"...For All Things"

¹⁷ Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of ^[f]God.-    Ephesians 5: 17-21

As Thanksgiving approaches,   I find myself pondering the first part of that word: Thanks.   I suppose it was in Mrs. Cox’s  third grade class when some of the reality of Thanksgiving first became real to me when she assigned us the task to write a paper about the first Thanksgiving.   While I cannot remember all that I wrote in the paper,  I do recall that it must have been an outstanding paper for a third grader because I received a prize from our principal, Mr. Moffett. 

I came across the passage of scripture printed above as I thought about Thanksgiving recently.   There are three words in that passage that are troublesome for me.  Those words are:  “for all things.”    I, along with many others,  find it quite easy to be thankful for the food before us… or for the health that allows us to wake up or work another day.   Most of us are thankful for the friends and family that we engage with regularly or will gather with around Thanksgiving.  Those are good things and it is quite easy to be thankful for them, but Paul does not say be thankful for good things.  No, he says be thankful “for all things.”   

I think of a man named Job who lived centuries before the apostle Paul who praises God even when he hears that all his children have died and he lost his home.   I think of the apostle Paul who gave thanks for his “thorn in the flesh” as he realized with it that God’s grace was sufficient.    I think of Corrie ten Boom’s Christian classic book, “The Hiding Place”, where she writes about the fleas that infested their quarters in the concentration camp and how she and her sister, Betsy, gave thanks for them because the fleas meant that the Nazi soldiers made infrequent visits to their barracks.

“Giving thanks always for all things….”     I am not sure I am always there in my walk with Christ, but I aspire to be in that place.   How about you?   Have a blessed week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

   

Prayer:    O God,  forgive us for being  fair weather followers of yours.  Help us trust you in good times and bad times knowing that you will never leave or forsake us;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Remembering the Veterans

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnessesentrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ³ Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.-  II Timothy 2:1-4

Veterans Day is only a few days away.   While Memorial Day is a day in which Americans remember with thanksgiving those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country,  Veterans Day is a day when we remember those who served in our armed forces.     Since Veterans Day is on a Sunday this year, I am certain that many churches will recognize the Veterans among them in all sorts of ways.  As the father in law of a young man currently serving in our nation’s military and as the nephew of three men that served in our nation’s military in days past,  I am grateful for family who did serve and are still serving. 

I came across the passage of scripture  above recently where the apostle Paul uses a soldier as a metaphor for disciples of Jesus Christ  (“good soldier of  Christ Jesus”).     While I am thankful as an American for the many veterans who served in our nation’s military in days past,   I am thankful as a Christian for those “good soldiers of Christ Jesus” who have kept the faith, shared the faith, and had faith.     They are the ones that have mentored us and prayed for us.   They are the people who have not only talked about Christ, but sought to show Christ-likeness in their daily life.  There are many people in my life who have been a “good soldier of Christ Jesus”.   Some are living, and others have gone on to their eternal reward.   While it is good and right to honor the Veterans of our nation’s military on Veteran’s Day,   it is good and right to honor the  good soldiers of Christ Jesus.   Why not take the time to give one of those “good soldiers” a call, a card, or a visit this week and thank them for their service for the sake of the gospel and impact on your life?  You will be glad you did, and they will be grateful.     Have a joy-filled  week.--  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, I  thank you those who have fought the good fight and kept the faith as soldiers of the cross.   Grant that through the inspiration of their lives and the strength of your Spirit that I might go and do likewise;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

October 31 is more than Halloween

Halloween is a day that means different things for people.   The young and young at heart might be excited about October 31 because it is Halloween and they look forward to having small children dressed in an assortment of costumes ring their doorbells exclaiming “trick or treat.”     The businessman or employee reading this may suddenly remember that October 31 is the end of the month and they have sales goals to meet or projects  to complete by the end of work today. 

Today is also an important day in the history of the church because it was on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the doors of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.   While that act might seem inconsequential to you, it led to what church historians call the protestant reformation.   In the middle part of the 20^th century, there was a church theologian named Karl Barth.    He popularized a latin phrase that he said derived from St. Augustine.   That phrase was “Ecclesia semper reformanda”.   For those of you who are not fluent in latin, the phrase means “the church must always be reformed.”   Many shorten that phrase to “Semper reformanda.”   “Always reforming”.

On this date not only did the protestant reformation begin, but a reforming began.   I believe that St. Augustine and Karl Barth were right.   While (as the Scriptures declare)   “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”, the truth is that sometimes the body of Christ, the church, strays like lost sheep from the way of Christ in word and deed.       Today, as in the days of Augustine, Luther, and Barth, the church stands in need of reform as it always has.    “Semper reformanda”.    Let the reforming continue.    Have a joy-filled week.--  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, I  thank you for the body of Christ, the Church.   Let your Spirit fall afresh on your Church as you continue to reform it and transform it more  fully into your image;   through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

God Knows...

I have mentioned several times in this blog about the fact that we enjoy watching a varied assortment of birds visit bird feeders at our home.   We currently have 5 bird feeders that are filled weekly for the birds that come our way.    We had a little mishap recently with one of the birds.  Unfortunately, one of the birds flew directly into our glass patio door.   The good news is that the patio door was not harmed;  the bad news is that the bird was not immediately okay.   I was in the living room at the time and saw it hit the door through my peripheral vision.   I watched as the bird laid on our patio not certain whether to come to the aid of the bird or not.   Even if I did come to its aid,  I was not certain  what would be best to do.  In a span of time that was short but seemed long to this interested bird watcher, the bird soon regained its faculties and flew away to the joy and relief of this bird watcher.   Later as I thought of what I had witnessed before me, I thought of this passage of scripture  from Matthew 9 which says:

²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.^[a] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Like many of you, everyday I am confronted with news of our world on the television, radio, newspaper, or internet.   There is much around us to be concerned about:  death, sickness, disaster, injustice, and the like.   There is not only much to be concerned about, but there is much to pray about.   How comforting to know that the mighty, omnipotent God who created the heavens and the earth is concerned not just about world events and national tragedies, but he is concerned about a bird that falls to the ground in Concord, NC.   Surely that same glorious God is concerned about the times when you and I fail and fall too.   Have a joy-filled week. --  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  you are the creator of all things.  I thank you that amid all that is going on in the world today that you have time to be concerned about our lives.   Thank you, O God, from the bottom of our hearts;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.    

Did I See You at the Fair?

Fall is my favorite season of the year.   As I have shared before, the month of October is the month I fell in love with two persons important in my life:  the Lord and my wife Ann.     There are many things I enjoy doing in the Fall, and one of them is going to the fair.   For many of you, the fair has already happened where you live.   Ann and I usually will make one or more visits to our local county fair.   We have gone several times to a regional fair in Winston Salem called the Dixie Classic Fair and also to the N.C. State Fair in Raleigh.  

One of the things I especially enjoy seeing at a fair are the exhibits of livestock and farm products.  While I certainly do not qualify as an expert on farm animals, I like to see the cattle, horses, and the bees.   I enjoy looking at the displays by 4-H students and the assortment of canned foods, large pumpkins, and the like.

I suspect that there are fewer of us today in this country that are directly connected to agriculture and the farm.  A crisis is brewing in this country I understand as farms are disappearing and fewer persons are becoming farmers these days.   Few of us see the cattle that produce the milk we drink or the chickens that produce our eggs.   As one saying on a farm several years ago put it:   “Don’t complain about the price of farm products with your mouth full.”   The exhibits of  livestock and the like links us to the farm and reminds how important it is not only to our economy, but also our way of life.

These agricultural exhibits at the fair also remind us how much God is apart of the life of the farm.   Through the graciousness of the God who makes things grow, we know the harvest that is important to the food we eat and the things we wear.   Psalm 67: 5-7 puts it this way:  

⁵ May the peoples praise you, God;
    may all the peoples praise you.

⁶ The land yields its harvest;
    God, our God, blesses us.
⁷ May God bless us still,
    so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

If you make a trip to the fair in this season, take time to look at the livestock and the like.   As you are perhaps eating a fried oreo or a funnel cake, give thanks not only for that food but also for the harvest God provides.  Have a joy-filled week. --  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,  thank you for the harvest you provide this year and this season.  Thank you for those who product the fruit of the field I enjoy every day; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Where Did Jesus Hang Out?

Every once in a while, I find myself on the road travelling.   Some times, the reason for my travel is to see family or because my wife Ann and I enjoy seeing this great, big, beautiful world.  Some times, the reason for my travel is church related especially in my duties as President of the United Methodist Rural Advocates of the United Methodist Church.   A few days ago,  I was in Minneapolis for a national meeting of the United Methodist Rural Advocates as we came together to give voice to concerns of rural places, rural people, and rural communities.   One of the things I often do in my travels is to limit the clothing that I take with the expectation that I will be able to wash clothes at the hotel or motel where I am staying.   Such was the case on this trip to Minneapolis;  however, when I was about to run out of clean clothing, I discovered that the place where I was staying had no washer and dryer for their guests to use.   So, I made a trip to the Pilgrim Cleaners and Laundry.   Though I can faintly remember a time when my home as a child did not have a washer and dryer and though I can remember well as a teenager hanging out clothes on the clothes line for my mother because we did have a clothes dryer,  going to a laundromat is not the kind of place I often go.  There were only  a few people in the laundromat besides myself on that evening:   an African American woman working there as the monitor/attendant… an African American man washing linens…  and a Hispanic couple with several young children.  As I sat there washing and drying my clothes, I spend my time watching the people around me… checking the email on the phone… and watching with little interest the television show on the one television in the place.  Suddenly, it hit me:   This is the kind of place where Jesus would hang out.

Though I frequently find myself in beautiful church buildings and with fine church people,  I really don’t think that if  Jesus were on the earth today that he would hang out at those kinds of places.   Rather, I think he would be hanging out places like a laundromat where people who do not have the monies to afford a washer or dryer in their home hang out.   I believe that Jesus would be there talking to those people on the dark Minneapolis street that I quickly passed by on my way or in the city bus station as people wait for public transportation because they cannot afford a motor vehicle.   If you don’t want to take my word for it, take the word of  the gospel of Matthew  where we read:  

¹⁰ While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”   (Matthew 9:10-11)   

I believe that if Jesus were walking among us today he would hang out at the laundromat, in the bus station, on the city street, and in the places where the “least of these” would hang out even as long ago he hung out with the tax collectors and sinners and hung out on the cross.  I must confess that I hang out too little at those places and if I am to follow Him I must hang out more at those places.  How about you?  Have a joy-filled week.--  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:      God of us all, you have called not only to gather to worship, but to scatter to serve you.   Give us feet that take us to places where the “least of these”  need to know the wonder of your love;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Retirement and Serving the Lord

I mentioned in a recent blog about Dr. Robert Cushman, one of my professors at Duke Divinity School.   While I was young and  in my early days of ministry,  his days of ministry were in their latter stage. He had  taught seminary students and “soon to be” preachers for decades as well as having served as Dean of Duke Divinity School for a time.    I recall being in attendance at the Annual Conference Session for the N.C. Conference in June 1981 when Dr. Cushman retired as a member of the Conference.   It was customary in that day for the retirees to be given an opportunity to say a “few words” to the Annual Conference.   Of course,  the retiring preachers would differ in their  interpretation and practice of what a “few words” would be.   When Robert Cushman got a chance to speak to the Annual Conference, he did make remarks of only a “few words”.   Though it has been decades ago,  I still remember what Dr. Cushman said and it was this:   “While I retire today as an elder of the N.C. Conference,  I will never retire from following Jesus and serving the Lord.”

In my years of reading and study of the Bible, I don’t recall ever reading that there was an expiration date on serving the Lord.    As long as we have breath, we can serve the Lord and be disciples of Jesus.  People like Abraham, Moses, and the like served the Lord way past the age when social security and medicare begins for today’s retirees.   I give thanks to all those persons who continue to serve the Lord faithfully despite being on the social security and medicare roll.  My family and I personally have been the recipient of their ministry and service.  I am glad to serve the Lord with them now and  having served with them in the past.  This world and Christ’s Church are better for them.  Have a joy-filled week. --  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God,   I give thanks for all those who continue to serve you in the final decades of life.  Lord, help me to go and do likewise;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.