Giver Beware

As many athletes have a standard routine before each game or match, I have a standard routine I do before each Sunday service.   After early morning prayers and getting dressed, I go to a local fitness facility for a workout.    After dressing in my church clothes,  I go to a local convenience store where I sit in my truck and review the Sunday sermon and bulletin before heading to church.  As I was sitting at that local convenience store a few weeks ago,  I had something happen that had never happened there.   As I sat in my truck, a man knocked on my window.    When I rolled down the window, he told me that he needed some money for vehicle repair.  He explained that he and his wife had broken down in their vehicle... that they had a baby... and that they had a child with Downs syndrome.   As he made his request for money, he told me that he needed a few dollars to have enough money to buy the part to repair his car.    I told him that I would help him.  While he requested that I give him the money,  I told him that I would take the money to the parts store where he said that he would buy the part (which was less than half a mile away.)  

When I arrived at the parts store, I explained to the clerks that I was there to give monies for  the man who was trying to get his vehicle fixed and needed some money.  The parts store clerks told me  that they did not know of any man.  Furthermore, they told me that this same scenario had happened a few times before recently.     I then went back to the convenience store to discover  the gentleman who had had asked for money was still there.   When I told him that the people at the parts store did not know anything about his need for parts to repair his car,  he changed his story and told me that he had not been  to the parts store yet.   I wanted to ask how he knew how much the part would cost, but did not.   In a couple of minutes, I watched this man ride away in a burgundy mustang.   From my observation, there were no children or wife in the car which he said was broken down.

I must say that the outcome of this incident made me angry and disappointed.  I do not like to be lied to.   While I do not know what the man was going to do with the money,  I feel very confident that it was not to repair his car or help his family.     I tell this story for one reason and it it this:  GIVER BEWARE.     As it is important to do your due diligence in buying a car, a home, or consumer goods, it is also important to do your due diligence in those causes you support with your monies.  There are many wonderful charities and causes in our world that are doing some outstanding work and are touching many lives for good.   Likewise,  there are some people and causes that are deceptive in their use of gifts and/or who have a lot of administrative costs.     Give, my friends.   According to the Book of Acts, the only words of Jesus outside the gospels are found there in these words:  "It is more blessed to give than to receive."   Give, but give wisely.    Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall  

Prayer:     O God, I pray for those in need in our world.  Give me wisdom as I make decisions on those people and causes I will help;  in the name of  Christ our Lord.   Amen.   

Getting to Know You

My wife and I went to the theatre recently.   To be more specific, we went to see a production of the musical "The King and I" at the Belk Theatre in Charlotte.     While I had seen the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical production in movie form, I believe it was the first time I had seen it presented in the theatre.

As we see the story of Anna the English school teacher unfold in the musical as she teaches the children of the King of Siam, there is an occasion when she sings a song that includes these words:
Getting to know you,  
Getting to know all about you
Getting to like you
Getting to hope you like me. 

While I had heard the song before, the words of that song took on a new meaning that evening.    The words of that song say well what I hope happens in our relationship with God.   God knows you and I.   Our God knows all about us.   How wonderful for us to have the aim to  get to know God.   John 10:14 puts it this way:
I'm the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me.  

There are many voices that are competing for our attention in our world today.   With glitz and glitter, they tell us how good the causes they promote are.  Oh, to be able to hear "that still small voice" of God and to get to know God.     I believe that as we get to know God, something happens in us that changes us.  Later in the song "Getting to Know you", Anna puts it this way as she sings:
Haven't you noticed
Suddenly I'm bright and breezy?
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I'm learning about you
Day by Day.    

Have a blessed and joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    O God, you know me through and through.    Help me to know you more that I might be more like you;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

He Holds Our Hand

Our grandson, Julian, is progressing now  from crawling to be a toddler.  It is exciting for all of us as we watch him starting to walk.   While he still walks a few steps from parent to parent or couch to chair,  he still enjoys walking with someone holding his hand.

People hold hands for all sorts of reasons.  Let me share a few examples.    Worshippers hold hands in worship as a sign of unity and accord.   Couples hold hands as a way of affection for one another.  A newbie skater is glad to hold the hand of a veteran skater as they seek to maneuver around the skating rink knowing they need the help.    A few days ago, I held the hand of an elderly man who needed help getting up out of his chair.     From the cradle to the grave, people hold our hands and we hold the hands of people for all kinds of reasons.     I came across a passage about hand-holding in the Psalms the other day.   In Psalm 73, we read:

3 Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

How good it is to know that as we toddle along the road of life that God holds our hand.    His hand sometimes steadies us, often encourages us, and always guides and loves  us.     What a blessing it is also  to know that there are others along the way to hold our hand.  Thanks be to God.  Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   "Precious Lord, take my hand.  Lead me on help me stand.  I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.   Through the storm, through the night lead me on through the light.  Take my hand, precious Lord.  Lead me home."   Amen.   

A Pitcher, A Basin, and Towel

My wife and I went to a wedding in recent days.  There were present at the wedding many of the things that you commonly see at such events-  beautiful bridesmaids, an angelic  looking bride with a radiant smile,  a cute flower girl dropping flower petals down the center aisle of the church, handsome groomsmen,  a groom with both a  look of anticipation and nervousness across his face.    This wedding also featured something else that I have seen never at a wedding and very rarely in a worship service-  a basin, a pitcher, and a towel.   After the bride and groom exchanged their vows and rings,  they took turns sitting in a chair washing each others feet while a combination guitarist and soloist softly played and sung.   It was a beautiful act that added much to a wonderful occasion, and it was  a poignant reminder of some important lessons to me.

You may have heard the phrase "that is a horse of a different color".   Well, you might say that the Gospel of John is a gospel that is different not in color but substance  than Matthew, Mark, and Luke.   While Matthew, Mark, and Luke focus on the Lords Supper on the night that Jesus was betrayed,  John focuses on the fact that Jesus girds himself with a towel and (like a lowly slave and servant) washes the feet of his disciples.  John tells us that Jesus exclaims that "as I wash  your feet, so you are to wash one anothers feet".

In marriage and in life in Christ, we are called to serve each other.   It is not simply the woman serving the man a meal or clean clothes, but it is the husband and wife serving each other not for the sake of duty, but for the sake of love.   Marriage is not  about what I can get, but  what I can give.  And such is this nature of the life in Christ.   In this "what is in it for me" world,  perhaps the best of life is found not in how others serve us but in how we serve others.  

PRAYER:   O God, you sent your son Christ Jesus not to be served but to serve and to be a ransom for many.    Help us to die to self to live for you serving for Christ sake.  Amen.  

Gone Fishing

I hope that  you have a hobby.  One of my hobbies is fishing.  Now, it is important that I note that there is a difference between fishing and catching.  Most of the time when I have a fishing rod and reel in my hand I am fishing.  How exciting it is when those times come around when I transition from fishing for fish to catching fish.

My Uncle Harold Dean Perry was the person that I believe taught me to love fishing when his family and our family had a travel trailer and we would go to Kerr Lake.  Uncle Harold Dean was patient and kind as he taught me as a young boy to put a worm on my hook and patiently  watch the cork until it began moving to pull in a fish.   There have been more fishing trips where I have not caught fish than those when I brought in a bountiful supply of fish.

We read in the scriptures that the first followers of Jesus were two sets of  fishing brothers Peter and Andrew, James and John.   I don't think it was a haphazard selection of Jesus that he chose these fisherman as his first disciples.   There are some things about fishing that are important attributes in being a follower of Jesus and having a good life.   To be a good fisherman, you must have a lot of patience. You wait, and then you wait some more.    I have not generally been a very patient person in life and in my faith journey.  Fishing has helped me be more patient.     It is also important in fishing to try to think like a fish.  While that worm or other bait on your hook may not look like a good meal to you, does it look like a tasty treat to the fish?    Look at things from someone else's viewpoint.   That is important not just in fishing, but in life.   Finally, every good  fisherman knows how to tell a story about the fish they caught or the fish that got away.   You have a story to tell too whether it be the story of what God has done in your life and what your life is about.  Perhaps I will see you fishing.  Have a joy-filled week.- Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   God, the son of God, Christ Jesus, called his disciples to be fishers of men and women.  Give me the patience of a fisherman in my relationship with others and my relationship with you and help me tell your story in deeds and words.  Amen.  

The American Patriot

I cannot really remember when I first had some idea what it was to be patriotic  as an American. Perhaps it was when I began to learn in school the pledge of allegiance and to be still when we said it or when as a boy I saw my Dad's brother, Colie Wall Jr.,  head off to serve in the United States Army.   Maybe it was in cub scouts when we learned the words to our National Anthem and  were taught to fold the flag into a nicely neat triangle shape.   Maybe it was that November day as a boy when I heard the mill whistle blow in the middle of the day and my Grandfather Wall told me it was Armistice Day, the day when World War I ended in the 11th month, on the 11th day, and at the 11th hour.

This week is one week when American patriotism seems to be everywhere as Independence Day parades pass by, flags are  flown, and  patriotic songs are played on the radio on stations that normally play another music genre.   I certainly would not argue that American patriotism is all of the above.   Yes, it is flag flying, patriotic music, and Independence Day parades.  Yes,  American patriotism is standing and saying the pledge of alleigance, serving in our armed forces, and singing the National Anthem.   However, I believe that American patriotism  is far more than that including the following:

--American patriotism is stating your beliefs even in the face of disgreement and doing it in a way that does not display a disagreeable spirit and allowing others to do the same
--American patriotism is affirming the right of people to worship in ways that are not your own and the right of people not to worship at all
--American patriotism is the ability to see a person of a different color, different national origin, or different beliefs as a fellow citizen
-- American patriotism is believing that it is right to help your fellow human being in need and using your money and action (or government money)  to do it

I am grateful to God for the priviledge to live in this country and be an American.   I am concerned about some of  the things I see being done and said  in the public arena in this country.  In the midst of whatever this 4th of July week is for you,  I invite you to give thanks to God for this country, pray for all its leaders, and consider what it means to be patriotic.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord and God,   I give you thanks this week for the United States of America.  Bless its leaders to lead in wisdom  and compassion, justice and mercy.   Help us all to practice all that means to truly believe in God we trust;  through Christ our Lord.  Amen.   

A Bird Counselor??

As some reading this know,  I am not only an ordained pastor, but I am also a licensed professional counselor in North Carolina.      I went back to school after having been a pastor for several years believing that I could be a better pastor if I got more training in counseling.   I wound up not only getting my counseling degree, but my counseling licensure.   I have to renew my license every two years and am glad to have completed it again.  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 500,000 mental health professionals in the United States.   Of course, there are some others (like clergy) who find themselves doing counseling in their duties.     I am grateful for those who do counseling.   I and members of my family certainly have benefeitted from their skills and their compassion.  

As some of you know, my home has a number of bird feeders.   We enjoy watching the birds as they come near.    Despite the fact there are many mental health professionals across this country,  I recently discovered in a google search that there are few, if any, bird counselors.   Now,  there are some counselors and mental health professionals who have Bird in their name.   There are also some articles written about bird psychology.     There are over half a million million mental health professionals in this country, but few (if any)  counselors for the birds.

I discovered the answer  (as I often do) in the words of the scriptures.  Jesus puts it this way in Matthew 6:25-27 where he says:   Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.   Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?   Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Perhaps I need to spend more time not just looking at the birds but seeking to be like them.   Let me end with this poem written by Elizabeth Cheney.   See below.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Randy Wall

Said the robin to the sparrow,

“I should really like to know,

Why these anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so.”

Said the sparrow to the robin,

“Friend I think that it must be,

That they have no Heavenly Father,

Such as cares for you and me.