What do you do in your spare time?  Yes, I hear you laughing, but I have come to the conclusion that as Christians we need to make sure we have some of that precious commodity.  Not because “I just have to have some time for me,” but because I just have to have some time with God. 

            So what would we do if we had a few spare minutes alone?  Prayer comes to mind, of course, but another important activity is meditating, or musing on God’s word.  In Gen 24:63 Isaac went out in the evening to the fields where he could be alone to meditate.  David made time too, even in the midst of tending sheep, leading an army, and running a kingdom.  When he was in the wilderness he meditated in the night watches, Psa 63:6.  He anxiously looked forward to those times, Psa 119:148. 

            Perhaps it is most difficult for mothers to find time to meditate.  Our entire day, from the moment we rise to the moment our heads hit the pillow again at night, is filled with “Mom, can you…,”  “Honey, will you…,” and, “Ma’am you need to…” until our minds are run ragged.  But even when we are alone we sabotage ourselves.  When the family leaves for work and school and the baby is napping, we turn on the TV “for company.”  When we drive, we turn on the radio.  When we exercise, we slip on the headphones.  I have decided that one of the nicest things God did for me was to not furnish me with a dishwasher.  Do you know how much meditation can be accomplished over a sink full of soapy water?

            Mary, as young and inexperienced as she was, gives us the perfect example--even as a new mother making the time to meditate, pondering things in her heart, Luke 2:19,51.  The word “ponder” means to put one thing with another.  But look at these other places where the same word is used (but translated by another English word), all in the book of Acts:  4:15—they conferred among themselves; 17:18—certain philosophers encountered him; 18:27—he helped them; 20:14—when he met us.  In all these cases words or people were put together (pondered) with a purpose—to learn, to assist, to come to an understanding.  So pondering God’s word is an attempt “to put it all together” in our minds.  Anyone who thinks they can read it through once and get the whole picture will be sadly disappointed!
 
            Meditation is not for the shallow-minded, but you do not need to be an intellectual either.  The greatest benefit of meditation is the sheer depth of understanding one can eventually come to about God, the nature of his kingdom, and the beauty of his plan, Psa 143:5.  One can find himself in a place he never dreamed existed years before when he so confidently knew all the Bible stories, the “plan of salvation,” and “the five acts of worship,” Psa 49:3; 119:99; and he can still see below him an awe-inspiring depth that makes Bible study once again vital and exciting, Psa 119:15.  Meditation can spawn a prayer, Psa 5:1-3, making that part of our lives richer and deeper as well.  In the end it can bring us acceptance by our God, Psa 19:14.

            So make some spare time today.  Get up earlier, stay up later, take off those earphones or turn off the radio.  Spend some time meditating.  You don’t have to twist yourself into a pretzel to gain a deeper understanding of the True God and his Word.
 
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers.  But his delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law does he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.  Psalm 1:1-3
 
Dene Ward
 

If you have followed this blog for any time at all, you know that I have come up with a memory verse method for preschoolers using cards with rebuses and smaller cards with only a picture or two from the rebus after the verse has been memorized.  Parents are constantly amazed by the amount their children can memorize.  (See the gallery for pictures of these and the two posts, The Return of the Stick Man, parts 1 and 2 in the archives on the right sidebar on July 10 and 11, 2017.)

You also know that I use games in my Bible classes, games I make from scratch.  (See the David Game in the same archives on July 12, 2017.)  In the grade school classes where all the children can now read, I put those two ideas together and make a Memory Verse Relay Race.  Tell your students about it during the first class.  You cannot start the game if they have not had at least four or five lessons with accompanying memory verses and this gives them motivation for keeping up with their lessons and memorizing those verses.

This is a simple concept and involves no artistic talent at all.  Write out the memory verses on two one-inch-wide strips of construction paper with a heavy marker.  Cut the verse into four or five phrases.  Mix up the strips of paper and paper clip each verse together to keep it separate from others.  Use a different color of pastel construction paper for each verse.  Make two copies of each verse and keep each pile separate as well.

You must have two adults in the room who also know the verses, and it is easier if the students are sitting at a long table, one team on each side, but I am sure you can come up with other configurations with just a little thought.

To start the race, the student on the near end chooses a clipped together verse from the pile next to him.  He puts the verse strips in the correct order, then raises his hand so the adult on his side of the table can check it.  When she gives the OK, he must mix it up, clip it back together and pass it on to the next student before grabbing another.  Now you have two students putting verses together.  When a hand is raised, check the verse. If it is correct, that student will also mix it up, clip it and pass it on.  Once you have three or four verses going you have to be on the ball about checking.  If a student's verse is not in the correct order, tell him so and let him try again.  After three tries, pass it on.  (You can come up with a penalty if you want, but actually I never had it come to this point.  Sooner or later, the student got it right.)

Meanwhile, the same thing is happening on the other side of the table.  It should be obvious why you need two adults for this to work.  The team that finishes all the verses first, passing verses instead of batons all the way to the other end of the table, wins.  As the quarter continues, you will add more verses until by the end, you have thirteen.  All my students loved this game, and I bet a lot of them still remember those verses.

This is exactly how simple making up games can be.  As long as they reinforce learning the scripture, there is nothing wrong with a little fun in Bible classes.
 
“And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.” (Isa 59:21)
 
Dene Ward

Go back about 12 years and read about the bird feeder Keith built for me next to the window.  When I remember those first few years I want to laugh at my ignorant self. 

             The first birds that showed up were cardinals.  Those I knew, and I was thrilled to be able to see them so closely for the first time in my life.  What was less than thrilling was seeing those ugly females.  They did not look like the pictures in the books, smooth olive green with red tinges on the edges of wings and crest.  Some of these were a muddy brown all over.  Some were mottled gray.  And the crests looked like a bad hair day times ten.  When the juveniles first appeared, they looked even worse—a little bit like human adolescents, lanky, lean, and awkward with spiky crests that never laid back straight, and splotchy, molting feathers as the young males began to grow their signature red coats.  But at least I knew what they were.

             When the first tufted titmouse arrived, it took me over a week to figure out what it was.  Ignorance in the bird watching world means you have to look at page after page after page and when the bird tires of eating and flies away, you no longer have anything to compare it with.  For several days I was sure it was a gray gnatcatcher, and proudly told everyone else who sat at my window and showed some interest.  I really do not remember when I finally learned the truth.  It probably was a matter of getting more and more information and seeing more and more pictures until finally the real identity of this bird became apparent.
 
            After a while I learned what to really focus on, not just colors, but also things like crests, eye rings, and wing bars.  The details make the difference when it comes to some species. Otherwise they look exactly alike.  It also helps to have photos instead of drawings.  As careful as I know the wildlife artists are, they still have a tendency to draw the ideal version of that particular bird.  It's like the difference between a glamor shot and a right out of bed before makeup shot.

            Then I got a book containing only Florida birds.  It cost a pretty penny, especially for something the size of a large wallet, but it has made all the difference in how quickly I can locate and identify a bird.  No more being "absolutely certain" only to discover that the bird in question never flies east of the Mississippi.  This particular book has only photographs, and it also explains things such as their flying patterns and activities that can help you identify the bird, plus which other birds bear a close resemblance and how to tell them apart, and whether they are only here for a season or all year.  If the book says this particular bird is only around in winter and here it is July, you know you are looking at the wrong picture.  The book also divides the birds by their color, a real boon in saving time.  Identifying birds has become much less work and much more fun simply because I am not so stone cold ignorant as I was in the beginning.

            Unless you plan to be an ornithologist, you can learn most of what you need to know about birds like I have—reading, looking at pictures, and especially, watching the birds themselves.  Now when I sit and watch, I know what to look for, I have a general knowledge of when to look for certain ones.  We only have goldfinches for a couple days in the fall when they migrate south and in the spring when they head back home.  Although we have sparrows and catbirds around all year, they will only come to the feeder between November and April.  Otherwise they like to fend for themselves, thank you.  That bird that always sits on leafless limbs, then flies down to the ground and back up to the same limb over and over is a phoebe.  And that behavior is called hawking.  See what I have learned because I really wanted to?

            Guess what?  Bible study is similar to this.  When you don't know what you are doing, you make some ridiculous mistakes.  When you aren't familiar with the scriptures at all, you hardly know where to begin and how to make all the facts you uncover fit together into a coherent picture.  The only way to fix this is to keep at it.  I have been watching my birds for over a decade now, and only now can I recognize a couple dozen different birds, their sounds, and some of their activities.  Now I know that bird in the tree that won't sit still more than a few seconds is probably a bug-eater rather than a seed eater.  Bugs move and seeds don't!

            Bible study will only become easier for you when you have spent some time at it—and I don't mean a few minutes a day for ten years.  I mean many minutes a day for years and years and years.  It may be easy to understand the basics of how to please God, most of us were raised with that.  But when it comes to the details, it takes a lot more time than reading your chapter a day like a good girl.  When you have put the time into it, you will know what to look for and how to find it.  You will recognize allusions to other passages.  Maybe you will see the worth in spending a little bit of money on Bible resources.  Maybe you will overcome your timidity and ask someone to help you.  I know good solid Christians who would love to help you.  I would love to.  I go all over the place speaking to groups of women, and my husband would be happy to speak to their men. 

            And the more you know, they more things will begin to click, the more light bulb moments you will have, and gradually, the stronger your faith will become.  After all, faith does come by hearing the Word of God.  If you cannot find time to spend with God's message to you, how can you ever expect to have enough of that faith to overcome, to endure, and to please God?

            You may be just a beginning Word Watcher.  But you can become so much more.
 
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.​  With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!  I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. (Ps 119:9-11)
 
Dene Ward

It happened at a small country church nearly forty years ago, but it made enough of an impression that I was asked to talk about it here, and perhaps inspire a few Bible class teachers of this era.

              Acres of farmland surrounded the white concrete block meetinghouse which sat behind the church cemetery.  Woods to the east and a few live oaks dripping Spanish moss around the building were the only trees on this rolling green landscape.  The farmer who owned the surrounding land alternated each year between corn and pasture, so it wasn't uncommon on the alternate years for cows to add their lowing to the congregation's hymns drifting out the windows.

              Although you would think no one lived within twenty miles in the unpopulated countryside, every Sunday 80 or 90 souls swarmed out of the woods and down the dirt lanes between sections.  Yet even with that many, children were scarce.  When we first arrived, there were only two Bible classes—one labeled "children" and the other "teens."  After a few months we had grown to over 120 on Sunday mornings and had added a third Bible class.  We now had "toddlers," "grade school," and "high school," but attendance in each was six or less and the grade school class age span ran from 7 to 13.

              Most of these children were woefully ignorant of even the basics—Adam and Eve, Noah, Daniel, and Jonah.  Together, Keith and I put together a teaching program designed to cover the Old Testament in 6 months before moving on to the New.  As you can imagine, we were whizzing through.  I needed some way to keep these narratives fresh in their minds week after week until they finally became entrenched.  That is how our "Museum of the Old Testament" came about.

              I explained to the children that as we learned about Old Testament events we would be designing and creating exhibits for a museum.  After six months, we would open our museum to the congregation and they would be the tour guides for our visitors.

              With a lack of money and a talent-challenged non-artist for a teacher (me), our exhibits were simple and crude.  What did we have?  I cannot even remember them all, but here are a few:

              A wall map.  Somehow, somewhere, I managed to find a map geared to children—bright primary colors, simple line boundaries, large bold print for places that covered the gamut from the Garden of Eden to Egypt to Canaan to Babylon.  This became our "tour map," giving people a quick overview of where they were going.  We also graced our walls with large arrows to direct traffic around the room in a one-way traffic pattern that made for smooth entry and exit without running into one another. 

              Stone tablets.  I managed to find two appropriately and similarly sized flat chunks of concrete on which we printed the Ten Commandments.  Somehow during the handling, a small corner broke off of one.  We just propped it where it went, but as we ran our tours six months later, I overheard one of our more creative students telling his tour group, "And this is where it broke when Moses got mad about the golden calf and threw them down on the ground."

              An Ark of the Covenant.  A kids' size shoebox with dowels through rings glued on the sides, cardboard "crown molding" and cherubim on the top, all spray-painted gold.  Inside we placed small replicas of the tablets, the pot of manna and Aaron's budding rod.

              A Judges' mobile.  The point in the book of Judges is not really the exciting stories—it's the continuing cycle as the people refused to learn from their history.  Se we created a mobile out of coat hangers, yarn, and construction paper.  Around the top ran the cycle in a circle:  SIN>>OPPRESSION>>REPENTANCE>>PEACE>>, and it hung so it turned constantly at any passage of air through the room.  Hanging from the circle on separate strings were paper man cut-outs with the names of the judges, Othniel through Samuel.

              The handwriting on the wall.  This was the easiest one of the bunch.  Put some art paper on the wall and have one of the students finger-paint MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN on it.  Then draw a large hand with a pointing finger and hang it by a stiff wire from the ceiling so that it touches the wall at one of the words.

              The Minor Prophets sheet game.  This one served as both a lesson activity and an exhibit.  Very few adults really know the Minor Prophets, so this was impressive to the parents.  I cut out about half of a full size sheet.  Then I wrote on it with a permanent marker the names of the Minor Prophets in a column on the left.  Across from that I wrote 18 things I had taught the children about those 12 prophets.  By the names of the prophets I sewed on a length (or 2 in some cases) of yarn.  By the identifying phrases I sewed a button.  The point of the game was to match the prophet to his identifier by wrapping his piece of yarn around the appropriate button.  As the tour group reached our game, the students had learned it so well that they could go through it in just minutes, showing the adults which prophet went with which description or activity.  Then it had to be "undone" before the next group arrived and everyone helped with that.

              I am sure we did more "exhibits" than these, but they have slipped my mind.  The last two classes before our "Grand Opening," the students took turns giving the tour to one another—once again cementing those facts in their minds.

              Finally the day arrived.  With the closing announcements, the congregation was invited to tour the "Museum of the Old Testament."  After the amen, the children rushed to our classroom and stood ready to be matched with a tour group of 3 or 4 adults.  You might think that only parents came, but you would be wrong.  Nearly every adult member showed up that morning.  It took nearly an hour to get everyone through and each child led a tour three or four times, but no one complained.  In fact, several adults thanked me in the next few weeks. 

              These children had never learned so much in such a short time, and not because of me.  These were starving little minds, like baby birds with their mouths open perpetually, waiting for food.  I hope this gives you a few ideas to use in the future.  There are hungry nestlings everywhere.
 
And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say… (Exod 12:26-27)

And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say… (Exod 13:14)

“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say…(Deut 6:20-21)

And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know… (Josh 4:21-22)

Dene Ward

The final part in the series.

The psalms are poetry.  By definition poetry is full of figurative language.  The psalms, therefore, must be full of figurative language.
 
             Simile:  As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God, 42:1.

              Metaphor:  The Lord is my rock, 18:2.  The Lord is my shepherd, 23:1.

              Personification:  When the waters saw you they were afraid, 77:16.

              Hyperbole:  God looks down on the children of men to see if there are any…who seek after God. They have all fallen away…there is none who does good, not even one, 53:2,3.

              We all use figurative language every day of our lives:  “He’ll give you the shirt off his back.”  “I need a new set of wheels.”  “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times.”  But for some reason we don’t get it when we find it in the scriptures.  We make up some weird gate in Jerusalem that archaeologists have never found, nor that the disciples had ever heard of, instead of understanding that Jesus was using hyperbole when he said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven.”  We are not any better than our religious friends who want every item in the book of Revelation to be literal.  Maybe we should take the log out of our own eyes before we talk about them.

              We do the same thing with our hymns.  Granted there are lines in some hymns that we probably should not sing.  They teach religious dogma that is not found in the New Testament.  But far more often I have picky brethren who ignore the authority the book of Psalms gives us to use poetry, the hallmark of which is figurative language.  We follow the examples of our neighbors and make it all literal, then ban it from our assemblies. Hymns are poetry set to music just as the psalms were.  We should treat them as such.

              It would be helpful if we recognize that a figure of speech is meant to address only one specific point and stop trying to carry it beyond reason.  “A sower went forth to sow,” Jesus taught.  The point of the parable was how the seed grew based on the ground it fell on.  Who would be so silly as to ask what the bag in which the sower carried seed represented?  The same ones who wonder about camels and needles.  The same ones who want a literal thousand year kingdom on the earth instead of an eternal kingdom in Heaven.  The reason one group didn’t fall for the other fallacy was not their understanding of how to use figurative language, i.e., the same way we use it every day of lives.  The reason they stayed “sound” on one and not the other is they were indoctrinated otherwise.  It’s time we fixed that problem.

              Even denominational preachers understand the uses and abuses of figurative language when it comes down to brass tacks.  Just read Dungan’s Hermeneutics.  He has a great list of exactly how to interpret figurative language (Chapter 8).  If you follow it, you won’t fall for the strange gate OR the millennium.

              So let’s stop being ridiculous with our hymns, too.  We would not stand for anyone interpreting the things we say the way we interpret those poets. “Whatsoever you would that men should do unto you, do you also unto them.”

              And, more to the point, if we banned poetic language, we would miss a whole lot of wonderful teaching that reaches the heart in ways that straight prose never could.  Funny how God knew that so many thousands of years ago.
 
Jehovah, I have called upon you; make haste unto me: Give ear unto my voice, when I call unto thee. Let my prayer be set forth as incense before you; The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth; Keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, To practice deeds of wickedness with men that work iniquity: And let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; And let him reprove me, it shall be as oil upon the head; Let not my head refuse it: For even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue. Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; And they shall hear my words; For they are sweet. As when one plows and cleaves the earth, Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol. For my eyes are unto you, O Jehovah the Lord: In you do I take refuge; leave not my soul destitute. Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, And from the gins of the workers of iniquity. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape. Psalms 141:1-10
 
Dene Ward

Part 5 in a 6 part series
 
              I have never discovered I was so wrong about so many things in such short a time as I have since we started this Psalms study.
 
            The Psalms are mainly poems of praise to God, right?  Wrong.  Only 20% of the psalms are classified as psalms of praise.

              All Biblical psalms are collected in what we know as the “Book of Psalms” or “The Psalter.”  Wrong.  Psalms are scattered throughout the Old Testament from Exodus through the Minor Prophets.

              The Psalms were written by David.  Wrong.  Nor even the majority but only half the Psalms (in the psalter) are attributed to David.  That leaves 75 in the book of Psalms written by someone else, and most of the others scattered throughout the Bible as well.  Some were written hundreds of years before David and some hundreds of years after.  In fact, the book of Psalms covers roughly a thousand years, 1500-500 BC.

              Yes, the Psalms were inspired, but it is poetry, not something important.  Oh my, what an error that was.  The book of Psalms is quoted in the New Testament more than any other book of the Old.  Jesus himself places it right alongside the Law and the Prophets as authoritative and instructive scripture (Luke 24:44-47).  If you want a slap-in-the-face shock, read every place those psalms are quoted in the New Testament and note how the writer or the passage is described:  David was “in the Spirit.”  David wrote “by the Holy Spirit.”  Those psalms are “scripture,” “fulfilled prophecy,” and God-given “definitions.”  Then you can re-read that earlier Psalms article (Part 4) on Bible study and see once again exactly how important these passages are precisely because they are poetry.

              Misconceptions about the scriptures abound.  All you need do is talk to some skeptic for awhile.  They think they are so smart, and when it comes to worldly knowledge perhaps they are.  They would certainly outdo me on an IQ test.  But they are woefully ignorant of the scriptures, and if you ever want to look foolish, try expounding upon something you know nothing about in front of people who know quite a bit about it.  My husband, the former law enforcement officer, can hardly stand to watch crime dramas any more.  All he sees are the errors about guns, about evidence, even about the law and police procedure.  When it comes to ignorant people scorning the scriptures we should be exactly the same way--seeing their ignorance instead of falling for it.  If we aren’t, maybe it is because we are ignorant.  How can we expect to defend the Truth if we don’t know what we are talking about? 

              But for now, just consider your own misconceptions about the Psalms.  Surely I am not the only one.

              If you think the book of Psalms is nothing more than Israel’s songbook, you are mistaken right off the bat.  But for the sake of argument, if we were to pattern our own singing on this inspired work, what would we be singing?  Lately we seem to be singing nothing but hymns of praise.  At the risk of sounding irreverent let me remind you:  only 20% of the psalms are praise psalms.  What percentage do you sing?  Would you be shocked to discover that the largest group of psalms is psalms of lament?  Then we have psalms of thanks, psalms of trust, wisdom psalms, and even psalms about our earthly government—boy, do we need those these days! 

              We have instructive psalms, historical psalms, and psalms about the Law.  Sadly, many Christians today need to be reminded of the importance of following God’s law.   In fact, the theme of the whole Psalter is the covenant between God and His people, usually stated in words like, “You are my people and I am your God, therefore…”   It is the “therefore” that people do not want to deal with, including some of my brethren. Maybe we sing nothing but the new praise psalms because they demand so little of us.  Those old hymns everyone seems to be tired of make you look at yourself in painful ways.  They call for change in our character and attitudes. If we cleared up our misconceptions about the Psalms, I wonder how our singing would change.   I wonder how our approach to authority would change.  I wonder how our lives would change.

              Or are we no better than a so-called religious person who believes he can pick and choose among the passages in the Bible and still be considered one of God’s people?  Are we ignorant and happy to remain so?  God expects more from his covenant people.  He always has and He always will.
 
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.  Hebrews 12:22-25.
 
Dene Ward
 
 

Part 4 in a 6 part Series
 
              I have told my class several times as we go through these first five lessons, “Yes, you can understand the Psalms without all this specialized knowledge.  You can read a psalm and make sense of it without knowing its genre, without understanding Hebrew poetry, certainly without knowing the difference between a miktam and a maskil.  But guess what?  You will not get as much out of that psalm as you will if you go to the trouble to do the research and learn a little about a foreign culture and its poetry.”
 
             In the past I approached Psalms the same way I approach poetry, which is seldom.  I am not a poetry person.  I much prefer reading and writing prose.  To me, and to anyone from our culture, poetry is about emotion, about attitude, about the “better felt than told.”  Because of that you are not going to find pure fact in poetry.  Poetry is “feel-good-fluff” to me and I really don’t have much use for it.

              Now re-read that last paragraph and insert the word “Western” ahead of every reference to “poetry.”  You see, our attitude toward poetry is the opposite of the Oriental’s.  Orientals believe that the function of poetry is to instruct.  Did you hear that?  Poetry is a teaching method.  Its very form aids in memorization—short lines of roughly equal length and abbreviated word count.  Their poetry is reserved for subjects of the highest order, especially the Divine. 

              My Western view may say, “This is poetry.  It’s all emotion, very little, if any, fact.  Don’t take it too seriously.”  But the Oriental mind says, “This is poetry.  These are the most important, most profound subjects you will ever read.  Pay attention and think about it.”

              Do you think that hasn’t changed my approach to the Psalms?  And how do you think I learned that?  From taking the time to research a foreign culture.  From going beyond the minimum in my Bible study.  Because of that I now know even more about the Word that is supposed to be guiding my life.

              How much time do you spend in the Word of God?  How much extra effort do you go to?  If the doctor told you that you have a disease, would you spend time looking it up?  Would you care enough to know as much as possible, instead of being satisfied with the doctor’s explanation?  Would you want to have hands-on control of your life, or would you just sit back and be happy with the briefest scan of a medical dictionary?

              You do have a disease—sin.  You do have dangers in your environment, things just as deadly to your soul as secondhand smoke to your lungs.  You need to be aware of every aid, every pitfall, everything that can possibly affect the outcome of your life. 

              Do you care enough to learn the Word of God as completely as possible, or will you trust someone else with your soul and hope a verbal vitamin a day will take care of it?
 
Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stands in the way of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of scoffers:
But his delight is in the law of Jehovah;
And on his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also doth not wither;
And whatsoever he does shall prosper. Psalms 1:1-3                              
 
Dene Ward

Every three months we go through the same thing—trying to get the flea pill into Chloe.  The vet can talk all day about how good it tastes—why, it's beef flavored—but so is a bouillon cube and I wouldn't eat one of them either.  Besides, I wonder if she has actually tasted this pill—this HUGE pill that somehow I am supposed to get not only into my dog's mouth, but actually down her throat.

           We've tried the peanut butter trick.  She somehow sucks it out of the peanut butter and spits it out without losing one smear of the good stuff.

              We tried stuffing it into a block of cheese.  Same thing, and not only that, but getting a block of cheese big enough for that horse pill is pretty expensive.

              So one time we tried the mean way.  We grabbed her, pried open her mouth and stuffed it in.  Keith held her muzzle, stroked her throat to encourage swallowing, and talked as sweetly as he could to calm her down and get her to accept it.  Even with her mouth clamped shut, out it came—like a watermelon seed spitting contest.

              I am certain that you have seen people spit out the parts of the gospel they don't like, just like Chloe did her pills.  I am just as certain you have seen Christians do the same thing.  I actually had a woman tell me in a Bible class, "But I don't like reading those passages," as if that would make what she deemed objectionable go away or at least excuse her from having to look at it.  Because of those attitudes we have people in the world who think God changes with the Testaments, that Jesus will accept their continuing sin because he loves them, and that the church is only there to take care of them and make them feel good.

              This isn't new.  One of Hosea's themes is that God's people did not know him.  Oh, they knew his name, they knew he existed, but if they had really known what he was all about, do you really think they would have been so unfaithful?

              ​Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing. Hos 8:12.  They were so ignorant of God and his law that it was practically a foreign language.  It's the same attitude that, when confronted with their sin today, people dare to say, "But God wouldn't want me to be unhappy."  When you really know someone, you understand their likes and dislikes, their opinions, their preferences, the things that are most important to them.  We cannot claim to know God yet neither know nor even care about those things with him.

              I recently came across the following quote:  "The modern church is producing passionate people with empty heads who love the Jesus they don't know very well."  (Voddie Baucham)

              Because of his background, I believe the speaker is referring to the modern church in denominational terms, but I have seen enough ignorance among my brothers and sisters to know it applies here as well.  The hunger for knowledge has been lost in a society that is too busy with "stuff" to even have time for it, much less think it is worth the trouble.  And because we convert people by emotion alone, they have no real knowledge of God and what he requires of them in holiness, purity, and obedience.  When they finally hear a sermon they don't agree with, regardless of the Biblical evidence, they leave because it no longer makes them happy, or it requires a sacrifice in their lifestyles, or they are "uncomfortable" with what it means.  If we manage to chase them down and make them stay, don't expect them to go ahead and swallow that nasty pill they don't like. 

              Finally, out of sheer desperation one day, I called Chloe and told her I had a treat for her, using the same silly tone of voice and the same excited body language as for a real treat.  Then I put it on the steps, right where I put all her other treats.  She gave it a sniff and looked at me sideways.  "Eat your treat!" I said, even sillier sounding than before.  She sighed, leaned down, picked it up and, after rolling it around in her mouth for a while, ate it.  Then she walked away, looking over her shoulder at me as if she were very disappointed in such a naughty child. 

              Somehow we must start getting the Word into people, whether they think they want it or not.  Somehow we must show them that it is indeed a "treat."  Learning God's Word can be fun.  Learning about God can be exhilarating.  Learning about everything he did to bring us into a saving relationship with him can spark a real desire to learn more, to become more like him, changing and growing each day.  That's how you develop a faith that will stand the trials of life and prepare you for an Eternity with a Father you finally know.
 
I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. Hos 2:20
 
Dene Ward
 

Stomach trouble seems to run in our family.  I remember my Daddy eating Di-gel tablets like they were candy.  Then I inherited his problem and had my first ulcer at 23.  Way too much acid that was aided and abetted by carrying a 9 ¼ lb, 22 inch baby so high I looked like a walking beach ball.  My younger son picked up the acid problem with an acid level even higher than mine.  On my mother's side everyone had gall stones, so I followed suit as did my older son.
 
             No matter how healthy you are, stomach trouble can debilitate you, in sometimes embarrassing ways, and it is almost always affected by what we eat.  I remember introducing my first baby to sweet potatoes.  His little tummy rumbled and grumbled in such an alarming way that I was sure any second that child would launch out of the infant seat and orbit the kitchen.  He certainly had enough propulsion to do so.  At least that experience benefited his little brother.  I mixed his sweet potatoes with other mashed veggies the first time, like carrots or peas, though I would never recommend the color that peas and sweet potatoes make when mixed together for any painting project.

              As many times as the metaphor of eating is applied to the Word of God, those memories made me sit back and think a bit.

              God once told Ezekiel, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel. "So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. Ezek 3:1-3

              John had a similar experience.  So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey." And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. Rev 10:9-10

              Both of those prophets had a great respect and love for the Word of God.  That's where the "sweet as honey" comes in.  But neither one of them loved the message they had to deliver; John, one of an upcoming persecution greater than God's people had ever experienced, and Ezekiel, trying to convince a hardheaded people that Jerusalem would indeed be destroyed in a most horrible way and that they were the true remnant, the only hope for God's people and the World.  Yet both of those men, because of their devotion to God, fulfilled their missions.  Their abiding love for God made their prophecies palatable.

              I have heard both preachers and elders, lately, beg a congregation full of God's people to "get into the Word."  When we have to beg, when we have to bargain like a parent with a toddler—"Eat just one bite and you can have some dessert"—how much love for the Word are we exhibiting?  How much commitment to our Savior do we really have?

              If we are what we claim, we should long to fill ourselves with those words.  We should clamor for more.  If nothing else, like an adult we should understand that eating our vegetables is better for us than eating French fries, desserts, or candy, and do it without needing a bribe.  At least one has a hope of developing a taste for the profound, the spiritual, the Truth if he tries it once in a while. 

              My mother used to mash the carrots and potatoes from the pot roast and mix them together so I would eat the carrots.  Now I have matured and do just fine, thank you.  What won't you eat, even for the sake of saving your soul?
 
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Ps 119:103
 
Dene Ward
 

I have had some wonderful comments come up in my classes.  Women who were not too embarrassed to share a moment of vulnerability, a mistake in judgment, or a light bulb moment have all had great impacts on their listeners.  I have come to love these women who have faced adversity in many ways and kept their faith, who have handled doubt and come out stronger.  Without these students, my classes would have been ho-hum at best.
 
             I haven’t much to add to this after the last subject we discussed.  Comments can be motivated by practically all the things that questions can be, both good and bad.  As we said last week, we won’t discuss the negative attitudes.  No one who cares enough to read these things is likely to have bad attitudes.  The same guideline goes for this topic as that one:  think of your classmates when you make your comments.  I honestly believe that love is what has made my best students so willing to share—to keep others from the same painful mistakes or help them through similar experiences.

              I especially appreciate a student who sees that I have not communicated well and has a simpler way to say what she has understood.  More than once it has instantly cleared confusion from the other faces.  When you do this, though, please make it brief.  Too many times we spoil what would have been wonderful by adding too many unnecessary words, words that dilute the effect of the simple explanation and make it once again muddled. 

              “Muddled” is the perfect word.  When you put fresh mint, for example, in the bottom of the pitcher and pound on it with a wooden spoon, you are “muddling” the drink you are making.  Instead of being plain tea, it will now be mint tea, or peach, or raspberry, or whatever else you “muddled.”  It will no longer be plain and simple tea.  In fact, you might not be able to tell what the initial beverage was before you “muddled” all those flavors in it.  The simpler the comment, the fewer the words, the better.

              And may I say this as kindly as I know how?  Class is not the place to show everyone how much you know.  I have been in mixed Bible classes where people in the class practically took over and taught it from their seats.  I call these “preacher comments.”  I’m sorry, dear brothers.  I have the utmost respect for what you do, but you are definitely the worst offenders.  Then there are the ones who seem to think no one can say it as well as they can.  As in the first instance, comments should be brief and to the point.

              Comments should also be on the subject.  Any time I hear, “I know this is off topic, but...” I groan inwardly.  We are supposed to be learning what the teacher is supposed to be teaching us, not some other lesson someone in the pew decided on.  The elders have a reason for the classes they choose—at least they should—and no one else should decide what needs to be taught.  The shepherds are feeding the flock the things the flock needs, from careful observation and thought.  The man in the pew may be feeding them what he thinks they need, and in reality, what he wants them to hear, usurping authority in the process.

              And we should make this clear too—just because a class was full of comments does not mean it was a good class.  It may very well mean the teacher completely lost control.  If you remember nothing else, remember this:  anything anyone can come up with off the cuff is far less beneficial than the things the teacher has spent hours preparing—at least it had better be.

              So, comments?  Yes, please.  Brief, on topic, clear and helpful.  Always think before you speak—but then that is perfect advice any time.

              My students excel in all the areas we have discussed.  They are excited learners who work hard and consider one another before themselves.  Together we make a safe place to discuss the things we have all wondered about or that trouble us, without having to worry about anyone judging us or spreading our comments and private experiences beyond the classroom doors.  What is said in class, stays in class—that is our rule.  If every Bible class followed their examples, the church would be more knowledgeable and more loving, just as these women are becoming week after week.
 
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 15:2,3.
 
Dene Ward