Replacement Refs...and grace

I am a fan of the NFL.  I like to watch football.  If you know me you know that I am a Minnesota Viking fan.  This past Sunday my Vikes played the San Francisco 49ers.  Toward the end of the game there were a few plays where the officials gave the 49ers extra timeouts and extra challenges which led to some pretty exasperating calls going against Minnesota.  However, it didn't cost them the game.  The Vikings won 24-13.
Last night the Seahawks played the Packers.  Now if your a Viking fan your mortal enemy is the Packers.  I always like it when the Packers lose.  They lost last night on a last second hail mary pass by the Seahawks.  Now if you watched the game, even if you are a Seattle fan, you KNOW that the receiver pushed a defender down (offensive pass interference) and that that same receiver did not catch the ball, instead it was clearly intercepted by a defender on the Green Bay Packers.
Usually, I would have been very happy for the completion and the loss by the Packers except that it was a bad call.  Let me rephrase that, a REALLY bad call.  It was blatantly obvious that the refs got the call wrong and that they blew the game and that the Packers got ripped off.  This season has been full of these bad calls but none probably as bad as that one last night and none that cost a team probably as much as it did the Packers last night.
I don't think the replacement refs are up to the challenge of the NFL.  Nothing against them personally, I just think the speed of the players and the game is too much for them.  I wish the NFL and the regular refs would settle their dispute so we could get back to the NFL we are used to.  The one where the refs are only bad instead of REALLY bad like we have now.
But truthfully, the replacement guys are trying.  They are trying to get better.  They are trying to catch up.  I mean it can't be easy trying to call a holding penalty on the offensive lineman and that 6'5" tall, 350 pound lineman is standing right by you screaming and cussing.  I don't like the results but I do understand the difficulty that the refs are having.  There is a reason they are "replacement" refs.  They didn't have what it took to begin with to make the NFL.  Why are we just now screaming at them to get the calls right?  Did we think that all of a sudden they would be perfect?  Did we think that something miraculous would happen once they got that NFL logo on their shirt?
Grace is the call.  Cut them some slack.  They are bad no doubt.  But give them a break.  They were thrown into the fray and told to do their best.  Not a whole lot of preparation or training...just get in there and try not to screw up too badly.
Kind of like being a Christ-follower.  We come to Christ and now we are trying our best to do our best.  We screw up, mess up, and sometimes we mess up REALLY bad.  Thank God that He is not as critical of us as many of us are with the replacement refs!  Thank God for grace.
Take care,
Rod

9-11

What can you say that hasn't already been said? The thoughts, prayers, and feelings of the people of America have been expressed over and over again on TV, bumperstickers, Social Media Sites, and in many blogs and articles on the internet.
I know there is nothing that I could write that would make people go "WOW! I never thought or heard of that before!"
So why write about it? Because there is something inside me that says we're supposed to. We're supposed to proclaim our American Pride right now aren't we? We supposed to wave a flag and bow our heads today aren't we? I mean what kind of country would we be if we didn't?
I like it when I see pictures of the World Trade Centers draped in the American flag. I like remembering the day Americans came together, no matter the color of their skin, their economic status or what party they voted for. For that time, in this country, we came together, united and full of purpose and pride.
We learned that day that our freedom is fragile, and there will always be those who seek to destroy it. We learned that our country was not immune to terrorists and that we will always need to be vigilant in protecting our borders and our people.
So what should our attitude be today, here and now, 11 years after the attack? Should we continue to walk around in our American swagger and pride thinking of how great we are and how dare anyone to think they can hurt us? Should we walk with anger and never forgive those who perpetrated this atrocity on our soil?
I saw today many posts on a social media website that reflected many viewpoints. One of them said something like "never forgive, never forget". Something inside me cringed a little. I remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
So today, I pray for those who had loved ones tragically taken away from them that day. I pray for those families who suffered immeasurable loss and pain. I don't know how you ever get over something like that. But I know that God sees their tears, hears their cries, and feels their pain. God weeps for them.

But according to God's word, I am also to pray for my enemies.  Those terrorists who wish to destroy me and my beliefs.  I pray for them.  I pray that God will stop them from their hatred and their false beliefs.  I pray that their hearts will find the love of Christ.  I pray for this violence to end and Jesus to come back.  I pray for their souls.  

That's hard, especially on a day like today.  But it is what God wants and commands of me.  

Take care,

Rod