Lectionary Readings November 28th, 2010
November 21, 2010Pastor’s Ponderings 11-20-10
November 20, 2010
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
Pastor’s Ponderings
November 18, 2010
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
Pastor’s Ponderings
November 15, 2010
Luke 23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
23:41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
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.”
Two criminals hanging on the cross, one repentant, one bitter and selfish, both about to die for their sins. One will be in Paradise with Jesus and the other, well, lets just say Jesus wasn’t speaking to him.
This is one of about three places that Jesus speaks of heaven: Luke 16:20-25 Lazarus and the rich man, Luke 20:29-37 the seven brothers and one wife and here on the cross.
Jesus wasn’t about bringing the kingdom of God to people after death but here and now. Jesus wanted people to know about God’s Kingdom, what it means to each of us to know about it and how we need to live in this kingdom He was teaching us about. Jesus’ parables were about searching for those lost, seeking those who have wandered off and sometimes waiting patiently for those who will not hear His call. Jesus taught us most of all to love our fellow man, to help those who are in need and heal those who are sick. This means we need to bolster up our faith, make ourselves bold in His love and choose to make a sacrifice or two of our gifts that have come from Him. Jesus wants us to live in the Kingdom of God not in the secular world of today. Seek out the Kingdom and the Kingdom will find you. I believe these words of Jesus, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” will truly become very meaningful to you.
Have a blessed Holiday Season, you know, Thanksgiving and Christmas,
Randy
Lectionary Readings November 21st, 2010
November 14, 2010Pastor’s Ponderings
November 9, 2010
Is he praising God or just signaling a touchdown? What do they have in common? They both mean a big score in your life. Praising God is a great way to celebrate before, during and after a touchdown. Accepting God and Jesus Christ as Savior, inviting Him into your life and letting Him lead you through your life is the greatest score anyone can ever make. That is the score that we all need to celebrate and that is the score we all need to praise God for throughout our lives. Have a blessed week and keep the faith. Pray for those in need and help the poor in any way that you can.
Be blessed in all you do, Randy
Lectionary Readings November 14th, 2010
November 8, 2010Lectionary Reading/Pastor’s Pondering
November 6, 2010You just have to love him because he has God in him already.
From the Lectionary reading in Luke:
20:34 Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage;
20:35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
20:36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
20:37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
20:38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”
Pharisees and Saducees. Two different groups that have different goals except for the one that they agree on, they both want to silence Jesus. They are in agreement that Jesus has an effect on the status quo. Their own personal roles in society are threatened by Jesus and the tenets He teaches. Not all Pharisees and Saduccees were bad people and some of them even found Jesus to be inspiring and believed in Him.
Sounds like today doesn’t it. Some believe, some don’t, some feel threatened by what Jesus teaches and some just think they are right no matter what Jesus says. Some want big government taking care of everything and some want a smaller government letting business guide the economy. Some want more religion in government and some don’t. Some want to absolutely seperate their beliefs from politics and some absolutely want religion in politics.
Personally my beliefs guide my life and that includes my work life, my personal life and my political life. To “love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself” means that I love God first. It means that I love God before I love my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my mother and dad, my brother and sister, my job, my home, my dog, my hobbies, my politics, etc. etc. etc..
Jesus’s insight into the scriptures, (He quotes right out of the Old Testament), tells us that if God is first in everything then everything else will be much better. Love God and love your neighbor. It is the right thing to do. Start out by loving the neighbor closest to you, your spouse. Life will be much better. The Bible may not have a direct answer for each and every problem we run up against everyday so depend on God’s Holy Spirit to help lead you through those situations.
God is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, He is and has always been and always will be a God who loves you enough to send His only Son to lead you in the right way for our lives in this world.
Have a blessed day and a blessed weekend that will set you up for a really good week,
Love to all, Randy
Lectionary Readings Nov. 7, 2010
November 4, 2010Pastor’s Ponderings
November 1, 2010
Despite what some people say it really is okay to clown around at church. Especially if it is at the church’s Fall Festival. We had a good time and lots of kids came by to get their hot dogs, drinks and fair share of time on the moon walk. I didn’t take many pictures after we got it all set up but hopefully others did.
However not only young uns got on the moon walk. Wanda Barron got in the moon walk and jumped around a little which was pretty amazing to see. Wanda is still pretty spry but could not quite make it up the ramp to the slide. Way to go Wanda.
It was a beautiful day to have a fun time out on the grounds. Lots of hot dogs and drinks were enjoyed as well as the fun had on the moon walk. Lots of candy was given out by all the trunk or treaters and they all enjoyed seeing all the kids come by for their treats.
Don’t forget about The Wesley UMC world famous bazaar on November the 13th. We have lots of really good craft merchandise for fall and Christmas. Okay maybe it isn’t world famous but at least lots of people in Orange and Bridge City know about it. We will soon have our pecan and walnut delivery and be selling those too. We are taking orders now. Call Billy at 883-3210 or Sandra at 886-8542 if you want to go ahead and get on the list.
Don’t forget to go vote. It is our chance as a Christian to vote for those who most closely represent our values. Vote with the heart of Christ leading you. There really is no other way for those of us who are followers of Christ to vote. One of the great premises of our society is that if the person we vote for gets elected and doesn’t live up to their political rhetoric we don’t have to vote for them next time.
Have a blessed and peace filled day,
Randy
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 