The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

AllanStanglin.com

Category: Habakkuk (Page 3 of 3)

Always "Yes!"

July 14, 2009 / / 0 Comments

“In him it has always been ‘Yes.'” ~2 Corinthians 1:19

Terry Rush is tough. Tough for me to read. Tough for me to swallow.

Always “Yes!”I go to Rush’s blog when I’m down. When I’m feeling the sting of criticism, when I’m feeling hurt by things that are said and done around me, when I’m confused about my role and my mission as a preacher of God’s Word, I turn to Terry. He’s good. But he’s tough.

Terry’s actually second in line. The first thing I do when I find myself feeling attacked or wronged or mistreated is to find a quiet spot somewhere in this church building and cry out to God. And I wrestle with our Father. What am I doing here? Why did you put me here? What do you want me to do? I pray the words of Habakkuk, “Why do you just stand there and watch?” Do something!

Satisfied with my own righteousness, and right-ness, then I go to Terry’s blog. He knows preachers. He understands preachers. He’s been doing it for 40 years. He knows and understands elders and deacons and youth ministers and worship leaders and church and church pratices and traditions and church politics and church members and church dynamics. He gets it. So I go to Rush for encouragement. He’s the world’s best Christian encourager. He paints beautiful word pictures that remind how big our God is and how wonderful his Kingdom. He reminds that God is in charge and we’re not.

And when he specifically addresses preachers and other church leaders, he doesn’t pull any punches. He understands himself and us too well. His words sting and rebuke. And challenge. He tells me to grow up. He tells me to put my head down and get back to work. He reminds me that everything that goes right is a “Yes” and everything that goes wrong is a “Yes” because God is working it all out. When things aren’t going my way, Rush reminds me that, in God’s wisdom and timing, it’s really all actually going perfectly my way. I’m just too short-sighted and self-serving to see it right now. During tough times, Terry reminds me that “we chalk it up to his marvelous mystery, accept it by sheer faith, and keep smiling.”

And then I run back to the quiet place and change my prayers. I take the focus off of me and put it back where it belongs, solely on our God. See, that’s what Terry’s words do for me. They force me to re-orient my view and my focus. He causes me to see where the criticisms of me are right. And that’s tough. It’s hard. At that point, I pray new prayers. I confess to our Lord that I’m being pouty and moody and touchy and paranoid and overly-sensitive and high-maintenance. I ask for and receive his blessed forgiveness. And I vow again to put my head down and get back to work, back to my calling. God’s in charge of the details. I should let him work those out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Red Ribbon ReviewThere are 61 days left until the Cowboys kick off their 2009 football season. And today’s #61 in the Red Ribbon Review is offensive lineman Blaine Nye. A fifth-round pick out of Stanford in 1968, Nye played nine seasons in Dallas and was a major part of that transition from “Next Year’s Champions” to Super Bowl kings. At right guard, he made it to the Pro Bowl twice and played in 15 playoff games, including three Super Bowls. But my favorite thing about Nye is his humor and insight.

Two of the most famous quotes in Dallas Cowboys history were uttered by Nye.

On Thanksgiving Day in 1974, Clint Longley came off the bench for an injured Roger Staubach and threw a late 50-yard Blaine Nyetouchdown pass to Drew Pearson to beat the Redskins. Longley had never thrown an NFL pass before that day. When asked to comment on Longley’s performance, Nye dryly declared it was a “triumph of an uncluttered mind.” I find myself using that line a lot.

The other one’s even better. Nye once summed up everything that is the NFL and big-time sports when he said, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s who gets the blame.”

Along with Larry Cole and Pat Toomay, Nye was a charter member of the Cowboys Zero Club, an unofficial group of players who vowed to never do anything to seek publicity. Club membership never grew beyond those three because those wanting to join the club were automatically disqualified for expressing an interest. They treatened to kick Cole out one week after he returned an interception for a touchdown in a nationally televised game against Washington.

Nye suddenly and surprisingly quit the Cowboys following his second Pro Bowl year in ’76. He and Tex Schramm got crossways on contract talks and Nye just walked away. He owns a successful consulting business today in California. And he is the second-best Cowboys player to ever wear #61.

Peace,

Allan

God's Worldwide Reach

July 16, 2008 / / 5 Comments

MichaelYoungWins08AllStarGameOnce again a Texas Ranger drives in the winning run in the All-Star Game. Michael Young’s game-winning RBI on a one-out sac fly in the bottom of the 15th at 12:37 this morning won it for the American League. And I’m paying for it this morning. Great game. Excellent pitching early and tons of drama late as both benches and bullpens emptied and both teams put runners in scoring position time after time but couldn’t bring any of them around. Last night’s mid-summer classic set all-time All Star Game records for longest game (290 minutes; 4 hours, 50 minutes), most runners left on base (28), most players in the box score (63), most pitchers used (23), and most strikeouts (34). I just wish once, just once, the Texas Rangers would figure as prominently on the national stage in October as they seem to in the middle of July. (Kinsler was safe at second in the bottom of the 11th. Bad call.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About three weeks ago I received a call here at the church building from a woman who lives in another city in another state, over 660 miles away from North Richland Hills and Legacy. This stranger introduced herself to me over the phone and proceeded to tell me all the details of several tragic things that had happened in her life over the past few months including, but not limited to, a teenage daughter who became pregnant out of wedlock, an unauthorized abortion, and an unwanted divorce. This woman was in tears—she was trembling, I could hear it—as she told me of the dark valley she was walking through. And the whole time I’m listening to her I’m trying to understand why she had called me. Why was she telling me these things? Who is she? What’s the connection?

And then she says, “Allan, your three sermons on Habakkuk are the only things that have gotten me through the past couple of months.”

My jaw hit the desk and chills ran up my arms and my back as she told me how she was just searching church websites, looking for some encouragment and comfort, when she came across Legacy’s site and the audio of our Sunday morning sermons. Accidentally. She can’t even remember what she googled to get there. But she appreciated the sermons. They provided her strength and comfort. They gave her hope. And she just wanted to call me and thank me and ask me to pray for her.

Wow.

Of all the amazing things that have happened to me over the past three years, I believe that was the absolute most unbelievable. I preach my guts out to a thousand people here at Legacy and those three sermons meant more and did more for a lady I’ve never met who lives three states away than they did for the people I’m actually preaching to.

Some weeks it’s kind of a hassle to get those sermons up on the website. I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using that resource, if it’s worth the trouble. Suzanne and Bonny have to track everything down and load it and check it and all kinds of stuff. And this lady hits me between the eyes with a sledgehammer to remind me that, yes, our God is using those sermons!

Sometimes I wonder about this blog. Some days it’s kind of a hassle to get something written here. It’s time-consuming. It’s stressful, sometimes, in that I want what’s written here to be meaningful and important and helpful. And I wonder sometimes if anybody’s really using it, if it’s really worth the trouble.

And then I read all the comments on my post regarding Jade Lewis’ death last month. That simple request to pray for Hank and Janet has turned into an internet meeting place where all of Hank and Janet’s friends scattered from Texas to Florida are posting prayers and sympathies and well wishes for that precious family. The Lewises have been so encouraged by the response. Everyone who’s read Hank’s comment have been encouraged. And as I read and re-read all those comments, I’m blown away by the fact that our God is using this blog!

I’m appealing to our God today to use this blog to his glory again. And I’m asking you—personal friends and family of mine and Carrie-Anne’s, Christ’s Church here at Legacy, our brothers and sisters in Marble Falls and Mesquite, all you sweet people in Florida, Jim Gardner and Jimmy Mitchell’s church families in Arkansas and California—please pray for Debbie and Dan Miller.

As I mentioned yesterday, Dan is one of my nearest and dearest friends. He’s one of the main reasons I’m preaching God’s Word today. He means more to me than I can put into words. And I’ve tried over the past couple of days.

They just found out Thursday that Debbie has cancer. She underwent some emergency surgery at Medical City in Dallas Saturday. She’s still there, undergoing all kinds of tests, probably for the rest of this week. They still don’t know everything they’re going to know in the next couple of days. I spent a couple of hours with them both yesterday. Debbie is strong, of course. She’s prepared for the fight. She’s ready. She’s determined. Her faith and her trust is in our God. For the first time since I’ve known him, Dan seems shaken. Completely understandable. His faith is strong. But he’s asking tons of questions. And he seems rattled. And tired. And I love them so much.

Pray for them today. In the powerful name of Jesus, please ask our Father today to heal Debbie and to comfort her and Dan and their three precious children.

And, Lord, please use this blog to work an amazing thing in their lives. And may you, Father, receive all the power and all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.

And all God’s people reading this today say “Amen!”

Peace,

Allan

An Amen For A "But"

April 21, 2008 / / 3 Comments

SanJacintoMonument“People embraced, laughed and wept and prayed, all in one breath. As the moon rose over the vast flower-decked prairie, the soft southern wind carried peace to tired hearts and grateful slumber. As battles go, San Jacinto was but a skirmish; but with what mighty consequences! The lives and liberty of a few hundred pioneers at stake and an empire won! Look to it, you Texans of today, with happy homes, mid fields of smiling plenty, that the blood of the Alamo, Goliad, and San Jacinto sealed forever. Texas, one and indivisible!                                   ~Kate Scurry Terrell

April 21, 1836. The actual battle lasted less than 20 minutes. Sam Houston and his ragged band of 910 pioneers routed General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, President and Dictator of Mexico and self-styled “Napoleon of the West,” and his proud army.

Happy San Jacinto Day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I’m preaching Habakkuk 3 yesterday, flying along with the great and wonderful news that we are assured of God’s deliverance in the future because of his mighty acts of deliverance in the past. I’m explaining some of the details of Habakkuk’s hymn, showing how he’s actually recounting all of God’s salvation acts in Israel’s history, from the forming of the community at Sinai to the Promised Land to the period of the judges and on into this impending period of Babylonian captivity. Habakkuk is able to face whatever comes his way with great confidence in his Lord because he has experienced and he remembers how God has saved him in the past.

And I’m trying to connect Habakkuk’s story of God’s acts in the past with our own stories of God’s saving acts in our own pasts. I’m trying to get our congregation to think about their own individual stories of salvation. How were you saved? What were you saved from? How did God save you? Who did he use? What circumstances did he use? What happened when God saved you?

I wanted our brothers and sisters at Legacy to understand we all have our salvation stories. And it would do us a lot of good to tell and re-tell those stories. Because those stories build fath. And they give us assurance of God’s salvation acts in the future.

So I go straight to 1 Corinthians 6:9. “…neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were.”

And then I paused and read the next line.

“But…”

And then I said, “Can I get an ‘Amen’ for a ‘but’?”

And I immediately wished I hadn’t said it.

The “but” there is the crux of the passage and the central point of the sermon. I had planned to pause there to let it sink in. But I hadn’t planned to ask for an ‘amen’. And I certainly hadn’t planned to ask for an ‘amen’ for a ‘but.” I immediately wished I’d said, “Can I get an ‘amen’ for a ‘conjunction’?” But there it was. It was already out there. And while I got several “amens,” I also got plenty of smirks and snickers. Yes, all the teenagers sit right down front. But it wasn’t just them.

“But you were washed. But you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God!”

The ‘but” is huge right there. (Cut it out) It’s everything. I just wish it had come out a little differently.

Then I go directly to Ephesians 2. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

But…”

I paused again this time. Didn’t ask for the ‘amen’. But I got it.

And at that point I relaxed. It IS appropriate to ‘amen’ that ‘but.’

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved!”

Fill in the blank: I was once________.

I used to be __________.

But—praise God!—I’m not ________ anymore!

I’m thankful for my gracious church family at Legacy. They are so kind and so patient with me as I continue learning how to preach. Thank you, brothers and sisters!

And thank you for all those text messages at 3:19 and 3:20 this afternoon!

3:18,

Allan

Yet I Will Rejoice In The Lord

April 18, 2008 / / 0 Comments

Habakkuk 3 concludes with maybe the strongest confession of faith found anywhere in Scripture. After wrestling with God over the questions of injustice in the world and after listening to God tell him to wait for devine deliverance, the prophet declares his great trust in his Lord.

Habakkuk faces the frightening fact that his nation is about to be invaded by a ruthless and merciless enemy. The capital city of Jerusalem and the holy temple are going to be destroyed. The land will be ruined. May of the Israelites will be killed. The rest will be forced away from their homes in exile. Habakkuk faces the very real prospect of starvation as he looks ahead to a time without figs or grapes or olives; no sheep or cattle or goats; nothing being produced in the fields.

And he proclaims,

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

 I don’t think we can quite comprehend what it means to “live by faith” (2:4) until we grasp what it means to know God. Knowing God and remembering his mighty deeds of the past and experiencing his grace and love causes us to rejoice no matter what happens. By the end of Habakkuk, the prophet has decided his God is so great, so powerful, so mighty, and so loving that nothing can occur which would decrease his joy of knowing him. Even in the stark absense of the most basic proof of God’s presence and blessings—food on the table, food to get through the day—Habakkuk declares his joy and his faith in his Savior.

God will not always change our circumstances. But he does always give us the strength and the provision to get through those circumstances. When the desert seems driest and the mountains too steep to climb, God sees us through.

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” ~Habakkuk 3:19

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jason and Lance and I are leaving at 4:30 this afternoon for our annual elders and ministers leadership retreat. We’ll be in Glenrose together until Saturday afternoon worshiping God, praying for every family at Legacy, and considering the mission of God’s Church in our world. The plans are to discuss the differences between being managers and leaders, to evaluate ourselves in our roles as leaders in the Kingdom, and to set goals for the Legacy congregation against the backdrop of Ephesians 3, that our God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

When we did this in November ’06 (we’re a little late with this one), we spent most of our time going over the budget. I remember Friday night was great as we worshiped and prayed together and testified as to God’s working in our lives. But all day Saturday was spent going over numbers and programs and decimal points and equations. The focus this time is all on our walks with God, God’s mission for the Legacy church family, and our roles in being co-workers with God to accomplish that mission. I’m anticipating great things. I’m expecting our God to move in bold and obvious ways with us this weekend. And I’m praying we’ll look back on this weekend in the years to come as a watershed event in the history of God and his people at Legacy and in North Tarrant County.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And tomorrow night I’ll be performing my first ever wedding ceremony. Jim McKillip and Elvera Long, two dear members of the Legacy family who have 120 years of marriage experience between them, are tying the knot after a courtship that began late last summer. When they asked me about six weeks ago if I would marry them, I humbly accepted and asked them if they’d be stopping by in the meantime for counseling. And they both said they’d be more than happy to come by the office and counsel me on anything I need.

They’re a delightful couple. I’ve known Jim for more than a dozen years as the grandfather of one of our dearest friends in Carrollton. And you only have to know Elvera for a couple of minutes to fall in love with her. It’s going to be a quick wedding followed by barbecue and peach cobbler. And I’m honored to be playing a part.

Go Stars.

Allan

The Lord Is In His Holy Temple

April 15, 2008 / / 2 Comments

Happy April 15th. I’m reminded today that taxation with representation ain’t so great either.

I need to apologize to Richard and Joanna and their two young boys, Nathan and Daniel, for my language at Saturday’s Rangers game. I’m sorry. In my defense, though, I’m not sure how anyone pays attention to a Rangers game and doesn’t occasionally use the word “stupid.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“But the Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.” ~Habakkuk 2:20

This is not just the song we sing very quietly before the prayer. No. If this verse is ever sung by God’s people, it ought to be shouted. This is the most powerful verse in Habakkuk. It sums up and concludes God’s great revelation to the prophet. It Habakkuk the bottom line. This verse is packed with power and victory and life.

God draws this rich contrast between the idols of the nations and himself. He points out very clearly that an idol has no value because it’s been carved by a human. It can’t speak. It can’t come to life. It can’t wake up. It can’t give guidance. It has no breath. The idol is dead. Worshiping idols isn’t just disobedience. It’s foolish and useless. (3:18-19)

The idol is dead.

But the Lord—see, here’s the contrast—however the Lord is in his holy temple. Our God is alive and powerful and he reigns supreme forever and ever in the eternal temple of the heavens. Our God is speaking. He is awake. He gives guidance. And he is the One who gives the breath of life. No one has to call to wake him up. No one has to arouse him to teach.

God is already speaking.

And this silence before this God is not just the silence of reverence. And it’s not just observed by God’s chosen people. The demand—or the prophesy, however you read it—is that all the people, all the nations, all of creation, all the earth participate in this silence before the Creator. The silence is an act of submission. It’s an act of faith that’s reflected in the way we live our lives. It’s a humbling realization that God is sovereign over all. Instead of trusting in our own power and strength, it’s allowing him to teach us and guide us and shape us and our futures. It’s accepting his time frame for delivering his people and judging the wicked. And it’s living day-to-day by faith in his power and his promises.

Empires will rise and fall. The Babylonian Empire. The Roman Empire. The American Empire. But the Lord is in his holy temple. God remains on his eternal throne as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

All this stuff going on around you? Everything you see in the world that has you so upset? God says, “I got it. I’m in charge of all of it. I’m in control. And everything’s going pretty much exactly the way I have it planned.”

We can put our faith in that. And we can live by that faith.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Audio Adrenaline“Strong” is the title of my favorite Audio Adrenaline song. It’s on the Worldwide album. I listen to this song in my truck at 7:30 every Sunday morning on my way here to the building to pray with Mike and Paul. It inspires me. It reminds me of who I am and to whom I belong. It pushes me to remember who’s pushing me and why. My God has called me to preach his Word. And he’s called me to minister to him and his people here in North Richland Hills and Tarrant County. He’s given me his promises that he will be with me every step of the way. Wherever he leads me. Wherever he sets me. And I’ll be strong.

I will follow wherever you lead me;
Wherever you are underneath the stars is where I long to be.
And I will lay down this ol’ life of mine;
I’ll leave behind all the things of the world to follow you.

Chorus:

And I’ll be strong and courageous.
I’ll live my life for you, my only King.
‘Cause you’re my God through all the ages;
Here am I, I am yours, send me!

When I fall down, and I’m broken,
When I stumble on the rocks and lose my way;
I will cling to your eternal love,
When I’m weak, you come to me, you give me strength.

Chorus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DallasStarsThe first ever NHL hockey game I ever attended was the first round playoff opener for the Stars at Reunion Arena in 1999. I was working at AM-990 in Wichita Falls and covering the Stars for my station and stringing reports for the One-on-One Sports Radio Network out of Chicago. Going in, I didn’t know a whole lot about it. I had watched several games on TV. I had been covering the team on a limited regional basis, only reporting the big stuff and rarely talking about it on my show.

But it only took that one game to fall completely in love with all of it. I covered every home playoff game during that Stanley Cup Championship season. The overflow pressbox at Reunion was actually the top four rows in the arena. And if you remember Reunion, there’s not a bad seat in the house. It was incredible. The energy. The noise. The intensity. The sheer absurdity of our seven year old team in Texas winning the most hallowed and most impossible trophy in all of sports. Stars PlayoffsI fell in love with the speed and the beauty of the game. I was enthralled by the at-once poetry and brutality of the game, the skill and the strength, the dance and the brawl. I couldn’t get over how quickly momentum shifts, how fast the puck changes hands, how dramatically fortunes are changed with one turnover or penalty.

I want to say this very carefully. I want to be very specific about this next statement. I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. Football is king, yes. But a live NHL playoff game in person—not a playoff game on TV, not a regular season game in person, but an NHL playoff game in person in the arena—is better than football.

More speed. Bigger hits. More action. More tension. More excitement. Much more drama. Louder. It’s the only sport with a true sudden death.

If you’ve been, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, don’t judge me or my statement until you have.

I’m shocked that the Stars are up 2-0 against the impossibly-loaded, defending Stanley Cup Champion Ducks. I can’t believe both of those wins came in California. It’s beyond me how they’re in a position now to close out the team to beat in the Western Conference at AAC. And I can’t wait for tonight’s puck to drop on, as my good friend Ted Sorrells says, the big ice in Big D. It’s not even close to being there in person. But I can’t wait.

Go Stars.

Allan

'Tis What It's All About

April 7, 2008 / / 1 Comment

“How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” ~Habakkuk 1:3

Asking God questions. Wrestling with God. Struggling with God. Complaining to God. Although one-third of the Psalms are lament psalms that speak openly and honestly about those times when God seems absent and some of the greatest heroes of Scripture spent a lot of their time lamenting to God, we don’t pray like this very often. We certainly don’t do it in our public assemblies.

One of the reasons is that we don’t schedule it. We believe our corporate time together on Sunday mornings must be filled from start to finish with the Joy of the Lord, happiness, smiles, upbeat, uptempo, energy, excitement, and enthusiasm. I don’t know if that line of thinking stems from wanting to attract and sign up visitors or keep our members from leaving. Culture probably has a lot to do with it.

Another one of the reasons is that we think this kind of language—questioning God—is a sign of weakness or unbelief. And I’m not sure where that comes from. Where did that start, that we can’t question God? Definitely not from anything rooted in the sacred writings of Scripture.

The truth is that our God views open and honest wrestling and questioning of him as a sign of great faith. Our God is not displeased with these kinds of prayers. He honors them. Open struggling with God reveals our faith.

Think about it. To demand that God ought to act justly is solely based on the conviction that God is just. If we don’t believe God is just, we won’t go to him when we see injustice. We’ll go somewhere else. What we believe about God, if we really believe it, is exactly what leads to these kinds of prayers of lamentation.

We believe in God’s omnipotence. There is only one God. He does not share his power with any other God. He made the whole world and everything in it. He is the sovereign ruler over all creation. So, every single thing that happens—good and bad, fair and unfair—happens because God allows it. And that leads directly to the prayer: Why? Why, God, do you allow these horrible things to happen? Why, God, don’t you intervene?

We believe in God’s righteousness. God loves the world he created. He is concerned with what happens to his creatures in the world. He’s certainly not wicked in the ways he deals with the world. But there is the reality of terrible suffering and even cruelty all around us. And if God really is omnipotent and righteous, that leads directly to the prayer: How long is this going to last? God, where are you? Why aren’t you doing anything?

Here’s what I like about these kinds of prayers to God and what, I believe, God likes about them, too. When God’s people in Scripture complain about their troubles, when they lament the injustices of life, when they seek answers to their questions about the evil all around them, they don’t write letters to the editor, they don’t hold court in the coffee shop, they don’t call the talk shows, and they don’t join a campaign. God’s people bring their doubt and their fears and their uncertainties and their questions and their complaints straight to God.

And in the case of the Psalms and Habakkuk, they do so as a part of their worship, in the presence of God, in the middle of the congregation.

When Habakkuk answers God in 1:12 he makes it clear that, even though he doesn’t like what God is saying, he doesn’t agree with what God is doing, and none of it makes sense, he will go nowhere else for his answers. He will seek no one else to protect him or save him. He’ll look nowhere else for refuge. Habakkuk declares his total and complete dependence on God. Total faith. A faith that goes beyond any evidence or any proof for even having it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Go Kansas. With Memphis State’s win Saturday night, Whitney moved into a tie with me for first place in our family basketball pool. If the Tigers take the title tonight, she’s on top as the undisputed winner. If KU can pull it off, Whit and I will finish in the tie. The tie-breaker we established three weeks ago was total points scored in the championship game. Whitney has 130. I have 125. I need Kansas to win a low scoring game. And, either way, I need to limit Whitney’s college basketball watching between January and March next year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I explained at the beginning of yesterday’s sermon how certain settings demand a certain type of language and how certain types of language anticipate or point to certain settings. I was showing how Scripture’s use of lament psalms and lament language in some of the prophets was given to us to be used in the public assembly of God’s people. To set it up, I read the winning entry in the Washington Post Style Invitational Contest from a few years ago. Jeff Brechlin submitted “The Hokey Pokey” as if it had been written by William Shakespeare. As soon as we were finished, almost a dozen people asked me for copies of the work. A couple of more have emailed me today seeking copies. Here it is:

The Hokey Pokey, by William Shakespeare

O proud left foot that ventures quick within,
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe;
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin,
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! Yea, to spin! A wilde release from heaven’s yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go.
The Hoke, the Poke – banish now thy doubt;
Verily, I say, ’tis what it’s all about.

Peace,

Allan

Newer posts »

© 2024 The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑