Doing Life Together

Tuesday morning as I was leaving a breakfast meeting, I ran into an extremely nice lady whom I grew up across the street from. Though her husband has passed away several years ago, she still lives in the same house.

I hadn't seen her in several years so it was great to catch up. She looked absolutely great and she seemed in very good spirits. She mentioned to me that she was there for a breakfast meeting of her own. She shared with me that she's been meeting with the same ladies every week for breakfast for close to 50 years. She mentioned that three of her group have passed away but the remaining four still visit.

That's right, once each week they converge on the same restaurant to be with one another. Even if they don't feel like it and even if they are busy. She said, "Through rain, sleet or snow, we are here at 9 AM every Tuesday." It is obviously that important to them. Perhaps this might explain why she looked so great and was (and always has been since I've known her) in such a positive mood.

A great lesson for each of us. We were meant to do life in community. So who are you doing life with?

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:25

Isolation

Right now, my wife and I have three friends who are going through really rough situations. They are all dealing with addictions of different sorts and all are causing incredible damage to themselves and to their family members. It is quite sad to see it unfold.

Two of our friends know Scripture as well as, or better than most people I know. Yet, they have chosen to go down this path during this season of their lives.

Though they are all different situations, there is one similarity which stands out. Each of these people have pulled away from their community prior to this change in their lives. In the past, they were each part of a small group in their church and for whatever reason they stopped being involved.

I am a big proponent of "doing life together." I have seen the fruit of this over the past year and a half in Truth at Work for business leaders as well as over the past six years in the men's group and couples group I am a part of.

This has really hit me right in my heart and given me what I hope is a healthy dose of fear. It has shown me that none of us is infallible. We can all go the wrong direction and, in fact, our human-ness desires that. That is why it is so important for us to surround ourselves with others who can encourage us, challenge us, help us, hold us accountable and love us where we are.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:25

Gather Together

I went for a walk late yesterday afternoon through my neighborhood and the neighborhood next door. As I turned a corner I heard what sounded like thousands of birds chirping. I looked around and spotted them all huddled together at the top of a tree. It wasn’t a thousand, but there were at least a hundred up there.

As I walked I thought that it was interesting that I didn’t see one single bird over here and another over there and one behind me. They were all gathered together. Kind of like how we are supposed to be.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us that Satan is like a roaring lion who roams around looking for someone to devour.

On any animal shows I have ever watched, when a predator (like a lion) is hunting it usually goes after the prey which is by itself. Those who are in a pack are much more difficult to get to.

When things are not going well for us we have a natural tendency to withdraw and be by ourselves until the storm blows over. Well, this is exactly what Satan wants. He wants us to be alone so that he can act like the lion on the animal shows and devour us.

Hebrews 10:25a says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…”

So gathering together is a lot more than just socializing. It is meant to protect us and to refuel our tanks, especially when we are down. So do that and encourage someone while you’re at it!