Flight Paths

Old St Thomas was a town originally settled by members of the Mormon Church.  When a land survey in 1871 shifted the Nevada state line to include the town and it was no longer in either Utah or Arizona, the church members abandoned it rather than pay the back taxes in gold that Nevada was demanding.  Soon others moved in and claimed both the lands and the buildings and the town continued on, booming to a population of 500.  Then the waters of Lake Mead began rising and it became apparent that Old St Thomas would soon be inundated.  Once again people began to leave.  Finally, on June 11, 1938, Hugh Lord, the last remaining resident left as well.  The "doors" to Old St Thomas were shut for good.
            I can't imagine a greater tragedy than the doors to the Lord's church closing.  Over our many years, several of the places we have been all those years ago have done exactly that.  In other places we know about, the membership has been cut in half and is continuing to dwindle.  The ones left are the elderly.  Where will they be in ten more years?  Sadly, they will probably go the way of Old St Thomas, with the doors closing after the last funeral has been held.  So what to do about it?
            The first thing is to realize that it is not the preacher's job alone.  What happened when the Jerusalem church was scattered?  …And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles…They therefore that were scattered abroad, went about preaching the word (Acts 8:1,4).  Those who were scattered—the ordinary members—went everywhere spreading the Word.  The preachers, in this case the apostles, stayed in Jerusalem! 
            It is up to us.  If our coworkers and neighbors don't know we are Christians, why not?  We are to live in such a way that we look different and people ask about it.  If that has not happened to you, perhaps you need to examine your life.  We are to talk about our church family—not complain about them, but tell others how wonderful it is to be a part of a group who loves you and cares about you, who come running when there is a need, and that means we need to learn to be that group if we aren't.  And we should be so steeped in the Word of God that it cannot help but come out of our mouths any time we talk.  How else can we be ready always to give answer to every man that asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you (1Pet 3:15).
            Many gospel preachers labor valiantly in places where the growth has been slow or nonexistent for years, where the old-timers talk about how it used to be in the old days and blame the recent loss of numbers on anyone but their own lack of effort.  But even if the effort is there, the work may seem pointless.  Be careful about your judging.  Ultimately, we are not responsible for the numbers.  I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase, 1 Cor 3:6.  Just do your work, making no apologies for it, and trust God to do his part.  In one place Keith worked, he advertised a correspondence course and a young man obeyed the gospel because of it.  Every week after that he sat on a pew and worshipped with the others, but a couple of men in the business meeting wanted to do away with outreach programs like the correspondence course and an article in the local weekly paper.  "It does no good," they said, with that young man sitting there among them.  I wonder how that made him feel?  Even one soul is worth whatever effort it takes to save him. 
            Let's work the work, trust the Lord, and do our best to keep those doors open.  Interestingly, Old St Thomas has begun to reappear as the waters of Lake Mead recede.  It is now considered a historic site run by the National Park Service.  There are too many congregations relegated to history as it is.  Let's not add any more.
 
They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers…And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved (Acts 2:41, 42, 46,47).
 
Dene Ward
 

In case you don't really understand Irma's magnitude, from east to west, it was 650 miles wide—the Florida peninsula averages 130 miles in width.  15,000,000 people in Florida alone were without power.  25% of the homes in Key West were completely destroyed, another 65% incurred major damage.  70,000 sq miles were impacted by at least tropical storm force winds.  The highest winds recorded were 185 mph.  That speed was maintained for 37 straight hours.  Over six million Floridians were told to evacuate.  Another few million did so voluntarily.  The score calculated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) when measuring the power of hurricanes was 66.8, compared to 11.1 for Hurricane Harvey, and we all watched the devastation from that one (statistics from "Breaking Down Irma by the Numbers" on architecturaldigest.com).
            That is what we Floridians had to look forward to as Irma approached our coasts.  In the past we have had Category 2 and 3 storms hit the coast and, by the time they reached us, diminish to Category 1 or even mere tropical storm force (which is not as "mere" as it sounds when you are in the middle of it).  This one was to hit as a 5.  Everyone told us it would still be a 3 by the time it reached us.  That is why we counted our home as lost, carefully packing what was most important to us in the car and truck and moving them as far from the trees as we could, out into the field. 
            That is also why we spent the night that Irma came through in the car.  Would the car be blown over with us in it?  Possibly.  But far better that than being crushed under a thousand pound limb falling on the house, or being injured or maimed by the flying glass and debris when the roof blew off.  So as darkness fell and the wind and rain picked up, we scampered out to the car and climbed inside. 
            The backseat was crammed with a cooler and two boxes, so lowering the seat backs for a better sleeping position was minimal.  We clasped hands and said our final "together" prayer, and then did our best to go to sleep, which amounted to me being quiet for Keith, who was being quiet for me, as both of us sat/lay there with our eyes wide open, each praying our own continuous private prayer all night long.
            We had left the porch light on for our trip out into the field.  We are used to utter darkness out here in the country, no traffic lights, street lamps, or passing headlights, so that light was intrusive, but it also gave us a small sense of security.  Imagining what was going on would have been much worse.  Finally we both drifted off out of sheer exhaustion from the days of preparation before as well as a cold we had shared that week, and when I woke again I had to use the flashlight to see my watch.  It was 2:30 and the porch light was out.
            We had no idea what was happening, where the storm was, how strong it was.  Several times in the night, the wind howled a bit more loudly and the car rocked.  What surprised me was that behind those thick clouds a full moon actually cast a soft gray light and it was no longer black as pitch as it had been earlier.  Still, we could not tell what was happening.
            After a couple of hours we drifted back off again, rocking in our metal cradle.  At seven, almost as if an alarm had gone off, we both opened our eyes to dim daylight.  We looked out the rain-dribbled windshield and saw a 35 year old manufactured home all in one piece.  No debris, no missing roof, no broken windows.  Lots of yard trash, but no monster limbs crushing anything.  Keith got out into the rain to start up the generator and I flipped on the car radio.  The storm had weakened much more quickly than expected.  If it passed over Gainesville as a Category 1, by the time it reached us, it was to the west and down to tropical storm force winds, something no one had dare predict. 
            Keith came back for me then, and we rolled up our pant legs.  The waters were running off all around us nearly six to eight inches deep as the property drained, but we stood there and hugged each other and shouted a thank you over the slackening wind and rain, tears running down our faces.  God had answered all those prayers, and if you think one thank you was all He got from us, you still don't understand hurricanes and the One who made them.  Even now, over a month later, we are still saying thank you.
            And what did we learn from that?  A question popped up in our minds.  How many times have we said thank you for the sacrifice our Lord made to save our souls in the same fashion we said thank you for his saving our physical home, and a humble one at that?  How many times have we grabbed each other in pure, unadulterated joy and wept real tears over our salvation?  Once, maybe, at our baptism; another time or two when a particular sermon or talk hit us right between the eyes.
            We've been mulling that over for several weeks now.  I hope this week has helped you consider it, too.
 
Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. (2Cor 9:15)
 
Dene Ward

I remember thinking once when I stepped into my sons' bedroom and saw toys lying everywhere, "It looks like a whirlwind came through here."  Actually, it didn't look half that bad.
            When daylight dawned after Irma blew through, the mess was astounding.  Trees had fallen across roads—huge water oaks bigger around than your kitchen table's width, pine trees taller than telephone poles, or enormous limbs from the live oaks.  Branches, limbs, moss and other air plants, brushwood and smaller sprigs of leaves, all lay across yards and fields.  For some folks shingles littered their property, for others pieces of eaves and white aluminum roof-overs lay twisted across the grass.  You could tell where the tornadoes had plowed through—trees lay in every direction like a pile of pickup sticks, their branches stripped bare of leaves.
            The clean-up started immediately.  First order of business was to start the generator so we didn't lose the almost thousand dollars' worth of food in the freezer and fridge.  It also gave us a couple of outlets for a lamp and a fan.  Then we set up the camp stove on the porch to avoid heating up an un-coolable house, and started the stovetop coffeepot.  After eating breakfast in a house we had deemed all but lost the night before, it was time to get to work.
            We tried to contact family.  For some reason we had a phone for a few minutes that morning and were able to reach our boys and my mother.  All were well and undamaged.  Then the landline went out and cell service was spotty and downright weird.  My phone kept trying to call out by itself, but of course, it couldn't.  Even on a good day I can only get one bar out here and only next to one window in the house.  Though the generator supplied those few outlets next to the fridge and freezer, my cell would not charge.  We lost it completely the third day. 
            Then it was time to check on neighbors.  We had heard the whine and rev of chainsaws earlier in the day, and because of them we were able to get down the highway, which was covered in sawdust from the tree and limb removal.  Everyone looked all right so we headed back to our own mess.
            And what do you do?  First, you haul in the water.  Heavy five gallon buckets, one next to each toilet for flushes, trying your best not to slosh it on the laminate floors.  They don't much like pools of water.
            Then you unpack.  All those things we had placed in the truck and car were unloaded, unpacked and put back into place.  Then we started on the outside.
            Keith swept off the roof, which was carpeted with twigs and leaves, and the carport which sat covered in an inch of blown-in water, and caked with mud on the edges.  We toweled off the outdoor furniture and unlashed the garbage cans.  We put the bird feeders back on their poles and filled them up.  Then came the hard part.
            Our garden cart holds about 10 cubic feet, Keith thinks, at least 6 five gallon buckets.  We filled it up half again as high as its sides sixteen times as we traversed the yard, back and forth for two days.  Bend over, lift, and drop; bend over, lift and drop.  Over and over and over until our backs ached and our heads swam from the changing height.  The temperature was slightly better than a usual September day in Florida—88 maybe instead of 93, but the humidity was nearly 100% from all the water everywhere.  It has been my experience with people that you really don't understand that until you have lived in it.  We were without an air conditioner for 9 days.  The doors swelled and became difficult to open and close.  The salt became one huge block, even in those "guaranteed" plastic sealed containers.  The dining chair backs were sticky in our hands and the table was covered with condensation every morning.  The bath towels would not dry out between uses unless they were hung out in direct sunlight for several hours with a good stiff breeze blowing.  And that's why 88 felt more like 98 and we wound up soaking wet.
            But remember what I said about the usual September day down here?  Normally the 90s don't leave us before October, and even then we might have a day or two when they return, all the way till November, with a heat index over 100.  Yet I have noticed that after every hurricane we get a little break.  A day in the 80s was a reprieve that we all needed.  And the weather continued that way for 3 or 4 days before the 90s began to show up again.  By then, for us, the brutal outdoor work was done. 
            I thought of the rainbow then, the one after the flood.  God gave them a sign that such a catastrophe would never happen again.  We know we will have more hurricanes, but we also know that God is aware of our needs.  Maybe those more moderate temperatures are His way of showing us that He cares.  We may be hurt by the warnings He has sent to a people who continually reject Him, but He will still show His mercy in ways that only the righteous may be able to understand.  For me, it led to far less griping about the inconveniences—no power, no running water, no means of communication.  It could have been so much worse, and for others it was, especially in the Caribbean, the Keys and South Florida.  But they, too, felt the cooler air for at least awhile, whether they acknowledged who sent it or not.
            God never promised to keep the storms of life away from us, but He has always promised to be with us as we endure them.
 
​For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat…(Isa 25:4)
 
Dene Ward

We woke Sunday, September 10, to the bluster of a nor'easter blowing in from the Atlantic to our east off the Jacksonville coast.  The wind tore at the tops of the trees and rain splattered against the house.  "Is this Irma?" I wondered at first, even though I knew it was too early, and soon discovered what it actually was.  From then on, things just got worse as Irma did approach us from the south.  Traffic on the highway ceased.  Children's voices as they played outside stopped.  I have never heard complete silence around this place.  Even before so many others moved in, something was always chirping, tweeting or crowing, mooing, bawling, or screeching.  But not that afternoon.  The birds knew what lay ahead, as did the animals.  Perhaps they even heard what I could not.
            Finally in the darkness we heard her come.  Rain didn't patter on the metal roof, it roared.  It came cruising across the field one white sheet at a time, crashing against the sides of the house like a giant had thrown an equally gigantic bucket of water against us.  It never came straight down.
            Then the winds began to out-roar the rain.  It seemed to start three or four sections over and come closer and closer and closer until it suddenly slammed us, only to start again.  That's when the whumps and thumps started.  The first time it was a limb, as big around as a man's thigh and about 8 feet long.  It missed the house.  The next time it was a slightly smaller limb and further from the house.  The third time it was a clatter as a green branch, the looks and size of a shrub hit the carport roof and bounced off. 
            It continued all night.  The house creaked, the metal screeched, and occasionally something we thought we had secured fell over or slid in the wind.  At 1:10 AM the lights flashed four times, but stayed on.  At 2:30 they went out completely.
            With all that going on, we did not get much sleep that night, but as the morning hours began to dawn, we both finally slept the sleep of exhaustion, hours of preparation and tension both bringing us at least a couple hours of rest.  We woke at 7 when the gray light finally gave us a view of the results.  And then the sounds completely changed.
            Chainsaws started almost immediately, clearing fallen trees from highways and driveways.  Generators roared to life all around us.  It isn't that we live that close to our neighbors, but generators are notoriously noisy monsters.  Big utility trucks rumbled by on the highways, surveying the damage and planning how to fix it.
            We got in the truck and tootled down the highway to check on our neighbors.  We passed mounds of sawdust where fallen trees had already been removed and then came to the Olustee Creek and heard another new sound—water lapping over the bridge.  It became apparent then that this would be a flood like we had never seen in our 35 years here.  Within a day the bridges over the Santa Fe River were inundated and round hay bales in normally dry fields bobbed like corks in the swelling currents.
            And gradually things returned to normal.  By September 12, the birds were back, tweeting in what seemed like joy, flitting through our trees in numbers larger than we had ever seen.  I filled the feeders and they came to celebrate with us—cardinals, chickadees, doves, titmice, blue jays and woodpeckers, and even a wild turkey that sauntered over from the woods to check out the remains of our now scraggly garden.  The storm that had taken so many days to arrive and had flummoxed so many meteorologists as to its path was finally over.
            It seems like nowadays everyone has something stuck in their ears.  If it isn't an earbud, it's a phone.  And at home, we seem afraid to let there be silence in our lives.  The television is always on, or the radio, or the stereo.  I wonder how many people hear what is happening in their world.  I wonder how many were completely freaked out by the things they heard when the power died.  This is life, people.   This is what you are missing. 
            Hearing is important.  Just ask my husband who began losing his at 24 and had his first hearing aid at 27.  Now labeled "profoundly deaf," he can no longer hear when the engine makes a funny noise in the car and assess it.  He cannot hear the smoke alarm or the ringing telephone.  We cannot whisper at night when the lights are out.  Once it's dark and he can no longer read my lips, we're done.  He would have loved to hear his children's voices and understood what they were saying.   And here the world goes, deafening itself to the sounds the Creator gave us to help us, to protect us, even to save us.
            And the Spirit bade me go with them, making no distinction. And these six brethren also accompanied me; and we entered into the man's house: and he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, Send to Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall speak unto you words, whereby you shall be saved, you and all your house. (Acts 11:12-14)
            So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Rom 10:17)
            It isn't just modern electronics that steal our hearing, it's the machinations of Satan who lies to us, who uses our culture and our selfishness against us.  That passage in Romans is followed by something we need to hear as well.  "Haven't they heard?  Yes, they have.  Didn't they understand?" but the answer to the problem is given in verse 20:  All day long I have held my hands out to a disobedient and contrary people."
            Open your ears to the Word of God and listen.  Those verses may have been said about the Jews, but that doesn't mean they cannot be true about us as well.
 
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. ​Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. (Isa 55:1-3)
 
Dene Ward

Six days before Irma arrived, we stood in line at Publix with our usual week's worth of groceries.  It was 8 AM on a Tuesday.  Behind us a lady guarded her cart like a Doberman, a cart crammed and stacked with as many cases of water bottles as it would hold.  In the aisle next to us another did the same.
            The next day nearly every store of every type in town was out of bottled water.  We had to stop at one of them and a lady stood shouting frantically into her phone, "They're totally out!  What are we going to do?" 
After she hung up, Keith offered, "Ma'am?  There is still plenty of water from the tap in your kitchen sink."
            Which is exactly what we did—pull the 20 empty gallon milk jugs that we keep in the shed and fill them up, along with my umpteen-quart pressure canner for drinking water and tooth brushing.  Then we filled a dozen five gallon buckets outside, plus a forty gallon barrel to use for flushes, baths, and dishwashing.  All we had to do was filter them through a cloth to get our dirt and leaves when it was time to use them. 
            I have never seen Florida prepare for a hurricane like she did for Irma.  Maybe it was the pictures coming out of Houston from hurricane Harvey a few weeks before.  Maybe it was the 185 mph winds.  Or maybe it was the sheer size of the storm.  At one point it covered the whole state except for the far western panhandle.
           I have never seen so many empty shelves in the stores.  I haven't seen long lines at the gas pumps since the gas shortage of the 1970s.  I have certainly never seen the National Guard handling those long lines when only one station out of 5 was open at an exit, the waiting cars trailing back down the off-ramp to the interstate itself.  I have never seen the evacuations, with the interstate at one point being opened to northbound traffic on both sides.
       "This is the one we never wanted to see," I heard more than one meteorologist say.  "You'd better prepare, Florida."  And prepare she did, all 21 million of her.
           And somewhere along the way I couldn't help but wonder, "Shouldn't we be preparing for the Lord this way?"  You may think you have plenty of time, but listen—for you, the Lord comes the day you die.  Once your life here is over, there are no second chances.
          And that life can end in a flash.  I have lost two cousins to automobile accidents, one in his 20s and the other at 16.  I have lost several close friends to disease in their 40s and 50s.  You just never know.
           And then there is this:  every day the Lord doesn't come is a day closer to the day He will. 
           Be prepared.
 
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ​But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ​Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matt 25:1-13)
 
Dene Ward

Part 1 of five, the remainder being posted every day this week.  It's Hurricane Season and this is a remembrance from six years ago.

When you live in Florida, and probably anywhere in the Caribbean and along the Gulf Coast, you keep an eye on the weather from June 1 till November 30—hurricane season.  My earliest memory of hurricanes was Donna in 1960.  The next was Alma in 1966.  I know there were others that made a Florida landfall, Cleo and Dora, for instance, in 1964, Betsy in 65, and Inez in 66, but they must not have affected my very young life.  After that, we lived in Tampa which did not have a major hit for nearly 100 years, or so I recently heard.
            As a newlywed, we lived out of state for five years so I was hardly aware of Agnes in 72 and Eloise in 75, which created a 12-16 foot storm surge from Panama City to Ft Walton Beach.  Then we moved back to Florida and suddenly hurricanes were a fact of life again, one made more real because of the two little boys we now had to protect. 
            There was Elena in 85, which sent us to our first evacuation shelter.  Andrew in 92 was the one that really opened our eyes to the danger of hurricanes.  Good thing because Florida landfalls picked up suddenly after his arrival.  Gordon in 94 whipped around and made a U-turn, hitting Florida twice.  Erin in 95 followed suit with two landfalls in the state and then Opal arrived only a few weeks afterward with catastrophic damage.  Georges wiped out the Keys in 98 and Floyd came along the east coast in 99, giving us all a good scare.  Then 2004 brought four hurricanes over the state in only a few weeks—Charlie, Frances, Jeanne, and Ivan, which actually made its first landfall in Alabama, wiping out the Florida panhandle which sat on its dangerous eastern side, then crossing the southeast, heading back into the Atlantic, and traveling down to cross South Florida.  And those are just the highlights.
            So when Irma came rolling off the coast of Africa we kept an eye on her all the way across the Atlantic and into the Caribbean.  We watched as she grew from a tropical wave into a depression into a storm and finally into a hurricane.  We watched while her winds increased daily, peaking out at 185 mph—category 5.
            They kept telling us it would turn north—first, in time to miss the mainland altogether, then in time to miss Florida and bounce off the Carolinas, then in time to plow into Georgia.  Then we were told that Miami would take a direct hit and Irma would skirt our eastern coast and off to the northeast Atlantic.  Then the forecast moved west a bit, with this recalcitrant hurricane forecast to come straight up the spine of the state as a category 5.  By then she was really close, so that is what we had to plan for.
            If you have seen those Saffir-Simpson animations, you know what a category 5 will do to a house—destroy it.  That's what a category 2 will do to a mobile home.  We have lived in a doublewide "manufactured home" for 35 years.  Obviously we've taken care of it—a roofover, siding, skirting, hurricane tie-downs that were up to code at the time.  The inside has been practically rebuilt as the years passed and we saved enough money to do so.  But we were still facing the real possibility—probability—of losing it all.  That only took into consideration the winds, not the massive live oaks that spread their branches over us and make our air conditioning bill manageable.  Any one branch of those trees could destroy the house.
            And so we had some decisions to make.  What if we lost it all?  What would we try to save?  It surprised me how little it was.
            We packed a suitcase each of basics:  jeans, tees, underwear and socks, and a couple pairs of shoes.  After a hurricane there is neither time nor inclination for dressing up.  We packed photo albums, bank account ledgers and checks, 2 back-up thumb drives of files on the computer.
            We filled a box with our Bibles and all the notes from every class either of us has ever taught.  I added the September schedule for this blog in case I could find a way to keep it going.  Then we added probably a dozen books that were special to us, less than 5% of the total number we own.
            We are experienced campers.  If the house was destroyed, we planned to use the tent as housing until something permanent could be arranged.  So we packed a cooler, paper plates, paper towels, and cloth towels—things that needed to stay dry.  We figured we could find the rest of our camping gear in the debris.
            Everything we packed fit into the covered bed of the pickup, the trunk of the car, and its backseat. 
            I remember thinking, "We know that someday we will have to leave this place and downsize and we wondered what we would keep.  I guess we just found out."
            Keith nearly echoed my thoughts after our day of packing.  "We started from scratch 43 years ago.  We can do it again."
            There was a sadness about it, yes, and I shed a few tears, but that was all the time I had for that nonsense.  Irma was coming and time was short.  We had prayed for her demise for weeks and continued to for 24 more long hours.  But there was also a sense of acceptance as she came closer and closer.  When you pray, "Thy will be done," there must be, or it isn't really faith.
 
I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come... Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, ​yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places... (Hab 3:16-19). 

Dene Ward

Although it was not one of the most repeated words I found in I John, lie/liar caught my eye as I read through it, probably because it is such a strong concept.  I did a quick check with my Bible program and yes, I was right.  John used those terms more than any other New Testament writer.  In fact, four of the five times Paul uses the word (lie), he is stressing that he is not lying, not that someone else is.  John is the one who has a penchant for looking people in the eye and making them face up to the fact that their actions put the lie to their claims.  Let's take a quick look at them.
            If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1John 1:6).  And why is that? Check the context.  Because God is light (v 5) and how can anyone have fellowship with the light when he walks in darkness (sin)?  So simple, yet how many don't seem to realize what they are doing?
           If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1John 1:10).  This one seems a little confusing after the first one.  First he says we shouldn't sin, then he says we shouldn't claim not to sin.  How is that supposed to work?  It's not really that difficult.  Remember what we said God was?  He is light, and light exposes the darkness.  So what do we do when that darkness is exposed?  Do we keep walking in it, or do we "confess our sins" (v 9)?  It is the one who does not confess his sins when they are pointed out who is the liar.  Nor the one who says he has never sinned in the first place.
         Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1John 2:4).  Many of these things have similar verses in John's gospel. What does Jesus say about himself in John 14?  "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  If Jesus is the truth, then his commands are truth too.  If we do not obey him, then the truth is not in us and that certainly makes us the opposite of truth, or liars.
          Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son (1John 2:22).  This is a handy verse to have in your hip pocket when someone starts going on about the Antichrist as if it were some superhuman demon who might attack us, especially in that person's views of a millennial kingdom.  Look at John's words:  Anyone who says Jesus is not the Christ is an antichrist.  Period.  I can think of a few religious groups that fit that mold easily, and a few of my neighbors too.  It's not some mystic apparition—it's people, and they are liars, John says.
          If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (1John 4:20).  This one ought to stop us in our tracks.  And why is that?  Because none of us would ever say out loud, "I hate my brother," but in the next moment we might sneer at them, gossip about them or slander them, look down our noses at them, or take an "us" and "them" attitude (I have heard preachers do this!) in a way that belies our words.  When we do anything like that, we are liars.  And remember this:  this man who is calling people liars is often called "the apostle of love."  Don't ever think that love means you don't correct the fallen.
          See how many lessons we can find by simply counting words?  This one ought to keep a class teacher or preacher busy for a few weeks itself! 
          Sometimes beginning things like this is difficult when it is new.  Can I help you get started with a few "assignments?"  Try finding all the places where John tells us what is involved in fellowship.  Find the places where he tells us why he wrote the epistle in the first place.  If you want to stay busy for a good while, look up all the times "love" is used and divide it into the object of that "love"—who or what it is that we should love.  Once you get started, it should come more easily, and, if I know my readers like I think I do, you will be hooked on the fact that you can learn all by yourself with just a little effort.
 
Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son (1John 5:10).
 
Dene Ward

Every so often I share Bible study methods with you, things I have tried that work for me.  The next couple of posts will be about my recent study of 1 John.
            When I begin a new study I usually read the book through at least twice before I do anything else.  The third time, I pick up a notepad.  By then I have realized that certain words are repeated again and again.  So, during that third read-through, I list those words.  Obviously, we are not talking about words like "the" or "of" or "that," even though they are repeated a multitude of times.   What we want are spiritual concepts like faith, fellowship, and truth, with corresponding verbs like "walk" or "overcome."  You might also notice two or three word phrases.  In that case, write down the entire phrase, such as "my little children."  Once have you your list, hone it further by including various forms of the same word like "righteous/ness" which would include both of those words in your count.
            My list for 1 John contained 16 words and phrases.  Understand:  you cannot read through and keep track of more than three words at a time.  That's a good way to miss some of them.  So I read through the book five more times slowly—speed is another sure-fire way to miss some—making the typical four lines and a crosshatch as I counted.  By then I had read 1 John 8 times.  Do you think that might have been a good thing to do, counting or not?  Of course it was.
            So why in the world would you want to count how many times a word is used in a book?  For one, it is a pretty good way to establish the themes and sub-themes of the book.  For another, it will help you discover the organization of a book, which will lead you to its purpose, the things that will help you apply the book to your life, and be what John and the Lord want you to be.
            Just to show you a few results of my counting in 1 John:  "abide" is used 23 times, "commandment" is used 13 times, "lie/liar" is used 8 times, "life" is used 15 times, and "love" is used 47 times! (Your count may differ according to the version you use.)  This is only a small portion of my list, but in a book that covers not quite four pages in my Bible, those numbers seem significant.  And those numbers also led to some more lists that were even more helpful.  That is where we will pick up tomorrow.
 
My little children, these things write I unto you that you may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1John 2:1).
 
Dene Ward
 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
Preachers, teachers and students diligently studying the word to understand it and prepare lessons to teach it, and even people learning in order to do it, need to be on guard that they do not become experts in the Word without coming to know its Author.  The difference is not known by some esoteric emotion, but discerned by analyzing Jesus' rebukes of the Pharisees.   
 
One illustration that strikes particularly close to home, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and anise and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these you ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone." (Matt 23:23).  We blithely point out the necessity of being careful to do the small things and then often barely mention justice, mercy and faith.  We must remember that the Pharisees could explain every nuance of the meanings of those words and cite every occurrence of each in the scriptures.  They could preach sermons on each subject.  But, Jesus says, they were not practicing what they knew. 
 
The question is not whether, but where are we doing the same? We can preach sermons on pattern and the sin of varying from it, we can certify from clear citations all the "acts of worship" (in quotes because that phrase is used nowhere in scripture)—consider the following passages where men worshipped without or separate from any act: 1Sam 1:28, 12:20, 2Chron 7:3,20:18-30, 12:20).   Are we then doing the right things diligently without being right?
 
I spent fifty years learning the Bible, preaching sermons, teaching classes, analyzing passages and realize that I knew much but often missed the point—just as the Pharisees.  The Bible is not a message of do's and don'ts, it is a love letter from God.  He says, "This is who I am and what I am, please like me."  The commandments are designed to conform us to His character, to his revealed image.
 
The Pharisees prove that it is possible to know everything about God and not know God.  Jesus warns us in the harshest terms not to fall into the same trap. 
 
The purpose of all Bible study, preaching, and teaching should be to know God.
 
"Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.  " (Mark 12:29-30).
 
Keith Ward

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matt 11:11)
 
            Did you ever stop and think about that statement?  This is John, the blood cousin of Jesus, we are talking about.  John, the great preacher who gave up any semblance of a "normal" life--family, a comfortable home, a business, even the standard fare of the day that most of his Jewish friends and family enjoyed—all for the sake of his mission as the Forerunner of the Messiah.  John, the brave martyr who dared speak against an evil and sinful woman and her weak and ignominious husband.  Yet the least in the kingdom is greater than he?
            I am not going to define either "the least" or "the kingdom" in any sort of theological way.  I am sure great scholars could write pages about it, but I am not sure it would do me the same amount of good as simply considering these phrases at face value.  Are you in the kingdom of his Son?  I am, or so I claim.  I certainly do not claim to be the greatest.  I am much closer to the least, but greater than John?  I would never in a million years claim it, yet both Matthew and Luke record Jesus saying it.  It must be true in some way.
            I don't know about you, but that statement does not make me puff out my chest in pride.  Instead, it makes me hang my head in shame.  I have never lived up to John's example and I probably never will.  But when I think of what Jesus says here, it certainly makes me want to try harder.
            How about you?

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1Pet 1:17-19)
 
Dene Ward