Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

I wish I had a nickel for every time I have heard someone relate all the ways that the O.T. ordinances contributed to the Israelites’ health. It is true that they did this—there is even a book about it called, None of These Diseases. But, the fact is that they never knew about the health aspects of the rules about latrines, no pork and other dietary regulations, quarantines, etc. For them, these were rules that had no value other than God said so, and to them the purpose was to draw a line that determined whether one would go his own way or God’s way.

Certainly, God knew the health purposes but that was not his purpose either. When I pointed that out in a Bible class, the teacher was shocked. I responded that since God lifted the dietary and other restrictions and did not bind them on the church, did that mean he cared more for the health of the apostate Jews than he did for that of obedient Christians? In effect, by allowing the church to ignore these regulations, he denied them all the health benefits of the O.T. ordinances. Did he love the church less than the Jews in that for more than a millennium and a half until medical discoveries by men, his people died from their failure to follow those ordinances? History reveals that neither the Jews nor others discovered the relationship of these rules to health until the advent of modern medicine.

God’s true purpose was to distinguish between the holy and the common, to firmly establish that such a distinction exists and to teach men to value the holy. Further, these requirements define “Holy” as whatever God says it is. Men may never understand why. So, when we come to the N.T. ordinances [literal meaning, “requirements”] how do you react? Do you decide such things are not really significant—as long as one follows the main issues regarding the deity of Jesus and grace and faith, then such things as instrumental music, use of the church’s money, method of baptism, church organization, etc. really do not matter? Or, is your attitude expressed by the phrase, “I will be holy because God is holy?”
 
Since we are to be a spiritual people with new hearts (Ezek 36:26; Gal 4:6) our diet consists of the things we read, watch, hear, etc. From the Movies and TV shows, I have heard discussed after church, had our people lived under the Law of Moses, they would have been eating a little pork now and then because it is not really like worshipping a different God or coveting. From the dress of both men and women, we who are priests would have ignored the restrictions placed on the High Priest's clothing as "not in style" and having nothing to do with true worship.
 
God looked on their hearts just as he did on David's, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart" (Deut 6:5-6).
 
God looks on our hearts too, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. " (Phil 4:8). God commands mind-control to maintain holiness of heart.
 
 
"but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, " (1Pet 1:15-17).
 
Keith Ward

It hasn't been long since I used an article by Doy Moyer.  But then I came upon this, probably on Facebook posted by someone else, and knew immediately that I needed to share it.  Especially as a parent, God expects us to be the  watchdogs of the home--do not be afraid to say, "We will not watch this in our house."
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Compiled by guest writer Doy Moyer.

While it is difficult to find movies or shows that are worth watching (for various reasons), I do believe Christians need to consider how to evaluate what they watch and hear from the biblical perspective. In recently reading Unraveling Philosophy by Groza and Moreland, I found these questions helpful:

1. What is the point of the movie or show? Movies are not made in a vacuum. There will be an ultimate message, and we need to be able to find it. “Spend some time ascertaining the point of the movie and then ask the all-important question: Is that true? Is the movie telling me the truth or is it lying?” (239)

2. What is the story of redemption? Story plots typically involve something that goes wrong. What is the resolution to the problem? “Another word for resolution, in this sense, is redemption. How is the wrong made right?” … “Knowing the story of redemption enables a greater appreciation of the movie. It also helps explain why its message resonates” (241).

3. “What is the perspective on sin? Does the movie make clear the ‘folly of sin’?” Is sin painted in a positive light or not? Are the consequences of sin shown or is the sin glorified? “Movies can tell the truth by exposing the bad consequences of sin, or movies can lie by painting sin in a positive light and minimizing (or excluding altogether) those consequences.” If good is painted as evil and evil as good (cf. Isa 5:20), and the consequences of this are not shown, we might want to look elsewhere.

4. What virtues are promoted or denied? “A good movie celebrates characters for the right reasons; characters who exhibit virtues such as hope, courage, and loyalty” (242). Or are the “heroes” of the movie bad guys who are celebrated in their wickedness and irresponsibility?

Groza and Moreland finish with this:
“The goal is to provide a framework for thought and conversation for the purpose of discerning beauty and its relation to truth. The goal is not to read Christian themes into art where such themes do not fit, or to impose a Christian worldview against the evidence within the movie. The principle of charity requires that Christians seek to understand the message of a film as it is presented and not as we will it to be understood. Not every story is a Christian story. It is legitimate to see Christian themes where they exist. It is not legitimate, charitable, or honest to force such themes.” (243)

Perhaps we just want to watch shows for entertainment purposes. We don’t want to overthink it. But we cannot afford not to think at all. We are inviting ideas and philosophies into our minds and we will either interact with them with a godly perspective or we will mindlessly imbibe what we see and hear. Let’s be careful, therefore, how we hear, and seek to walk with wisdom and understanding even in our recreational time. If there is nothing redeemable about a story, will the time spent on it be redeemable?

Via Doy Moyer and whoever shared it.   Thank you both!

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Unlike 1&2 Corinthians, which are two separate letters written at different times about different topics to the same group of people, 1&2 Samuel was originally just one cohesive book which got chopped in two for reasons that are lost to history.  The same holds true for the books of Kings and Chronicles.  It's pretty clear that one of the major themes of Samuel is the contrast between the two men anointed by Samuel, at the command of God, to be king over Israel.  One was chosen according to man's criteria, since Israel wanted a king to be like the nations.  Really, the only description given of Saul in 1 Sam. 9 is that he was the most handsome man in Israel and he was the tallest man in Israel.  In 10:24 Samuel asks the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen?  There is none like him among all the people."  But this man who looked the part did not have the courage, leadership, or moral character to be a good king, as his story shows us through the rest of 1 Samuel.  Then there was the man whom God chose by His criteria, looking into his heart (1 Sam. 16:7).  While David was far from perfect, his purpose in life was to serve God.  When he needed to repent, he modeled for all future generations of believers what true repentance was.  His reign was a golden age and became a symbol for the Messiah who was coming. 
 
So, clearly, one of the themes of this book is the enormous difference between how man would choose versus how God chooses.  In essence, it is a historical illustration of Isa. 55:9  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
 
Now, take that dichotomy, played out between two of God's anointed, and add to it the fact that nearly 28% of the times the words anoint and anointed are used in the OT, they are found in the book of Samuel.  By page count in my Bible, Samuel is less than 7% of the OT.  So, anointed is used four times as often as one might expect in this book.  Now remember that Messiah just means The Anointed One.  Could it be that Samuel was meant not just as an illustration of Is. 55:9, but as a reminder to the Jews during the time of Daniel's fourth kingdom (Rome, during which God would create His kingdom) that the Messiah might not look like they expected?  Instead of an earthly, physical king ruling on a physical throne and ruling the world, Samuel reminds that God's plans might encompass more.  It was to remind them that things are always better when we let God choose our kings, rather than when we choose them.  Perhaps a study of this theme could help us convince Premillennialists of their errors.  For me, the lesson is a reminder to let God choose and follow His plan.  It is bound to be better than my meanderings.
 
Jer. 10:23  "I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps."      
 
Lucas Ward           

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

The second verse of “I’ll Fly Away” identifies a problem with the attitudes of many, “Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away.”
 
Why don’t we think of life as “prison bars?” Surely that is the implication of the song.  Certainly, “When the shadows of this life have grown” implies the infirmities of age.  But more seriously, we need to consider that life is a prison that keeps us from home whatever the state of our health.
 
Have we become so comfortable on the compound that we no longer see the razor wire surrounding us?  Everywhere we go we find corruption and wickedness.  Instead of forming an escape committee to dig a tunnel, we long to join in.  Many seek to blend in.  Where is our holiness? Why do we not feel we are on “bread and water” rations as our beliefs are openly assaulted daily?
 
We line up to watch the latest movies, catch the latest TV series which are full of foul language, but much worse, every portrayal of love is contrary to God’s view; we cheer when the "good guy" exacts revenge on the "bad guy," forgetting that God said vengeance is his exclusive right (Rom 12:19).  Do we not feel brainwashed? Deprogrammed? Do you wonder whether the angels marvel that we willingly subject ourselves to such?
 
Even when one is young and full of health, life is a prison. We can never be with God until we escape.  We can never be free from temptation and filth until we fly away.  No wonder many churches are being overcome with carnality. We do not teach our people to want to escape or to know that life is a prison. Nor, do we teach them the way free people live. 
 
The world sees what we refuse to admit for no one asks concerning the hope within us when they see that ours is the same as theirs. (1 Pet 3:15).
 
We have the key in our hands and many simply lock themselves in every day.  Now is the time to use it to set ourselves free.
 
For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee (2Cor 5:1-5).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

All ancient books of history, Biblical or secular, are written for their object lessons.  Ancient historians were not interested in just telling the stories of what happened, nor of charting social movements across time, but they told the stories of great men, great battles, great villains to highlight the lessons to be learned.  Maybe it is because I just led a study of the book of Judges, but I think it may be one of the most obvious collections of object lessons out of any ancient history. 
            Most are aware of the cycle of the Judges:  Israel sins.  God punishes Israel.  Israel repents and cries out to God.  God sends them a Judge to save them from their oppressors. There is peace in the land during the life of the judge, but after he dies, Israel again sins and the cycle starts over.  Many studies of the book of Judges start and end with that cycle, but there is so much more to the book that that.  First, it isn't so much a cycle as a spiral, as Israel's sins get worse and worse and God's punishments get more and more severe.  (Compare Jdgs 3:7 with 10:6 and then 3:8 with 10:7)  Surely there are lessons we can learn from that.  More interesting to me is the fact that every excuse given for the failure of the Israelites to complete the conquest of the land is answered by the various salvations performed by the judges. 
            In Judges 1:19 the tribe of Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the valleys because they had chariots of iron.  From this point, the rest of the chapter is a litany of failure as tribe after tribe did not drive out the inhabitants of the land as God had commanded. Often the reason given is that the Israelites wanted to keep them around as slaves, but by the time of Deborah the Israelites were enslaved to these same Canaanites.  Vs. 34 says the Amorites forced the tribe of Dan up into the hills and would not allow them into the coastal areas.  In all of these cases we see the Israelites making decisions based upon their own strength, their own wisdom, and their own desires rather than following God's instructions in faith.  Reading between the lines, their concerns seemed to be the numerical superiority of the Canaanites, the superiority of the Canaanites' weapons, and their own desires for slaves and, maybe, just friendly neighbors.
            By the time of Deborah the questions of fighting against a numerically superior foe who has better weapons should have been answered by Othniel's victory over an empire-building king from Mesopotamia.  The idea of friendly neighbors should have been answered by the Moabite oppression, relieved by Ehud in a secret agent mission worthy of 007, and by the early troubles with the Philistines, answered by Shamgar.  Now, the erstwhile Canaanite slaves have banded into a coalition headed by Jabin, king of Hazor and they have enslaved the Israelites.  Sisera, commander of Jabin's army, had 900 chariots of iron at his disposal.  These chariots were rather long wagons with high sidewalls which protected the multiple archers who rode in them.  They were as nearly impregnable in their day as M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks are today against foot soldiers.  When God commanded Deborah to send Barak to fight against Sisera, Barak had only 10,000 infantry men.  Human wisdom said that Barak did not have a chance. His army would be run down, trampled upon, and shot to pieces.  However, God fought on Israel's side and they won a decisive victory.  If you trust God, maybe you can defeat chariots of iron.
            Gideon then takes on an enemy as numerous "as the sands on the seashore" (7:12), a phrase normally reserved for Israel and the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham.  Gideon had all of 300 men with him.  Though the Israelite army later joined Gideon for the mop-up and pursuit, the greatest slaughter of Midianites occurred when Gideon only had 300 men with him.  If God is on your side, maybe the enemy's numbers don't matter? 
            Gideon and Jepthah both conquered cities.  Samson vividly demonstrated that one person plus God is all the army anyone needs.  Samson also demonstrated that to "dwell among them" was untenable as his downfall came as a result of being too friendly to his enemies. 
            Over and over, all the reasons for Israel not driving out the Canaanites, stated or implied, are answered by God every time He saves them via a judge.  It is almost as if He is saying, over and over, 'If you had trusted me in the first place, you wouldn't need saving now'. 
          Just a thought:  Maybe the same is true of us today, in our battles against worldliness? 
 
Jude 24-25  "Now unto him that is able to guard you from stumbling, and to set you before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, before all time, and now, and for evermore. Amen."

Lucas Ward
 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Only a few times in Scripture are mortals permitted a glimpse of God’s heavenly throne. His throne, I say, because we are never shown any representation of the Lord himself.  Read the great Old Testament vision scenes such as Isaiah 6 or Ezekiel 1 or in the New Testament, Revelation 4.  We find glorious descriptions of the throne, the pavement, the lights, etc., but never a description of God himself.  This underscores God’s declaration to Moses, "You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20).  So we are only allowed the sights and sounds surrounding the Lord: we see his attending angels, his robe, the lightning, the smoke; we hear the thunder and a mighty angelic chorus; we feel the earthquake.  If you can imagine yourself actually being there and experiencing all this, it will take your breath away.  But you never see God.

In the New Testament, aside from the very symbolic book of Revelation, we seemingly lack these glorious visions of the Lord . . . or do we? Philip raises the question in Jn 14, “Show us the Father.”  Jesus’ answer, if you think about it, is astounding, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”  Think about that: Jesus himself is our vision of God!

We should never allow ourselves to view this “vision” as being somehow inferior or less glorious than those other visions.  Jesus was not like one of the prophets, chosen and sent to us with God’s message.  He was God incarnate! Immanuel!  “God with us!”  Understand, not representatively but in reality he was God in the flesh.  Far more than the visions of God’s throne, this should take our breath away.

Philip wanted to see the Father.  I think we all do.  But why?  It’s pretty simple, I think.  We want to know what God is like.  Not merely what he looks like (as mortals, we can never know that) but what is he like toward me.  Does God love me?  Learn about Jesus and you have your answer.  Can God ever accept someone as corrupt as I am?  Look at Jesus, the friend of sinners.  Can God change my life?  Look at everyone Jesus came in contact with.  Who was not changed?  What does God want from me? To love God, obey him, and go about doing good, just like Jesus did.  Will I have to give up a lot for God?  Yes, everything!  But you get much more than you give up.  Look how God glorified Jesus (Eph 1:20-23).

So then, God has given us this vision of himself, the grandest and most glorious vision of them all.  This vision we can all understand, and yet in a way that is so profound that it staggers the imagination; we can never fully plumb its depths.  We continue to look at this Jesus, in wonder and amazement—this man—this glorious vision of God.

What more can we say then?  Such a vision lays claim on our lives, makes demands of us.  “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19).  That is what Paul said after seeing Jesus, and that is our question—you and I—are we obedient to Jesus, our heavenly vision?
 
…who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; (Col 1:15).

Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

Josh. 24:15  ". . . choose you this day whom ye will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah."
            We usually see this verse as a great statement of faith and devotion by Joshua, which it is, but I wonder if we miss the full implications of his statement.  Joshua doesn't say, "I will follow Jehovah," he says, "me and my house".  This declaration isn't just a wonder of personal faith, it is an example of family leadership. 
            Guys, we need to step up as husbands and fathers (writes the single, childless man).  Clearly, God has given us leadership in the family (Eph. 5:23 
"For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church" and 6:4  "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord") and if Joshua's example is an approved one, then the responsibility is ours to ensure that not only we, but our families are serving the Lord. 
            This demands thought and purposeful action in every aspect of our family lives.  From carefully choosing our spouse for her spiritual beauty more than her physical looks, to being the spiritual leader she needs.  Eve was created to help Adam, which necessarily implies that Adam was the prime mover.  Our role is leadership, most importantly in things spiritual.  Surely part of nourishing and cherishing her (Eph. 5:29) is leading her toward heaven.  And so husbands and wives ought to be praying together, reading and discussing scripture together and deciding together how best to serve the Lord with their resources in their daily lives, with the husband being the initiator and driving force.
            It is also the fathers' job to nurture the children in the "chastening and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).  While the wives are to run the household (1 Tim. 5:14), ultimate responsibility falls on the father.  This takes thoughtful, planned action, as well as relentless repetition. Deut. 11:18-21  “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,  that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth."
           Moses tells fathers that raising children in the Lord is an all day, every day task.  They were to inculcate their kids with God's Word while accomplishing all the tasks of the day.  Moses' statement shines light on Solomon's proverb:  "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6).  That training is more than just making sure they attend Sunday School. 
            Joshua's statement also implies some tough love.  "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" but what if, despite the best training or because of failures long since repented of, a family member decides not to serve the Lord?  Joshua said his house would serve.  If one didn't, I am under the strong impression that they would no longer be in Joshua's house.  While we need to approach such situations with love and compassion, there comes a time to "deliver [them] to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that [their] spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." (1 Cor. 5:5).  'My house, God's rules' should be the mantra of every Christian father in the unfortunate event of such a challenge. 
            Men, God gave us a big job to do, which is why He created such wonderful ladies to help us complete it. 
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24).
 
One is immediately struck with the thought, "What could be possibly be lacking in the afflictions and anguish that Christ bore on the cross?"  As a person, he was mocked and humiliated and held in contempt to a degree that would destroy all self-esteem in most.  As a man, he was literally beaten to death with vicious cutting scourges that likely bared the bones of his back.  Then, he was nailed to the cross where he must scrape that abraded back up the rough wood, pushing on the spike through his feet, in order to relieve the strain on his lungs and gasp life-giving breaths.  When the agony in his feet became too great, he would scrape painfully back down to hang on the spikes in his wrists—over and over and over... 
 
As the Son of God, Holy, Blameless, he felt the crushing weight of all the horrifying filth of sin as he was “made to be sin on our behalf” (2Cor 5:21).  A gang-raped virgin was never so defiled as he was by our sins.  Having been in fellowship with the Father from eternity before time was, he was ripped from the presence of the Father by MY sins, by YOUR sins and screamed out, “My God!  My God!  Why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15:34).
 
What could Paul possibly be referring to that was lacking in such suffering?  We are the answer, in that he rejoiced in his sufferings for the Colossians’ sake.  Jesus was not in the world suffering that they might have the gospel.  Paul was doing that in Christ’s stead.  This was as God intended, that we may have the privilege of sharing in Christ’s sufferings.
 
So, this meal, this bread and juice, are not merely a memorial to his sufferings so long ago, they also are a commitment to fill on our part, that which is lacking in Jesus’ sufferings.
 
It should be obvious that this suffering does not refer to cancers, blindness, disasters, as these also happen to the wicked and are not “for his body’s sake.”  What are we committing to suffer when we take this bread and drink this cup?  Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, suffering much to carry the gospel to the lost and to see that churches grew from infancy to self-sufficiency (2 Cor 11:21-32).
 
Our opportunities to suffer for the sake of the gospel in behalf of Christ are not likely to be so dramatic. It seems trivial to place giving up a favorite television show, my privacy, my precious routine, the big game, and other such things alongside Jesus’ suffering or Paul’s work to fill up the lack in them, until we consider that we seldom manage to accomplish even these small things on behalf of the body.  Just what, if anything, have we managed to give up at all for the sake of his body this past week?
 
Perhaps when we step it up, when giving up even these smallest things becomes second nature to us, God will grant the privilege to genuinely join in with Paul in filling up that which is lacking in the suffering of Christ.
 
"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.…Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation… All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; …entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2Cor 5:17)." (2Cor 5:14-15).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

            Joshua's introduction in the book bearing his name is somewhat odd:  "After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant" (1:1).  While Moses is referred to as the servant (slave) of Jehovah, Joshua is merely the assistant of Moses.  While Joshua has been a faithful helper to Moses, clearly his status before God is still to be determined.  It is pretty clear how this winds up as, at his death, Joshua holds the same title as Moses.  "After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being 110 years old"  (24:29).  What happened in between?  God made it clear in chapter 1 what He expected of Joshua.
Josh. 1:7-9  "Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”  
           Last time we discussed the care Joshua took to keep the law, down to the smallest detail.  What is of interest here is God saying Joshua needs courage and strength to follow His law.
            For God to exhort Joshua to have courage and strength as he led the people in battle would not be surprising, but God says that courage and strength were needed "to do according  to all the law."  Why was this the needed?  I can think of several possibilities.

1)  From experience, I can say that the step from top assistant to boss is a large one.  Joshua could have succumbed to timidity thinking that the people would say, "Why should we listen to you?"
2)  These were a notoriously hard-headed group of people.  Their fathers had repeatedly rebelled and murmured against God.  They, themselves, had only recently sinned at Baal-Peor.  While the people seemed to have learned their lesson from that, it was a good bet that leading them in following the law would be an arduous task. 
3)  Insisting on following the Law could easily lead to others mocking/complaining that Joshua was an old stick-in-the-mud.  "He never lets us have fun," and the pressure builds.

            Joshua was strong and courageous and overcame these and any other temptations to stray from doing all that God commanded him, even the difficult task of punishing Achan for taking from the devoted things in Jericho.  In the end, Joshua was called the servant of God.
            For me, I need to acknowledge that sometimes it can be a bit scary to follow after God.  Speaking of religion might be forbidden at work and my boss could deny my promotion.  My friends may make it clear that they don't want to hang out with me anymore.  People on social media could blast me for speaking truth, to the point that I am banned from certain sites and it might even affect job possibilities.  My business, which has been my life dream and which has absorbed my life savings, may be forced to close or be ruined.  I may wind up in jail (yes, this has happened in America).
            All of these things could happen if I am "careful to do according to all" that God commands.  Like Joshua, I need to be strong and courageous.  Like Joshua, I need to remember that God is with me wherever I go.  Then, like Joshua, I will be remembered as the servant of the LORD.
 
Acts 18:9-10  "And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you'"
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
 Pet 3:21 “Wherein few, that is eight souls were saved through water.” 
 
The NASB erroneously translates this “eight persons were brought safely through the water.”  This may suit those who do not believe baptism is essential to salvation, since the next line is, “which also after a true likeness does now save you, even baptism.”  Are we “brought safely through” baptism?  The Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write that Noah was saved by water, not that he was saved from water.  So, if Noah was saved by the same water that destroyed the world, what was he saved from?
 
When God surveyed the world of Noah’s day, he saw nothing but wickedness.  Only Noah found favor in God’s eyes.  After Noah preached 120 years and with the ark a growing monument to the sincerity of his plea, only 7 other people believed and entered the ark.  1 year, 10 days later, they entered a world that was clean and pure, all the wickedness washed away -- exactly what baptism accomplishes for sinners.
 
God made a promise that he would never again destroy the world by water, and set a rainbow in the sky to be a sign of that unilateral covenant.  God planned to resolve the issue of sin in another way.  We tend to think that the rainbow marks an ending, but God intended it as a beginning, the hope for a world washed clean from sin. 
 
Thousands of years later, Jesus died on the cross as the fulfillment of the hope inherent in the rainbow:  that God would solve the problem of sin by means other than destruction.
 
Just as the rainbow shone with the pledge that God would never again destroy the sinful world by water, each week we take the Lord’s Supper to remind us that God fulfilled the rainbow covenant in Christ.  This bread and this fruit of the vine shine with the colors of the hope of forgiveness; not an arc of reds, blues, yellows, greens but one of redemption, adoption, reconciliation, righteousness. God made a covenant in Christ.  These emblems are the signs of that covenant to us.
 
"“This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you." (Isa 54:9-10).
 
Keith Ward