Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire, Jude 1:5-7.
            If ever we need a rerun of a lesson in this age it’s this one:  Jesus absolutely, definitely, most certainly will punish.  Too many times we who “once fully knew it” fall into the false security of the world, calling Jesus the gentle, the loving, the merciful, which is all true, but it is meant to imply that he would never punish anyone for a sin.  Maybe God would, especially that mean, angry Old Testament God, but certainly not Jesus.  The people Jude wrote to must have forgotten as well.  Jesus, the same one who saved the people out of Egypt, turned right around and destroyed a whole lot of them not long afterward. 
            Then Jude gives us three things to watch out for specifically.  First, in his allusion to the Israelites, he mentions unbelief.  How could they not believe in a God who spoke to them, who caused Sinai to shake, who had previously demonstrated His power in the plagues and at the Red Sea?  The Hebrew writer tells us, And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief, Heb 3:18-19.  He equates disobedience with unbelief, and it only makes sense.  If I really believe what God says, that He will do what he says He will do if I disobey Him, then I will not disobey.  Disobedience means I think I can get away with it, so it means I do not believe God, and Jesus, will punish.
            Then Jude mentions the angels “who left their proper dwelling.”  This cannot be talking about being cast out of Heaven because it says “they left,” which seems voluntary.  The understanding I get from scholars is they went beyond the bounds God set for them.  If a man walks into work and begins ordering people around like he was the boss, firing, hiring, and changing orders, he has “left his proper dwelling.”  Who are you supposed to submit to in your life?  Your husband?  Your elders?  Your boss?  Your government?  How about your fellow Christians (Eph 5:21)?  Have you left your proper place in life?  Jesus will punish.
            And then there is the issue of the day—sexual immorality and unnatural desire as exemplified by the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Jesus will punish.
            Remember, Jude tells them.  You used to know this.  What happened?  Maybe the same thing that has happened to us—listening to the culture we live in turn Jesus into a weak, instead of meek, pushover.  You can make him angry (Mark 3:5).  He will punish.  Don’t give him a reason to.
 
…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 2Thess 1:7-8.
 
Dene Ward

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people, Titus 3:1-2.
            You would think a Christian wouldn’t need such reminders, but look at the things above.  Aren’t these the most difficult things for us to do?  To submit to someone else’s decisions, especially if we seriously disagree with them; to obey even when you had rather not; to be eager to serve others; to stop arguing and just accept; to be kind, even to those who do not deserve it; and to be courteous, even when people are not courteous to us—none of these things comes without effort.  In fact, they usually don’t come at all, and when their opposite surfaces, we are full of excuses.  He did it first; he needs to see what it feels like; if he can do it, so can I.  No you can’t.  Not and stay faithful to the Lord.
            Did you notice that most of these things are simply a matter of submitting one’s will to another?  And God always says that the reason for this is “the Lord’s sake” not the sake of the person you are submitting to, and that’s why we fail so often.  We look at the wrong person and when we see that person doesn’t deserve such submission, we find excuses.  You see it every day on the pages of facebook—rants about the government in words that are hardly “submissive.”  Even if you do obey, the submission is not there.  Let me ask you husbands, would you call a wife who rants at you in the same words you do at the President and congress “submissive?”  Parents, would you accept the attitude of a child who, while he ultimately obeyed, rolled his eyes and made sarcastic remarks while he did so?
            And so we have to be reminded to behave ourselves, every bit as much as a child needs that reminder, and because, like a child, we are “slaves to our passion” (v 3), especially our passion for self.  We submit our desires, our opinions, and that pesky thing called “self” because when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life, v 4-7.  We do not deserve our salvation any more than those people deserve our submission, service, and courtesy.  Are you going to give it up just to prove a point?
            No, we do not have to be reminded to do the easy things, so obviously these are difficult.  We need the reminder.  We need sometimes a reminder as sharp as a slap in the face.  Read the prophets.  They were good at that.  And the New Testament writers were not far behind.  I’ve been told that sometimes I’m not either.
 
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder…Rom 15:15. 

Dene Ward

It happens all the time in exactly the same way.  Sometimes we are coming out to our own rock-lined fire ring up against the eastern woods.  Other times we are rebuilding in the metal ring of a state park campsite.  Feathery white ashes cover the circle as much as four or five inches deep, the remains of a dead fire from the morning or even the night before.  But lean over and blow on those ashes and red embers glow beneath.  Hold your hands a few inches above and feel the warmth from that earlier fire.
            So we start gathering twigs of all sizes.  First we lay on a handful of pine straw, which almost immediately begins to smoke, followed by twigs the circumference of darning needles, then pencils, then finally some as big around as your thumb.  Usually before we are finished the straw is burning and once we hear the first crackle of wood, we know we have been successful.  If we have it, a sliver of lighter wood will ensure the fire doesn't go out, especially if we must take the time to grab a hatchet or axe and do some log splitting.  Now we're ready to sit back and warm our bones, throwing on another full size log as needed.
            You can learn a lot from a campfire.  For one thing, those tiny darning-needle-sized twigs are just as important as a larger log.  The latter may last much longer and give out more heat, but it would never have caught in the first place without the smaller twigs.  It might smoke and char a bit on the outside, but that's about it.
            For another, you aren't the only thing a good fire warms up.  Sometimes in our zeal for warmth, we stack twigs so high that a few fall off and roll to the back of the ring.  I was watching one on an early cool spring morning, seven or eight inches long, maybe a half inch in diameter, as it stood against the back side of the ring, at least a foot from the flames.  Suddenly, without a spark landing on it and without even smoking first, it burst into flame.  It had been a roaring fire.  We had already backed our chairs away a good two or three feet further, and it was so hot that a twig a good foot or so away had burst into flame without even being in the fire.
            So which piece of wood are you?
            Are you the small, seemingly insignificant twig that catches quickly and then passes its heat on to another and another and yet another?  The one who constantly mentions the Lord in your life and the love and generosity of spirit in your brethren rather than complaining about them?
            Are you the one who burns so hot that anyone nearby catches on fire, too?  The one who brings your friends, who peppers the preacher with questions they have asked you as you try to satisfy their curiosity and teach them the truth?
            Are you the larger log that burns long and hot, leaving embers behind that will help others start yet another fire after you are gone, one that might even burn larger and hotter than anything you ever imagined?  The parents who faithfully teach children who grow up to preach the Word to hundreds, who work long and hard to start a congregation in your area, who hold Bible studies in your home and attend gospel meetings as your Friday night entertainment?
            Campfires:  I have always enjoyed sitting next to one, watching the flames, yellow, orange, red, purple, and even blue, listening to the crackle and hiss, smelling the various smells of burning oak, hickory, and cedar.
            They are also a pretty good place to sit and think…
 
If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.  (Jer 20:9).
 
Dene Ward        

I recently came across an article titled “How to Avoid the Natural Reactions that Affect Good Decision Making.”  It is too long to go over here, but it did make me realize that natural reactions can be controlled.  How?  The author, who was not interested in spiritual matters at all, listed several ways, but they all boiled down to this—control yourself and do not let those “natural” reactions rule you.  The Sermon on the Mount is full of exactly those kinds of statements.
            Rejoice and be glad [when others revile you and persecute you] for so persecuted they the prophets before you.
            But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
            But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
            And that’s only a few from Matthew 5.  This is not easy, but I think the key is this:  God doesn’t expect us to control our natural reactions—he expects us to change what comes naturally to us.  And He expects us to do it during the most difficult times of our lives.  His people have been doing it for thousands of years.
            Jesus went to Peter’s house one evening and found his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever.  What did she do the moment she was healed?  And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them, Mark 1:30.  How many of us would have taken the next few days off to recuperate, expecting a little more sympathy too?
            The apostles were arrested and put in prison, then brought out and beaten.  What did they do? Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name, Acts 5:41.  Rejoicing at being beaten?  That certainly wouldn’t be my natural reaction.
            Stephen was stoned for what he preached and what did he do as he lay dying?  And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep, Acts 7:59-60.  Impossible, you think, to forgive your murderers, but not for Stephen, a man “full of grace” Acts 6:8.
            Aquila and Priscilla were run out of Rome, forced to leave their home because of persecution.  What did they do?  They set up shop in Corinth and offered Paul a place to stay for as long as he needed (Acts 18:1-3).  Me? I probably would have pleaded a need for time to get organized and put my life back together before I put my home in the upheaval of a long term guest.
            Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison.  What was their reaction?  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, Acts 16:24.  They were aware that “others were listening to them.”  I’m not sure I would have been aware of anything but my own aches and pains, and completely unconcerned about what others were going through.
            And what did David do immediately after his child died?  Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped, 2 Sam 12:20.  At this most horrible time for any parent, David worshipped.  Is it really surprising?  Job did the same thing, and he had lost all his children.  Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped, Job 1:20. 
            It seems that the natural reaction for a true child of God who undergoes any sort of trial is to turn to his Father, to serve, to worship, to pray, to sing, even to forgive.  I am usually more interested in my own welfare than anyone else’s.  I tend to forget anything spiritual and concentrate on my own physical or emotional pain as if it were the most important thing there is.  Is that what a Christian should do?  These people tell me otherwise, and I could have found many more examples. 
            Truly I have a long way to go, but this maybe I can remember:  If I have become a new creature, then what is “natural” about me, including my reactions, should have changed too.
 
Now the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. But he that is spiritual judges all things, and he himself is judged of no man, 1 Cor 2:14,15. 
 
Dene Ward

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

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

You can find some strange things in the footnotes.  Sometimes they illuminate the text you are reading, but sometimes they cause even more confusion.  Sometimes they answer the questions in your mind, and other times they cause even more.  Sometimes they sound like utter gibberish—sometimes they are in another language and might as well be gibberish.  And sometimes they are downright funny, as was the case this past Sunday morning.
 
You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool! ’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron! ’ will be subject to hellfire.  (Matt 5:21-22)
 
            Perhaps it is because I was reading this out of my newest Bible, a Holman Christian Standard I purchased because it has the largest "large print" I have ever seen, that I paid more attention than usual to those verses.  I mean, that last line really gets your attention.  Then I noticed the footnote on the word "fool" and laughed out loud.
 
             "Literally Raca, an Arab term of abuse similar to 'airhead.' "
 
            Airhead?  Do you mean the ancients talked like that too?  Of course they did.  People have not changed for centuries.  But reading that footnote also hit home.  When I was driving, one of the more common terms I tended to use about other drivers was, "Idiot."  What other term better fits people who swerve in and out of traffic at high speed, tailgate at those same speeds, text while driving, suddenly slow down ten miles an hour whenever they answer their phones as if that will instantly make them safe drivers despite the distraction, sit at a stop sign while you approach on the main road at the posted speed of 55 and then pull out when you are a car length away?  Idiots, all of them.
            And then, reading that new version and knowing what that footnote said, made me wonder why the Lord connected calling people "airhead," or something similar, with murder.  I have pondered this for a few days now and maybe I have it.  When you consider someone to be that kind of person, whether you use the word airhead, moron, idiot, or "things like these" (cf Gal 5:21), you really mean they are not worth caring about, not worth your consideration, not worth "the air they breathe or the space they take up," as some would say.  And that is exactly the mentality you must have to commit murder.  De-humanizing in any manner someone made in the image of God, someone whom Christ also died for, would make it a whole lot easier to simply eradicate them.  I may not realize that is what I am doing when I call people these names, but it is, and that is exactly why I should never have done it in the first place.
            Even if they don't drive, or talk, or act, or live--or vote--like I want them to.
 
A fool’s displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.  (Prov 12:16).
 
Dene Ward

We recently connected our back porch to the carport, not just over the door as it had been before, but the entire sixteen foot length of porch.  That means that both the carport and the porch roofs now drain into a gutter that formerly only drained the carport and only a third of that gutter is not now covered by the roof-over.
            Most of the time the gutter works fine, but after a torrential rain one night recently, we woke to a carport an inch deep in water.  Now how did that happen?
            Keith got out the blower and blew most of the water off to run on downhill in about ten minutes.  A couple mornings later, after another stormy night, he had to do it again, and we were still mystified.  Then one afternoon we solved the mystery.
            The rain began before dark this time.  Thunder rumbled in the northwest and the wind picked up to gusts instead of breezes, especially high in the treetops.  The temperature dropped ten degrees.  Before long, the azaleas began to bounce as scattered drops began to fall.  Within five minutes the bottom fell out and you could hardly see the bird feeder fifteen feet from the door.
            We stepped out onto the porch under a roar of rain on the metal roof so loud we had to yell at one another.  And there we saw the problem.  A small cluster of twigs, moss, and leaves barely peeked over the edge of the gutter, bobbing slightly as the water tried to run through it.  Most, however, overflowed the gutter at that point, tracing a route along the rounded bottom of the gutter to pour directly on the car and the carport floor around it.
            Keith grabbed my little household three-step ladder and headed out the door.  It only took a moment to realize that the only way to fix this was to get wet.  So he stepped out into the rain, set up the ladder and climbed it, making odd squealing noises during the whole process.  Did I mention that this was in the early spring?  That rain was cold.  But as soon as he removed the blockage, the water rushed down the length of the gutter and spewed like a fire hydrant from the bottom of the downspout.  Not another drop hit the carport floor.
            Now don't start tut-tutting.  He had cleaned out those gutters—several times—the last time only a week before.  But in North Florida, most leaves fall in the late winter and early spring, not in the fall.  Second, we had had a stormier, windier spring than usual with far more leaves, pollen and moss falling than usual.  Third, that obstruction he moved was hardly a handful, yet it still had a tremendous effect.
            So here is the question this morning:  What obstruction in your life is blocking the free flow of your witness?  What is blocking your influence?  What is hindering your service to others?  Laziness, selfishness, worldliness, or a host of other things can easily get in the way, and it doesn't take much to make a real mess of your mission as a servant of God.
            Blow out your gutters.  What is damming up the flow of goodness within you may also be damning your soul.
 
…we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.  (1Cor 9:12)

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness; (Rom 1:18).
 
Dene Ward

Dear TV and Movie Producers and Advertisers of same,
            I grew up watching television.  But now I find myself completely disgusted by what you are giving me as entertainment.  May I please offer a few suggestions?
            I am not a prurient adolescent, so please dispense with the sexual innuendo and bathroom humor.  I am far more mature and sophisticated than that.  Most of the people I know are.  I am relatively well-educated, so please come up with words with more than four letters.  They have already worn out their shock value, and what other use are they?  All they do is turn me off, which means I turn the knob off.
            Please give me role models I can identify with, admire, or aspire to.  Give me a father figure who is not an idiotic doofus, one who can make rational decisions and does not need his wife, and certainly not his children, to pull him out of the messes he makes of their lives week after week.  Give me a mother figure who does not treat her husband like a child or demean him to her friends, but respects him; who is not a preacher for the ultra-liberal left, who understands that selflessness and sacrifice for her family is not a fault to be overcome, and can communicate with her family without a martyr complex.  Give me children who respect their parents and obey them without eye-rolling, sass, and deeply heaved sighs of frustration. 
            Tell my children the truth not the fairy tale of “happily ever after.”  Show my children that one talk about condoms does not make teen pregnancy a breeze.  Show them that drugs are not that easy to overcome once they are hooked.  Tell them that there is no such thing as “safe sex” outside of heterosexual monogamy, that AIDS is not the only, or even the most common, sexually transmitted disease out there, and that they could easily end up living the rest of their lives in relentless pain, unable to marry and have children till the day they die.  Tell them that the same self-control we expect of them in regard to stealing and murder is just as viable when it comes to sexual self-control.
            Teach them something called integrity and character instead of looking out for number one and doing what you can get away with.  Teach them that whatever they do affects someone else.  Do you know how many times my probation officer husband has sat across the table from inmates who were shocked to hear that their shoplifting raised the prices that their dear old grandmothers had to pay?  No one taught them simple economics.  No one told them that what they did was a reflection on the women who raised them.  “I don’t know your mother,” he often says to them, “except what I see in you.”  You would be surprised how many hardened criminals sit there with tears running down their cheeks at those words.  Too bad you didn’t say any of those things a long time before he did. 
            And tell me this—would you ever pepper dialogue with the phrase “Oh my Allah!” or “Oh my Buddha!” or “Oh my Vishnu!”?  Or would you never dare in this age of political correctness to cause offense to someone’s religious beliefs?  So why must I listen to you disrespect my God?  Or is it, as seems to be the case over and over, that discrimination against Christians doesn’t count?
            Speaking of Christians, show me practicing Christians who are neither fire-breathing, insane radicals nor hypocrites.  Show me people who live what they believe—quietly and selflessly serving others and living moral lives.  I can show you hundreds of families in just my limited circle who do.  Why can’t you find any?
            I am not the only one out there who would like these things.  A good many of us are tired of seeing sex used to advertise hamburgers and shavers, and suave urbanity to advertise liquor and beer.  Let me tell you—the most interesting man in my world is not an arrogant, beer-swilling womanizer and no man should expect me to come running just because he gave me the eye across a boxing ring.  My standards are much higher than those.  My friends feel the same way.  We’re tired of having to battle an entire culture in order to teach our children how to be decent people.  Not a few have turned their TVs off.  They have made the decision to boycott businesses who promote themselves in such irresponsible ways, businesses whose only interest is the bottom line. 
            And to those who are saying amen, I am calling on more of you to do something tangible to show your displeasure--not violent, not illegal, but something that will make an impact that businesses care about—their profits.  Write a letter, using calm words, good words, not indecent ones.  Don’t become what you are opposing.  Then follow up.  Turn off that television, stop watching those movies, don’t buy those products or patronize those establishments.  You know who and what they are as well as I do, you’ve just been ignoring this issue because it would put a crimp in your style.  Maybe it’s time you sacrificed something.  You know who it’s for.  Aren’t they worth it?  Isn’t HE worth it?
 
 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead reprove them.  Eph 5: 11.
 
Dene Ward

Many years ago we lived in an old frame house in front of a train track, on a corner lot right next to the crossing.  The boys were four and two, and they loved to run outside as soon as they heard the horn so they could wave to the engineer and watch the cars pass—boxcars, flatcars, tankers, and finally the caboose, usually with another trainman standing on its “back porch,” who also received an excited wave.  Before a week had passed, those men were craning their necks, looking for the two towheaded little boys so they could be sure to wave back. We learned the train schedule quickly:  one every morning about 8:30, one every afternoon about 4:00, and one every Saturday about midnight. 
            That first Saturday night train took about ten years off my life.  I came up out of a deep sleep when the horn sounded.  We had only been in the house two days and in the fog of sleep, I did not know where I was or what was happening.  Then I heard that train getting closer and closer, louder and louder.  I realized what it was then, but my perspective was so out of whack that it sounded like the train was headed straight for the middle of the house.  I sat straight up, frozen in terror until it had passed.
            Within two weeks I was sleeping through the din.  Not even the sudden wail of the horn woke me. During the day it took the tug of a little hand on my shirttail for me to hear the train coming so we could go out and wave.  Your mind tunes out what it doesn’t want to hear, and does a grand job of it.
            How many times do we tune out people?  When we learn another’s pet peeves, the things he goes on about at the least provocation, we no longer listen.  If we have the misfortune to deal with someone who nags, we tune that out.  Maybe we should learn the lesson to choose our battles.  If we want what we say to matter to people, don’t go on and on about the trivial or they will have tuned us out long ago and never hear the things they really need to hear.  Parents need to learn that.
            Then there is the matter of tuning out God.  Oh, we all want to hear how Jesus loved the sinners, but let’s not hear His command to, “Go thy way and sin no more.”  Let’s remind ourselves that the apostle Paul was not above preaching to some of the vilest sinners in the known world, fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with men, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners.  But let’s ignore the fact that he says they changed:  such were some of you; let’s ignore the fact that he said that in their prior state they were unrighteous and could not inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Cor 6:9-11.  That’s just one of the many things people don’t hear.
            Today, maybe we should ask ourselves what it is we don’t want to hear.  I imagine that it is the very thing we need to hear the most.
 
Why do you not understand my speech?  Because you cannot hear my word. He that is of God hears the words of God: for this cause you hear not, because you are not of God, John 8:43,47.
 
Dene Ward