Keith was fiddling with the campfire while I stood behind him shivering.  A pile of twigs lay over two slivers of lighter wood to which he held a match.  Black smoke curled up from the charred wood, which flared briefly then died out—over and over and over.  Suddenly one of the twigs caught and began to burn.  A few minutes later the lighter wood beneath finally began to burn, its thick oily flame blazing brightly.

            “Now that’s something,” he muttered, “when the twigs catch faster than the lighter.”

            Not many are familiar with lighter wood any more.  Also known as pitch pine, this wood contains a high concentration of resin.  The smell is often overpowering, as if you had soaked it in lighter fluid.  When you watch one of those old movies, the torches the mob carries are pieces of lighter wood.  You can’t light a piece of wood with a match—not unless it’s lighter wood, which lights up instantly, like a kerosene-soaked corn cob.

            Except the piece Keith was using that morning.  We had left behind the warmth of an electric-blanket-stuffed double sleeping bag and crawled out into a crisp morning breeze on an open mountaintop, the thermometer next to the tent barely brushing the bottom of thirty degrees.  We needed a fire in a hurry, but what should have been reliable wasn’t, what should have been the first to solve the problem had itself become the problem.

            As I pondered that the rest of the day, my first thought was the Jews’ rejection of Christ.  Sometimes we look at Pentecost and think, “Wow!  Three thousand in one day!  Why can’t we have that kind of success?” 

            Success?  I’ve heard estimates of one to two million Jews in Jerusalem at Pentecost.  Even if it were the lesser number, out of a specially prepared people, 3000 is only three-tenths of one percent—hardly anyone’s definition of “success.”  Here are people who had heard prophecies for centuries, who then had the preaching of John, and ultimately both the teaching and miracles of Jesus, people who should have caught fire and lit the world.  Instead the apostles had to eventually “turn to the Gentiles” who “received them gladly.”

            And today?  Does the church lead the way, or are we so afraid of doing something wrong that we do absolutely nothing?  Have we consigned Christianity to a meetinghouse?  Do our religious friends out-teach us, out-work us (yes, even those who don’t believe in “works-salvation”), and out-love us?  Do we, who should be setting the world on fire, sit and wait for someone else to help the poor, visit the sick and convert the sinners, then pat ourselves on the back because we didn’t do things the wrong way, while ignoring the fact that we didn’t do anything at all?

            And, even closer to home, do we older Christians lead the way in our zeal for knowing God’s word, standing for the truth, yielding our opinions, and serving others, or must we be shamed into it by excited young Christians who, despite our example, understand that being a Christian is more about what we do than what we say?

            It’s disgraceful when the twigs catch fire before the lighter wood.

And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works, Heb 10:24.

Dene Ward

         It was just a cold.  The first day I lost my voice and sneezed a lot.  The second day I started coughing, a deep cough that felt like it scraped the bottom of my lungs.  The third day I started wheezing and my temperature rose over 100.  The fourth day the headache started.  The fifth day my shoulders, neck, and back began aching and I could not get comfortable no matter how or where I lay or sat.  The sixth day it climbed into my head.  I could no longer breathe, smell, or taste.  The seventh day I lost my hearing and my ears began to ache.  Meanwhile, all the other symptoms continued.  The eighth day my temperature fell a degree below normal, but I felt a little better—very little.  Eventually it did go away, but the cough lingered for weeks.  Why in the world do we always say, “It was just a cold?”

            Maybe it’s habit. 
            “I was just ten minutes late.”
            “I was just ten miles over the speed limit.”
            “It was just a song service.”
            “It was just a little fib.”
            “I was just so tired and frustrated.”
            “It was just this once.”

            Always excusing ourselves with that little word, making every bad judgment call or “little” sin unimportant—where does it stop?  How big do they have to be before we stop using that word?

            What could God have said about us?  David knew full well when he said in the 8th Psalm, What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?  Indeed, God could have said, “They’re just people.  Why bother?” and we would have had no answer for that, especially the way we so often use that word to rationalize less than stellar behavior.

            Yet Jehovah, the Word, and the Spirit got together before they made anything else, and came up with a plan so that they could keep fellowship with men, no matter how sinful they had become.  That plan involved sacrifice on their parts, but it made men once again presentable to them.  For some reason, they thought we were worth it.
            Think about that the next time you try to excuse yourself with that word “just.” 

I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise.  I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks,  O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.  Psa 138.

Dene Ward

Today’s post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Jehoshaphat was a good king and not just a run of the mill good king, but perhaps the best king in Judah after David, excepting only Hezekiah and Josiah. Jehoshaphat's father had started purging Judah of idolatry and other wickedness and Jehoshaphat finished the job. He didn't just re-institute the proper worship of God and call on all Judah to follow Him, Jehoshaphat also sent out missionaries with copies of the Law all through Judah and had the Law read to all the people so that everyone would know of their responsibilities towards God. 

Several times in his life he was out of his depth and cast all his hopes upon God and trusted Him to take care of things. His faith was astounding, his zeal for the Law was great, and his commitment to following God was almost unparalleled among post-Davidic Judean kings. 

Yet for some reason this paragon of righteousness decided to make peace with Ahab the king of Israel. A more wicked king than Ahab would be hard to find. (Manasseh perhaps?) In fact, 1 Kings 21:25-26 says: "But there was none like unto Ahab, who did sell himself to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel." 

As was the case with most treaties back then, the one between Jehoshaphat and Ahab involved a marriage between the royal families. Jehoshaphat married his son Joram to Ahab's daughter, Athaliah.  Joram had to have been very young, in fact not much older than 14 at the time of this marriage. The consequences of Jehoshaphat's decision to bind himself to the wicked Ahab were nothing short of disastrous, though he himself didn't live to see it. 2 Kings 8:16-11:3 and 2 Chron. 21-22 detail what happens:

1) Joram, being influenced by his wicked wife, becomes an idolater and rebuilds the idols and high places his father had torn down and led the people back away from God and into idolatry.
2) Joram murders all his brothers, who Elijah calls more righteous than he, to eliminate competition for the throne. 
3) As punishment, all but one of Joram's sons are killed by marauding Arabians and Philistines and Joram is stricken with one of the most revolting diseases described in the Bible. He dies.
4) His youngest, and only remaining son, Ahaziah becomes king and is counseled by his wicked mother. He, too, is wicked and joins with Ahab's son Joram (confused yet?) to fight the Syrians. When Joram (Ahaziah's uncle, by the way) is injured, Ahaziah goes to check on him just as Jehu begins his God-ordered cleansing of Israel. He is caught in the rebellion and is killed along with Joram. 
5) Other Judean royal kinsmen traveling to Israel to succor the injured king Joram are also caught by Jehu and executed as partisans. 
6) Finally, Athaliah kills all of Ahaziah's children (except one who was hidden from her) and usurps the throne. She murdered her own grandchildren in a power grab! 

Look what has happened to the house of David! For three consecutive generations every royal son save one was killed! Add to that 42 extra men who were royal kinsmen not of the direct line killed by Jehu and you have a serious pruning of the descendants of David. All that murder and death, all that idolatry, all that work by Jehoshaphat undone because he tried to make friends with an wicked man. 

This made me think of 2 Cor. 6:14: "Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what communion has light with darkness?" Paul continues like this for several verses before quoting Isaiah 52:11: "Come you out from among them and be you separate says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing and I will receive you." Who have I yoked myself to that might have the same type of impact on me that Ahab had on Jehoshaphat? 

We need to be careful who our friends are. We need to be careful who we "hang" with. They WILL have an impact on our spirituality. They WILL bring temptations our way. 

Now, of course, Paul also said in 1 Cor. 5 that we aren't to withdraw from the world completely. Jesus told the Pharisees that as the spiritual doctor, he needed to be among the sinners who needed his help. However, if you read the Gospels, you will notice that while Jesus ate with publicans and prostitutes, those were isolated evenings on an occasional basis. He spent far more time with his apostles and other disciples. Much of that time he was alone with them. So, while Jesus spent time with the wicked in an effort to teach and save them, the people he yoked himself to were his apostles. That is the example we need to follow as we try to save our neighbors and acquaintances in the world. Shine your light among them, but prefer spending time with your brethren. 

We need to be very, very careful who we join ourselves to, who we yoke ourselves to, or the consequences that befell Jehoshaphat's family might befall ours. 

Lucas Ward

           When I was 14 a new young doctor came to town, one who was not afraid to “think outside the box.”  My older doctor turned me over to him and he decided to try contact lenses on me.  I had been wearing coke bottle glasses since I was 4 and my vision declined steadily year after year with the bottoms of the coke bottles getting thicker and thicker.

            In those days, hard, nonporous contact lenses were all they had.  Usually they were the size of fish scales.  Mine were not any broader in circumference but they were still as thick as miniature coke bottle bottoms and nearly as heavy on my eyes.  Most people who wore normal lenses could only tolerate them for six to eight hours.  Now add a cornea shaped like the end of a football, a corrugated football at that, and these things were not meant to be comfortable on my eyes, certainly not for the 16-18 hours a day I had to wear them.

            So why did I do it?  My prescription was +17.25.  The doctor told me there was no number on the chart for my vision.  (“Chart?  What chart?  I don’t see any chart.”)  He said if there were, it would be something like 20/10,000, a hyperbole I am sure, but it certainly made the point.  Hard contacts were my only hope.  If they could stabilize my eyesight, I would last a bit longer.  When I was 20, another doctor told me I would certainly have been totally blind by then if not for those contact lenses.

            Then soft contact lenses were invented and their popularity grew.  But they were not for me.  They would not have stabilized my vision.  I lost count of the number of times people who wore soft lenses said to me, “I tried those hard ones, but I just could not tolerate them.  You are so lucky you can wear them.”

            Luck had nothing to do with it.  My young doctor was smart.  He sat me down and said, “The only way you will be able to do this with these eyes is to really want to.  You must make up your mind that you will do it no matter what.”  That was quite a burden to place on a fourteen year old, but his tactics worked.  Despite the discomfort, I managed, and managed so well that most people never knew how uncomfortable I was.  Finally, when what seemed like the 1000th person told me they just could not tolerate hard lenses, I said, “You didn’t need them badly enough.”  Most of us can do much more than we ever thought possible when we really have to.

            Need is a strong motivation.  A couple of thousand years ago, it motivated a woman to go where she was not expected, normally not even allowed, and certainly not wanted. 

            Simon the Pharisee decided to have Jesus for dinner.  I read that it was the custom of the day for the leading Pharisee in the town to have the distinguished rabbi over for a meal when he sojourned there.  While the man would invite his friends to eat the meal, an open door policy made it possible for any interested party to come in and stand along the wall to listen--any interested man, that is.  Of course, it was assumed that only righteous men would be interested.

            In walked a “sinful” woman.  Luke, in chapter 7, uses a word that does not in itself imply any specific sin, but it was commonly used by that society to refer to what they considered the lowest of sinners, publicans and harlots.  The mere fact that she was a woman also caused someone in the crowd to exclaim, “Look!  A woman!” in what we assume was horrified shock.

            The men were all lying around a low table with their bodies resting on a couch and their feet turned away from the table in the direction of the wall, while their left elbows rested on the table.  The woman came into the room, walked around the wall, and began crying over Jesus’ feet.  Immediately, she knelt to wipe his feet with her hair.  I am told that this too was unacceptable.  “To unbind and loosen the hair in public before strangers was considered disgraceful and indecent for a woman,” commentator Lenski says.  We later discover that these were dirty, dusty feet from walking unpaved roads in sandals.  How do we know?  Because Simon did not even offer Jesus the customary hospitable foot washing. 

            Then she took an alabaster cruse of ointment, a costly gift, and anointed his feet—not just a token drop or two, but the entire contents--once the cruse was broken open, it was useless as a storage container.

            What did Simon do?  Nothing outward, but Jesus knew what he thought, and told him a story. 

            One man owed a lender 500 shillings, and another owed him 50.  Both were forgiven their debts when they could not pay.  Who, Jesus asked him, do you think was the most grateful?  The one who owed the most, of course, Simon easily answered.

            And so by using his own prejudices against him, Jesus proved that Simon himself was less grateful to God than this sinful woman.  His own actions, or lack thereof toward Jesus was the proof.  This man, like so many others of his party, was completely satisfied with himself and where he stood before God.  And that satisfaction blinded him to his own need, for truly no one can stand before God in his own righteousness.  His gratitude suffered because he did not feel his need.  Would he have gone into a hostile environment and lowered himself to do the most menial work a servant could do, and that in front of others?  Hardly.

            So how much do I think I need the grace of God?  The answer is the same one to how far I will go to get it, how much I will sacrifice to receive it, and how much pain I will put up with for even the smallest amount to touch my life.  Am I a self-satisfied Simon the Pharisee, more concerned with respectability than with his own need for forgiveness, or a sinful woman, who probably took the deepest breath of her life and walked into a room full of hostile men because she knew it was her only chance at Life? 

And turning to the woman, he said unto Simon, See this woman? I entered into your house; you gave me no water for my feet: but she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair.  You gave me no kiss: but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet.  My head with oil you did not anoint: but she has anointed my feet with ointment.  So I say unto you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, loves little.  And he said unto her, Your sins are forgiven… Your faith has saved you; go in peace, Luke 7:44-48,50.

Dene Ward

            I have been asked for some tips on Bible study.  First let me make this clear:  I am not an expert on this subject.  I am as far from being a Bible scholar as you can get and still know the basic Bible stories. 

            Do you want my biggest secret?  I work at it.  Yes, I will be happy to share my methods, most of which would make a true scholar laugh himself silly.  So please understand that these are not for preachers or academics.  They are for us ordinary people, who never studied hermeneutics or Greek grammar or any of those theological arguments fit only for quiet, dusty rooms instead of life.

            However, you must realize that there is no magic formula.  It’s like losing weight.  You still have to be hungry and you still have to exercise and you still have to give up a few things, no matter what the diet scammers tell you.  With Bible study, you still have to work—that means reading till your eyes cross and making notes till your hands cramp and then thinking about it for days, or maybe years, before it all gels and comes together.  There is no shortcut.

            And speaking of “thinking” about it—most people have an erroneous idea of what meditation is all about.  You don’t cross your legs in the floor and hum with your eyes closed.  You don’t repeat a verse over and over like a mantra.  Instead, you think of the ramifications of a Biblical idea you have been studying, then put two and two together as you begin to collect more verses in your notes, and ultimately in your memory, and more concepts in your understanding.  Suddenly, you will be thinking about things one day in the middle of washing a sink full of dishes and the light bulb will come on--you think of something you had never thought of before.  The joy in that moment is worth all the hours you spend over a table piled with Bibles, concordances, and papers.  What does the Bible say about the righteous man?  “His delight is in the law of the Lord,” Psalm 1:2.  If you don’t already love the Word of God, I really can’t fix that.

            So for the next few Mondays, I will give you both my methods and my thoughts on Bible study.  I will approach this as if teaching a class, giving you assignments for the week.  I promise that if you do these things, you will become better at doing your own Bible study, and will probably develop a few methods that suit you better. 

            This will not happen overnight.  I am much better at this than I was 30 years ago because I have become familiar with the tools and how to use them, and because, yes indeed, I did find a few shortcuts, though they probably only save a few minutes instead of a few hours.  You will become adept too, but only if you continue to do them past these few weeks, over and over and over.  Practice is the key.

            Feel free to write me if you have questions (left sidebar:  contact Dene).  I hope you will find this helpful, and will enjoy the discoveries it brings you, both in the next few weeks and in the future.

            Remember—Bible study methods for us ordinary folks, for the next 5 Mondays.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.  Psalms 1:1-2.

Dene Ward

(Today’s post is by guest writer Keith Ward, written to our son following his wedding)

            As I listened to Thaxter Dickey perform your wedding, thoughts came together that have been forming over years of study. Someone recently asked, “Why male and female: God could have done reproduction some other way. Is there a significance?” Maybe this is part of the answer that has been revealed.

            God said, “Let us make man in our image...and he created man [mankind, not male] in his own image...male and female created he them.”  (Gen 1:26-27). I have often used this passage to establish that from the beginning God is spoken of as the plurality we find revealed as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the N.T. Also, it is clear that since both male and female are in his image, all that is good about the feminine nature and motherhood is as much a part of God’s character as the best of masculinity and fatherhood.

            These are old thoughts, often shared and heard. But as I considered the union being formed before us all, I connected another old truth; the word for “one” in the phrase “and they shall be one flesh” is the same as in “Jehovah thy God is one” (Gen 2:23; Deut 6:4) revealing a purpose of marriage I had previously not discerned. First, let’s digress to note that “one flesh” does not refer primarily to sexual union since we can’t go around that way all the time. A husband and wife are “one flesh” all the time, it is a state of being that exists so long as they live. For this reason, the divorce decrees of men cannot undo the union forged by God (Mt 19:9). A husband and wife are one all the time, all day, every day, just as God is one. Three are one in the Godhood; two are one in a marriage. God intended that a marriage approximate as much as possible the unity found between Father, Son and Spirit. Men comprehend the unity of the Godhood by participating in and observing the unity of a good marriage.

            Such a marriage will be filled with love, as God loved the Son, and submission, as Jesus obeyed the Father, and help and nurture, as the Spirit comforted, completed and revealed.

            Considering marriage as a window to the unity of the Godhood makes divorce the more unthinkable. Since sexual union is not merely for reproduction or physical release, but is designed to teach us unity as one loving being, sexual sins become more abominable whether they occur before or after the vows. “Know ye not that he that is joined to a harlot is one body, for the twain, saith he, shall become one flesh” (1Cor 6:16). In other words, How can you degrade this that represents the beautiful unity of the Godhood by casually uniting with others than your spouse? How can you do this to your marriage (whether the wedding has taken place yet in time or not)?? It would be the same as though the Father, the Son, or the Spirit formed an outside relationship with an idol...UNSPEAKABLE!! And, the discords that plague all marriages are seen as the blots on the purity of “one” that they really are. How can we argue angrily, go our own way, seek the dominion, nag, play control games with sex, lay down the law, resent, etc. ad nauseum, when we understand this purpose of marriage?? Is this the way of Christ and the church (Eph 5:22-23)??

            We sing, “O To Be Like Thee” and the way we can come closest is to make our marriages all He wants them to be. God’s purpose from before the fall was that marriage lead man to an understanding of Him that the relationship between man and God could grow and mature. Even in a sin-sick world we can press toward that goal. Truly, “this mystery is great” and we will never comprehend it short of heaven. Yet, the more love and unity of heart, soul, and mind we develop in our marriages, the more we will be fitted to “see him as he is.”

Keith Ward

            In our women’s study we recently spent some time on the first century church’s attitude toward persecution.  We found several passages that told us the results of persecution.  What would you guess they were?  The group diminished in size and visibility, becoming timid and fearful, hiding when they worshipped, and keeping their faith a secret from their neighbors, right?  Although we all knew better than that, we were still surprised by what we discovered.

            In Acts 5 persecution left the early Christians with even more determination to preach so that in Acts 8 when persecution scattered them, the church spread over all the known world.  And why should we emulate these people?  In Romans 8 we found that we will be glorified if we suffer and in 2 Cor 4 we manifest the life of Christ when we are persecuted.  Philippians 1 tells us we have a token of our salvation when we suffer, and 2 Thessalonians says that our faith grows, our love abounds and we are counted worthy of the kingdom.  Peter tells us in various chapters of his first epistle that persecution proves our faith, gives us a blessing, and that the Spirit will rest on us when we endure it.  Then in Revelation, the brethren are promised that if they endure their coming trials they will wear white robes, they are washed and cleansed, they will live with Christ in His kingdom and have rest (chapter 6,7,20).

            So how should we feel about persecution?  The class decided it might just be necessary, even desirable.  Those first century brothers and sisters rejoiced in it (Acts 5:40-42), took pleasure in it (2 Cor 12:10), and considered it a privilege (Phil 1 :27-30).  Maybe we should be rethinking our attitudes about persecution. 

            I asked what they thought would happen if we were really persecuted today.  At first the women said, “The church would shrink a whole lot.”  Then, remembering what we had discovered about the early church, we decided it wouldn’t.  We would just see who was really part of the Lord’s body, not who showed up and sat in the pews.  And if history is any indicator, when the world saw how we stood for the Lord, even in the face of pain or death, they might understand that this is something worthwhile, something they might need in their lives as well, something worth any sacrifice called for.  Isn’t that what happened in the first century? 

            So should we be thanking God that we can worship “without fear of molestation?”  As big a coward as I am, I might still do so, but frankly, I am not so certain I should any more.

Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when men shall reproach you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.  Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you, Matt 5:10-12.

Dene Ward

 The idea of me writing a tutorial on how to use a website is hilarious, but I have been asked the same questions over and over, and usually have a new influx of readers every few months, so I have given in to the advice to write a how-to.  If you already know how to use all the elements of the Flight Paths blog, then you can safely skip this one.  If you are new, you might want to read it in any case.

 So, in the spirit of websites everywhere, here are the FAQs:

How do I get to the blog?     

I know that many people come here only from posted or shared links, especially from facebook.  If you do that, you will go straight to that post instead of the main page of the blog, and that means you will miss other posts.  I do post five days a week, except when otherwise noted. 

To get to the entire blog, type www.flightpaths.weebly.com in your search engine.  If you come from the Flight Paths facebook page, go to the top of that page under my picture and click on the blue address in the description of the website.

By approaching the blog in either of those ways, you can scroll down and read the current and previous nine entries on any given day.  At the very bottom of the main page, on the left (under the current ten entries), you will see the word “Previous.”  If you click on that, you can go to the ten entries just before those, and so on, all the way back to the beginning of the blog.

How do I subscribe to the blog?

I am told there are two ways to do so.

First, on the right sidebar of the main page, under “Categories” you will see “RSS Feed.”  If you click on that, it will take you to a page to subscribe.  I am not sure how it works.  In fact, some have had trouble getting it to work or figuring out what to put in the form on the page, but if you are far more computer literate than I, you can give it a try.

 More people have told me they “bookmark” the main page.  On my computer, you go to the top bar and click on a little square on the right.  A box drops down and then you find “bookmark this page” and click on that.  It will then be added to your favorites list.  After that, all you have to do is click on “favorites” or “bookmarks” or whatever your computer calls it.  When the box drops, look for “Flight Paths” and click on that.  It will take you straight to the page without the hassle of a Google search.

This will only work if you bookmark the main page.  If you use a link, that one post is what you will get every time.

If I go from a link, how do I find the main blog?

Any time you go to the blog from a link, just look on the left sidebar for “Dene’s blog.”  Click on that and you will get the entire blog, including the ten previous posts.  Just keep scrolling down as we mentioned earlier.  You can also bookmark it at that point, and it will work just fine.

How do I get a Flight Paths book?

Also on the left sidebar, you will see “Dene’s books” and “Dene’s classbooks.”  Click on whichever you want, and it will take you to a page that links to a bookstore or my publisher.

How do I find a specific article?

This is what the right sidebar is for.  Under my picture you will find “Archives” and “Categories.”  If you know the approximate date, then click on the month and year and scroll through those.  If you know the general topic, try the categories list.

 About those categories.  Many posts are linked under several.  Some of the categories have to do with the topic of the post, faith, unity, family, etc., but others are based on the jumping off point.  If I came up with a post while I was cooking one day, you should look under “Cooking/Kitchen.”  If you remember something about a camping trip, look under “Camping.”  If it started with a cute story about a child, click on “children.”  So you have several ways to find a particular post—date, jumping off point, and topic.

Are there other pages?

All the other pages of the post are listed on the left sidebar.  Whichever page you are on will be highlighted.  I have already told you about the book pages.  Let me talk a minute about two others.

“Contact Dene” is an email page.  This might be useful if you have a question you would rather keep private rather than posting on the bottom of an article.  Yes, anyone can see the comments on the bottom of the articles, but only I receive the question from the “Contact” page.

“Dene’s Recipes” came about from the Cooking/Kitchen entries.  After reading a particular post, people often asked for the recipe I mentioned.  So I have started including them on that page, with links to the date of the original post.  You can go either way—from the post to the recipe or from the recipe to the post.

What do I do with the facebook page?

The facebook page is strictly for announcements, tips on using the blog, and usually one link a week.  If you “like” the page, you will automatically see anything I post on that page on your newsfeed.  I use it to share when and where I will be speaking, when a new book is coming out, when I am starting a series, and many readers use it to share links with people they think might find a particular post helpful.  I do not link all of my posts.  That would make me the proverbial boy who cried wolf, and people would stop noticing.  If all you use are the links on the facebook page, you will miss 80% or more of the posts.  That is why you need to bookmark the main page.

I hope this has been helpful.  I will post it again every six months or so for new readers.

Dene Ward

            The other morning I was outside feeding the dogs when I got a bit of a shock.  Wood smoke from the chimney swirled around in the cold north breeze, rustling the one or two brown leaves still hanging on the sycamore.  My breath billowed around me even thicker than the smoke and my hands ached from the cold.  The frost on the ground crunched beneath my feet, and the cold dampness coming through my shoes turned my toes to ice cubes.  Suddenly I heard my neighbor’s lawn mower roar into life.  My subconscious mind immediately went to work and without even thinking about it I was humming the old Sesame Street tune, “One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just isn’t the same…”

            Yes, I do live in Florida, but up here in north Florida your mower sits gathering dust, leaves, spider webs, and other assorted natural trash from November 1 till March 1, and sometimes beyond.  What in the world was he mowing? I wondered.  I never did find out, but it struck me that if I had driven by he would have looked odd sitting on a lawn mower with a heavy jacket, gloves, and a wool hat.  I wonder if he worried about what the people who drove by his yard thought about him.

            You think not?  You’re probably right.  Something needed to be done that involved a lawn mower and so he did it.  It’s really no one else’s business what it was and why he felt the need to do it.  Then why in the world do we get so uncomfortable when we look different to the world?

            We always direct thoughts like this to the young, but peer pressure works on every age, not just teenagers.  Isn’t that why we become uncommonly quiet when certain topics of conversation come up among our friends in the world?  We Americans often argue about our right to be individuals, usually quoting from works like 1984, calling Big Government laws we don’t like “Orwellian” because they take away the rights of the individual.  Then when the time comes to actually stand up and be an individual, to act differently than the mainstream of society, to talk differently, dress differently, live differently, we are just as bad as a teenager who wants to do what “everyone else is doing.”  Like a chameleon, we want to camouflage ourselves and blend in.

            So, can I really do this?  Do I have the strength to stand out in a crowd?  Can I be the one that every Sesame Street viewing child can point out as “not the same?”  God expects me to do just that.  In fact, he says, that if I live by the standards his Son taught I will not be able to help being different.  Some people will hate me for it; but others will respect me for it.  And maybe a few will be influenced to change their own lives.  We cannot have that influence if we are busy putting on our camo gear every morning before we go out.  Yes, the snipers might get us if we go out in blaze orange, but the ones who are looking for a way out of the woods might see us too.

Beloved I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts which war after the soul; having your behavior seemly among the Gentiles; that wherein they speak against you as evil-doers they may by your good works which they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.  I Pet 2:11,12.

Dene Ward

This is  part 11 of the Monday series, "Whoso Findeth a Wife."

And this second thing you o. You cover the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. "For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless." Malachi 2:13-16

            The passage in Malachi also reminds us that the husband and wife are covenant partners, which is the last and perhaps most important description of a wife we will discuss.  No other passage in the Bible brings home the seriousness of breaking that covenant in quite the same way. 

            The one who does this is “faithless,” the prophet says in verses 15 and 16.  In another version he is called “treacherous.”  A covenant partner has every right to feel secure in that relationship.  Even a con man like Laban recognized that God was the witness in a marriage covenant (Gen 31:49,50), and even in a polygamous culture lines were drawn.  As we learned earlier, faithlessness was not confined to men (Prov 2:17).  Women can forsake men just as easily, especially these days when “I am woman!” seems to be a call to independence away from men and family in general.

            Malachi states plainly that breaking the marriage covenant is considered “violence,” verse 16, and as above in Genesis 31, “oppression.”  The violence may not be physical, but anyone who has seen the heartbreak of a divorce knows that the “tears” and “groans,” verse 13, are just as real and inflict just as much damage.  I have seen forsaken husbands and wives alike practically disintegrate before my eyes, losing weight, and aging ten years in a month.  God will hold the one who causes that “violence” to His child accountable.

            If nothing else brings home the gravity of violating a covenant, perhaps this will:  God will no longer accept the offering of one who breaks the marriage covenant, verse 13, and s/he no longer has the Spirit, verse 15.  For anyone who still has any recognition at all of his need for the grace of God and the help and comfort of the Holy Spirit in his life, this should be terrifying.  It should certainly be a wake-up call for all those who think they can still be a Christian after dissolving the covenant they swore to for anything other than the one exception Jesus made in Matthew 19. 

            Malachi reinforces God’s displeasure by repeating “thus says the Lord” at the beginning and end of the same sentence (v 16).  It is as if God says, “This is what I say…and I mean it!”  All through the scriptures, God approaches marriage and its responsibilities as a choice we make voluntarily, but which then makes us responsible to its sacred promises.  “Love your husband.”  “Love your wife.”  “Respect your husband.”  “Live joyfully with the wife [spouse] of your youth.”  If these things just “happened” God would not hold us liable.  He expects us to choose to make them happen, working at it, praying for it, fulfilling our individual duties without blaming the other party for the things we refused to do because “the spark has died.”  God expects me to get out my flint and strike a new one.  “It ain’t over till it’s over,” and that isn’t until the other party leaves altogether.

            Our culture may not honor marriage, considering it as breakable as an athlete’s contract, but “from the beginning it was not so,” Jesus said in Matthew 19.  One man, one woman, one lifetime—that’s what God intended.  A marriage is not between two persons, but three.  God is that third partner.  When you stand there in that beautiful white gown thinking this day is all about you, remember Who Else you are making a vow to.  Even if someday you think so little of your spouse that you would break a solemn oath to him, think twice before you break it to a Creator who could destroy you with a thought.

When you shall vow a vow unto Jehovah your God, you shall not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.  That which is gone out of your lips you shall observe and do; according as you have vowed unto Jehovah your God... Deuteronomy 23:21,23.

Live joyfully with the wife [or husband] whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor wherein you labor under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9:9

Dene Ward