Snow Days

We had our first snowfall for this winter season last weekend.    For several days, schools were closed and grocery stores were over-run with folks buying foodstuffs like they would not come back till Spring.  Amid the  things that accompanied the snow were good reminders for me  such as the following:

• What a thing of beauty is most anything in God’s creation when God transforms it through ice and snow
• I am blessed  being a part of the life of a church and sorely miss when I do not have the chance to worship
• I  so enjoy the company of my wife, Ann Wall, and the opportunity the snow gave me to spend alone time with her
• I am so grateful for those persons that keep the electricity on in our community especially in a winter storm
• I am thankful for those who keep working when others of us are not like those persons restoring power or running the snowplows down our roads
• It is so good to curl up in a warm place with a good book

What good reminders or lessons did the recent snow storm provide you?   I encourage you to discover your own.    Have a joy-filled week.- Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   Living and loving God,  fresh as a new fallen snow is your love and grace each day.  Give me eyes to discover this day the gifts this day offers;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.    

Paying Taxes

It is almost that time of year.  Tax time, that is.    It seems only yesterday that I was pay my property taxes for 2015, and here I am getting things together to file my federal and state income taxes.    Though I try to approach all things with hope and anticipation, it is no more fun for the husband of a professional tax preparer to get his tax information together than anyone else.

In an effort to change my poor attitude about paying and filing taxes, I decided to look at what I could see in the Bible about such things.    In Luke 20, I found this story about Jesus and taxes:

²⁰ Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. ²¹ So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²² Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  ²³ He saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”  “Caesar’s,” they replied.  ²⁵ He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

  

This passage of scripture confronted me with a bigger and more important issue and it is this:   I need to come face to face not so much with giving honor to Caesar and paying taxes, but I need to come face to face with that struggle that goes inside me daily on giving honor and glory to God.      While the image of the latest American Caesar might be on our money, there is an image also imprinted on you and I.  That image on us is the image of God.    How am I doing daily giving glory, honor, and praise to God?   Have a good week.--  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   Holy God, grant that I might this day give myself more fully and completely to you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  

January Blooms

There is  a starkness in what I see in the world around me in these days of January.  Gone are the beautiful lights of Christmas from homes and the countryside.  Our home is barren of the Christmas tree with gifts in colored paper beneath it.    The sounds of happy laughter  from Christmas guests and expressions of glee as gifts are open are heard no more in our home.   The foliage of trees and plants  outside my window are a memory from yesterday and a hope for the future.     As I stare outside my window on this cold January day, a smile comes to my face as I see the yellow and black blooms of pansies.    Despite the cold winds and plunging temperatures, they add beauty and color to the stark countryside.    As I see the pansies on this January day, I recall these words from Isaiah 35:1-2 where we read:

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.

I love pansies.  They are a welcome sight on a cold January day as is a crocus blooming in the desert.  Like the countryside I see outside my window on this January day, the world of 2016  seems so barren and dark. Oh, to be like the pansies and the crocus and to bloom with the love and grace of God.  Let it be, Lord.  Let it be in and through me.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O Lord and God, thank you for this day and this season of the year.  This day and every day, may your love that resides in my heart be known through my words and deeds;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.   

Simeon and Anna

Many of us love to hear and read the story of the birth of Jesus found in Luke’s gospel.    Most of us stop our reading fairly quickly after Jesus is born and  miss what happened a few days later in the temple.  Read these words from Luke 2:

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  ³⁶ There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷ and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸ Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.   ³⁹ When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

In the early days of this new year, these are important words for me to read.   What stands out in this story about Jesus’ first trip to the temple is that Simeon and Anna have the spiritual wisdom to see that this child in Mary’s arms is the Messiah, the Christ.    As this new year stands fresh before us, my prayer for myself is that (like Simeon and Anna) I will have the wisdom to see God in my midst and that I also will seek to make God seen.  Happy 2016 to one and all.  -  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O God, you are alpha and omega, beginning and the end.  Give us eyes to see you and make you seen in the places we live and move each and every day;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

A Special Gift

I saw a living nativity scene a few weeks ago while Ann and I attended a local Christmas event. It prompted me to think of a living nativity scene that our church youth group did many years ago.  The youth fellowship in my home church had gotten the idea that we would create a living nativity scene as Christmas came near.   We thought that it would be a great gift to give the community that passed by going to and fro on busy Graham-Hopedale Road in Burlington.     As many of you know, sometimes good ideas do not translate into great problem-free events.    Such was the case with our youth planned living nativity scene.  Carl Parks was kind enough to let us use some of his livestock for our make shift stable.  While they certainly looked the part,  they were not too eager to be still in our stable and we were not too skilled  in looking after the livestock. One of the sheep ran into busy Graham Hopedale Road and one of the cows was more eager to eat the grass  on the church lawn than to stay in our stable.  And the characters in the nativity scene.  I recall that some of the wise men and shepherds were more  interested in spending time drinking hot chocolate with their girlfriends than being on duty in the stable.  A perfectly good idea was certainly filled with all sorts of imperfections.

I think of that living nativity scene in these days even though it has been almost 45 years ago.   It is certainly obvious as we hear the story about the birth of Jesus that it  was not a perfectly good time for Mary to have a baby as she was far from home and the stable was not the kind of nursery any woman would desire.   Yet, into that imperfect world to imperfect people came the holy, most perfect God.  They named him Jesus for he would save His people from their sins.

I know there are people reading this who pine for a perfect Christmas but it is elusive to them.   Their family circumstance is not perfect or their gatherings  are not a perfect resemblance to a Norman Rockwell painting.  Yet, to us in 2015 as to those at Grace Church in 1970 and to those in Bethlehem long ago comes the fullness and glory of our perfect God in Christ Jesus, the newborn Savior.

A Merry Christmas to one and all. -  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O Lord,  thank you for the gift of yourself and your love.  Help me to offer the gift of your love to others with joy and gladness;  through Jesus Christ, the babe of Bethlehem, I pray.  Amen.  

Mary, Towels, and Mom

I always fine myself thinking of my late Mom this time of year.  It is not just that Christmas is coming but also that her birthday is in December (December 12 to be exact).    I remember a time when I was a teenager when Christmas was near and Mom was cleaning the house for company coming for a visit.  As was often the case,  I had to use our one bathroom while Mom was mopping.  Once she was finished mopping the bathroom floor, I waited for the bathroom floor to dry.  As I went into the bathroom, Mom told me:  “Don’t use the hand towel by the sink.”  I was puzzled by the request as Mom always taught us to wash our hands after visiting the bathroom, so I asked,  “Why don’t  you want me to use the towels?   You always tell me to wash my hands.”    Mom replied,  “Randy, don’t use the towels because they are show towels for our guests who are coming.”   I thought about that admonition of my Mom the other day.   Hand towels have a purpose.  Why, they are to be used to dry our hands.   Just as cars are to be driven and rode in and beds are made to be slept in, towels have a purpose to dry our hands.    I thought about those “show towels” as I recently read Luke’s story about Mary.   In Luke 1, we hear the story of an angel telling a young virgin named Mary that she is going to have a baby.  An unwed pregnant woman was scandalous news in the days of Mary.  Hear from Luke 1 the response of Mary: 

²⁶ And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,  ²⁷ To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary  ²⁸ And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.  ²⁹ And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.  ³⁰ And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.  ³¹ And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.  ³² He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  ³³ And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  ³⁴ Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?  ³⁵ And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  ³⁶ And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.   ³⁷ For with God nothing shall be impossible.  ³⁸ And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Mary did not want to be  a “show towel”.   Despite the fact that it was scandalous to the community and not the best circumstances to be pregnant, she wanted to fulfull a purpose  to be used by God.     Do we want to be used by God?    Have a blessed day and week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O Lord,  who has come and is coming:   use us for your purposes as you used Mary long ago.  Hear our prayer;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Remembering December 7, 1941

It happened on this day.  December 7, 1941 to be exact.   On this date, the naval installation at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Japanese.  I am not old enough to remember the event.  I recall my Dad talking about that day with great vividness as he shared with me that he heard  the news of the attack on the radio on that Sunday.    There are many forms of media that have explored in detail what happened that day at Pearl Harbor  and why it happened.  What can be said with no argument is that one of the reasons that the attack was successful  at Pearl Harbor is that the United States was not in a state of readiness.  

Being ready is an important attribute in many jobs.  It is certainly important for our military and it is critical for medical personnel and firefighters.    It is also important to be in a state of spiritual readiness.  Followers of Christ Jesus must be ready for the chance to share Christ with others….and to help those in need.   We must also be in a state of readiness for the time when Christ shall come again.   This season of Advent is not just about celebrating that Christ has come and preparing for the Christmas celebration.  It is also a poignant reminder that Christ will come again.    In Matthew 24: 36-44, Jesus speaks to his folllowers about the importance of readiness for the coming of the Lord: 

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[f]but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.  ⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Have a good week and a holy Advent season.  -  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O Lord, you are alpha and omega, beginning and end.  We thank you for coming into the world in Christ Jesus and for the blessed hope that you come again.  Give us hearts eager and ready to share your love with others.  Make our  hearts ready for that time when you come to take your people home with you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.