This begins a series by guest writer Lucas Ward on the "One Another" Commands.  You will find them in the middle of the month for the next several months.

God could have saved us through the sacrifice of His Son and then left each of us to find our way to heaven on our own. In His wisdom, however, He created the church so we’d have a family of believers to help us make it. The church was designed to be a family. A place where we don’t have to be as on guard as we do out in the world. A place to receive encouragement as we battle temptations. A place where the older can teach the younger (Titus 2) and where we can find others who have been through what we are currently suffering and can offer advice and exhortation. This family, when it runs as God intended, is far more supportive than most physical families. Unfortunately, men have corrupted God’s family, often acting as if it were an institution where they can garner power, influence and/or wealth. Other local branches spend more time fighting among themselves than they do supporting each other. It is no wonder so much of the New Testament is instruction for how we should be getting along with each other. Depending on exactly how you count it, there are 51 passages in the NT specifically about how we should (or should not) treat one another which use that phrase, “one another”. If nothing else, all the references to “one another” should emphasize that we are connected. We are not individuals; we are of each other, part of a group. The 51 passages encompass 22 different commands about how we treat one another. Everything from forgiveness to exhortation; from kisses to admonishment; from not lying to not “biting and devouring” one another. The most basic command, which is really the underpinning of all the other instructions, is that we are to love one another. If we get that right, all the others will fall into place; if we fail to love, no amount of teaching on the other commands will accomplish anything.

The first thing to note about love is that it is a first principle. 1 John 3:11 “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” John says that the instruction they heard from the first was to love. One of the first things taught to new Christians by the Apostles themselves was love. He repeats himself in his second epistle: 2 John 1:5 “And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.” A lot of churches have “first principle” classes for new converts to teach them the basics of Christianity. According to John, loving each other should be prominent in that class’s curriculum.

That leads right into the next point. Obedience to the truth leads to love. 1 Pet. 1:22 “Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently.” Obedience to the truth was “unto” love of the brethren. That is the result of obeying the truth. Notice what else Peter says about brotherly love here: it is to be from the heart. In our culture, we think of the heart as the seat of emotions and so might get the idea that we are to be emotionally attached to our brothers. In the first century, however, the heart was not considered the seat of emotions, but the seat of reason. One thought with the heart. So, the command to love our brothers from the heart isn’t a directive to gooey feelings, but rather to decide to love our brothers by doing what they need. Choose to do good for them. Remember that the famous description of love in 1 Cor. 13 is all about actions. Choose with your heart to love your brothers and sisters and do for them what they need.
Connected to the idea that obeying truth leads to love is the fact that God teaches love. 1 Thess. 4:9 “But concerning love of the brethren ye have no need that one write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another”. Love is from God and is basic to Christianity.

Love fulfills the Law. Rom. 13:8-10 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” I really enjoy that Paul cites examples of the ten commandments to prove his point. If you love your brother, you won’t murder him. (!) You won’t steal his wife, nor his possessions. Love fulfills the law. If we love each other God as teaches us, we won’t need detailed instructions on how to live our lives.

Our love for each other should continue to grow. 1 Thess. 3:12 “and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you”. In this epistle, Paul praises the Thessalonians for their love, but he urges them to continue to increase in that virtue. The word “abound” in this passage means to be over and above. It is also translated as “exceed” and “enough and to spare.” So, our love should not be just barely enough to get by, but should be overflowing toward each other. We should continue to increase in how we show our love to each other. Again, love is action; it is doing for each other. Also notice from the context of this verse that Paul’s next visit combined with their growing love for each other would establish their hearts. Continually growing love of the brethren was as important as an apostolic visit to their continued spiritual health.

Twice Jesus told His apostles to love each other as He had loved them. First was in John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Given that His second admonition to love in chapter 15 is clearly linked to the crucifixion, I believe that this particular command was looking back on how He had loved them during His earthly life. Earlier that evening He had humbled Himself to wash their feet. Throughout their association, He had chosen them, taught them, live with them, and was patient with them. Essentially, He put their needs above His wants. That is what He is teaching them to do now. Put each other’s needs above the wants of self. Also, note that love is to be the defining characteristic of Jesus’s disciples. All will know that we are His if we love each other. That, however, logically means that all will know that we aren’t His if we don’t love each other. A church might sing without instrumental music, organize itself according to the NT pattern, and only use its monies as taught in the NT but if they don’t love each other, they aren’t a “sound” congregation. According to Him, not me.

The second time Jesus instructed His apostles to love as He did was in John 15:12-13 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Despite the past tense, this is clearly looking forward to the cross as Jesus mentions dying for others. (Incidentally, God regularly spoke of future events in the past tense in the OT to emphasize how certain His promises were. Jesus doing this here might be yet another indication of His deity.) He died for us. We are to love as He did. We are to love our brethren more than our own lives. They are to be first in everything.

Finally, we cannot please God unless we love one another. 1 John 3:23 “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” The context here is that we are pleasing to God and can ask Him for whatever we need because we keep His commandments. Then the commandment is listed as believing in the Son and loving one another. Wait, did the Holy Spirit through John just put loving one another on a par with believing in the name of Jesus? Yes, He did. Can I be a Christian if I don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God? No, I can’t. Can I be a Christian if I don’t love my brethren? According to this passage, no, I can’t. Then there’s 1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” If I am born of God and know God, I love. If I don’t love I don’t know God. I can’t please Him if I don’t love. Again, in 1 John 4:11, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” John has just stated that God’s love led Him to sending His Son to die for us and to be a propitiation of our sins. If He loved us that much, surely we can love each other. And if I can’t love my brother, aren’t I casting aspersions on God’s judgement? If I judge Brother So-and-So to be unlovable, and I know that God has loved him so completely, then I’m setting my judgement up against God’s, aren’t I? “God made a mistake in loving that jerk!” I might want to be careful in acting in a way that posits that idea. Finally, there is 1 John 4:12 “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” God abides in us only if we love each other. If we want God to be with us, we must love our brethren. Also notice that God’s love for us is only perfected, or completed when we love each other. God loved us, which caused us to love Him, and then taught us to love each other. So, it is God’s love which leads us to love each other, and the work of God’s love isn’t finished until we do love each other.

Don’t leave God’s work unfinished. Love one another.


Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Several times lately, I have been asked a variation of, “How much did the Old Testament people understand about Heaven and Hell?  Did they understand about eternal life?

My first response for a long time has been to refer them to the one Old Testament passage everyone knows, the 23rd Psalm, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER.”

There are numerous other passages that give hints that they knew life and death were more than the physical.  Ezekiel says the soul that sins shall die. Well everyone, good and evil, dies physically so, obviously, something more is referred to as when he says the sinner who repents shall live.

But, more, I have been thinking about the purposes of the stories of Enoch and Elijah, lately.  Eight times in Genesis 5, God inspires Moses to record, “and he died.”  In stark contrast, “Enoch walked with God: and was not; for God took him.”  Where was Enoch?  He was not in the grave with his fathers or sons.  He was with God.  From the earliest pages of scripture, God made clear the hope of the faithful.

Elijah, Elisha and all the prophets knew that God would take Elijah that day (2 Kg2).  As they walked and talked, a fiery chariot parted them and Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind.  Any who say he was just caught up in a tornado like Dorothy’s witch must contend with the 50 strong men who searched for 3 days without finding a body. They knew that Elijah was with God.
 
God made heaven clear in order that they would walk by faith while looking forward to being with him. They had the same hope and home as we, for "They looked for a city" (Heb 11:16).
 
Some glad morning when this life is o'er
I'll fly away
To a home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away
When the shadows of this life have grown
I'll fly away
Like a bird from prison bars has flown
I'll fly away
Just a few more weary days and then
I'll fly away
To a land where joys shall never end
I'll fly away
 When I die,
Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

When Dad had his stroke he was out of it for about 24 hours. His memory ran in cycles of a few minutes, then he’d forget everything that had happened and would start over brand new.  I had left work when the word came and joined Mom at the hospital. We stayed with Dad until he finally got a room and I then drove Mom home so she could get a few hours of sleep and grab what she needed for an extended hospital stay with Dad.  When we got back the next morning, Dad was himself again (mostly).  Suddenly, I was overcome.  I sat on the window sill and turned my face away for a few moments. I hadn’t realized how much I had been affected by Dad’s illness until he showed definite signs of improvement.  I had been busy taking care of Mom, being strong for her, trying to help in whatever way I could and when that need was past, the emotions of almost losing my Dad came rushing in on me.  Knowing that, yes, he was going to be OK caused a huge emotional release, a more obvious one than the illness itself had.

We see this kind of thing fairly regularly.  Someone successfully completes a long, hard journey and once it is clear that the suffering is over then, and only then, do they break down in tears.  They never cried through all the years of toil or all the aching miles, but once the trip was completed, they broke down in tears of joy that it was over and everything would be ok.  Often when this happens, a close friend or relative will hold them and comfort them “yes, it’s over.”  I’ve thought of Rev. 21 in these terms lately.  It says, “and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes”.  Could it be the tears of joy at having finally completed our course and made it to heaven that He will wipe away?  “That’s right, you’re here with Me. Everything will be ok.”  The verse does go on to mention that death, pain and crying will be no more, so the tears of this life’s pain are definitely in view, but I like the mental picture of God smiling as He hugs me, comforting me as I cry tears of relief and joy, “I’m finally home!”

Matt 25:21 “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
 
Lucas Ward

This guest post is by Helene Smith from her blog MaidservantsofChrist.com

Today, I have 7 tips for Christian parents to help their kids develop thankfulness in their daily lives. 

1. Work: Kids who work learn to be grateful.  For one they understand the effort that goes into other people’s work.  Waitresses, janitors, police officers, cashiers and parents are easy to disregard if you have no experience with the work it takes to do their job.  So give your kids ample opportunities to empathize. Give them daily chores appropriate to their age; let them participate in a family business; let them have a part time job; take them to work with you, or to job-shadow in the community.  Don’t let idleness develop into a lack of gratitude for the work done around them. 

2. Service: There are a myriad of opportunities (especially for homeschool kids) to reach out and do community service.  Summer and the holidays are great times to volunteer.  Charity fun runs and youth mission trips are great summer activities. Volunteering to wrap presents for an angel tree or serve a holiday meal to the underprivileged provide a chance for kids to help others.  Year round permanent volunteering positions are especially helpful because your children can connect with the people they serve. We sing hymns at our local nursing home.  My 9 year old knows the elderly there by name; she prays for them when they are sick and gets and gives enormous amounts of love and attention.

3. Provide perspective (not guilt):  Let’s abandon the cliche, “Clean your plate!  Don’t you know there are starving children in Africa!” Instead let’s provide kids with perspective.  When we  lived abroad my (then) tween had lots of opportunities to see the body-wracking results of famine and malnutrition.  These weren’t distant people to whom she could potential feel superiority or even pity.  These were our dinner guests. My younger daughter doesn’t have this opportunity but our family gives a little money in keeping with our small budget to a school in Africa.  It really isn’t a lot but it ensures that a child or two there gets a free education, exposure to the gospel, and a warm meal a day.  It doesn’t hurt my 9 year old to see me write that check and talk about that this little bit of money is staving off hunger and malnutrition in a child just like her.  Again I am not suggesting you use other people’s misfortune as a club. Just provide your children with perspective about their blessings!  

4. Excess: Overheard recently at our local high school: 
Teenage Boy: Our maid is so irritating.  Every time she comes to clean she puts my deodorant under the sink.  Why can’t the stupid (insert entirely unsuitable word) remember to leave it alone?
Second boy: You have a maid?!
            As the first young man exemplifies gratitude is a tough lesson even or especially when we have an enormous amount to be thankful for! When we provide excess in our kids lives, it makes them not only less thankful but also less happy.  In order to help them be grateful, we may need to back away from some of their blessings.  Reducing the number of toys, the number of hours of TV, the number of activities, the number of lavish birthday parties, the number of times you eat out has unexpected benefits. Not only will it be better on your budget, health and the life of your family, but it will also help your child be happier, more thankful and better adjusted.  Not sure?  Consider the differences in Ebenezer Scrooge and the Cratchit family.

5. Budgeting: I have a wise friend who gave his tweens what felt like to them an excellent budget in their own account.  He gave them cards so they could withdraw money.  And then when they asked for something extra, he made them spend the money he gave them for that purpose.  Suddenly trips to Starbucks took a nose dive.  Again my suggestion here isn’t to force kids to worry over whether or not their parents will make the car payment or the power will be cut off. But it is worthwhile for a child to have a set amount of money and budget their wants and needs out of it.  

6. Expressing gratitude: One way to cultivate gratitude is to notice then express the good.  This starts with pointing out to your child what you have to be grateful for close to home.  “Hey, look!  Dad came out early and defrosted my windshield!  Wasn’t that thoughtful.  Let’s text him and say thanks!” Modeling gratitude includes regularly thanking them when they do well! We can incorporate thankfulness into their and our regular prayers.  Thank you notes, small homemade gifts, and the simply noticing what others do can be a great encouragement to them.  Be creative and encourage them to look for opportunities to be grateful!     

7. Develop a theology of gratitude: Consider having your children memorize one of the following scriptures on gratitude:  Colossians 3:15-17, 1 Chronicles 16:8-11, or 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.  Or print out a copy of Ephesians 1 and have them underline each blessings we have in Christ.   Sing songs at home that emphasize our thankfulness. Try this simple song if you need a place to start!

May God bless you and your children with His contentment, His joy and every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.  May you learn to be thankful in every circumstance and how to give the blessing of thankfulness to the little people God gave to you!

Helene Smith
maidservantsofchrist.com

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

This phrase is used a number of times in the Old Testament at the time of someone’s death. I believe that I can establish that it means something more than being buried in the family tomb.

Gen 25:8 And Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full [of years], and was gathered to his people.
Abraham had lived a long time away from his ancestral home and burying grounds. Only Sarah’s bones waited him in this world. Abraham went somewhere to be with someone, not just any someone, but those (people is plural) who were HIS people, dare we say, people of faith.

Gen 35:29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, old and full of days: and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.
Clearly, the gathering and the burying were distinct.

Gen 49:33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
In a clear distinction, dying, i.e., breathing his last, is separate from being gathered to his people.

Deut 32:50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. Aaron died and was buried. Moses died and God buried him. In no sense is it possible to equate his being gathered to his people to simply being dead like they were. And, being in the wilderness, it is impossible that they were buried where their forebears had been.

Someday we shall “Gather at the River” with those Old Testament saints who’ve gone before, who, knowing less than we do, still walked by faith in hope of being together and with God.

Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing from the throne of God
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Gather with the saints at the river,
That flows from the throne of God.
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

A little while back I had one of those days. The first guy I delivered to answered the door wearing only his boxer-briefs. Not exactly a pleasant sight. A little while later, I delivered to a hotel room, and the guy apparently thought we would take longer than we did, because I caught him in the shower. In fact, I was about to leave when he opened the door covered only in soap and one of those too small hotel towels. As I walked back to my car I thought, “So that’s how it’s going to go today, huh? Well, if I have to deliver to undressed people, why can’t they at least be attractive women instead of dudes?” Then, before I could even chide myself for that thought, I remembered the last thing I prayed for before I began my day. I prayed that God would protect me from temptation. He sure answered that one with a resounding YES! There was NO temptation involved in what I saw that day, let me tell you. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, nor was it what I had in mind, but God did protect me from temptation that day.

That reminded me that sometimes God does things for our own good that isn’t exactly pleasant at the moment. An example would be James 1:2-4:

“Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into manifold temptations knowing that the proving of your faith works patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.”

The only way to receive patience is to go through trials. You don’t get callouses on your hands without first getting blisters and you don’t get patience/steadfastness without going through trials. A Christian can’t be complete or perfect as God wants him without patience. This is why James says that trials should be met with rejoicing: they are the only path to being a complete Christian. But they are not pleasant at the time.

The best passage to explain what I am talking about is in Hebrews 12. The anonymous writer is explaining that God will chastise His children as necessary to make them better. He uses earthly fathers as an example, saying we still honor our dads even though they chastised us as they saw fit, so we should surely honor God during chastisement since He actually knows what He is doing and is doing it specifically for our good. He sums it up with this:

Heb. 12:11 “All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness.”

God, in His perfect wisdom and perfect love, will send us trials and tribulations and chastisements to cause us to grow into perfection. The plan is for our good, but boy, does it not feel good when we are going through it! Chastening is never pleasant when it happens. Grievous is a good description. It is for our ultimate good, though, and if we have faith that God truly loves us, we should count it all joy when those chastenings come. They prove that God is still not done with us. That He thinks we are worth the effort, present evidence to the contrary.

We often cite Romans 8:28 (“we know that to them that love God all things work together for good”) but do we understand it? It doesn’t mean we will always be happy here on Earth. It means that God is making sure things work out best for us, i.e. that we get to Heaven to be with Him. Combine Rom. 8:28 with Heb. 12:11 and we understand that, while the present chastening may not be fun, the end result will “work together for good”. This destroys the idea that some have that “God wants me to be happy.” You know, when you show them in the scriptures that they aren’t living their lives right, that according to God’s word, not my judgments, they are sinning and they say, “I know, but God would want me to be happy,” it is as if their happiness outweighs the eternal word of God. I think, based on James 1:2-4, Hebrews 12:4-11, and Romans 8:28 among other passages, that God doesn’t care a whit whether we are happy on this planet or not. Look at the list of the heroes of faith at the end of Hebrews 11 and tell me how many of them seemed happy. God wants us to be joyous in eternity. God wants us to be glorified with Him in eternity. God wants to commune with us in eternity. If it takes unhappiness, if it takes trials, tribulations, chastenings, and sacrifices (and delivering pizza to nearly naked men) to accomplish that, then so be it.

I hope God grants me the strength of faith to be able to count it joy when trials come, because I’d much rather be unhappy for 70 years or so and joyous in eternity than ecstatic in this life and in Hell for eternity.
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer, Keith Ward.  Photograph by Katie Whipple Photography.

       Our lane is a private drive. A few times the county grader made the mistake of coming down it. Having seen the mess he made and getting the county commissioner to rectify the problems he created, I have often been thankful that we did not have the "assistance" of the government in maintaining our access.
          Private also meant that the mailbox was at the state road 4/10 of a mile from the house. Many times the four of us walked to get the mail together. We talked. I threw football passes to the boys. We carried our baseball gloves and I lobbed fly balls up the lane for them or burned grounders up the uneven ground. Dene and I caught each other up on the business of the day and on the doings of the boys and they told their stories and happenings. There can never be too much family time. We must contrive all the "Just Us" time we can squeeze from busy schedules. In these times we shape personalities, theirs and ours.
          Private also meant the bus stop was at the road. Economy required that we walk unless it was raining. I made it my job to walk them to the bus. The first years I did so despite having a night job and otherwise having no need to get up so early. I got up and read their Bible chapter as they ate breakfast and we walked together. We played catch, we talked about their school problems and mine as a boy, we threw clods of dirt (no rocks in FL) and watched for snakes. After I had a day job, I continued to read the chapter, but often could drop them on the way to work and then wait with them till the bus came. Daddy time cannot be overdone.
       In the afternoons, they got off the bus and walked home alone. Sometimes, they were accompanied by Dene's first piano/voice students of the day, who rode our bus that one day of the week. They learned to ride their bicycles in the lane and watched up the lane when it was time for Daddy to come home.
         God walked the lane with us. He was not there only when we talked about him or Jesus or the church, He was there when we talked about and did all the things that are right for a family of Christians to do. Everywhere we went with the boys, we took God along.
           When we returned from town or a vacation together it was a relief to turn into the lane, we were almost home—it was just a short way over the rise and around the curve. I suspect that now the two of us have turned into the lane and home is just over the rise and around the curve.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deut 6:6-7)

Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Dene's latest book, Down A Country Lane, inspired a couple of thoughts about our country lane for me, too.  (Photos of our real country lane by Katie Whipple Photography.)

Through circumstances too complex to explain here, when we bought our five acres, it was the only piece in about 200 acres with a clear title. This had the great advantage of providing a lot of elbow room for us and play room for the boys. The downside was that I was solely responsible for our 4/10 mile access lane. It was created by driving through what had been open pasture and woods down the right-of-way created by a surveyors plat map.
 
Florida is sandy. It rains 4" today and you have to water your plants the day after tomorrow. Except, in our area, there is a subsoil strata of clay about 2 feet down. Thus, in a 50 yard long depression between two rises in the lane, the rain collected into a one to two foot deep puddle that took days to percolate through the soil. It had no outlet to run downhill and away. About the time it dried out, it rained again. The car had to be parked outside the puddle. Elsewhere, Dene has written about wading through, drying our legs and going to church and reversing the process to get home. Don't come to us with frivolous excuses for missing church (read that: all excuses are frivolous).

Obviously, I had to do something. Just as obviously, I could not afford equipment rentals. An insurance customer had several dump truck loads of roofing rock from a demolished building. He asked me to take all I wanted. Every night after I finished selling, I stopped and shoveled a load onto my Isuzu pickup and drove home with my nose in the air, front wheels pretending to touch the pavement. Every morning, I shoveled the rock until I had covered that 50 yard area of the drive about 3-4 inches deep. The rains came again and the rock beat into the mud and we had to get the neighbor to pull us out again. And, start wading again.

So, I dug a ditch over 100 yards long to the highway with a shovel. I threw the dirt up into that same Isuzu pickup and hauled it down to the house to landscape to divert the water from running under our DWMH. I shoveled, Dene raked it out. The ditch was 2 shovels wide and was hip deep to cut through the rise but tapered to less than a foot deep at the road.  Finally, we had reliable access to our home 22 months after we moved here.

Much of my "training up the boys in the way they should go" came from necessities like this. Of course, the first lesson to them was how important church was to us. You cannot teach your children to love God if every obstacle prevents you from assembling to worship. They follow your example, not your words. Did I mention that we killed about a dozen rattlesnakes and cottonmouths in this same period? During this time, we followed a weak flashlight beam ¼ mile from the puddle to the house. We never missed services due to this inconvenience.
 
This was roof rock, so it came with nails and pieces of glass. I paid the boys (age 9 and 7) a nickel for each nail they found in the road and a penny for each piece of glass. I stressed how important it was to find them all as we could not afford to buy new tires if one caused a flat. Thus, they learned about working and earning but also with a sense of responsibility toward the family and making a contribution to our survival.

They saw persistence and saw it pay off. More than one person said the ditch could not be done without equipment. The boys learned to never give up by seeing the results. When one thing did not work (the rock) we started another. We never quit.

They saw a father in action caring for his family with all he had. I had no money, limited income, no equipment. But, I did all I could because my family needed me to do so. None of it was heroic. There are no medals, no monuments except those that live on in my two sons.
 
Keith Ward

[This photo shows how much the original road has been built up over the years and the ditch graded out.]

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
Have you ever heard this one?  If God really is loving and wants all to be saved, why is He so picky about things? Why does He have all these rules and why does He make it so hard to be accepted? Why doesn’t He just accept everyone?

The idea that the way to salvation is hard isn’t error dreamed up by Satan to deter people from religion, by the way. Jesus Himself tells us the way will be difficult. Matt. 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” So, while the way to destruction is easy, the way to life, to salvation, is hard and only a few will find it.

Also, Luke 13:23-27 “And someone said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" 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. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.‘ But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!'”

Not only will the saved be few, but many who listen to the Lord and eat with Him – figuratively, those who participate in some form of religious activities – will be condemned. If God really wishes that all would be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4) then why does He make the road so hard?

I suggest that we are looking at this issue backwards. Instead of moaning about how hard the road to the narrow gate is, we should be looking instead at all God did to open the gate for us. For instance, God had a plan in place to save us before He even created us: 1 Pet. 1:19-20 “but with the precious blood of Christ . . . He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you”. Before the world was created it was already planned out who was going to be the Christ and how salvation was going to be realized (His blood). God also had a plan for who was going to be saved, those who through faith were holy and blameless. Eph. 1:4 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him”. So, God didn’t create us willy-nilly and then after Adam & Eve sinned come up with an ad hoc plan to save us. He loved us enough to use forethought and plan for our salvation.

Then there is the unimaginable: God sacrificed His Son for us. We know this, but has the concept dulled through repetition? Feel this in your gut. God killed His Son so we could live. The most famous passage in the Bible: John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” How much does He love us? How much does He want us to be saved? He gave His Son

If there are any further doubts about His love, see Romans 5 “and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (vs 5-8). Notice especially how we are described in these verses. Weak. Unable to save ourselves. Lacking the strength. Ungodly. If being godly means being toward God, having God as our focus, living our lives for God, then being ungodly means being against God. Working against His wishes. Sinners. Offenders against God. Having missed His mark. Having fallen short. Then if we were to look at verse ten, we are all called enemies of God. Weak, ungodly, sinners and enemies. That’s who we were when Christ died for us. He did that to reconcile us to Him and open the door to salvation.

Parents, let me ask you a question: Is there anything so important to you that you would kill your child to accomplish it? Moms? Dads? That’s what God did for us. That was the price and He paid it. Now, if someone did allow their child to die to save you, how would you feel about him? Imagine that you are fishing out on a boat and you and your buddy’s son both go overboard and your buddy saves you first and by the time he gets to his son, the boy is dead. If your buddy ever asked you for a favor, do you think you’d do it for him?

But God’s working to save us didn’t end at the sacrifice of His Son. He would have been perfectly justified in saying “Ok, I opened the door by sacrificing my Son, now you guys get through the door on your own.” But He didn’t. He continues to work to help us make it through that narrow gate. Rom. 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” He will give us all we need to make it. Also: Eph. 1:19-20 “and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places”. How great is His power toward us? As great as the power He used to raise Jesus from the dead and take Him to heaven. How much power does it take to do that? If it could be measured in Kilowatt-hours, what would the electric bill be? However amazingly much power it is, it is the power God is using to help us get to heaven.

How do these passages affect your understanding of other promises of God? In 1 Cor. 10:13 we are told that God is guarding us and not allowing us to be tempted more than we can bear. He is using the same power to protect us that He used to raise Jesus. Do you think there is any chance Satan will sneak past that? In James 1:5 we are told to ask God for wisdom.  Do you think God is going to be chintzy when He answers that prayer? No, He will “graciously give us all things” we need, just as He gave us His Son. When we read that “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13), how much is He strengthening us? With the power He used to raise Jesus from the dead and translate Him to heaven! God is working hard to help us make it through the door of salvation which He opened for us with the death of His Son.

But His efforts on our part still aren’t done. Having sacrificed Jesus and promised to help us, He worked to get the word out. In Jeremiah, when God is describing how hard He had worked to try to get the Israelites to obey Him there is an interesting phrase used: Jer. 7:13, 25 “And now, because ye have done all these works, says Jehovah, and I spake unto you, RISING UP EARLY and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not. . . Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, DAILY RISING UP EARLY and sending them”. This phrase comes up over and over again throughout Jeremiah: Jer. 7:13, 25; 11:7; 25:3, 4; 26:5; 29:19; 32:33; 35:14, 15; 44:4. God wasn’t sleeping in and then sending His prophets whenever He got around to it. He was earnestly working to save His people.

If He worked that hard to get the word out to the physical nation of Israel, do you think He worked hard to announce His kingdom? He sent His Spirit to work directly with the Apostles, and later other prophets, on the day of Pentecost. The divine working directly with man. Second in awe inducement only to the divine becoming man and dying for the created, God also worked to confirm that His apostles and prophets were indeed from Him: Mark 16:20 “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed.” The signs showed that what the Apostles said was backed up by God.

Then, the Spirit directed the writing of the New Testament in the space of 50 years, an incredible outpouring of inspiration when you consider the Old Testament took 1,000 years to write. Finally, God providentially protected His word through the millennia so we could be confident in it today. (And there is no legitimate doubt about the text of the scriptures.)

To sum up, He planned for our salvation; He sacrificed His Son so we could be saved; He works to provide us all the help we could need; He worked to get the Word out and keep it preserved for us.

By comparison, how little He asks of us.

He asks that we believe when we hear the word, that we confess Him as Lord and Jesus as Christ, that we repent of our sins and be baptized for the remission of those sins and that we live holy lives before Him. That’s all. And yet people will argue until they're blue in the face that they don’t have to do those simple things. After all He’s done for us.

I’m not saying the way will always be easy. In fact, we know it won’t be because Jesus said the way was hard. We will be ridiculed, or worse, by unbelievers if we live our beliefs. We have to work to learn His word. We have to worship according to the pattern. The way isn’t easy, but think of how much He did to open the way for us.

Finally, think about this. If God had wanted mindless obedience, He could have created robots programmed to obey. Instead, God wanted servants who would choose to serve Him and who would jump at the opportunity to be adopted into His family. That’s what we are promised, to be the children of God.

The nature of choice, though, means that some will choose not to follow God. Some will choose not to live holy lives. This is not what God wants; He wants all to be saved, but the nature of choice is that some won’t follow Him.

Don’t be one of those who make the wrong choice.

Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward

Our car keeps track of the gas mileage on an ongoing and cumulative basis. I can watch a graphic display that tells me how I have been doing for the last 15 minutes and the display by the odometer tells me how it has done since it was last reset. Until a couple of weeks ago, it had not been reset since a month after we bought the car 2+ years ago. I accidentally reset it while trying to do something else (tech whiz huh!).  So, before this recent reset, it took many miles of high mileage driving on the graph to raise the long-term mileage by even 1/10 mpg. Conversely, an all day trip from grocery store to doctor to hardware in traffic might not lower it at all. Now, just coming down the 4/10 mile driveway can lower that "long term" mpg by a couple of tenths and the 22 mile road trip to town will raise it right back up. The sheer mass of the data in the old system kept every trip from having significant impact on the bottom line reading.

When a large heavy object (mass) is moving (momentum) quickly it is difficult to stop. Its mass and momentum give it a lot of power. A Civil War general saw a cannonball rolling across the field toward his staff and laughed and put out his foot to stop it. He lost the foot. On the other hand, the third baseman can catch the 100+ mph line drive with little difficulty.

Church is "for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;" (Eph 4:12-14). New Christians are like the reset mileage counter—they have no mass of data (faith, knowledge, experience) to stabilize them. Every wind of doctrine or trickery of men used by Satan pushes them off course. Today, they are on the highway on cruise control and racking up the high mileage. Tomorrow, they are bumping down the driveway in low gear and dragging the numbers down. Church shares the mass and momentum of older Christians and teachers and elders in order that the weaker are not tossed about before they have their own mass and momentum built up.

I think that after 50+ years, it would be a shame if we were going to church to learn and be built up. Of course, we do sometimes learn some new thing and are often encouraged by the faith of others. But, we certainly ought to have our own faith grown large and rolling downhill by now. We should be there to supply to the increase of the body building up itself in love. We should focus on the joy of each level of progress of others and our part in that growth. Certainly we still grow, we have lightbulb moments that open new appreciation for God's grace or open new avenues of service. But, primarily we are there for others.
It is certainly a shame when a member of 10 or more years "in the church" is such a babe that he has to be coddled and is complaining he did not get anything out of the services.
 
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. (Heb 5:12)
Keith Ward