Just because I get bored cooking the same old things over and over, I wandered over to my cookbook shelves last week and ran my fingers over them all, thinking.  Most of the time these days I use Cooking Light cookbooks, trying to bolster our health and trim our waistlines, but I also have others that include the family favorites.  I have started listing the recipes I use again and again on the front flyleaf of my cookbooks now, because it dawned on me that as many books as I have, the boys will never be able to find their favorite recipes otherwise after I am gone.  Some of my cookbooks are at least forty years old, and that doesn't count the two or three of my mother's I saved, which are nearing 80 years old.
            A few months ago, I was talking about recipes with another woman and she asked me, "Do you still eat casseroles?"  She went on to explain that when she takes food to families with sick mothers or to after-funeral dinners, when she asks if there is anything they do not like, "casseroles" was a common complaint.  Some of my favorite meals from childhood were casseroles, but, I realized, I hadn't cooked many of the things myself lately.  Squash casserole during garden season might have been the last one.  But I do still cook them.  Turkey pot pie, turkey divan, beef and noodle surprise, baked ziti, and who can even exist without lasagna?
            So as I was running my fingers over my cookbooks that day they came to rest on the Favorite Recipes of America Series, Casseroles volume (copyright 1968).  Suddenly I made the decision.  This week will be retro-casserole week!  And we have thoroughly enjoyed the memories these old dishes have brought back to us.  One of my favorites has been a slightly updated "green bean casserole."  How is it updated, you ask?  Throwing together homemade mushroom cream sauce (rather than a can of cream of mushroom soup), and adding some buttered panko crumbs to the French-fried onions to make an extra crispy topping.  Green Bean Casserole is once again in my regular repertoire.  The best part?  It's still green bean casserole.  Nothing I did changed what is essentially beans, mushroom cream sauce, and fried onions.
            Have you noticed how old things are brought back in style lately and labeled "retro?"  As long as you smack that title on it, people will accept it.  Except, it seems, religion.  Such has always been the case.  God's people tired of His simple, solemn service and His carefully followed rituals.  They much preferred the excitement that their neighbors' idolatry brought.  It began with gradual changes—but things that were actually changes, not simply a better tasting mushroom cream sauce.  Jeroboam put up golden calves in both Dan and Bethel, to worship Jehovah, mind you, in much more convenient locations (and places that kept them from being tempted to join back with Judah).  Then he changed the Levitical priesthood.  Then he changed the feast days.  The ones who knew better, mostly the priests, left for Jerusalem, which accounts for the need to begin a different priesthood than the Aaronic.  There were few of those left.
            But before long, even that wasn't enough.  Convenience was good, but excitement was better.  And idolatry delivered that in spades.  Just look at the famous contest on Mt Carmel.  We think all that jumping around and hollering was because the false prophets couldn't get their god to answer them.  Perhaps a little, but it was normal for that kind of worship.  And once Jehovah answered Elijah's call, what did the people do?  We stop reading far too soon because of the chapter division.  All that yelling, "Jehovah he is God," fit right into their new style of worship service.  It probably went on for hours.  They probably screamed it and cheered every time Elijah lopped off a head.  "Hey!  Now this is what we had in mind.  This is real worship," they were probably thinking.  These people were not brought back to repentance one little bit.  And how do I know?  Because when Ahab got home that night and made his report, nothing had changed.  Jezebel was still in control—and the people allowed it.  Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. (1Kgs 19:2).
            Elijah knew the score.  And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.  (1Kgs 19:3-4).  These people wanted nothing to do with bringing back the old ways, with worshipping God the way He had instructed them so long before.  And it only continued throughout their history until finally, they went too far and He destroyed most of them. 
          We need to wake up, people.  I am all for updating that green bean casserole—but not for changing its very essence.  If you take out the beans and add carrots, it is no longer green bean casserole; it's something entirely different.  When I can no longer tolerate vegetables at all, but want a dish full of cotton candy, I am just catering to an immature intellect that mistakes emotion for true reverence.  It isn't about what I like.  It's about what God commands.
           As you can tell, my week of retro-casseroles has brought up a lot more than good memories.  Let's take some time to examine what is happening around us and make sure we haven't thrown out our Casserole Cookbook just because of some fad diet that everyone has glommed onto.  Good nutrition for the soul is not always popular, but it is always healthy.
 
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it." (Jer 6:16).

Will we?
 
Dene Ward

I was ten years old the first time I remember anyone calling me “ugly.”  It was Sunday night, just after services had let out, sometime during the school year.  We all stood in pools of manmade light around the little rock church building, the adults talking and laughing together, the children scampering about in the front yard of the lot, usually girls together and boys together, except for the teenagers who stood together in a group off to one side, aloof from it all.  I didn’t do much running because of my vision, so it was easy for a boy to sneak up behind me, pull my hair and say that awful word.
            No, he did not have a crush on me.  That’s what they always told girls like me, that and the ugly duckling story.  I was overweight with a head full of frizzy hair, and big coke bottle glasses that made me look bug-eyed and a little stupid.  When he said it, he meant it.
            Despite my precarious vision, I fled around the side of the building into the blackness of the back yard—no lights to see here, either ugly me or my ugly tears.  I would never have gone back there for any other reason—it was far too scary and I tripped over things right in front of me even in broad daylight, but that dark, shadowy place was where I thought I belonged, because I had seen myself in the mirror and I believed him.  I had also heard several adults talk about my “ugly glasses,” and what a shame it was I had to wear them.  What they didn’t realize was since I could not see at all without them (a +17.5 prescription), they were as much a part of me as my nose or any other part of my face.  They were my eyes, and if they were ugly, so was I.
            Child psychology has come a long way.  We know that children believe what others say about them.  If you tell a child he is bad, he will live up to it.  And if you tell a little girl she is ugly, it will take her decades to get over it.
            So why do we do this thing to ourselves?  Why do we go on and on about being “only human,” as if being made in the image of God were a bad thing?  Why do we constantly tell one another we are “not perfect?”  Why do we introduce ourselves as “sinners?”  Okay, maybe it is a humility thing, but I see too many times when it is something else entirely—it’s an excuse for not doing better.  And the more often we give ourselves those excuses, the more often we will need them.
            Listen instead to the Word of God:
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, Rom 8:16.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…Eph 2:10.
And, having been set free from sin, [you] have become servants of righteousness, Rom 6:18.
…But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God, 1 Cor 6:11.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, 1 Pet 2:9.
            That’s what you are—God’s work, God’s children, chosen, royal, holy, righteous, sanctified.  Tell yourself that every morning. Look in the mirror and say the words aloud.  We are “called saints” right along with those Corinthian brethren, 1 Cor 1:2.  Stop calling yourself a sinner all the time.  If that is what you believe, that is what you will do, and then find yourself running back into the darkness trying to hide from it all.
            Turn on the light and call yourself by the names God does.  This is an “Ugly Duckling” story that has really come true.  You are His child, and that makes you beautiful.
 
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure, 1 John 3:1,2.
 
Dene Ward

Sometimes people give what they consider the perfect advice, only to discover that their perfect scenario doesn't work everywhere.  I take one medication that is thinning my hair rapidly.  Yesterday I read an article on how to take care of your hair so that you can fight that problem.  Among several do's and don'ts in the list was this:  don't blow-dry your hair all the way, leave it a little damp.  Immediately my head started shaking "No!"  I was blessed with a headful of thick, naturally curly, black hair.  Unfortunately, that goes along with this word:  frizzy. If my hair is not blown dry completely I look like I am wearing a Brillo pad on top of my head or, in the words of an old Phyllis Diller joke (yes, I am old), I stuck a wet toe in a hot socket.  So I completely ignored that advice.  It hurt no one but my hair to do so.
            When Covid began its ugly reign, we had a similar problem.  Wearing a mask was everyone's handy-dandy solution.  Not in this house.  When one of you is deaf and needs to read lips, it simply won't work.  And then there is the issue of claustrophobia I have had my whole life.  Warm stale air equals suffocation to my mind.  HOWEVER…
            When we go out, when we buy groceries, when we have a doctor appointment, when we assemble with the saints, if we are asked to wear a mask, we do.  Some people think that makes us "sheep."  Why would we act this way?  It's simple if you read your New Testament.
            When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!  (1Cor 6:1-8).
            No, masks have nothing to do with suing one another—at least that I have heard of yet.  (But give it time.)  The passage is not really about that.  The prohibition against making lawsuits against a brother is just one specific example of ceding my rights because the mission of the church and its reputation in the community around it is more important than anyone's rights!  It is the Lord's church and the mission He gave that body of believers that matter.  Notice what Paul says:  "Why not rather suffer wrong?"  When I demand my rights about anything to the ill effect of the cause of Christ, I have forgotten not only who I serve, but the very definition of being a disciple—following in your Master's footsteps.  What if he had claimed his rights as Creator instead of climbing up on that cross?  Where would we be then?  He suffered wrong, and was defrauded, to save us.
            Paul goes on to say in that passage above, that when I claim my rights regardless of the consequences, I am actually defrauding my brethren because of how I have made that group of people look to the outsiders around us.  I am the one who has wronged them.
            When I do wear a mask, I am being the follower of the Suffering Servant, who, by the way, was called the Lamb of God.  If voluntarily wearing a mask makes me one of His lambs, I am happy to be called a "sheep."
 
A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. (Matt 10:24-25).
 
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.  (1Pet 2:21-24).
 
​To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.  (Luke 6:29).
 
Dene Ward
 

 I have been contemplating this post for over a year now.  Not that it was so difficult to compile; after all, I have made practically every mistake on this list.  (And I am making number 7 right now.)  The problem has been organizing them into something readable due to the sheer volume, especially if I try to comment on each one.  Just call me a Windmill Tilter.
            I am assuming that anyone caring to read this is a Christian so I will forgo the obvious things like speaking kindly.  Like not calling people or the things they believe "stupid," and similar sentiments.  I am assuming we all know that even when we disagree, especially publicly, it is far better, and even commanded, that we be kind and speak with words that will provoke healthy discussions rather than irate reactions.  So I won't even go there more than this brief paragraph.
            However, someone has said that if we all "just speak like Christians" none of these problems below would arise.  I don't believe that's true.  In the first place, Facebook is an open forum—at least until someone gives you a reason to block him, and that will always be after the damage has been done, damage you really had nothing to do with at all.  But since the troll caused the problem on your post, your name will forever be linked with something ugly.      
             And second, what one might say to a close friend might not be how he says it to a mere acquaintance, yet nothing "un-Christian" has been said.  (More on this below.)  So let's be careful about making unfair judgments.  "Where there's smoke there's fire," may be true, but there is a world of difference between a cozy fire in my fireplace and arson.
            So here goes:  Mistakes We Often Make on Facebook
           
           1.  Forgetting that hundreds, maybe thousands, of people, many you do not even know, will see your posts.  Whenever a friend comments on your post, it might very well show up on all his friends' newsfeeds with the heading "So-and-so commented (or liked or reacted to) this post."  Multiply the number of friends you have by the number of friends they each have and the number is staggering.  In addition, your employers, or your spouse's employers, or places you have applied to for work or enrollment can also see your posts.  Be careful what you say, how you say it, and the private information and photos, especially of your children, that you put out there. (Sexual predators drool over these innocents and sometimes have enough information to take action.)
Discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, (Prov 2:11).
 
          2.  Forgetting that there is no tone of voice or natural face expression on Facebook.  Those emoticons don't cover all the bases either.  What you say tongue-in-cheek is usually the opposite of what you mean, but someone out there—maybe several someones—will take you seriously and be horrified.  And most will not question you personally, but spread what they think you believe or the character they think you have shown to your reputation's possible great harm.  When the Onion and Babylon Bee, both of which are known to be satire, are taken seriously, you can be sure it will happen to you, too.  Unfortunately, even warning people at the outset seems to do no good, because people do not read everything.  We have created a culture that loathes anything requiring more than a thirty second attention span so they just skim right past your warning.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.  (Col 4:6).
           
            3.  Thinking you need to comment on everything.  You don't.  It's sort of like regular conversation—if you have something pertinent, helpful and encouraging to say, then do.  Otherwise, be quiet.
And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  (Matt 12:36).
 
            4.  Failure to stop and think first.   The immediacy of Facebook may be its biggest danger.  It's so easy to just type in a gut reaction and hit enter before considering the possible fall-out.  I have seen some wonderful people, who would never had allowed their frustration to show in person, say some truly hurtful things on Facebook.  Please re-read #1-3.
A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.  (Prov 18:6).
 
           5.  Inserting yourself into a conversation in which you do not belong.  If someone particularly asks "older people" for advice, if I see something harmful to a good person's reputation, or if I see something dangerous (especially as a retired law enforcement officer's wife), I will put in my two cents' worth.  But when young mothers thirty to forty years younger than I are sharing experiences, I usually bow out.  It would be completely irrelevant to today's culture, and look like an old gray head who just wanted some attention.  And never, ever, pontificate about something serious that you have never experienced.  "I would do this if it were me," is not true.  Frankly, you have no idea what you would do since it has never happened to you before.
The tongue of the wise utters knowledge aright; But the mouth of fools pours out folly.  (Prov 15:2).
 
          6.  Whining about the trivial—because compared to the rest of the world, most of our issues are trivial.  When all people see of you is this constant whining, they believe you must be a weak, spoiled, ungrateful, overgrown baby.  No one wants to hear it after the first hundred posts, and really, you do not want people to think that of you because it is probably not true!  Here is the test.  Go to your personal page and read all of your posts (not direct posts to your timeline, but YOUR posts) one after the other.  Pretend they are posts of someone you do not know.  What is the pervading image that those posts leave?  Does it sound like a whiner, a big grump, a materialistic drama queen, a self-righteous prig?  I guarantee you, if you are honest with yourself, you will be more than a little embarrassed.
She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. ​Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  (Prov 31:17, 25-26).
 
          7.  Thinking you can actually change someone's mind in a Facebook discussion.  If you just enjoy a debate, then OK, provided you are careful of all the other things we have discussed, like who might see your comments and any damage they might do to a weak soul.  But don't be so naïve that it affects you emotionally when people ignore or disagree with your carefully reasoned out comments.  Our culture has reached the point where most people make decisions based upon emotions rather than logic and data.  If these things weaken you spiritually, scroll right on by.
It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.  (Prov 20:3).
 
          8.  Failure to use the delete button.  If someone posts something inappropriate, delete it from your newsfeed and tell Facebook why when they ask.  If someone makes an unkind or ugly comment on one of your posts, delete it.  If they persist, unfriend them.  Would you continue to call that person a friend out in the world, face to face?  In fact, if you are going to post at all, it becomes your responsibility to monitor your posts and keep them clean and beneficial to others.
Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of.  (Eph 5:11-12).
 
            9.  Ganging up on those who make spiteful comments or disagree in an unpleasant manner.  I have seen it again and again.  Someone posts a perfectly innocent comment or observation and someone else comes in with something that can only be described as hostile.  So what happens?  Others come rushing in to put this miscreant in his place.  Bullying is a pretty good description of what goes on as each "defender of the righteous" verbally assaults the one who dared say anything "mean" to their friend.  No one seems to get the obvious—that this poor soul is somehow damaged, probably by mistreatment himself or an emotional crisis he is presently going through, or he would never have reacted in such an antagonistic way.  Will "taking him down a peg" fix the problem?  No, it will not.  It will only add credence to what he already believes about "so-called Christians," as he would define them.  Our Lord certainly did nothing of the kind and taught us to follow his example, showing kindness to our enemies.  How can you ever hope to reach the soul of a person to whom you have returned exactly as you received?   Your best chance is by treating him kindly, not ganging up and throwing stones.
But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ​bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. (Luke 6:27-28).
 
 
          10.  Thinking you always have to bring up the opposite side of a discussion "to add a little balance".  The one posting thought that particular side of the issue was the one that needed addressing the most at that particular time.  When you begin your, "Yes, but…," the people who might have benefited from his point, will now feel perfectly comfortable ignoring it.  You may have undone a lot of good that could have been done because you decided that it was your job to set things right.  Would you have done the same thing to the apostle Paul when he said, "Being therefore justified by his blood?"  Would you have run in and added everything he left out of that verse?  Would you have done it to Jesus when he quoted Hosea saying, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice," when everyone knows the Law certainly did require sacrifice?  The practice of bringing up only one side of an issue for emphasis is perfectly Biblical and the wise will understand that and allow it to work.
 
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  (Gal 6:3).
 
           If I sat here long enough I could come up with a dozen more, or perhaps they would all be variations of #1-3.  I have been on the wrong side of too many of these things, and I imagine you have seen yourself staring back at you on at least one point.  I hope this helps us all to remember who we follow—especially on Facebook.  Social media can be a good tool, but it can also be a tool of the Devil.
 
That no advantage may be gained over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his devices.  (2Cor 2:11).
 
Dene Ward

Our blueberries have not been particularly bountiful the past few years.  I remember years when over the three or four weeks we were picking, I had enough for four or five pies, two or three dozen giant muffins, blueberry pancakes at least twice, and a dozen jars of jam, and still put fifteen full quarts of berries in the freezer for later use.  This year I didn’t have enough for one muffin.  If blueberries are antioxidants, we may start rusting soon.
            When the blueberries are thin I really hate sharing them with the birds.  It would not be so bad if the birds would pick one limb or even one bush out of the twelve we have.  But they flit around pecking a blueberry here and a blueberry there.  Once a bird has pecked a berry just once, it is useless to us.  Yet there is still enough in the one berry for several more pecks if the bird would only take them, and then he would not need to peck so many others!
            Satan does the same thing to us.  How many faults do you have?  How many weaknesses do you fight on a daily basis?  If you are a faithful Christian, maybe only a few by now, certainly less than when you started out.  But you know what?  Satan doesn’t need to totally ruin you.  He doesn’t need to turn you into evil personified.  All he needs to do is make you satisfied with just one little fault, only one little thing that you need to work on, because the fewer pecks he makes into your soul, the more likely you are to be satisfied with your progress.  You will look at yourself and say, “I’m doing pretty well.  This one little thing won’t hurt my soul.”  And so you give in, you make excuses, you say to yourself, “That’s just the way I am, and after all, it’s not that bad.  I haven’t killed anyone lately.”  This is not to minimize the need for grace, just the attitude that says, “I’m satisfied where I am.”
            So we become a bush full of pecked blueberries, too ruined for those around us to nourish their souls, but not ruined enough for us to think we really need to do something about it.  Is that why the church isn’t growing?  Is that why we no longer have any influence on our neighbors?  Is that why our children are falling away and the future looks so grim? 
            Pecked blueberries are useless.  When Satan sends a bird to peck at you, beat him off with a stick if you have to.  One peck can cost you your soul.
 
But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live?  None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin which he has sinned he shall die…I have no pleasure in the death of him who dies, says the Lord.  Therefore turn and live, Ezekiel 18:24,32.
 
Dene Ward

Today's sobering post is by guest writer, Keith Ward.
 
I’ve seen it on Facebook more than once: “I can’t wait for 2020 to be over.” But there is no magic in the turning of a page on the calendar.  Maybe it is time to take stock carefully from a biblical perspective.  Maybe the times we face are partially the result of, “Be careful what you pray for because you might get it.”

We look around us and everywhere there is wickedness.  When was the last time we voted, whichever party, for a person we believed in rather than the lesser of two evils? And speaking of two, now man has proclaimed there are 5 or 6 or more sexes.  Homosexuality is not just accepted but imposed.  Murder goes unpunished, victims do not count.  Abortion destroys millions of new lives every year.  Violence runs riot in the streets.  Lies and deception are the currency of both politics and business.  Hatred and racism explode.  Truly, things have become so bad that no one can conceive of a solution: there is no way back.  God is a foolish myth and crutch in the minds of the majority and the Bible is a collection of myths that were only needed by more primitive societies.   Religion is mocked, immorality praised, pornography runs rampant and a “relationship” is sex with the same person exclusively for at least a week.  When was the last time there was a nuclear family on TV that was not a 50s re-run? How can we repent when we “call evil good and good evil” (Isa 5:20)?

I have prayed about it, as have you.  I am not even sure what to say anymore when I pray for our country because everything has become so wicked. 
So, now, what if God has heard all our voices and this is the beginning of His reckoning with our nation, the beginning of “the day of the Lord, a day of darkness and not light” (Amos 5:18-20)?  If 2020 is the best year of the rest of our lives, how do we as Christians prepare?

Priority has to be to build our faith and that of our families.  I have served God fifty years and I am not sure I am ready for days like those of Habakkuk and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel: days of persecution from “the people,” uprooted and cursed and hated.  I like to think I could do it, but I will be upping my level of preparation.

How can one stand such trials when he has never put himself in the trial of opposing abortion openly? Or homosexuality? Or immorality?  How can one stand up with a faith prepared to die for the Lord when he rarely opens his Bible between services and never stands up for Jesus by declaring the truth of the gospel to fishing or football buddies?

We want our children to go to heaven in spite of such trials, but we have not helped them with questions about the reliability of the Bible, or the science that supports the Bible, or the history and archaeology that do the same because we have not learned these things ourselves.  We have not opposed the arguments against God with sound reasoning for God, so how do we or our children “stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand?”  (Eph 6:13).
 
We want to stand the trials, but have not exercised spiritually to prepare for a hard race.  We have not memorized scriptures to call to our minds for strength, we have not studied and meditated to strengthen our confidence in our tie with God, we have not prayed the hours necessary to strengthen our holiness before God. 

When we do an honest analysis, many of us in many ways have not done all that well with the moderate trials of 2020.  We bicker whether the one wearing a mask or the one not wearing one has the most faith rather than loving brethren more than our opinions.  We complain about restrictions.  We are not picking up the slack in our ability to assemble by studying more, praying more, growing more.  Instead, many have become comfortable with TV church in our pajamas.

2020 may be, in fact, God’s grace, God’s “not willing that any should perish” warning, and time to face the judgment on our nation in our times.  If so, have you missed the opportunity?
 
"And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.  " (Jer 8:11).
 
"For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt: I mourn; dismay hath taken hold on me.  Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? " (Jer 8:21-22).
 
"For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ….  Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: " (2Pet 1:8-10).
 
"I know thy works, that thou hast a name that you live , and you are dead.  You be watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die: for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God.   " (Rev 3:1-2).
 
Keith Ward

While the Catholic Church will tell you that the first Pope was Peter and he reigned in the first century, church historians will tell you otherwise.  In the first place, the New Testament never calls Peter a Pope.  In fact, he seems to put himself on exactly the same plane as every other elder (bishop, pastor, presbyter) in 1 Peter 5:1:  The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed…
            So who exactly was the first Pope?  Well, it might amaze you to know that all bishops were called "popes" in the beginning, from the Latin Papa or "Father."  But the first Bishop of Rome to take that title in the way we think of today was Leo I, "the Great," who ascended to the papacy on September 29, 440 (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol 3, p 315).
            But do you know what?  A lot of us also use faulty information when we just repeat what we have heard for years without checking it out.  Are you still using the old argument, “Reverend is only found once in the Bible and it refers to God, so men should not be called reverend?”  If so, you need to shelve that one.  It is a specious argument based totally on an accident of the King James translation.  The word is only translated “reverend” once in that version.  The Holy Spirit originally used the Hebrew in Psalm 111:9.  That word is yare, and it is used by the Spirit over 300 times in the original Hebrew Scriptures.  Some of them refer to men, including righteous men like David.
            But in Matthew 23:8-12, Jesus gives us the same concept.  Be not called Rabbi; for one is your teacher and you are all brethren.  And call no man your father on the earth, for one is your Father, even he who is in Heaven.  Neither be called masters for one is your master, even the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant, and whosever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
            Now some people do call their earthly father, “Father,” and there is nothing wrong with that.  The point, you see, is not the word, but setting someone up as better than his brethren by the use of a [capitalized] Title, be it Father, Holy Father, Reverend, Most Reverend, Most Right Reverend—you get the point.  The New Testament has no concept of laity and clergy at all.  To be quite honest about this, it is even possible to misuse the word “brother” in the same way, by applying it only to people we consider to be worthy of it due to their knowledge or role in the church.  Jesus said in that quote above, “You are all brethren.” 
            Let’s take this a step farther.  I have an aunt and uncle who both have doctoral degrees in chemistry.  They both taught at a prestigious university and one was even head of the department for many years before retirement.  You know what?  No one in the family calls them “Dr. Ayers.”  They would be insulted.  They accept the title only in the realm of academia, but never in the family circle.            
            The church is our spiritual family circle.  We were all born again, raised to walk with Christ as a new creature, and when that happened, we were all “created” equal.  Just as my aunt and uncle would not want anyone in the physical family to use their academic titles, I don’t think I know a true brother or sister in the Lord who would ever expect the family to use their earthly titles except in the worldly realm in which they apply.  As Jesus so clearly explained in Matthew 23:  whoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself shall be exalted.
            One of the greatest Bible students I know has a high school education.  But he has studied so hard for so long on his own, and has developed such great insight, that I would sit at his feet to learn at any opportunity.  Others, who sport more letters after their names than if they spilled a bowl of alphabet soup, make it obvious in their teachings that they spend more time studying things other than the Word of God.  Those things may have their place, but it is not as a substitute for the Truth.
            The only titles we wear are Christian, child of God, saint, heirs and joint-heirs with Christ.  Truly, among the family of God, that should be all the honor any of us needs.
 
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, Gal 3:26-28.
 
Dene Ward     

We finally gave up and bought one.  With my personal situation it seemed inordinately stubborn not to use what could be a real help when I was stuck somewhere unable to get home, or at the doctor’s office when out of the blue I needed a procedure.  It has happened more than once already.  So we bought a cell phone. 
            We did not buy one of those expensive phones with “plans;” just a cheap little prepaid phone with an hour of talk time good for three months.  After nearly a year I can still count the number of times I have used it without taking my shoes off, and I have amassed enough minutes to carry on a peace conference between two double-talking diplomats.
            Yet I do keep it handy, and I forgot it was in my sweater pocket the day I happened to think that the load of laundry I was running was perfect for that sweater, and the sweater was dingy around the cuffs from petting dogs and sitting around smoky campfires.  So I threw it in the washer as I went by, and found the cell phone in the bottom a half hour later, sparkling clean but dead as a doornail.
            Not because we thought it would work, but because we have had to be so frugal for our entire married life, we let the phone dry out completely, then tried charging it.  It has worked fine ever since.  It even remembered the phone numbers Lucas programmed into it for me.  I bet you would like to know the brand, wouldn’t you?
            I have something else that is a whole lot more valuable than a cell phone, and many times more amazing.  Why can’t I bring myself to talk about it just as easily?  Actually, it has been easier lately.  I think we worry too much about how to do it, instead of just letting it happen.  Evangelism happens as you live your life. 
            If I had simply told you that I had this cell phone, it would not have made an impression on you.  But when I told you how it has helped me in difficult situations and then how dependable it was in spite of how I abused it, it suddenly became much more interesting, didn’t it?
            That makes my daily life a much more important part of my Christianity.  How can I expect to have any influence when I do not live like I have anything more than anyone else has?  If they do not see me overcome, if they do not see me return good for evil, if they do not see joy and contentment regardless of my financial situation, if they do not see peace in my life when others with the same problems are falling apart, my life is not evangelism.  In fact, it is quite the opposite.  What we perceive as a lack of interest in the gospel may simply be a lack of interest in what we have because of how we are behaving.
            Live your life like a testimonial.  You will have more opportunity than ever to spread your faith, even without some sort of special “program.”  People will only want what you have when they see it in action. 
 
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shines unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matt 5:14-16.
 
Dene Ward

Have you fallen prey to it yet?  You post something on Facebook and then sit back and wait.  You check it every five minutes at first, then maybe stretch it out a bit, and before you know it, you have sat there for an hour or two and what have you been doing?  Waiting to see if someone “likes” you.  Yes, the quest for popularity affects the masses, and many make use of that pathetic craving of ours. 
Political pundits say that the first really obvious affect of popularity was the Kennedy-Nixon debates.  On September 26, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice-President Richard M. Nixon participated in the first televised presidential debates in American history.  Suddenly election strategy changed.  A carefully manufactured public image and media exposure became essentials for every candidate. 
            Kennedy had only a single and unexceptional term as a Senator on his resume.  Nixon had eight years as vice-president, following a career in the Senate in which his domestic and foreign experience trumped anything Kennedy had.  He was a great opponent of Communism in a time when that really mattered, and even helped uncover the alleged traitor Alger Hiss.  By the summer of 1960, Nixon had gained a lead in the polls.  Then he landed in the hospital with an infection in August and came out pale and 20 pounds underweight.  And so on debate day, a young, bronzed Kennedy confronted a gray Nixon, who was still running a low fever from the tag end of the flu as well.  He had just come off an exhausting campaign trail while Kennedy holed up in the hotel the whole weekend resting.
            After the first of four debates, the pundits scored their politics even, or Nixon slightly ahead.  On Election Day, though, Kennedy won and exit polls showed that politics is not what won the election.  Kennedy was more telegenic.  Over half the voters said the two disparate images during the debate had influenced their vote.  Historians say this was the first time popularity struck a blow in politics.   They are wrong about that.
            After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,” Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.” Then Absalom would say, “Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.” And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel, 2 Sam 15:1-6.
            Absalom made everyone feel “liked” and that “stole their hearts.”  But Absalom wasn’t even the first.  In Judges 9:3 the people of Israel had “hearts inclined to follow Abimelech.”  Both of these men were wrong for God’s people and were eventually killed, but that didn’t stop the people from falling prey to what was “popular.”
            Do you think that hasn’t happened to you?  Why do you wear what you wear?  Why do you watch the television shows you watch?  Why do you go to the restaurants you do?  Whatever is popular at the time steals our hearts because we think that by doing the popular thing we will become popular.  The problem comes when that affects us spiritually.  If I am wearing clothing I shouldn’t because everyone else is, I need a stronger character.  If I am watching inappropriate entertainment, I need to remember who I claim to follow. 
            The people of Israel were taken in by what was popular over and over again.  Ezekiel tells us “their hearts went after their idols” and “covetousness,” 20:16; 33:31.  Jeremiah talks about them “going after the imagination of their hearts,” 9:14; 13:10.  And why did they do those things?  Not only because they were the popular things to do, but because falling in with the crowd made them popular too.  Simply put, you can’t be different and popular in the world at the same time.
            What is your heart going after?  If it’s popularity and wanting to be “liked,” then you are prey to popular evils just like 99% of the rest of the world.  God calls us to be different.  A Christian doesn’t need to be “liked” on Facebook or anywhere else as long as God “likes” him.
 
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ, Gal 1:10.
 
Dene Ward

And he came to Lystra and Derbe and behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewess that believed, but his father was a Greek, Acts 16:1.
            Having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, in you also, 2 Tim 1:5.
            Did you see it?  Don’t feel bad.  I missed it too, for years.
            Wasn’t it great that Eunice taught her son so well?  But how many of us are thinking in the back of our minds, “Tsk, tsk, it would have been easier if she had married a child of God to begin to with.”  I have been guilty of such snap judgments myself over the years, placing these people in my own culture and social customs.  Lydia aside, it was not common for a woman to make her own living in those days, in those places.  Because of that, to be left alone a widow was to be sentenced to a life of poverty and dependence upon the kindness of others.  Look how many passages in the Law made provisions for the widow and orphan.  They did not live in a day of insurance policies, pensions, Social Security, and Aid for Dependent Children.  If God’s people did not follow the Law as he designed it, the widow and orphan would starve. 
            Parents often arranged marriages, and expecting their daughter to live alone and support herself simply because they could not find a God-fearing husband for her was not an expedient choice for Eunice’s parents.  Out in the Gentile world with few practicing Jews in the area, the best they could do was find a Greek whom they thought would take good care of their daughter.
            And here is what we miss:  how do we know there were no Jews to choose from?  It was Paul’s custom to go to the synagogue first when he came to a town, (Acts 13:5, 14; 14:1: 17:1, etc).  From the account in Acts, it seems evident that there were no synagogues in Lystra or Derbe.  That also means there were fewer than 10 Jewish male heads of household in the town, the number necessary to form a synagogue, and not even enough Jewish women to meet down by the river as in Philippi, (16:13).  Which means there was no Jewish school to send her son to, one of the primary functions of a local synagogue.  Besides these obstacles, how many little boys want to “be like Daddy?”
             So now you have a woman married to a Greek, who was taught the scripture (Old Testament) so well that she “also believed,” meaning she accepted Jesus as the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy, something even the “well-educated” scribes and “pious” Pharisees could not seem to do.  And she raised a son to do the same, without a righteous man to influence him, without a formal religious education, and without a community of believers from which to draw help and encouragement.
            I daresay that none of us has the problems Eunice faced as a mother.  In this day when so many want to blame everyone else for their failures, when so many blame the church for the way their children turned out, she is a shining example of what can be done, of one who took the responsibility and, despite awesome odds, succeeded.
            The world bestows the term “Supermom” for all the wrong reasons.  Here is the real thing, one we should be emulating every day of our lives.
 
And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart, and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.  And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes.  And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates,  Deut 6:6-9.
 
Dene Ward