Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
Most of us know the story of Nadab and Abihu:  "Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them.  And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD." (Lev. 10:1-2)  This occurred on the day that Aaron and his sons completed the week long process which consecrated them as priests.  What a start!  It was a sharp lesson that God expected more of those who have the closest relationship to Him.  "Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace." (Lev. 10:3) 
           When God gave Moses the instructions for building the tabernacle and all the furniture in it, He emphasized the importance of the altar of incense.  Alone of all the things in the tabernacle, the altar of incense is said to be "most holy unto the LORD," and the High Priest must "make atonement upon the horns of it once in the year" (Ex. 30:10).  A careful warning is also made:  "You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it." (Ex. 30:9)  Add to that warning a command that the fire on the altar of burnt offering should never go out (Lev. 6:12-13) and the event witnessed by all that God Himself lighted the altar of burnt offering (Lev. 9:24), and the conclusion should have been reached that they should be careful with these things.  So when Nadab and Abihu offer incense with unauthorized fire, they pay the price for not treating God with the fear and reverence He deserves.
            Immediately after the explanation and instructions regarding Nadab and Abihu's  deaths God says that priests should never enter the tabernacle having drunk wine "that you die not" (vs 9).  Given the events that had JUST taken place, Aaron knew that the threat of death wasn't just an absent-minded emphasis.  God wasn't just speaking strongly to make a point.  If they did not sanctify and glorify Him in their actions, death awaited.
            Leviticus also teaches the lesson to take care in following the instructions of God.  Here God gives the delineation between clean and unclean animals.  "Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat." (vs 3)  That instruction should have been enough, but God painstakingly emphasizes the rule.  The camel, rock badger and hare all chew the cud but don't part the hoof and are therefore unclean.  The swine parts the hoof, but does not chew the cud and is unclean.  In other words, a partial obedience to God's instructions doesn't cut it.  For God, there is no such thing as "close enough".  
            Since modern Christians are called a "royal priesthood" by Peter (2:9), we bear the same burden as Aaron and his sons.  Who are closer to God than the members of His family?  (Rom. 8:16, Eph. 2:16)  Since the law was to bring us to Christ (Gal. 3:24) and is profitable for the perfection of the man of God (2 Tim. 3:16), then the principles it teaches about how to approach God are viable.  Therefore, we must show by our lives that God is holy.  Our lives should bring glory to God in the sight of the world.  Part of so honoring God is to take care to follow His instructions exactly--not to be saved by our rule keeping, but to demonstrate that God's wishes are important.  That they are THAT important.  All of which explains why we are so careful about how and when we worship God and why we are so strict about how the church's money is used.  It is why we should be careful in our daily lives:  about how we speak, what we laugh at, how our free time is used and how we raise our children.  To sanctify and glorify God (Lev. 10:3) ought to be reason enough for a people saved by the sacrifice of God's Son, but perhaps an even baser reason will resonate:  "that [we] die not". 
 
2 Thess. 1:7-8  "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."
 
Lucas Ward
 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

When we realize that the terms, "cross" and "crucified," are only used in a possibly negative or sad way two times in all the epistles, it changes our whole view of, "This do in remembrance of me" (1Cor11:24).
 
Rather than feeling sad at the foot of the cross, we should join the apostle Paul, "But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal 6:14). Certainly, we must consider that our sins caused his suffering to bring about appropriate repentance. But, Paul's every remembrance of the cross is not only positive, it is boasting in victory over the world of sin and emptiness.
 
In the Bible, blood always means death, not the red liquid. (In Gen 9:6 Is one innocent of "shedding blood" who strangles or poisons another instead?) Thus, it is by the "blood of the cross" that "we are reconciled to God through the death of his son" (Col 1:20, Rom 5:10) as he "Poured out his soul unto death" (Isa 53:12). Every passage we consider after the resurrection speaks only in the same manner, leaping and shouting for joy for this victory, "and he has taken it [the Law] out of the way, nailing it to the cross; having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Col2:12-15). Triumph! not sorrow; "I WIN!" not mourning.
 
Jesus who endured the cross despising shame in his lifetime demanded that disciples take up their cross and follow him. That concept has been cheapened by calling our illnesses or self-generated problems, "our cross to bear." Bearing our cross in victory means emulating the apostles who after being beaten, went "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the Name" (Acts 5:41). Suffering for Christ wins the victory of the cross. The communion commits us to hold fast that confession that we began with baptism.
 
That remembrance should lead us to a life of triumph in Christ that causes the world about us to view us as a sweet smell to the good and the smell of death to those who refuse truth (2Cor2:14-16). Without the sense of victory engendered by the Lord's Supper, we soon are overwhelmed by life's challenges and fears. Our hearts must always focus on that firstfruit of our victory "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27).
 
We may be scorned for speaking and living that which we believe in a world where tolerance is the only rule; we may lose jobs, suffer isolation, or even go hungry or homeless. But silence is refusing the cross of the Lord's Supper, the cross of triumph over death.
 
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory" (1Cor 15:52-54).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

The title is the theme of the book of Leviticus. "And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying . . . You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the LORD has spoken to them by Moses.” (Lev. 10:8, 10-11)  The most basic job of the priests was to learn the difference between the clean and unclean and the holy and common and teach that to the people of Israel. 
            Everything in Leviticus relates in one way or another to this central premise.  The first seven chapters detail the different types of sacrifices: how each is to be performed, which animals may be used, how they are presented to the Lord and exactly where they are to be slaughtered (some animals were presented/killed at the door of the tabernacle, others on the North side of the altar), which parts are to be burnt on the altar and which are to be eaten by the priests and/or the offeror.  The same animal might be offered in different ways depending on the type of sacrifice being made.  Every word of instruction for the sacrifices is about cleanliness and holiness.  Sacrifices to the Lord were not to be treated casually as if all that mattered was the heart of the worshipper. They were not common, but holy. the animals used must be clean animals, but also holy: not spotted or blemished, not halt or lame, not sick.   
            Chapters eight through ten instruct how to consecrate the priests.  The overriding emphasis here is on the holiness of their office and the absolute need to maintain their ceremonial cleanliness.  So holy was the High Priest that he was not allowed to even participate in the funeral of his own father because to handle a dead body would make him unclean. 
            Chapters eleven through 15 enumerate the laws of cleanliness (far more involved than just which animals belonged in which category) and chapters 18-27 contain the laws of holiness.  The holiness laws were different from the regular civil laws contained within the Law of Moses because the explanation of these laws was simply "I Am YHWH!"  Many don't even have punishments for breaking the law just the statement that the law is basic to the character of God.  Chapter eleven contains the famous command "For I am Jehovah your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves" (vs 44) while in chapter 20 God says, "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am Jehovah your God." (vs 7) 
           Finally, chapters sixteen and seventeen describe the Day of Atonement.  This day was dedicated to the re-sanctification of Israel each year.  Atonement was made for the nation's sins.  The tabernacle was sanctified again.  This day and its events were emblematic of the effort to remain clean and holy before the Lord.  In like manner, the entire book of Leviticus teaches the people how to remain clean and holy and shows just what an effort that will take. 
            So why did I just waste your time going through all of that?  The priests were to learn all these arcane rules and teach them to the people, so what?  1 Peter 2:9  "But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light".  Just as the priests were to learn to distinguish between the clean and unclean, the holy and common and teach the people, so we, as part of Christ's new kingdom of priests, are to maintain our own holiness and proper standing before the Lord and teach the world about the expectations of God.  When people ask if it really matters to act only in the manner authorized in the New Testament we can say, "Yes!" because the authorized manner is the teaching of the Lord.  Just as in Leviticus, what the Lord teaches is the holy way He wants things to be done and any other way would be unholy, common.  Is maintaining my sexual purity really that important?  Yes, because we are to be holy, not commonly had by all in the world.  Our speech is to be clean, not vulgar, because we are the priests of God and the first responsibility of priests, even before teaching the people, was to maintain their own holiness.  Then, while maintaining our cleanliness before the Lord, we spread across the world His word, showing forth His excellencies. 
 
Psalms 24:3-5  "Who shall ascend into the hill of Jehovah? And who shall stand in his holy place?  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; Who hath not lifted up his soul unto falsehood, And hath not sworn deceitfully.  He shall receive a blessing from Jehovah, And righteousness from the God of his salvation."
 
Lucas Ward 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Paul prays for things we never heard anyone pray for; maybe we should consider enriching our prayers by imitating his. Remember that he is addressing long time Christians in Ephesians and asks that they “have the eyes of your heart enlightened.” Unquestionably, this is beyond the understanding required for conversion and basic service. This enlightenment will lead them to know three things: “the hope of his calling,” “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” and “the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe.” (Eph 1:18-20).

God promises to use the same power for us that he “wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him to sit in the heavenlies.” After he glorifies Christ to the right hand of God and head of the church, Paul reminds us of our former state, “And you, dead…” (with all the gory details of spiritual deadness) and hopeless, for the dead cannot act. But, God used the power of Christ’s resurrection to give us life and seat us in the heavenlies with him. God creates us from death just as he created Adam from dead dust. We no longer live in the world but, triumphant over it, we live in the heavenlies to accomplish good works.

Paul renews his prayer at the end of his treatise on the church:  “I bow my knees to the Father…that he would grant you…that you be strengthened with power…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”  And concludes that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us” (Eph 3:14-20).

When we take the Lord’s Supper, we remember the cross and Jesus’ sacrifice. But without the resurrection, that cross is no more significant than the thousands of others erected by Rome. How much power does it take to raise someone from the dead? We have no measure—megatons will not do it. But that power made us who we are,  God’s inheritance, his children, his church that displays his wisdom. That power enables us to become new people who can conquer sin and show the love of Christ through his indwelling.

The Lord’s Supper is not some magic power in and of itself, though some seem to treat it so, giving it such devotion in the forlorn hope it will fix all they have made little effort to change. The “communion” has become a solitary, lonely event between each one and God. The communion of the Bible was a joyous sharing in the memorial to the power of the resurrection that made us alive from sin and enables us to “transform ourselves by the renewing of our minds.”
“I can’t.” “I tried.”  “I want to change, but….” are all Satan’s deceits to keep us from exercising this power that Paul prayed for God to work in us. Look around when you partake and share with your fellows the hope of being called by God and the surety that by the grace of God you can.  Then pray and pray all week, for God can do all things through you by the same power by which he raised Jesus.
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
Exodus 25-31 contains the instructions for building the tabernacle.  A few comments:
 
When God lists the materials needed to build the tabernacle, He specifies that the collection of these things be voluntary.  Ex. 25:2 "Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me."  God wants willing, whole-hearted worship, not worship grudgingly given nor coerced worship.
 
Then there is the reason God wants the tabernacle:  Ex. 25:8  "And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst."  God wanted to be with His people and among them.  This isn't shocking.  From the beginning God has been among His people as much as possible.  In Genesis three, God "catches" Adam and Eve in their sin when He comes down for their regular evening stroll through the Garden together, and descriptions of Heaven always include a close relationship with God.  (Ezek. 43:5; Isa. 2:2; Ps. 23:6; Rev. 21:3)  In fact, the word tabernacle just means any form of dwelling and is usually used of tents, "but here it means the dwelling place of Jehovah who, as king in His camp, had His dwelling or pavilion among His people, His table always spread, His lamps always lighted, and the priests, His attendants, always in waiting." (Adam Clarke)  Thinking of the tabernacle as the king's pavilion in the midst of His people is something that I had never thought of, but is entirely apt and makes the tabernacle not just a place of worship, but the place one went to commune with God.
 
Finally, a perusal of the building instructions for the tabernacle shows an interesting mix of demands for the best and an understanding of limits.  The tabernacle would have been by far the biggest, most spectacular tent in the camp, but it was still a tent.  God didn't insist that His people (then nomads) build a stationary temple, but instead wanted a tent that could be moved with His people.  The curtains, hangings, and veils were made of the finest cloths, hides, and linens available, dyed with the best dyes.  The claps were solid silver and the furniture was overlaid with pure gold, but the furniture was constructed out of acacia wood.  The best wood available in the world was cedar from Lebanon, which Solomon used in constructing the temple nearly 500 years later.  Why didn't God demand this for His tabernacle?  Because His people were at that point a mob of escaped slaves wandering in the wilderness.  Workers dispatched to Lebanon would have taken 2-3 months for the round trip if they could even have figured a way to bring the wood back (unlikely). Acacia was a much inferior wood, but it was the best available in the wilderness.  
 
From these building instructions we learn that God always wants our best, but He doesn't expect more than we can possibly give.  This is comforting when we consider the history of kings who demanded payment of taxes even when the harvest failed or landlords who evicted lessees who lost their jobs due to forces they couldn't control (Great Depression?).   God wants our best but He doesn't demand things we simply cannot do.  God is reasonable and doesn't demand the ark be built out of cedar when only acacia is on hand, but He also will not accept a silver overlay when there is plenty of gold. 
 
The building instructions of the tabernacle teach us that God is a reasonable God who wants to be among people who want to be near to Him.  
 
Rev. 21:3  "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
Mark Twain described normal life, “A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle for bread…the burden of pain, care, misery grows heavier year by year.”
 
Burdens of making a living, Burdens of anxiety because there is never enough to be secure, Burdens of sickness & death, Burdens of the boredom of the constant search for amusement, Burdens of the futility of it all in the face of death; these and more will obscure and mute the joys of life.
 
“Come unto me;” not, “believe my teaching” or “attend church,” but, “COME UNTO ME.” Many who call themselves Christians and do many good works fail to find the promised rest because they never answered the unreserved commitment, “COME!” One who believes and even teaches the exact truth may yet fail to place himself absolutely and only in Jesus’ hands.
 
Rest does not mean things in life suddenly start working out or health problems respond to prayer.  Rest means there is a relationship so pure and good that these things no longer matter.  We have a goal and a meaning to life while the world has nothing.  We have a hope for something more than life while they have darkness. 
 
If your life seems futile; if it feels like you can barely keep up with all the things and with all the problems, it may mean you should re-commit and, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.”  
 
“Come” is not a “one and done” invitation.  Paul still wrote to long time faithful Christians, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you may be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fullness of God." (Eph 4:17-19 sel.)
 
Despite all his accolades, Mark Twain died in the futility he described.  Why should you?
 
The mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory: WHOM we proclaim (Col 1:26-27).
 
Keith Ward
 

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