Posts Tagged ‘grace’

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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

May 28, 2012

This is Memorial Day and it is a day of remembering and honoring those who have given so much for their country. While this can be a time of sorrow as we remember those who have sacrificed everything up to and including their lives, we must also remember why so many have sacrificed so much. Our freedom and our way of life depends on their sacrifice. So lets also remember those who are currently serving our country in all of the military armed services. Let’s remember them in our prayers. Pray for their safety, for peace and for sanity in this crazy world we live in.

As we are praying let’s remember that there is nothing in the teachings of Jesus Christ that supports war. His way is a way of peace that reaches out in love to all. Let’s remember that as believers in God and Jesus as the Christ we should be praying for our country to find peaceful solutions to all disagreements in this world. Too many times throughout history men have taken destructive paths in the name of Jesus and we must always remember that it is not a teaching of Jesus to cause harm to anyone.

So we must pray for our country and it’s leadership. Pray that they will seek peaceful solutions to every crisis we are facing as a country.  When our leadership chooses or is forced into military action, then we must pray the action we take will be quick and decisive with little or no loss of life on either side.  We must pray that all who are involved will come home safely and if they make the ultimate sacrifice then we must pray for their families to be filled with the grace of God and be able to reach out to the world with the love of Jesus Christ.  Pray for all of those who serve in times of war because so many suffer from the stress of war and all of its horrors.  Pray that they may be able to return home and live a life of peace with pride in their service to their country.

Well I guess the question is “Are you praying for those in the military, past and present, for your country, for those who have suffered loss of any kind?”  I believe that our prayers for those who are or have been in service to our country and their families are the best way for us to remember and honor them.

Have a blessed Memorial Day by spending at least a part of it in prayer,  Randy

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Holy Thursday – Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

April 6, 2012

Last night at Wesley United Methodist Church we held a Holy/Maundy Thursday Service. We read from John 13:1-17, 31-35 and from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. Read the Passion of Christ from John 18:1-19:42 and received Holy Communion.

We received Holy Communion last because we wanted the Passion of Christ to be fresh on our minds and in our hearts when we received the gift He has given us.

We are fast closing out the season of Lent. A time when we should be focusing more on Christ and less on ourselves. Remembering Jesus’ teachings about being servants to all. In Jesus’ day the lowliest of lowly jobs was to have to wash someone’s feet. The footwear of choice was a sandal of some sort and feet were usually pretty dirty. Walking around in the streets of Jerusalem was a dusty endeavor with all kinds of animal droppings and such to be dodged so it is pretty easy to understand why Jesus used such a lowly example of servant hood to example to His disciples what it meant to be a servant to others. He showed them in His washing of their feet that the love He had for them was able to go to extremes for them. Even the extreme of willingly, voluntarily giving His very own life for them. In giving His life He exampled the very depths of suffering that He would go to because He loved them (us) all so much. Such depths as being beaten, spit upon, whipped in the most cruel and punishing way to cause the most damage without causing death. Then He was paraded through the streets carrying His own Cross to be nailed to it and left to die.

Who among those you know would be willing to do that for the one’s you love! Many over the centuries have given their lives for what they believe in. They have become Martyr’s for the cause and love of Jesus Christ. That is the extreme example so what do you do in your every day life to example Jesus’ love for everyone you meet every day. That is really why He gave himself up for us. To help us think about thinking about others. How do you serve every day? What are your thought’s about people and who they are? Why do you ignore those in need? Questions we all need to dig deep down into to search our own hearts and maybe we can allow the Holy Spirit to work within us.

Have a blessed day by being the servant to the world and the one’s you love that Christ calls you to be,

Pastor Randy

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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

March 6, 2012

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!

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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

February 8, 2012

I have another Matthew moment from our Bible Study tonight. In Matthew 20:20-28 we get to hear the mother of Zebedee’s sons ask Jesus if her sons James and John could sit one on the right hand and one on the left hand in His kingdom.

Perhaps we see a mother who wants her sons to have positions of power in the earthly kingdom that they still believe Jesus will create.  But is it her ambition or theirs?  Jesus tries to warn them that they will have to “drink from His cup” because they are His disciples but makes no promise to give a position that only God can grant.  Now needless to say this band of disciple brothers were jealous or perhaps outraged that James and John would seek this high ranking position. Jesus addresses this disciple rilvary by letting the disciples know that they are to have on their minds how they might serve rather than looking for a position they could be served in.

I wonder just how many disciples of Jesus Christ today are looking for positions of importance in which they can garner the praise and sit in the seat that will get them served?  It is always a struggle to be the servants servant but that is exactly what Jesus calls us to do.  We must set aside our own will that leads us to the desire to be recognized and work on doing the will of Jesus Christ because it is what He calls us to do.  It is a hard thing for us in our humanity to not seek praise for what we do but it is our role as Christians to do just that.  Do what God through Jesus Christ calls us to do in a way that is humble and self sacrificing.  God will see us and He will reward us with rewards that will be so much better than any plaque or certificate that man can create.

As Christians we do work for Christ because we love Him, want to give Him glory and honor and see His kingdom grow.

Have a blessed day, Randy

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Pastor’s Ponderings, Wonderings, Wanderings

January 3, 2012

 I am the one with just his nose sticking out. The one in the yellow is my brother Jim who lives in Utah.  We are at Snow Basin which is just down the road from where he and Dianne live.  Beautiful country with more post card picture scenes than you can shake a stick at.  The trail we are about to ski is down the hill to the right.

Mark 1:4-11

In reading this scripture from Mark we see Jesus begin His ministry.  We see Him subject Himself to John’s Baptism.  John was offering baptism as a means for the Jewish people to show their repentance and return to righteousness.

Obviously Jesus did not need this baptism for repentance or righteousness but instead subjected Himself to it to show us the right and good way.  He set this example for us as a way to start our lives anew.  His baptism was the start of His ministry and is to be the start of ours also.

Our baptism in Jesus Christ is also a time of revelation to us about our lives.  Just as God revealed to Jesus that He truly is the Son of God He reveals to us that we are His children.  If we are truly repentant and seeking righteousness we will see our lives, the sin in them and work towards righteousness in Jesus Christ.  What Christ came to give us is the realization that His blood has washed us clean and given us the freedom to worship Him even if we are living in sin.  Our baptism is a sign of who we are in this world, a people living with sin in and around us but forgiven by the sacrifice Jesus has made for us.  His baptism gives us the revelation that we are His children, washed clean and living in His righteousness.

How we live our lives in Christ is kind of like learning to snow ski.  You just have to point your ski’s downhill and use the skills you have learned, hope that what you know will get you to the bottom of the slope and know that next time it will be a little easier.  When we fall we get back up and get going again in the direction that leads to the bottom of the hill. Living our lives in Christ is knowing Him as our Savior in a way that we want to carry His message to the world.  We sometimes start out with very few skills but know that our knowledge of and in Him will get us started down the right trail.  We may make mistakes that we can learn from and make our trail easier next time.  The most important point to realize is that Christ gives us the courage to step out in faith that will lead us down the path to guiding others into His saving grace.

In order to begin skiing we must point our ski’s downhill, give a little push, choose our path and know that if we fall we can get back up and try again.  In order to become a child of Christ we must push ourselves to the altar, choose our path and know that if we fall we can get back up and try again.

God’s Peace and Blessing to all,

Randy

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