God did not write a loose-leaf book.  (Darlene Craig, The Worthy Woman) 

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2Tim 3:16-17).

In this part of Florida we have a little bit of winter.  In fact, we have several spells each year with two or three days of gray, wet, cold that seeps into your bones and makes you wonder why anyone would ever nickname this place “The Sunshine State.”
            Then a morning dawns as clear a blue as you could ever imagine and the sun comes out in a blaze you would swear was even brighter than in summer.  The dog’s fur is warm from lying out in the field instead of burrowing under the porch, and you wish you could lie out there with her.  Now you know why it’s called “The Sunshine State,” and you also know no one up north has these respites, certainly not this degree of warmth in the middle of December, January, or February.  They also don’t have bright yellow jessamine cascading from the tops of trees, and camellias treating you to a mid-winter pink blossom that can withstand even a quick morning’s frost.
            Life is like that for Christians.  God never promised a life without trials any more than He promised a year without winter.  We do our neighbors a disservice when we tell them all their problems will go away if they just hand them over to the Lord.  Casting your burdens on him doesn’t mean they won’t affect you any longer—it means you have all the help you need to handle them.  Why would the help be promised if those problems were going to disappear?
            Paul said he served “the Lord with all tears, and humility, and trials” (Acts 20:19).  James tells us to “count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds” (1:2).  Peter goes so far as to tell us it is necessary for us to be “grieved by various trials” (1 Pet 1:6) and not to think it “strange” when we are (4:12).
            But God does give us reminders of what is to come, things we might call a taste of Heaven here on earth.  He sends it in a strong, godly marriage with two people working together, laughing together, crying together, and growing together as they help each other toward that final Home.  He gives it in that first lusty cry from your child as he enters the world.  He reminds us of that first place we lost in the spring when the azaleas explode in all their color, when the dogwoods shine through the woods like a beacon, and when the birds sing in a cacophony of trills, tweets, chirps, and twitters as they fly back and forth building their nests.  He shows us what He has in store for us as we gather with our sanctified brothers and sisters and raise our hearts in song and encourage one another with love, with advice, and with edification to sustain us during those times not quite so Heavenly tasting.
            We cannot have Heaven now.  We wouldn’t want to give up this world if we did.  So we have troubles, we have tragedies, we grow old and ache and become aggravatingly forgetful and finally learn to long for our true abode instead of being satisfied with second best.  But God does remind us occasionally of how it will be, a little nudge in the right direction so we will eventually make it Home.
 
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, Col 3:1-2.
 
Dene Ward
           

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

One wonders how many times David said to himself, “That is why God gave me a neck.  Oh why did I look instead of turning my head?”

First, note that David was the one on the roof, not Bathsheba.  According to the practice of the time, she would have been in an enclosed courtyard, but from his rooftop, David could look over her wall.  And that word “saw”  is the same one used when Eve saw that the tree was good for food, when the sons of God saw the daughters of men, when Shechem saw Dinah and took her, et al., (Gen 3:6, 6:2, 34:2).  It implies more than inadvertently seeing and then averting one’s gaze, which can happen to anyone.  Bathsheba may be blameless.  Given the relative position of women in those days, against a king she was helpless.  Today, we would call a CEO vs a clerical worker, “Rape.”

How many times have we said, “But it was just a little thing, surely God will not care.” From David’s little failure to turn his head came adultery, then murder.  Little sins are stones sending ripples through our whole lives.

Then, his son Amnon emulated David’s unbridled lust by raping his half-sister Tamar.  How could David pretend moral high ground?  So when justice was not done according to the Law, Tamar’s full brother Absalom took the position of avenger of blood and slew Amnon and fled David’s wrath.  So David lost two sons.  But, he reconciled with Absalom after five years.  Then Absalom rebelled, aided by Ahithophel, Bathsheba’s grandfather.  Do you suppose David’s sin against her had something to do with the side he chose?  The revolution failed and Absalom was killed.  Some think Ahithophel may be the “familiar friend in whom I trusted, who did eat my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” that David referred to in Psa 41:9.  This seems unlikely in that David’s sin first betrayed Ahithophel.  Finally, imagine the leverage Joab now had over David.  David had bewailed Joab’s ambitious violence more than once.  Now, they are bound by it.
 
We have no idea what we set in motion when we commit a “little sin” like “looking.” The drug-addict did not choose that; he just had a desire to experience a high, to feel good.  Just this once.  The pornography-addict did not choose that, he/she just thought he would stimulate herself by watching pornography this once to be able to satisfy his mate (pronouns scrambled to indicate the ubiquitous nature of this sin). The thief intended only to “borrow” for a time and replace it later. The gossip did not intend to betray a friend.  Our lives may be destroyed, jobs lost, finances ruined, relationships demolished, futures forever altered. But, it is so unfair, it was just one mistake. Tell it to Uriah! Ahithophel! Tamar! Absalom! David.
 
And, “God has a better plan for you” is a lying solace. Where did God say he would do better with a person who chose to sin than with one who chose to be holy? Contrast David’s life ever after with Joseph’s who resisted stronger temptation and the same sin (Gen 39).
 
So, whatever the temptation, the sin is not a small thing.  TURN YOUR HEAD.  It is why God gave you a neck (made the way of escape from every temptation, 1Cor 10:13).
 
“But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT. " (Num 32:23).
 
"But do you suppose this, O man…that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds." (Rom 2:3-6).
 
Keith Ward
 

"No one can make me do anything."
            I have heard this more times than I can count.  Usually the person who says it turns right around and goes to the DMV to renew his driver's license because he got a reminder in the mail, pays his taxes by April 15, and drives the speed limit—whenever there is a trooper behind him or on the side of the road.  What he means is, as long as it's something that won't put me in jail or cost me a ton of money or take away an important privilege, you can't make me do it if I don't want to.  And there is the key—he doesn't want to do that thing so he won't.  Unfortunately, this is a very American attitude.  People who live under a dictatorship wouldn't dream of uttering those words.
            I suppose for the ordinary person that attitude is to be expected.  But when it comes out of the mouths of Christians, I wonder what exactly they think Christianity really is and why they would ever follow a Leader who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8).  He didn't especially want to do all that;  he asked three times that he not have to, but he always ended that prayer, Thy will be done.  Not his will, but God's.  Christianity is a religion of submission and yielding one's rights and liberties.  Anyone who thinks he can still do the will of God without putting the needs and desires of others ahead of his own does not understand what it means to be a disciple of the Lord. 
            God tells us to obey the civil government (Romans 13:1-7).  He tells us to obey the elders of the church (Heb 13:17).  He tells the younger men to submit to the older ones (1 Peter 5:5) and he tells us that all of us should submit to one another in our personal liberties if a man's soul is at stake (Romans 14, 1 Corinthians 8).  And then he tells us that if we love him we will keep his commandments (John 14:15), and that includes all those submission commandments.
            I wonder what the one who still utters that phrase above thought he was doing when he was baptized.  Sometimes I think we fail to mention that it's not just a ceremonial washing to get rid of sins, it is a ritual showing that we are pledging to devote our lives to the Lord, including our opinions, our preferences, our desires, and our attitudes.  If that isn't being done, then all that person did was get wet.
            But you know, that person is right.  No one can make him do anything.  It's up to him to learn to want to.
 
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 (Rom 15:1-3).
 
Dene Ward
 

If there is one thing Keith taught our sons, it is how to work.  Living on five acres with a huge garden, several animals, and a wood-burning stove for heat, but only rakes, shovels, hoes, a wheelbarrow, and a push mower to work with—no, it was not self-propelled, and we had no tractors or other power equipment—meant they had chores that had to be done or the family suffered.  They certainly did not appreciate the lesson then, but they have thanked him several times since they left home and entered the work force.  More than once their bosses have told me, “I wish I had a store full of your boys.”
            Lucas, my older son, spent some time in management with a large grocery chain.  He often laments the workers he has to deal with, who have no sense of responsibility, showing up late or not at all, who never anticipate needs, never see what needs doing on their own, or who simply lollygag around with no sense of urgency or efficiency.  The saddest ones, he says, are the young ones who really want to do a good job, but whose parents have never taught them how, either by assigning chores, or actually expecting them to be done well and on time.  The ones who irritate him the most are the ones who think showing up and clocking in means they are working, even if all they do is stand in the halls and talk.
            God has called us to work in his vineyard.  I am sure he is patient with those who need to learn how to work.  But some treat their job in the vineyard as an entitlement that precludes any notion of actual labor.  As long as they clock in (submit in baptism, show up on Sunday morning—choose your application), they are “earning” their paycheck.  We have forgotten that the only “wages” we can earn is death.  Eternal life is a precious gift, and how we work in the vineyard is directly proportionate to our gratitude for it.  Am I standing in the halls talking, or am I wearing myself out laboring for the Lord?
 
Let us therefore labor to enter in that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience.  Heb 4:11
 
Dene Ward

Perhaps you remember Newton’s second law of motion from high school physics (or is it the third?  Hey!  At least I can remember the law):  for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
            Sometimes we live our lives by this law as well.  We constantly react to what others do, and excuse it because of what the other person did first.  Christianity is a life of action not reaction.  My actions should not depend upon what other people do, but upon what is right and what is wrong.  Any time I let someone else’s behavior “cause” me to do something; I am actually letting that person control me.  How often have I said, “He made me so mad?”  No, he didn’t. I let myself get angry.  When I stand before the throne of God, I will not be judged on other people’s deeds but upon mine, no matter what the other guy did first. 
            Most of us know this, and readily spout the appropriate answers when called upon in Sunday morning Bible study, but when we get out in the world things are always “different.”  No, they are not.  These things apply to my relationship with my next door neighbor, my co-workers, my family, yes, even to that driver up in front of me!  Then there is the matter of poor service in a restaurant, or a delay in the doctor’s office, or a faulty product that needs returning.  All of these offer me a chance to act as a Christian, not react as an unbeliever who has no self-control.  Yes, in our society we are allowed to voice our concerns over shoddy service and merchandise, but Christians never have the right to make a scene or be verbally abusive.  By letting others control me, I am showing how weak I truly am, not how strong.
            Christians control themselves—they do not let others do it.  Is this easy?  Not with Satan constantly whispering in my ear, “He had it coming.”  Like Eve, I often listen to him.  But this is how important ignoring that whisper is:  I must constantly ask myself why I have acted as I have.  If the answer starts, “Because he/she/they…” I am condemned already.
 
Jesus’ Laws of Motion:         
For this is acceptable, if for conscience toward God a man endures griefs, suffering wrongfully.  For what glory is it if, when you sin and are buffeted for it, you shall take it patiently?  But if, when you do well and suffer for it you shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  For hereunto were you called:  because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps; who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously.   1 Pet 2:19-23
 
And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise. And if you love those who love you, what thank have you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to them that do good to you, what thank have you?  For even sinners do the sane.  And if you lend to those of whom you hope to receive, what thank have you?  Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive again as much.  But love your enemies and do them good, and lend, never despairing, and your reward shall be great, and you shall be sons of the Most High, for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.  Luke 6:31-35
 
Dene Ward

I have discovered a new body part.  It is called the “forgetter.”  A few weekends ago, it ran in overdrive.  On Saturday morning I melted the butter, then forgot to put it in the pecan waffle batter.  I preheated the waffle iron on high, then forgot to turn it down to medium.  Tough black waffles were not what I planned for breakfast.
            On Sunday morning I seasoned the roast with salt, pepper, fresh thyme and marjoram, browned it in olive oil, chopped some onions, garlic, and celery and sautéed them in the drippings, deglazed the pan, then put everything back in with potatoes and carrots. Sounds like a great cooking show, right?  I set the temperature on the oven, set the timer to start while we were gone, and walked out of the house without turning it on!  I knew we were in trouble when I walked in and sniffed and that aroma that instantly makes your stomach stand up and beg was missing.
            I always used to think the passage in James about the man who looks into the mirror and then walks away forgetting what he saw, was a little farfetched.  But now I regularly look at myself in the mirror every morning, walk away and get sidetracked making a bed or sorting laundry, taking a phone call or paying a bill, and forget to comb my hair until I look again a couple of hours later.  Lucky for me I have a head full of curls and the style these days is to look like your hair has not seen a comb for three weeks.  Celebrities pay big bucks for such a look.  So I can get by, right?  Everyone will think I just have the same hairstyle as some glamorous movie star.  When I looked out and said good morning to the meter reader the other day, the look he gave me said he was not fooled a bit.
            So it is not as difficult now to realize that people can look at the mirror of God’s word and walk away, forgetting to change themselves.  They are as easily distracted by the “cares and riches and pleasures of this life,” as I am by assorted housekeeping duties, and the Word is choked out of them, Luke 8:14.   But change is the essence of repentance; it is the point where self is pushed aside, and obedience and service to the Lord becomes my reason for living.  If I can see in God’s word what I need to be and do, and then walk away without doing it, I have not turned my life over to Him—I have not been converted, or else I have turned my back on that commitment like an unfaithful spouse.  That is why the Old Testament prophets call it spiritual adultery. 
            Sometimes I forget because I want to forget.  In a culture where self-control is a scarce commodity, it’s easier to say, “That’s just the way I am.”  It’s even easier to never look in the mirror in the first place because I do not want to see anything wrong with myself.  But God won’t be fooled any more easily than my meter reader was.
            Remember to look in the mirror this morning, and don’t forget what you see.
 
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man seeing his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself and goes away, immediately forgetting what kind of man he saw.  But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, and so continues, being not a hearer that forgets, but a doer who works, this man shall be blessed in his doing.  James 1:22-25.
 
Dene Ward

I am sure that you have done it too, at least once in all these years, on a day when things were not going well and your heart was aching and your mind was in a whirl, you have said to yourself, "What was I thinking?"  About what, you ask?  About why you married that particular person.
            Some folks might say, "You weren't," thinking, that is.  But the truth is that you were.  You were thinking about how wonderful he was and all the sweet things he said and did when he was courting you.  That's all you were thinking about—the good, the overwhelming good, that wins someone's heart.
            And today, when you asked yourself that other question?  Well, today you were thinking about the bad, the frustrating, irritating, aggravating, thoughtless things he does, and you were dwelling on them over and over and over.
            No, it is not always that simple, but in many cases, when I see a woman crying because of a man, or a man stewing because of a woman, it is exactly that simple.  So today's short but simple lesson is this:  stop focusing on the bad, the things you don't like about him or her.  Start remembering the good things he does for you, the sweet remembrances, the kind gestures, the handpicked wildflowers and the cup of coffee before you get out of bed.  And remember, he sometimes asks himself that question too, so give him some good things to think about today.  I bet you both will feel better tonight.
 
​Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; ardent love is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love’s flames are fiery flames — the fiercest of all. ​Mighty waters cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be utterly scorned (Song 8:6-7).
 
Dene Ward
 

I am sure you have heard this prayer in Bible classes:  "Help us to apply these things to our daily lives."  As we saw yesterday, that's a whole lot easier said than done.
            The man who amens a lesson on longsuffering, bearing with one another, kindness and returning good for evil, will forget it as soon as he gets behind the wheel.
            The woman who compliments a sermon on modesty will head to the beach with 90% of her body showing.
            One thing I have learned in fifty years of teaching is that "applying these things" needs a little help along the way.  Making a few specific applications from real life situations can get people thinking about their own circumstances much more quickly.
            Let me say this about that:  making a few specific examples is NOT the same thing as making a checklist.  "Teach people to have a good heart and the rest will follow," is a wonderful ideal, but naïve and unworkable.  It almost always comes from the mouth of someone under forty, or who is simply brand new at teaching.  Plenty of good-hearted people experience a complete disconnect when it comes to realizing that certain principles apply to the very things they are doing.  "But I'm a good person," they think, "so what I am doing can't be what he is talking about."  And so those vaguely expressed ideals float around above their heads, never touching the ground they actually walk on.
            Teachers, you must learn to give some concrete, real-to-life examples if you really want to help people.  Be aware that it will get you into trouble occasionally because without meaning to, you will hit a nail squarely on the head.  But that's your job—helping people change, grow, and become better servants of God.  If that never happens, something is wrong.  And if they decide to get mad and leave, it's the plainly spoken Word of God that caused it, not you.
 
And now, Lord…grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.  And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness (Acts 4:29,31).
 
Dene Ward

About twenty years ago while on a camping trip in the mountains, we had to make a run to the local Wal-Mart for a few necessities.  Maybe it was a couple more of those squat green metal propane canisters for our Coleman camp stove, or maybe it was the year we woke up flat on the ground because our air mattress had split in a way that was impossible to mend.  While we were wandering through Sporting Goods, we spied a folding metal grill, basically a metal rack designed to splay its legs open over a campfire.
            For years we had been using an ancient wire refrigerator shelf we had found in some trash pile somewhere and cleaned up.  We had to prop it up on logs or rocks, the latter of which were better because they didn't catch fire and burn up.  When we saw the folding grill, we looked at one another and cried, "Genius!" and picked it up.  That flimsy little thing gave us twenty years or so of solid service.  It was probably the best $15 we ever spent.
            Last year we decided it was time to look for a new one.  We found one online easily, a heavy duty metal frame with a thick mesh surface and an even larger cooking area than the old one for about the same price.  We used it three or four times, then brought it home, slipped it back into its box, and packed it away with the other camping gear.
            A month ago we began pulling things out for our trip this year.  I wondered aloud why Keith had not gotten out the folding grill.
            "I did," he said.  "It's on the porch."
            "I didn't see it."  I had been looking for the big piece of cardboard we always wrapped around the old one and tied with a piece of twine.
            He must have realized my problem.  "We got a new one, remember?"
            "We did?"  And then he took me outside and showed me the box which sported a drawing of our nice new grill--which we had used the year before!  The problem was it was brand new, we used it three or four days, then put it away for 365+, never even talking about it again.  No wonder I forgot about it.
            That's one of the reasons we have such a hard time applying Bible principles we learn to our lives in the week.  We learn them in a special building on Sunday morning and promptly forget them when we get into our cars and drive home. Bright and early Monday morning they have completely slipped from our minds and nothing changes, not our words, not our thoughts, and certainly not our behavior.  We listened to a sermon, then put it up on a "shelf" or out in a "shed," and never thought about it again.
            Much of this is simple forgetfulness.  Quick!  What was the sermon about last Sunday morning?  See what I mean?  Perhaps, if we are truly serious about growing and becoming better disciples of the Lord, we can come up with some simple family activities to help us with this.  Just discussing the sermon on the way home or around the dinner table—even at a restaurant where a waiter might overhear—might do the trick.  Why not try it, or something similar, this week?
            There is yet another reason this happens and we will talk about that one tomorrow.
 
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing (Jas 1:25).
 
Dene Ward