The monthly newsletter is now posted. Look in the right hand column of the website at http://www.orangewesley.org. Go to the pages section and click on monthly newsletters. Click on the page you would like to read and it should expand out to be readable. Let me know if it doesn’t work so I can make adjustments as necessary. Hope everyone has a blessed day in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Randy
As I sit looking out the window from our timeshare the blinds are partly closed to help keep out some of the brightness from this clear, blue sky day outside. Looking out the window caused me to think and apply the sermon I just heard from the North Shore United Methodist Church at Canyon Lake. The blind reminds me of how we put blinders on to keep the light of Jesus Christ from shining into our lives.
The pastor at the church used a very familiar life situation to all of us as an illustration. She talked about her childhood and climbing the ladder to the high diving board. I can well remember being in that very same situation. The part about getting up on that diving board, walking out on to the end of it and looking down at how far the water seemed to be away from my toes hanging on to the end of that board. At the time it seemed like something that I could never overcome. That I would never be able to make that leap of faith into the water below.
As I thought about that sermon and that leap of faith I had to apply it to my life. I can remember many times refusing to take that leap of faith off of the high diving board of Christian faith. There are many out there in the world who have the same experiences with the real high diving board and water as well as the leap of faith that says we as Christians are willing to trust in our God and leap into the life that Christ has for us.
As we take one step at a time in our faith climb we can gain strength and knowledge of who God wants us to be. Looking up that ladder building our courage we must know that there is the living water waiting for us to plunge into. Jesus tells the woman at the well that if she had asked Him for a drink He would have given her the living water that would never let her thirst again.
When I finally made that leap of faith off of that high diving board I immediately knew that I could and would do it again and again. It was the same with my Christian faith. When I finally gained the courage to leap into the living water my life and my life witnessed changed forever.
Have you the courage to take the leap of faith into that living water?
Take the plunge and live the faith. It really is cool and refreshing.
Pastor Randy
The newsletter for June is posted and can be accessed at our website http://www.orangewesley.wordpress.com. Just scroll down until you see the pages on the right and the first one is Newsletters.
On another note just wanted to say thanks for all those who attended the pancake breakfast where we also had ham, grits and eggs. We feasted on the good food and also feasted on fellowship.
Harvey Wilson and I made a prayer walk down Camellia Street Saturday Morning and prayed for each and every house we walked by, their occupants and the whole area to be covered by the Holy Spirit. We plan to make many more such walks to call the Holy Spirit down on this area so that whatever evil is there will be driven out and people will find peace not only inside there homes and hearts but outside as well.
We hope others will join us. If you are interested just let us know and we will set up times for walks to be scheduled.
Have a blessed day in Jesus Christ,
Randy
Flowers are blooming in our backyard. A blessing to us and one I wanted to share with you. The flowers are surrounding an oak tree. The oak tree was planted 28 years ago when Melvin Croaker showed up at our new home with a blessing for us. The seedling oak tree that had been growing in one of his flower beds at his house seemed like the perfect lasting gift to give someone. It is the gift that keeps on giving. The oak tree has provided lots of shade for our back yard for many years now and if you will look closely at the picture you will notice a small oak seedling growing on the right side of the bed surrounding the oak tree. It is a constant reminder of Melvin and the friend that he still is today because of the seedling he planted in our back yard.
I have been reminded many times through Melvin’s thoughtfulness and friendship how important it is to be a good neighbor/friend. I see in the oak tree and its fruitfulness how important it is to plant seeds. God has designed the oak tree to produce acorns to produce more oak trees that will produce more acorns. God has designed us as Christians to produce seeds that are given to us by the Holy Spirit. Seeds that will create more Christians, as the Holy Spirit helps them to become aware, through our witness of the love God has for each of us. Each of us is given the opportunity to plant a seed and God has promised us the Holy Spirit to help us take advantage of those opportunities.
Just as the God designed oak tree has grown from a seed planted so will the seeds of Christian belief/faith grow through the workings of the Holy Spirit.
Get busy planting seeds…it is your calling…and His Spirit.
May God bless each and every seed that is planted.
Amen and have a blessed day…every day.
Pastor Randy
Our new roof. Looks good, huh! You can see the difference in the home page picture. No doubters around here about the work we had done. See my thoughts about a biblical doubter below.
Have you really ever thought about Thomas or his doubt. Maybe we need to look closer at who Thomas was and really what his faith was.
When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said: “Then let us go so that we may die with him.” It was a courageous statement, yet we don’t remember him for that. We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas’ doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated. It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, “My Lord, and my God.” Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter. These words exclaim his true belief. Just like Thomas don’t we often have doubts even though we still believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. When faced with tragedy don’t we look for proof that Jesus is still alive and with us.
Thomas got his proof. Have you gotten yours? Reach out to Jesus and see if He is still alive in your heart. Jesus is there with you and all you have to do is accept Him as your savior. Do it today! You will be one of those blessed because they have believed and even though they have not seen Him. Amen
Pastor Randy
How Does the Resurrection Affect Your Life?
Father Basil Pennington, a Roman Catholic monk, tells of an encounter he once had with a teacher of Zen. Pennington was at a retreat. As part of the retreat, each person met privately with this Zen teacher. Pennington says that at his meeting the Zen teacher sat there before him smiling from ear to ear and rocking gleefully back and forth. Finally the teacher said: “I like Christianity. But I would not like Christianity without the resurrection. I want to see your resurrection!”
Pennington notes that, “With his directness, the teacher was saying what everyone else implicitly says to Christians: You are a Christian. You are risen with Christ. Show me (what this means for you in your life) and I will believe.” That is how people know if the resurrection is true or not. Does it affect how we live?
And we have to ask ourselves, How does the life I lead reflect the resurrection of Christ in my life? When I interact with others in my daily life do those around me see someone resurrected or do they see someone with bitterness, hatred and no hope? We choose! We choose the resurrected life or we choose the life that leads to death!
On this Easter morning make a choice….
Luke 9:37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 9:38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 9:39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 9:40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 9:41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and twisted generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 9:42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 9:43a And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
In our lectionary scripture for February 24th we see Jesus coming down from the mountain top where He was transfigured and where His disciples witnessed His visit with Moses and Elijah. What a scene that must have been. An experience that must have really left an impression on Peter, James and John. Yet we read in the scripture above that the disciples were asked to perform a healing by casting out the evil spirit from the child. They could not cast Him out. Only Jesus could accomplish the miracle.
What does Jesus find in todays churches? Does He find the same kind of disciples? You know the faithless and twisted generation! Would He find folks who were willing to come to church occasionally to satisfy the most basic leading of the Holy Spirit? Would He find people who would hear sermons week after week on His teachings and not change a thing about the life they were leading? Would He find people who would hear Him saying that miracles are possible if only you believe, have faith and live your life in a manner that says there is a God who loves us more than we can imagine? A God who has experienced the most heart rending tragedy that we can imagine, the torture and death of His only Son. You see, it is often that very tragedy in our human lives that keeps us from believing and praying for miracles for others. Prayer did not work for me! Why should I pray when God did not heal the one I was praying for?
I do not have answers for all the questions that can be asked about every scenario that can play out in our lifetimes here on earth but I do know God allows us to bend our will in many directions. We can use our will to follow all that this world and the evil in it offers or we can use our will to follow a God and Savior that tell us they know the suffering and heart ache we experience and they are willing to love us through it. Our prayers are heard and just as we cry out to God to hear us and answer our prayers, God is crying out to us to hear His response to our prayers.
Are you listening???????? Or, are you part of that faithless and twisted generation??????????
Pastor Randy
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Spent some time in church, in meditation and in prayer. It was a beautiful weekend here in Orange, Texas. Plants are really budding out and spring looks like it is here.
Along with spring comes my time for going to the Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church Course of Study School. It is a continuing education opportunity for me and we delve into Theology, Administration, Spiritual Growth and many other topics which concern the role of being Pastor.
The course I am enrolled in this semester is “Our Theological Heritage: Reformation” where we delve mostly into Martin Luther’s influence but also delve into others such as Zwingli, Calvin, Bucher, Wycliffe and the disagreement between the Protestant movement and the Catholic Church.
In our discussion Martin Luther’s transformation from a work’s driven Monk to a Grace filled reformer gave me pause to think. I thought about how many of us in Church today have the mentality that the things we do in Church are what earns us God’s Grace. Martin Luther was struggling with being able to live a Holy enough life to earn God’s grace but never felt like he did. He was a monk who followed the rules and did the things expected of good monks but always felt like he was falling short of the mark. He tells us that what exposed him to the overwhelming grace of God was his meditation of Romans 1:17.
Good News Bible – Rom 1:17
For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, “The person who is put right with God through faith shall live.”
Martin Luther realized that his righteousness was not about what he could make himself do it was about believing in God and what He can do through you. Martin Luther came to the realization that having faith in God comes first and having faith in God is all that we need to have. The work that our faith will drive us to do will be what God calls us to do when He is ready for us to do it. Our faith will help us to live the life God calls us too. All we have to do is be ready and willing to hear His call and that is acting out our faith. Faith first, second, third, etc., etc. to the last. Acting upon our faith leads us into the work God will call us to do. Our faith helps us to realize that the Grace God has for us is there whether we acknowledge it or not and there no matter what we do. God loves us. That is what Martin Luther realized and is why his actions changed the world for ever.
God loves you and me. That is the Good News!
Ibernia and I hope you will join us in worship soon. Come and see why we are a certified welcoming congregation.
Calender
Wesley United Methodist Church, Orange TX 