God Provides a Wheelchair

 

As some of you know,   I weekly volunteer  at a local helping agency called Opportunity House.   It is a faith-based day shelter for the homeless.   Among the things it offers include  two meals each weekday,  showers, a clothing closet, and a nurse who helps with medical issues.   They also assist formerly homeless persons recovering  from drug and alcohol issues with a recovery program.   I work doing group counseling with those who are in the recovery program.  

Several months ago,  I was making my way toward Opportunity House when I saw a woman riding down the street in her wheelchair.    Though I thought she might be going to Opportunity House,   I  did not know for sure until several minutes later I found her seeking to come in.   When I assisted her to get  into the building,   I was told a story about the woman that goes like this:

During the week earlier, the woman had made her way to Opportunity House from the local Salvation Army shelter where she is staying.    When the woman arrived,  it was soon discovered that her wheelchair was broken.    She needed a wheelchair to get around, and there was no wheelchair to be found.      A few minutes later,  some folks came to the door of Opportunity House that had some things they wanted to donate.   Among the items they had was a wheelchair!      The givers of these items were told about the need that this woman had, and were asked if they would join them as they presented the wheelchair to her.    These kind people consented with enthusiasm, and joined the Opportunity House staff in presenting this disabled woman with a wheelchair who received the gift with tears on the face that trickled down to her wide grin.

God will provide.    He provided a sacrifice for Abraham and He provided manna and quail for the Israelites to eat in the wilderness.    On a cold day in Concord, NC,  God provided for a woman who needed a wheelchair.    What is it that you need today?    Where are you lacking in your life?    The God that provided for  Abraham, the Israelites, and for a wheelchair-bound in Concord, NC can also provide for you.   Have a joy-filled day.   -   Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER-   O God, I pray for those this day who struggle with the basic needs of life including the homeless.   Make me a part of the solution for them, and so many others who struggle.    Thank you, God, for providing for the needs of my life;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.   

LOVERS AND LOCKS ON A BRIDGE

 

A few months ago, my wife and I made a visit to Europe.      The visit was more than just for sight-seeing as our daughter Ginger and her family live in Budapest, Hungary.   Since it is a rare occasion for us to get to that part of the world,   we travelled to the neighboring country of Austria visiting two cities, Vienna and Salzburg.     In the picture above, you will see the Makartsteg Bridge in Salzburg.    The bridge was built in 2001 and crosses the Salzbach River from one part of Salzburg to another.   As Ann and I travelled by foot across the bridge, we noticed what we thought was an unusual sight:  there were thousands of locks that had been attached to the bridge by young and not so young lovers.    From my understanding, lovers will write their initials on a lock.    As they visit the bridge, they will attach the lock to the side railings of the bridge and then throw the key to the lock in the Salzbach River as a sign of their never-ending love for each other.   While this might be something new to you as it was to Ann and I on that day of our travels,      I am told that this tradition is common at a number of places in Europe.

Long ago in the city of Jerusalem,   Jesus Christ became to bridge to a sinful humanity and our God.   When Jesus faced a cruel death on a cross, he died for the sins of you, me, and for the sins of the whole world.     In that act, Jesus Christ said that he loved us not just right now or not just when we do everything right and perfect.  No, Christ Jesus said that he loved us forever.     The Bible puts it this way:    “In this love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and gave His Son as an expiation for our sins….”

I wonder about the locks on that bridge in Salzburg, Austria.    Do all those lovers who scratched their initials on a lock and attached a lock to that bridge still love each other, or did their love fade away until the next beautiful girl or handsome guy come along… or until the stresses and strains of life snuff out the flames of love that burned within them or between them.     I do not know.     But I can promise you this:  no matter what you do and no matter how long time passes,   our God in Christ will never stop loving you.    On  Valentines Day, that is a love you can count on now and forever.     Thanks be to God.    Have a joy-filled week.-    Pastor Randy Wall   

PRAYER --  O God,   I give thanks for your amazing, grace-filled love for me despite the fact that I so often to live the life that you have called me to live.     Forgive me, God, through the matchless grace that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen

Have You Learned to Love?

 

Richard Paul Evans tells in his book, The Four Doors, about having a spiritual awakening or conversion when he was in his early 20’s.     Evans conversion  from doubt to faith began when he read a book titled  My Life After Dying by George C. Ritchie Jr.   In the book, Ritchie speaks about the experience he had when he died  for a total of 9 minutes.   George C. Ritchie says in the book that when he died that he encountered God, and that God asked him one question.  That one question was this:   “Have you learned how to love?”   

As I  write this,  my grandchildren are spending another day of school whether in their  public school or in their  college.   One of our daughters is helping children under her tutelage learn in a school classroom and another daughter is working on a college course she is taking.     While I have always believed that education is important and have shown the same by my example, there is nothing much more important for any of us to learn than to learn to love. 

Have you learned to love God, the one that created you and has written your name in the palm of His hand?    Have you learned to love the God who says that you, yes you, are fearfully and wonderfully made?   God not only gave each of us life, but He made each of us in His image.   Why, God loved each of us so much that He sent His Son to live among us.   Did we not celebrate that love just a few weeks ago at Christmas?    And God not only sent His Son to live among us, but while we were sinners Christ died for us.  

Have you learned to love not only God, but the people around you?   The great and glorious God that created you and redeemed you also created and redeemed those around you whether they know it  or not, whether they accept it or not.   Have you learned to love people around you though they may not look like or think like you?

Have you learned to love God and have you learned to love people around you?   Finally, have you learned to love yourself?    I remember years ago doing a childrens message at church with a group of children.   I brought before them a large paper bag and told them they could see God  in the bottom of the bag.    They looked curiously at the bag as did their  parents and other adults from the pews of that church.    After a brief time of conversation,   I asked the children if they would like to look  in the bag and see God.    Of course, they all raised their  hands.   What the children and adults did not know is that I had placed a mirror in the bottom of that bag.  Lo and behold, when the children looked in that bag they saw a reflection of themselves.    When the Bible tells us that we made in the image of God, is it not telling us that God  lives in each of us?      Have you learned to love yourself, because you are made in the image of God and are a child of the creator of the universe?  

In this year of 2025,  my prayer for myself and for each of   you is we can aspire to love- to love God… to love others even when they look or think different than ourselves… and that each of can love ourselves by living in a way that reflects the love of God.    Will you join me in that love journey in 2025?     Have a joy-filled day and 2025.-   Pastor Randy Wall  

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you for the great and bountiful way that you love each and everyone of us.    Help me, God, to love more in these days of 2025;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.    

A LIving Nativity Not Forgotten

 

During this season of Advent and the days of December,    I find myself enjoying not just the time now with friends and family but also thinking of  Christmases past.    Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, I am not haunted by the days of Christmas past.   It is perhaps more accurate to say that I savor it like a freshly made cup of hot chocolate that warms my hands and my throat as I take the first sips of it.   I have always enjoyed seeing a living nativity scene whether  it be by young children in a church sanctuary or by youth and/or adults on selected nights near Christmas.

Around 1970, the youth of my home church decided they wanted to do a living nativity scene for church members and community alike.    There was another church in the northern part of the county was  doing the same, and it gave us the idea.    As we discussed it,  some of the parents said they would help us build a stable.    A group of the younger boys quickly volunteered to be shepherds.   Our youth leader began to assign youth to be the main characters:    Mary, Joseph, and the angels.     One of the youth remembered that Mr. Parks had sheep that we probably could use for the event instead of cardboard cut-outs.   Some of the more creative youth said they would create signs to tell the community that could be posted along the side of the road.    Other youth quickly said that they were certain their Moms would prepare some hot chocolate and goodies for the youth to eat.    A plan was made and a date was set.    We just knew it would be a great event.   

And so, it came to pass that the night for our living nativity scene came.    The signs were posted along the side of the road and the make-shift stable was made including a manger where a baby doll impersonated the baby Jesus.      And lo and behold, people came!    Yet, the living nativity did not turn out as well as we would have liked.    Some of the shepherds got restless and wandered off and so did the sheep.     Unfortunately, the novice shepherds were not very good at their job and one of the sheep wandered into the road.     Some of the wise men got cold, and were more interested in partaking of the hot  chocolate and goodies in the warm fellowship hall.      It was a living nativity, but it was not perfect!

As Christmas approaches, perhaps you are beginning to feel like this will not be a perfect Christmas.    Ones you love will not all be there.     Your pile of bills will be higher than the packages under the tree.    A chair is empty where someone sat last Christmas.    Christmas just does not feel right.    And you know what?     The first Christmas was not perfect either.   Joseph failed to make a reservation in Bethlehem for a room.    Mary must have wished that her Mama was there to be with her when she gave birth.     And the shepherds and sheep!    When the shepherds came to see the newborn Messiah, what happened to those sheep?

 Savor this truth, my friends!     The truth that God is with us!     Our God comes into our world of imperfect people who live imperfect lives.    Merry Christmas to each of you.  Have a joy-filled Christmas.-   Pastor Randy Wall

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PRAYER --  O God,  we rejoice in the truth that God is with us and that Christ Jesus came to save us from our sins.    Thank you for your perfect love that touches our imperfect lives.    We praise you;  through Christ our Lord.    Amen.  

The Autumn of the year, The Autumn of my years

 

I love this time of year!   I love Autumn and Fall.    I particularly love the month of October.     As I have said before,   October is the month when I fell in love with Jesus and fell in love with my wife, Ann.   October often brings us cool morning and warm days….the sight of fields being harvested and the feel of a frosty morning… the smell of burning leaves and of freshly cooked barbecue at a church fund-raiser.  Another thing that Autumn brings is the glorious splendor of leaves as they change to colors of red, orange, and yellow.    What a wonderful experience to drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway under a colored canopy of trees above you or to look from a mountain vista this time of year.    

I am now in the autumn of my life.     I think that is fair to say that I have more years in the past than I have in my future.      Since I am on social security and medicare now,   the government has officially declared that I am old.     I wear my age with a badge of honor as I can name you friends who have gone on to the reward God has for them that I still miss.    I sometimes ask at restaurants if they offer a senior citizen discount and am quick to accept them if they are offered.    I have less hair on my head than I used to, and it is not sandy and blond as it once was.    It is not unusual for me to hear on social media or to read in the obituary pages the names of people who are my peers.      

Despite the fact that I am in the autumn of my life,    I can also declare this:    as the autumn of the year is a beautiful time,  so the autumn of my years is also a beautiful time.    It is nice some nights to stay up late if I want to, and some mornings to sleep a little later.     It is nice to look at my bank account and see retirement monies or social security being deposited into my account.     It is flattering when our children or grandchildren ask me about something in the past years ago  that I seem to be able to remember when sometimes I struggle to remember what I had for dinner 3 nights ago.     It is a joy to still be healthy enough to live on my own, and to some days walk for more than an hour.     It is  a real blessing to leave home for a few days and travel to destinations a few hours away by car or a few hours away by plane and see family, friends, or this beautiful world that God has given us.     Most of all, it is a gift to me to be able to have my wife, Ann, by my side and to share these  days and experiences with her and to have children, grandchildren, and other family that we love and that love us.  

I see and hear once in a while someone making critical  or condescending remarks about senior citizens and the elderly.   I am certain I use to make them also, but now I look in the mirror and realize that person looking back at me is an elder.       And despite the critical remarks I sometimes hear,  I can say with gratitude what a blessing God gives me each day to wake up and live this life in the autumn of my years.      What a beautiful time of year is Autumn, and what a beautiful gift is the autumn of my life.    Have a joy-filled day.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer-   God, thank you for the gift of life.    Help me, O God, to live each day with joy and wonder;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.    Amen.

Filled with the Spirit

 

 

About this time of year last year,   Ann and I were in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the International Hot Air Balloon Festival.     There were over 500 balloons flying in the event from over 12 countries.   One of the gifts of the event is that spectators can interact with the balloon pilots.    One of my high school classmates, Ken Draughn, was one of those pilots and he was kind enough to explain the process of  preparing the balloons for flight to Ann and I. 

As a balloon cannot take flight unless it is filled with hot air, so a follower of Christ cannot soar as a follower of Christ unless they are filled with the Spirit.      We serve a mighty God, who not only calls us to follow Him, but who also enables us to serve Him through the precious gift of His Spirit.   Ephesians 5: 18-19 puts it this way:     

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,

Open your hearts, fellow believers, and allow God to fill you to overflowing with His Spirit.   Have a joy-filled day.-  Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  fill my cup to overflowing with your love and matchless grace.   Fill us with your Spirit, O God, that we might soar to new heights of following you;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.     

In the Walls of our House

 

One of the things my wife Ann and I did last year is to build an addition onto our home.   Perhaps it is more accurate to say that Ann and I paid for a general contractor and the persons who work with him to build an addition.    We  built a sun room and an addition to our study to create a bedroom.    You can see the early stages of the building process in the picture above.  

One of the things I did in the building process is that before they installed the insulation in the walls and hung the drywall is that I placed scripture passages and prayers in the walls of the new addition.     I do not know if those prayers and scripture passages will be discovered someday by some construction worker or repair person or not;   that remains to be seen.    I spent time thinking of what scriptures say about that addition and about our home.   I also spent time writing a few prayers for not just our addition, but for  our home in general.   It was an interesting  process that I commend to you.   One of the scripture I printed and placed in the walls of our home addition is found in Psalm 84:4 that says:

 

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

 

Now, Biblical scholars would say that the  “house”  referred to in this passage was the temple of the Lord.  I understand that;  however, I want those who dwell in my house to be doing the same.     How about you?    What scripture says what you want to say about your home and abode?     What prayers do you have for your house and its occupants?     I encourage you to spend some time thinking about that.   Perhaps there is a way you can let those scriptures and prayers be shared in your home.   Have a joy-filled day!-  Pastor Randy Wall

 

PRAYER --  O God,  bless my home and members of my family.    Through your grace and the power of your Spirit, help me to dwell in your house forever;  through Christ our Lord.   Amen.