A long time ago my piano teacher organized her students into something called a junior music club, and one year I served as president.  Because we students were members of this club, we were eligible to participate in several special events and recitals, including something called “the Festival” where our performances were rated by a judge, who also gave helpful comments and encouragement.
            Twenty years later I joined a local chapter of the Florida Federation of Music Clubs and eventually attended one of their State Conventions.  As I watched, listened and learned, all the pieces began to click into place.
            FFMC is a group of “senior clubs.”  Unlike a professional organization, parents of students and music lovers in the community are allowed to join, along with the independent music teachers, which greatly increases your volunteer pool as you try to spread the love and appreciation of music and support music education in your communities. 
            Each teacher in the local senior group was supposed to organize her students into a junior club.  My teacher, whom I later discovered had been a State President of FFMC, did exactly that.  Here is the genius of that plan—you are growing your own replacements, teaching them what the organization is about, making them as useful as possible in whatever capacity they can manage at their various ages. 
            Unfortunately, few teachers did anything more than put their students’ names on a roster so they could take advantage of the privileges of membership.  Responsibility was never taught. And worse, the senior division, all the way to state level, did not use their younger members, even though they held “state elections.”  My son Nathan, who was also my student, was elected state president of the junior division in his senior year of high school, but I had to suggest, recommend, and finally push for him and his fellow officers to be used as real members.  No one had ever thought of that, which is probably why I did not at first recognize FFMC years later.  No one had taught me the ropes.  As a student I was a member in name only.
            The same thing happens in the church.  We look at our young people and call them “the future of the church,” and then sit back and assume that someday in that future they will “grow up in all things unto him” (Eph 4:15). 
            Here is the problem:  We treat baptism like flea dip for our dogs.  We get our children wet and say, "Whew!  Got rid of all those sins, now they're safe."  But Romans tells us that when we are baptized, we are raised to walk a new life.  Something has changed.  Do they know that?  Can young children even articulate what needs to change about themselves?
            Jesus says you don’t make a commitment to Him until you count the cost.  Have we helped them count the cost of discipleship to the Lord?  Are they even able to?
            Colossians tells us that we are raised from baptism to "walk with him."  "Walk" means a lifetime not a moment.  Are they old enough to even comprehend that sort of commitment?
            1 Corinthians 12 says baptism makes them “members of the body” (I Cor 12:13).  If they aren’t ready to be working members, committed servants who put others before themselves, then they aren’t ready to be baptized.
If all we teach them is that they must be baptized or they can't go to Heaven, all we have done is terrorize them, and shame on us.  It is simple to indoctrinate a child well before they are able to count the cost of changing their lives, make a lifetime commitment and actually begin serving.  The New Testament knows nothing of junior members in the church; babes, yes, but even babes participate in on-the-job training.  Either they are members or they aren't according to Corinthians.  Consider the following.
            A working member does more than read the Scripture and pass the plates.  For one thing, what about the young ladies?  These young people may not have the deep knowledge and wisdom to participate in every aspect of the work, but they should all be able to serve the Lord’s body.  Teach them how and expect it of them.  Or else do not baptize them.
            Take them visiting with you—the sick, the lonely widows, even the bereaved.  If you don’t think your child can handle that, then think again about whether he was really mature enough to commit.  Have them help clean the houses and do the yard work for those who no longer can.  Keith had a stroke one year in the middle of leaf season.  Half a dozen young high school men came to our home—a thirty mile drive one way—and raked all morning.  Another group helped unpack when my mother moved, and another helped clean.  They were thrilled to help, returning to me again and again with, “What should I do now?”  These young people are obviously ready to serve.
            Teach them to take responsibility for their own Bible study.  That’s what a committed disciple does.  Expect them to not only do their class lessons without being told, but to develop personal study habits.  If you always have to remind them, are they really as devoted to the Lord as their baptism should have shown them to be?  If you are making excuses, especially in regard to their age, then once again you may be admitting that all you did was scare your child to death, not make them dedicated disciples.
            Take them to the extra Bible studies with you.  I do run a Tuesday morning Bible class for the women, but I also hold one on the third Sunday afternoon of the month for those who have secular jobs or other daytime commitments—like high school and college.  I have had teenagers as young as sixteen take part.  They do their lessons and comment almost as freely as the older women. 
            Turning your baptized offspring into working members will also do this for you—if I expect to teach my child what it means to be a member of the Lord’s body, I need to be showing them how myself.  Nothing made me a better Christian than having that red, wrinkled, squirming infant placed in my arms.  The same thing should happen when your child becomes a babe in Christ. 
            And speaking of babies, do you know why we have adult infants in the church?  Because we scared the innocent to death instead of teaching them early enough about conversion, service, and commitment.  There may be no better way to ensure the demise of the body of Christ than turning it over to the coddled who were taught that baptism was all about escaping Hell.
            Don’t call your young people by that unscriptural term, “the future of the church.”  Either they are members of the body or they are not.  Prepare them.  As the old saying goes, the future is now.
 
For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. 1Cor 12:13

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need. And day by day, continuing steadfastly 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 2:44-47
 
Dene Ward

Did you know there are six Marys in the New Testament?  First, of course, is Jesus' mother.  Then Mary Magdalene (from Magdala), plus the mother of James the Less who was also the wife of Cleopas, the sister of Martha, the mother of John Mark, and finally, the Mary who lived in Rome (Rom 16:6).  As it turns out, Mary was one of the more popular names given to little girls in Palestine in the first century.  (For boys, the most popular was Simon and there are 9 of them in the New Testament!)
            And why was Mary so popular?  It helps if you know the Hebrew equivalent of some of these names.  Mary in the Old Testament was Miriam.  Of course it would be a popular name among women and girls especially.  But I must confess, even when I found out that the two names were the same, my first thought was, "Why her?  She fell and fell with a bang!"
            But isn't that what our culture does?  We remember the failures forever.  No matter how good a person might have been both before and after, we focus on the mistakes they made.  We always say, "Yes, but—"
            Aren't you glad God doesn't do that?  David was always described as "a man after God's own heart."  Peter, who denied Jesus, was allowed to preach the first gospel sermon to both Jews and Gentiles, and serve as an elder in the church (1 Pet 5:1).  And Miriam?  After she was punished, she came back and evidently did her job quietly and well.  Hundreds of years later God remembered her through the prophet Micah like this:  For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam (Mic 6:4).  No "yes buts" with God.
            Isn't that comforting?  And shouldn't we say, "Shame on us," when we do not give that same consideration to a brother or sister?  Shouldn't we be focusing on the good in people instead of constantly looking for and remembering the bad?  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1Cor 13:7).
            Let's try today to remember the good that people have done, even the ones you are not particularly fond of, or have had issues with.  If they sit next to you on the pew, chances are high that there is something good there if you will only take the time to actually look for it.  And wouldn't you like it if that person did the same for you?
 
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (1Pet 4:8).
 
Dene Ward
 

Anyone who knows us well knows that we have had several crises in our nearly forty-nine years together.  I've crawled out of a car after a head-on collision, hauled water into the house for a month after our well collapsed leaving us with no running water, bandaged bullet wounds after Keith was ambushed and shot five times in the line of duty, endured frightening, painful, experimental surgeries to save my vision for just a little longer, and that doesn't even cover half the list of traumatic experiences we have endured.  In every instance our brothers and sisters crowded round us with loving support and practical help.  In every area they went far beyond our expectations.
            In all these things, though, I have learned through experience, that even though the immediate crisis may be over, the after-effects linger, sometimes for years.  We are all taught to put on a smiling face—who wants to be around a moping complainer?  And so people look on a smiling widow and think she is fine.  They see a cancer or severe injury survivor who appears alive and well and don't see the lingering pain of medication side effects or horrific injuries that will never go away.  After a good while, they completely forget the life traumas that others have dealt with and continue to deal with.  Even though I am more aware than some, I do it too!
            But I have learned to send my sympathy cards a week or more after the funeral, when the incoming mail will have trickled down to nearly nothing.  To ask a cancer survivor every six months or so how their numbers are—they are usually checked every quarter and that day of waiting can be full of anxiety.  To ask a widow how she's doing for a couple of years rather than a few weeks.
            Think about some of the things you have been through that may still be bothering you with physical or emotional pain.  You aren't the only one.  But I have found this—thinking about the aftermaths others are dealing with rather than focusing on my own can help enormously.  If we all did that, no one would be left to sigh or cry alone for the long, difficult time afterward.
 
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2Cor 1:3-4).
 
Dene Ward

I will think I have it figured out. 
             I will say, “Yes, life is hard, but God never promised otherwise (despite Joel Osteen).  I can do this.” 
            Then suddenly something happens I did not expect, something that seems the opposite of everything I have prayed for, and I wilt.  That’s when it is all too easy to fall into the “Why me?” trap.  The “I’ve done all this for you and look what I get in return,” con.  Jeremiah fell too.
            The prophets never had easy lives.  Hosea, Ezekiel, Amos, and Jeremiah are prime examples, and maybe Jeremiah more than any of them.  Check out 15:10-21.  Because of the poetic and figurative language it can be difficult to get the full impact, so if you will allow, I am going to paraphrase for you.
            In many versions this is labeled “Jeremiah’s Complaint.”  That ought to give you a clue about what’s going on.
            Jeremiah says, “Everyone hates me [because of what I’ve preached on your behalf, which is implied not spoken] v 10.
            God says, “Haven’t I delivered you?” v 11.
            Jeremiah says, “I did just what you told me to and YOU have deceived me” vv15-18.
            Uh-oh, Jeremiah has gone a step too far.  God will always hear His children’s cries.  Elsewhere on this blog we studied the Psalms and discovered that there are far more lament psalms than any other kind (including praise psalms)!  But Jeremiah has accused God of sin against him.
            How do I know?  Because God tells him, “If you repent, I will restore you.  Do not become like the very people I have sent you to” v 19.
            There are two lessons in this conversation that we need to hear.  First, other people’s bad behavior never justifies bad behavior in us.  Somehow we think that we can get away with anything as long as we can say, “But look how he treated me.”  No, we can’t, and if we claim to be Jesus’ disciples, the one who When…reviled…did not revile in return; when he suffered…did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (1Pet 2:23), then we should know that.
            And that last phrase, “entrusting himself” to God segues nicely into the second lesson.
            “I delivered you,” God told Jeremiah.  Somehow, Jeremiah missed it.  Maybe it’s because he kept winding up imprisoned or thrown into a muddy cistern and left to die, and threatened with death almost constantly.  But God did deliver him.  Someone always came to the rescue providentially, people who just happened to be there with memory and logic, or on one occasion a foreigner who somehow had influence over the king.
            Jeremiah’s problem was that God’s idea of deliverance didn’t match his.  Here I am up to my armpits in a filthy, dank well and this is deliverance?  Yes, it was.  Instead of being killed instantly, he was left to die, which gave his rescuer an opportunity to save him.  Eventually he was pulled out of that hole to relative safety so he could preach even more.  Do you see that?  He was delivered so he could continue a hard and dangerous mission, not so he could live in luxury.
            And for us, deliverance may not look like our version of deliverance.  It may not match what we have prayed for, but that’s because God’s version often involves things we haven’t even been spiritual enough to think of.
            Do you want an example?  If you know my eye story, you know it has been going on a long, long time.  Longer than any doctor thought possible.  No, my vision is not what it used to be, but I still have some!  And what has that done for me?  It has taken away a lot things that used to take up my time, and suddenly, I am able to write, to teach, and to speak.  I have done more of that in the past fifteen years than in the thirty years before combined.
            And even now, it appears that my remaining vision is dimming.  But with the aid of lenses and large print, I can still manage the close things.  I can still study.  I can still type.  I may not be able to see the individual features of the crowd of faces in front of me, but I can still see my notes and my mouth works just fine.
            God’s idea of deliverance cost me a few things, like a music studio and some independence.  But it also delivered me to do so much more.
             Don’t whine when your deliverance is not what you hoped.  Don’t mope when your plans don’t work out, when you feel used and abused, when you think all is lost.  You may be shoulder deep in the mire right now, but that will make the deliverance even more amazing when it comes.  Just stop expecting your version and look for God’s.  In the words of the old joke, “I sent a boat and I sent a helicopter.  It’s not my fault you didn’t take me up on it.”
 
Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. ​And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the LORD. ​I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” (Jer 15:19-21)
 
Dene Ward

If the wicked really are stronger than the forces of righteousness, as they think, and if the wicked really go unpunished more often than not, as we think in our gloomier moments, then how is it that wickedness has not won the day long before now?  Why does not the completely unscrupulous use of power wipe out the scrupulous, if that kind of power and that lack of moral restraint is really so unbeatable…Why haven't the forces of evil wiped out all resistance long ago?  Why are there any righteous left?  The answer must be that there really is something else going on in this world.  There really is a force—and we know who it is:  Yahweh, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—greater than armies, bombs, bribery, and torture, and it is he who thwarts the efforts of the wicked and gives to the righteous another kind of power (not of this world, the New Testament says) to enable them to resist and endure.

Donald E Gowan, The Triumph of Faith in Habakkuk

We have actually had some winter this year so we are once again drinking our last cup of coffee by a fire in the mornings, instead of under a fan.  The first time this winter, I was reminded of a basic fact.  Cool, crisp air behaves differently than hot, humid air.

              Hot humid air is also hazy air.  You cannot see nearly as far and the sky is a duller, almost muted, shade of blue.  Cool air is clear.  Even my weak eyes can see farther.  And a clear winter sky is one of the prettiest blues you will ever see.

              Hot humid air will also mute sound.  Not enough that you will notice it in the summer.  You only notice it on a cold morning when suddenly the traffic on the highway a quarter mile through the woods sounds like it might just be coming through the trees right at you.  You can always hear better in the winter.

              And that may very well mean that we need to keep a cool head about us in religious matters.  When your spiritual vision is clouded by the heat of emotion, you will inevitably make the wrong decision.  In almost every Bible narrative you will see the difference between wrong-headed emotion and cool clear logic.  Look at Joseph and Potiphar's wife as a simple example.  Which one was guided by hot, wanton desire and which by a decision based on a cool, careful consideration of right and wrong?  And that process plays out over and over, not only in the Bible, but in our own lives.

              The difficult part of this, at least in a culture so steeped in emotionalism, is teaching these things to our children.  I told mine over and over, you have to be a little cold-blooded when it comes to choosing a spouse.  You have to be willing to ask yourself the hard questions.  Will she be a good mother to my children?  Will she be a help or hindrance in my chosen career?  Are her aims in life the same as mine?  Does she understand a lifetime commitment in the same manner I do?  Will she help me get to Heaven, and will she let me help her?  Too many times I see young ladies who are blinded by love, falling for exactly the wrong guy, and who will not listen to their friends who quite clearly see an emotional, and possibly physical, abuser.  And I see young men who refuse to understand that attraction should come from knowing one another and sharing spiritual ideals, not good looks and shapely figures.

              There are any number of decisions we make in life, some having nothing to do with right and wrong, and some everything, that require clear thinking.  Some things hurt, and hurt badly, but must be done for the good of oneself, one's family, and people we are trying to serve.  Some of those things are things God has said to do.  You would be surprised how many times I have heard God's commands completely dismissed because someone might be "hurt."

              And so, as you notice how clear things appear this winter, remember that a little cold logic can be an excellent thing.  You will see better.  You will hear better.  And you will make far better decisions both for this life and the next.
 
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD… (Isa 1:18)
 
Dene Ward

Many of us know Matt Bassford from the hymns he has written for us to sing and has explained on his blog.  That he understands both music and poetry is obvious.  "Exalted," which we sing fairly often, is one of my favorites of his, and never fails to send chills down my spine and make my hair stand on end.  Now he has done us all a monumental service by paraphrasing the entire Psalter and choosing tunes to sing them with.  As he says in his introduction we are commanded to sing psalms and we seldom if ever do.
            Speaking of that introduction, it should be preached from every pulpit in the country.  Our culture has taught us that the songs we sing in worship should all be songs of praise or thanksgiving.  Look through the inspired songbook (Psalms) and you will find out that we are leaving out the majority of things we should be singing about.  My own study of the Psalms several years ago left me shocked to discover that only 30% of the psalms were praise psalms.  The largest majority were psalms of lament.  Even when we do use a psalm, we "cherrypick" as Matt calls it, the cheerful parts and leave the rest untouched.  I remember a song leader introducing a new song and boasting, "It's straight from the Bible.  No one should complain."  But that song took one verse of a much longer psalm, repeated that verse almost endlessly, and completely ignored the rest.  Another quote from Matt's introduction:  "Though this neglect of the more challenging psalms may make our assemblies less demanding, it leaves us woefully unprepared to face the sorrows of life under the sun."
            Matt has given us beautifully worded paraphrases for each psalm.  For the longer psalms, he divides them into two, three, or more separate psalms (such as Psalm 119).  Then he suggests a tune to sing it by, usually a well-known standard hymn.  I have tried several of them and they always work out, unlike some of the modern praise songs that throw six words on one or two notes and just expect you to fit them in somehow.  He also includes other ways to change the tune if it is one you don't know, with his metrical descriptions.  As long as you find a tune with the same metrical description (many hymnals have them now), it will fit.  From my own experience with these psalms, practice at home first.  If the tune is one you barely know, find it in the hymnal and sing it a few times first to cement the tune in your mind.  Then try it with Matt's words.  And don't do too many at once.  I found myself suddenly switching to another tune right in the middle of the fourth one.  But I could handle three in a row with little trouble.
            Several churches have begun studying the Psalms with the aid of this book.  After it has been thoroughly dissected, they then sing the psalm with the suggested tune, or one they have found that matches the meter and which their group is more familiar with.  Matt has done us a great service.  This is truly a labor of love for his brethren, and one of devotion to the God he serves.  Well done, Matt.
            Worshiping with the Psalms comes from Truth Publications.

Dene Ward

These days I do a field vision test at least twice a year.  What was ordinarily once a year due to the fact that it seldom changed any at all, needs to be checked more often because the changes are coming more rapidly.  The blind spots are worsening.  This last test came with actual numbers and they are downright scary.  After pondering these changes and what they could mean before much longer, my thoughts finally ran where they usually do—to spiritual matters.  Spiritual blind spots, in this case, and a little research showed me that God's Word has a lot to say about the matter.
            In the first case, unlike my physical blind spots, spiritual blind spots are almost always the fault of the one who has them.  After healing the blind man in John 9, Jesus naturally turned that around, contrasting a blind man whom he was able to heal, with men who could not be healed of their spiritual blindness.  Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains (John 9:39-41).  They were not disposed to see the truth because of their pride and self-righteousness.  Similarly, we cannot see the truth when we won't acknowledge our faults and arrogantly proclaim ourselves blameless. We do this by saying, "I have sinned, we all sin," but never confessing any specific sin, becoming, instead, miffed that anyone might think we have any.  It's a blind spot for us.
            In another place, Jesus says of the Pharisees after his disciples warned him that he had offended them, Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit (Matt 15:14).  When Jesus came debunking their traditions, the same traditions by which they held power over the common people, they were murderously angry.  The possibility of losing their power, authority, and status blinded them to the truth he taught.  What is it we are afraid of losing?  If we are not careful, it may blind us to the saving power of the Lord's teaching, and where would that blind spot leave us?
            Peter warns us of another blind spot.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins (2Pet 1:9).  And what qualities is he referring to?  Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love, those things we commonly call "the Christian graces."  Yet I have heard people downplay these items, joking about having one or two and hoping that's good enough, or simply making a statement like, "No one's perfect, so don't expect all of this out of me."  If that is how we feel about self-control or brotherly affection—perhaps the two most often pooh-poohed—then we do indeed have a blind spot about what it really means to be a Christian.  Perhaps the warning in Isaiah is pertinent here:  And he said, Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ ​Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed (Isa 6:9-10).  Scary thought, indeed.
            And John shows us another blind spot to beware of.  But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes (1John 2:11).This one shows in all sorts of ways.  Just why do we have "issues" with a brother?  Because we disagree on a passage?  Because he "hurt my feelings"?  (Is there anything that sounds more childish?)  Because I don't like his personality?  Because he is another race?  Because he is from the wrong family?  Any sort of bias is a blind spot in our thinking, and John says that equates to walking in darkness, and Jesus also said, The one who walks in darkness does not know where he is going, John 12:35.
           John also warned the Laodiceans that self-satisfaction and complacency could blind them to their true condition before God.  ​For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev 3:17).
            Did you realize that so much was said about spiritual blindness?  Actually, this is not all of it, but enough, I hope, to get us all thinking.  My physical blind spots will probably have only one outcome.  But our spiritual blind spots can be cured as quickly and easily as Jesus healed the blind man of his day.   Let's work together for that glorious end.
 
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2Cor 4:4-6).
 
Dene Ward

Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress: Incline your ear unto me; In the day when I call answer me speedily. Psalm 102:2.
 
            I don’t know how many times I have said that to God, or at least something similar.  “Now, God. Please take care of this now!”  Yet another sentence in the same prayer was probably something like, “Please be patient with me, I’m really trying.”  Avenge me of my adversaries immediately, but don’t avenge my sins for Yourself until I have had time to repent—a self-serving double standard if there ever was one.
            God does not operate on my timetable.  He does not operate on yours.  Because He inhabits eternity (Isa 57:15) He sees and knows when the time is right.  He is not limited by living only in the present.
            Can you explain the fact that God did not send Nathan to David for about a year after his sin with Bathsheba?  Uriah was dead, David had married Bathsheba, and the child they made together had been born.  Perhaps God knew it would take that long for David to be receptive to Nathan.  Perhaps He knew that holding his small son in his hands would make David’s heart softer.  Who knows why, but that is the way God chose to do it, while in a similar circumstance the Corinthian church was commanded to withdraw from an adulterous brother the next time they met together.
            As for us, sometimes we cannot know why God allows things to happen when and as they do.  I can often see later on that things turned out better than if they had happened on my schedule instead of God’s, but nearly as often I cannot.  I am left to wonder.  The good that has been accomplished may not become evident until I am dead and gone.  I simply must trust that God knows best.
            Patience in the Bible is not about waiting quietly.  The patience of Job was noisy indeed.  Patience in the Bible is about endurance, about keeping on till the end, about being steadfast even when you don’t understand, and about trusting God’s timetable when your own makes a lot more sense to you. 
            Think of Noah who built that ark waiting for God’s promised flood for 120 years.  I wonder what his neighbors were saying after just one year, or how much they sneered after ten, much less 120.  Think about Abraham, who received a promise that was not fulfilled in his lifetime, or for a thousand years afterward.  Think about Sarah and Elizabeth, women who wanted children more than anything else, but did not receive them until old age had made it seem impossible.  For a Being who inhabits eternity, “impossible” does not apply, and time is immaterial.  Remember them and wait on the Lord.  He will save you, in His way, and in His time.
 
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!  Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!  Psalm 27:13,14
 
Dene Ward

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