Today's post is by guest writer, Laurie Moyer

Dear One,
Have you ever noticed the three different kinds of people described in Acts 17 who heard the Gospel message? There were those in Thessalonica, who wanted only traditional ideas. There were the Athenians at the end of the chapter who wanted to hear all new things. Sandwiched in the middle were the Bereans, who were more concerned with whether or not the things preached were true. I know your heart well enough to know that you are a truth-seeker, and I applaud you for it. It is too easy for those in your age group to feel the pull toward the Athenian perspective. I do not say that all open-minded young people are sensationalists, but new ideas and approaches do have a built-in level of excitement. May I caution you not to let those aspects overpower your perception of their core worth.

It has always been the case that younger generations have a certain amount of impatience with, if not downright disdain for, a traditionalist approach to their life. In many ways this is a natural outgrowth of making up your own mind about things, and as such is healthy. It would be naïve to think our parents did not feel a bit of this themselves at this age, and so they will understand our independence. However, if an idea is absolutely new and never thought of before our day, we really should view it with some skepticism. Even the Ecclesiastes writer said there is nothing new under the sun, and that was thousands of years ago. He was right. The older you get you will see more of this. In terms of Biblical interpretation, we know that truly new doctrine will never be the correct view. Fee and Stuart cleverly phrased it as “a text can never mean what it never meant.” The Bible means what it was always intended to mean. Perhaps we rediscover what we had overlooked in what it says, but it would be the height of arrogance to insist no one else has ever seen what we realize today. Truth is truth and stands the test of time. It is not invalidated by the fact that others have taught it for years or that we have not discovered its significance.

Can we take this caution in principle and apply it to modern conventional wisdom? We are in an age of new discoveries of scientific truth, but often the recommendations we see in our digital communities are not so much based in verifiable fact as what seems to make sense to us in some logical way. College students are justly warned against a dependence on internet research in their search for truth because anyone can write anything online and have an audience for it. There is no clinical verification process and all you need is an assertion of fact or an argument that sounds logical to have a following. One example is in the area of medical recommendations. I simply do not have the expertise to speak definitively on the value of one “all natural” cure above another. What makes sense to me could involve a dangerous over-sight of other factors, and I need to recognize my own limitations in this area.

The business of selling snake oil has been popular and lucrative for ages. I am sad to say it is alive today and preys on the desperation we feel to fix our every ailment. I do not advise that young people try to be skeptical of everything they hear, just to be cautious. Even within academically accepted circles we see confident assertions of contradictory information. Not too long ago butter, nuts, meat, and coffee were all considered to be bad for you. Medical research today says the opposite is the case, with certain clarifications.  I believe this illustrates the fact that there are many more factors involved in what makes something better or worse for us than we usually calculate into these decisions. God has made us far more complicated than any of us know and we need to suspend some of our certainty and hubris and give place to the possibility that what we “know” today may not be as certain as we think it.

Children have the upper hand on us. They know they are in the process of learning. They are accustomed to being guided by another who has more information and their quest for those answers can be relentless.  Do not let that go to your head. You are the child. Your Father in Heaven is the one with the answers, but He does not need to say, “I don’t know, daughter.” He may say, “It is too much for you right now. Just trust me.” That is an answer we can be content with and one our children sometimes need to be willing to accept in return.
your loving friend,
Laurie Moyer

“There is a way that seems right to man, but the ends are the ways of death.” Psalm 14:12

Laurie writes for her husband Doy's blog, Searching Daily.  You can fins this and many other great articles there (including Doy's!).

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

In Exodus 15, 16, & 17 we see the Children of Israel acting in a way that seems unbelievable.  Having just seen God free them from slavery by sending ten plagues upon Egypt, being led by God in a pillar of cloud/fire, and being saved from the Egyptian army by passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, they then spend the next two months complaining every time something doesn't go just right.  

In 15:22-27 they camp at Marah after a three day march and cannot drink the water because it is bitter.  At this point all it says the people did was grumble a bit and ask what they were supposed to drink.  Moses prays and God miraculously sweetens the water.  God doesn't seem perturbed here because after sweetening the water He offers them a sort of preliminary covenant saying if they obey Him He will allow none of the diseases of Egypt to afflict them.  So far they've only been a bit grumpy in a nasty situation.  Understandable.

Then comes chapter 16.  Here, exactly (and only) one month after they were freed from Egypt the people begin murmuring because they don't have enough food.  vs 3 “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Essentially they are saying that instead of freeing us and leading us to a Promised Land as His chosen people, we wish God had just killed us while we were slaves.  They are complaining about their salvation because they are hungry!  Moses warns them that they are complaining against God, not himself and Aaron.  God makes a show of His glory to let them know He has heard their grumbling, then feeds them with manna from heaven (literally).  

Chapter 17 really tops it off.  In verses 1-7 the people again become angry because they don't have enough water.  This time their complaint goes beyond an understandable grumbling during a tough situation.  They accuse Moses of trying to kill them all in the wilderness.  They are so clamorous that Moses fears he is about to be stoned.  They even begin to question God's concern:  "Is the LORD among us or not?" (vs 7).  Again, God displays His glory to scare them straight and then provides the needed water.  

What makes chapter 17 so dumbfounding is that twice in the previous month-and-a-half they had been lacking and God had provided and yet, when they found themselves in need again, they didn't remember God's previous care.  They complained even more vehemently than ever.  Instead of reveling in God's salvation, they are complaining about it (16:3).  WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE??!!!!!

Yet, how often do we do the same thing?  We accept God's blessings all our lives with hardly an acknowledgment, but the first time that something bad happens we wail, "How could God do this to ME?"  We forget the abundance of food we over-eat, the homes with indoor plumbing, electricity and air-conditioning, the closets full of clothes and the nice vacations.  Instead we whine about how God is mistreating us because of one trial we have to make it through.  Worse, how often do we join in with the Israelites who asked "Is the LORD among us or not?" by declaring, "I just can't believe in a God who would let this happen."?  

It is easy to read Exodus and see how foolish the Israelites were in their complaints.  It is easy to cluck at them and wonder at their little faith when seeing such wondrous workings of God, but then, I'm not thirsty as I read these passages.  I'm not listening to my children crying from hunger.  Not to justify their lack of faith, but instead to again ask the question "Do I do any better when in the same situation?"  Is my faith really stronger?  Or am I self-righteously self-assured as I drop pearls of wisdom on my suffering friends only to cry out louder than any of them when my time for testing comes?  If I don't have faith in God when suffering, then I don't have faith in God.  Instead I am like the faithless Israelites who spent their lives whining and ultimately died in the wilderness far from the Promised Land.  

Finally, remember that God isn't a sadist.  The point of trials is to make us stronger, not just to let us suffer. 

Heb. 12:5-11  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”  It is for discipline that you have to endure. . . he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
I have a brown cap that I wear only around the house.  Though the thermostat says the house is warm, my head gets cold because I have no hair.  I mislaid the cap.  I looked everywhere I had been and everywhere it could be.  I found another, less well fitting cap to keep my head warm and looked everywhere it could not be.  I looked in all those places again.  Still no cap.  In fact, the time I spent looking far exceeded the value of the cap which has no sentimental value either.  But, I had to know where it had gotten to.  
 
After 3 or 4 days, I put on a pair of old knock-around jeans that I'd tossed in the floor of the closet during a warm spell here in Florida when I wore shorts.  The cap fell out.  Did I mention the jeans were brown?  Or, that I had moved them at least twice (and everything else in the floor of the closet) looking for the cap?
 
Now, the cap did not know it was lost.  Neither did the coin.  The sheep probably knew when it looked around and there were no other sheep nearby, but he did not know the way home.  The son never knew he was lost until things got so bad that he had nowhere else to go—but at least he knew the way home.
 
Sometimes attitudes and facts are so ingrained in us that we do not realize that everyone does not know what we know.  When we preach the gospel "to a lost and dying world," they do not hear because they not only do not know they are lost, they do not know what "lost" is any more than my cap did.
 
Jesus did not tell his parables for the lost but for those who were sure they were not lost, who saw no need for salvation for themselves.  We need to learn the lessons of the parables to understand how to show the lost their need.
 
Sometimes we appeal with love and companionship to a lost sheep who realizes a need for others of a spiritual bent, but unless we teach them, they are not really "found."  When their feelings are hurt, they have no truth to fence them in the fold.  This is happening in many churches and their numbers swell with those who are still lost but who are warmed by association with sheep.
 
We do not have to wait until the sinner hits "rock bottom" like the prodigal.  Paul converted many by the appeal of a God who loves and who knows each of us individually.  He also taught them that they were lost and destined to a fiery judgment without Jesus, "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).  These sounded forth the word because they knew the reality of having been lost and being saved (1Thess 1:8).
 
In vain do we teach those who, like my cap, have no sense of being lost.  They may learn facts, they may respond to some things that have some appeal to them, but they cannot be saved.  Many of our religious friends fall into this category.  We must sweep them from their hiding places to find them, expose them to the light and bring about repentance unto life.
 
Let us give thought to how we can show people that they are lost in order to motivate them to seek the salvation we wish to teach them.
 
When you follow the desires of your flesh, the results are very clear:
sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
idolatry, sorcery,
hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger,
selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy,
drunkenness, wild parties,
and other sins like these.
Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
That question was intentionally worded to grab your attention, but with the utmost respect I ask again:   what is it about God that makes Him great? 

The pagan gods of man's imagination show their greatness in a variety of ways.  Some of the gods were great because of their ability to manipulate creation.  Zeus and Thor, for example, were known for creating storms and hurling lightning about.  Poseidon, the god of the sea, was known for his ability to cause earthquakes and Baal was the Canaanite god who brought the spring rains.  Other gods showed their greatness by their ability to destroy their enemies.  Ares was the god of war who could defeat all who came against him.  Hades was the god of the underworld and the bringer of death.  Occasionally gods were known for their wisdom like Athena.  

These are the attributes that men imagine would make a god great and, indeed, the true God exceeds the imaginations of men in all of these areas.  In fact, we see that one reason for the ten plagues on Egypt was to show God's superiority:  "on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD." (Exo. 12:12, cf. Numb. 33:4).  As you go down the list you see God embarrassing god after god:  the Nile, a god in itself and the bloodstream of another, is manipulated by God; the cattle they worshiped were killed by plague; the storm gods could not keep Jehovah from sending the hail; the sun which they worshiped was darkened; and their death gods could not stop the final plague.  About 600 years later God made a mockery of Baal in the contest atop Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18).  Jehovah was known to His people as God Almighty (Gen. 17:1, 28:3, 35:11, 43:14, etc) and God Most High (Numb. 24:16, Ps. 46:4, 57:2, etc) and there could be little question He filled those titles.  

Yet it seems that God wanted primarily to be known for another trait.  In Ephesians 1 we see a list of great things that God has done for us:  blessed us with every spiritual blessing, chose us, ordained us to adoption as sons, provided redemption and forgiveness.  Why has He done all these thing?  Eph. 1:6  "to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved".  Notice that it doesn't say "to the praise of His glory" but rather "to the praise of the glory of His grace."  It seems that God is wanting to show the world the greatness of His grace and mercy.  He wants the source of His praise to be not His strength and power, but rather His amazing grace.

This is a major theme of the epistle to the Ephesians:  vs. 7 mentions the riches of His grace; vs 11-12 says that the Jews were made a heritage to Christ (an act of grace) "to the praise of His glory"; in vs. 13-14 the Gentiles were said to be sealed by the Holy Spirit (another gracious act) "to the praise of His glory".  It seems His glory is most to be praised when we fully understand His grace.  But wait . . . there's more!  In chapter 2 vs 4-7 we are told we are made alive in Christ "that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus".  In other words, the entire plan of salvation was enacted to show off the greatness of God's grace!  Also the church (founded upon the grace of God) made known the manifold wisdom of God (3:10) and God grants us strength and power "according to the riches of His grace" (3:16).  

Over and over and over the primary praiseworthy attribute of God is His grace.  His greatest works, painstakingly achieved over millennia, show off the "riches of His grace."  Think about what that says about the God we serve.  While He is more powerful than any pagan god imagined, more capable of defeating enemies, wiser and holier, He wants to be known for His grace.  He doesn't terrorize us with threats, He courts us with mercy.  Surely "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10), but the fulness of wisdom is shown in His greatest work of grace (Eph. 3:10).  This is truly greater than any god man could imagine.  Our God, who could destroy us with a word, wants to be known instead for His kindness, His long-suffering, His mercy and His grace.
 
Psa._84:11  "For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield: Jehovah will give grace and glory; No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly"
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
We were hiking a trail in N. Georgia near the eastern continental divide when we came upon a young healthy tree at least a foot in diameter that had been smashed under a huge old tree that had blown over in some storm.  The younger tree was absolutely crushed and broken to the ground by the fall of a tree at least 4 times its size.  I had to wait a few minutes for Dene to catch up before I could show her this scene. We’ve seen blow-downs of several trees at once, but this was the first time for a young adult tree crushed by another larger tree.  Since I once read too much science fiction, I could not help but think of it from the young tree’s perspective. “There I was, growing and healthy and strong, when suddenly this huge, older, stronger tree crashed right on top of me. I never had a chance.”
 
Is that not a familiar sight among Christians? When one who is older and more mature stumbles or falls, the damage is seldom repaired by his repentance.  In his fall, he crushes the life out of younger trees from seedlings to saplings to even full grown.  It seems that the more mature the sinner the greater the collateral damage.  Some may fall into the same or similar sins; some may be spiritually traumatized and need prayer and counseling to get back to the same level they once were, if they ever do; some may just give up with the thought that if he fell, what chance do I have? 
 
For this reason, we urge all to place their faith in God, not in any man; faith in Christ, not in a personality.  But, it is still true that we look to some who exemplify faith in action, whose conduct shows Christ in them and whom we look to as spiritual fathers we wish to emulate. Should such a one even stumble, it causes cracks in our shields, makes our knees quake and dulls our swords. If they fall, many will be spiritually devastated.
 
We are not alone in having passed through some trying times.  Sometimes, it seemed that all that kept us going in the faith was the thought of the impact our fall would have on our sons.  At other times when tempted, a primary deterrent was what it would do to other Christians if they ever found out.  Maybe this seems less strong than the one who stands in the strength of his own faith and overcomes by himself for himself, but one cannot help but believe that the one who served others finds such concerns to be noble motives.
 
Though a fallen tree cannot right itself, sometimes a fallen saint does.  He may even go onward and upward in his faith and influence others to stronger faith.  But he can never undo the damage he did to “these little ones” during his sin and the tears of his regrets will never cease to flow.
 
Not everyone who falls ceases to attend.
 
The righteous are often tempted.  These thoughts are offered to warn in order that they "stand, and having done all, STAND" and never yield.
 
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
(Mark 9:42)
 
But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of his righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.
(Ezekiel 18:24)
 
Keith Ward
 
 

Today's post is by guest writer, Laurie Moyer.

My Dear Sister in Christ,

I consider you my friend and confidant. There are so many things I can bring to you and I know you will understand me and want to help in my moments of trouble. But as much as I value our friendship, I trust you will understand when I say that another is my best friend. Jesus is the best friend any of us can have, but only second to Him is the friendship I have with my husband. He does not hold that place in my heart because he always understands what I feel. We often think differently and hold varying opinions. Our friendship is a bond of the will to be closer to each other even when it takes effort. We must carry through on the promise we made when we married to forsake all others. That is not just a determination not to let another man come between us, but that no one would occupy his priority in my life.

Most of us think of our fiancé as our friend. We went through a process of getting to know them that will only deepen as your married life continues. You talked about what is important to you and wanted to hear what matters to him. You set goals that align with each other’s. You planned a future of being together and helping each other go to heaven. You must not lose that when you get married. Too often the familiarity of his presence or the little oddities we used to find endearing become less enchanting. It is easy to gravitate toward our female friends to have hobbies independent from our spouse. Girl-time is not wrong, but it can corrode our marriage if it is not limited.

Children have a monopolizing claim on our time, and it is easy to allow their urgent needs to take precedence over the needs of a loving and selfless husband who understands and shares our concern for their welfare. I beg you to fight against allowing this to replace him. Children require our time, but you must make the time to show your husband by your actions that he is important. This can be clarified in simple ways like who gets served first at dinner time, or not allowing children to interrupt your conversations if it is not an emergency. Love your children, but don’t sacrifice your love for your husband. Not even for their sake.

You need to spend time with your man. When you were dating you had many things in common that drew you together. Please be cautious about past times that will pull you apart. Both of you can help this continued bonding process. You can learn to like the things the other has interests in. You can find new activities you both enjoy. Better yet, your family can do bonding things. Camping, board games, reading out loud, and joint activities, are all good ways to have fun as a unit- But we also need to have our “alone time.” You need time to yourself, but also as a couple. A get-away for just the two of you may not be practical on a weekly basis, but make it happen when you can. That is an investment in your closeness and your future. It may just be spending time talking together behind a closed (locked) door. While 1 Corinthians 7 emphasizes the need for physical intimacy between you, the traditional expression of “knowing” a spouse is revealing. Your physical oneness is supposed to teach you about each other in ways that create a link that is like no other relationship. You did not marry just to have children. You married him to be his helper- not a slave who does not interact with the master, but a helper. How can you help him if you don’t know him? How can you know him if you don’t elect to spend time together

Even though men and women are very different in tastes and attitudes I can always spend time with my husband and find things to talk about and enjoyable things to do. I will not replace him with other women because they are more like me. What God has joined together I must not separate.

Your loving friend,
Laurie Moyer

His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend… Song of Solomon 5:16

Laurie Moyer writes on her husband's blog, Doy Moyer's Searching Daily.  This post and others can be found there on the "For the Ladies" page.  You can easily access that blog by clicking on Recommended Sites on the left sidebar.

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

You can blame this one on my brother, who gave me the idea.
            Throughout the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, the image of God as a warrior king is prevalent.  In fact, one of the most common "the God who" phrases in the Bible is the God who will fight for His people, just as we studied last time.  Over and over, He fights for His people:  Deut. 1:30; 3:22; 20:4; Joshua 23:3,10; 2 Chron. 32:7-8, and Nehemiah 4:20 are just some examples.  But why does God fight for His people?  It is because of the covenant relationship He has with His people.  God makes promises to protect and care for His people and His people promise to obey His commands.  Ex. 24:7 "All that Jehovah has spoken we will do."  This leads to the Blessings and Cursings of the Law.  To oversimplify, if the people obey God, He will fight for them:
Deut. 28:7  "Jehovah will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways."
            But if the people disobey God, He will fight against them:
Deut. 28:25  "Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be tossed to and from among all the kingdoms of the earth."
          This concept is seen most clearly in the Exile of the people from the Promised Land to Babylon.  Jeremiah clearly saw what was taking place:
Jer. 21:4-5  "Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel . . . I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation."
          This is repeated in Lamentations:
Lam 1:15  "The Lord hath set at nought all my mighty men in the midst of me; He hath called a solemn assembly against me to crush my young men: The Lord hath trodden as in a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah."
Lam 2:5  "The Lord is become as an enemy, he hath swallowed up Israel"
           In the Exodus we see God as Israel's warrior who led His people from slavery with a strong right arm.  In the Exile we see God as Israel's enemy who fights against His rebellious people and sends them back into slavery.
          Why?!  Why is God fighting against His people?  It is a simple answer.  They broke the covenant.  In Deuteronomy 28 you can find the main list of blessings and curses and if you read it over carefully, you will see that what takes place as the Israelites are sent into captivity is almost word for word exactly what was promised as the punishment for breaking the covenant.  You see, God keeps His promises, even the ones about punishment.  Again, Jeremiah understood this:
Lam 1:18  "Jehovah is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment"
          This concept is also made clear in the New Testament.  We have extraordinary promises made to us -- look at the first 12 verses of 1 Peter 1 -- if we will follow Him.  We are told, however, that if we enter into a covenant with Him and then break that covenant, things won't be good.
2 Peter 2:20-21  "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first.  For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them."
Hebrews 6:4-6  "For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
Hebrews 10:28-31  "A man that hath set at nought Moses' law dieth without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses:  of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?  For we know him that said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
          This is why Jesus told His disciples to count the cost and make sure before they began to walk with Him (Luke 14:28ff). 
           If you are God's, He will fight for you.  Nothing will stand against you.
          If you turn away from your covenant relationship with Him, God will fight against you. 
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Christianity seems to have become a way to be happy.  Having marital problems?  Become a Christian and go to church and you will smile your way to wedded bliss.  Financial problems? Just join and be happy.  Health issues?  Join the right church and do the right worship and get on the prayer list and amaze the doctors at your instant cure.  Certainly, the above is a simplistic view of what much of our preaching and outreach has become but no one can deny that we have a huge problem.  The most common retort about one’s lifestyle may be “Judge not that you be not judged,” but close behind it is, “God would want me to be happy.”

It has been said often, “God does not care whether you are happy, he wants you to be saved.”  However, the problem seems not to diminish.  When faithful attenders (note that I did not say, “Christians”) find it a challenge to spend more prayer time than screen time, more Bible study time than game playing time, more money to church, preachers and poor than to our recreation, the matter has moved beyond a problem into a crisis.

We need not be in pain to be servants, but surely the easy measure of attendance on cushioned pews is not even on the bottom of the scale of servanthood.  Look at those who were written for our learning:

Abraham wandered homeless for 100 years and wondered for a quarter century when God would fulfill His promise.

David had one slip in an exemplary life and never had a moment’s peace thereafter.

Jeremiah probably never had one happy day in his life after he accepted God’s commission to be a prophet and was kidnapped to die in a foreign land after the horror of watching his predictions fulfilled.  Feel his pain by reading LAMENT-ations.  Also, read his curse on his own life and wish to never have been born (Jer 20:7-18).

Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch wished for something for himself for all that he suffered alongside Jeremiah.  God replied that He would give Baruch his life (Jer 45, only 5 verses)

Hosea was told to marry an idolatress (i.e. non-Christian).  The outcome of that was her predictable adultery.  His misery allowed Hosea to write eloquently of God’s misery at the apostasy of Israel.

Paul wrote of thorns in the flesh and sufferings and that was before his Roman imprisonment and shipwreck (2Cor 11:23-28).  James was beheaded.  Stephen stoned.  Unknown numbers of families were driven from their homes by Saul.  (Acts 12, 7, 8).

These all found Joy in serving God, but happiness was a foreigner in a faraway land.

Meanwhile, many who consider themselves faithful Christians can discuss some near-pornographic vengeance-filled movie or TV series with their co-workers and friends.  They consider it sacrifice to attend and deserving of extra credit to devote time to prayer and reading – scriptures, not best sellers.

It is a measure of the weakness of the faith of the many that I explained what to read.  “No,” one replies, “It is a measure of your attitude.”  It is not my attitude that most churches are declining, teachers cannot be found, members get ruffled at the slightest reproof and no one presses the “or perish” that goes with “Repent.”

We sing “The Servant Song” wherein we offer God a blank check to use our lives as He will.  Then we sissy out when we run into unhappiness.
 
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies; who is he that condemns? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that nothing … shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The part our mind refuses to see:
(1)  shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, For your sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things...
(2)  neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature...

Keith Ward

Today's post is another in the continuing series by guest writer, Lucas Ward.

By far, the most common self-description of God is "I AM Jehovah who brought you out of the land of Egypt." It is repeated so often it almost becomes part of His name.  Quite often it is just mentioned as an identifier and perhaps as a justification for giving commands. Lev. 19:36  "Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt."  See also Deut. 20:1 and Ps. 81:10.
            Other times God gives some of the reasons He brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt:  to be their God and to give them the promised land.  Lev. 25:38, Numb. 15:41, Judges 2:12.
            The most common reason given for God bringing Israel out of Egypt is to free them from slavery.  Ex. 6:7, Lev. 26:13, Deut. 5:6, 8:14, & 13:5, etc. They were in Egypt as slaves and He brought them out to be free.  In fact, this was meant to be a permanent situation.  God didn't want His people enslaved.  This was made part of the Law.  For example, one way to get out of a bad financial situation in that time and culture was to sell yourself into slavery.  God, in the Law, states that if one of His people is in that situation, you weren't to treat him as a bond slave but as a hired hand and he was to be released at the Year of Jubilee.  (Lev. 25:39-46)  The reason God gives is simple:   "For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen" (vs 42).  God had freed them from slavery and they were not to be enslaved again.
            God is the God who frees His people from slavery.
            This characteristic of God is clearly seen in the New Testament too.  John 8:34, among many other passages, tells us that "everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin".  God again found His people enslaved and led them to freedom. Rom. 6:17-18  "But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness."  How did God accomplish this?  Through his Son, God worked out a way to lead us from the slavery of sin.  Rom. 3:23-25  "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:  whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God."  We can have remission of sins through repentance and baptism into His Son. (Acts 2:38)  Our sins are blotted out (Acts 3:19).  We are now free from sin, free to serve righteousness.
            God also frees us from many worldly problems related to sin.  For instance, did you know that the #1 class of prescription drugs is antidepressants?  Because of sin many in this world feel dirty, worthless and unfit.  Paul tells us that, in freeing us from sin, God has washed, sanctified and justified us (1 Cor. 13:9).  We are no longer dirty, because God frees His people. 
            Lack of hope is another major problem for most people in the world.  Have you ever seen the bumper sticker "Life's a b****h and then you die"?  In fact, no hope in the world was the basis of several Greek philosophies.  Both the Stoics and Epicureans came to their conclusions from the premise of no hope.  The New Testament teaches differently.  75 times the word hope is used to describe the Christian life.  God is the God who frees us from hopelessness.
            God has made us free.  The only way we can ever again become enslaved is if we sell ourselves back to sin.  Let us instead rejoice in our freedom and our new chance to serve Him.
 
John_8:36  "If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
 
Lucas Ward
 
 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

For those who have never tented, campgrounds have bathhouses. The people with RV’s or tow-campers also have a bathroom in those. But they often use the Bathhouse to avoid having to empty their sewage tanks.
 
Bathhouses are usually at reasonable intervals, each one serving a set number of sites. We have never preferred sites near the bathhouse since everyone in your loop walks past you several times a day—no privacy. But, this last one set a record. We camped in Black Rock Mountain, a state park on the Eastern Continental Divide. We had stayed there the past year and as our custom is, walked through and picked the best sites. Even the hosts said that our #21 was about the best, though they slightly preferred #16.
 
#21 is the highest site, a constant uphill walk, a steep incline.  Though we were a bit cramped with our huge tents (for comfort), we had a marvelous view every day of the mountains to the East and every night 3000ft straight down to sparkling city lights. It was situated so that a shoulder of the hillside protected us from the winds. But there was that hill to the bathhouse. You think, “No problem going down.” Hah! That shows your lack of experience. Walking down a steep hill stresses the muscles in a different way, but still leaves one sore. The climb up was difficult. The hill was about a 30 degree incline except in the steep spots (In some spots, even the rotund could have touched the ground by reaching downward only a few inches—it was right out in front of you.) I counted 140 left steps when going up. On level ground, you can tape measure my military correct paces at 30”. Correcting that due to the grade still leaves the uphill climb at 150 yards or more, several times a day.
 
I would carry Dene’s necessary bag down for her and wait to carry it back when we brushed our teeth morning and evening. I carried it down earlier in the evening for her shower and got the fire going and the coffee on and returned to carry it back (40 lbs penalty weight kept my pace down with hers).  Even so, sometimes we’d stop and catch a breath on the way back up (Of course, I was just being gentlemanly and courteous to wait for her).
 
Adds new meaning to, “I’m pressing on the upward way….”
 
Would we do it over, certainly. The good stuff is at the top. Views do not come cheap.
 
Breakfasts alternated between 1) bacon, eggs, biscuits. 2) sausage & pancakes 3) sausage gravy and leftover biscuits, and repeat. One day, fried apples by the fire for dessert—yes, dessert for breakfast.
 
I grilled over open coals from oak kindling for our evening meals—chicken, pork chops, steak with baked potatoes done in the coals, burgers, chopped sirloin, except for one night when we had spaghetti and another with sausage and peppers we packed from our garden.
 
Thanks to the hill, we gained little, very little, weight.
 
People want to reach goals without paying the price. Trying to be spiritually healthy without climbing the hill means you will just become a fat pew potato. Dene and I are often told, "I wish I had your Bible knowledge." We did not levitate to that site and the knowledge came step by painful step. Often, we paused for breath and wondered whether we would make it. People with strong faith usually climbed over some tough times, those who express tenderness and lovingkindness often got there by overcoming the same natural reactions that plague us all.
 
The quiet times, the good food and the view allowed us to "catch a gleam of glory bright." Who will pay the price to enter the narrow door without the glimpses of the hope that God has laid up for us in every beauty of life?
 
 "And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are saved?” And He said to them, “STRIVE to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will SEEK to enter and will NOT be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank the Lord's Supper, and You were taught in our church’; " (Luke 13:23-26, modified, kw).
 
"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, " (Rom 5:3).
 
Keith Ward