Getting the Stains Out

 

                It is pretty amazing the way we clean our clothes today if you think back to how it used to be.   I can remember when I was  a child  my Mom putting the clothes through an old ringer washer after scrubbing them on a washboard and then hanging them out on the clothes line to dry  (or having me as her oldest son to hang them out).  There are still many people around the world who wash clothes in a similar fashion.   Now, most of us here in the United States simply spray some stain remover on our clothes, put them in a washing machine, and then put them in a clothes dryer. 

            It is not unusual for me to get stains on my clothes especially my shirts.   I am thankful that most of the time we can simply spray our  favorite stain remover on them and after washing and drying they look as good as new.    I wish that it was that easy with a different kind of stain, the sin that clings so close to us.     It is not so easy to take away the transgression of thought, word, or deed.   We cannot take back the word that hurt a friend or family member… or “do over” the deed that brought disappointment or heartbreak to others.   When we spray a stain on our clothes, that stain will be removed in an hour or two.   The stains of the heart cannot be removed in such a short period of time.

            During this season of Lent, I am reminded again of my smallness in the shadow of  a large, omnipotent God and of my imperfection in the face of our faultless Savior, Christ Jesus.   I am also reminded of the truth and good news that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”.   As the old hymn puts it:   “What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”   Thanks be to God that “though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” through the amazing grace of Christ Jesus.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER

            Lord, the old spiritual declares “O Happy Day.  When Jesus washed my sins away.”  Thank you for the unconditional, matchless grace that is mine this day and everyday;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Do I Move the Clock Forward or Backward One Hour?

 

                I can hardly believe it. Here we are at the middle of March.   That means that two and half months has already passed by in this year.   Where does the time go?

            When I was young, it seems the longest time to special events like my birthday… Christmas… and summer vacation from school.  Now, it seems that time really does fly quickly.   I am reminded of these words from Psalm 90:

    
¹⁰ Our days may come to seventy years,
    or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
¹¹ If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
¹² Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom

The shortness of life and the swiftness of time nudge  us to revere the gift of time.  The future is not guaranteed.  We are not promised a certain number of years of life just as we are not promised great health.   While God promises He will never leave us or forsake us,  he never promises how long will be the life we have.  Each of us in this year of 2022 can perhaps bring to mind a friend, family member, or acquaintance who made the transition in 2021 from this life to the life to come.   That painful truth beckons us not just to remember them, but to  remember the sacredness of the life we have.  As this year of  2022 moves on, may God “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  Have a joy-filled week and month of March.-  Pastor Randy Wall 

PRAYER

            O God, thank you for the gift of today and my life.  Give us wisdom to live it fully in the love, knowledge, and service of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen. 

A Surprise Package in the Mail

 

                It was not the common thing I find in my mailbox.  There amid the bills, letters, and circulars was a note from our mailman saying that I need to go to the post office to pick up and sign for an insured package.  When I picked up the package, I recognized the return address.  It was from a person who lives out of state. We  see her a couple of times of year, and talk to her about once a month.  When I opened the package, I could hardly believe my eyes.  Packed in that package covered with candy canes and ginger bread men was a Thanksgiving card and several hundred dollars in money.  I quickly picked up the phone and called her.  She told me that she wanted me to use that money to help those in need in our congregation and community this Christmas.   You will not find this woman in church on Sundays.  A matter of fact, she works most Sundays and attends church only a few times a year. Despite what this woman wasn't, she gave generously to help people in another state that she does not even know. 

            Cyrus, King of Persia, was not a follower of the Lord God.  Yet, God uses him.  In Isaiah 45:1,4, we read:  "Thus says the Lord, to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed.....For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by name, I surname you, though you do not know me."  God uses King Cyrus to set the Israelites in Babylonian exile free that they might return to their native land. 

            As God used Cyrus who did not know the Lord, so God used that woman and her gift to do His work and will.  That is an important reminder to us of two things.  First, it reminds me that if we are not willing as followers of the Lord to be his instruments, God will and can use someone else. Nothing can and will stop the purposes of God.  Secondly, the fact that God uses even those who do not know him is a reminder to us to be alert for the possibility that God may use unlikely people as his instruments in our own lives.     Think on these things.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER

            O God, we celebrate that you continue to be at work in the world in so many of ways and so many people.  Lord, help us to be alert for the ways you speak to me, and you can use me.  Help me, Lord, to be alert for the ways you touch my life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Pet Peeves

 

Pet peeves is a term I became acquainted with when I was in Mrs. Cox’s third grade class.   One day when a fellow student was at the blackboard working on a math problem that same student scraped their fingernails across the blackboard.  Though Mrs. Cox was a person of calm demeanor, she was not cool and calm then as she quickly told the student and the entire class that the scraping of nails on a blackboard was one of her pet peeves.  

- If you are like most people, you probably have some pet peeves or small things that irritate you.   Here are a few pet peeves I have:

·        - The person in the store or other places that utters “no problem” when I tell them “thank you” for an act of customer service

·        - The person on Facebook or in an email that makes no effort to make sure what they write has correct spelling and grammar

·         -The individual that is constantly tapping their pen or pencil on a table or another object

I am trying to focus less on the small things that irritate me (my pet peeves) and more on the small things that bless me.   Part of what I am discovering is that there are more blessings than  irritations in my life.   Here are a few small blessings that I have been reminded of in recent days:

·        - The fact that most everyday my wife, children, or grandchildren tell me or show me that they love me

·        - The wonder of the wildlife (e.g. birds, rabbits, etc.)  I see outside my window most everyday even though I do not live in a rural area

·         -The fact that everyday when it comes to food my question is “what will I eat?” instead of “will I have something to eat?” 

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker and Christian who helped many Jews escape the wrath of the Nazis in World War II.   In her book “The Hiding Place”, she writes about the time that she and her sister, Betsie, were in Nazi Concentration Camp and their barracks were infested with fleas.     As time went on, they began to thank God for the fleas because it meant that the Nazi soldiers did not bother them.  

Though I do not know your story, I know my story.   I can say with certainty that though there are little pet peeves that irritate me each day,  I can also say that I am mightily blessed in many ways each  day.  I invite you to make your list of the little blessings you know.   You know, little things do mean a lot.     Have a joy-filled week and God bless-  Pastor Randy Wall 

 

PRAYER:   Thank you, God, for the many small ways you bless me each and every day.   Give me a heart and spirit that sees it;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

The Battle is Won!

 

There was a leader in the early Church named Marcion.   One of the things I  remember about him is that he dismissed the importance of the Old Testament for Christians.   Though Marcion lived and died over 1800 years ago, he has a lot of  heirs.  There are a lot of followers of Jesus around who, like Marcion, dismiss the importance of the Bible they used:  our Old Testament.  

While I openly admit that I am more knowledgeable about the New Testament than the Old Testament, I try to read and study the Old Testament regularly.   I came across a passage some time ago that I had never really noticed before in II Chronicles that spoke to me.   In II Chronicles 20: 14-15 we read:  

¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.  ¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

Did you read those words:   “the battle is not yours, but God’s”.    I am guilty as perhaps you are of  sometimes living like the battles I face in life are all mine and that I have to be equal to the task  before me.   While I regularly pray, I have been guilty at times of praying for the result I HAVE DECIDED TO DO in stead of PRAYING FIRST for God to lead me on what to do and turning the results over to God.  

What battle are you facing in these days of your life?   Is the battle in your family with your spouse, parents, or children?  Is the battle in your heart and soul as you struggle with an addiction or sin that clings so closely?   Is the battle in your church or workplace?   Whatever you are facing, seek first the kingdom of God.   Remember that if you are in God’s will that the battle is always Gods and not yours.  Have a joy-filled week and God bless-  Pastor Randy Wall 

PRAYER

            O God,  forgive  us for the times we call you Lord and yet do not allow you to be the Lord of all we face in life.   Help me to always first turn to you and seek your guidance and then turn the results over to you knowing that you give us the victory in Christ Jesus;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Hey! That's MY Parking Space!

 

            I was  in the hospital waiting room several years ago, waiting with a family for a surgery.  The place is filled many people and sounds.  Hospital visitors make their way to visit someone they care about and hospital staff and volunteers make their way to their duties.  There is the sound of the automatic doors opening and closing… the bell of the elevator as it arrives at this floor… and the voices of people in this waiting area chatting to pass the time. 

            I overheard a woman talking as she waited for the elevator say,  “someone tried to get MY parking place”.     I do not know where that woman parked, but if she parked near the hospital that parking space was not really hers.   If you want to be technical or legal about it, that parking space probably belonged to the hospital.  Yet, she was talking like it actually belonged to her.

            The mis-statement of that woman is an important lesson for me.  So many times, most of us act like the things we use regularly are our personal possession whether we are talking about the pew where we sit in the church sanctuary or the lane where we drive on our way to work.  Most of the time, the thing we claim is our own is owned by another.  Psalm 24:1 tells us who is the rightful owner of all things when it says,  “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it;  the world, and all who live in it;”   Oh, for the grace to live like that.  Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall     

 

PRAYER

            O God,  you are the creator of all things and the giver of all good gifts.  Thank you for the blessings I know in this day and in this life.  Thank you for your provision for me.  Lord, help me to not only see what you provide, but help me to live knowing it all comes from you;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Post- Christmas Immigrants

 

            One of the things that many people do  around the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years is to travel to see family or friends, or to take some time to relax at a special vacation spot.  Ann and I were among the holiday travellers as we travelled to and from Texas to visit family.   Have you ever thought of  how travel has been a part of the Christmas story since the days when Jesus was born?   A young Mary travels to see her relative, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with a child that would be known as John the Baptist.   Angels from on high travel to a shepherds field outside of Bethlehem to share the glad tidings that Christ is born.   Wise men from the East follow a star to Bethlehem to worship at the feet of the Christ child and to bring him gifts.   Finally, we hear in the gospel of Matthew that Joseph and Mary follow an angels instructions to travel to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod in his “slaughter of the innocents” as he sought to kill young males in his fear of a child King.     Anotherwords,   Jesus and his family not  only travelled in those days after the first Christmas, but they were immigrants.

            Immigration is a difficult subject for people to talk about in these days here in the United States.   Some folks speak strongly against immigration sharing stories of immigrants who did deplorable and criminal acts.    I have spoken directly to people in Texas who lived near the Mexican border and heard  them describe  some of the issues there.   While it is not the purpose of this blog to tackle political and social issues, I will state this biblical truth:   Jesus was an immigrant.     Furthermore,   let me state that the Bible is clear that we should welcome the alien and stranger among us.  

            Finally, let me state that while I do not know or am not acquainted with every immigrant that has entered the United States, I can say with honesty and truth that I have been blessed by my relationship with immigrants from other places.   I have been inspired by their stories about their journey to the United States and their perspective on the blessings of being a United States citizen.   I find myself admiring their industriousness and am grateful of how  they have touched my life.       I do not have the answer to the immigration issues before us.  However,   I know this:   Jesus was an immigrant in his earthly life and I have seen Christ in immigrants I have known.    Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

        

PRAYER-  

            God, thank you for coming into the world in the Word incarnate, Christ Jesus.   Grant that I may more fully welcome him into my heart.   Give us eyes to see you in others even those who look or talk different than myself;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.