I don’t know how many times in my life I have heard people say the Law of Moses was a matter of form religion only, that the heart did not matter to God one way or the other.  How anyone could think this of a religion whose mantra seemed to be Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might (Deut 6:5) is beyond my comprehension.  Yet all of us have blind spots where what we have heard all our lives keeps us from seeing things right under our noses.
            Here is a list of passages to read at your convenience in the next week.  It will amaze you, stun you, and forever more settle the matter.  God expected his people to live the Law every day of their lives, not just on the Sabbath.  He has always wanted their hearts.  Isa 1:11-17; 29:13; 30:8-14; 58:13,14; 66:1,2; Jer 7:8-10; 8:8,9; 22:3,4; Eze 33:13, 30-33; 34:1-31; Hos 6:4-6; 10:12; 12:6; Amos 5:11-15; 8:4-10; Mic 6:6-8.    
            Yes, form was important to God.  It showed exactly how much faith and devotion his people had to obey him in even the smallest details.  As God told Moses, See that you make things according to the pattern which was shown you in Mount [Sinai], Ex 25:40.  Jesus even said the Pharisees were right to be careful to follow the Law exactly:  Whatever [the Pharisees] bid you, do and observe…for these things (tithing even their herbs) you ought to have done, Matt 23:1,23.  But he went on to say that the heart was even more important:  You have left undone the weightier matters of the Law, justice, mercy, and faith.  God expected their obedient following of the pattern of worship to match an obedient life of righteousness, coming from a pure heart of faith, love, and mercy.  He flatly told them that none of their worship would be accepted otherwise.
            Why do you think Jesus was so angry with the scribes and Pharisees?  They prided themselves on knowing and keeping the Law, but they seemed totally ignorant of those scriptures listed above.  He quoted several of those passages to them (Matt 9:13; 13:14,15; 15:8,9), ending with, Go learn what this means, the ultimate insult to a scribe, a “teacher” of the Law.
            Those Jewish leaders were still under the Law at the time.  Do we, who have a better covenant, a better priest, and better forgiveness, think God will expect any less of us?  God demands more than simply following His law to the letter.  He expects a life of service from us, Inasmuch as you have done this unto the least of these my brothers, you have done it also unto me, Matt 25:40.  Let’s not sit on our pews congratulating ourselves because we are following all the rituals correctly, if we have left so much else undone throughout the week.  As Peter reminds us in 1 Pet 4:17, judgment will begin with us.  We had better make sure our hearts are ready for it.
 
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal offerings, I will not accept them, neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.  Take away from me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melodies of your viols.  But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream, Amos 5:21-24.
 
Dene Ward
 

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
I think most all church members are familiar with the story of the prophet Nathan confronting David after David’s sin with Bathsheba. (2 Sam. 12:1-7a) We know God sent Nathan to David. We know the story that Nathan told David about the rich man who stole the pet ewe from his poor neighbor rather than taking from his own multitudinous flock to feed his visitor. We know how David, in righteous anger, declared that rich man worthy of death and passed the sentence that the man would repay his poor neighbor fourfold. We know how Nathan then looked in David’s eye and said, “Thou art the man!” My question is, how excited do you think Nathan was to get out of bed that morning?

Think about who David was at the time that Nathan confronted him. He was the warrior hero of the nation and the scourge of all the surrounding nations. When David took over as king, Israel was in sad shape. The entire coastline and all the coastal plains were occupied by the Philistines, the Canaanites, and the Phoenicians. Syria had taken over most of what should have been Israel’s land north of the Sea of Galilee, and Moab, Ammon, and Edom occupied Trans-Jordan and large parts of Southern Israel. The Israelites occupied only the mountainous interior and were subject to constant raids by their neighbors. When David first became king (of Judah only for the first seven years) it seems that the Philistines considered him a vassal king. Then David defeated the Canaanites, the Moabites and Edomites. He conquered the then existing two Syrian kingdoms. He pushed the Philistines back into their five base cities and denied them any further expansion. David also received tribute from the Phoenicians (Tyre & Sidon) and the kingdom of Hamath. At the time of his sin with Bathsheba, David was completing his last major conquest (Ammon) which would ensure his kingdom’s security. He was at this time just over 50 years old. He was the revered hero of his nation. He had also already murdered Uriah to keep the secret of his sin with Bathsheba. So, do you think Nathan was at all worried about confronting him? If David had truly broken with God, Nathan likely wouldn’t survive the day. I think I’d be nervous.

While it is unlikely that we will ever have to confront a warlord about his adultery and murder, we are commanded to correct erring brothers: “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (Gal. 6:1) This obligation often makes us uncomfortable because we are nervous about how the brother or sister might react. Sometimes we avoid this duty because we don’t want to deal with the drama that might result. Maybe we are afraid this person won’t be our friend anymore. They will yell at us, hurt OUR feelings, and then things will be awkward forever after that. Regardless of all that, which are legitimate fears, the Bible makes it clear that confronting erring brothers is an obligation placed upon us by God. Rom. 15:14, 1 Thess. 5:14 and 2 Thess. 3:15 all show that part of our duty as Christians is to admonish one another.

Our obligation goes beyond just “getting on” each other. Among other passages, 1 Thess. 5:11 and Heb. 3:13 teach us that we should be exhorting each other. Heb. 10:24-25 tells us that the whole reason we are to attend church services is to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works”. We should be thinking about each other and trying to find the best ways to encourage each other as we work our way to Heaven. And, as needed, we should be admonishing and confronting each other about sins we might become caught up in.

One other reason we shy away from this uncomfortable duty is the fear that if the erring brother is offended, he might leave the church. While that would be sad, if the brother is so caught up in his sin that he won’t repent, he needs to be removed from the church anyway. Paul discusses this exact scenario in 1 Cor. 5: “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (vs. 7-8) Just as God commanded Nathan to go to David, we are to go to our erring brethren and do our best to bring them back to the fold.

The other side of this story is, of course, David’s reaction. He didn’t become angry. He didn’t act affronted. He didn’t try to lie or cover it up. In 2 Sam. 12:13, he admitted his guilt. We know from other passages, notably Ps. 51, that this wasn’t a bare admittance of guilt, but the beginning of a true and deep repentance. Just as we can learn something from Nathan’s courage in confronting David about his sin, we can learn from David how to handle it if we are ever on the receiving end of the admonishment. The natural reaction to having a brother tell us he thinks we are in sin might be, “How dare you accuse me?!” But this should not be the reaction of a Christian whose primary motivation is to please God.

While the conversation will probably catch us off guard, and our first reaction might be to deny, these opportunities are the perfect chance to check up on ourselves. After all, 2 Cor. 13:5 does teach us to “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” If your brother comes to you with a concern, think about it. Examine yourself and test yourself out. Your brother might be wrong. He might have misunderstood. He might even have poor motives in telling you. Weighed against the possibility of losing your eternal soul, however, none of that matters much. Consider carefully whatever he or she said to make sure you are still in the faith. After all, we are to “. . . work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). If, upon contemplation, you discover that your brother is right and you are erring, repent and fix it. If you realize that your brother made a mistake in admonishing you, thank him for his concern. After all, it wasn’t easy for him to confront you. He was likely just as nervous, uncomfortable, and even scared as you would be if you were to have to confront him. He loved you enough to overcome that fear and come to you anyway. That kind of love is precious.

Like Nathan, we have obligations to confront erring brethren. Like David, we should listen, consider the admonishment, and if sinning, we need to admit it, repent, and move forward. In all this, our love for each other and for God should be the over-riding motivation.
 
Lucas Ward

If you have been with me for awhile,  you will realize that this is an old one.  Chloe turned 14 this past weekend, and her days are obviously numbered, but we can still learn a lesson or two from her.

We have a new puppy.  Chloe is an Australian cattle dog, a companion for our 6 year old Australian.  They are great dogs, playful, loyal, and smart—too smart sometimes for their owners’ good! 
            Magdalene, our older dog, seems to enjoy the little one, even though she did have to growlingly remind her yesterday that her tail was NOT a chew toy.  They both walk with me now, Chloe struggling with her short legs and puppy-plump tummy to keep up, and we look like a parade as we make our morning laps.  Magdi has developed some arthritis in her hips so they sit out after the first two rounds, but Chloe still had excess energy this morning.  She wanted to be with Magdi, but wanted to run too, so she compromised by running circles around the patient older dog, by turns prancing and ripping back and forth, turning on a dime, as that breed is capable of doing, and yipping playfully.  I thought, as I rounded my last bend and came upon this scene that no matter what the scientists tell me about dogs not having emotions, if she did not have it, Chloe was managing a very good impression of pure, unadulterated joy.
            First century Christians had that feeling in spades.  I did a study on joy recently.  Do you know what surprised me?  Not a single time does the New Testament say their joy was caused by the physical things in this life—not their health, their wealth, their careers, their homes, not even the weather—is listed as a cause for their joy at all.  If it’s in there, I missed it.
            What caused their joy?  Hearing the gospel, Acts 13:42; being baptized, 8:39; having a hope, Rom 12:12; being counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Christ, Acts 5:41; being afflicted, 2 Cor 7:4; being persecuted and having their possessions confiscated, Heb 10:32-34; being put to grief through trials, 1 Pet 1:6-9; becoming partakers of the suffering of Christ, 1 Pet 4:12-16—whoa, now!  What’s going on here?  Are these a bunch of masochists or what?
            The problem is that we confuse joy with happiness.  Hap-piness comes because of things that hap-pen, as does un-hap-piness.  Joy is an overriding foundation for how we live our lives.  I may experience moments of unhappiness, but as long as I do not let them overcome my life of joy, I am able to survive with that joy intact.  I may lose my belongings, lose a loved one, contract a serious illness, even face death, and still not lose my joy. 
          All those things that caused joy in the early Christians are based upon having a Savior who has gone through every type of problem I ever will have (Heb 4:15), and more than that, gave up an incomprehensible position (Phil 2:6,7), and separated himself from the Father for the first time in all Eternity (Matt 27:46), all so I could have salvation.  Anything I have to face in this life, no matter how dire, is petty compared to that.  That is why I should only experience moments of grief.  To make a “career” of sadness is to devalue everything He went through for me.  Nothing I have to face is worse than He faced so that I might some day be in a place where joy will reach its full potential.
            Maybe, as Thoreau said in Walden, “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” but not Christians.  We lead lives of joyful anticipation.
 
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which comes upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened to you; but insomuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, that at the revelation of his glory also you may rejoice with exceeding joy.   1 Peter 4:12,13
 
Dene Ward

On February 14, 2018, a young man who had recently been expelled from the school, opened fire at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and killed 17 people, injuring 17 others as well.  That night several prayer vigils were held in the area.  At one of them, people were asked to list one good thing they would do in the near future to help turn the anger, shock, and grief of the gathered crowd into something positive.  According to the New York Post, as a result of that challenge in the next few days prayers were read for the murderer, Nikolas Cruz.  What kind of prayers?  "We ask that you would intervene in his disturbed mind and show him the hope that can only be found in you," was only one of several of that attitude prayed.  Perhaps we all need to ask ourselves if we could have prayed such a thing after our child had been slaughtered by this man.  It might not be such a stretch to think that one day we may be called upon to do the same.

Jesus told a story that even the most Biblically ignorant people in the world have heard.  We call it “The Good Samaritan.”  Most of us have never actually been in the shoes of either of these men.  Oh, we may have been on the side of the road with a flat tire or a broken fan belt or an overheated radiator, and maybe someone even stopped and helped us, but I doubt we have ever filled every variable of this example.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Luke 10:30-35.

Understand this:  the relationship between Jew and Samaritan was even worse than black and white, and maybe even Jew and Gentile.  “On all public occasions, Samaritans took the part hostile to the Jews, while they seized every opportunity of injuring and insulting them…they sold many Jews into slavery…they waylaid and killed pilgrims on their road to Jerusalem.  The Jews retaliated by treating the Samaritans with every mark of contempt; by accusing them of falsehood, folly, and irreligion; and…by disowning them as [being] of the same race or religion, and this in the most offensive terms of assumed superiority and self-righteous fanaticism” (Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah). 

These two men not only disagreed politically, they disagreed religiously as well.  Their people hated one another, mistreated one another; they were violent and malicious in every way possible.  Yet here is one who finds himself in need and his “enemy” takes care of him.  And not just minimally.  The Samaritan left “two denarii” to care for the Jew.  A denarius was a day’s wage for a skilled laborer—think carpenter, plumber, or mason in our day, and the wage those men make an hour, then multiply it out for two days’ worth of wages.  That is the equivalent of what the Samaritan left for a complete stranger, and an enemy at that.

Now think today of someone who fits that description—a stranger who is a member of an enemy nation, one that is violent, who hates us, and who is also of a different religion.  Do I have to spell it out?

So you drive by and see someone on the side of the road who is obviously one of those people by his looks and dress—or maybe at the last rest area you saw him on his prayer rug looking to the east so you know exactly what he is.  What are you going to do?  If Jesus’ story does not apply here, it applies nowhere.

The posts I have seen by some of my brethren on Facebook appall me.  I do not see a kind people who would care even for those we disagree with, as Jesus did when he healed Malchus’s ear, but an angry people who would wish them harm.  What are we thinking?  “Stop this!” Jesus told Peter when he drew his sword.  “Any who take the sword will perish by the sword" Matt 26:52.
​
Jesus also described the citizens of his spiritual kingdom this way:  You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ​so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ​For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ​You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matt 5:43-48  

I never thought that passage would actually mean something to me someday.  I don’t have enemies, at least none who might wish me harm, but that possibility is becoming more and more real, and that means that passage is becoming one we may have to use one of these days.  Do not become like the unbelievers who ignore the entire Bible by ignoring this one verse in your own life.  The same God wrote it all.

In the Roman Empire Christians often gave themselves away because they were kind not only to their own, but also to their pagan neighbors, even those who had been unkind to them.  Everyone knew, “Only Christians do that.” 
Is that what they would say about you?
 
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them… Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom 12:14-21
 
Dene Ward
 

When I was a child, I had the notion that just like I lived in a house all the time, birds lived in nests all the time.  I was an adult before I realized that birds build nests primarily for breeding.  There needs to be a place to lay those eggs, incubate them, and then safely raise the young to maturity.  Sometimes the empty nest is then used for roosting but that is not the main purpose.  Also, the males of some species build nests to attract the female, then never use it, but again, that is not the norm among most species.
            Nests are built almost entirely of natural elements:  twigs, mud, grass, moss, plant fibers, fur, and feathers, for example.  Ruby-throated hummingbirds also use spider webs.  Blue grosbeaks have been known to weave snakeskins into their nests. *Shudder* The builders are limited to things light enough and small enough to carry in their beaks.  The nest must be strong enough to withstand wind and be waterproof against rain, yet large enough for an entire family!  It will take a bird hundreds or perhaps even thousands of back-and-forth trips to complete a nest.  I have seen a couple of hawks build a nest before, flying back and forth and back and forth, and I believe it.
            Birds build several kinds of nests, each species seeming to home in on one specialty.  A platform nest is, as you might guess, large and mainly flat with only a small depression in the middle to hold the eggs and later the baby birds.  A platform nest can be built on the ground, in the water, on cliffs, bridges, and balconies.  The platform gives young birds a "playground" and parents a "landing strip."  Many waterfowl and birds of prey use platform nests.
             A cup nest is a variation of the platform nest, built around a platform which is attached to the sides of trees, or shrubs, or cliffs, or even on the ground.  This is the type of nest most commonly featured in drawings and 75% of all songbirds use it. 
            Probably the simplest type of nest is a ground nest, which is simply a depression scraped out of the ground.  It contains no other materials, and is probably the least safe nest there is.  Killdeer use them, along with another species or two, but apparently not many.
            A cavity nest is a hole, usually excavated in the trunk or limb of a tree.  Bluebirds and woodpeckers are among those who prefer this type of nest.  A small hole leads to a chamber that can be as large as 10 inches across.  It may be the most well-sheltered nest-type there is.  Bluebird boxes obviously mimic this type of nest.
            A pendulous nest looks like a small sack hanging from a tree—or perhaps a scruffy, well-worn sock.  It seems to be the safest from predators because it is attached to the ends of very small branches that large predators cannot safely maneuver.  These nests give their occupants a wild ride whenever the wind blows, though.  They are woven from plant fibers and lined with grass, with a small hole in the side to give parents access to the babies.  Orioles, kinglets, and some tropical birds prefer this type of home.*
            Wrens are noted for their speedy and creative nest-building.  They prefer a cavity nest, but will nest in any type of cavity they can find that is left alone long enough—sometimes as little as one afternoon.  We have found them in old coffee cans that we use for feed—once a day--which leaves them untouched for nearly 24 hours, plenty of time for an industrious wren to lay claim to one.  We have found wrens' nests tucked into the bumper of the truck.  We have found them between an upside down broom brush and the ceiling of the carport.  One time we found one in the rain gutter.  As soon as we saw it and saw that the eggs had not yet been laid, we moved it.  We were not being mean to the bird, but trying to save the future babies from drowning—during nesting season it rains here nearly every afternoon, not just calm drizzles, but gullywashers.
            Through all this I can't help but think of that old saying which, I found out recently in a women's class, many of those under 40 have never heard:  you can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.
            I hate to say this, but folks, we have become a bit Pharisaical about more than a few things.  One of them is our definition of sin.  A young man told me once that before his conversion he lived a wild life.  Even after several years he still had trouble with temptation.  But some older Christians had told him that if he was tempted at all, he was sinning!  He shouldn't even have a desire to sin.  He said they looked down on him as if he were less a Christian than they simply because he had to overcome more often.  I could say a sharp thing or two about that, like maybe they aren't tempted anymore because the Devil knows he already has them.  But probably what is going on is a failure to understand the meanings of words.  If you don't want to do something, or don't like something, no one can tempt you with it.  If you don't like chocolate, for example, (yes, there are some alien creatures like that out there), no one can tempt you off your diet with a chocolate cake, now can they?  That is pure logic.  So yes, temptation means you want to do something.
            So what does that have to do with birds and their nests?  Thoughts will fly through your mind now and again, perhaps more often in your early walk or during times of stress.  What did you do with that thought?  Did you shoo it away like a wren who is building her nest in a dangerous place?  Or did you sit there and meditate on it, chew on it, run it around in your mind again and again until it "conceived" into a bad fantasy, or bad words, or even a bad action?  In one case the bird flew over your head and you recognized the danger there and refused to think of it again—you were tempted, but temptation is not a sin; it never conceived.  In the other case, you let that bird land long enough to build not just a nest but a downright mansion in your hair—you were tempted and you gave into that temptation and let it become sin in some fashion or the other.
            Please, people, do not mistake temptation for sin.  You will wind up living a miserable life with no hope because the Devil sends those birds out, not just one dove and one raven like Noah, but droves of them every day, trying to steal you from the Lord.  When you realize just how many times you have succeeded in driving out those birds, not giving in to the sin, you will become stronger and stronger and even more determined to drive them away.  How many have you swatted at just today?  See how many sins you have avoided?  Good for you!  Don't let those birds make a nest in your hair.  And don't let someone else tell you that because you are tempted you are less a Christian than they.  In fact, by discouraging "even one of these little ones," I would say that they are the ones who need to worry.
 
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (Jas 1:14-15).
Blessed is the man that endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him. (Jas 1:12).
 
Dene Ward
 
*All the bird information in this article is from a book called Birds of Florida—Field Guide by Stan Tekiela.  He has many state-specific Field Guides, and if you enjoy watching the birds in your yard, you can probably find one for your state.  They are available online.
 
 

Here in north Florida we don’t look at the calendar to tell the season.  We generally have about 5 months of summer, nearly 3 months each of spring and fall, and 4 -6 weeks of winter. 
            Since I moved to the country I have noticed that each season has its own feel and smell.  About the first week of October the morning air becomes crisp and dry, for Florida anyway, and I know fall has arrived.  It may leave a week later, but we know that by the first of November it is generally here to stay. 
            Then shortly before the holiday season I will be greeted by the smell of wood fires and a damp cold that seeps into your bones.  I lived in Illinois for two years so I know what below zero weather is like, but even up there you could quickly run the trash out in your shirtsleeves at 45 degrees.  Down here that same temperature will set your teeth chattering in just a few short minutes.  It’s winter! 
            Sometime around Valentine’s Day the warm sunshine on your back spreads like a soothing ointment, and soon the air is heavy with the perfume of azaleas, dogwoods, gardenias, wisteria and the first roses of the year.  Rakes scratch the ground and black plastic bags stack up in every yard.  The acrid smell of burning leaves fills the air and the spring green of new leaves lights up the sky.  Jack Frost may paint your garden one more time in March, but spring has definitely sprung! 
            By the first of May a wet morning fog drips on until about 10, and the flower smells have mellowed into the watermelon smell of new-mown grass.  Just standing outside for ten minutes will leave your hair damp with both humidity and perspiration.  The long, hot summer has begun.
            It has taken awhile but now I relish every change of season.  I used to wish away the long, humid summers precisely because they were that way.  Then when my children started school, I wished away the rest of the year because the summer was the only time I had them to myself.  But I spent the first part of my life wishing it away as well.  I couldn’t wait to start school.  Then I couldn’t wait for college.  Then I couldn’t wait to get married.  Then I couldn’t wait to have children.  And now what?  I have an empty nest and my life is well over half over.  Is that why we say that middle age brings wisdom?  Why did it take so long for me to figure this out?
            God wants us to enjoy our lives.  Yes, we suffer trials and even some minor persecution.  But as much as is possible he expects us to live well and laugh well.  1 Pet 3:10 …love life and see good days.  Psa 118:24, This is the day which Jehovah has made; rejoice and be glad in it.  Eccl 3:11, He has made everything beautiful in its time, also he has set eternity in their hearts.  Eccl  5:18, Behold that which I have seen to be good and comely is for one to eat and to drink and to enjoy good in all his labor wherein he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him, for this is his portion.  Finally, I have learned to take joy in every day.
            If you are still young, don’t wish your life away.  It may seem that your children will never grow up, that you will never have time for yourself and your spouse again, that everything you really want is somewhere out there in the future.  Take a minute and look around.  God wants you to enjoy the present.  If you cannot learn that now, then when those future things come along, you won’t know how to enjoy them either.  I have seen so many who are never satisfied with what they have, and who ruin the time they have left looking for something better.  Learn to be happy and content because one of these days you may find yourself wishing you had back all those days you wished away in the first place.
 
He that would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.  For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears unto their supplication.  But the face of the Lord is upon those who do evil, 1 Pet 3:10-12.
 
Dene Ward
 

Contemplate [Jesus'] life for a moment.  Begin at Bethlehem and follow him to Bethany, where, it is said, he ascended to heaven.  That life is blameless, flawless.  He did not lack abuse, denunciation, defamation, persecutions.  Men called him a drunkard and a glutton because he was not an ascetic; they said he "had a devil" because they could not understand how any man would do a thing only because it was right.  Some called him a lunatic; "he is beside himself," they said, because he was unworldly, was what they considered "unbusinesslike," because they, with their selfishness and pride, could not imagine themselves as he did unless they had lost their reason.  Many hated him then, as they do now, because he was, as he is, in the way of their self-seeking and their sins.  Bad men cannot be at rest where he is. 

Man of Galilee by Atticus G Haygood
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It’s been over fifty years since Rudolf Flesch wrote Why Johnny Can’t Read.  Someone had finally been brave enough to say out loud, “Modern education methods are not working.”
            There was a sudden push in the universities for all teachers in every subject to be able to teach reading as well.  Even in music education, I was required to come up with methods to teach word reading while at the same time teaching music reading—a bit like trying to teach English and Math simultaneously.  I haven’t noticed that is has helped.  We have a newspaper columnist who keeps track of the English, spelling, and word choice errors in his own paper.  His list never seems to shorten. 
            The other day, I heard a sportscaster, who was speculating about a certain team’s future in the season ahead, say, “Of course, I realize we are living in the speculum here.”  As I recall, the last time I heard that word a doctor used it.  That same day another sportscaster said he was “efforting” to give us an unbiased view of things.  Then there are the want-ads:  we recently noticed a “12 gage shotgun” for sale, along with a “chester drawers.”
            So in many cases, Johnny still can’t read, but I think in the case of many Christians it is more a matter of “Johnny won’t read.” 
            In nearly every overseas mission I have heard of, the biggest need is for Bibles in that particular language.  Those people, to whom Bibles are rare and precious, crave them the most and read them the most.  Most of us have several Bibles in our homes, gathering dust, spending more time in the car seat traveling back and forth to the meetinghouse than being read.
            How do I know?  The same way I know that sportscaster made a low score on the vocabulary portion of his SAT.  When I hear that Jacob had to wait fourteen years before he could marry Rachel, that David saw Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop, and that the wise men showed up at the stable the night Jesus was born, I know someone is not reading.  When I hear people say, “Money is the root of all evil,” and “Pride goes before a fall,” thinking they are quoting scripture, I know they are not reading those scriptures they claim to live by.
            And here is an excellent point—many do know their scriptures backwards and forwards, inside and out, yet they don’t allow them to penetrate their hearts.  But how can they ever reach our hearts, if we never read them in the first place?
            I look at a cookbook four or five times a week to feed my family well.  What and how often am I reading so I can feed their souls even better?
 
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the broad place that was before the water gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded to Israel…And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, (for he was above all the people); and when he opened it, all the people stood up…and they read in the book, the Law of God, distinctly, and they gave the sense so that they understood the reading. Neh 8:1,5,8.
Till I come, give heed to reading, 1 Tim 4:13.
 
Dene Ward

I am sure you have heard this little story.  I first heard it as a teenager, a long time ago. 
            A father gave his little boy a dime and a nickel.  (Like I said, an OLD story.)  "You keep one and give the other to the Lord," were his directions.
            The little boy went to church that day and when the collection plate came around, proudly put in the nickel.  The father was disappointed, but since he had given the little guy the choice, he would not scold him.  He simply asked, "Why did you choose the nickel?"
            "Well, daddy, I know that God loves a cheerful giver, and I can be a whole lot more cheerful by giving the nickel and keeping the dime."
            We may laugh at a child's reasoning, but I have seen adults come close to the same myself.  Haven't you ever heard someone say, "I know this isn't what God said to do, but my heart is right?"
            Let's be plain about this.  You cannot deliberately disobey God and still have a good heart.  It is impossible.  It's one thing to be in ignorance; it's another to know better and do otherwise.
            What did the Lord tell the church at Thyatira?  I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works (Rev 2:23).  God searches your heart and then requites according to your works, because ultimately, your deeds show the true state of your heart.  ​The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).  A willfully disobedient person simply cannot produce good; that disobedience comes from an evil heart no matter what he claims.
            Every relationship produces some sort of emotion.  A good relationship will produce good emotions—love, compassion, concern, a desire to please-- and a bad one will produce bad ones—anger, envy, bitterness, hatred.  Our relationship with God should produce good emotions, but one should always be careful of being ruled by those emotions.  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ​I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds (Jer 17:9-10).  Did you catch that?  Here is the process:  He will search the heart, then test the mind, then give according to his deeds. 
"God won't mind if I…" is a classic example of thinking that willful disobedience can come from a good heart.  But Paul told the Romans that we are expected to "obey from the heart," not disobey, Rom 6:17.
            The immaturity of the little boy in that old story above is almost precious.  Believe me, God expects far more from adults who claim to love him with all their heart.
 
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me (John 14:23-24).
 
Dene Ward

Winter in Florida is iffy.  One year I was beginning to think it would never happen.  We had one brief—very brief—cool snap in November, but then summer returned.  We were still running the air conditioner in early January.  Finally, the third week of the new year we had several days with lows in the low thirties, one where we never topped 41, and even a few snow flurries.  Now, I said to myself.  Now I can prune the roses.
            You never prune the roses until they become dormant.  I was not sure three or four days of cold was enough to put them in that state, but surely they were close simply because it was time, I reasoned, and the cold was not predicted to last beyond another 48 hours so my window of opportunity was small.  I took my clippers and went at it, cropping the thinner, more pliable stems and leaves—including those with some new red growth from the warm weeks before—and gave them the half to two-thirds haircut they need annually.  It will be an anxious few weeks before I find out if I ruined them.
            Dormancy is an interesting thing.  Plants, or seeds right after harvest, go to sleep.  For plants it happens with adverse conditions like low temperatures, drought, or low light.  In order to conserve energy, the plant stops growing and sheds softer tissues, replacing them with hard wood, scales, and dried tissues.  It puts on this suit of armor to protect itself.  When conditions change, warmer temperatures or enough water to live on for example, the plant wakes up and resumes its normal growth.
            After mulling it over one morning I decided that is our problem.  We never go dormant.  I defy you to study the Word of God deeply enough, and meditate long enough to reach new insights, by taking just five minutes a day to “read a chapter.”  It won’t work.  But instead of finding that precious time—instead of making it—we make excuses instead.  We stay too busy with life to slow down and spend quiet time with God.
            And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening...Gen 24:63.
            I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds, Ps 77:12.
            My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise, Ps 119:148.
            Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer, Ps 19:14.
            Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things, Phil 4:8.
            And those are just a fraction of the verses that tell us we need to spend far more time with God than we do.  How many times did Jesus spend all night praying?  And if you have not had your prayers drift off into meditation, that may well be why you sit there thinking, “I could never pray that long.”
            Look back at the advantages of dormancy.  Dormancy is a period of rest for the plant.  God knew we needed rest.  He gave His people a day no other culture had, the Sabbath.  When everyone else was working dawn to dusk just to survive in an ancient world, He took care of their basic survival that day (as when the manna did not spoil) so they could rest, so they could spend time with family and with Him.
            Dormancy provides the plant with “a suit of armor,” protection during adverse conditions.  If you wait until the crisis arises to consider your actions, you will invariably make poor decisions.  Time to think ahead, recognizing your weaknesses and planning your “way of escape,” can be critical to your spiritual survival.  Meditation will give you that time to prepare yourself.
            Dormancy gives the plant “anesthesia” for the painful tasks of pruning and grafting.  Looking at yourself in the mirror is hard enough without being forced to in the middle of a spiritual emergency.  Time alone to carefully consider and face your challenges can make the difference in whether you make the changes you need to or not.  In the face of rebuke, too many of us consider it too painful to even consider the notion that we might need a little pruning of the character to please God.
            And then there is the greatest benefit of all:  time to develop a relationship with your Creator.  I knew a young couple that broke off their engagement after realizing that they had absolutely nothing to talk about.  A wise young couple, I think.  If you haven’t spent enough time in His Word to have anything to talk to God about, don’t be surprised if He doesn’t break it off with you.
 
I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. ​I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land— Selah, Ps 143:5-6.
 
Dene Ward