Wake Up Call

12/23/2014 0 Comments

When I was very small, my favorite song was “Wake Up, Little Susie.”  I am probably dating myself with that admission.  In case you are from a different generation, the song was about a young couple who fell asleep during their movie date, and were afraid of what people might think.  
    Psalm 103 is David’s version of the song—one he is singing to himself.  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, vv 1-2.  I found it difficult to see that “wake up” admonition, I admit.  But every commentator I checked, five of them, saw it clear as a bell.  One likened it to Psalm 42:5:  Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.  That one is much easier to see.  Why are you so depressed, he asks himself, when you have the salvation offered by God?  Now look again at 103:  Bless the Lord…and forget not his benefits.”
    For isn’t that exactly what we do?  We go along in our ordinary, normal lives, nothing important happens, nothing exciting happens, and we become complacent in our service and even a little despondent in our ordinariness, and forget what God has done for us.  But just think about this morning.  You woke up in your comfortable bed (check) in your comfortable house (check), possibly next to your beloved (check).  You ate a breakfast from a pantry and refrigerator full of possibilities (check).  You stood in front of a closet and chose from among all those clothes what you wanted to wear (check).  You might have gotten in your car (check) and driven to school or work or the store without mishap (check).  How many blessings is that already that you never even noticed?  How many more will you receive the rest of the day, and still not notice?
    “Forget not his benefits!” David reminds himself—and later on the people of Israel, and ultimately us.  Why is it that when something bad happens we will blame God, but never think to give Him credit for all the good we enjoy nearly every single minute of the day?  “Wake up and praise the Lord!”
    And then there is this:  while God gives us brethren to encourage us, David shows us that in the final analysis, we are responsible for our own rousing.  We cannot blame the church, we cannot blame the elders, we cannot blame our families if we fall into hopelessness and despair—it’s my business to see myself clearly, to notice when I need a nudge or a prod or even a kick in the rear.  And after I have awakened, then I will follow David’s example of leadership and wake others too.  
    Which is what this has been, I hope—wake up little Susie, or Joey, or Charlie, or Cathy, or whatever your name may be.  Do not forget the benefits of being God’s child.  Always count your blessings, no matter how trite that may seem.  David did.  He’s not a bad leader to follow.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change, James 1:17.
    
Dene Ward

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Hamming It Up

12/22/2014 0 Comments

Mothers must do a lot of acting.  I remember an elementary school art class I was in.  We filled coke bottle tops, those old metal ones that had to be pried off of the green glass bottles, with plaster of Paris.  I dyed my plaster bright yellow, then laboriously applied glue and green glitter in the shape of Christmas trees.  When they had set, we glued earring clips on the back.  I wrapped those hideous things and put them under the tree as my gift to my mother.  
    You would have thought they were encrusted with diamonds the way she went on about them.  And then she wore them to church the next morning, showing them off with pride.  I still cringe when I remember those earrings.  Now that was an Oscar-worthy performance by a mother.
    Every Sunday, in many churches, other performances are not so worthy.  When two men in a church have a personality conflict, or simply a disagreement about a passage of scripture, it does not take an expert to tell.  What do they do?  They may shake hands politely when they pass, but they never cross the room to do so with an outstretched palm and a genuine smile.  They never make a point to amen one another in Bible classes about the things they do agree on.  They never find ways to compliment one another when one has done a good job with a prayer, a talk, or anything else.  They certainly never try to encourage one another.  Rather, they take issue with one another at every opportunity.  And they think no one notices.  They think their acting job has us all fooled.
    They might as well be wearing tee shirts imprinted with “I Don’t Like Brother So-and-so.”  I have had new people in a church say to me, “What is this that’s going on between those two?”  I hope they would be ashamed to know that.  
    When Paul told the Corinthians they should speak the same things…be…of the same mind and the same judgment, 1 Cor 1:10, he did not mean we have to agree on everything.  Just a few pages later, in chapter 6, he tells them exactly how to act when they disagree with one another.  He never told either party to change their minds, but he did tell them they should respect one another and get along anyway.
    “The same mind” we are to be of is a mind to make this body work, to put Christ’s mission for us ahead of our own rights, opinions, and desires.  It’s the mindset we tell our young people they must have when they marry:  I will do whatever it takes to make this marriage work.  Then they see us tear apart the Bride of Christ because we didn’t get to lead singing as often as Brother So-and-So or think Brother Whozit is all wet in his views about the Holy Spirit.
    Paul uses the Lord’s Supper and the image of the body of Christ to tell us the importance of our unity in 1 Cor 10:16,17.  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?  The bread which we break is it not a communion of the body of Christ?  Seeing that we who are many are one bread, one body, for we all partake of the one bread.  The sacrifice of that body, the shedding of that blood is what made us one, and we remember it every Lord’s Day.
    When I divide that body, whether in actuality or simply in spirit, I am saying that my likes and dislikes, my interpretation of scripture, my status in the body, is more important than the sacrifice that saved me.  Who would dare?  Unfortunately, too often, we all do.

I therefore,  a prisoner for the Lord,  urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness,  with patience,  bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  Eph 4:1-3.

Dene Ward


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Ultimate Croquet

12/19/2014 2 Comments

A long time ago we gave the boys a croquet set.  At first they seemed a little disappointed—croquet?  How boring.  Then we actually started playing and they discovered strategy, like whacking your opponent completely out of bounds with one of your free shots.  Now that was fun.
    We have settled down to annual games during the holidays whenever we get together.  It is the perfect way to let the turkey digest, and we usually wind up playing two or three times.  But that time of year means a less than clear playing field on what is already a rollercoaster lawn.  Our yard, you see, isn’t exactly a lawn.  It’s an old watermelon field, and though the rows have settled somewhat after thirty years, we still have low spots, gopher holes, ant hills, and armadillo mounds.  But in the fall we also have sycamore leaves the size of paper plates, pine cones, piles of Spanish moss, and cast off twigs from the windy fronts that come through every few days between October and March.  You cannot keep it cleaned up if you want to do something besides yard work with your life.  So when you swing your mallet, no matter how carefully you have aimed, you never really know where your ball will end up.  We call it “ultimate croquet.”  Anyone who is used to a tabletop green lawn would be easy pickings for one of us—even me, the perennial loser.
    All those “hazards” make for an interesting game of croquet, but let me tell you something.  I have learned the hard way that an interesting life is not that great.  I have dug ditches in a flooding rainstorm, cowered over my children during a tornado, prayed all night during a hurricane, climbed out of a totaled car, followed an ambulance all the way to the hospital, hugged a seizing baby in my lap as we drove ninety down country roads to the doctor’s office, bandaged bullet wounds, hauled drinking water and bath water for a month, signed my life away before experimental surgeries—well, you get the picture. Give me dull and routine any day.  
    Dull and routine is exactly what Paul told Timothy to pray for.  I exhort therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, be made for all men; for kings and all that are in high place; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim 2:1-5.  
    Did you catch that?  Pray that our leaders will do what is necessary for us to have a “tranquil and quiet life” so that all men can “come to a knowledge of the truth.”  God’s ministers cannot preach the gospel in a country where everyone is in hiding or running in terror from the enemy, where you never have enough security to sit down with a man and discuss something spiritual for an hour or so, where you wonder how you will feed your family that night, let alone the next day.  The Pax Romana was one of the reasons the gospel could spread—peace in the known world.  That along with the ease of travel because every country was part of the same empire and a worldwide language made the first century “the fullness of times” predicted in the prophets.
    I don’t have much sympathy for people who are easily bored, who seem to think that life must always be exciting or it isn’t worth living.  I am here to tell you that excitement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  And God gave us plenty to do during those dull, routine times.  It’s called serving others and spreading the Word.  If you want some excitement, try that.  It’s even better than Ultimate Croquet.

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 1 Thes 4:9-11.

Dene Ward

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A Weary Soul

12/18/2014 0 Comments

Today is something of a milestone for me.  This is the longest I have been without a surgery in the past four and a half years, and it is still less than a year since the last one.  In fact, in that time I have had six major surgeries and twelve minor procedures, many of them even more painful than the big ones. When I realized what this poor body has been through, plus the fact that I have also gotten exactly that many years older, I felt better about myself.  No wonder it doesn’t take much to wear me out.  No wonder my resistance is low and my endurance minimal.  You might think otherwise, but it was an uplifting moment.
    A couple of summers ago things were really bad.  The major surgery had not gone well.  Complications had set in within twenty-four hours.  I saw the doctor fourteen times in one month and had six more minor surgeries, each one taking more and more out of me.  I was about ready to give up.  We all know where this is heading, and these surgeries do nothing more than push that time a little further down the road—maybe.  When the doctor once again patted my shoulder and said, “We need to do some more,” I nearly said, “No.  No more.  It’s not worth all this pain.  It won’t fix the problem anyway, so why bother?”
    George Orwell once said, “The quickest way to end a war is to lose it,” (Polemic, May 1946, “Second Thoughts on James Burnham”).
    Do you ever feel that way about life?  With all the things happening to him, even Job said, “My soul is weary of my life,” (10:1).  We all experience those feelings.  Illness, financial misfortune, family problems—all these things can sometimes seem insurmountable.  Then, when you are completely exhausted, both physically and emotionally, the temptation is to end the war by simply surrendering.
    Don’t do it.  This war has already been won.  All we have to do is finish it--do the mop up work, so to speak.  
    The problem too often is that we try to go it alone, refusing to turn our problems over to the Lord.  If we insist on that, we have already lost.  We are not alone in this fight.  We have a Savior who understands everything we are going through and who will share our loads.  Look how far you have already come with His help.  Yes, you may be tired, and you may well have good reason to be, but be encouraged by your accomplishments through the abundant help you have been given.  My grace is sufficient for you, 2 Cor 12:9.
    Let Jesus carry those burdens for you.  He has already borne the biggest one, the sin that would have damned you for eternity.  Surely He can handle the others, things which may seem huge to you now, but which eternal perspective will prove small.  Some days you may feel like you are just plugging along, but that is all right too, so long as you don’t give up.

Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light, Matt 11:28-30.

Dene Ward


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Do You Know What You Are Singing--A Mighty Fortress

12/17/2014 0 Comments

For people who are quick to quote John 4:24, that our worship must be “in spirit and in truth” and then simplify that to doing right things with the right attitude, which only begins to touch that statement, we certainly do a lot of “worshipping that which we know not” (4:22).  This will be the first of several articles about some of the songs we sing and what they actually mean.  They will appear every few weeks and you will recognize them by the title above, followed by the song in question.
    So tell me, when you sing “A Mighty Fortress” and you reach the second verse, what exactly do you think you are calling the Lord when you sing, “Lord Sabaoth his name?”  No, it is not “Lord of the Sabbath,” which is what I thought for many years
    Sabaoth is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word Tzebhaoth.  I don’t even pretend to be a Greek or Hebrew scholar, but I can read English fairly well.  The word means armies or hosts.  In fact, it can even refer to a specific campaign the army might be involved in at any given time.  It is above all a military word.  So any time you see “Lord of hosts” in your Bible you are seeing the word Sabaoth or Tzebhaoth, depending upon whether you are reading the Old Testament or the New.
    I cannot find the actual Hebrew word un-translated in any English version of the Old Testament—it is always converted to “LORD of hosts” or “Jehovah of hosts.”  But you can find Sabaoth un-translated in the older versions of the New Testament in Romans 9:29 and James 5:4. 
    And Isaiah cries concerning Israel, If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved: for the Lord will execute [his] word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short. And, as Isaiah hath said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We had become as Sodom, and had been made like unto Gomorrah, Rom 9:27-29.
    This passage is much more powerful when you understand the meaning of the word.  The Lord, who commands all the powers and armies of the universe, could easily have wiped Israel off the earth.  But in His mercy, He spared a remnant, Isaiah says.  Paul’s point is that God has in the past come close to obliterating the Jewish race, and He will have no trouble doing it again if necessary.  That’s the kind of power He has.
    Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, James 5:4.
    This passage makes you just as shivery.  Anyone who cheats the laborers of their hire should remember that the Lord of Sabaoth hears their cry and is there to defend them.  Do you really want the Lord of hosts with all His armies of angels and spiritual beings fighting you?
    Now look back at the song.  “For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.”  That may well be said about Satan, but we have Lord Sabaoth on our side—the Lord of hosts, the commander of all the spiritual forces of good “and He must win the battle.” 
    We miss so much when we don’t care enough to research the songs we are singing.  In fact, I have heard people complain about “all this archaic language.”  If it’s in the Bible, people, we ought to care, and if we believe all those pet scriptures we always quote, we will want to “sing with the spirit and the understanding,” 1 Cor 14:24.  The context of that passage may be spiritual gifts, but the meaning in every context is that what we sing must be understandable and edifying, and that requires some effort on our parts.  Let’s see if we can practice what we preach.
 
The LORD of hosts [Sabaoth] is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. -- Selah, Psa 46:7.

Dene Ward

Genes

12/16/2014 0 Comments

When I became a grandmother we had to jump through all the insurance hoops to make sure that Silas had not inherited more than my neonatal milk allergy.  I look into those big blue eyes that sparkle so when he smiles, trying to convince myself that they look more like his grandfather’s than mine.  Even if they looked exactly like mine, odds are he did not inherit the condition.  He may be 100 times more likely to have it than any other baby, but that still makes it a one in a million chance.  It happened that way with his uncle.  The minute they put him in my arms and I saw his eyes my heart froze, but seven months later we knew he had only inherited the look, not the problem.  Still, I would feel horrible if I passed this on to poor little Silas, or now Judah.
    There are worse things to pass on to one’s children and grandchildren.  And [Jehoram] walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah... [Ahaziah] also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab; for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly… And Joram said, Make ready. And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel…went out to meet Jehu…And…he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of your mother Jezebel…are so many? 2 Chron 21:6; 22:3; 2 Kgs 9:21.
    Are you familiar with this narrative in the Bible?  Start in 1 Kings 16 and read through chapter 11 of 2 Kings some night when you want a really good story.  It is a little of everything:  a family saga; an action-adventure story; a political thriller.  It has a villainess of unspeakable cruelty, an underground movement, a mole in the hierarchy, and a hero who saves the day.  All of this was brought about by the evil influence Ahab and Jezebel had on their children and grandchildren.  
    Perhaps the worst of the bunch was Athaliah, their daughter, who reached the point that she could order the murder of “all the seed royal,” among them her own grandchildren.  I have always thought this woman’s crimes especially heinous but now, having held a grandchild in my arms, I know she must have reached a level of moral depravity nearly unheard of, at least among God’s people.  That is what her parents passed on to her, for the next generation always sees our inconsistencies, the line we will not cross because of the inhibiting baggage we have brought to the table.  They see that inconsistency and erase the line, taking what we have taught them to its logical end.
    I cannot control whether Silas and Judah will inherit my physical condition; but I can control my influence on their spiritual conditions.  I can set an example of faith that will reinforce theirs in moments of trial.  I can set an example of endurance to bolster their ability to overcome.  I can show them how a mature Christian behaves, even when people are less than accommodating.  Those things I can do, if I will.
    Having children is great motivation to be and do better.  Because the end may be in sight and priorities have become clearer, having grandchildren should be the best motivation yet.

I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience, how unceasing is my remembrance of you in my supplications, night and day longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy; 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 1:3-5.

Dene Ward

Tabitha/Dorcas/Gazelle

12/15/2014 0 Comments

Today’s post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

We are introduced to this lady in Acts 9:36. Her name in Aramaic was Tabitha, which translated to Dorcas in the Greek. If we translated it to English, it would be Gazelle--a beautiful name for a woman who shone with spiritual beauty.

Dorcas, described as being full of good works, died, and was mourned greatly. Peter was called, apparently to offer some comfort to the brethren. Instead, he raised her from the dead, and as the story went out, many believed. But there is more to it than just that.

She was full of good works. (Would anyone describe me that way? Even half full?) What type of good works? The mourning widows showed Peter that practically all they wore was given to them by Dorcas. Widows back then were, almost by definition, destitute. There were almost no jobs that a woman could do. A widow was reliant upon the charity of others. So Dorcas, finding people who could not afford to buy decent clothes for themselves, did what she could for them. She bought cloth and sewed garments for these widows and gave it to them so they would have something decent to wear. That reminds me of something. Here it is:

Mat 25:35-40 "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I WAS NAKED AND YOU CLOTHED ME, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "

Tabitha/Dorcas exemplified the qualities that Jesus said He would be looking for on Judgment Day. She literally clothed those who couldn't afford decent clothes. And notice, it wasn't the great preachers or miracle workers who were raised from the dead; it was a quiet lady who did what she could to help those less fortunate than herself.

When we got to this point the other night in Bible Study, I told my class, "Being a Christian is much more than what we do in here [the church building]. In fact, being a Christian has almost nothing to do with what we do in here. Being a Christian is how we live our lives everyday of the week out in the world." When people saw Dorcas/Tabitha on a day-to-day basis, they knew from her actions that she loved and feared God. What do people think when they see me?

I doubt Peter would have bothered raising me from the dead. What about you?

Lucas Ward

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Meatballs

12/12/2014 0 Comments

    It’s one of those recipes you don’t really like to admit that you use, especially if you have a reputation for baking from scratch or cooking multi-course meals for your anniversary dinner, meals like a leek and Swiss chard tart as an appetizer, an entrée of veal shanks with sage over polenta with broccoli rabe, ending with pear croustade in a hazelnut crust.  Somehow this recipe doesn’t fit.

    But once in awhile life gets hectic, stressed, entirely too busy, and you find yourself needing a dish for a potluck with exactly one hour to cook it and no extra time for much prep.  So then I pull out this three can, two bottle, two bag recipe, dump it all in a pot and go on with my life.  I have learned not to let it bother me when this stuff gets more raves than another recipe I spent six hours on.  I have also learned not to tell anyone what’s in it until they taste it because it is truly a weird concoction, but oh, so good.

    Those Party Meatballs, as the recipe calls them, have been my salvation more than once.  Sometimes we need something easy instead of something elaborate.  If it meets the need and is just as tasty, who cares?  There will be plenty more times for elegant three layer cakes and brined, crusted. herb-infused entrees.

    God understood that, too.  When I was very young I thought you couldn’t pray except at certain times, using certain phrases, making sure it was long and full of heavy, theological words and concepts, usually from the King James Version.  Why I thought that I don’t know.  The Bible is full of examples of people praying in all sorts of situations, all sorts of postures, long prayers, short prayers, prayers of profundity and simple prayers of just a few words.  Maybe that was the problem:  I just hadn’t studied enough myself.  All I had done was listen to what others told me.

    Now I know better.  Now I know that in the middle of a crisis I can send up a quick prayer for control, for calm, for an easy resolution.  I don’t always need an opening salutation, I can just say, “Help me, Lord.”  I don’t have to preface everything with my own unworthiness.  Usually in the middle of a problem, that is already on my mind anyway and God knows it just as well as I do.  

    I don’t have to find a quiet spot alone.  I can talk to God in the middle of a milling crowd if my child has wandered off and I can’t immediately find him.  In fact, I can scream to Him if I want to.  God understands if there isn’t time to hunt up a closet right now.  In fact, He is more than pleased that I think of Him first in trying circumstances.  He is thrilled that my relationship with Him can be so spontaneous.  There will be other times for reverence.

    God makes it easy for you to talk to Him.  People who have set up word and posture requirements, with ideological notions of “propriety,” are the ones who make it difficult to approach God.  He went to a lot of trouble and pain and sacrifice to make Himself available at any time in any circumstance.  

    You may not want Party Meatballs all the time, but when the time is short and the need is urgent, they will do just fine.  We certainly need lengthy times of humility and reverence in our approach to God.  But God also made a simple way for us when we need Him quickly.  Don’t let anyone mess with His recipe.

May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, "God is great!" But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay! Psalm 70:4-5.

For the recipe accompanying this post, click here.

Dene Ward

Stuck in a Rut

12/11/2014 0 Comments

I hear an awful lot these days about people being “stuck in a rut,” especially when it comes to their religious practices.  For some reason that is supposed to excuse every departure from the scriptures.  Some groups, for instance, have decided that the first century practice of taking the Lord’s Supper every Sunday must be changed to monthly, quarterly, or only on certain holidays.  When one does it too often, they say, it becomes merely habit and loses its meaning.
    Others, who claim to understand the importance of following the pattern God set for group worship, still want to change things around on a regular schedule, the incidental things that scripture does not regulate.  That’s fine.  I am the last person to bind where God has not bound, but consider a few things with me.
    The way we are doing things now in my church family, while still scriptural, is not the way we did them when I was a child.  It is not the way my grandparents did them.  It is not even the way we did them fifteen years ago.  Society and culture have changed and so have the various expedients we use to fulfill God’s requirements.  So what is this about ruts?
    When Jesus appeared on the scene in the first century, the Jews had been practicing the same law, including a Sabbath every Saturday, for 1500 years by a much more exacting standard than we have under the new covenant.  “Aha!” some will say, “and look what happened.  Along came the Pharisees to whom the Law was nothing but a set of rules to keep.  It had totally lost its meaning to them as a religion of the heart.”
    Had it?  What about Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea?  What about Saul of Tarsus who “lived before God in all good conscience,” Acts 23:1?  Surely they were not the only Pharisees to whom the Law still meant something.  And what about the rest of the people?  Did Anna, Simeon, Zacharias and Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph, Salome and Zebedee, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus practice a religion out of habit that had totally lost meaning to them because they had been stuck in a rut for a millennium and a half?  How in the world did Jesus manage to find 12 apostles if everyone practicing Judaism was “stuck in a rut?”
    It seems to me that when someone complains that his religion no longer has meaning for him because he is “stuck in a rut,” it says more about him than it does about the religion he practices—or doesn’t practice.  While babes in Christ may need special care, mature Christians should be past the need for coddling.  It is my responsibility to keep my heart and my attitude right in my service to God and to keep myself out of the rut of rote ritual, even if God tells me to do exactly the same thing in exactly the same way for ten thousand years.  Exactly who is it that is being worshipped anyway?  It certainly isn’t me and my likes and dislikes—at least it shouldn’t be.
    If we need to change the things we can change, by all means, let’s change them.  But when the reason becomes “how I feel” instead of what is best for the body of Christ and the mission God gave us and always--always—according to God’s Word, we need to stop and take a better look at ourselves.
    Today I will strive to put my heart into my service to others and to God, even if that service is the same as yesterday’s, or last week’s, or last year’s.  That is, and will always be, my responsibility and no one else’s.

And now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you but to fear the Lord your God and to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you this day for your good, Deut 10:12,13.

Dene Ward   


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Cobwebs

12/10/2014 0 Comments

I have a hard time seeing cobwebs.  Every so often, Keith will grab a broom, wrap an old rag around it and go around sweeping my ceilings, especially in the corners.  He always ends up with a rag covered in lacy, pale gray webs that had hung from the white ceilings, hidden from my less than perfect vision.

    A few weeks ago, after returning from a ten day trip that combined family visits with a speaking engagement, I was exercising on the porch steps and happened to look at the screen door.  Maybe because I was concentrating on my repetitious step routine instead of simply going in and out, I saw a thick layer of cobwebs wrapped around the automatic door closer.  I looked a little higher and more hung from the hinges.  Yet a little higher and both corners were strung with white.

    These were not small cobwebs.  They were several inches in diameter and so thick the black metal door looked as if someone had splashed white paint on it.  This is what I’m saying:  they were easy to see and had been there quite awhile yet I had missed seeing them.

    Here’s a question for you.  If cobwebs were dangerous in some way, poisonous perhaps, which would be the most dangerous, the ones you can’t see, or the ones you can? 

    Let me make that a little easier for you.  Those cobwebs that Keith gets down for me?  Before he retired I might not have seen them, but I knew they were there—cobwebs always hang from the ceiling.  When any special company was on the calendar, I always got the broom and brushed them down myself.  I knew where to brush whether I could see them there or not.  The cobwebs that hang all over the screen door as clear as day?  Those I never see because I never look for them.

    When we raised our boys we taught them several ways to avoid poisonous snakes.  One was to stay away from places they could hide, like wood piles and thick brush.  We also taught them to look for odd shapes and movement in the grass—the only way to see past their natural camouflage.  But on a cold sunny day, those things won’t be in some dark place, they’ll be right out in the open, basking on a sun-warmed rock or lying in the sun-baked field.  Which ones do you think are the hardest to see, simply because you aren’t looking for them?

    Now think about the dangers in your spiritual life.  Which temptations are the most perilous, the ones you know to look for or the ones you don’t bother to look for?  Which of your faults are the most dangerous?  The ones you are trying to work on, or the ones you refuse to see?

    What’s the moral of the story?  Always be looking.  Don’t fool yourself with that psychological trick called denial.  It won’t make the snakes disappear.  It won’t make the poison less venomous.  You have an enemy who isn’t stupid.  He has great camouflage.  Sometimes he looks like a friend, sometimes he looks like a blessing, sometimes he even looks like you. 

    Do a daily character exam.  Look for the cobwebs in your soul.  Look where you see them and where you don’t.  Or get someone with better eyesight to do it for you, and then listen to them.  “That’s just how I am,” may be the biggest lie anyone ever got you to believe.  Blindness is not an excuse for sin.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds, 2 Cor 11:13,14.

Dene Ward