For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar

            In our last two articles, we talked about doing word studies, which can easily branch out into topical studies.  How about studying a certain passage of scripture?

            Events are much easier, so start with something in the gospels.  Begin by setting the scene.  Ask yourself who is there, where are they and what is happening?  What happened immediately before this event?  Was there a time lapse or is it the same day?

            Obviously you should gather all accounts of the same event from the other gospels.  But just reading them will not do you much good.  I have found that listing all events and dialogue in columns next to one another makes the differences more obvious.  Then make separate lists of things found only in one gospel, or of the differences, no matter how small, in similar accounts.  Each gospel writer had a different audience in mind, and thus a different purpose.  Often knowing those will make the differences more sensible to you.

            Start out every study of a passage by reading it several times.  As you read, note repeated phrases and words.  Pay attention to lists.  Sometimes they are hidden and you have to actively look for them.  For example, when I studied John 8:12-59, reading it through about three times, I began to notice several things happening again and again.  Finally I wrote down four headings:  accusations Jesus made about the Jews; questions the Pharisees asked Jesus; accusations the Pharisees made about Jesus; personal claims Jesus made about himself.  Then I went back and read the passage again making each list.  Do not try to make all of these lists in one reading.  Read through once, listing the first item, accusations Jesus made about the Jews.  Then read through once more for each other list you are trying to make.  If you try to do this in one reading instead of one for each list, you will miss some, guaranteed!  When you have finished this task, you will know in detail what that passage says because you have probably read it 7 or 8 times, and you will have a much better grasp of the tension and danger surrounding Jesus at that time.  It will also open your eyes to Jesus’ feelings about those people, which may surprise you.

            You can do similar things to passages in the epistles.  But you must be ready to spend some time at it.  Sometimes it takes me five or six readings to pick out the lists I am looking for.  Knowing the theme of each epistle will help.  Repeated words and phrases may be your key.  Another hint:  go by paragraph, not chapter.  Some chapter breaks are notoriously bad, but the paragraph breaks are usually well thought out.  If you are using a Bible that is un-paragraphed, look for the paragraph sign (that two-legged backwards “P”).  Many Bibles have them now.  If you don’t have one, find one in a used bookstore.  The 1901 ASV, the NASB, the ESV are all usually paragraphed the same way.  Where they differ, the original paragraphing in the ASV is far superior to the others.

            I am not a fan of typing this out on the computer until I am ready for my final product, like a lesson or an article, or maybe a notebook I am compiling my studies in.  Actually writing things in longhand on a piece of paper helps my memory, just like taking notes in a class does.  Your mind is saying the words again, and your hands are forming them.  It could be that being brought up with a computer will make it work for you, but if you are having a difficult time retaining things, go back to pen and paper, and see if it doesn’t make a difference.

            So your assignment this time is an expositional study.  Read and read and read; then start writing.  Don’t be afraid to alter the method, especially if the text you have chosen does not quite fit the plan.  (But don’t do anything that will limit the number of times you read the passage!)  At first it will be difficult to figure out what you should be writing, but it will get easier, and you will learn more than you ever have before.

            A book my husband highly recommends is Independent Bible Study by Irving Jensen.  However, this book is out of print and hard to find.  Sometimes you can find used copies on the Amazon or Alibris websites.  Next week, he will tell you himself how he studies passages of scripture using his own variation of Jensen’s method.  I am not the scholar he is, but I have dabbled in the method a little and hope someday to become more adept at it.  Perhaps you could start with my suggestions, then work your way into his method as well.  A student never finishes learning to learn.

If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:4-5

Dene Ward

 (For hints, help and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

          We heat with wood.  A thirty-two-year-old Ashley wood stove sits in the heart of our home—the kitchen and family room area.  Our boys grew up watching their father labor with a chainsaw, axe, and splitting maul, eventually helping him load the eighteen inch lengths of wood into the pickup bed and then onto the wood racks.  Every time a friend or neighbor lost a tree or several large limbs fell, the phone rang, and the three of them set off for a Saturday’s worth of work that kept us warm for a few days and the heating bill down where we could pay it.

            At first those small boys could only carry one log at a time, and a small one at that.  Wood is heavy if still unseasoned, and always rough and unwieldy.  By the time they were 10, an armful numbered two or three standard logs, even the lighter, seasoned ones.  They were 16 or older before they could come close to their father’s armload of over half a dozen logs, and grown men before they could match him log for log.  Even that is a small amount of wood.  In a damped woodstove, it might last half the night, but on an open fire barely an hour.

            So I laugh when I see pictures of an 8-10 year old Isaac carrying four or five “sticks” up Mt Moriah behind his father Abraham.  To carry the amount of wood necessary to burn a very wet animal sacrifice, Isaac had to have been grown, or nearly so, not less than 16 or 17, and probably older and more filled out.  In fact, in the very next chapter, Genesis 23, Isaac is 37 years old.  In chapter 21, his weaning, he is somewhere between 3 and 8, probably the older end, so all we can say for certain is he is between 3 and 37 at the time of his offering.  Our experience with wood carrying tells me that he was far older than most people envision.

            Do you realize what that means?  This may well have been a test of Abraham’s faith, but it also shows that Isaac’s faith was not far behind his father’s.  He could easily have over-powered his father, a man probably two decades north of 100, and gotten away.  He, too, trusted that God would provide, even as he lay himself down on that altar and watched his father raise his hand.

            How did he know?  Because he watched God provide everyday of his life.  He saw his father’s relationship with God, heard his prayers and watched his offerings, witnessed the decisions he made every day based solely on the belief in God’s promises, and his absolute obedience even when it hurt, like sending his brother Ishmael away (Gen 21:12-14). Isaac did not know a time when his family did not trust God, so he did too.  “God will provide” made perfect sense to him.

            When that young man carried that hefty load of wood up that mountain, he went with a purpose, based upon the example of his father’s faith and his Father’s faithfulness.  Would your children be willing to carry that wood?

The living, the living, he thanks you, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children your faithfulness. Isaiah 38:19

Dene Ward

(For hints, help and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

          A few years after we moved to this spot of country, I was startled one morning by a low rumbling that, over the next few minutes, grew louder and louder.  It seemed to come from above, but could not be a plane, I reasoned, because it was taking so long to pass by.  I stepped outside and there, to my amazement, flew the Budweiser blimp, so low over our field I felt like I could hold a conversation with the pilot. 

            We must be on a regular flight path because we have seen that blimp several times, along with all sorts of planes from props to airliners, and helicopters galore.  The military also uses our area for drills of some sort, sometimes in groups and other times a lone pilot putting his jet through the routine loops, leaving a tangled skein of contrails behind.  Except for the military planes, they all follow the same southerly course across our field, almost as if there were lane markings in the sky.

            I have spent a lot of time sitting on the shaded carport, itself in the deep shade of live oaks, killing time, day after day, waiting to see if this latest surgery has worked, and knowing that even if it has it will only last a couple of years.  This disease has a regular flight path, just like all those flying machines that pass over us.  The optic nerve in the left eye is now 60% destroyed.  Once gone, those nerve endings can never come back. That led me to contemplate the notion of fate or, as theologians call it, predestination.

            Despite what the majority say, the Bible does not teach that God has already decided which of us He will save, and is now resting easy in His recliner watching the show He set in motion.  But one thing has been predetermined for a couple of thousand years now—the victory has already been won.  It is up to me to follow the flight path that my Savior created, that will inevitably lead me to share in His glory.  I must not be detoured by this world, either its pleasures or its problems.  Either one could lead to a crash landing far short of the goal.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, that are left till the coming of the Lord, shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord, 1 Thes 4:15-17

Dene Ward

(For hints, help and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

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

(For hints, help and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

         Have you discovered panko yet?  Panko is Japanese bread crumbs, an extra light variety that cooks up super-crunchy on things like crab cakes and shrimp.  They also cost more than regular bread crumbs, but in certain applications they are worth it.    On the other hand a chicken or veal Milanese needs a sturdier crumb to stand up to the lemony butter sauce, an oven fried pork chop needs melba toast crumbs that will cook to a crunch without burning in a high heat oven, and my favorite broccoli casserole needs the faint sweetness of a butter cracker crumb to really set it off.

            Although none of these dishes are the food of poverty, using the crumbs and crusts of food rather than tossing them out certainly grew out of the necessity of using whatever was at hand to feed hungry bellies for thousands of years, and now we all do it, even when there is plenty in the pantry.  Pies and cheesecakes with graham cracker crumb crusts, anyone?  Dressing to stuff your poultry?  Bread pudding on a cold winter night?  Streusel on that warm coffee cake in the morning?  Bread-infused peasant food has even shown up on gourmet cooking shows in the form of panzanella (salad) and ribolita (soup), both of which use chunks of stale bread to bolster their ability to satisfy appetites.

            That reminds me of a woman 2000 years ago who understood the value of leftovers.  Her little daughter was demon-possessed, so ill she could not travel, but her mother had heard of someone who might be able to help, who even then was in hiding from the crowds on the border of her country.  It took a lot for her to seek him out, first leaving her sick child in someone else’s care, then approaching this Jewish rabbi, a type who had either reviled or ignored her all her life; but a desperate mother will make any sacrifice to save her child.

            Sure enough, even though she addressed him by the Messianic title, “Son of David,” he answered her not a word, Matt 15:22,23.  Still she persisted, and this time she was insulted—he called her a dog.  Oh, he was nicer about it than most, using the Greek word for “little pet dog,” kunarion, rather than the epithet she usually heard from his kind--kuno, ownerless scavenging dogs that run wild in the streets, but still he made her inequality in his eyes obvious.

            This woman, though, was ready to accept his judgment of her, Even the dogs get the crumbs, sir.  Moreover, she understood that was all she needed.  This man, whose abilities she had heard of from afar, was more than just a man, and even the tiniest morsel of his power was enough to heal her child, even from a distance.

            Do we understand that?  Do we realize that one drop of God’s power can fix any problem we have, and more, do we have the humility to accept our place in His plan, even if it is not what we have planned?  Yes, every day I ask for more—more grace, more faith, more of His power to change me and use me, but do I really comprehend His strength?  I would say it was impossible to do so, except for the example of this desperate Gentile mother who, like a widow of her nation hundreds of years before her, had more faith, trust, and humility than the religious men of God’s chosen people (I Kgs 17, Luke 4:25,26).

            And for this, perhaps, God chose her to foreshadow in the Son’s life the crumbling of the barrier between Jew and Gentile, and the inclusive nature of the gospel which had been foretold from the beginning: in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed, Gen 22:17. 

            Do I have the faith and humility to accept God’s plan for me?  One thing is certain—this Gentile mother knew she had nowhere else to turn, and neither do we.

            Even God’s crumbs are enough to satisfy our every need.

For this cause I bow my knees to the Father…that you…may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God…him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…Eph 3:14, 17-20.

Dene Ward

(For hints, help and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

            I gave you an awful lot of information last week so I thought it would be helpful to show you an example of a word study and what it can do for you.

            In case you haven’t already figured this out, serious Bible study takes preparation.  You don’t just sit down, open the Bible and start reading.  A couple of years ago I decided to do a study on faith.  It took me weeks to complete the research and then a year or so afterward to actually finish the study.  But on the way I made some wonderful discoveries that have seriously changed my attitude and my life.  Follow along with the directions I gave you in last week’s post and watch how this developed.

            First I bought a large loose-leaf notebook and a brand new pack of notebook paper.  You cannot be a tree-hugger and study the Bible seriously.  You need paper and a lot of it.  I opened the concordance and wrote down every passage I could find containing the word “faith.”  I left room next to each passage for a later note, then wrote the next passage on the next line.  I did not write on the back of any sheet—you must be able to shuffle papers, lay them out, and look at them all at once, and you cannot do that if you are constantly turning them over.  You will inevitably forget to do so once and miss something, or you will check the same side twice and waste time.  In this case I did not want to delete any passages at all as I showed you how to do last week.  The study was too important, so I wrote them all down, and when I finished I had 20 sheets of paper.

            Next, I looked up and read every one of those passages, including a few surrounding verses, and wrote a short phrase from the pertinent verse to remind myself at a glance what it said.  That much alone—the writing down, looking up, and reading--took me three weeks.  I am talking about 6-8 hours a week, but tell me you don’t spend that much time either watching television or sitting at the computer.

            The next step was organization.  I looked over the phrases several times.  Do not try to do any of this with shortcuts.  The point is to study the scripture not to see if you can avoid reading it.  Eventually I came up with several categories.  Now it was time to get out more paper and write those categories down and the verses that fit in them, this time leaving more space after each word because I was getting really close to beginning the deep part of the study.  My categories included things like:

> Positive verbs associated with faith

> Negative verbs associated with faith

> Things that take more faith to handle

> Things that make faith grow

> What increasing faith can lead to

> Things that faith is NOT

> Synonyms and metaphors for faith

> Things that a person who has faith WILL do

            And that’s not even half of them.  I found other ways to organize the passages as well, like all those passages that include “O ye of little faith” and “such great faith.”  It became obvious that I would need to study some chapters as a whole, like Romans 4, James 2 and Hebrews 11—the word “faith” was sprinkled throughout them.  I also needed to study the life of Abraham and Sarah in depth, and I discovered that hope was so bound up in faith that it needed a quick study as well.  When I finished the sorting, about a month later, I had already learned more than I ever knew about faith, but then I was ready to really start digging on each individual verse or passage. 

            That’s where you do the meat of your work.  Don’t forget things like context and purpose.  Write down the obvious things the passage tells you.  Later, you will make common sense, “necessary” conclusions.  You may find connections between passages that show up best in a quickly scratched out chart.  Depending upon the word you are studying and the number of passages on your list, it could take as long as a year to finish this final part.

            Now write out a simple conclusion for each group of passages.  If you cannot do that, you did not learn anything from those passages.  Now you have completed your word study.

            You may have a special reason for the study you are doing.  Maybe you are just curious about something.  Maybe a friend has asked a question.  Maybe the preacher made a statement you didn’t understand.  My study eventually became a 15 lesson, 65 page workbook for our women’s Bible class, and going over it yet again to teach I learned more, grew more, and understood more about faith than ever before.  If ever you get a chance to share what you have discovered, the same thing will happen for you. 

            I hope this example has helped make sense of some of the things I have shown you in previous articles.  Next week: expository studies.

Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law, Psalm 119:18.

Dene Ward

(For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

            When we describe our camping trips, people sigh and say things like, “That sounds heavenly.” 

            We cook over an open fire, the meat caramelized by the flames and flavored by the smoke.  At night we sit by a pile of crackling logs under a black sky of twinkling diamond stars and sip hot chocolate.  In the mornings we cuddle by a fire pulled together from the coals of the night before, and gaze on a view that ought to cost extra—mountain after mountain after green rolling mountain against a blue sky, or wrapped with frothy clouds like lacy boas, or peeking through a fine mist, or shining in the sun, covered with trees sporting all the fall colors along with a few dark evergreens.  We hike through wilderness forests unsullied by human rubbish, watching birds we seldom see flit from limb to limb, coons or deer or bears trundling off in the distance or standing stock still in shock staring at us, tiny rills splashing over rocks into larger brooks running to yet larger creeks and finally to the rivers in the valleys below.  We visit orchards and buy apples straight from the tree, not prettied up for the store, sporting a real blemish here and there, but full of flavor, juicy with a perfect texture.  That evening we peel and slice a skillet full, add butter, sugar and cinnamon, set them on a low flame on the propane camp stove and twenty minutes later eat the best dessert you ever had.

           Then we trot out the other side of camping to our friends:  a day long misty rain that, even inside the screen set up over the table, seeps into your clothes and leaves you shivering; carrying a loaded tote to the bathhouse a few hundred yards up or down a steep hill every time you want to brush your teeth or take a shower; stepping outside the tent in the morning to a thermometer that reads 27 degrees. 

            “I could never do that!” one says.  “I’d be headed for the first Holiday Inn!” another proclaims.  Unfortunately, you don’t get the good part without the bad part.  The good parts often happen after the day-trippers head for the hotel.  Their food doesn’t come close and they pay a whole lot more for it at a restaurant than we did at the grocery store the week before we left.  They see the view once, just for a few minutes before being jostled out of the way by the next person standing behind them at the overlook.  And most hotels would frown on a campfire in their rooms.

            Keith and I are snobs about our camping.  When we camp, we live outdoors.  We don’t hide when the weather turns cold, or even wet—we can’t in a tent.  So we just wrap up and tough it out.  Oh, so superior are we.  But we have our limits too.  You will never find us at a primitive campsite.  You certainly won’t find us at a pioneer campsite.  We want our water spigot and electricity.  How do you think we handle those nights in the 20s?  We handle them with a long outdoor extension cord snaking its way inside the tent zipper to an electric blanket stuffed in the double sleeping bag and a small $15 space heater that, amazingly, raises the tent temperature 20-30 degrees inside.

            So where am I when it comes to Christianity?  Am I sold on the health and wealth gospel?  As long as good things happen to me, I am perfectly willing to believe in God and be faithful to Him.  Do I recognize the need for a little bit of trouble to prove my faith, but NOT full scale persecution or trial?  Have I come through some tough tests and now think so well of myself that I can scream to God, “Enough!” as if I had the right to lay out the terms for my faithfulness?

            The rich young ruler thought he was pretty good.  He had kept the commandments.  But Jesus knew where this fellow drew the line—his wealth.  So that is precisely where Jesus led him. 

            Do we have a line we won’t cross?  Is it possessions, security, health, family stability, friendships, comfort?  Whatever it is, the Lord will make sure you come against that line some day in your life.  You may think you are fine—why I can stay in my tent when it’s 25 degrees out!  What if the thermometer hit zero?  What if it rained, not just one day, but every day?  What if I had no running water, no hot showers, no electric blanket?  Would I pack up and head for the hotel?  Or would I tough it out, knowing the reward was far greater than even the most torturous pain imaginable in this life?

            You can’t run to the hotel and hide when persecution strikes.  You can’t close the RV door and count on riding out the storms of life.  Sometimes God expects you to stay in the tent in the most primitive campsite available.  Sometimes he even takes away the tent.  But you will still have the best refuge anyone could hope for if you make use of it, and when the trial is over, you get to enjoy the good parts that everyone else missed.

And another also said, I will follow you, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house. But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God, Luke 9:61,62.

Dene  Ward

(For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

            I remember folding diapers one day when Lucas was 2 and Nathan just a few weeks old.  I had not had a full night’s sleep in the three or four weeks since Nathan’s birth—an emergency C-section, which while routine, was still major surgery.  The garden was at its height, and laundry was a daily chore along with the usual cooking and cleaning. 

            During Nathan’s morning nap I gave Lucas as much attention as possible.  We were learning the alphabet, going through magazines to find pictures of things beginning with that week’s letter, practicing how to draw it, and finding it among the words of the book I read to him that day.  Our daily Bible lesson included a song I had composed if no ready-made one came to mind, and a dramatic re-creation, either by us or handy stuffed animals which assumed new identities at his command. 

            Lest anyone think Keith was not doing his share, he was preaching part-time as well as holding down two other part-time jobs and finishing up a degree at the university 20 miles down the road.  Then he came home and became Goliath or the “big fish” or whatever large character he needed to be as Lucas recounted his Bible lesson to Daddy.  He always gave Lucas his evening bath and watched Nathan while I cleaned up supper dishes.  After the babies were in bed, he studied.

            On that particular day I was making those intricate folds of bleached white cotton robotically.  Nathan was cooing and gurgling on a blanket in the floor, and Lucas was lining up his assorted toy cars and trucks on the other end of the sofa from my stack of diapers.  A wave of weariness hit with such force that I leaned my head over on the sofa arm for a second’s rest.

            Ten minutes later I woke up to little grunts from Nathan.  This meant I had approximately fifteen seconds to start nursing him before a full-blown howl erupted from that deceptively small set of lungs.  What amazed me, though, was that Lucas was in the middle of running a fire engine up my arm and parking it next to my head.  Was this what woke me?  Obviously not, for there were already five other vehicles parked by my nose.  It was my baby’s impending distress that woke me from such a deep slumber, not the arm traffic.

            That was not the only time exhaustion struck so strongly.  Young mothers, I believe, live in a perpetual state of weariness, at least the ones who understand their God-given duties and try to fulfill them.  There have been nights when falling into bed and relaxing actually hurt for a few seconds.

            There are other things that make me weary, not in body but in spirit.  A relative’s foolish words or actions can cause hurt and turmoil throughout the family.  Two supposedly mature brothers or sisters in the Lord who behave like three year olds; an argument over scripture that is punctuated not by “This is what the scriptures say,” but rather, “This is what I think, this is what I feel about it, this is what I am comfortable with;” people who take your much prayed about words and actions in the worst possible light, making petty comments that pierce your heart, and spreading their thoughts to others, who then bring them back to you.  Then there is the evening news.  These things make you throw up your hands in defeat and say along with the apostle John, “Lord, come quickly.”

            Rest—if there is anything about Heaven I look forward to more than anything else, it is rest—rest to my soul.

            God had promised his people rest when he took them out of Egypt.  All they had to do was trust him and obey him, but despite the great signs and wonders done before their eyes, they could not manage that.  So God said, As I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest, Heb 4:3.  They did enter Canaan, but they did not enter The Rest.  They had troubles constantly, from within and without, simply because they did not have the faith it took to obey God.  There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 4:9, a rest like God’s rest.  The Hebrew writer is careful that we understand the difference.  God did not rest because he was tired; he rested because he had finished his work, 4:4. 

            And we have that promise.  If we can get past the times that cause us to throw up our hands and shake our heads, the people who make our burdens heavier instead of lighter; if we can manage to stay strong and finish the course, we can rest too.  Oh, what a wonderful promise!

For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.  There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For he who has entered into his own rest has himself also rested from his work as God did from his.  Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no one fall after the same example of disobedience, Heb 4:8-11.  

Dene Ward

(For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

            Nearly forty years ago, shortly after Keith and I became engaged, he took me to the premier restaurant in Tampa, Bern’s.  Bern’s is the kind of restaurant where your waiter is often dressed better than you are, and you hope your actions do not give you away as someone who is totally out of his element.  We splurged away a good chunk of Keith’s weekly salary on a chateaubriand for two--$40, counting beverages, dessert, tax, and tip.  In that day, gas had just risen to 65 cents a gallon, and $35 worth of groceries fed a family of four for a week.

            Our waiter, Tony, was an older gentleman with an accent, gray hair, and Old World manners as charming as the fairy tale Prince.  At Bern’s, diners are seated in various rooms, some larger than others.  Ours was small, mostly tables for two, and the three other couples there that night were well-spaced for privacy.  Tony was assigned to us and only one other couple. 

            After taking our order, he always brought each course precisely on time as we finished the one before it.  When it came time for the steak, he asked if Keith would like to carve it.  We had been holding hands across the table and let go at that question.  Immediately, Tony protested.  “No, no, no,” he said, putting our hands back together. “Tony will carve.”

            After dinner we had coffee and once, when I put down the half empty china cup at my right elbow and looked up to talk with Keith, I turned back a moment later to a full one.  I had never heard Tony even approach the table, much less refill the cup.  When I expressed amazement, Keith told me, “He’s been standing in that back corner keeping an eye on his two tables the whole time.”  Needless to say, Tony got an excellent tip, and we still remember him fondly to this day.

            I was studying Acts 2:42 the other day and made a discovery that reminded me of Tony.  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching, and fellowship, breaking of bread and in prayers, Acts 2:42.  Since prayer was the actual subject of my study, I concentrated on that particular item.  What did it mean, I wondered, to “continue in prayer?”

            “Continue” is the same Greek word translated “wait on” in Mark 3:9, and he spoke to his disciples that a little boat should wait on him because of the crowd, lest they should throng him.  The multitude was pressing in on Jesus, and he wanted a boat handy should he need it, as he did at another time, teaching from the water while the crowd stood on the shore. 

            What really brought Tony to mind, though, was the use of this word in Acts 10:7, And when the angel… had departed, [Cornelius] called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continuously.  Like Tony, those men stood to the side just in case they were needed.  And they must have been needed fairly often, or they would not have been so alert and close by.  That is how prayer is supposed to be.

            Is that how we treat this gift?  Is it something we keep handy and use at the drop of a hat, should some problem come our way?  God meant prayer to be there for us continuously.  Not that we pray continuously, but that at any moment we may use that gift; that we talk to him through the day, recognize our dependence upon him in all things and the incredible benefits of speaking to him.  Like Tony he will be there waiting for anything we need, sometimes even before we express that need. 

            For our 30th anniversary in 2004, our children gave us a gift certificate to Bern’s, the first time we had ever been back.  It was another memorable experience, but of course, Tony is no longer there.  But unlike Tony, God is still there and always will be.  

            Keep prayer handy, and use it often.  Don’t wait for some bedtime ritual if the need should arise in the middle of the day.  God wants to help us, and he will, if we but ask.

Out of my distress I called upon Jehovah; Jehovah answered me and set me in a large place. Jehovah is on my side; I will not fear;            What can man do unto me?  Psa 118: 5,6.

Dene Ward

(For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar)

            Even non-musicians have a general concept of time signature, or meter--how many beats are in a measure.  Everyone taps their toes to music.  Musicians take that a step further—where is the pulse in a measure?

            Let’s see if I can make this sensible to non-musicians.  Every measure has beats of equal time, sometimes two, sometimes three, sometimes four or more—that’s what you tap your foot to.  But each beat is NOT equal in quality, in how strong it is.  The first beat of every measure, no matter what the meter, is the strongest.  In triple meter, it is the only strong beat, so we count 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, etc.  That means that while there may be three beats in the measure, there is only one strong pulse per measure.  We would never count 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3, with each beat receiving the same stress.  Just try counting the two different methods a couple of times and feel the difference.  

            Now imagine you are watching two couples doing a waltz, the quintessential triple meter composition.  The first couple, using the first method with only the first beat accented, will appear lighter than air, swirling around as that first (and only) strong beat propels them forward to the next measure and the next and the next all around the dance floor.  The second couple, using the every-beat-gets-a-push method might as well be marching, complete with army boots.  When one of my fellow students in choral directing either could not feel the difference himself, or could not get the choir (his fellow conducting students) to perform it properly, our professor would insist that he use a rolling beat pattern.  You “roll the gospel chariot” but with your right hand only, feeling beat number one at the bottom of each roll, in effect a one-beat pattern.  If the choir cannot see you beating out each beat in the measure, they are less likely to stomp on each beat, and more likely to sing with a forward motion—singing horizontally with a forward impetus toward the next measure and the next, instead of vertically, stomp, stomp, stomp on each word of the song.

            So now you have had your music lesson for the day, what of it?  Just this:  sometimes we go through our lives as Christians plodding downward with all our momentum lost on each step, instead of joyfully waltzing our way along the road to Heaven.  It becomes all about following the rules for the sake of following the rules, instead of becoming someone new, living a life with purpose and a destination in mind. 

            Do you know how fast to sing a song in triple meter?  You should be able to sing four measures in one breath without gasping at the end of those four measures.  Sometimes with our plodding along I forget the first word of the phrase before I even get to the last.  It isn’t about going faster; it’s about singing with understanding. When you sing with the proper accent in the proper place it’s much easier to pay attention to what you are singing and edify yourself and everyone else, the whole point to singing in the first place.

            And when we just plod through life we tend to lose purpose as well.  1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2. Would you even notice if you stopped in the middle of a measure?  And in life would you even notice if you lost sight of the goal?  Suddenly the point of it all slips away from you and all this plodding becomes more than you can bear.  When you keep rules just for the sake of keeping rules, or out of habit and tradition, you lose your sense of purpose, and hope and joy goes flying out the window along with any meaning you thought your life might have had.  If something does not change, you will eventually give up.

            Keep that lilt in your life.  Know why you are doing what you are doing.  Your faith must be your own, not something handed down through the generations.  Your worship must be real, not rote practice.  You must become someone else, not the same old person who just happens to sit somewhere special every Sunday morning.  That sense of direction will lighten your step and propel you to a place you want to be.  And you can enjoy the trip itself a whole lot more.  1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3…

I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore, Psa 16:8-11.

Dene Ward