Flight Paths

My little boys used to bring me bouquets all the time.  Sometimes it was Queen Anne’s lace.  Sometimes it was a bright blue spiderwort.  Sometimes it was a rain lily or a stem of pink clover.  Sometimes it was just a dandelion bloom.  All of these are wildflowers, what any suburban lawn grower would call “weeds.”  Yet I put them all in vases of various sizes because they were all precious to me.  My little fellows had no idea the difference between domesticated flowers and wildflowers.  All they knew was “flowers,” and out here in the country we are surrounded by them.
            But even they would never have gathered a bunch of them, ripped off the blooms and handed me a fistful of stems.  The problem with religion today, including some of my own brothers and sisters, is they value the stems and not the flowers. 
            A few months ago someone told me how listening to a certain teacher had made his day so much better.  I anxiously awaited the lesson he had heard, but he never once said a word about the content.  All I heard was the teacher’s name, at least three times, and how that person had made his day better.  What he had done was throw away the flower and put the empty stem in a vase of water to admire.
            I understand having favorite speakers and teachers.  Nothing makes me happier than to hear someone compliment my husband and my sons.  But none of them teach for the glory.  They teach to help people. If all people remember is their names, then they haven’t been much help, have they? 
            If I can’t tell you what a person taught me, did I learn anything, or was I just entertained for a few brief moments?  One of my favorite teachers isn’t much of an entertainer, but I always go away with a new way of looking at things, even things I have been looking at for decades now.  He makes me think, and he makes me see the possibilities.  He makes me want to go look at it again myself, and I often do.  He makes me examine my life in ways I never have and want to change for the better.  Can your favorite speaker do those things, or does he just make you laugh and feel good?
            There is absolutely nothing wrong with going to someone for help with your Bible study.  God did ordain the role of teachers in spiritual things (Eph 4:11).  He meant for us to have brothers and sisters we could go to with questions and problems.  Paul told Timothy to pass on what he knew to “faithful men.”  He told the older to train the younger.  But God also holds us individually accountable for what we do with what we hear.  “Work out your own salvation,” Paul told the Philippians, well after Jesus had already said, “If the blind lead the blind, they shall both fall into the ditch.”  It is up to each of us to be careful to whom we listen and to examine what they say against the Word (Acts 17:11).
            A good teacher doesn’t care if he receives praise or not—that is not his purpose.  All he does is hold up the Word of God and present it to you.  “What is the straw to the wheat?” God asks in Jer 23:28.  That word “straw” has several meanings according to Strong’s, and one of them is the wheat stalk, or stem.  Which is more important, God is saying, the stem or the wheat it holds up?
            I knew a man once who nearly tore a church up because he insisted on “his turn” to teach when not only was he a lousy teacher, he didn’t even know the Word of God accurately enough to teach it.  Clearly, it was all about the glory of teaching to him, and clearly he needed the admonition in Rom 12:3:  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
            I know the temptation.  So did Paul.  I refrain from [boasting], so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited, 2 Cor 12:6,7.  It shouldn’t matter to me what people say about my speaking or writing.  What should matter is how many I reach, how many are helped and encouraged and how many souls are saved.  And that is what should matter to those who listen and read too. 
            And do you know why this is so important?  If you value the who above the what, then someday, sooner or later, you will be deceived into believing a lie.  Even good teachers make mistakes, and you might be deceived by an honest error too.  That is why James tells us in 3:1 that teachers will receive the “greater condemnation.”  Teaching is a responsibility, and anyone who craves the glory is manifestly unable to handle that burden.
            Most of the preachers and teachers I know will tell you the same things I am now.  If you want to make me happy, then use what I give you, remember it and grow.  Share it with others who might need it.  Even if you forget where you got it, just pass the good news along.  That is what really matters.  Give them a bouquet of flowers, not a handful of stems.
 
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself, Gal 6:3.
 
Dene Ward
           

As I was proofreading my latest book, I realized that I had used the same phrase at least four times, the one about kissing the tops of my children's and grandchildren's heads over and over whenever they sat in my lap.  When I read through something, I look for what I call "speed bumps" in my writing—things that make me stop for a second and say, "Huh?"  Sometimes it's a non sequitur, sometimes it's a dangling modifier, sometimes it's a pronoun with no antecedent, or several other things, including a word repeated in close proximity to itself.  My first inclination was to go back and delete a few of those repeated phrases.  Then I realized that those references were all in separate essays.  They only made speed bumps because I was reading them back to back to back.  As it was, they made for thematic unity.  I love my children and grandchildren more than life itself, and now everyone knows it!
            The Holy Spirit did the same thing when He inspired men to write the Bible.  I first really noticed it when I was studying the Psalms.  I had found lists of the various types of psalms and what each contained.  In the process of looking for those elements in each psalm, I was encountering repeated words and phrases, or their synonyms.  In Psalm 13 David asks the question, "How long?" four times in 6 verses making it obvious that he was in distress and this was a Psalm of Lament.  In Psalm 51, he speaks of sin and its synonyms 12 times and asks for forgiveness using nine variations of that word.  Yes, this is one of the psalms he wrote after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah.  There is no question what the psalm is about whether you know that fact or not.
            We are studying Deuteronomy together during our exiled worship services.  We study separately all week, and then on Sunday morning after breakfast we sit down together to sing, pray, and take the Lord's Supper as "the Lord's church on the Ward property."  Then we spend a good hour or more sharing what we have discovered in our personal study.  While it isn't something Keith usually does, because of my Psalms study, I have found things to count, and they have made me aware of some things about Deuteronomy I never knew before.  It is a great book!
            Let me share just one little thing I have discovered in all my counting.  I heard it said all my life that the New Covenant is heart religion while the Old is nothing but following the rules.  I discovered long ago that this was not the truth.  Let me just lay this on you quickly this morning.  If you have your own concordance, either a hard copy or online, you can look for yourself.  The book of Deuteronomy says "Be careful to do" all the commands of the Law 21 times, not counting about half a dozen synonyms.  But it also uses the word "heart," as in "obey with all your heart," "turn to the Lord with all your heart," and of course, the one that became known as part of the Shema, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart," 25 times!  That doesn't count the references to having an evil or stubborn heart, the opposite of the heart God wanted, which proves in itself that God has always wanted heart religion.
            So if you have that incorrect notion of the Law, start studying on your own today, not just Deuteronomy, but the whole Old Testament, and you will see the error quickly.  And use this little tip whenever you study—when God uses the same word again and again, you might just be looking at a theme you need to pay attention to.  It might be something you have missed for years.
 
And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  (Deut 10:12).
 
Dene Ward
 

We didn't have much money when I was growing up.  It helped that my Daddy could and would tinker with anything in order to fix it.  Toasters, lawn mowers, electric frying pans, anything that had stopped working he would take apart and play with until he figured it out and got it going again.
            We once had a television set he had to tinker with.  In those days you had to get up and turn the knob yourself if you wanted to change the channel (there were only 3) or the volume.  Another knob took care of the horizontal hold, and I imagine most of you are saying, "The what?"  Finally, the horizontal hold just quit holding, but he figured out that if you whacked the top of the set firmly, it would hold again.  We usually whacked it at least once for every show we watched, but that always fixed the problem.
            As for that channel knob, something had slipped in the cogs and it would no longer settle directly on the correct inner slot so you could get that channel.  (Don't ask me to explain any of this, just trust me.)  The knob was round with two flat places that stood out from the round part, directly opposite each other.  That's how you turned it—by putting your thumb under one of those flat spots and the rest of your fingers over the other, pushing clockwise.
            Daddy whittled a wooden stick just long enough to wedge between one of those flat spots and the lip of the television cabinet over the channel changing knob.  First you put the knob in roughly the right place, then you wedged in the stick and pushed until you got the picture to come in.  Then you carefully let go, trying not to breathe too hard that close to the stick, backed away and sat down.  Then, and only then, could you get that channel.
            Yes, it was a lot of trouble to get the thing to work.  It was so much trouble that we were burglarized once and the thieves left that TV.  The little stick was sitting on top of it, so we know they tried it and just couldn't figure it out.  What thief would want a "high maintenance" TV when the next house probably had one that worked easily?
             So why not just buy a new TV?  Did I mention the money problem?  As long as something worked, we could not afford to replace it.  Only when something broke beyond repair, and something that we really needed, did we scrape together the money to replace it, and a television was not a "necessity."
            I think we've had a high maintenance lawn mower in our married life, one that had to be started just so, or stopped just so and had to be held just so or it would quit altogether.  Many people would have just gone out and bought another, but did I mention the money problem?  We had it, too.
            I have known some women who bragged about being "high maintenance women."  For the life of me I cannot understand why that is something to brag about.  You would think they would be afraid their husbands might just go out and get a new one.  Unless maybe there are money problems.
            And then there are the high maintenance Christians, something else I would never brag about.  You know who they are.  They want attention about anything and everything in their lives, even if others have similar or worse problems.  Everyone is supposed to visit when they are sick or even "just because."  If they don't get the attention they think they deserve, they will simply stop attending the worship services and it's all our fault for not taking care of them.  They take offense easily and the preacher has to kowtow to their whims to get them back.  The elders are supposed to listen to them more than anyone else, and if they don't, they "just might leave."  When they do finally do something, they expect lavish praise from the pulpit, the bulletin, and the grapevine or the whole church is labeled "ungrateful hypocrites."  If they need a rebuke, everyone walks on eggshells around them trying to figure out a way that won't upset them.
            Seems to me that God doesn't have the money problems we have always had.  And it isn't about replacement either.  God does not need any of us. He bestows His blessings, including salvation, out of love and grace, not because we deserve it.  Instead of self-absorption, God wants self-denial and self-control.  If we know what's good for us we will be someone who is much easier to get along with and who will work well for Him without needing any of the tinkering nonsense we always had to do with our television. I would think we would all be so grateful to Him and so afraid of hell that none of us would even court the idea of being a "high maintenance" Christian.
            Or maybe that high maintenance Christian just needs God to give him a good whack once in a while.
 
Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never stumble: for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  (2Pet 1:10-11).
 
Dene Ward

We planted the main garden the second week of March.  It looks great this year, and I have already put up what we need and more, and shared with people who probably wish I wouldn’t any more.
            When the cantaloupe row came up, which is Keith’s baby, he was happy to see it full with no bare spots.  I heard about it the day he saw the first bloom.  Then a couple of weeks later he came in with a funny look on his face. 
            “Let me show you something,” he said, and I followed him out the door straight to that row of cantaloupes.  “Look at those baby cantaloupes.”  So I bent over, lifted the leaves and looked, only to discover baby cucumbers instead.  He had gone out to plant without his glasses and used up the remains of what he thought was a packet of cantaloupe seeds on the first two hills.  Turns out that packet, which did not have a picture let me hasten to add, must have said, “Cucumber.”  So the first two hills in the cantaloupe row are cucumbers.
            Is that bad?  Well, yes and no.  I already had plenty of cucumber hills planted, and these two extra hills are some of the most prolific bearers I have ever seen.  I have made my pickles and still my refrigerator is overflowing. 
            And it turns out these two hills are the best tasting of the bunch.  But since he tossed that empty packet of “cantaloupe” seeds, we have no idea what kind they were.  I have been experimenting with new varieties the past two years and these were leftovers from the year before.
            Then there is the fact that his row is two hills short of cantaloupe, which to him is a catastrophe.  So what can we learn from all this?
            Well, I doubt he will ever forget to wear his glasses when he plants the garden again.  But what about us?
            I suppose the obvious point is this—you will reap what you sow.  Thinking it is cantaloupe won’t make cucumber seeds produce them.  That old “sowing his wild oats” adage is the stupidest thing I ever heard.  All he will get, whoever he is, is wild oats.  You don’t “get it out of your system” and think you will produce anything else.  “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
            What are you sowing in your children?  What do they hear you say?  Please do not make the mistake of thinking they do not pick up on sarcastic comments and hypercritical statements, even at a very early age.  Children tend to think that everything that goes wrong is their fault, usually because they have to deal with the foul tempers of parents who take it out on them.
            What about their entertainment?  What words are being sown in their active little minds?  What ideas?  What priorities?  What character traits?  Do you even know what they are watching? 
            What about their friends?  I have had children in my home whose parents never once called or even darkened my door.  One time I had a young man for the whole weekend.  He came home with my sons on the bus on Friday and we put him back on the bus Monday morning!  We didn’t mind a bit, but where was his mama?  I still haven't met her.
            What about yourself?  What are you sowing?  What is your entertainment?  What is your reading material?  Where do you go and with whom?  If you find yourself saying things you never said before, maybe it’s time to change friends.  They are sowing more in you than you are in them.
            Check the seed packet this morning before you go out.  Check it again when you come in.  Make sure you are sowing the seed of the Word of God, not only in your friends, but in your children, and in yourself.  And put on your glasses when you do.
 
For they sow the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind…Sow to yourself in righteousness, reap according to kindness…Hos 8:7; 10:12.
 
Dene Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Warren Berkley.

Revenge is never sweet. It is an inherently unhealthy habit forbidden by God in 1 Thess. 5:15 and other passages. We all know that. But let’s elaborate on the history of revenge.

Revenge has never:
…produced authentic justice
…healed anyone
…promoted righteousness
…converted a sinner
…glorified God
…built a church
…made a marriage better
…raised a child
…earned an honest living
…or sent anyone to heaven

Ralph Waldo Emerson was right: “For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”
 
Warren Berkley
Berksblog.net

We’ve all seen those definitions of pessimism and optimism, the classic being the half-empty or half-full glass.  As a gardener, I’ve come up with my own.  When you look out over your herb garden, do you see beautiful brightly colored butterflies flitting around, or does your mind’s eye conjure up green caterpillars on naked parsley stems, their leaves stripped away practically overnight?  I have a friend who is overjoyed at the sight of a butterfly.  I often have a difficult time sharing her joy.

But I recognize the problem.  Pessimism can easily turn to cynicism.  We want to rationalize that by calling it “being realistic.”  But here’s the difference: 
Realism understands that you won’t save everyone (Matt 7:13,14).  Cynicism doesn’t even try. 

Realism knows that you are unlikely to change the mind of that misled young man in the white shirt and tie who knocked on your door with Bible in hand, but it greets him with kindness and respect.  Cynicism views him not as a lost soul, but as an adversary and approaches him with sarcasm and downright hatefulness.

Realism knows that perhaps even a majority of those who ask for help at the meetinghouse door are making prey of good-hearted brethren, but it takes the time to politely ask a few questions and determine an appropriate action just in case.  Cynicism immediately tars them all with the same brush and sends them on empty-handed, both physically and spiritually.

Realism is compassion tempered with wisdom.  “Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”  Cynicism is malice fueled by pessimism.  It looks for the worst, it expects the worst, and ultimately it rejoices in finding it.  That is about as un-Christlike as it comes.

So watch the butterflies today and enjoy them.  You can always check for caterpillars in the parsley later, and then rejoice when you only find a few.
 
[Love} does not rejoice at unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  1Cor 13:6-7.
 
Dene Ward

We noticed it on Friday night.  The fridge temperature was up to 43 from the usual 38 we aim at.  We always keep a thermometer in it just so we can monitor these things, but we had been in and out of it all day, gradually adding several pounds of produce from the garden, most of it still warm from a Florida sun even after a good rinse in cool tap water.  We decided that must be the problem.

The next morning, after a good 12 hours without opening the door, the fridge temperature was up to 48.  Well, that's not good, we thought, and called our friendly appliance repairman who also happens to be a brother.  We told him it was not an emergency, so don't come out on a weekend, but was there something we could check and maybe fix ourselves?  Not really, as it turns out, so we loaded it with ice blocks in an effort to use it as one big cooler until we could have it seen to. 

On Sunday morning, the temperature was up to 56.  Since, during the lockdown, we are having our own church services with one of our other members, we did so as usual, and then called the repairman again.  He was perfectly happy to come check things out, and even brought his family so we could chat while he and Keith worked on the fridge.  By the time he arrived, after we had both had our "in-home family services," the temperature was up to 68 inside the refrigerator.  Considering the huge blocks of ice we had placed in it to obviously no avail, we expected this to be a really huge, and expensive, problem. Maybe even a total replacement problem.

It only took about five minutes to discover what was wrong.  He looked at Keith and said, "Your thermometer says it's 68 in here.  Mine, even with me standing here with the door wide open, says it's 42."  The refrigerator wasn't broken; the thermometer was.  Whew!  Cheap fix, even if a little embarrassing.

It's easy to look good when you measure yourself against the world.  The more I read about the ancient Romans, the more frightened I become for our country's sake.  Sometimes you can't tell which country is being described—them or us.  Considering what God did to them, I worry what might happen here.

You can look pretty good when you measure yourself against your neighbors, too.  Many are decent people, but the majority would not have any qualms about a little cheating on their taxes, or telling "little white lies," or using the common expletives we hear all around us.  You, I hope, would know better and do better.

And if you are really careful about whom you choose, you can even look good compared to some of your brethren.  We are all fighting battles, but some fight a lot harder than others who have just decided "that's how I am," and let it go.  Yes, when you measure yourself against someone with that attitude, you will probably come out on top.

But God expects us to use His standard.  We are called to follow a much worthier calling and a much higher example than the people around us.  For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. (1Pet 2:21-23).

God will judge you fairly too, based on His standard, not the one you might be using now.  You might wind up thinking you are just fine, when the reality is far different.
 
Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.  (2Cor 10:12)
 
Dene Ward

My spell-check tells me that is not a word—grandparenting.  Obviously, spell check does not have any grandchildren!
            Everyone tells you before your first child is born that your life is about to change and will never be the same again.  In fact, they tell you so often that you get sick of hearing it and almost determine that it won't happen to you—except something tells you it will, somehow or other, and it does.  You instantly know a love like no other, one so deep and intense it nearly scares you.  Everyone was right after all.
            I don't think anyone ever told me that about grandparenting.  They should have.  It hits you like a train too, just as it does parents, but in a slightly different way.  After all, parents are on the local train, and grandparents get the express, especially if they live a ways off.  You see those precious souls in bits and pieces and have to cram years of influence into days.  If you get the wonderful chance to babysit while mom and dad are out of town and get to pretend they are actually yours, not just for an hour or two, but for a few days—grandparenting becomes Heaven on Earth. 
            And don't let anyone tell you the love is any less intense.  Just the other day I saw a picture of these two taken from behind.  When I saw the backs of those little heads, I wanted to kiss them so badly I hurt.  Two little boys made me a mom, and now two little boys have made me a grandmother—the most wonderful role God ever created.
            The Bible doesn't really say much about grandparents.  We know they are there because we see the relationships, but even then we don't really see the interaction.  For example, Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born (Gen 21:5).  Isaac married at 40 and was 60 when Jacob and Esau were born (Gen 25:26).  Abraham died at 175 (Gen 25:7).  Do the math.  Isaac would have been 75 and Jacob and Esau would have been 15.  They knew their grandfather Abraham.  How did they get along?  What did they learn from him?  That part of the relationship is left for us to imagine.
            The best we can do to see grandparenting relationships are two women, one in the Old Testament and one in the New.  Naomi left Israel with her family and lived in Moab (Ruth 1).  While there, her husband died, and then both of her sons, leaving her with two widowed daughters-in-law.  I will not vilify Orpah as many do, but we all know the story of how Ruth returned to Israel with Naomi and then spent her days supporting both of them through the benevolent welfare system God had set up.  People left crops behind in the fields, often on purpose, and the poor labored to gather what they needed.
            In the process, Boaz came to redeem Naomi's son's land and married his widow.  The first son of that pair legally wore the name of the dead husband and was Naomi's legal grandson.  So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.  (Ruth 4:13-16).  Don't tell me that Naomi did not play a huge role in how that child was raised, a child in the line of the Messiah, by the way.
            And then we have Lois.  Her daughter, having been raised (we suppose) in the town where Paul found her, Lystra, and where there was no synagogue, had married a Gentile.  In those days, being single was not really an option.  Lydia aside, most women simply could not support themselves.  So probably her father had done his best to find her a good man who would treat her right.  That left her trying to raise a godly son without a Jewish community's help.  But she did have her mother's help, and they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, I imagine.  Paul says to Timothy, I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.  (2Tim 1:5).
            We can make some suppositions about other grandparents in the Bible, but these two are important.  They tell us that we should have a part in our grandchildren's lives.  Though I never really knew my grandfathers, I remember both of my grandmothers fondly.  I could talk to them about things I was uncomfortable talking to my parents about.  Both of them were Christians so my parents did not need to worry what I might be taught.  We need to be that trustworthy as grandparents, too, and willingly play a part in their lives.  (I can't imagine anyone needing to be told that!)
            And that, of course, leads to the second thing—our children should be able to count on us to help in the teaching process, to reinforce their own rules and values, and to add the wisdom gained from our own life experiences as we teach those precious souls.  We also have the opportunity to observe, and in that observation perhaps come up with lessons our grandchildren not only need to hear, but might be more likely to hear from us than from mom and dad. 
            Children are truly a heritage from the Lord (Psa 127:3).  Then they give you grandchildren and prove it all over again.  Be there for them.  Teach them.  Love them.  That's what God expects from a grandparent.
           
As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.  (Ps 103:15-18)

Dene Ward

Eduard Friedrich Poeppig was born July 16, 1798 in Plauen, Germany.  He studied and qualified as a physician by 1822, but evidently that is not where his heart lay.  Immediately after graduation he made a 10 year expedition to the Americas, spending several years in Cuba, Philadelphia, and South America.  He was only the third European to travel the entire length of the Amazon River.
             His trip was financed by several friends in return for plant specimens he discovered in each of the areas he visited.  In all he sent back or took home over 17,000 of them.  When he returned to Germany he became the Zoology professor at the University of Leipzig for the remainder of his life.
            One of the plants he discovered on a hillside in Chile was the amaryllis hippeastrum, one of the most beautiful plants in the world.  I have well over a dozen now, in a bed begun after a piano student gave me one for Christmas one year.  The deep solid red is probably the most common, but I have that and everything from pale pink and bright apricot, to stripes of white on red, pink, and apricot; pink throats on a pristine white, or white throats on deep orange or red as well.  They are gorgeous, but sometimes they don’t bloom, and that leaves me disappointed, usually with half the bulbs every year.  So I decided to find out what keeps amaryllises from blooming to see if I could remedy the problem.  Here is what I discovered and what I extrapolated.
            Amaryllises will not bloom in full shade.  They may not need full sun, especially in this sub-tropical environment, but they need enough light to draw that big thick stem up out of the bulb and through the soil and mulch.
            The New Testament tells us we need the Light, too.  John says that as long as we walk in the light, we won’t stumble (1 John 2:9-11).  It variously calls us sons of light and children of light; it says we are “of the day not the night.”  And because we have that Light and live in it, we then become “the light of the world.”  Certainly a Christian who does not live in the light will never bloom.
            Amaryllises need sufficient nutrients.  Just as a larger animal needs more food, this large flower needs good soil, and ample food and water.  Many of my amaryllis bulbs were as big as softballs when they came out of the package, and many of the blooms are broader across than some of Keith’s garden cantaloupes.  Especially in this poor sandy soil, we must be sure to supply the proper nutrition if we want anything to come out of it.
            We need nutrition too.  Peter tells us to “long for the pure spiritual milk that by it we may grow up into salvation” 1 Pet 2:2.  How can we do that if we neglect all the feeding opportunities our shepherds have offered us?  How can we do it when we shun the healthy spiritual food and feast on the junk in this life?  I have seen many brothers and sisters go hog wild with the organic, all-natural, non-preservative craze when taking care of their physical bodies, yet starve their spirits with skimpy servings and junk food.  No wonder their blooms are so scarce and puny.
            This might be surprising, but not allowing them to rest will also keep amaryllises from blooming.  You can force blooms at certain times of the year, but then you must prune both the stem and leaves and water them prodigiously until they go dormant.  Then leave them alone! 
            God did not rest on the seventh day because He was tired.  He rested because He was finished, but in that rest he also ordained a day of rest for His people.  Do you understand what that means?  In that ancient time, the common people lived hand to mouth and they worked sunup till sundown seven days a week just to survive.  But not God’s people.  As long as they observed their commanded Sabbath, He made sure they had plenty.  God knows what you need and sometimes you need to rest.  It may no longer be a religious observance, but it is certainly a matter of health.  And rest doesn’t mean going on a vacation that leaves you more worn out than rested.  It means a day with no schedule, no stressful situations, nothing hanging over your head that “just has to be done.”  Spend some time with your family—just one full day a week, any day—rest your body and your mind, and talk of the blessings God has given you all, especially the time you have to be together because He has taken such good care of you.
            And this last one really surprised me.  If you take your amaryllis bulbs out of the ground and store them in the refrigerator, you should not store them with apples.  Apples will make an amaryllis bulb sterile, or so I have been told.  Apples?  Apples are good things, right?  But even things that look good can make a plant sterile and unproductive it turns out. 
            Haven’t you seen the same thing happen to Christians?  They become so involved in things of this world, good things, that there is no time left for producing the fruit God wants from us.  Or they hang around with people who are not their spiritual brothers and sisters to the point that what matters most to those people becomes what matters most to them.  Other people, people who do not understand that we are to encourage one another and build one another up spiritually, who care nothing for the spiritual warfare we are involved in, who would, in fact, think you are nuts to even talk about such a thing, can hinder your productivity for the Lord.
            So take a look at your amaryllises today if you have them.  Think about the things that affect those gorgeous blooms.  See if any of them are affecting you too.
 
And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful, Titus 3:14.
 
Dene Ward
 

Today's post is a continuing study of Proverbs by guest writer, Lucas Ward.

In studying what Proverbs teaches about wealth it is important to remember what was said about proverbs in the first lesson:  these are general statements that are generally true.  They are not absolute in ever case.  Having said that, Proverbs does have a lot to say about wealth.  There are at least 58 individual passages in the book that deal with wealth.

First we should note that wealth is a blessing from God for righteousness. 
Prov. 13:22  "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous."
Prov. 22:4  "The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life."
Obviously, this isn't true in every instance.  Paul died destitute in prison.  Generally speaking, though, if a man is righteous and lives in terms of being a good steward of the blessings God has granted him, he will have something to pass on to his children and grandchildren.  Because he is righteous he is not a drunkard or glutton.  He doesn't waste his income on loose women.  Instead he takes care of what God has bestowed upon him and builds wealth.  We may never obtain Bill Gates' level, but we can be comfortably well-to-do.  In general.

A second point about wealth is that if it was obtained through wickedness, it is not a blessing.
Prov. 10:2  "Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death." 
Prov. 21:6  "The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death." 
Prov. 22:16  "Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty."
Wealth obtained in this way becomes a burden dragging us down rather than a blessing.

Just like Jesus and Paul, Solomon notes several dangers of wealth.  The first is that wealth can lead to a false sense of security.
Prov. 18:10-11  "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.  A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination."

The rich man trusts in his wealth to protect him.  His wealth is his strong city, rather than the name of the Lord.  All to often we can come to rely on our wealth protect us rather than relying on God.  As the next verse shows, it is our righteousness before Him that will deliver us, not our wealth.
Prov. 11:4  "Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." 

Wealth can also lead to an inflated ego:
Prov. 28:11  "A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding will find him out." 
Prov. 11:7  "When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too."
The rich man thinks he is wise just because he is rich.  He thinks his wealth makes him better than others.  However, he dies like everyone else.  His inflated ego does him no good then.

Sometimes being wealthy can put you in physical danger:
Prov. 13:8  "The ransom of a man's life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat." 
Have you ever noticed that really, truly wealthy people rarely go anywhere without guards?  They are in constant danger from everything from annoying time-wasters to kidnappers demanding a ransom.  Solomon notes that the poor man hears no threat.  The wealthy is at risk because he is wealthy.

A final danger of wealth is that of false friends.
Prov. 19:4  "Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend."
Prov. 19:6-7  "Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.  All a poor man's brothers hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He pursues them with words, but does not have them."
 
Everyone loves the man who gives gifts, but do they really love him or the gifts he gives?  The new friends that wealth brings are often phony.  We can leave the discussion of the dangers of wealth with these two passages:
Prov. 23:4-5  "Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.  When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven."
Prov. 30:7-9  "Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die:  Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God."
                                
Despite all the warnings, Solomon also gives some practical advice on how to obtain wealth.
Prov. 13:11  "Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it."
I once heard that about two thirds of all lottery winners are bankrupt within three years of winning the jackpot.  The wealth that lasts is the wealth built up slowly, over years, while one learns from his mistakes and learns how to hold on to it.  Building wealth takes time.  It also takes work.
Prov. 12:11  Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. 
Prov. 12:24  The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to forced labor. 
Prov. 12:27  Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth. 
Prov. 13:4  The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. 
Prov. 14:23  In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty. 
If you are busy doing what you are supposed to be doing you will always have enough to eat, but if you are chasing get-rich-quick schemes, you'll get into trouble.  It is the diligent who will rule, who will obtain wealth, who will be richly supplied.  The profit is in the work, talk is cheap.

If you want to become wealthy, listen to and learn from those who have already done it.
Prov. 13:18  "Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored." 
Prov. 24:3-4  "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."
It is by wisdom and knowledge that wealth is built.  Ignoring instruction leads to poverty. 

Also, work must be done in its proper order if the best results are to be achieved.
Prov. 24:27  Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. 
If you spend all spring building your house, you will find yourself in the middle of summer with nothing planted in the fields.  You just missed an entire year's harvest because you worked out of order.  This surely can be applied to almost any endeavor.  Take a moment to think about it and do the jobs in the appropriate order to maximize results.

One thing Solomon said about building wealth was especially interesting.  If you want to build wealth, be generous.
Prov. 14:21  Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. 
Prov. 19:17  Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed. 
Prov. 28:8  Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit gathers it for him who is generous to the poor. 
Prov. 28:22  A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him. 
Blessed are the generous.  Being generous is like making a loan to God.  You know that will be repaid.  The purpose of wealth is to be generous, and, in general, the stingy never obtain wealth. 

The final bit of practical advice Solomon gives regarding wealth building is to never be a pledge for others.  In other words, never cosign anything.  [Now, don't go off on a tangent or I won't sign your check!]
Prov. 22:26-27  "Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts.  If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?"
The reason they need a cosigner is because they can't pay.  Eventually, you are forced to take over the debt and then the repo man is coming after your stuff.   At least four times Solomon warns against this practice.
 
Finally, after giving practical advice for obtaining wealth, Solomon makes sure to tell us that there are more important things than wealth.
Prov. 15:16-17  "Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.  Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it."
Prov. 20:15  "There is gold and abundance of costly stones, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel."
Prov. 22:1-2  "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.  The rich and the poor meet together; the LORD is the Maker of them all." 
Prov. 28:6  "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways."

Fear of the Lord, love, knowledge, a good name, and integrity are all more important than wealth.  Those are the issues we should be focusing on, and if the Lord blesses us in the meantime, great. 

Matt. 6:20-21  "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
 
 Lucas Ward