GETTYSBURG Lessons Part ii

Last blog we mentioned how Gen Buford's identification of the "good ground" was crucial. In that era, the calvary, under Buford, was the eyes of the whole army. While Buford was doing his excellent work, his counterpart on the Confederate side, J.E.B. Stuart, was no where to be found.

In fact, Gen Stuart, who had a good reputation, had captured a bunch of valuable supplies from the North, and this cargo was slowing him down greatly--so much so that he missed the entire battle. The Southern leaders were blind without the cavalry. Even though Stuart was doing "a good thing", he was not doing his KEY JOB when it was needed most. Consequently his colleagues were blind, and some were so frustrated they were recommending his court martial to Gen. Robert E. Lee.

There is a lesson for us in this. NO matter how good a job we are doing, if we are NOT doing what G^d has called us to, we are hurting the Body of Christ.  Now many of us might argue that G^d has only called us to work in our occupation, and do that well. I suspect we don't hear G^d's call, because we aren't really listening.

G^d has clearly called us to be "salt and light" in Matt. 7, and yet we are not salt or light in the workplace. We may work hard, long, and highly visibly at our congregation, and yet we contain our faith, and expressions to it, to ONLY this environment, where we will be recognized and rewarded. Yet many of us are occupied 40 hours + per week in the marketplace. Where is our light?

I think J.E.B. Stuart was a great officer, but his one mistake of being distracted from his true task, cost him many colleagues on friends in the Rebel army.

How about me and you?

Gettysburg Lessons- Part 1

Brenda and I just spent 4 days with Cru’s “If properly led” conference in Gettysburg, PA.  One of our friends and his wife started this conference 22 years back, and he has studied the battle ever since, I think.

The conference started at 4 PM on Monday. We started at “The Peach Orchard”, a non-descript plot of tree-filled landscape that would play a major role in day 2 of the bloodiest 3 days of US American History. From there we went to the very crest of Cemetery Hill, one of the KEY points of the USA’s defense of the 80,000 Soldiers of the Northern Army.

From the start we were introduced to some key figures:  Dan Sickles of Peach Orchard fame, made both military mistakes, and his life personal ones. General Otis Howard had mostly German troops under his command, and when they retreated on day one, he lost major control of them. W.S. Hancock was so highly respected everyone seemed to follow his lead.

One of the KEYS to the battle of Gettysburg was Calvary General Jon Buford’s recognition of the strategic ground of the upcoming battle. Buford’s planning and execution would be a key, maybe THE KEY to the Northern victory.

People’s actions matter, because people matter. There are many lessons from Gettysburg, but we will start from this:  Always fight from GOOD ground.  

The ground around the cross of Jesus is good ground.

Easter Reflections

As I write this it is Easter Morning.

He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed!

We have just returned from 3 and a half days of intense study on the bloody fields of Gettysburg, where on the st, 2nd, and 3rd of July 1863, there were 51,000 US military casualties.  We will talk more of that in future posts, but that does catch my attention on Easter.

One of the key issues for us, is why were so many willing to DIE for a cause? Part of the answer is that these men loved someone or something. Many loved the soldier next to them--their brother, cousin, neighbor, friend. Others fought for a way of life that they loved. Others loved their families and felt that they were fighting for them, and still others were committed to ending slavery. Both the North and the South benefited from slavery, but not that many of the soldiers owned slaves.

As I look around the world today, most people seem mostly committed to "personal peace and affluence" and Francis Schaffer observed many years back. I'm not sure how many would die to that cause, but I am sure many, many LIVE for it.

The problem for many Christians, myself included, is that we are NOT in love with the Christ who gave His life for us.  "Perfect love casts out fear" (1 Jn 4:18), and yet we are fearful of even being identified with Jesus at work, or shopping, or anywhere except the church grounds.

I am about to get carried away, so I'll just stop with the question, "Do I, do you, really love Me" asked Jesus in John 21:15-19.  Do you? Do I?

Southern Storms

Last post I was telling about my trip to Madison, WI.  When I left off, I had just run a bit over a mile through the Detroit airport, which turned out to be unnecessary.  Our plane was a little late in departing, but the pilots assured us that we would arrive in Birmingham on time.  Now when you think about it, it becomes clear that airlines build in some "fudge factor" time in their time of arrival, when they can leave late and land on time.

A couple of times in this flight one of the pilots announced that we were in turbulence caused by thunder storms, and it would be a rough flight the rest of the way. Well, they were a bit overly cautious, because it was pretty smooth except for one little altitude loss.

I looked out of the window as we neared our time to descend to BHM.  The lights didn't look right on the ground, but I attributed it to my disorientaion as we could be approaching from some direction other than North due to the storms.

Well, the better explanation was that the flight had be DIVERTED to Atlanta due to the heave thunder storms surrounding the BHM airport.  We were almost in ATL before we learned that they didn't have enough fuel to circle and wait for clearing weather so we were going to ATL for fuel and to wait out the storm. Us passengers speculated wildly about HOW we would get back to BHM, and the airline offered no info. It turns out that the airline's plan, much simpler than that of the passengers, was to sit and wait for the storms to move out of BHM.  We arrived in BHM only about 2 hours later than scheduled.  Not bad.  And I think most of us realized that was MUCH better than most alternatives.

As local AL folks know, the interstate between BHM and Northport has been under renovation for some months now, and the direct route had been closed over a month.  So, at about midnight, I had the task of choosing how to drive home in a misting rain.  I decided to trust the GPS, which turned out to be much better than following the "detour" signs.

And by G^d's grace and the prayers of many, I made it home safely and not even too sleepily.

Brenda and I have become BOLD in asking for prayer for these ministry trips. As this trip illustrates, we are glad we do.  Thank you L^rd.

Thanks to all who prayed.  It was a great conference, and an interesting trip.  Blessings,

Visiting Cheeseland

I (Phil) just got back early, early (1 AM) yesterday from ministry in beautiful Madison, WI.  I left home about 0540 Friday.  Thanks to the prayers of many, it was a smooth trip up. I worked on the finishing touches of one talk, read a book by Henri Nouwen (In the Name of Jesus) which I highly recommend. I edited a paper for an Egyptian research friend, and ate a turkey and swiss sandwich.

One of the thrills of my visit was when two of our UA former Ph.D. students picked me up at the airport.  "

"No big deal", you say.

Well, they drove 2 hours from Lacrosse, WI just to spend a bit under 2 hours with me, then drove back.  Wow!  I thought it was maybe 45 min away. Wow! We had a very pleasant visit and I got to hear from both about their first year of teaching as professors.

Our meeting went very well, but the biggest joy for me was meeting, and seeing again, some fine Christian faculty and staff.

To cathc my plane back, I had to leave about 20 min before the end of the conference. I made it through the beautiful RURAL countryside surrounding down-town Madison to the smallish airport and quickly got through security. I got some work done, and we departed on time (which has NOT be common lately) for Detroit. We landed in Detroit on time, as Delta proudly announced, then waited about 20 min or more to get to the gate.  That meant I only had about 10 min to make the boarding time for my flight to BHM. Unfortunately, We landed at Gate C23, but my departure was at A69-- which turned out to be a bit over a mile away. So I found myself running whilst dragging a carry-on and wearing a small backpack. After a couple hundred yards I noticed a young lady who looked to be in her very early 20's racing along too.  We ended up running most of the way together, but unfortunately her gate was 3 more gates past mine, and her flight a little earlier.  I hope she made it.

When I got to the gate, the other passengers had boarded already, but we must have sat another 15-20 min before the door closed. I was sweating for nothing, but I hadn't known.  And, I didn't know what lay ahead. 

More next post.

Remodeling Fun!

If you saw the last blog, "Moving Fun!", you know my sarcasm knows no bounds. We have almost completed the remodeling of the new house. The house has been TOTALLY repainted on the inside. This includes the beams of the Great Room, the cabinets inside and out, and all the ceilings. And, that came at a HIGH cost. But it is worth it.

Ouida, our friend and professional decorator, picked out some wonderful colors. The trim is dark, and contrasts nicely with the ceilings and walls. At first, both the painters and we were a little skeptical. But it worked out beautifully. 

Here's the major changes:
Moved to ceiling fans and added a chandelier in Great Room.
Painted every room and ceiling except garage.
Hung a barn door in Master Bed Room.
Added partition in basement to make BR #4. Surprisingly, this was one of the biggest improvements, in that it turned a cavernous room into a very cozy space and nice well-lit bedroom with a nice closet.  Thanks Steve.
Finished off the laundry room, adding two doors, a partition, removing partial paneling and adding sheetrock.
Removed Chair rail in Great Room and hallway.
Moved work bench from Laundry to Garage.
Added several electrical outlets.
Turned Dining Room into Library/office.
We are now prepping to have new carpet installed on the stairs. This will be the ONLY carpet left in the house.

This, in toto, is a BIG project, so will post more later.

Christian Faculty and Staff

Brenda and I are privileged to serve in a strategic ministry, which I don't tend to communicate well. I recently had the opportunity to speak to a Christian Faculty group via video call.  Here is the essence of what I tried to communicate.

Thoughts for Christian Faculty Groups

  

Faculty, you are the SALT of the Academy!  You are the Light of the University!

But if the salt has lost its saltiness- and if the Light is under a bushel…

Fac and Staff are potentially among the MOST INFLUENTIAL people in the world- the 3 sq feet behind the lectern or the desk- most influential in the world.

We can have INTERNATIONAL impact, just by being on the Uni. The world comes to us! The FUTURE leaders of the USA and the world are very often trained in our classrooms.

Bad News-- kinda-- Lucas 12:48b. (Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.)

Scary news, Lucas 6:40 (⁴A student is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.)

Best News, G^d has made Provision for us all, in the Blood of Jesus the Christ!

And, we have the opportunity to share Christ with everyone.

Why important? In Lucas 16, we Jesus tells the story of Lazarus in the Bosom of Abraham. A KEY point of this story—everyone has ONE of two destinations.

As a prof for about 36 years total, I am WELL aware of what KEEPS us from sharing the Christ.  What keeps us quiet:  Fear of man, pride, busyness with mundane things, fear of man, preoccupation with material world, fear of man.

Fear?  Not me!  Yes, you. Here’s a word from the Apostle John (12:42) “⁴² Nevertheless, many even of the professors and staff believed in him, but for fear of the deans and colleagues they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the academe…”.

So WHY RISK it. I am HAPPY in the uni.  It pays well and has a lot of benefits, including a great retirement plan.

Why risk it—because there is an EVEN Better deal, or at least Jesus said there was in Matt 5:10-12, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matt 16:26 tells us, “What does it profit a student to gain a Bachelor's, Master’s, Ph.D., and lose her own soul, or what will a woman give for a soul?”

And too, think about our first-generation College students. They were brought up as Christians, but reach the PEAK of education and what do they learn, “Highly Educated people tend to be HOSTILE towards Christianity”  Hmmm.

Start asking students, “have you ever had a Christian professor before?”  The most common answer, “Not to my Knowledge”.  The last student I asked threw in, “But I have had an anti-Christian professor.”

What can YOU do, Christian Faculty/Staff member?  Read the book “A Grander Story”.  There are scores of things you can do to be salt and light.  Pick a couple and try them out. If they don’t work, or feel like you, try two or four more.  There’s plenty to be done, the Fields are white unto harvest.

Good News! Our BiGGEST problem is already solved!

Several weeks ago, our pastor, who served a dual role as our son-in-law, gave a great, positive, GOSPEL message. In essence, our biggest problem is the curse of sin and death. This problem was totally resolved in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus the Christ. Now that's Good News, and that is the essence of the Gospel.

If you study things a bit, you discover that we were BORN into sin, we commit sin daily, and we will continue to sin. IF, and big IF, we obey the commandments of Christ, our sin level should decrease substantially. It does not disappear.

Which leads us to the truth of Christianity--I have been saved from my sin, I am daily being forgiven my sin, and in the end, I will be redeemed from my sin once and for all. Thanks be to G^d.

The biggest problem my non-Christian, non-religious freinds have, is their FAILURE to accept that they need redemption. They think they are "just fine". In my view, after looking at what is going on in the world, if you don't think mankind is fallen in general, you aren't really paying attention. If you don't recognize your won sinful nature, then you are prideful, and have exceedingly low standards.

Alas, but we are easily capable of rationalizing our own sins, whilst noting with glee the shortcomings of others.

BUT, for those who recognize our own sinfulness, I have great news.  The Blood of Christ has washed away your sins.  True enough, and great news indeed!

Memorizing Scripture

I have posted on this topic  before I think, but it has been on my mind lately. G^d speaks to us all, collectively through the Holy Scriptures, but He also speaks to us individually. In fact, I would say that when we memorize Scripture, G^d has a "land-line" to our hearts.

One small example in my life is Matt 6:19-21. "Lay NOT up for yourselves treasure on earth...for where a man's treasure is, there will his heart be also." This ENTIRE passage has spoken to me over and over. We in the USA are prone to accumulating "treasures on earth"... and we never have enough. I blogged about this a while back. But G^d has also spoken to me of late with Matt 5:10-12.

I have also thought and written about Luke 10, 12, 16 and 18. Someone recently mentioned meditating on Scripture. It dawned on me that having Scripture in my head makes meditation often convenient and productive. I am also pleased at how having Scriptures in mind contributes to conversations and analysis.

I have also written how sometimes I find it EAST to memorize when I have a purpose in mind for a passage, and how hard it is when I do not. I suspect this is different for different people.

So get at it. Figure out your style, then memorize some Scripture!