Huddle Up

If you are like our family, you spend quite a bit of time this time of year watching football games. As I watched yesterday, I was reminded of a few negative comments I heard recently concerning the church as a "holy huddle". I got to thinking about the huddles that I was seeing on these football games.

The quarterback calls all of his guys on the field together in a tight circle so that he can relay information. Information on the plan that will help them accomplish their goal as a team. In the huddle the players get their instructions on where to go and what to do. The huddle is a time to remind the team about their goal and to encourage them to press on no matter how impossible it might look. The fans are not invited into the huddle an neither is the opposing team. This is a private time meant just for the members of that team.

After observing several huddles, I am finding it hard to understand why a "holy huddle" is such a bad thing. Shouldn't a worship service be about the "team" getting their instructions from their coach? Aren't we reminded about our goal? And encouraged to press on, even when times are tough? Aren't we given information and told where we need to go and what we need to do? We don't make the church service about the outsiders. Although, unlike a football huddle, they are invited and welcome, but ultimately it is about the "team members" and reaching the goal.

Maybe that is where the confusion comes in. Maybe we are not clear on what our goal is. Or maybe we have forgotten what our goal is. Remember, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, not saving the lost, having the most contemporary music, or best coffee. Maybe our churches need to have a few more of those "holy huddles" instead of shunning them.

A Job Well Done

A good man died yesterday. Most of you won't know his name. He was not famous. He was not powerful. He was not rich. At least not by the world's standards. Some of us think he was all of those things and more. I know that in years to come many will look back on their lives and be eternally grateful for the life that Wayne Walters led.

I knew Wayne for about 30 years. In all that time, I never saw him without a smile on his face and his arms open for a hug. He was a great example of showing the love of God to all. First, to his family. Then, to his friends. Finally, to anyone else that he met. He didn't make a big deal of his devotion. It wasn't flashy. It was just there. He loved you. He loved you because he was loved by a great God. I have seen the results of his love in his family.

All six of his children show that same love to others. They give honor and respect to everyone they meet. They learned this from their dad. I am sure that his lessons were not always the easiest to learn, but he was faithful to pass along his wisdom, and they were faithful to learn. I know that they will continue to follow the example that Wayne set, and we will all benefit. They will teach what they have learned to their children. They will touch the lives of their friends by living out what they know to be true.

It hurts to know that Wayne is not with us in body any longer. His presence will be sorely missed by many. But I know that when I look at Kyle, Matt, Nathan, Christina, Laura or Lindsey, I will see Wayne, and I will smile. Someday we will meet up again. Until then I know that the words, "well done, good and faithful servant" are ringing in his ears.

To Serve and Protect

The police motto is "to serve and protect". How do they go about doing that? They go after the bad guys, and they make sure that we are safe. I appreciate their sacrifices on my behalf. It can't be easy to have a job like that where you put your life on the line every day, and so many people still look at you in fear and sometimes contempt. God must feel like the police sometimes.

Before God ever gave the Law to His people, he redeemed them from slavery in Egypt. He answered their cries and saved them from this most difficult life. Then, He gave them laws. Laws that would set them apart from the nations around them. Laws that would keep them from worshipping powerless idols, laws that would strengthen their nation, laws that would help them to live in safety, peace and unity with one another. God gave laws that would protect His people from their own sinful, selfish ways. By following God's laws, the Israelites would prosper. They would grow in number, strength and wealth. They would live the good life. Following the law perfectly would protect you from death and hell.

The Law was also given to serve us. We know we can not follow the law perfectly. If we are honest, most of us can admit to breaking the law before breakfast everyday. The law serves us by reminding us that we, in our weakness, can not keep it perfectly. We need someone to do it for us. We need a Savior. The Law points us to our inability to save ourselves. Christ HAD to come, HAD to live a perfect life, HAD to give us His righteousness, HAD to pay the price for sin, and HAD to rise again with power over death and hell. If he had not, we would all be lost. The Law reminds us daily of what it is that Christ accomplished on our behalf. It serves to ignite in us an appreciation for God's grace in our lives. It helps us to learn to be merciful ourselves.

We, as Christians, no longer need to fear God. Our debt has been paid. We have been given righteousness and are seen by God through the blood of Christ. We have been forgiven. We no longer hold God in contempt. We are not His enemy, but his sons and daughters. We appreciate the many gifts He has given us, including the Law that both serves and protects us.

Remember

I've been doing a lot of thinking a I reflect on the ceremonies of last Sunday. Over and over we were called on to remember. While I don't advocate forgetting the tragedy and loss of the day, and I doubt that those who first hand experienced the horror will ever forget, I am unconvinced that remembering is enough. People don't seem to do a very good job when it comes to remembering.

God knows our memories are short. It is why in Deuteronomy 6 He commands us to impress His commandments upon our children, to talk of them when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, to tie them as symbols on our foreheads, and to write them on our doorframes and gates. It is why Joshua had the Israelites build a tower of stones out of the Jordan River so when the children asked " What do these stones mean?" Their parents would remember to tell them of the wonderous deeds God performed for them. It is why Christ instituted the Eucharist. When we celebrate it, we remember His life and death given for us.

Even when we are commanded to remember and we have symbols to remind us, we don't do such a great job. It didn't take long for the Israelite children to not know of God's deeds and turn to worship Baal. It doesn't take any of us long to forget. Remember the Alamo? Not too many do. Even those that recall the name or the slogan seldom remember the importance or the names of the men who gave their lives there. How about the "day that will live in infamy"? How often does Dec 7 come and go without the slightest acknowledgement of the horrors and bravery of the day? "Remember the Holocaust that it may never happen again". How many of our teens know the true atrocities of the Nazi concentration camps?

Yes, I agree we must remember 9/11, along with all of these other things, but it is not enough to say "remember". We must be intentional in our remembrance. We must pass these things on to our children and our grandchildren. It is important to talk about them and not just on the anniversary date. Future generations need to know, and it is our job to make sure they do.

Bonhoeffer

I received the book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy to review as part of the Booksneeze program. I was a bit daunted by the size of this book when it came in the mail. At 576 pages, it seems like some people will just not bother to pick it up. All I can say is that it is their loss.
I have heard about Bonhoeffer all of my adult life but have never bothered to take the time to study his life. This was a great resource to use for discovering just the type of man he was. We learn of his conflicts over all that was happening in Germany during his lifetime. This was a man who felt deeply. He loved his country, and he loved the church. His desire to serve both to the best of his ability resulted in his death. But his death has inspired others to seek the best for their country through the Word.
I hesitate to recommend this book wholeheartedly only because of the length. I can see nothing that the author, Eric Metaxas, should have cut, but it is a long read. If you want to know more about this amazing man, there is no better book to get.

I Think I Got the Message

Don't you just love the way God works? I know that sometimes He must just shake His head at me and wonder how it is He created such a thick headed woman. I pray that He would reveal His will for me and that He would make it so clear that I can't possibly miss it knowing that if He would just do that, I would so very gladly follow exactly where He is leading me without the slightest gripe and a smile on my face (so not).

The sad thing is, He has been so very clear about what He wants from me, but I don't like it, so I've been trying to just ignore Him and get Him to tell me something else. It just doesn't work that way. I can see that He is going to harp on this until I am willing to get serious. So, now I have enlisted the help of some wonderful friends, and I am going to buckle down and get to work. I am even going to get you to help me out because I am going to confess my sinfulness to you and ask you to pray for me when you remember (and maybe some of you could use the same prayers). Here it goes: I am not a submissive wife to the wonderful husband God has blessed me with. I can put on a good act sometimes, but I am not what He has called me to be in this area, and now, He is getting me to work on it.

A couple of years ago I heard a sermon on submission. It was a bad sermon and not biblical, but it got me thinking about what biblical submission was, and that showed me that I was falling way short of the mark. Nothing new about that in my life. Since I didn't really want to work on that part of my life, I went on my merry way only to be brought up short a few months later by a discussion with a friend on the difficulties she was having in this area. I pointed her to scripture. We prayed, and I was done with that. At least that is what I thought. Then months later a sweet young friend was lamenting the lack of Titus 2 teaching going on. As friends and I reminisced about some godly women who had poured their lives into us, I remembered vividly their call to be submissive as God requires. Okay, now I got it. This is something I need to work on, but I know that I will give up all too soon without accountability.

Enter a really awesome group of women who have agreed to go through the book "The Excellent Wife" with me. We are going to meet weekly (online and off) to discover just what the Bible has to say to us and how we can apply these things to our lives and our relationships with our husbands. I NEED this. I am desperate for this. And just when I think that God and I are good to go now, He pounds in the last (?) nail so that there are no lingering doubts or going back.

I have been eagerly awaiting my Tabletalk subscription renewal. I had let it go to help the budget, but found that I don't have an acceptable replacement for that first thing in the morning time in the word. Tabletalk works well for me. My September issue just arrived. Do you know what the verses are for Sept 1? You bet. "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior" Eph 5:22-23.

Lay Aside Your LIfe

He sees you, you know. When you've had that stressful week and you just want to stay in bed and watch that sappy movie while it is raining this morning. He sees you. He also sees how you give that up when your mom calls and wants to chat because she is lonely. He sees when you give up your afternoon to go rescue a friend whose car broke down and needs a ride to the repair shop. He sees when you stretch your food budget yet again so you can make dinner for a neighbor who just got out of the hospital. He sees all of the times that you put your plans on hold in order to love others. And He is pleased.
He is pleased with you moms who have put your careers on the back burner so that you can be the one to raise your children. To make sure they are getting the right instruction on God and His creation. He is pleased with you wives who put your plans aside so that your husband can work at a job that he loves even if it means longer hours or less pay. He is honored when you lay aside your life for others. Laying aside our lives doesn't mean we cease to exist, it just means we die to our own selfishness and live in His grace. It is not an easy way to live, but He sees. He knows your sacrifice. And He is glorified by your life. What better way is there to live?