The Value of Church Discipline

Several months ago a group of "dissenters" were allowed to leave our congregation without being reconciled with our body.  This was not a decision that was made at our local level but at the classical level.  Yesterday I ran into a lovely lady who attends the congregation that these "dissenters" joined with after leaving us.  She asked me where I was attending church now (she had apparently assumed that I would have left that body for another) and when I told her I was still attending there she got a very funny look on her face and said, "Oh".  I didn't know how to respond because I know that she has heard a LOT of hurtful things about that body and so I just let it go.  She didn't say anything negative but the look on her face spoke volumes.  I wanted to tell her not to believe everything she had heard from these people but she didn't say anything, it was the look on her face.  

What does that have to do with church discipline?  The ultimate goal of the discipline of believers is reconciliation and because these "dissenters" never had to reconcile, their attitude has never changed.  Reconciliation causes a change in the heart.  Once I have reconciled with someone I can't look at them in the same way.  I can no longer hold their offences against them.  It may be a long process, as it was with my father, but it is oh, so very restful in the end.  Am I to the point that I will never hold a grudge again?  No, but I know that the Lord is working in my heart to soften it and to bring me to repentance.  (Hey, it only took me two weeks to forgive the person who wronged my sister!)  Sometimes it is a gentle rebuke that brings us to repentance but sometimes it can only come throught the firm hand of God chastening us through church discipline.  We must remember to always pray for our elders and our pastors, our classis and our synod leadership!  We must pray that God will give to them the courage to do those things for which He has ordained them.  We must be diligent to be thankful for their watch care over us! Theirs is not an easy task!  Praise God for them!

Till next time...

The Joys of Fellowship

Fellowship...What a blessed word for one of the happiest blessings from our Heavenly Father. It's that communion with fellow believers. If you have it you know what I'm talking about, if you don't I pray that God will grant it to you.

We had a ladies' luncheon on Saturday with the ladies of our church. What a blessing. It was in the home of a lady who I watched grow up on the ranch. She married a young man from our congregation (we watched him grow up as well!) and now they have a little one and another on the way. I had a tear or two looking at the beautiful home she has made for her family and seeing her husband out working while she entertained us. I remember holding her when she was a baby and now she is having children of her own! That is one of the blessings of fellowship. God has allowed that with each of us who attend our church. My friends are now holding my grandchild and I get to hold theirs. I have watched our dear friends take custody of their granddaughter after a long court battle and the day the little one was baptized was one of the happiest days our congregation has had. I know that she felt the same way when my precious son-in-law and grandson were baptized and when my son was confirmed. I know that everyone in that body feels those feelings that I feel. They truly share my joy and my sorrow. Just as I share their joys and their sorrows. It's as my friend said, even our earthly families don't share the joy we feel on those occasions the way our brothers and sisters in Christ do. They have a hard time understanding it but my church family knows!

I share fellowship with my coworkers but it is never the same. It is a much shallower fellowship. Sometimes I feel that the only real day of the week is Sunday! I know that that is selfish and that the Lord uses my interactions with others at work to further His kingdom. A couple of weeks ago I had a verbal altercation with another coworker. It was one of those foolish things that should have never escalated to the point it did. That was partly my responsibility. I talked to my principal about it and realized that she is so right, the person I argued with has another issue that she is deeply unhappy about and the issue we argued about had nothing to do with it. Last year during the school year the board decided to do away with an annuity that this person recieved and since that time she is unhappy with nearly every aspect of her job. There are several who are reacting in that manner to that decision and they make themselves miserable at work and I'm sure at home. I was falling into that behavior as well. Another coworker has made some pretty serious allegations about my sister and her custodial coworkers. It really doesn't matter that the allegations are false to him or the group he runs with, he feels like he is justified because the others in his little clique are egging him on. That is the trouble with those types of fellowship. I know that if I shared these situations with my church family they would encourage me to forgive and trust the Lord that He is doing these things for my good and His glory. And I know that He is. For about 2 weeks in there I was angry and bitter and I could feel it coloring the way I interacted with my coworkers. Then my sister reminded me that God is in this situation and therefore it will turn out according to His will and that is never bad for us!

That is true fellowship; one believer reminding another that God is always in control and not a hair can fall from my head without His providential will. If that dear lady at work had someone in her life to remind her of that maybe she wouldn't be so angry. Maybe God will give me the opportunity to be that person for her, and for others at work.

A dear friend told me recently that our submission is never to be blind (this is the reasoning for not submitting to those God has put in positions of authority over us). I guess that is true in a sense but when I have discussed a situation with my husband and he says no, I must submit. When I lose a benefit at work and the school board says it will not come back, I need to submit. When a governing body of a church says no, I must submit. If I don't I am ultimately refusing to submit to God and that is not a light thing. What does that have to do with fellowship? You can't have fellowship without submitting to one another. My heart grieves for those of our body who left the body because of their anger and unwillingness to submit but I must submit to that as well. I know that God has a plan and a purpose for all of that and that He will accomplish His will. He uses all circumstances to soften our hearts and bring us to repentance or to harden our hearts to destruction and His will is good in every case. Amen.

Till next time...

The Post Turtle

A friend got a funny email the other day.  

"While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, who's hand was caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man.  Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our president. 

The old rancher said, "Well, ya know, Obama is a "Post Turtle".

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a "post turtle" was.

The old rancher said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a "post turtle".

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain.  "You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of idiot put him up there in the first place".

I like that story.  I had heard it before, particularly about Jimmy Carter.  I just wonder how this presidency will be viewed by future generations.  I think that whatever you may think about President Bush, he at least had the courage of his convictions.  Remember that there were a lot of people who referred to Abraham Lincoln as Satan and hated him.  Now he is regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the history of the U.S.  The liberal media hated Ronald Reagan and his policies and when he died even they had to admit that his presidency was one of the most effective in recent history.  Food for thought.

We are on the countdown to the end of the school year.  I am particularly looking forward to the end of this year.  There has been so much turmoil and even though the kids are somewhat immune to it, some of it has to trickle down to them.  I think that when we come back in the fall some of the most dissatisfied employees will be gone because of their work ethic.  I is popular around here to gripe and gripe and never realize that some of the trials you are facing are of your own making.  That is the nature of the sinful world though and with all of the trials that my church has gone through, it happens in the body as well.  I see in that situation that God surely did work it out and now there is a vitality and love there that wasn't there before.  I believe that our school, even though a secular entity is undergoing the same thing.  God is doing some weeding so that the flowers can get the water instead of the weeds.  

Till next time...

Stuff

I don't really have a specific topic to talk about this time. I just wanted to blog tonight! I am at a library conference for a couple of days. I learned about repairing books today and LOVED it. When I got here and went to get my breakfast this morning, I ran into my MOM! She is here for the workshops too. She works in a little public library so they paid for her to come too. That was a fun surprise. We did the same workshops today and then went out for supper. I invited her to spend the night with me here in the motel but she didn't pack so drove home for the night and will be back tomorrow. You know how it is, no clothes for tomorrow, no makeup (HORRORS), etc. I am a little concerned about getting home tomorrow evening. There is supposed to be a BIG storm moving in with lots of snow. I hope that I can make it home! I was looking forward to this night away from home and being by myself for the one night but I really miss my men! I won't get to snuggle with my 7 year old before bedtime. I will be glad to get home to them again. I am so glad to have been able to come to this conference though. This particular conference has a lot of very valuable workshops. Last year I made the connection with the staff of the Colorado Rural Partnership for the Library of Congress. Do you know how many FREE historical resources you can get from their website???! I was absolutely fascinated. We did a staff development at our school on it. It was so much fun. This year the book repair workshop is the one that was worth the price of admission. And there is always a workshop on "What Teens Read" (learning the secrets of the teenage mind...WOW). It does help to have a little guidance with that. And with the advent of the Twilight series, it is all about the vampires. I read an article in Newsweek, though that vampires are on the way out and zombies will be the new monster wave. HELLO! I don't think so! Do you think that teenage girls will develop a crush on a ZOMBIE?! Have you SEEN zombies? Let's compare them to What's His Name from Twilight. (And by the way I am going to try to read the series again)

I love this wireless internet connection at this motel! Can you tell I'm a hick? This is a first for me! What a year it's been for me! I learned to blog, to make my own webpage for the school, to connect and use a wireless connection for the laptop, to use an MP3 player to download and listen to BOOKS, planned and executed a staff development day, WOW! I am amazed! I never knew I could do all of that stuff!

And after that upbeat note, this has been sort of a difficult couple of weeks for me. Some slanderous accusations have been made against my sister at work and I have been angry with the person who made the false accusations and with the person who goaded him into it. I know that it is not a personal offense against me but is against her. She has the right attitude, i.e. that everything that happens is for her good and God's glory so no matter what happens it can never be bad for us. She is so right! What a blessing she is to me, the angry girl. Every one is so stirred up at work about different things that are happening right now but I know that it is ALL for my good and God's glory, and for the good of the children who attend school there. God is good to us!

Till next time...

Happy Birthday (the Joy of Reconciliation)

Today would have been my dad's 72nd birthday. Or as he would have said, "the 43rd anniversary of my 29th birthday". My dad was raised by a crusty old German who had a lot of trouble getting along with people. My grandpa and siblings spent most of their adult lives feuding with each other. He knew one way to deal with misbehavior and that was with a strong cuff to the face or head. My dad loathed his dad. He spent most of his life trying to be the opposite of Grandpa. Usually though, the older we become the more like that person we become and that was true of my dad, at least on the surface. He always talked about how foolish my grandpa was when it came to the management of his cowherd. Grandpa would sell all of his best cows because he made more money from them and keep the culls. It took my dad years to build his herd back into one to be proud of. But as he neared the end of his life, in his desperation to make ranching work for him, he did the same thing. My dad could also hold a grudge along with the most stubborn of Germans!

There were a lot of things my dad did while I was growing up and on into adulthood that offended me. I was angry with him for so many years. We had many confrontations and for several years our meetings were filled with tension and anger just below the surface. I always felt that he never loved me enough. I resented that and when he divorced my mother I was so angry with him. I always felt that my behavior and actions were judged very harshly and here he had broken up our family! I even had nightmares about the situation and in my dreams I unleashed all of my anger in violence and retribution.

I am so very thankful that God convicted me to persevere in that relationship. I used to wish for a different dad, one who was a Christian. I came to realize that just being raised in a Christian family doesn't mean that you had a happy childhood. I had a dear friend whose children blamed him for so much that had gone wrong in their family. He was in the second half of his life when I met him and I saw first hand the regret he felt for those relationships. I watched him and saw how he tried to make up for past sins and saw his children's refusal to forgive him and God used that to convict my heart not to give up on my dad.

The day my daddy died was a beautiful fall day. He was riding on the fender of his beloved John Deere tractor while a friend drove it. The tractor was about 35 years old (Daddy bought it new) and kept slipping out of gear. It slipped out of gear that day and my dad slipped off the fender. His friend grabbed him but my dad slipped from his grasp and fell in front of the tire of the tractor. The tractor slipped back into gear and then ran over him. We all made it to the hospital and watched Dad pass from this life. God blessed that day and that time for me because all of the anger and bitterness were gone and the prayer in my heart was one of thanksgiving to God for having given me this dad and for the fact that we were truly reconciled at his death.

The bible says that if you refuse to forgive your brother here on earth our Father will not forgive you. This is a serious thing. You may say that you have forgiven someone but if you refuse to be in the same room as that person or refuse to speak to that person, you haven't forgiven them. I deal with this in my own life all of the time. I'm as good at denial as anyone. "But he did this, I have a right to be angry", "He didn't ask me to forgive him, therefore I don't have to", "He isn't a Christian, I don't have to forgive him". Guess what....none of those excuses will cut any ice. They may massage your lying heart but you'll still have to answer for your hard heart! May He always convict my hard heart and bring me to "the joy of reconciliation".

Till next time...

My New Niece!

My father in law and his wife dropped for a SHORT visit last night. The are over the road truckers and manage to slide in for supper or lunch every once in a while. While they were here my mother in law mentioned my sister in law's new daughter from China and that they have a blog about all of their adventures adopting their new daughter. Her name is Madison and she is BEAUTIFUL. It makes my heart yearn to go and see them so that I can meet her. What a blessing! At first they had planned on adopting an infant but the longer they waited the more the Lord convicted their hearts that they should adopt an older child since they may not be adopted after the age of 14 in China and they must leave the orphanage at that age. They knew that they wanted a girl since girls are held as valueless in China. After they made that decision it is amazing how quickly the adoption went through. Now they are adjusting to life with each other. It was truly a blessing to me to read about this wonderful story. The blog which touched my heart the very most is the one in which my sister in law describes visiting the place where Madison was abandoned as a baby. Lori describes her feelings as a mother as she imagined a young mother leaving a baby she knew she couldn't care for in a place where she hoped someone would find her. What a touching and wonderful testament to the power and will of God. Just think, when this tiny baby was born, God had already provided the perfect parents, sister and brother for her! You can read all about it at http://hollandadoption2009.blogspot.com . I think it will bless you as it did me!

Till next time...

More on The Providence of God

The Heidelberg Catechism, Question #1: What is thy only comfort in life and in death?

That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.

Question#27: What dost thou understand by the providence of God?:

The almighty, everywhere present power of God, whereby, as it were by His hand, he upholds heaven and earth with all creatures, and so governs them that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come not by chance, but by His Fatherly hand.

Question #28: What does it profit us to know that God created, and by His providence upholds all things?

That we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and for what is future have good confidence in our faithful God and Father, that no creature shall separate us from His love, since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move.

'NUFF SAID!

Till next time...