Florida has some strange weather.  As a teenager in Tampa I remember looking out the front door to sunshine and warm breezes, then out the backdoor to rain.  Honestly--raining in the backyard and sunshine in the front.  At our old place we could look up to the gate and see rain while the garden was still wilting in the sun. 
            I thought about that recently when Lucas told us how his little strip of land two blocks from the beach seemed to be a dividing point in weather systems as they passed through the panhandle from the west.  He could walk outside and look south to sunny blue skies, puffy cotton ball clouds and palm trees waving in the sea breeze.  Yet if he looked north, he saw billowing black clouds lit up by lightning that occasionally streaked its way to the ground.  Take your choice of weather:  look north or look south; go out the front door or go out the back.
            Which reminds me about the essential truth of happiness:  it’s a choice you make regardless of the conditions you find yourself in.  “I have learned in whatever state I am in to be content,” Paul says in Phil 4:11.  The disciples rejoiced that they were “counted worthy to suffer,” Acts 5:41.  If that doesn’t prove that happiness is a choice, what can?
            That doesn’t mean I can face every day with a smile—I haven’t gotten there yet.  But it does mean that when I am not in a good mood, I understand it’s up to me to change myself not my circumstances.  “I can do all things through him who strengthens me;” that old timeworn citation immediately follows Paul’s assertion that contentment is a learned behavior.  He understands that although happiness may be a choice, it isn’t always an easy one—it takes some help to manage when the outward man must face pain or illness or persecution or other suffering, whether physical or mental.  If it takes the help of Christ, it must be a difficult task.
            But it can be done, and while the doing may be difficult, the how isn’t.  All you have to do is face in the right direction, “looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith,” the Hebrew writer tells us in 12:2, and then goes on to tell us how our example did it:  looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God, Hebrews 12:2.  He looked ahead to the joy, not around him to the shame and pain, the hostility and the weariness. 
            What do they teach us in our Lamaze classes, ladies?  You focus on something besides the pain.  How many of you took a picture with you that they tacked on the wall?  Then you chose to look at it.  Even then you needed a little help—that’s what those men of yours were there for.  They helped you keep your focus and count your breaths.  You chose to listen to them and follow their instructions (when you weren’t grabbing them by the collar and telling them through gritted teeth not to ever touch you again!), but yes, it worked and you got through it, and you even wanted it again before much longer because you remembered the joy when that precious little bundle was placed in your arms, John 16:21.
            Do you want a happy marriage?  Do you want a good relationship with your family and your brothers and sisters in Christ?  Do you want to greet life every day with a smile instead of a sneer, laughter instead of tears?  The weather you can’t change, but you can change which door you leave by and which direction you look.
 
We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal,. 2 Corinthians 4:18.
 
Dene Ward

On Saturday, February 24, 2024, 19 year old Trent Degulis, who calls himself a social media influencer, climbed a 1600 foot cell tower in Riverview, Florida, south of Tampa.  He said he "wanted to see the sunset."  Claiming it was the first time he had done it, when he reached the bottom he was arrested for misdemeanor trespassing.  He told police officers that yes, he did indeed reach the "top-top" of the tower, and then live-streamed to social media from that spot. 
            The first commercial cell tower was built in 1983, and was analog, what we would call a "1G," or first generation.  When my probation officer husband had to check out and use a department cell phone while making his rounds as a house arrest officer in the mid-90s, it looked like a brick and weighed two and a half pounds.  And those first cell phones cost right at $4,000.00!  My, my, have times changed.
           We went a long time before we finally gave in and bought a cell phone.  It was an expense we did not need, and an aggravation we did not want.  I am not the servant of my phone and will not allow it to have me running at its beck and call!  But finally the phone companies took down most of the phone booths I had used when there was an emergency or I just needed to make some unexpected last minute arrangements.  I had to have a phone for those things. 
           It still isn’t the cure for everything, especially where I lived then.  While I may be one of the only people in the state of Florida to actually use her cell phone for emergencies only, when I need to use it, I really need to use it.  Then it becomes more than a little aggravating to get only one or two bars or worse, the big red X—no service.  Wherever that tower was, it was to the southwest of us, and I have spent a lot of time wandering around in my southern field trying to turn that red X into at least three bars so I will hear more than static and be less likely dropped. 
            Once I was meandering with such rapt attention on that tiny little screen that when I finally got my three bars and stood stock still so I wouldn’t lose them, I found myself jumping around a moment later, covered in fire ants.  The only place I could get reception was in an ant bed!
            But cell towers do not matter when you need the Lord.  Whenever His children need Him, he is just a word or a thought away.  You don’t even have to dial, and you certainly don’t have to wander around outside in the heat or cold or rain trying to get a signal.  “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” James tells us (4:8).  Indeed when I looked up the word in a concordance, I discovered that the only reason God is ever “far” from us is because we have gone far from Him (Isa 29:13; 33:13;  46:12; etc.).
            The next time you pull out that little monstrosity, remind yourself how blessed you really are.  You have a Father in Heaven who will answer your call no matter how many bars your spirit has left within you.  He will hear you, even if you only have strength left to whisper.
 
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need, Heb 4:16.
 
Dene Ward

     When I was a music teacher I maintained membership in three different organizations, each of which had a local group, a state affiliate, and a national affiliate.  I filled out application forms of several pages length, provided my resumes, and paid what at times was a hefty fee to be a member.   Because I was a member of these groups, my students had far more performing opportunities, learning opportunities such as master classes, activities like summer music camp, competitions they could enter, and scholarships they could earn. 
     Was any of these organizations perfect in the way they were run or the people who made up their membership?  Not a one, but I never expected them to be.  They were made up of human beings who by definition are flawed and imperfect.  Sometimes the means they used to determine things seemed not the best, even open to things like favoritism and other bias.  But we all made the best of what we had, focusing on the strengths of each association and using them to serve our students as best we could.  We understood the original purpose behind these organizations and focused on that, not the imperfections.
     We all understand things like that.  Who is not a member of a professional organization that leaves them wanting occasionally?  Yet we all put up with it for the good we know it will do us.  That is why I am a little impatient with people who seem to think they should be able to demand a perfect body of people to place their church membership with or else they shouldn't have to bother.  As an old preacher said so long ago, if you go looking for a perfect church you will never find it; but if you do, once you join it, it won't be perfect any longer.
     Let us hasten to add, Christ's church by design is certainly perfect.  Its very existence and function makes known the manifold wisdom of God, Eph 3:9-11.  The problem is the same one that organizations always have—it is made up of people who are not perfect, who forget its purpose, who decide they know better than God, who think they are the only ones smart enough to do things "right."  Certainly it should be our business to correct any practice we find that is unauthorized, correct—or remove--any unrighteous behavior, and constantly tweak the way things are run so that it comes as close as possible to God's original intention.  But when all is said and done, it is still a group of flawed people, people who still make mistakes, and who still sometimes show themselves to be less than they ought to be.  So what?  Find me a perfect group of people anywhere and then we can talk about it.  More than that, show me that you don't put up with flawed, imperfect people in any other context.  Of course you do—starting with your own family.
     So let's cut out the nonsense.  It isn't that you wish to avoid being part of a local congregation because the people are so imperfect; it's that you just don't want to be accountable to a group God specifically designed to help you grow and improve.  You don't want to have elders prying into your life because God holds them accountable for your soul.  You don't want people to love you so much that they come asking what's wrong when you are trying to so hard to pretend nothing is.  You wouldn't even want to be part of God's perfectly run church of perfect people if you could find it. 
     Think today about how much you put up with everywhere else yet won't put up with even a smidgen of when it comes to God's church.  You know in your heart that, as imperfect as they are, no better group of people exists on the planet than those in the Lord's body.  Stop trying to pretend otherwise and use what He has given you for your soul's, and your family's good.

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1Thess 5:12-18).

Dene Ward

One time I opened the cooler and looked down into the plastic bin inside and saw a bloody mess.  Immediately my mind went into salvage mode.  We were camping, living out of a cooler for nine days, and couldn’t take any chances, even if it did cost us a week’s worth of meals.  As it turns out, the problem was easily solved.
            Whenever we camp, because space is short for that much food and eating out is not an option, I take all the meat for our evening meals frozen.  The frozen meat itself acts as ice in the cooler, keeping the temperature well down in the safe zone, and we use it as it thaws, replacing it with real ice.  I learned early on to re-package each item in a zipper freezer bag so that as it thaws the juices don’t drip out and contaminate the other food and the ice we use in our drinks.  We also put the meat in plastic tubs, away from things like butter, eggs, and condiments—just in case.  That’s what saved us this time.
            Somehow the plastic bag in which I had placed the steaks had developed a leak, but all those bloody red juices from thawed out raw meat were safely contained in the white tub, and the other meats were still sealed.  I removed the bin from the cooler, put the steaks in a new bag, dumped the mess and cleaned the bin and the outside of the other meat bags, then returned the whole thing to the cooler, everything once again tidy and above all, safe.
            We all do the same things in our kitchens.  After handling raw meat, we wash our hands.  We use separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables meant to be eaten fresh.  And lately, they are even telling us not to wash poultry at all because it splashes bacteria all over the kitchen.
            We follow all these safety rules for our family's health, then think nothing of cross-contaminating our souls.  What do you watch on TV?  What do you look at on the internet?  Where do you go for recreation?  No, we cannot get out of the world, but we can certainly keep it from dumping its garbage on the same countertops we use to prepare our families’ spiritual meals.  There is an “off” button.
            Maybe the problem is that these things are not as repulsive to us as they should be.  The Psalmist said, I have not sat with men of falsehood; Neither will I go in with dissemblers. I hate the assembly of evil-doers, And will not sit with the wicked. I will wash my hands in innocency: So will I compass your altar, O Jehovah; Psalms 26:4-6.  Can we say our hands are clean when we assemble to worship God after spending a week being titillated by the sins of others?  Maybe if we followed some basic spiritual safety rules as carefully as we do those for our physical health, maybe we would lose fewer to cross-contamination of the soul.
 
And 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. Ephesians 5:11-12
 
Dene Ward

Today's post is taken from Doy Moyer's blog, Searching Daily.

Don’t pretend you don’t have it. When reading Scripture there are people, events, and laws that make us gasp and, think, “really, how? Why?” and they cause repulsion. If they don’t, then I’d think there is a problem with us. How can we read about what Cain did with Abel, what Ham did with Noah, what Judah did with Tamar, what David did with Uriah and Bathsheba, what Amnon did with his sister Tamar, and on we can go, without getting a bit of that “ugh, this is nasty” feeling? 

Then, there are laws given under Moses that we look at and think, “I don’t get it. Why this? Why would God accommodate that? Aren’t some of these laws a bit brutal? Why didn’t God just do it another way?” We feel uneasy, especially when unbelievers point to some of these laws as proof that the Bible is flawed and promotes evils like slavery and hatred of women. Do we just walk away at this point? 

Then, we feel badly for getting that “ugh” feeling. Aren’t we supposed to delight in the word of God? Isn’t it supposed to be edifying and helpful? What are we missing here? 

I’m going to suggest something here that may seem a bit odd, but here it is: we are supposed to feel this way about these things. 

Yes, we are supposed to get that “ugh” sense when reading these things. Why? 

Because all of it is a reminder of what sin does. The Bible is not intended just to make us feel good. It’s not a nice little “have a good day” self-help book. It’s gritty and shows the reality of evil. It opens up the wounds of life and we can see the gashes, the gore, the blood and guts of why sin is so bad. We naturally are going to resist. We don’t want to see it. We think God’s message ought to be roses without thorns, but that’s not reality. Not even close. 

I believe one of the primary purposes of the Law was essentially to say, “This is what it’s like to be under sin. This is the best you get when sin has split asunder the fabric of creation. This accommodates a corrupted world, and it’s not pretty.” It’s meant to cause people to think that this is a burden they cannot bear. Isn’t that what Peter indicated in Acts 15:10 when he spoke of the “yoke” that “neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear”? 

Even though the Law contained glimpses of God’s grace, and though many still found delight in that aspect of it (Psalm 1), the reality is that it was not the ideal at all. The Law wasn’t meant to make everyone feel good. It wasn’t meant to set the entire world straight. It wasn’t meant to be the fix to a world of evil and corruption. It was meant to show sin for what it was. It was meant to be incomplete. It was meant to cause people to think that there must be something better. It was meant to keep the wound open for all to see so that they would long for a better way. That’s one of the reasons I’m so amazed some of the people wanted to hang on to the Law so tightly. They weren’t willing to give up what clearly was not ideal for the solution offered by God. 

When we get that “ugh” feeling, the ugliness of sin is exactly what we are seeing and feeling. And we should feel it. The Law shows us the despair of sin, not the solution to it. Read Romans and Galatians. 

However, when people see the Law isolated from the rest of the story, they see the broken, torn, wrecked visage of God’s image, but they don’t see the goal or purpose for which it was made. They don’t see the ending. It’s like watching a movie or reading a book part way in, just enough to see the plot go bad, and thinking that’s all there is. The solution may not have presented itself yet, so they assume it’s not there and they turn it off. People do that with Scripture. They fail to connect the dots and see how it all comes together in the end. God was not giving laws that we’re going to be left that way. They were temporary, until the seed promise would come. 

The whole point was to show that there was indeed a need for something better and greater. The Law was not meant to be an end in itself. The people and events we see that demonstrate over and again how ugly sin is were not meant to present an idyllic setting that we are supposed to fall in love with. It’s meant to be ugly so that we see the need for the greater solution. 

God’s plan was not complete in the Law or in the people who acted so badly. God’ s plan was to bring about Jesus Christ so that in Him that ugly monster of sin and its consequences can finally be buried in its own stench and ruins. Christ came to redeem and renew. He is the solution. 

And the cross? Here is the culmination of what the horror of sin does. The One who came in the flesh, the perfection of God’s image, is marred more than any man (Isa 52:14). Through His death, the image of God may be reclaimed and renewed, and we may share in it. Sins are forgiven. Purpose is renewed. 

Do not think for a moment that the way Scripture is given is without purpose. Sin is presented before us in all of its ugliness, and the people and the Law reflect that. Yet it was all part of the plan to get people to see the need for a real solution. That solution would not be found in more laws. It would be found in Christ, where the grace and love of God is fully revealed. That uncomfortable feeling we get is meant to bring us to Christ. 

Doy Moyer
From the blog Searching Daily

I hardly ever go to the mall.  Because our finances have always been tight, I only shop for things when I need them, otherwise it seems to me an exercise in futility.  I can’t afford to get “tired” of something.  If it works, we use it.  If it hasn’t fallen apart yet, we wear it.  Yet sometimes I have to make that trip, usually once a year, twice at the most.  The first time I made it with a toddler and a babe in arms was almost disastrous. 
            Both my boys were obedient little boys.  Not that they came that way—it took a lot of effort and consistent training because they both had Ward blood in them, but eventually I never had to worry about taking them anywhere.  Two year old Lucas followed along as I traipsed from store to store looking for—well, I don’t even remember now.  I had Nathan in one arm, a diaper bag in the other, and my purse over one shoulder, so there was no hand to hold on to Lucas.  He was usually right by my side, and if he suddenly disappeared, I looked back and he had just lagged a bit as we went by a particularly eye-catching display.
            Then, just as we left one of the anchor stores on the far side of the mall, and stepped into the open area, I looked down and he wasn’t there, nor anywhere close.  My heart plummeted, my stomach heaved, and my mind screamed his name before I could even get it out of my mouth.  I ran back into that store, and there ten feet inside, he was standing by a display.  What had caught his interest I don’t know--I doubt I ever knew.  I called his name and he looked at me and smiled and came running.  Me?  I knelt on the floor and somehow with a squirmy four month old and a diaper bag and a purse, I managed to wrap him up in my arms and hug him so tightly that he started to pull away.
            “You need to be careful to stay with Mommy, okay?” I managed with a slight catch in my throat, and he nodded happily.  On we went to do the necessary shopping, but my eye was on him far better than it had been before.
            I doubt very many of you have not had something similar happen to you.  It is, perhaps, the worst feeling in the world to think your child might be lost.
            It amazes me when people do not have that same horrible feeling when their child’s soul is lost.  How can you not run around calling his name and asking people for help?  How can you not agonize about it?  I want to share with you two wonderful examples should you ever need them—which I pray neither you nor I ever do. 
            We have spoken with the lost child of a close friend more than once, offered to study the Bible, and just conversed about life in general at other times.  She appreciates everything we try to do for her child, whether it works or not.  She has even told her child, when that child was mildly disgruntled about one conversation, “Isn’t it wonderful that they care so much?” which effectively put that problem to rest. 
            I keep in contact with the child of another friend.  That child is not amenable to spiritual discussions these days, but he knows I will say something every time anyway, and probably because of his good parents, he accepts my overtures in a friendly way, tolerant when I leave him with a statement like, “You know what you need to do.”  She has told me she doesn’t care what I say to her child, “Just please keep saying something.”
            Neither one of these parents allow their children to complain in their presence about the ways we approach them.  Neither one of them blames us nor anyone else for the decisions their adult children have made, and their children know that too.  I carry great hopes for both of those children, and for those grieving parents.  I feel like their lost children will indeed be “found” some day, partly because of the attitude their parents have managed to keep throughout the whole ordeal. 
            If you have a lost child, follow their example.  As long as you allow that child to blame someone besides himself, he will never see the need for repentance.  As long as you allow her to make excuses, whether justified or not, she will think everyone else is at fault, not her. 
            When I lost Lucas for those few minutes, I didn’t care who helped find him, or what I looked or sounded like as I went running and hollering back into that store.  I just wanted my baby safe and sound.  Can you imagine someone saying, “No!  I don’t want you to look for my child?” 
            Your child may be standing right in front of you, but if his soul is lost, he might as well be a helpless toddler lost at the mall.  Do what you need to do, and accept the help of others without hamstringing them. I lost my little boy once.  I don’t want to ever go through that again, but if I do, rest assured, I will be calling you for help to find him, and I won’t care a bit how you go about it.
 
But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate, Luke 15:22-24.
 
Dene Ward

"... church gurus will insist that we should have no negativism in our message—no guilt, no wrong, no justice, no judgment. We must not make people feel bad about themselves. But then the cross becomes a charade, for then there is no wrath of God that falls upon the Son of God, who took my hell as his portion. If you do not hear of your sin, your guilt, your ruin, how can the cross of Christ become the shelter of Christ from those very curses? But the current preference is to hear of the bland benevolence of a non-existent, spineless deity."

(D.R. Davis, "Micah," 50)
-

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Matt. 8:1-4  "And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.  And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them."
            This man who came to Jesus was an outcast.  Moses taught in Numbers 5:2 that all lepers were to stay outside the camp.  When the people came to the promised land, lepers were kept out of the cities (2 Kings. 7:3-8).  If one touched a leper, he became unclean (Lev. 22:4-6).  Because of that, anytime they were around anyone, they had to annouce themselves as unclean.  (Lev. 13:45-46).  Lepers were generally looked down upon as being cursed by God.  They were shunned.  Faith certainly wasn't expected from those people.  And yet, see his faith:  "If you will, you can make me clean."  There was no doubt at all in this leper regarding the power of the Lord.  When one compares him to the "good" Jew in Mark 9:22-23 who said "If you can" do anything to help, who comes out ahead? 

Matt. 8:5-13  "And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lies in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  And he said unto him, I will come and heal him.  And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.  And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven:  but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; as you have believed, so be it done unto you. And the servant was healed in that hour."
            Here we have a gentile, a 'faithless, uncircumcised dog!'  No one would expect great faith from such a one.  And yet his faith in the power of Jesus was such that he believed His authority stretched far enough to heal his servant.  Contrast this with the Jews, all of whom asked Jesus to come to the sick person.  In fact, in the very next chapter it is a ruler of the Jews who begs Jesus to come when his daughter is "at the point of death" (Matt. 9:18).  Even Jesus is shocked at this gentile's faith. 

            So often in the stories told in the Gospels it is the people from whom the least is expected that the greatest faith is seen.  It is the outcasts, those looked down upon who amaze even the Lord with their faith.  Jesus taught in the synagogues, yes, but He also taught in the marketplaces, on fishing boats, atop mountains, along roadways and in homes.  We should never limit ourselves in preaching the Gospel only to those we expect to respond.  We might just be surprised at who has the greatest faith, and who actually has very little.
 
Mark 16:15  "Then he told them, "As you go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to everyone."
 
Lucas Ward

I have a feeling that some of Bella and Chloe’s playtime might have been a little unsettling to Bella’s youngest master.  Young wild animals learn survival skills through play—how to hunt and how to fight.  Even domesticated animals learn some of these things.  Puppies always engage in rough and tumble play, including baby nips and growls.  Chloe and Bella did the same, and being larger and older, it looked much fiercer.
            Teeth bared, growls ferocious, their muzzles tilted back and forth as if trying to find the best place to lock onto one another.  Larger Bella ran at Chloe and broadsided her, sending her rolling, then pounced on top.  In seconds, more experienced Chloe had her legs wrapped around Bella and flipped her over, like a wrestler reversing a pin.  Sometimes they ran headlong into one another like charging bulls and as they met, the saliva flew in all directions.  I learned to stand way back.
            How did I know this wasn’t real, that it was simply an older dog teaching a younger through play?  Because they never drew blood.  If you watched their mouths, neither ever closed tightly on the other dog’s body anywhere.  And when they finished, they stood panting for a few moments, energy spent, both tongues dangling toward the ground, looking at one another.  Often they would touch noses, then walk shoulder to shoulder back to the shade, Chloe under the truck and Bella under a tree—lesson for the day over.
            I remember a time when brethren could discuss things, even differing views on a passage, and each come away having learned something.  They could trust one another, not only to have each other’s best interest at heart, but also to listen and consider fairly, and never to become angry.  Even if voices rose, no blood was drawn, spiritually speaking, respect continued, and both left with more knowledge and insight.
            What has happened to us?  If someone disagrees with me, it makes me mad or it hurts my feelings, and either way I don’t like him any more.  It is no longer about learning and growing—it about winning arguments and putting people down.  Instead of being able to trust a person because he is a brother, one must try to find a brother he can trust, and it isn’t easy.  That’s not just a shame, it’s a tragedy.  If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment have we from him, that he who loves God love his brother also. 1 John 4:20-21
            God meant us to learn and grow together, honing our skills and building one another up.  It might make us occasional sparring partners, but in that sparring we learn how to handle the word more accurately, we learn how to defeat the gainsayers who deny the Lord, and the false teachers who might be after our souls.  And after that sparring match, we “touch gloves” and leave with our love and respect intact.
            At least that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
 
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
 
Dene Ward

We had a second stint of puppysitting recently and this time Chloe adapted more quickly.  By the end of the first day, she and now six month old Bella were romping together in the field.  Chloe was still the boss and called the shots—including the play schedule—but play they did, especially in the evenings when Chloe would crawl out from under the porch, stretch, look over her shoulder at Bella and scamper off with a toss of the head—an open invitation to “catch me if you can.”
            Bella also came with us when I gave Chloe her morning walk around the property.  Chloe usually accompanies me in a steady trot, stopping here and there to sniff at an armadillo hole or a depression at the bottom of the fence where a possum makes its nightly excursions.  Bella preferred to run everywhere, usually in the meandering lines of Billy, the little boy in the Family Circus comic.  Then when she suddenly looked up and found herself behind, she would come bulling her way past us in a brown blur.
            It was one of those times that particular morning and I heard her overtaking us like a buffalo stampede.  The path at that point was narrow, just room for me, my two walking sticks, and Chloe.  As Bella drew near, I just happened to be looking down when she very neatly leapfrogged over Chloe without disturbing a fur on her head.  In a few seconds she was around the bend and out of sight.
            I wonder how many we leapfrog over every day and leave in the dust behind us because we’re too impatient to wait, too unconcerned to care, too impulsive to even notice?  Sometimes the young with their new ideas, scriptural though they may be, have too little respect for the old warriors who need time to consider and be sure.  Sometimes the more knowledgeable become too arrogant to slow their pace for the babes or those whose capacity may not be as deep.  Sometimes the strong forget that God expects them to help the weak, the ill, the faltering.  All these people are just obstacles in our way, things to get past in our rush.
            When you leapfrog over a brother and leave him behind, how do you know he will make it?  God didn’t expect us to walk the path alone.  He meant for us to walk it together.  When you lack the love to walk it with your brother, you may as well not walk it at all.
 
Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me. Romans 15:1-3.
 
Dene Ward