A Person With Two Tongues

 

            How many tongues do you have?  If you answered one, you are absolutely wrong.  A few years ago, I heard a man named Otis say that every person has two tongues that we can use to share Christ with others.  

The first tongue is the tongue that is in our mouth.   James 3:7-8 says these words about the tongue, “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restful evil, full of deadly poison”.  If you have ever said something to someone you wish you had not said or if you still know the hurt of words that were said to you, you know the truth of those words of scripture.   James speaks further about the tongue when he says in James 3:9-10:“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers, this should not be.

Otis went on to speak about a second tongue that we have-  the tongue in our shoe.  While Jesus and his early followers probably did not wear shoes like we wear, they did not stand still.   Jesus traveled from place to place sharing the message of God’s love in word and deed.   While the apostle Paul was not there when Jesus shared that commission to “Go into all the world and make disciples….”,  Paul let his feet do the walking to places like Galatia, Ephesus, and Rome.     For some of us the calling of Christ may take us to faraway places, but for most of us that calling is not around the world but simply around the block or down the street.    What are you doing with your two tongues in sharing the loving of Christ?   Does the tongue of your mouth bring praise to God, or does it curse men?     And how about the tongue in your shoe?    When was the last time when you went out of your way to share the love of Christ with someone simply through presence?    Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall    

PRAYER-        God, help my lips and words to praise you.   Grant that I might let Christ be known in my words and the way I treat others.    Give me ears to hear the places you are calling me to serve in the places of this world and in the places I travel everyday;   through Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

At Worship With Curlers in Your Hair

 

Nan was a short, petite woman who was a member of my home church.   Ironically, she lived  with her husband and son in the same house  where our family lived when I was in elementary school.   Though Nan has been dead for years, I think of her when Holy Week rolls around every year  because of an incident that happened at my home church many years ago.    

It was Maundy Thursday, and Nan and her family were there in their usual seats.    As a new Christian, it perhaps was the first Maundy Thursday Service I had ever attended.   In a day and age when there were many women who would not even leave the house without wearing make up and a dress, lo and behold there was Nan in the Maundy Thursday Service  wearing a scarf over a head that was filled with curlers in her hair.   Later after the service, Nan provided the explanation:   "Well, the pastor said to come to the service as you are and so  I came as I was with curlers in my hair."

During this Holy Week, we ponder those who gather around the cross:

-  Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other women coming in the throes of their grief 

-  A centurion under orders from his superior officer who declares his alleigance to a higher authority as he exclaims "Surely this was the son of God"

-  Mockers who wag their tongues at Jesus because of either what they felt in their heart or because of what  they felt they must say

-  Criminals guilty of charges that brought them to that time and place, one contrite and another that wanted Jesus free them from it all

-   Disciples of Jesus who are there in their confusion and brokenness representing disciples who cower in some secret place

In this Holy Week, come as you are whether you be a disciple, criminal, mocker, soldier, mother, or the like.   Come to Jesus and His cross.   Come as you are knowing that the love that flows from the cross is sufficient to cover all your sins.     Have a blessed week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:    Lord and God, we thank you for the love and grace that is sufficient for us in the cross of Christ whoever we are and wherever we are in our relationship with you.   Thank you, God;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.   

Getting Ready for the "Moving" Experience

 

            He is moving again.   Moving is nothing new for most United Methodist pastors.    I must say that I am very experienced in the moving process since I have done it a few times.    

            He will get the help he needed to move the boxes and furniture.  He will hang the pictures and  unpack the boxes.   There are some other things that he needs in this moving process, and this friend  cannot do it as much as I would like to.  First, my friend  and his family need to meet and make new friends and neighbors.    A  neighbor is more than a person that lives near you.  They are also persons with which you develop friendships.  I hope and pray that happens. 

            We live in a society that has become increasingly mobile.  While you might have lived in the same community all of your life, our community is increasingly being filled with people who have moved from other places. I read a couple of months ago that of the members of our town’s city council, only two are natives.   Like my friend,  they need neighbors and friends, and they need a church home.     In Hebrews 13:2, we hear:  “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”   Bill Hybels says that the first step in evangelism is sometimes simply walking across the room and saying Hi (or walking across the street, down the road, or across the sanctuary).    For Christ’s sake and for the sake of  those who are strangers among us, let us seek to be a neighbor to those new to our area and invite them to visit our church home.   Have a joy-filled week.  He is risen indeed!-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER

            O God, give me eyes to see the strangers among us.  Give me the courage to go beyond my comfort zone and offer hospitality to them;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

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.