We Wait

Advent is the season of hopeful waiting.

Mary waited in expectation of her son.

Israel waited for their eternal King.

The Jews waited for their Messiah.

The angels waited to declare Jesus’ birth.

The world waited for their redeemer. 

Waiting does not come easy to any of us.

Waiting is something that must be taught.

Waiting is something that must be practiced.

Waiting is something that must be learned.

The promise of a gift gives us hope.

And yet we must still wait. 

We anticipate. 

We hope. 

We wait.

The Psalmist begins; “I waiting patiently for the Lord...”. This is a good reminder for us all - to wait and to wait patiently for the Lord. And yet, he concludes his Psalm; “...God, do not delay” (Psalm 40). 

What are you waiting on right now? 

Are you waiting in hopeful anticipation?

Are you waiting patiently for The Lord?

“Blessed are this who trusts - who hope - who wait - in The Lord” (Psalm 40:4).

Advice from Psalm 37

Advice from David in Psalm 37

Don't worry about the wicked. 

Trust in the Lord and do good. 

Take delight in the Lord. 

Commit everything you do to the Lord. 

Trust him. 

He still in the presence of the Lord. 

Wait patiently for him to act. 

Don't worry about evil people prosper. 

Stopping angry! Turn from your rage!

Do not lose your temper.

Waiting for the Snow...or Something

Here I sit, at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, waiting - hoping - praying for the snow to start falling. Not only for the snow to start falling but for it to start falling quickly.

I am waiting for the snow to fall at the rate that the meteorologists forecasted these past few days.
I am waiting for the minimum of 8 inches of snow to begin at any moment
I am waiting for the maximum of 14 inches of snow to show up any time.

This "snow storm" was predicted to begin at 12:00 this morning and dump a significant amount of snow on our area through noon today. Yet, as I sit looking out the front window of my home, no snow! A bit of rain, but no snow. This "winter blast" was predicted to bring temperatures into the lower 20s and to continue to fall from there. Yet, as I look at the thermometer on our back patio, we are hanging in around 34 degrees.

It's not often that I pray for snow. No, the reason I and begging for snow this morning is because last night around 8:30 I decided that cancelling our Sunday morning and evening ministries was the most responsible thing to do. The reason that I continue to look out the window, waiting for the first sign of a winter blast is because I hate - let me write that again, I HATE - to cancel a worship service.  

I sat talking with my wife yesterday afternoon - considering and debating whether our services should be canceled today - and I told her how much I hated to cancel a service. Then I told her how difficult it was for me to express, and to explain, why.

Perhaps it is the thought that God's Name will not be praised and glorified in our church this Sunday morning.
Perhaps it is the thought that the Gospel will not be preached in our church this Sunday morning.
Perhaps it is the thought that those within our church family may decide that it is easier to sleep in then to open their Bibles, go to the Lord in prayer, or worship Him on this day that He has made.
Perhaps it is the thought that this may have been the day someone heard the encouragement that they needed or felt the love that they needed to carry help them manage the burdens of life.
Perhaps it is that thought that thousands within our community have never accepted the truth of Jesus Christ in their lives and that they will not have the opportunity to enter a church to do so this Sunday.
Or perhaps it is all of the above and so much more!

So, this morning, as I wait for the snow to begin - I will go and read my Bible, I will pray with my family, I will worship the Lord through song and through the life that He has given me on this day that He has created. And, I will leave everything in God's hands. This is not my problem to worry over and it is not mine to solve.

Trials at Walmart

Every week I preach about peace, patience, love, and a attitude that mirrors that of Jesus Christ. However, every week I also find myself at the local Walmart department store where these very qualities are being tested!

First off, I hate to shop, not because I don't have time to shop, but because shopping is not enjoyable. So, unless I am in need of something specific I will not be out shopping. Further, if I am in need of something specific I will head for the closest parking spot and take the quickest and most direct route to the product I am in need of and then take the quickest and most direct route out.

Combine this general hatred of shopping with a department store where the isles are barely wide enough to fit two carts side-by-side, a department store that has built a niche of "end caps" - meaning that the narrow isles are all that much narrower, and a department store where, on average, one checkout lane is open for every six people desiring to "checkout", and my peace, patience, and love begin to fade way.

Then, you top this off with the numerous people you will encounter on a typical trip to Walmart - not to pick on any particular group of people - and I have quite a bit of trouble mirroring an attitude like that of Jesus Christ.

• Just the other day I watched someone push their cart directly into a parked car, shrug their shoulders and then walk off.
• Last year I saw a woman spit in a man's face before getting in her car and driving away.
• Yesterday I woman was walking in the crosswalk as I sat waiting, she stopped and stared at me, threw her hands in the air and yelled "what are you looking at?".
• A month or so ago I came upon a guy working on his car in the middle of the parking lot, in the middle of an isle - I had to cut turn around and go out the wrong way because he blocked the entire isle.
• Some time back a group of kids on Razor scooters came out of nowhere and I almost picked one of them off.
• Once I saw three teens laying in  the middle of the parking lot after dark - two of them wearing black shirts.
• I can go on, and on, and on...

I believe - half-joking here - that Walmart is what Satan uses to tempt me and to try me in the way I respond to others. Several times my wife has had to remind me that I am a Pastor in this town and - on any given Sunday - the people that I encounter at Walmart could walk into our church.

So what do I do? Rather than getting frustrated in the isles or the checkout lane of Walmart, rather than yelling at or injuring some of the people in the Walmart parking lot, I simply send my wife!