You Are Loved Simply Because...

I am enjoying being a grandparent.  I tell folks that if I had known what fun it was, I would have become a grandparent a long time ago.   We had a long, extended visit this summer with our two youngest grandchildren,  9 month old Eloise and 2 year old Madelyn.  As I spent time with them, it occurred to me that those children do not have to do anything for me to love them.  All they have to do for this grandparent to love them is to be.  One of the major prophets in the Old Testament was Jeremiah.  In Jeremiah 1: 4-5 we hear these words to Jeremiah that say: 

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew^[a] you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

Even as Jeremiah was in the womb,  God was working in him and calling him.     God loved Jeremiah simply because.   Your name might not be Jeremiah and your friends and family probably would not think that you were a prophet.  But you know what?  God loves you and calls you not because of who you are, but because of whose you are.  God loves you simply because.  What good news.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  thank you for your love for me and for your calling and claim on my life.  Help   you, Lord, and live for you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Are You Text-ing?

One of the challenges for me living in the world today  is texting with my phone.  It is challenging for me to text a message to our children (who seem quite comfortable with this form of communication).  My fingers seem too slow and too big to easily communicate in such a manner.   In recent days, I have been trying to use this feature on my smart phone that lets me talk my message till it is converted into  a text.   I suspect my phone must not be from the south as it seems to have a difficult time always understanding what I believe I am saying quite clearly. 

Perhaps texting is challenging for you also or maybe it seems as natural as walking.  Whether you are a consummate text-er or a text-er “wanna be” , I commend to you another kind of text:  the biblical text.   In Acts 8,  we hear of a Ethiopian Eunuch who is struggling not with texting a friend, but with the biblical text.  Read the story below:

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian^[a]eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ The Spirit toldPhilip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”  ³⁰ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.   ³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

It is important that I struggle with texting with my children and others as I value having a relationship with them.  Well, it is also important that you and I  struggle with finding the time and understanding of the biblical text, the Bible, if we value our relationship with God and service to God.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  I give you thanks for the Bible that are a light to our feet and a guide to our path. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, help us open the Bible as you open its meaning to us;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.   

Thoughts about Labor Day

Labor Day is a federal holiday that is always the first Monday in September.  While school children might yearn for Labor Day for a short week at school and the some employees might relish Labor Day as a time to celebrate the un-official ending of summer at their favorite vacation spot , Labor Day is much more than that.   While some holidays are to celebrate a particular person (such as Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, or George Washington) or a particular event (such as Thanksgiving or Easter),  Labor Day is the day to celebrate the common man and woman whose work by the sweat of the brow and whose creativity adds to our quality of life. 

Semi-retirement has given me a differing perspective on work.  While some might yearn for work-free days,  retirement is teaching me what a joy and priviledge it is to work.   Through our work, we not only make a living, but we make a difference in the lives of others.    Work also makes a difference in our lives in that it gives us satisfaction.  It feels good when someone expresses their appreciation for “a job well done”.

Jesus knew something about work.  While we know few details,  I believe it is a safe assumption that he knew something about work by the sweat of the brow as a “carpenter’s son.”  Jesus also talked about work and labor.  In Luke 12:26-28 we read: 

²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!

In Matthew 11: 28, Jesus says:

Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

As we mark another Labor Day in all sorts of ways, I give thanks to the countless people known and unknown who make my life better through their hard work.   I also give thanks that God is always working.    Have a great week and Labor Day.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  thank you for the gift of work and for the satisfaction it brings.  Most of all, I thank you for your salvation work in Christ Jesus and that your Spirit is still alive and working in this world.  Help me to yield my life to your Word and for your work;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.    

A Church Going and Coming

Last week, people  of the congregation where I am priviledged to serve as pastor went out into the community and put about 100 “door hangers” at the homes of people within several blocks of our church in Concord.  I quickly confess that I do not know the specific area around our church  real well where I serve as pastor for a couple of reasons.  First, I have only been pastor in that church and community for a couple of months.  The second reason is that I live a few miles away from the church (though in the same city and county).    I saw a different view of the community as I walked its sidewalks and streets.  I had a chance to converse with people that I had never spoken with before.   It remains to be seen what fruit will come from those efforts. 

I was reminded in that experience that there is an ebb and flow to being a Christian community.  We go and we come;  we come to worship and go to serve.   We gather together for worship, study, and fellowship;  we go into the world to serve and share the love of Christ.  In Luke 10,  we hear of a time that Jesus was a guest in the home of two sisters, Mary and Martha.  The story of Jesus’ visit follows the parable of the good Samaritan.  Read these words from Luke 10: 38-42 which say:

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feetlistening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”    ⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 It is essential to the Christian life that we serve others as Martha did and the “good samaritan” did.  However,  it is also important that members of the Christian community have those times when they  come together to “sit at the feet of Jesus” as Mary did in Luke 10.    Christians worship and Christian serve.  Are you doing that?    Have a good week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   Remind us, O God, that you have called us to worship and called us to serve.  Help us always and every where love you and love others;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Lessons Learned this Summer

School is starting in these days or just started  in the part of the world where I call home. College students are already getting in the routine of their schedule, and other students will soon be in the ebb and flow of another school year.    As another school year starts, it occurs to me that I have been in school for several weeks.  My teachers have been my two youngest grandchildren:  9 month old Eloise and 2 year old Madelyn.  They have been visiting with Ann and I since early July.  Above you will find a picture of little Eloise at her birth last November.     Though Ann and I have been grandparents for several years now, this is the longest period of time that we have spent with our grandchildren.  In the midst of this visit, these toddler/teachers  have taught this grandpa  some important lessons.  Perhaps it is more accurate to say they have given this old guy some good reminders.   Below find two of those lessons: 

THERE IS JOY AND WONDER IN THE SIMPLEST OF THINGS-  Eloise and Madelyn find great delight in the simplest of things like filling the bird feeders and watching the birds eat… playing with a paper box… and walking across the floor.   They have reminded me that if I  just observe the world around me,  there is something great and glorious to see.

LIFE BRINGS ITS TEARS FOR A WHILE, BUT ALSO HAS SO MANY JOYS-   Eloise and Madelyn both have their crying spells at times such as  when they are hungry… their diapers need to be changed… or they don’t get what they want.  While they can often cry quickly, they just as quickly are laughing and giggling.   I need to learn that lesson and not let the things in life get  me down for a day… a week… or even months.    Life will have its trials, but it has a lot more blessings. 

I wonder how much Jesus was around children.  While we do not know how much Jesus spent around young children in adulthood or when he was growing up,  we do know that he valued children.  In Matthew 19:13-15, we read:    

¹³ Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Oh, to be more like children and learn the lessons they have to teach us.  Have a blessed week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  I thank you  for the gift of the children in our lives and our families.  Help us to live before them a life that shows you.  Give us open hearts to learn from them even as they learn from us;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Thoughts of Confederate Monuments

There has been much public and private debate in recent months about confederate monuments.  In the part of the world where I call home,  you will find a confederate monument in most every community to the soldiers who served during the civil war.   Politicians in my home state have passed legislation about confederate monuments.    The purpose of this blog is not to discuss whether confederate monuments should be removed or not removed;  rather, it is to make the observation that there are things in the history of all people that we regret.

The Bible is filled with the stories of people and does not hide their warts, their sins, their regrets, their mistakes, and their  blemishes.  We hear not only that Moses was called to lead to freedom  the Israelites from the bonds of slavery in Egypt, but that he also murdered an Israelite.  We see that Peter was the “rock” of the church, but that he denied Jesus three times.   Paul was not only the great missionary, but he also was party to the death and martyrdom of Stephen.    While we struggle with our history as a country and a community,  the Bible presents people in  the reality of their goodness and badness.  While we might call some of the shows that we see “reality television”, the Bible presented reality about people before reality television ever came into vogue.   The Bible shows the history of people with their imperfections for one good reason:  to show how our great, glorious God is able to use people despite who they are and what they do.  And to think that the Bible not only shows the truth about people, but it also tells us about a God in Christ who is “filled with grace and truth.”    Have a joy-filled week.--  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  I thank you that you love us despite what we have done and have been in our past and our present.  Transform us, through the power of your Spirit, to be the people you have called us to be;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

What Did You Learn Today?

Next week,  I am doing something I have not done in years: going to school.  I am not going as a teacher, but as a student as I take a class at a local community college.   As I anticipate that,  I am reminded of a story about Leo Buscaglia.  Leo Buscaglia was a professor at the University of Southern California and an author who died back in 1998.    He wrote a number of books.  In one of his books, he tells that as a boy that his Dad had the custom of asking all his children one question over dinner each evening:  What Did You Learn Today?    Come what may, Buscaglia and his siblings were to be prepared to share one thing they learned that day or face the wrath and consternation of their father.

In these days, students, families, and teachers alike prepare for a new school year in local schools, colleges, and universities.    While those folks are preparing  for a new season of learning, that story from Leo Buscaglia reminds me that learning is not just for those in school.    Learning is a life-long activity.  That certainly is true for those who follow Jesus.    While you might already know Jesus, everyday and in every season of life there is something new to learn about following the one who (as Luke 2:52 puts it)  "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."    What are you doing in these days  and in this time in your life to grow in the grace, knowledge, and service of Jesus Christ?     Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, we pray for safety for children and people of all ages as a new school year begins.  Help us to be mindful that there is alway something to learn not just about life, but also about you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.