Hitch Up the Horses: We're Headin' East!

Monday’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Lamentations 1
NT: Ephesians 5
W&W: Psalm 107.33-43

Tuesday’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Lamentations 2
NT: Ephesians 6
W&W: Psalm 108

Wednesday’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Lamentations 3
NT: Philippians 1
W&W: Psalm 109.1-20

Thursday’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Lamentations 4-5
NT: Philippians 2
W&W: Psalm 109.21-31

Friday’s Scripture Readings:
OT: Ezekiel 1
NT: Philippians 3
W&W: Psalm 110

Today’s Reflection:

As I answered questions at our Towne Hall Meeting last week, I shared the following illustration that I had heard from Gene Wood. (It is also in his book Leading Turnaround Churches.)

The church is like a wagon hitched to a team of horses. Now that wagon has a destination. The destination is the vision and dreams and goals of the congregation. At a minimum that would include getting people saved and maturing in their faith, don’t you think? Or, as I like to say it: making Christ-like disciples (in the nations)! And remember a disciple is one who knows God, shows love, grows up, goes out and sows seeds. Making disciples – that is our destination.

Every local church, however, has to determine the route it takes to get to its destination. Some churches will go east and some will go west. That’s OK as long as the route leads to the right destination. There is nothing intrinsically better about going east than going west, but you have to decide!

When I pull out of this parking lot tonight, I need to decide: “Do I want to turn south and go through the winding roads of Clermont and Brown County – through Poetown and Feesburg – to get home? Or, would I rather head east and go through the speed trap of Hamersville to get home?” I’ve tried it both ways, and it really isn’t better to go one way or the other. But I have to go one way or the other! If I decide to go west and Lana says, “No, I want to go south!” and tries to steer a different direction, what happens? Chaos ensues!

Now the local church is like that, too. We need to decide on a direction, hitch up our horses and do the best we can to get to our destination. Now, someone may come along and say, “I want to hitch up a team of horses to go this way…” What should we do? If enough people start pulling in many different directions, our progress will grind to a halt and we will never reach our destination of getting people saved! Let’s all pull in the same direction!

This Week’s Scripture to Memorize:
Let’s put Romans 3.21-25a together: 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.