A Mysterious Journey, A Certain Destination

A few months ago, Ann and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary.    We have been through moves to new churches to serve and to new homes… seeing children grow to adulthood… and celebrating weddings of our children and the birth of our grandchildren.     One of the things that we have done most every year of our marriage is go on a secret trip.   Most every year,  I will plan for a trip with just Ann and I to a secret destination.     We have gone north, south, east, and west… to big cities and high mountains… down to the coast and to places we have never seen before.   Though Ann does not know what is our destination until the day we depart,  I try to provide some guidance to assist in her preparation.   She knows how many days we will be gone,   what kind of clothes she needs to pack, and whether the weather there will be warm or cold.   This secret trip requires for Ann to have trust in me, and I try to fulfill the first point of the Boy Scout law and to be trustworthy.  

I share this personal anecdote to make a point and that point is this:  WE ARE ON A JOURNEY IN LIFE AND MORE TIMES THAN NOT WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING.   Oh, yes we have our plans and dreams and may be working our plan.   However, life has taught me that it is not unusual for something to happen and those plans  to change (sometimes for the better.)    30 years ago, I certainly did not have as one of my goals to be married to  a beautiful, wonderful woman like Ann Wall.   Yet, here I am 25 years later married to a woman who is a gracious gift of God.   

 In Genesis 12, we hear the story of the call of Abraham.     Hebrews 11:8 says this about the call of Abraham: ⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.   Despite our goals and dreams, we never know where the path of life will take.     Yet, we can live with confidence in a God who is faithful and who walks  with us.       Thanks be to God.    Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you  that though we do not know the future, we know you and can trust you are with us each day of our lives.    Amid the challenges of each day, help us to trust you more;   through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.      

Some Things Do Not Change

 

I went back a few months ago to a community where I formerly lived   and served as pastor.  The reason for my visit was to attend the funeral of a dear lady in that congregation who ministered to me more than I ministered to her when I served as her pastor.   My visits to that community have been rare in the last 25 years since I lived in that place.   I was struck by how much the community has changed in those 25 years.   Major businesses where many people worked have closed.   When I lived in Ashe County, I had to drive 45 minutes to get to Walmart.   Now, Walmart has come  to the county bringing joy to some consumers and bringing  scorn to some  local small businesses that  have seen  their business suffer.  While Ashe County had  3 high schools years ago, they have been  merged into one high school for the entire county.    The county continues to have a hospital, but any major medical  issues for residents are dealt at hospitals outside the county minutes or hours away.  

Amid the changes in that community in the last 25 years, I was struck  by the constancy of the church.   As the New River continues to meander through the hills and hollers of that county, the church continues to worship and serve.   Despite the fact that the heads of its members are grayer than 25 years ago and the church pews are not as full, it continues to be as faithful as the rising and setting of the sun.    When my wife Ann and I were married, we had in the service a congregational hymn.    The words of the first verse are found below:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changes not, Thy compassion's, they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

 

Thanks be to God for His faithfulness and thanks be to God for people  that continue to serve.  Have a joy-filled week.    -   Randy L. Wall

 

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you  for your abiding, faithful love and thank you that though seasons change and the years bring change your people continue to serve.   Thank you, God; in Christ’s name I pray.  Amen.  

Seeing a Masterpiece

Have you ever seen a real masterpiece?   A work that is quite valuable if not priceless?    I think back to my visit to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem when I got the chance to see not only fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls that are priceless but also to see real copies of paintings of Picasso.   I also think of the chance I had a few years ago to visit the Metrolitan Museum of Art in New York City.   There were some masterpieces in those places.

Of course, there was works of nature that are masterpieces in my estimation.   I think of the time that Ann and I visited the Grand Canyon in Arizona after a small snowfall in April and saw that beautiful, massive site.    I also thinking of seeing the beauty of a sun set on the island of Oahu in Hawaii a few years ago. 

Have you ever seen a masterpiece?   Even if you have travelled to New York City, Hawaii, or Jerusalem I believe you have. You have seen a masterpiece even if you  are not an art lover or a world traveller for one reason:  YOU HAVE LOOKED IN THE MIRROR.  Don’t take my word for me.   Take God’s word for it.  Read these words from Ephesians 2 paying special attention to the words I have in capital letters here: 

⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For WE ARE GOD’S HANDIWORK , created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.    (Ephenians 2: 4-10)

The New Living Translation used the word “masterpiece” in this passage  for the word “handiwork”.    Despite the television commercials that might belittle you because you having used this or that product, you are a masterpiece for this reason:  YOU ARE MADE BY GOD AND MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD.  

Everyone has days or times when they feel bad because of something they have done or  not done or something that someone has done against you.   When you are in that place, go look in the mirror and remember that despite it all you are a masterpiece.  You are priceless because you are made by God and in the image of God.  Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you  for creating me and redeeming me through the grace found in Christ Jesus.   Praise you for your love and mercy; in Christ’s name I pray.  Amen. 

Memories of March 8, 1998

 

March 8, 1998.   25 years ago today.   I woke up early and prepared for a busy day fixing breakfast for a house full of people before I headed to Roberta United Methodist Church where I taught Sunday School and led Sunday worship.   My sermon must have been rather forgetful because I do not remember the scripture or the title.  I then went to the parsonage where I prepared lunch for a house full of people.   A couple of hours later, I headed back to church for an important event:  I was getting married.   On March 8, 1998, I stood before God, family, friends, and  a beautiful woman named Lora Ann and  vowed that  I  would  “love, honor, and cherish”  her till we are parted by death.  

After the wedding and the reception, we headed to the parsonage and our new home together.   The house was filled with our children and family.   It was a crazy time as we prepared to head out to spend our wedding night at the Hilton in Charlotte before we headed to the Charleston area for our honeymoon.  First,  I backed the van into the side of the  house.   Fortunately, little  damage was done  to the car or house.  After that, in the excitement of the day I locked the car keys in the van and we had to wait on a locksmith before heading on our way.

We finally arrived at the Hilton off of Tyvola Road in Charlotte.    We had a lovely room with a balcony and a platter of fruit and chocolates.     After dinner at a nearby restaurant, we returned to our hotel room.   Shortly thereafter, Ann and I changed into our sleepwear.   As we sat on the couch in the suite,  I did what few men do on their wedding night as they sit near their beloved:   I opened the Bible and began to read.    I read the following passage of scripture from Genesis 33: 1-10:

When Jacob looked off in the distance, there was Esau coming toward him, accompanied by 400 men! So Jacob divided Leah’s children, Rachel, and the children of the two servants into separate groups.^[a] 2 Then he positioned the women servants and their children first, then Leah and her children next, and then Rachel and Joseph after them. ³ Then he went out to meet Esau,^[b] passing in front of all of them, and bowed low to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.  ⁴ Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. Then he fell on his neck and kissed him. And they wept.  ⁵ When Esau eventually looked around, he saw the women and the children. “Who are these people^[c] with you?” he asked.  “The children, whom God has graciously given^[d] your servant,” he answered. ⁶ Then the women servants approached, accompanied by their children, and bowed low. ⁷ Leah also approached, and she and her children bowed low. After this, Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed low. ⁸ Then Esau asked, “What are all these livestock for?”  “To solicit favor from you,^[e] sir,”^[f] Jacob answered.  ⁹ But Esau replied, “I already have so much, my brother, so keep what belongs to you.”  ¹⁰ “Please,” Jacob implored him, “don’t refuse. If I’m to receive favor from you, then receive this gift from me, because seeing your face is like seeing the face of God, since you have favorably accepted me.

After I read the passage,  Ann unwrapped a small gift  I had for her.   When she opened it, she found a necklace with a heart on it.   On the heart, I had a local jeweler inscribe the following words:    “I see the face of God in you.”  

25 years later, those words  still ring true for me.   The grace, goodness, and generosity of Ann toward me and many others continues to show me the face of God.    I am a blessed man and am so grateful to God.    With an open heart, I suspect that there is someone in your life in who you see the face of God.   Give thanks to God for them, and go seek to be the face of God to someone else.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you for persons  around us who give us glimpses of you and your love.    Through your grace and the power of the Spirit, help us to go  and do likewise;  through  Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

A Second Touch

 

²² When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. ²³ Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”  ²⁴ The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.” ²⁵ Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.”-  Mark 8: 22-26

            We find in Mark 8 an interesting story of a blind man.   We know not whether he was blind since birth or whether he lost his sight through  an accident or a disease.   What we know is that Jesus heals him not once but twice.   First, we see Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and touch them.   When the man tells Jesus that he cannot see clearly, Jesus touches the man’s eyes a second time.   Through this second touch, the man is able to see clearly.   Immediately after this healing, we find the story of Peter exclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of God.

            Some can look at this story and focus on the fact that the man was not totally healed of his blind by the first touch of Jesus.   I choose a different focus and it is this:   it is not enough that we be touch by the Lord Jesus only once.   We need the touch of the Great Physician again.  

            Perhaps you can share a date or time or at a particular event  when you knew the touch of Christ to your life.   That surely is something to celebrate.      I don’t know about you, but I need the touch of Christ on my life not just once, but again and again.   If you need the touch of Christ again, I pray that you will receive it.  Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall  

 

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you for your marvelous, healing grace that touches us again and again.   Touch us, Lord, and transform us more fully into your presence; through   Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.  

God and Dr. King, Forgive Me!

 

I do not know when my racial bias and bigotry began.   I do not think it was in my DNA or in my blood.   I believe it was learned through the people I was around.    I remember this black woman that cleaned our house and kept my brother and I when we were very young.   Despite the fact that we loved her, I learned to fear and distrust persons because of the color of their skin.

I can remember hearing adults in my family talking about the Woolworth lunch counter sit ins in early 1960 in Greensboro.    Even if the adults thought I was not listening, I was and learned their disapproval of the protests and the people who were making them.   I can remember discovering in the storage room at a neighbor’s house one day a wooden cross that confirmed my suspicion that he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.  

Even though it has been over 50 years ago, I still remember the racial unrest in my hometown of Burlington in 1969.    Our high school, Williams High School, was at the heart of the unrest as Jordan Sellers High School was closed and black  students came to Williams.   There were walk outs at school and a city-wide  curfew.    A young black man only a few years younger than myself was killed.   Our high school became the first predominately white high school in the south to have a black football coach, Jerome Evans.

In the Fall, 1970, I began to follow Christ Jesus and became a Christian.    I discovered that God so loved me and that God so loved the world.   As the children’s song says,   “Jesus loves the little children… red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.”   And this God who loves me and loves children whatever is the color of their skin loves everyone.   And so, God began to work on me and change my heart including taking away that racial bias and bigotry.   Only by the grace of God go I. 

In these days, we observe the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.   It is a federal holiday.    A few months ago, I visited Memphis and the very place where Dr. King was killed by a bullet.   In many ways, people will observe Dr. King’s birthday.  I observe his birthday this year by saying,   “God, forgive me for my racial bias and bigotry and for my silence in the face of it. ”  I made a choice and I am sorry.   I repent of my sin.   God, have mercy on me a sinner!    Have a joy-filled week.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --   God of many names and many people, thank you for loving each and everyone of us.   Heal our hearts and this land of bias and division.   Forgive us for  the times we do not love one another;   through Christ our Lord.   Amen. 

Follow the Star

 

One of the early explorers in the history of America was a man named Daniel Boone.   In the mountains of NC, you can find a town named after him and you can even find in that area remnants of the Boone Trail that legend says that Daniel Boone took when he headed to explore a region today we call Kentucky.    I recall a story that is told about a time that Daniel Boone was asked “Have you ever gotten lost?”    The story goes that Daniel Boone replied,  “No, but there have been times when I have been a might bewildered.”

Here we are in the early days of 2023.    We know the good and bad, the joys and sorrows that are behind us in 2022.   Though we have plans, goals, and dreams, we don’t know for sure what lies ahead of us in this new year.    Our schedule might say that we have meetings at work or church, or doctors appointments and dental appointments.    We anticipate the birthdays of friends and family.   However, there is something a little bewildering for us as we face this new year.  As Daniel Boone travelled to a new frontier we call Kentucky, we go into a new frontier we have never gone before called 2023. 

One of the things I learned in my boy scouting days was that you could use the North Star as a point of  reference in finding your way in the dark of night.   There were times when I did  just that as a teenage boy.    Friends, we have  a “North Star” to lead us and guide us as we make the bewilderment of a new year called 2023.    It is the God we know in Jesus Christ.   Let His Spirit offer you peace and wisdom in the year ahead;  let His Word in the Scriptures we be a light for your path and a lamp for your feet.  

A few months ago,  I went to the funeral of my friend, Wylene Graybeal.    When I was her pastor and we would gather for a church meal,   Wylene would often say that the meal was the “best one yet.”    With Gods guidance, God’s peace, and God’s Word this year 2023 can be the best one yet.    Have a joy-filled week and a joy-filled 2023.-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --   God,  you are Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end.   Thank you for your presence and your guidance as we face the fresh new path before us called 2023.  We love you, Lord;   through Christ our Lord.   Amen.