Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Normally in Florida, oak leaves fall in January and February and pollen and new leaves come in a week or two. But, this year after I finished blowing, raking and bagging, we were sitting on the patio and watching green leaves fall from the trees. It's not that unusual to see the grass turn brown or flowers wilt, but when the trees start dropping green leaves, one knows he is in the middle of a drought! Just as the human body shuts down the extremities under extreme trauma, the plants wilt or the trees shed green leaves in attempt to save the life of the tree itself.

When members start falling away, we must ask one question, are they dropping off because the body is not getting enough water of life? Many of the members may be wilting in the pews, attending every week but no fruit borne from relationships with the other members. Failure to develop relationships with sinners with a goal to convert them is a dangerous symptom of a lack of life giving sustenance. The knowledge level of the members stays about the same year after year and faith actually declines. The hearing that produces faith requires applying and living the words heard. Attendance may be fine and truth may be preached but churches are shedding green leaves all over the country during spring season.

Positive preaching that never offends anyone creates a false sense of security. The word was preached. The members heard it and everyone is happy. We have close fellowship and interactions. All is good. Nothing false is preached and challenges are even offered in a kindy way. The green leaves keep on falling.

I sometimes wonder if people read the gospels like they were some sort of saintly fairy take with no meaning for real life. Not even Jesus could preach without words that seem harsh and overly demanding to our sensitive ("itching"?) ears. In the Sermon on the Mount alone, Don't pray like the hypocrites; Don't give like the hypocrites; Don't cast out motes like a hypocrite who has a beam in his eye. To those who would follow, he offers demands, Leave everything for me; Let the dead bury the dead; Whoever loves Father or Mother more is not worthy. To those who followed closest, her reserved the harsh, "O you of little faith;" and he called Peter, "Satan."

The apostles learned even though modern applauded preachers have not, Peter accused his first two audiences of murder, Stephen called his audience "stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears;" Paul shook the dust from his feet against the chosen people of God after his second sermon to them.

So, all teaching does not need to be sharp and demanding, but if you have not felt the call to make major sacrifices in your lifestyle, or to repent of sins, or to get out of the pew and go to work for God, maybe the sermons lack water. If you have not felt a touch of the fear of hell, maybe you are better than I or hearts have become calloused by a positive, unoffensive gospel, " which is not another gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ."

When green leaves start falling, the life of the tree is in danger.
 
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can you, except you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit: for apart from me you can do nothing.  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned John15:6.
 
Keith Ward
 
 

Today's post is by Robert F, Turner

Alone! Alone! What a stark, bleak, terror-filled word. Solitary confinement is one of man's most dreaded and destructive punishments. Who has not felt the agony of being excluded and left alone? Bold and strong Elijah wilted under its lash and cried out, "It is enough; now, 0 Lord, take away my life; ... I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts ... and I, even I only, am left" (1 King. 19:4,10) No wonder God examined his creation and said, "It is not good that man should be alone" (Gen. 2:18). Nor is it surprising that Jesus gave special attention to his disciples when it was time to leave them. He assured them that they would not be left alone — orphans (Jno. 14:18). "I will pray the Father and he will give you another comforter" — one called to the side — "that he may abide with you forever" (Jno. 14:16).

God provided for man so that he would not have to be alone. First, he put man in the family. To Adam he gave "a help meet for him." — or a helper suitable to his needs. Family was endowed with the strongest and closest human ties — a refuge against being alone. Likewise, God gave the nation to meet man's social needs for "no man lives to himself." Finally the local church was designed to put together men of like faith and hope in God. God knew that in spiritual matters "it is not good that man should be alone." Few — if any — can make it alone. We are members "in particular" but solidly joined to the other members. None stands alone.

By design, the family, nation, and the local church should support and protect a man as he strives to serve God. Often that is not the case. The Lord prepared his disciples for being outcasts from family and society. And churches run by men like Diotrephes "cast out" righteous men. Even so, he is not alone. "At my first answer no man stood with me... notwithstanding the Lord stood with me:" (2 Tim. 4:16). We always have an advocate — a friend by our side.

When "all men forsake" us, we must not allow that to distort our values and perspective. Elijah did. Things were not as black as he painted them. "I only am left." There were seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal. His perspective was warned. "Take my life" shows his values are out of focus. Many decide to go to hell with a crowd rather than stand alone.

Yet there are places we must go alone. No comrade can stand at our side. In the garden, Jesus prayed alone; the disciples were left behind. They could not share his pain or his prayer. He was alone in his sorrow. We also must meet sorrow alone. Our friends encourage; they want to help. They weep with us, but it is ours alone in the last analysis. We say, "There is nothing you can do." Again, duty stands us alone. Brethren exhort but I alone can do my job -- "For every man shall bear his own burden" (Gal. 6:5). And at last consider the final judgement where I stand alone even in so great a crowd. Churches and crowds are not judged here, but "every man ... receiving the things done in his body ... good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).
 
Robert F Turner

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, "Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand." And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the LORD said to him, "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it." And to the others he said in my hearing, "Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Ezek 9:1-5.


            In Ezekiel’s vision did you notice who was marked out to be saved? Those "who sigh and groan" over the sins and wickedness they saw all around them in their society. Everyone else was killed. This implies that there might have been those who did not participate in the sins, but who turned a blind eye to the sin around them, who might even have found it entertaining.  They were not spared either.
            This makes me consider my dedication to righteousness. No, I don't participate in the sins that go on around me, but when I hear about some wild party do I mourn the wickedness or am I leaning in to catch every word, laughing along with others at the stories about the drunks?  Do I turn off the television or am I one of Nielsen’s ratings?  Do I mourn the hedonism around me or do I silently wish I could join Jimmy Buffet in Margaritaville instead of joining my brethren in worship?
            I think too often some of us wish instead of mourn. When we see the rampant sin around us we should, as a holy people, be repelled, not attracted. We should sigh and lament the judgment that is coming for those sinners, not idolize their lifestyles.
            New converts might have problems developing this attitude; it won’t come immediately. But for those of us who have been Christians for 20+ years the concept of being holy like God is holy should be pretty well imprinted on our brains.

"Blessed are they that mourn ...”
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear."  Who has not heard someone say this means we should all be working to love God more and more until all our obedience is from love and none from fear? And further, that if we fear, we do not really love God the way we ought, "for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love" (1 Jn 4:18).

However, this view does not pass the test of fitting the rest of the New Testament doctrine on the fear of God. Peter says, "Fear God" (1Pet 2:17). Many interpret fear to merely mean reverence or respect. Jesus himself refutes that with, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt10:28).  The place that Jesus says is so bad one should tear out his eyeball rather than go there inspires the terror definition of fear. Also, the Hebrew writer declares that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (12:28).

Finally, that interpretation of one phrase does not fit its context.  Six verses before, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1John4:11). Two verses after, "for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." And the next verse is the famous, "We love because He first loved us."  We love who? The context primarily concerns loving our brothers which John makes clear is inextribly bound with loving God as we continue reading through 5:3. Therefore, the fear John expects us to lose "when perfect love casts out fear" is the fear of demonstrating our love to both God and his children, our brethren—even when persecution will result, or ostracism, or...

No one should ever stop fearing God, so that cannot be the point.

Jesus was not ashamed to use fear as a motivator for serving God. Neither was Peter. Some want to wash fear out of the gospel with some smarmy warm feeling definition. The result is that many sit around with a warm fuzzy feeling toward God but do little to repent or to actually serve God in inconvenient ways.

Knowing that "Judgment begins at the house of God….which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" we should, "pass the time of [our] sojourning in fear, If [we] call on him as Father" (1Pet 4:17, 1Tim 3:15, 1 Pet 1:17).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Joanne Beckley.

When we wake up each morning, what are our first thoughts when we look in the mirror?  Euw! Look what the cat dragged in. . . or . . . Well! Maybe there’s hope for you. . .
 
Why do I ask this? For a while now everywhere we turn we have been hearing or reading about self-image. It is considered if we are successful we have a good self-image. If we have a bad self-image everyone automatically believes this is the cause of our unhappiness and failure.  Obviously, this being the case, a lot of people are concerned about their self-image.
 
Should we be concerned about our self-image? Yes, because how we view ourselves will influence every area of our lives, including how we relate to others and how we deal with personal inner conflicts. Our feelings of inferiority (or over-blown pride) or a healthy self-respect will dictate our words and our actions–and therefore how others view us.
 
We hear the doctors tell us that if we feel inferior, lowly, substandard, then it is because (1) our parents have played out a heavy hand, and (2) we were obviously rejected and abused, even though we may not remember the occasion(s). But this is the reasoning of man. God has given us a different path of reason. "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free", John 8:31,23.
 
TRUTH frees us. Frees us from what? The slavery of Sin, Romans 6:18. When we accept that Jesus’ blood will free us, including our feelings of inferiority, we can see ourselves in a different kind of mirror, a truthful mirror. James 1:25 “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” Yes, this mirror will help us tear down and build anew.
 
Perhaps we are struggling with frustration, even anger concerning what we see in ourselves. We might be having thoughts such as: Does God understand who I really am? Yes, I have been buried in the waters of baptism, but I am so very sinful. There is basically no hope of any real freedom. We might not verbalize these deeply hidden thoughts, but we might be living them. Let us go back to Romans 6:18: “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Therein is the rub. Putting off the old man of sin is not a stopping place, but rather through major efforts we are to follow God’s instructions of putting on Christ, correcting and training our vision to see God’s mirror in its true image and go on to accomplish every good work, 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
 
The real question is, do I believe Jesus can help me correct my bad vision? When we come to Him and desire to be set free, we must accept where we are coming from, what we have inherited. Each of us entered this world without choice in several areas. Life itself, our physical appearance, who our parents are, and the society that had its part in teaching us– they all play their part in who we are. God also gave us natural abilities and intelligence. If we reject any of these gifts, we will not be able to see our real selves. They are a part of who we are. An African man described it thus: “If we remove the sticks from the kraal (cattle enclosure), we destroy ourselves.” Loss of cattle is serious stuff for this identifies how this man views himself and how he respects his ancestors. Obviously, we are not to worship our ancestors, but we too must not try to remove our heritage. Let us build on and improve the gifts God has given us.
 
Deuteronomy 32:46-47 "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe-all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life.”
 
What bends our view of God’s mirror? Sin. A lack of faith. It is like there are two mirrors. Yours and God’s. When we are baptized, if we are not careful, we will try to retain our old mirror that should have been destroyed by faith in God’s power to change us. Instead, we drag out the old mirror, thinking we are looking at God’s mirror. Why is it so difficult to change? Because we want our comfort zone. We have adopted this image of feeling worthless and have invested many years in tearing ourselves down. Throughout the years we have compared ourselves to others and been found wanting. We have set unrealistic goals instead of working toward a useful destination. We continue to moan and excuse ourselves over a past that cannot be changed.
 
How do we change our attitude toward our lives? We must do just as the alcoholic must do–one day at a time, facing our addiction, learning truth about ourselves, our Lord and our God. Let us admit our failure to trust God, asking Him for forgiveness, never doubting. When we find ourselves whining in self-pity, we must stop, and verbally admit what we have just done. We can learn to be thankful, voicing our thanksgiving not only in prayer, but in our words and actions. Let us reach out to serve God and one another, even our enemies. By
DOING good works, we CHANGE our negative attitude to one of positive joy.
 
1John 5:3-5 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
 
My sister, Glenda Schales, has written a song taken from Isaiah 60 that you have probably sung yourself. I pray, may you “arise and shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you...Lift up your eyes round about and see...and be radiant and your heart will thrill and rejoice...because He has glorified you...and you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel...You will have the Lord for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.”

Joanne Beckley

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

One of my personal rules of exegesis is that if something is repeated in multiple accounts of an event or if the same concept is repeated several times, then it must be more important than usual. For example, the Gospels record Jesus healing on the Sabbath at least 5 different times. The Holy Spirit was probably trying to emphasize something there. Or if multiple Gospels record the same event and one phrase is repeated word for word in each account, there is probably a point of emphasis there.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention the same thing when telling of Judas coming to the garden to betray Jesus into the hands of the priests, et al, who wanted to kill Him. They all say that he was "one of the twelve." What is the emphasis? The level of betrayal. We've all heard the story so many times that some of the emotional impact may be lost. But Judas was one of the twelve. This wasn't the betrayal of an outlying disciple, one of those few hundred who were around much of the time, this was one of the twelve. This was a man who had been selected from among those disciples and exalted to a higher position. This was one who had been given the power to heal and cast out demons. This was one who was always with Him. When Jesus fled the crowds to have a period of peace, He took Judas along. When He went into Phoenicia and Caesarea Phillipi, He took Judas along. Judas was there, privy to the most private aspects of Jesus' life. Judas had access that few others could imagine. Judas betrayed Him. 

Am I any better? 
Heb 10:26-29 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that has set at nought Moses law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, do you think, shall he be judged worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 

I have access to God that the faithful who lived prior to Christ would be astonished at (Heb 10:19-22), yet all too often I decide that I'm going to do what I want to do rather than living for my Lord (who died for me). When I do that, I count His blood as an unholy thing, something common and not worth any effort. I trample Him, to get to my desires. 

Am I any better than Judas?

Are you?
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
When Jesus was casting out demons, some said that he did so by the prince of demons (Lk 11:14-26). First, Jesus answered them logically, if that is true, then the kingdom of Satan is in a civil war and cannot stand. Next he attacked with what does that say about your sons? (We know of at least 82 who had this power). Finally, he reveals his mission and the purpose for casting out demons. He has come to tear down Satan's house and take all his possessions and power.
 
Then, he challenges with the consequences of what we decide about his mission. First, He leaves no middle ground: One is either for him or against him. Getting rid of your demons leaves your house empty. He demands you be filled with him to prevent the return of worse demons. As stated later in the context, "If your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light (11:34).
 
Obviously, this leaves the long ago baptized, pew sitting church member in serious jeopardy! Further, one cannot be 80% or 90% for Jesus. We are either empty or full. As Jesus said in 16:13, "You cannot serve two masters…You cannot serve God and mammon" (mammon = yourself, security, possessions, etc.).
 
As adamant as Jesus was about this all or nothing commitment to him, we are not surprised to find the Apostles living and preaching the same. Though all the New Testament teaches us to put away wickedness in every form, it appears that more space is giving to filling ourselves with right things than exorcising our demons, whether they be addictions, sexual fantasies, greed, ambition, etc.
 
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." (Col 3:15-16).
"Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27).
"No more I that live but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20).
"Present your bodies …holy, acceptable to God" (Rom 12:1-2).
"The fruit of the spirit is…" (Gal 5:22-24).
"Add to your faith virtue…..if you do these things you will never stumble" (2Pet 1:5-11).
And these are only a few of such passages.
 
Paul encouraged Christians to follow his example in leaving all things behind in the pursuit of "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14). Doing "the best I can" leaves a swept empty house. Rather, we must stretch for all we can do through the help and grace of God.
 
Beware lest, through your lack of growth and lack of diligence and striving, you be filled with seven worse demons.
 
Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord. (Heb12:14).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is taken from Doy Moyer's blog, Searching Daily.

Don’t pretend you don’t have it. When reading Scripture there are people, events, and laws that make us gasp and, think, “really, how? Why?” and they cause repulsion. If they don’t, then I’d think there is a problem with us. How can we read about what Cain did with Abel, what Ham did with Noah, what Judah did with Tamar, what David did with Uriah and Bathsheba, what Amnon did with his sister Tamar, and on we can go, without getting a bit of that “ugh, this is nasty” feeling? 

Then, there are laws given under Moses that we look at and think, “I don’t get it. Why this? Why would God accommodate that? Aren’t some of these laws a bit brutal? Why didn’t God just do it another way?” We feel uneasy, especially when unbelievers point to some of these laws as proof that the Bible is flawed and promotes evils like slavery and hatred of women. Do we just walk away at this point? 

Then, we feel badly for getting that “ugh” feeling. Aren’t we supposed to delight in the word of God? Isn’t it supposed to be edifying and helpful? What are we missing here? 

I’m going to suggest something here that may seem a bit odd, but here it is: we are supposed to feel this way about these things. 

Yes, we are supposed to get that “ugh” sense when reading these things. Why? 

Because all of it is a reminder of what sin does. The Bible is not intended just to make us feel good. It’s not a nice little “have a good day” self-help book. It’s gritty and shows the reality of evil. It opens up the wounds of life and we can see the gashes, the gore, the blood and guts of why sin is so bad. We naturally are going to resist. We don’t want to see it. We think God’s message ought to be roses without thorns, but that’s not reality. Not even close. 

I believe one of the primary purposes of the Law was essentially to say, “This is what it’s like to be under sin. This is the best you get when sin has split asunder the fabric of creation. This accommodates a corrupted world, and it’s not pretty.” It’s meant to cause people to think that this is a burden they cannot bear. Isn’t that what Peter indicated in Acts 15:10 when he spoke of the “yoke” that “neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear”? 

Even though the Law contained glimpses of God’s grace, and though many still found delight in that aspect of it (Psalm 1), the reality is that it was not the ideal at all. The Law wasn’t meant to make everyone feel good. It wasn’t meant to set the entire world straight. It wasn’t meant to be the fix to a world of evil and corruption. It was meant to show sin for what it was. It was meant to be incomplete. It was meant to cause people to think that there must be something better. It was meant to keep the wound open for all to see so that they would long for a better way. That’s one of the reasons I’m so amazed some of the people wanted to hang on to the Law so tightly. They weren’t willing to give up what clearly was not ideal for the solution offered by God. 

When we get that “ugh” feeling, the ugliness of sin is exactly what we are seeing and feeling. And we should feel it. The Law shows us the despair of sin, not the solution to it. Read Romans and Galatians. 

However, when people see the Law isolated from the rest of the story, they see the broken, torn, wrecked visage of God’s image, but they don’t see the goal or purpose for which it was made. They don’t see the ending. It’s like watching a movie or reading a book part way in, just enough to see the plot go bad, and thinking that’s all there is. The solution may not have presented itself yet, so they assume it’s not there and they turn it off. People do that with Scripture. They fail to connect the dots and see how it all comes together in the end. God was not giving laws that we’re going to be left that way. They were temporary, until the seed promise would come. 

The whole point was to show that there was indeed a need for something better and greater. The Law was not meant to be an end in itself. The people and events we see that demonstrate over and again how ugly sin is were not meant to present an idyllic setting that we are supposed to fall in love with. It’s meant to be ugly so that we see the need for the greater solution. 

God’s plan was not complete in the Law or in the people who acted so badly. God’ s plan was to bring about Jesus Christ so that in Him that ugly monster of sin and its consequences can finally be buried in its own stench and ruins. Christ came to redeem and renew. He is the solution. 

And the cross? Here is the culmination of what the horror of sin does. The One who came in the flesh, the perfection of God’s image, is marred more than any man (Isa 52:14). Through His death, the image of God may be reclaimed and renewed, and we may share in it. Sins are forgiven. Purpose is renewed. 

Do not think for a moment that the way Scripture is given is without purpose. Sin is presented before us in all of its ugliness, and the people and the Law reflect that. Yet it was all part of the plan to get people to see the need for a real solution. That solution would not be found in more laws. It would be found in Christ, where the grace and love of God is fully revealed. That uncomfortable feeling we get is meant to bring us to Christ. 

Doy Moyer
From the blog Searching Daily

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Matt. 8:1-4  "And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.  And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.  And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them."
            This man who came to Jesus was an outcast.  Moses taught in Numbers 5:2 that all lepers were to stay outside the camp.  When the people came to the promised land, lepers were kept out of the cities (2 Kings. 7:3-8).  If one touched a leper, he became unclean (Lev. 22:4-6).  Because of that, anytime they were around anyone, they had to annouce themselves as unclean.  (Lev. 13:45-46).  Lepers were generally looked down upon as being cursed by God.  They were shunned.  Faith certainly wasn't expected from those people.  And yet, see his faith:  "If you will, you can make me clean."  There was no doubt at all in this leper regarding the power of the Lord.  When one compares him to the "good" Jew in Mark 9:22-23 who said "If you can" do anything to help, who comes out ahead? 

Matt. 8:5-13  "And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lies in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.  And he said unto him, I will come and heal him.  And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it.  And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.  And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven:  but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.  And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way; as you have believed, so be it done unto you. And the servant was healed in that hour."
            Here we have a gentile, a 'faithless, uncircumcised dog!'  No one would expect great faith from such a one.  And yet his faith in the power of Jesus was such that he believed His authority stretched far enough to heal his servant.  Contrast this with the Jews, all of whom asked Jesus to come to the sick person.  In fact, in the very next chapter it is a ruler of the Jews who begs Jesus to come when his daughter is "at the point of death" (Matt. 9:18).  Even Jesus is shocked at this gentile's faith. 

            So often in the stories told in the Gospels it is the people from whom the least is expected that the greatest faith is seen.  It is the outcasts, those looked down upon who amaze even the Lord with their faith.  Jesus taught in the synagogues, yes, but He also taught in the marketplaces, on fishing boats, atop mountains, along roadways and in homes.  We should never limit ourselves in preaching the Gospel only to those we expect to respond.  We might just be surprised at who has the greatest faith, and who actually has very little.
 
Mark 16:15  "Then he told them, "As you go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to everyone."
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
I grew up with an axe in my hands. Granddad had an old one that he let us boys use. I recall being 6 or 7 and trying to split pieces of wood, sometimes in competition with visiting cousins. [Can you imagine today's parents allowing children to have a pocketknife, much less play with an axe—no phones, no ambulances, no supervision. Perhaps I should do this on raising a nation of wimps and how that attitude creeps into the church.] In the Ozarks of NW Arkansas, we used double-bitted axes: one side kept sharp for cutting limbs or small trees and the other for any time the axe might hit the ground which was rocky. Woe be unto him who struck the ground with the sharp side. No one had a powered wood splitter or even a splitting maul. Wood was split by learning where to hit and then being able to hit that spot however many times it took.
 
By the time we bought our 5 acres in North Florida, I had a 12 pound all steel splitting maul. I borrowed a chain-saw for the financially lean first years. Sometimes, we had pieces that did not split with one blow. Both boys can tell of times I put 6 or 8 full roundhouse swings within ¼ inch. Eventually, I learned that one need not always go through the middle and large pieces are more easily "cornered" off the edges until they are smaller.
 
Peter warned, "But like as he who called you is holy, be yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, You shall be holy; for I am holy. And if you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, pass the time of your sojourning in fear: " (1Pet 1:15-17).  Now, this means real fear of the kind Jesus said to not fear those who can kill us, but to fear HIM who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. (Mt 10:28).
 
Motivated by such fear, we first need to learn to aim for holiness as I learned to aim an axe to hit a spot so well that I could split kindling not much larger than 1" by 1" (Often done when Dene and I camped to make fires that quickly burned to coals for grilling over). Next, we must consistently work at being holy. When we heated with wood, I only occasionally "missed the mark," but as I've aged I have gotten out of practice. The remedy is to swing again and hit the mark. Holiness comes from everyday living, not just going to church.
 
Unless I misread Peter, you go check it out, unholy living makes it a lie to pray, "Our Father……" Certainly, we need to ask forgiveness but then we must correct our lives to be holy.
 
By de-emphasizing the Bible's teaching on fear and the call for absolute holiness, we have often raised a church full of wimps who expect to gain holiness with one swing of the axe on Sundays.
 
"Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2Cor 7:1).
"Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. " (Heb 12:14).
 
Keith Ward