Flight Paths

About that freeze—we may not have thought to protect our hibiscus, but we most certainly thought about our tomato plant.  It is a Cherokee Purple, an heirloom variety, one of the few that produces well and does not easily catch plant diseases.  They are also some of the tastiest tomatoes you ever put in your mouth.  So yes, Keith dug around in the garage and found an old sheet that was large enough to cover the tomato which stood a good five feet high in its planter against the side fence.  Then he rooted around further for the trouble light and an outdoor extension cord, scrounged up a lightbulb and put it under the sheet and plugged it in to the outdoor outlet.

 Neither one of us thought a thing about it until he removed the sheet two days later and felt no warmth at all.  He hadn't thought and had put an LED lightbulb in the trouble light!  Whereas incandescent bulbs will give you plenty of warmth for temperatures of about 30 degrees, an LED won't warm anything at all.  All we had done was protect it from frost.  The fact that the sheet held the plant's own warmth and it sat so close to the house, kept it from being completely destroyed.  We lost a few leaves and the ends of a limb or two, but the dozen or so tomatoes hanging there were still alive and with a few days of warmth they ripened—but it certainly wasn't our fault.

 Some people are a little like LED bulbs.  They may say and do the right things, but there is no heart in it at all.  You can tell when someone truly empathizes with you and when it's just the standard talk.  Trust me, the preacher knows when, "Good lesson," accompanied by a handshake is truly meant and when it's just a pro forma comment as one leaves the building.  If one is honest, he can tell when a correction from a brother comes from a heart of love that truly cares and when that correction comes with a "So there!" hidden among its words. 

 And God can tell when our obedience comes from a sincere heart of love and devotion and when it's just checklist religion.  When the works don't match the words it has become painfully apparent that the obedience is not heartfelt. 

 Compassion, comfort, love, sincerity—all of these conjure up warmth in our minds, people who truly care and have truly devoted their lives to living like Jesus did.  Don't plug in an LED light instead.

But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to  Rom6:17.

By obedience to the truth, having purified yourselves for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart1Pet1:22.

Dene Ward

We have two fire extinguishers in the house, one behind the woodstove at the edge of the kitchen and one in a back bedroom.  They have been there so long that I don’t even notice them any more.  In fact, when I think to look at them at all, it’s to dust them because “suddenly” they look like they have grown white fur.

 Fire extinguishers are great to have around, but let’s face it, they aren’t part of a beautiful decor.  They aren’t a handy item we use everyday like a coffee pot or a can opener.  They aren’t even a once a year need like my pressure canner—at least we hope not.  The only reason we have them is “just in case,” and we want that “just in case” to never happen.  We treat fire extinguishers more like necessary evils than anything else.

 I noticed something when we studied Psalm 99 in Bible class the other day.  [Speaking of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel] In the pillar of the cloud [God] spoke to them; they kept his testimonies and the statute that he gave them. O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings, vv 7-8.

 Those two verses contain everything we need to know about who can pray to God and expect an answer.  First God spoke to them.  They listened by keeping His testimonies and statutes.  Then God answered them.

 Those three righteous men did not treat God like a fire extinguisher.  He wasn’t there just for emergencies.  He was part of their lives on a daily basis as they followed His laws and prayed for help and forgiveness.

 The psalmist is careful to point out that these men were among those “who call upon His name” (v 6). They were not the only ones chosen to receive this blessing.  Many others “called upon His name.”  That goes for us as well.  We possess His testimonies and statutes in the written form.  All we have to do is keep them, making God a daily part of our lives, and He will hear us just like He heard them.

 The problem comes when we try to make a relationship out of one phone call, so to speak.  If we never talk to God otherwise, or more to the point, listen, He won’t listen either.  If we ignore His law with impunity, going our own headstrong way, He won’t answer—not according to Psalm 99, and several other passages (Prov 15:29; 28:9; Isa 59:2; John 9:31, etc).  We’ve seen too many heart-tugging made-for-TV movies where the old reprobate turns around at a crisis and promises God he will be good if God will just hear him this once.  God does not bargain, unless you think you are a man of the stature of Abraham, who talked with God regularly instead of treating Him like a fire extinguisher.  More often than not, old reprobates stay that way.

 Now is the time to begin that relationship, or deepen it if you already have.  If we keep God behind the woodstove until He grows some dusty fur, we needn’t think He will pay a bit of attention when we holler.

As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear, says the LORD of hosts, Zech 7:13.

Dene Ward

When I was young, my father placed great emphasis on knowing the God of the Old Testament. He said if I would know the God of the New Testament I must learn of Him through His Old Testament history and His prophets. Jehovah God of old is the same God of today.

There is another way of expressing this desire to know God and that is through our achieving purity of thought, word and deed, as Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” The Greek word optanomai translated “see” is an earnest but more continued inspection than just a casual look (Strongs). It is this pure heart that sees God that I want to address.

The word pure is exactly what we think it means: Gk katharos - clean, clear, pure, without impurities, not defiled. And figuratively, free from moral guilt, free from sin (Strongs, Vines). Amazingly, it has been pointed out that the philosophers of the Greeks (Socrates, Aristotle) didn’t address this area of virtue! (Arthur Carr’s commentary on Matthew). But when we look throughout the Scriptures, we are strongly impressed by the need for purity. God’s direction even in the Hebrew laws for physical purity also included living a pure life, with a pure love for God Lev 11:47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten. Ex 25:17 "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. De 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. De 7:9 "Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments."

Now, consider the following verses in the New Testament: 1Ti 1:5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Tit 1:15 To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.

If we are to create a pure heart so that we can see God–now and throughout eternity–we must consider how this can be achieved. Hebrews 10:22 tells us we must first “draw near (to God) with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” There are three actions required in this verse–a sincere heart, assurance of faith, and hearts sprinkled clean through baptism. Two are our responsibility, the third is by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice now the connection between a pure heart and clean hands. Ps 24:3 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.” This reminds me of when Abraham deceived Abimelech who exclaimed, "Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this” Ge 20:5-6. Honesty in word and the motives of our heart will affect what we think, say and do.

James draws from that Old Testament passage: Jas 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse (katharos) your hands, you sinners; and purify (hagnizo) your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

James tells us if we want to be near God, we must cleanse our hands, purify our hearts and not be double-minded in our efforts. Integrity can only be achieved if we are committed in one direction (single-minded) with total humility. Notice also that James includes the other Greek word for purity, hagnizo. This word comes from the family of words for holy or holiness, purity.

Peter also uses another word heilikrines – judged by sunlight, i.e. tested as genuine (figuratively):--pure, sincere. (Strongs). 2Pe 3:1 “This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder.” The idea of sincere and pure go hand in glove.

Did you pick up on the inclusion of a good conscience in 1 Tim 1:5? It all ties together. Our thoughts and actions toward God must be sincere, seeking His truth, living by that truth–a good conscience and therefore a pure heart. Let us be pure in truth, pure in motive, pure in thought, and pure in action toward what is good and wholesome, exercising self-control and speaking truth toward God and our fellow man.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” We CAN know/see God by sharing His qualities of goodness, living in all good conscience with a pure heart

Joanne Beckley

When I did my internship as a music teacher in the public schools, I looked up one day to find my professor walking into the music room behind the fifth grade class scheduled for that half hour.  My heart sank.  I did have a lesson prepared, but it was not a wow-zer.  It taught a valid musical concept, one I could easily build on in future lessons—the first of what educators call a “unit.”  I had prepared a lesson plan with appropriate behavioral objectives.  It met all expectations and requirements.  But to me, it seemed so—well, ordinary.

 I taught that lesson twice in a row with no problems.  The students caught on quickly and I met the objectives with no difficulty.  After the second group left I approached the tall, slim, dignified looking lady, expecting her to meet me with, at best, a mediocre assessment.

 “Good job,” she said, and when my jaw dropped she added, “Listen:  they can’t all be showstoppers.  You taught an important lesson and you taught it well.  They learned exactly what you set out to teach them and they enjoyed it.”

 I learned something that day, something I keep reminding myself as I approach the computer day after day, struggling sometimes to find something to write.  Just do your best.  Turn in a good effort, be faithful to the Word God has entrusted you with, and let Him take care of the rest.

 Sometimes I hear from people telling me that what I wrote was exactly what they needed that day.  A few times it was a piece I almost deleted because I was so dissatisfied with it.  The same thing has happened to Keith.  When you preach two sermons a week, every week, you occasionally produce one just because you needed one to fill the time one Sunday morning, not because you were particularly enthralled with the subject.  Many times people have complimented those very sermons.  At least one of them led directly to a conversion.

 Many times we feel unnoticed and totally useless to the Lord.  We think we are doing nothing for God because nothing we do matters.  Nonsense.  More people are watching you than you know.  You need to learn the same lesson I did. 

Every day can't be a showstopper.  Some days are so ordinary as to make you wonder why you exist.  You get up, you go to work, you come home and spend time with the family.  You pay your bills on time and help the neighbor with his ornery lawn mower, perhaps even mowing his yard for him.  You study your Bible, and then you hit the sack and get up and go again the next morning, an ordinary--you think--honest, hard-working Joe.

Or you get up and down all night with the baby and barely know you are sending your older ones off to school because you are so tired.  But then you still do the grocery shopping and prepare the meals and launder the clothes.  You wash dishes and scrub floors and dust the countertops and shelves, change the sheets, then throw together an extra casserole for a sick neighbor, help the kids with their Bible lesson and then their homework, and fall into bed exhausted.

Or you sit at home alone because you are too old and sick and frail to get out any longer, so you watch a little TV, read your Bible, call a few folks on the sick list (besides yourself), write a few get well and sympathy cards, then go to bed and start all over again tomorrow.

And all of you wonder, what good is that to anyone?  Well, you never know, especially when you count God into the mix.  He can work wonders with the weak, the frightened, and the average.  He can take the smallest seed you plant and make a huge tree out of it.  Don’t you remember a parable along those lines?  In God’s hands, nothing you do is just filling up time.

So get up every morning and do what you are supposed to do in the way you are supposed to do it.  Someone out there needs to see you do that, and if you do, God will take care of the rest.

I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase. Now he that plants and he that waters are one: but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow-workers...  1Cor 3:6-9.

Dene Ward

I recently came across an article titled “How to Avoid the Natural Reactions that Affect Good Decision Making.”  It is too long to go over here, but it did make me realize that natural reactions can be controlled.  How?  The author, who was not interested in spiritual matters at all, listed several ways, but they all boiled down to this—control yourself and do not let those “natural” reactions rule you.  The Sermon on the Mount is full of exactly those kinds of statements.

 Rejoice and be glad [when others revile you and persecute you] for so persecuted they the prophets before you.

 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

 And that’s only a few from Matthew 5.  This is not easy, but I think the key is this:  God doesn’t expect us to control our natural reactions—he expects us to change what comes naturally to us.  And He expects us to do it during the most difficult times of our lives.  His people have been doing it for thousands of years.

 Jesus went to Peter’s house one evening and found his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.  What did she do the moment she was healed?  And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them, Mark 1:30.  How many of us would have taken the next few days off to recuperate, expecting a little more sympathy too?

 The apostles were arrested and put in prison, then brought out and beaten.  What did they do? Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name, Acts 5:41.  Rejoicing at being beaten?  That certainly wouldn’t be my natural reaction.

 Stephen was stoned for what he preached and what did he do as he lay dying?  And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep, Acts 7:59-60.  Impossible, you think, to forgive your murderers, but not for Stephen, a man “full of grace” Acts 6:8.

 Aquila and Priscilla were run out of Rome, forced to leave their home because of persecution.  What did they do?  They set up shop in Corinth and offered Paul a place to stay for as long as he needed (Acts 18:1-3).  Me? I probably would have pleaded a need for time to get organized and put my life back together before I put my home in the upheaval of a long term guest.

 Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison.  What was their reaction? About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, Acts 16:24.  They were aware that “others were listening to them.”  I’m not sure I would have been aware of anything but my own aches and pains, and completely unconcerned about what others were going through.

 And what did David do immediately after his child died?  Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped, 2 Sam 12:20.  At this most horrible time for any parent, David worshipped.  Is it really surprising?  Job did the same thing, and he had lost all his children.  Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped, Job 1:20. 

 It seems that the natural reaction for a true child of God who undergoes any sort of trial is to turn to his Father, to serve, to worship, to pray, to sing, even to forgive.  I am usually more interested in my own welfare than anyone else’s.  I tend to forget anything spiritual and concentrate on my own physical or emotional pain as if it were the most important thing there is.  Is that what a Christian should do?  These people tell me otherwise, and I could have found many more examples. 

 Truly I have a long way to go, but this maybe I can remember:  If I have become a new creature, then what is “natural” about me, including my reactions, should have changed too.

Now the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. But he that is spiritual judges all things, and he himself is judged of no man, 1 Cor 2:14,15. 

Dene Ward

 Contrary to popular opinion, it does get cold in Florida once in a while.  How cold?  Depends upon where you are.  In North Florida, where we lived for 43 years, temperatures dropped into the teens at least once a year.  One year we hit single digits, but that is not common.  I do remember a winter where we were below freezing every night for two weeks and the highs were in the forties.  I remember freezes when I was a child that led to the southern shift of the Citrus Line—the line above which citrus could not grow.  This is why the plants we grew in North Florida were not the same plants we grow here in Tampa.

 The first winter we were back in Tampa we did not have a freeze.  That same winter Lucas, who preaches in the panhandle about 30 miles this side of Pensacola, had 6 inches of snow, but we merely fell to the forties.  This past winter we had a couple of freezes.  We never even thought about the hibiscus.  I was so used to plants that weathered cold weather that it slipped my mind entirely.  That next morning I was horrified.  All the leaves were completely dead, leaving bare, brown branches.  My favorite bush was dead!

 We looked up IFAS, the University of Florida's Agriculture page.  Wait at least four weeks, it said, before you cut it back.  If you cut it too early and another freeze occurs, the plant will suffer even more.  What looks like dead plant can actually protect what might be left in the case of another freeze.  You must wait several days or even weeks.  That is what we have done.  Meanwhile, we did have one more freeze, but we kept to the plan and waited.

 What happened?  Green growth all over the shrub is what happened.  Tiny leaf buds are sprouting on roughly 65% of every limb.  Every day the leaves grow larger and before another week I believe the growth will be visible from the street.  We will once again have a beautiful tri-colored bush.

 Being a parent is hard.  You can work yourself to the bone, not just on physical care, but on spiritual teaching as well, only to see your precious child slip away into the world.  Somehow others influence him more than you did, at least you presume so.  Why else would he have left what you not only taught him, but lived in front of him?

 Of course, the first answer is that he has his own free will.  Part of realizing the falsity of predestination is also accepting that each person is responsible for his own decisions in life.  And sometimes even the best of us makes a truly stupid decision.  But I firmly believe that all is not lost. 

 Don't give up.  Wait.  Maybe a hard freeze has hit his soul and he has some damage, even some dieback.  Wait.  Carefully consider anything you say and do.  You are supposed to water cold-damaged plants because their roots may be too damaged to function properly, and because cold weather is nearly always accompanied by low humidity.  Water, but do not fertilize, they say.  Maybe what that translates to is be there for him, but don't push too hard.  You yourself know that his return must be his decision, not yours.

 But dieback does not mean totally dead.  With care, the plant can begin to come back from the damage.  The old leaves and limbs must eventually be pruned, but no lower than the new growth.  The roots of the plant are still there and sooner or later they will take over and send up a new, perhaps even more beautiful, plant.

 What is our old saying?  "Where there's life, there's hope."  Don't give up on your precious child.  Maybe, just maybe, the roots of your strong teaching during his childhood will once again blossom.  But understand this:  if you are still in that teaching phase, you must teach as if his life depends upon it—because that just might be true.

These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gatesDeut6:6-9.

Dene Ward

Have you ever apologized to anyone?  Let me rephrase that.  Have you ever apologized in the Biblical way?  You mean there is a difference?  I think there is a huge one.

 The first two definitions of “apology” in my Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary are 1} a formal justification; a defense; and 2) an excuse.  The original word is Greek, apologia.  Paul used it in Acts 22:1 and 25:16 when he made his “defense” at his trials.  Understand this, in no way was he admitting wrong, and none of us would have expected him to.  He was in trouble for preaching the gospel.  He was defending himself, giving “a formal justification.”  That is not the kind of apology I am talking about either.

Yet that is exactly the way most of us apologize—we defend ourselves.  We say, “I’m sorry you got hurt,” placing the fault on the other person, instead of “I’m sorry I hurt you.”  We say, “If I did anything wrong, I’m sorry,” as if to call in question the one we are “apologizing” to.  We give excuses for why we did what we did to make sure everyone knows “it wasn’t my fault.”  We do everything we can to avoid admitting wrong.

 Webster finally gives this as his last definition:  “An admission of error accompanied by regret.”  More to our point, this is the definition Jesus gives:  if he sin against you seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him.  Luke 17:4.  If he “turn again to you saying, I repent.”  No defense, no excuses, no justification, just “I was wrong.”  Have you ever apologized that way?

 I daresay most of us have not.  Yet that is exactly the way we are to apologize to God too.  Have you? Or do we, in our prayers, justify ourselves with phrases about being “only human,” or about “how hard it is, Lord,” or even “how mean he was to me first—you know he provoked me, Lord.”  What God expects from us is change for the better, Vine’s definition of the word.  That necessarily involves admission of guilt.  If not, why would we need to change?  And that is the same word Jesus used in Luke 17: 4.  “I repent,” plain and simple.

 So I ask you again, have you ever truly apologized in the Biblical sense, what Jesus called “repentance?”  The next time you begin with, “I’m sorry,” just stop after that second word.  Don’t allow yourself excuses or justification.  Just apologize.  You cannot correct error in your life without admitting it first, and once it’s been admitted, if you truly are a child of God, the responsibility to change cannot help but affect you.

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5.

Dene Ward

…Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's” Matt 22:21.

 I suppose nothing rankles so much as giving your hard-earned money to a government whose policies you disagree with, who often use that money for things you disapprove of as a Christian.  Guess what?  We are not the first to feel that way, and our government doesn’t come close to the one that governed the people Jesus and the apostles plainly said to pay.  Our government does not yet imprison us for our faith, nor does it throw us to the lions, crucify us, or burn us alive in an arena paid for by tax dollars.

 Paul makes it crystal clear when he says, For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed…Rom 13:6,7.  Some of those very people wound up paying for their own executions, so I doubt we have much excuse in not paying our taxes.

 This is what we miss when we start all the complaining.  In the very same passage Paul says, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God…Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience, vv 1,5. 

 You would think that God’s wrath would have been reserved for that government that persecuted His people, but no, in this case, His wrath is on those who do not pay because He ordained that government.  Not to obey that earthly authority is to disobey His heavenly authority.  Paul even adds at the end of verse 7, [Pay]respect to whom respect is owed and honor to whom honor is owed.  That does not mean only those who deserve that respect and honor as individuals, it means those who are in a position of authority.  That position deserves the respect and honor no matter who fills it, because God put him there. 

 Peter says much the same thing:  Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good, 1 Pet 2:13,14.  We obey “for the Lord’s sake.”  So what would that make any civil disobedience on our part?  A slap in the face of God, that’s what.

 This is a lot more important than we like to think.  Subjection is the mark of a Christian.  Every one of us is subject to everyone else, and we all are in subjection in other areas of life.  Peter says that is why our subjection to the government is so important. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor, vv15-17.  When we act in any other way, when we disobey the laws of the land, when we cheat on our taxes, we are causing the world to laugh at the very notion of our subjection as servants to God, invalidating our faith as surely as if we had stood up and denied the Lord in front of them.

 Yes, it’s that time of year.  Maybe instead of complaining, we should thank God that we have a government that, though it certainly isn’t honoring God, isn’t murdering His children.  At least not yet.

…You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people,Acts 23:5.

Dene Ward

One evening as we sat with our grandsons in the family room of their home, two year old Judah found three small bins, about the size of the largest coffee cans these days, and summarily emptied them one by one.  Small figurines, farm animals, blocks and other toys covered the family room floor.  He stood there looking around with obvious satisfaction, lifted his hands in the air and, with a big grin on his face, proclaimed, “I made a mess!”

 Then, surprising us both, he began to pick up each and every tiny toy and place them in the back of his dump truck, the big one he can sit on and push with his feet, until every toy was off the floor.

 “What a good boy!” I exclaimed.  Naively, as it turned out because he immediately knelt before the truck and began tossing the toys over his shoulders with both hands until once again they were scattered everywhere.  Again he looked on his work with satisfaction, then began picking them up and starting over. This must have occurred five or six times before it began to bore him, but for a while there, “Making a Mess” was the game of the hour and he was quite good at it.

 Do you know any mess makers in the church?  You know, the ones who ask questions in class that are deliberately designed to foil the teacher’s carefully laid out lesson and confuse the newcomers; the ones who enjoy starting a discussion they know will end in arguments; the ones who delight in pulling people aside, especially teachers and preachers, and “setting them straight” about some detail that doesn’t even matter; the ones who pride themselves on taking the opposing view, not because it is the right one, but because they enjoy a stir.  They might as well stand in the middle of the room with my two year old grandson and proclaim, “I made a mess.”

 What does Paul say about them?  They “quarrel about words to no profit.”  They participate in “irreverent babble.”  They engage in “foolish and ignorant controversies.”  They have “an unhealthy craving for controversy”—indeed they can hardly control themselves when they see certain subjects coming up.  That lack of self-control comes because they are “depraved in mind.”  In short, these people thrive on making messes.  They live to cause trouble.  They even brag about their tendency to do these things. 

 And why is it so bad?  Their actions “subvert souls.”  They “lead people to more and more ungodliness.”  Their foolishness “eats like a gangrene.”  It “genders strife.”  It serves only to “produce envy, dissension, slander, suspicion…and constant friction.”  It troubles the new Christians and “unsettles minds.”

 At least my two year old grandson’s activity did not hurt anyone.  It was entirely appropriate for a child his age.  What excuse does a middle-aged mess-maker have?  He might as well go play with the babies.

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.  Titus 3:9-11

(Passages quoted in the body of the article:  1 Tim 6:4,5; 2 Tim 2:14,16,23; Acts 15:25.)

Dene Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Finally, I was asked about hanging crosses on the wall to ward off evil.  The New Testament doesn't say anything about the use of crosses or other Christian emblems, e.g., the fish symbol many put on the back of their cars.  Believing they have power to ward off evil veers one uncomfortably close to the charms and magic that was discussed and condemned in our last article, but what about wearing a cross on a necklace as a reminder of your faith?  It is not called for in the NT, but neither is it condemned.  It is not spoken of at all, and so we need to be careful about making up and enforcing rules that God doesn't.  There are some principles from the OT (Rom. 15:4) that provide warnings against what such emblems might become.

Numbers 21:4-9 tells the story of the Israelites yet again murmuring against God, and God sending in venomous snakes to punish them.  When the people prayed for relief, God told Moses to build a bronze serpent and place it upon a pole so that anyone who had been bitten could see the bronze serpent and be healed by looking upon it.  The bronze serpent was then kept, evidently as a memorial of God's mercy to His people.  Over the years, however, the people perverted that memorial into an idol to be worshiped.  Hezekiah eventually destroyed the serpent as he cleansed Judah of idols:  "And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it." (2 Kings 18:4)

After Gideon defeated the Midianites and freed the Children of Israel from their oppression, the people offered to make him king.  Gideon's response:  "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.”  (Jdg. 8:23)  This is a great show of faith and humility.  Gideon did, however, ask for a portion of the spoil taken from the Midianites, with which he built a golden ephod, apparently as a memorial of the victory God had given His people.  Very quickly, however, this became problematic:  "And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family." (Jdg. 8:27)  To whore after something is regular OT speak for committing idolatry as a person breaks the purity of his relationship with God to chase other gods.  So, again, we see a good emblem and memorial of God's mercy and power becoming an idol in the eyes of the people.

This is where we need to be cautious regarding Christian emblems.  There is no problem if they are merely reminders of your faith and/or a way to proclaim your faith to others.  If we begin to pray to them, as if to God, or if we pray through them, as if they were more trusted avenues to God, then they become idols.  They are things we put between God and ourselves.  Do you prefer to hold on to or look at the cross when praying?  Do you kiss the cross to show devotion to God?  Then I must warn you that you are on your way to the snare Gideon's family fell into.  We cannot allow these emblems in any way to represent God.  Images which represent God or gods are idols.  Idolatry is a sin. 

Rev. 21:8  "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 

Lucas Ward