Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX



This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Love.

Jesus shows us God’s perfect love.  He is God’s perfect love in human form.  Those who believe in him and live in him, live in love.  Love transforms and perfects all things.  It never ends.

We will light a candle Sunday to remind us that God is love. We thank God for hope he gives us, for the peace he bestows, for the joy he pours into our hearts, and for the love that redeems us and shows us the way.

Have a great Christmas and no matter how many people cut you off in traffic, bump you in the stores and are just rude to you, you are the light of Christ shining in this world.  Love your neighbor even when you don’t like them.  Show them the joy, hope, peace, and love in your hearts.

God’s Hope, Peace, Joy and Love to all,

Randy

I See a miracle, don’t you!

In Chapter 28 of the Book of Acts we see Paul survive a shipwreck along with the whole crew and passengers.  All of the over 200 people on that ship survived.  Then Paul who is helping to build a fire gets bit by a viper and is not hurt by the viper’s poison.  He goes on to heal others through the power of the Holy Spirit that is with him.  Some pretty amazing happenings to close out the book of Acts.

We all believe in a God of amazing acts, a God of miracles and a God of love for humanity.  Paul had a wonderful life in Jesus Christ and saw many miracles through Him.  Do you see?  Are you looking for and expecting those miracles?

Read Acts and see that the power of God was in Paul and can be in you too.  Have a great Christmas Season and expect a miracle.  It may not be the miracle you want to see but it will be the one God wants you to see.  Live in hope, with peace in your heart, joy in your life and love for your fellow-man exampled in all you do.

God’s Peace, Blessings and Miracles to all,

Randy

For those of you who don’t Facebook!  Something I posted on Facebook that just came to me/over me, not sure what happened, just did it.  Have a great day and keep the faith during the season that starts us on a journey of learning and growing.  Advent…ain’t it great…it can make a difference in how you approach this time of year.  Have a great Christ season by remembering Love, Peace, Hope and Joy.

Ho, Ho, Ho are you going to grow…its up to you to be in the know…don’t let your life be so-so…don’t be on the down low…you just have to get up and go…yeah you got to get it from the pro…God and Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to help us grow, know, and go…see Wesley UMC for the Upper Room devo…or check the link below…wow, what got into me….

 I took this picture from the Orangefield Junior High parking lot on Monday evening.  A beautiful sunset picture while going into the Junior High Gym to watch our granddaughter Emilee play a basketball game. Seeing a sunset like this is a pretty good early Christmas Gift.

As we move into and through Advent we are in a season where we generally celebrate the love, joy, hope and peace that Jesus Christ brings to us in His birth, life, death and resurrection.  Love, joy, hope and peace.  There can be no better gift for God to give us than His Son and all that He means to us.  Love, joy, hope and peace.  What a great time of year to give gifts from the heart.  Our hearts want us to give abundantly to our children and grandchildren and our other close family members.  But why don’t we react to the birth and life of Jesus Christ in a way that says we care for our neighbors?  Some of you do and will be rewarded abundantly,  some of you believe that it is more important to take care of your own and some don’t give at all.  Encourage your self and family members to react to the Holy Spirit of giving and reach out to those that are struggling and need help.  Be a good steward of all that God has given you and share with your family, church and community.  Be in Love, be  joyful, be peaceful and be hopeful.  That is what Christ wants us to do for Christmas. 

God’s Peace and Blessings, Randy

 Repenting is moving from the shadows into the daylight.

3:1 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,

3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

3:3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'”

John the Baptist has a message for us throughout the ages.  No matter when we hear this message it is an appropriate message to hear.  So, why don’t we proclaim it all year-long instead of during Advent?  Well we do in so many different ways, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near, is a message carried in so many scriptures.  Repentance is the key to a life lived in a Christian walk.  Repentance is what actually helps us to grow spiritually into the people God calls us to be.  If we are not repentant for our sins we will never grow into the mature Christian we should be.  Not repenting from sin does not keep God from loving us but it does keep us from being able to focus on our Christian walk and it makes it harder to live a life of Christian love for your God and your neighbor.

Just so you will know that John the Baptist and Jesus Christ were preaching the same message here is a scripture from Luke 13:

 God gave us this Sunlight.  Let’s let the Sonlight He gave us shine just as bright from our own hearts.

Romans 13:11-14
13:11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;

13:12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;

13:13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.

13:14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Are you living in the light?  Are you living your life in a way that gives glory to the light of God and His Son?  Paul reminds us in the letter to the Romans that all we do is going to be seen and known.  If it is not seen and known by human beings it will surely be known by God.  The light Paul is referring to is not the daylight of this world but the Sonlight of Jesus Christ in Heaven.   Paul is encouraging us all to live lives that give glory to God.  If you are not living in a way that gives that Glory then perhaps you are living in the darkness of sin and selfishness.  We each have to answer that question for ourselves and then respond to the Holy Spirit in a way that says we repent and turn towards the light of God.  God loves each of us and wants us to always move closer to Him.  Live your life in a way that shines the light of God and Jesus Christ on the world around you.  It is the right way.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, God’s Peace and Blessings to all,

Randy

Turkeys gobble as a form of communication.   Me I just gobble turkey down.  Isn’t there special dispensation for gluttony on Thanksgiving Day. 

Matthew 24:42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

24:43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Keep awake after eating all that Thanksgiving Feast?  That’s nap time for sure!  I don’t think Jesus was talking about staying awake as in physical eyes open and in an alert physical sense.  I believe Jesus is telling us to be spiritually awake and alert.  In other words doing what Christ has called us to do out of a sense of heart-felt desire to be who He calls us to be.  We can know who Jesus Christ is in our minds and we can convince ourselves of the presence of God and still not know what Jesus calls us to do or who He calls us to be.  I can read about helping people and decide to go out and work the local soup kitchen or donate time to a homeless shelter but I must know in my heart that Jesus is calling me to do those things.   I believe those you are helping know if you are doing it for all the right reasons or doing it because you know in your heart it is the right thing to do.  Those you are helping will know that you are doing good things out of the love for your fellow-man and know that you are thankful to your God.

Have a great day being thankful,  Randy

 Some of our faithful at Sunday Evening Church.  There are usually 20 or so there. 

Psalm 122
122:1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

122:2 Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

122:3 Jerusalem built as a city that is bound firmly together.

122:4 To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.

122:5 For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.

122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.

122:7 Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”

122:8 For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”

122:9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

122:1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”  Yeah, that’s what I am talking about.  Someone is glad when he is told “let’s go to church”.  I like that a lot and as I read the rest of the Psalm I see prayers for the church and those who are the church.  This Psalm is reaching out to each of us to help us see that we each and every one need to be praying for our churches.  That prayer includes yourself, your neighbors, your church members, your physical buildings, maybe most of all your Pastor in his leadership role.  Prayer for all of these will help to keep your church healthy, vibrant and busy doing God’s work.  So perhaps you need to start out praying about your prayer life.  Get busy doing the things that God calls each of us to do, starting with prayer.

God’s Peace and Blessings, Randy

 I believe there will be sunsets like this one, probably more beautiful than this one when we walk with Jesus in the Garden. 

Luke 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

23:43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Did you know that the word Paradise comes from a Persian word for a walled garden. Think about that for a few moments. Meditate on Jesus having just promised the thief upon the cross a walk in the garden of God with His Lord and Savior for eternity.  Now I don’t know about the rest of you but it sure gives me a warm feeling to know that I have committed myself to God, His Son, and His Holy Spirit.  To know that Jesus is promising the thief upon the cross a walk in a garden we can only imagine the likes of with the one and only Son of God and He is promising me the same walk in the same garden.  Yeah, thats what I am talking about.  I can’t speak for anyone else but here is what I am going to do, I am going to walk with Jesus in the garden He has given me right now, today, this very moment.  It is a wonderful thing to be blessed with this life, people I love, a spouse, children, grandchildren, Mom and Dad, brothers, brother in laws, sisters, sisters in law, church, church family and the list could go on and on.  Give glory to God right now for all the blessings He has given you.  It is a rich life if you allow Him to lead you through it.

God’s Peace and blessings to all,

Randy

Luke

1:78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,

1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

What a wonderful message for us all.  All of us sit in darkness at some time or the other.  All of us live in the shadow of death for our whole lives and here we have God promising us light in our lives that will show us a way to walk in peace.  God has given us His word to live by and in order to do that we must read the Holy Word of God.  The Bible contains “The Word” that is the dawn from on high.  “The Word” is the involvement of God in the life of the Israelites and the arrival of His Son teaching us a new and peaceful way. We can take a lot of time and energy to read and study God’s Holy Word but if the Holy Spirit of God is not in our hearts we will never truly understand what “The Way” is all about. 

Tell people about what God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit means to you.  That is how we begin to learn about God.  About the light that can shine in our lives.  When you tell the world the light shines from you and shines into those who hear your words.  They recieve a spirit that will live on and grow as they learn more.  Plant a seed by a real life lived as an example of Christ in your life.  It may not be all about you but it is all about Christ in your life.  Love living it and others will know.

God’s Peace and blessings to all,

Randy