamant that he did not like change of any kind.  He did not like change in his family, home, or small town.  He wanted everything to always be the same.   I remember what I told Brodie and it was this:   “You may not like change, but it happens.  If  you don’t believe me, go look  in the mirror and see if the person you see in the mirror looks just like the person you saw there 20 years ago”.  

 One of the constants in our lives and communities is change.  As Bob Dylan sang many years ago, “the times they are a changing”.   I was reminded that change is always happening recently when I read the book Who Moved My Cheese?  Pastoral ministry in rural United Methodist Churches has certainly changed since I began my ministry.  While I began my ministry talking on a land line telephone on a party line, today I speak and text with people on a cell phone.  When I started out as a pastor, online is where we hung clothes to dry, but today online  is where I send and receive messages including from members of my congregation and those in our United Methodist connection.    While internet availability is not an issue of concern for me, it is a concern in  many rural areas.

 People of faith in the 21^st century find themselves walking a tightrope if you will on the issue of change.   First, we must always affirm with faith and confidence that we worship a great and glorious God that never changes.   People change.   If you do not believe that people change, do what I encouraged my friend Brodie  to do many years ago.   Go look in the mirror and see if you look the same way you looked 20 years ago.   While people change in their looks and even in their opinions, God does not change.  His love changes not!

 Secondly, while we affirm that God never changes we also as people of faith look eagerly to  discover new ways and opportunities to minister in these days.    As I recall in Methodist history, there was a time when John Wesley and company did  something they had not done before by preaching to the coal miners as they went to and from their jobs.     This pandemic has been the breeding  ground for new ways of ministry for me and perhaps you.   Two years ago,   the notion of doing worship on Facebook live was outside of my comfort zone.   Now, it is something that my congregation and I do  weekly.     What new thing is God calling you and your congregation  to do in these days?   May the changeless God give us open hearts and open spirits to the new paths he is beckoning us to trod.-  Pastor Randy Wall   

 

PRAYER     Thank you that though change happens, your love and faithfulness changes not. Give me a heart that trust more fully in you; through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Freedom FOR a Cause!

 

I believe a rousing chorus of “”Happy Birthday” is appropriate in these days.    It is July 4  week, and  July 4 is considered to be the birthday for this over 200 year old experiment called the United States of America.   One of the core values of our country is freedom.  Perhaps you will remember in the bill of rights that Americans have the  right for freedom of worship, freedom for lawful assembly, freedom of the press.  

The freedoms we know as Americans do not mean that we can do anything and everything that we please.  No, we have freedom for a reason and a cause.    We remembered that did we not on Memorial Day as we paused to remember those brave men and women who died in military service?     The freedoms we have as Americans come with responsibility.

The same is true for all who live under the banner of Christ and call themselves followers of Christ Jesus.  Through the gift of Christ on the cross, each Christian has freedom from sin through God’s forgiveness and grace.    Yet, that freedom we know in Christ comes with responsibility.   In Galatians 5: 13-14,  the apostle Paul speaks about that freedom with responsibility as he writes:

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 Through Christ Jesus, we have been set free from the shackles of sin and given new life through water and the Spirit.  Yet, the freedom we know in Christ calls us to let the love of Christ be known through us.  Happy Independence Day and week!     Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER

Thank you, God, for the freedoms  we know as citizens of this country and of the kingdom of God.   We give you thanks for your love known in Christ.   Through your grace and Spirit, let the love of Christ be known through me.   Amen.