Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Early October a year ago, Nathan and Brooke with Silas and Judah came up for a visit.  One of the things we did was to go up into the Blackwater River State Forest to a trail I knew that leads to bluffs overlooking a creek.  Bluffs nearly 30 feet tall, as much as 50 feet over the creek, may be the norm in large parts of the country, but in Florida they are nearly unique.  It was a fun morning of playing on the cliffs, exploring the area, and racing sticks down the creek.  When we first got to the trail-head, knowing that my nephews were city boys, I explained to them that this was a wild forest.  There could be dangerous animals, especially snakes, and so they should stay behind me as we hiked the trail.  "If I stop, you stop."  Their mother strengthened my words a bit, the boys agreed and off we went to a fun morning.   

This past June, I was able to host Silas and Judah for nearly a week.  A couple of times we took forested hikes.  I repeated my warnings to my brilliant, but city-bred nephews.  This time, however, Judah responded with, "You said that last time we were here and there weren't any snakes," as if a little impatient with his overly cautious uncle.  Despite saying that, Judah stayed behind me as we hiked and did as I asked.  Judah did display an ignorance of some harsh realities that exist in the wild, though.  Any country boy will tell you that you can stumble around in the forest 99 different times and never see a venomous snake.  Most wild things, including snakes, will avoid people if possible.  However, on that 100th time, when the snake doesn't hear you coming in time, or is cornered by some landscape obstacle and you blunder closely enough to scare the snake, he will strike.  If venomous, you will die, or get very ill with possible life-long effects.  It only takes once.  That is why, every time one walks across a field, or hikes through the forest it behooves him to keep his eyes out for snakes.  

Our enemy is called a snake (Gen. 3, Rev. 12:9) and a hungry lion (1 Pet. 5:8) -- why else is he roaring?  If I am on a hike where either of those animals are possible to be, I am keeping my eyes open and my head on a swivel.  And certainly, if I see the danger, I will not get close and try to pet the snake!  We are repeatedly admonished to flee from sin and temptations (1 Cor. 6:18; 10:14; 2 Tim. 2:22).  To flee from it, we must have our eyes open and know where those temptations are.  Once found, we stay away!   It only takes one time getting bit to ruin our spiritual lives, and perhaps our physical lives as well.  God forgives, but earthly consequences remain and the temptation to repeat something one discovers he really enjoys is often greater than the original curiosity.  Once bitten by the snake, one's life is never the same.

Keep your eyes open every time you hike into the spiritual wildness of this world!

1 Tim. 6:9,11  "But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. . . But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness."

Lucas Ward

      It has to be one of the most common teaching experiences.  You realize a person needs to make an adjustment in his life so, rather than coming out and saying, "You know you have an issue you need to work on," instead of just blasting them in the face with it, you tell a story whose moral makes it obvious that it refers to them.  So obvious, you think, that you almost cringe waiting for the blowback.  And what happens?  They agree quickly that the people in your story certainly need to change their ways, and then walk off smiling and nodding in agreement.  Tell me that has not happened to you.  Ultimately, what good have you done except to raise your frustration level?

     Yet nowadays, I am hearing from more and more people who are members of various congregations, that is the only way one should "correct" a sinner—be so vague that they never get the point, but also—what seems to be most important—they are never offended.  Has their spiritual state changed?  No, they are still in sin because they were covered with so much verbal bubble wrap that they never even knew they were being corrected.

     Making application to oneself must be the most difficult part of learning.  Not just seeing one's sin, but seeing when some other choice might be wiser than one's own actions.  Our American pride has made us all averse to admit we have been wrong about anything at all, whether sin or simple foolishness.

     And how do I know this?  Nathan told a story to David that seems to us to be obviously referring to David's sin (2 Samuel 12).  David could immediately see the sin in the rich man's actions, but did he ever think it applied to him too?  Not for one minute.  He never got it until Nathan took his life in his hands and said to the king, "You are the man." 

     We are teaching a class now in which we have spent a good amount of time talking about asking for advice when one needs it, listening to others when they give that advice or give correction, and doing both without resentment.  The Proverb writer tells us again and again that becoming angry when corrected is the way of the fool, and yet we cannot seem to apply that one either.  It hurts my feelings to be told I'm wrong.  What did Jesus say about such things?  And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell Matt10:28.  There is something a whole lot more important than feelings at stake here.

Severe punishment awaits anyone who wanders off the path— anyone who despises reproof will die  Prov15:10

Dene Ward

Let me tell you a sad story.

            A long time ago, Keith had one of those “try-out” visits that churches offer preachers.  I’ve often wondered whether these things would go better if the church considered itself being “tried out” that weekend as well, but that’s another blog for another time.

            We had lunch and spent the afternoon with a couple who would probably have been considered “pillars” of the church, primarily because they were better educated, had more money, and could quote more scriptures, but not really that many. 

            The church sat smack dab in the middle of farm country amid acres of melons, corn, peas, and tobacco.  Most of the members lived in old frame farmhouses and had dropped out of or barely completed high school.  A remark was made about the church members that gave me pause, but I was very young, wrestling with a two year old and an infant so I didn’t trust myself to have good judgment on the matter or even to have heard it well enough to comment on, so I let it pass.

            I shouldn’t have.  We hadn’t been there six months before the same woman told me I needed to meet the “cream of the crop” in the county.  She proceeded to take me to a gathering of what she considered such women.  Having grown up with parents who told me that the best people in the world were those who sat on the pew next to you on Sunday mornings, I was shocked to see who this Christian considered “elite.” 

            As we ate our finger sandwiches and mingled, I discovered that they all had money, judging from their dress and jewelry, and later the vehicles they left in.  Most were professionals or married to one.  Some of the others were farmers all right, but not hardscrabble farmers or sharecroppers.  These farmers owned large farms or ranches, big business enterprises, or had inherited both the farms and the money from generations past.  And notice this—she and I were the only Christians there.

            Now consider David’s statement in Psalm 16:3.  As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.  David took delight in the saints in Israel, their social class notwithstanding. 

            Where do I find “social class” in that verse?  The word translated “excellent” in the psalm is translated “nobles” in 2 Chron 23:20 (KJV), and they are grouped with high ranking military officers and governors.  In Judges 5:15 it is translated “lordly.”  Jer 25:34 calls them “principals of the flock” and Psalm 136:18 says they are “famous.”  Just to make sure you know who we are talking about, Nehemiah complains in 3:5 that those “nobles” were too good to work like the common folk.  Now do you know who we’re talking about? 

            Our culture idolizes the cult of the rich and famous—how they dress, how they talk, how they live.  We call them “America’s royalty.”  We do the same when we show partiality in the church based upon wealth, popularity, education, and social status.  It is a tacit admission that we consider ourselves better than our brothers and sisters who do not have such “assets.”  It is the opposite of “each counting the other better than himself,” Phil 2:3.

            David says the true “nobles,” the “excellent ones,” are the people who fear God, who live the life they preach, with justice, fairness, kindness, goodness, and grace.  These people “delight” him.  Now ask yourself:  who do I spend most of my time with, especially in the church?  Are we as wise as David?

            One of the common questions in an interview is, “Who would you like to have dinner with?”  Journalists choose that question because the answer tells a whole lot more about that person than they seem to realize.  The person you want to eat with is the one you want to develop a relationship with, the one who interests you, the one you might even model your life after.  The answer to that question shows who you consider the aristocracy in your world.

            Who is on your list?

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Ps 84:10

Dene Ward

"Our contemporary squabbles over worship rarely -- if ever -- include discussions of physically bending the knee before God, which may be a measure of how uninterested people are in truly biblical worship."

Daniel Block"For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship".

When we kept our grandsons last spring, twenty-month-old Judah usually climbed into my lap every evening as we sat at the table for a final cup of coffee.  It took me a minute the first time his little hand reached out in the air, but finally I realized he was trying to catch the steam wafting over my mug, and was completely mystified when it disappeared between his chubby little fingers.
               A lot of people spend their lives trying to catch the steam, vapors that seem solid but disintegrate in their grasping hands.  They do it in all sorts of ways, and all of them are useless. 
               Do they really think they can stop time?  Over 11,000,000 surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures were performed in this country in 2013, and we aren’t talking medically necessary procedures.  The top five were liposuctions, breast augmentations, eyelid surgeries, tummy tucks, and nose surgeries.*
               Then there are the folks chasing wealth and security.  Didn’t the recent Great Recession, as it is now called, teach them anything?  Others are striving to make a name for themselves.  These are usually the same folks who tell Christians how pathetic we are to believe that some Higher Power would ever notice we even exist on this puny blue dot in the universe.  Yet there they all go looking for fame, fortune, notoriety, beauty, or even their version of eternal life.  All of it is nothing more than a dream.  It will disappear, if not in a natural disaster or an economic meltdown, then the day they die—and they will die no matter how hard they try not to.  They are the ones grasping at dreams which are only a vapor that disappears in a flash.
               Our dream isn’t a dream at all.  It is a hope, which in the Biblical sense means it is all but realized.  Sin and death have been conquered by a force we can only try to comprehend, by a love we can never repay, and by a will we can but do our best to imitate.  Yet there it is, not a wisp of white floating over a warm porcelain mug, but a solid foundation upon which we base our faith.  Heb 6:19 calls it “an anchor.”  Have you ever seen a real anchor?  If there is anything the opposite of a wisp of steam, that’s it—solid and strong, able to hold us steady in the worst winds of life.  Tell me how a pert nose and a full bank account can do that!
               The world thinks it knows what is real while we sit like a toddler grasping at steam.  When eternity comes, they will finally see that they are wrong.  Spiritual things are the only things that last, the only real things at all.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal, 2 Cor 4:6-8.

*Information from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

Dene Ward

We saw that sign on the side of the road, complete with exclamation point at the end.  “Fresh Cut Firewood!” followed by a phone number.  I wondered how many people fell for it. 

            Here’s another one:  “Olives fresh off the tree!”  I actually saw someone fall for that one, and he never will again.

            You see what sounds good may not always be good.  Fresh cut firewood is green—it won’t burn.  Firewood needs to sit and dry out for awhile, at least a year down here in this humid climate.  In fact, when Keith cuts wood in the winter, it is for the next year, not the present year.

            When it comes to religion a lot of people fall for what sounds good.  For example, just like firewood is a good thing to have when you own a woodstove, unity is a good thing to have among Christians.  God demands it among His people.  We are not supposed to be arguing all the time.  We should not be dividing into cliques and basing that upon carnal things like status and wealth.  But God also set some qualifications on the matter. 

            The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable…James 3:17.  Unity is a wonderful thing, but you never sacrifice purity for the sake of unity.  The New Testament is full of admonitions to be pure in heart, pure in doctrine, pure in fellowship.  “A little leaven leavens the whole lump,” Paul warns the Corinthians when he tells them to withdraw from the adulterous brother (1 Cor 5:6).  If you want to worship a holy Father, then you have to be holy, Peter tells his readers (1 Pet 1:15,16). 

            As children of God we hope to be like Him some day, John says, but that will only happen if we purify ourselves and stay that way (1 John 5:2,3).  Earlier in his letter he talks about fellowship with God.  Fellowship implies unity, but while unity with one another is important, unity with God is even more important and it cannot happen if we do not keep ourselves pure, or place unity with the impure ahead of unity with God.

            As to that second sign I mentioned above, olives fresh off the tree may sound good, but the informed know that they are too bitter to eat.  They must be processed first or they will turn your mouth inside out in a permanent pucker.  I am sure you could go on and on with the things you are familiar with that others might not be.  Here is the point:  don’t be taken in by how things sound.  Read the Word.  Study it and see the entirety of truth on a subject, not just one angle.  God expects you to see His angle, not the one you think sounds best.

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, 2 Thes 2:9-12.

Dene Ward

     Eleven weeks ago I had surgery on my right thumb.  Well, actually, the surgeon made two incisions—one in my forearm and one where my thumb connects to my wrist.  I never realized that arthritis could get so bad that they would actually take a bone out.  This one is called the trapezium.  "There was severe degenerative arthrosis and sequelae of severe degenerative joint disease as surrounds the trapezium," the report says, and who am I to disagree.  It certainly hurt more and more, and I was unable to use that hand more and more.  I couldn't peel anything; I couldn't button anything; I couldn't open anything, even the non-childproof caps; I couldn't write more than a word or two before the pain became too much to bear; more and more often I dropped what I picked up because it hurt too much to hang on to it.  The rheumatologist had tried everything else and this was the last resort.  A bone was removed and a tendon harvested from the forearm to put in the empty spot where a hole had also been drilled to thread it through and fasten it in.

     So after time in a bandage and splint and more time in a cast, I am back to a splint/brace and doing physical therapy.  I am a pianist and writer who types constantly.  Surely this will be a cinch for my strong hands, I thought.  Oh, if only.  All you need to do is look at my two hands side by side with the brace removed to see what has happened in these past weeks.  My right hand now looks like a skeleton's hand with loose skin draped over it.  The musculature is simply gone.  Touch your thumb to the tip of each finger on the same hand.  Easy, huh?  My affected thumb couldn't even begin to do that, especially not to the little finger, which shook like someone with the palsy.  This also took a toll on the surrounding body parts.  My entire hand and arm were swollen twice their size and I could no longer bend my wrist in any direction at all.  After four weeks in therapy and diligently going through the ten exercises sent home with me twice a day, I am beginning to make some progress—but no one has actually promised that I will get it all back.  Disuse, even if it was necessary while I heal, has done a real number on me, and if I refuse therapy because it hurts, I will never get it back.

     For every one that partakes of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil  Heb 5:14.

     Too many of us think that sitting on the pew four hours a week is the same thing as "exercising our senses."  We don't want to do anything we consider "extra."  Well, guess what?  If you are to grow and become stronger and more knowledgeable, you have to work at it every day, not just at your therapy appointment on Sundays.  You can't get away with ignoring God's Word because "who needs to know anything about these obsolete old books anyway?" as one brother said, complaining about a study of the minor prophets.  Just look at what the Hebrew writer tells us we will no longer be able to do if we don't exercise:  we will no longer be able to tell good from evil.  If you cannot see that influence in our society now, your soul is at risk, something far more important than your physical health, because eventually, that same disability will infest the church.  In fact, I have heard some of it already.  Even if you had a great amount of knowledge and ability in the past, disuse will steal it from you just as I have lost my hand and finger dexterity.  If you don't use it, you lose it, a maxim that applies in all things.

     Work hard, today and every day.  You don't want to wind up in a spiritual cast for eternity.

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ  Phil1:10.

Dene Ward

            When our boys were small, on summer days when a soft, warm rain fell, they often asked if they could go outside and play in it.  I was reminded of those sweet days last spring when our grandson Silas did the same thing. 

            He put on his swimming trunks and headed outside, first just running a few steps out, then racing back in under the carport.  Gradually he ran further and further, eventually out to the old water oak stump some thirty feet from the house, stood there a minute hopping up and down, holding his arms out to present the most skin to the sky, and laughing uproariously. 

            He must have gone at it for ten minutes, running back to the carport and excitedly jabbering, “It’s wet!  It’s cold!  It’s fun!” then running back out into the rain even further, eventually to the swing hanging from the live oak limb out past the well.         

            But it was still spring and his little chin began to quiver, and all too soon we had to take him in and dry him off.

            Do you know what started all this?  Pure, unadulterated joy.  He and his little brother had been with us for five days while Mommy and Daddy were out of town, and although we had a great time, when they drove up that afternoon, it was clear who were most important in his young life.  They were back and before long they would take him in his own car seat in his own “blue car” to his own home and his own room where he could sleep in his own bed.  I know the feeling.

            But life may have made me forget that feeling of pure joy. 

            Despite the troubles of life we always have real reason for joy, and God expects us to show it.  David had that joy, and he expressed it before the people of Israel as they brought the Ark of the Covenant to his newly captured capital city. But he was married to someone who didn’t have it, and who did not understand.  She scolded him and received this reply:

            [It was] before Jehovah, who chose me above your father, and above all his house, to appoint me prince over the people of Jehovah, over Israel: therefore will I play before Jehovah, 2 Sam 6:21.

            .Do you see the word “play?”  David was out there “leaping and dancing before Jehovah.”  That’s how he was playing.  That Hebrew word is found in Job 40:20, “the beasts play in the field.”  You will find it in Prov 8:30 and 31 where it is translated “rejoicing,” and in Job 5:12 where it is “laugh.”  The same attitude that had Silas laughing and playing in the rain had David playing before Jehovah--joy.             

            When was the last time you felt that way about God and your relationship with Him?  I think we are a little like Michal—too embarrassed to act like God means that much to us.  We are too conscious of ourselves and how we look, and far too worried about what other people think.

            If I am too embarrassed to show the Lord how much He means to me, I wonder, on the day He comes to pick us up and take us home, if He might be too embarrassed to act like we mean that much to Him.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, I Pet 1:8.

When my mother raised us, she always said, “I’m not running a restaurant.  You get what I serve,” and what she served was always fine with me.  I don’t recall a single bad meal.  Even recently I heard a television cook reminisce about coming to dinner as a child and eating what was put in front of her, so my family wasn’t weird, and neither was I when I followed suit as an adult.  It was as much about finances as anything else, but it certainly helped teach a few things, like, you don’t always get what you want in life and be grateful for whatever there is.

            But once in awhile I tried to please everyone as much as possible.  If the main dish was one boy’s favorite, then dessert was the other boy’s favorite.  It was the best of both worlds for them—a favorite entrée and a favorite dessert.

            Recently I have come up with a dessert that has to be the best of both worlds.  I haven’t decided whether to call it a cheesecake brownie or a brownie cheesecake.  It has two layers: a brownie bottom, and a cheesecake top.

            So, if you like chocolate and cheesecake, you can have both in one piece.  If you want chewy and smooth and creamy this is the dessert for you.  If you like chocolate and vanilla, this is even better than Neapolitan ice cream.  It’s even part convenience food and part “from scratch.”  The brownie layer is a mix and the cheesecake layer is all homemade.  A friend told me it’s perfect for her and her husband.  He has celiac disease, so he eats the gluten-free cheesecake layer and she eats the brownie layer.  Like I said, the best of both worlds.

            Now try to convince your neighbors that as a Christian you have the best of both worlds.  All they can see is what you can’t do and how much you sacrifice in time, energy, and types of entertainment.  Especially if all you do is complain about what you can’t do, ruing the messed up weekends, the missed ball games and picnics, what else do you expect?  You are supposed to make your life look like something they will want, not something they will hate.

            So perhaps we should start by convincing ourselves.  We don’t have to go to church; we get to assemble with our spiritual family.  We don’t have to dress differently; we get to look like decent, classy people instead of prostitutes.  We don’t have to give up drinking and smoking and drugs; we get to keep our dignity, breathe clearly, and preserve as many brain cells as possible.  We don’t have to give up revenge and gossip; we get to get along with people and stay out of trouble.  We don’t have to watch our language; we get to look like intelligent people with a real vocabulary.  We don’t have to give up status and money and things; we find our joy wherever we are in any situation—we have learned in whatever circumstances we are “to be content,” Phil 4:12, and contentment equals happiness.

            God does not expect us to be miserable in order to earn Heaven.  Being a Christian is not a horrible life.  It is a life of joy, a life of fulfillment, a life of health, a life of spiritual wealth.  I have more family than any of my neighbors.  One of them was amazed at the food brought during my surgeries, at the women who cleaned my house and the teenagers who raked the yard after Keith had a serious illness.  If I ever need help, I don’t have just one person to call, I have a whole list. 

            My marriage is intact and happy.  My children are happy, productive citizens, and servants of the Lord to boot.  We don’t have money problems because we don’t love things and don’t need luxury to be satisfied.  We don’t have legal problems because we are honest and law abiding.  We don’t lose our faith over our illnesses and disabilities because we have something far better in store for us.

            Which leads us to the next world.  If this life has been good—not perfect, for how could it be in a cursed world—the next one will be nothing short of amazing, an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you,1 Pet 1:4.

            God promises us a “best of both worlds” life, far better than a “best of both worlds” dessert.  But He doesn’t make you eat it.  He gives you a choice.  You can have this world and the next if you do it His way.  Otherwise, this one is all you get.

For bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come, 1 Tim 4:8.

Dene Ward

If you want the mentioned recipe, click on "Dene's Recipes."

Today I have a short observation to share with you.  We all know that “it is more blessed to give than to receive,” but no one is going to be blessed if there is no one out there ready to receive!  It should go without saying that I am not talking about people who go around with their hands held out, but I learned a long time ago that anything that should go without saying probably needs to be said anyway, so consider it said.  Now to today’s point…

            I know a lot of older folks who have given and given and given their entire lives.  They have served their sick, hurting, sorrowing brethren in every capacity you can imagine.  That person may very well be you. 

And now I hear people ask you, “Is there anything I can do for you?”  I know what you are going to say because I have said it too:  “No.  We’re fine.”  A lot of times we aren’t fine, we’re just too proud to accept help, or we have the mistaken notion that patience and humility involve sitting quietly in the background without complaint, even when we are in desperate need.  If we do ask for something it’s only, “If it isn’t any trouble.”

            Brothers and sisters!  God expects us to sacrifice for one another.  He expects us to generously give to those in need and serve those who are afflicted.  Indeed, He expects me to go to a lot of trouble for you—it doesn’t count as serving and sacrifice if it isn’t trouble.  I can’t do that if you won’t let me.  You can’t do that if I won’t let you.

            When people ask what they can do for you, tell them!  It may go against your grain to accept help, but you need to get off your high horse and let God bless those givers by your willingness to receive.  In fact, it may be more than your physical needs they are meeting.  It may be exactly what you need spiritually—a recognition that you actually need someone else’s help.

            Your turn to help will come again.  It has already come, again and again for years, which may be the reason you find it so hard to turn the tables and accept it now that you need the help.  Accept it, not just gratefully, but graciously too.  This is, in fact, another way you can give to others—both the pleasure of helping someone and the blessing God promises to the givers.  You are denying them a blessing with your stubborn refusal to admit you need help.

            May I just paraphrase 1 Cor 12?  “If all the world were givers, where would the receivers be?  If all the world were receivers, where would the givers be?”  It happens to us all sooner or later.  When your turn comes, be generous enough to allow others the same blessings you have been receiving as a giver for years.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith, Gal 6:9,10.

Dene Ward