Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 
Preachers, teachers and students diligently studying the word to understand it and prepare lessons to teach it, and even people learning in order to do it, need to be on guard that they do not become experts in the Word without coming to know its Author.  The difference is not known by some esoteric emotion, but discerned by analyzing Jesus' rebukes of the Pharisees.   
 
One illustration that strikes particularly close to home, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and anise and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these you ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone." (Matt 23:23).  We blithely point out the necessity of being careful to do the small things and then often barely mention justice, mercy and faith.  We must remember that the Pharisees could explain every nuance of the meanings of those words and cite every occurrence of each in the scriptures.  They could preach sermons on each subject.  But, Jesus says, they were not practicing what they knew. 
 
The question is not whether, but where are we doing the same? We can preach sermons on pattern and the sin of varying from it, we can certify from clear citations all the "acts of worship" (in quotes because that phrase is used nowhere in scripture)—consider the following passages where men worshipped without or separate from any act: 1Sam 1:28, 12:20, 2Chron 7:3,20:18-30, 12:20).   Are we then doing the right things diligently without being right?
 
I spent fifty years learning the Bible, preaching sermons, teaching classes, analyzing passages and realize that I knew much but often missed the point—just as the Pharisees.  The Bible is not a message of do's and don'ts, it is a love letter from God.  He says, "This is who I am and what I am, please like me."  The commandments are designed to conform us to His character, to his revealed image.
 
The Pharisees prove that it is possible to know everything about God and not know God.  Jesus warns us in the harshest terms not to fall into the same trap. 
 
The purpose of all Bible study, preaching, and teaching should be to know God.
 
"Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.  " (Mark 12:29-30).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer, Lucas Ward.

I'll bet most of us have a shared experience in growing up.  As children we'd be disappointed and the manner in which our hopes were crushed would tweak our childish sense of justice.  We'd cry out, "That's not fair!", to which our mothers would inevitably reply, "Well, life isn't fair."  Though none of us liked this reply it taught us that sometimes life doesn't work the way we think is just and we have to keep living anyway.  We have to learn to overcome the unfairness and accomplish our goals or else accept that our lives aren't going to go the way we'd hoped and learn to be content along another path.  There is a strength that comes with learning that life isn't fair. 
            Unfortunately, there is a generation growing up that never learned this lesson.  A young lady I worked with at Publix reacted with shock and a little bit of horror when I repeated the platitude.  "Life is fair," she said, "or at least I've always found it to be.  I'm sorry that you feel that life hasn't been fair to you."  At that point I was horrified.  The poor girl had no defenses built up.  When life inevitably was unjust to her, she'd most likely fold under the pressure.  She hadn't learned from an early age to ignore injustice and push through.  The more I watch the world around me, the more I'm convinced she wasn't a stand-alone case, but rather the exemplar of a generation.
            What is especially hard to take is when life is unfair BECAUSE a person is righteous.  Job is a good example of this.  We learn in 1:8 that the reason God pointed out Job to Satan is because he was "a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil."  All those horrible things happened to Job because he was good!  No wonder he proclaims in 19:6-7 that "God has put me in the wrong . . . there is no justice".  Job was crying out, "This isn't fair!" and God says that what Job said about Him was right (42:7-8).  And, let's face it, the last of the Beatitudes doesn't really sound like a blessing:  "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matt. 5:10-12)  I should be happy when I'm persecuted for righteousness?  That's the definition of not fair!  Happy when people revile and persecute me because I proclaim Jesus?  What is going on?  And yet we are told this is what we should expect:  "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."  (2 Tim. 3:12).
            Just as we must learn to live our lives in an unfair world, we must learn to live as Christians under even less fair circumstances.  The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3 shows us the attitudes we need to face a life of such service.  I imagine we all know this story.  Nebuchadnezzar erected an idol and ordered all his officers to worship it or be burned to death. Those three young men did not worship and were hauled before the king.  They were being punished for not sinning!  Not fair!  When given a second chance by the king, they responded with "If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Dan. 3:16-17)
            The first thing to notice is that these men did not deign to speak for God.  "If this be so [that the king was going to throw them in the furnace] our God . . . is able to deliver us".  They knew He was able, but they couldn't control what God would do.  All they could control was their own actions:  "But if not [even if God doesn't save us] . . . we will not serve your gods". 
            All too often our faith is based upon what we suppose God will do.  We believe that once we turn our lives over to God, everything will always work out for the best here on Earth.  Our financial problems will go away, our health issues will heal up, our family life will become Cleaver-esque and all temptations will cease.  When that doesn't happen, when, in fact, our lives get tougher because of our faith, we fold.  We act like that young lady at Publix who had never heard that sometimes life isn't fair.  This is the height of silliness, since we are repeatedly told that living for God will lead us to being persecuted by those who live for this world. 
            So what do we do in the face of such unfairness?  We follow Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's example.  We focus on living for God, not matter what happens, secure in our belief that He has a plan that ultimately will lead us home to Him.  We don't dictate to God, we submit to His will.  Whatever happens in our lives, we hold to the knowledge that He is our hope of salvation.  In this, we follow the example of Job who, later in the same chapter in which he claimed "there is no justice", made one of the great confessions of faith:  "But as for me I know that my Redeemer lives, And at last he will stand up upon the earth:  And after my skin, even this body, is destroyed, Then without my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:25-26)
            Life isn't fair.  The Christian life is even less so.  Don't worry about what God will do in each situation.  Focus on living for Him, sure in the faith that He has a plan that is leading towards your ultimate, eternal good.  Whatever destruction this life throws in our way, know this.  Hold to this:
 
"I know that my Redeemer lives"  Job 19:25
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

For so long as I can remember hearing the term, devotional has been a synonym for "religion lite." It refers to something that touches the heart and makes one think about God and being a better person.  Many "devotionals" are sugary and full of cotton candy.  But when one reads a few of the places in the Bible where devote, devout and devoted are used, a much stronger concept emerges.

Jericho was devoted to God which meant it was to be utterly destroyed and all within belonged to God (Josh 6:17, 19, 21).  Achan was himself utterly destroyed for taking from the devoted things.  Anything devoted to God was holy to him and for his service or for the priests (Lev 27:28, Num 18:14).   Should a city in Israel be proven to be idolatrous then it was devoted to God, that is, utterly destroyed, all inhabitants killed and the city never rebuilt (Deut 13:12-18, Lev 27:29). 

Although the N.T. does not impose such temporal penalties, the words imply such dedication as to be described as fanatical.  For the feast of Pentecost, "devout men from every nation under heaven" gathered to hear the first gospel sermon.  These were so fanatical that they traveled for days or weeks at great expense to spend a few days in the holy city.   Cornelius was so extreme that he deserted the religion of his family and world to do good for a despised people, the Jews, and converted some of his soldiers (Acts 10:2-7).  Further, his devotion influenced his family and friends to be there to hear Peter 10:24).

Jesus demands the utmost devotion, an all or nothing zeal, "You cannot serve God and Mammon" Mt 6:24).  "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Lk 9:62).  Paul exemplified such devotion, "It is no more I that lives, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20).  Every Christian is required to devote himself in this absolute way, "Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth;" "Therefore" refers to, "If then you were raised together with Christ" (Col 3:5, 1).  The Holy Spirit leaves no room for sometime or somewhat religion: Kill yourself or lose all hope.

Devotion begins with the mind, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." A Christian is not even allowed to think what he wishes.  His heart belongs to Jesus.  But further devotion comes with Paul's next exhortation, "The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you (Phil 4:8-9).  We are not free to do as we wish, not if we are to be described as devoted.  Nearly every epistle makes the same statements using various figures from slavery to "Walk as he walked" to "Present your bodies a living sacrifice" and more (1Jn 2:6, Rom 12:1).

Given these and many similar passages, how did devotional ever come to mean something "feel good"? Many of the sayings of Jesus and of the N.T. are far from nice.  They are demanding in a "get busy rowing or get out of the boat" way.  A devotional should call on Christians to give their all to be holy in the service of God.
 
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever (1John 2:15-17).

Keith Ward

Today's post if by guest writer Lucas Ward.

            In Deuteronomy 29, Moses reinstitutes the Covenant between God and the Israelites.  He begins by reminding the people of the extraordinary care God gave them while they were in the wilderness (vs 2-9).  For 40 years their clothes nor their shoes ever wore out.  Food and drink were also difficult to come by in the wilderness, and Moses says they, in fact, didn't eat bread.  They literally ate manna from Heaven and drank water provided by God. 
            After extolling the care of the Lord, Moses tells the people that he had called them together that day so that he could renew the covenant between them and God:  "So that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the LORD your God, which the LORD your God is making with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." (Deut. 29:12-13, emphasis mine).  Like a married couple who might want to renew their vows after going through a tough stretch, God is wanting to renew His covenant with the people and re-establish the relationship they were to have.  They were to be His, and He was to be theirs. 
            This close relationship offered blessings beyond belief, enumerated in chapter 27, and was to be a source of national pride.  Moses offers a quick warning, however.  "Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike." (vs 18b-19)  The covenant has been renewed.  The Israelites are God's chosen people.  That national relationship will not, however, save an individual who sins.  They could not rely on being born into the right nation to save them if they chose to live a sinful life.  In fact, Moses goes on to say, "The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man. . ." (vs 20).  The corporate relationship between God and Israel would not save the individual who chose to sin.
            I hope I barely need to make the application.  The Church, as the Kingdom of God on earth, has a close relationship with God as His chosen people (e.g. 1 Pet. 2:9).  That does not give me (or you) carte blanche to sin however I want.  Just because I show up on the right day to the right building and sing the right songs, eat the right ritual meal, and listen to true Gospel preaching doesn't mean I get into heaven if I chose "in the stubbornness of my heart" to live a sinful lifestyle.  Eph. 5:27  "so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." Therefore, if I am a spot or blemish on the Church, what is going to happen?  I'll be removed.  Nobody in going to sneak into heaven on the coat tails of others. 
            The blessings of being part of the chosen people of God are immense.  Just don't let it make you start feeling "too big for your britches". 
 
1Pe 4:17  For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God;
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Growing up, I thought of the Passover Feast as a memorial primarily of God's mercy.  God sent the Angel of Death to punish the wicked, and the righteous marked themselves by putting blood on the doorposts of their houses.  When the Angel saw the blood, he passed over that house, sparing those inside.  The Passover feast would therefore be a quiet feast, a somber feast commemorating God's great, and undeserved, mercy.
            Reading through the Hallel Psalms (113-118), which were traditionally sung at the Passover feast, shows us that the ancient Hebrews saw this feast very differently.  The Passover feast was a time to rejoice, a time to remember a great victory and to praise God for a great salvation.  For example, Ps. 116 begins in verse three, “The cords of death compassed me and the gates of Sheol got hold of me.”  Then the writer records their plea for help, and we see God’s response in verses 5-8.  “Gracious is Jehovah and righteous, Yea our God is merciful.  Jehovah preserves the simple:  I was brought low, and he saved me.  Return unto thy rest, O my soul, For Jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee.  For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears.”  Verses 12-13 praise God for his salvation. 
            Psalm 118 is nothing but a paean to God for the victory he brings.  “Out of my distress I called upon Jehovah, Jehovah answered and set me in a large place,” verse 5.  Verses 10-13 speak of being surrounded by enemies, but easily destroying them, “They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns:  In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off,” verse 12.  God is joyfully praised throughout this Psalm for the salvation he brings to his people. 
            Psalm 114 portrays the almost arrogant boasting of a people who had just escaped from generations of slavery because their God had set them free.  God was on their side, they knew it, and who could stand in their way?
            So it is obvious that the Passover was more than a solemn dinner, it was a joyous feast celebrating the wonderful victory God had wrought to free his people from bondage to the Egyptians.   It was not a memorial to not being killed; it was a celebration of being set free to live!
 
            Sometimes we turn the Lord's Supper into the same solemn, somber feast I had mistaken the Passover for.  We huddle soberly and focus on the horrible suffering Christ went through on our behalf.  We literally bow under the burden of guilt, knowing it was our sins for which he died.  The Lord's Supper thereby becomes a sad, almost depressing reminder of the monumental sacrifice our Lord made for us when we did not deserve it, not even a little.
            Wait a moment!  The Lord's Supper was built out of the Passover feast.  That's what Christ and his Apostles were eating when he instituted the new feast.  Christ was declared to be our Passover in 1 Corinthians 5.  Our feast ought to resemble the celebration we have just learned about, should it not?  Just like the ancient Hebrews, we were enslaved to a horrible enemy, in our case sin.  Just like them, the gates of Sheol had hold of us.  As we were being overwhelmed, God sent his Son to work an awesome salvation.  Instead of being freed from slavery we have been freed from sin and the paralyzing fear of death.  The Hebrews writer calls God's efforts on our part a “great salvation.” (Heb 2:3)  Paul revels in our victory over death in 1 Cor. 15: 53-57 “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'  'O death, where is thy victory?  O death, where is thy sting?'  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
            Isn't it obvious that our Passover feast should be a jubilant celebration, just as the shadow feast of the Old Law was?  Our God, through his great love for us, had mercy on us, sacrificed his Son for us, and defeated all our enemies.  We stand clean from the filth of our sin due to the magnitude of this victory.  As the psalmist boasts in 118:6, “Jehovah is on my side, I will not fear.  What can man do to me?”  Or Paul in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” 
            Instead of continually mourning our old ways of life that made God and Christ's sacrifice necessary, let us rather rejoice and celebrate the new life we are privileged to live because God won so great a victory.
 
For I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God.  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me (Gal 2:19-20).
 
For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him (1 Thess 5:9-10).
 
the mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to his saints, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:26-27).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer, Matt Bassford.

I’m a simple man. I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and that it is sufficient to equip us for every good work. My favorite hymn is “Give Me the Bible”. Consequently, whenever I encounter a problem that afflicts the soul, I presume that the solution lies in learning and following the whole counsel of God.

This also leads me to raise an eyebrow when I see brethren coming up with extra- Biblical cures for spiritual ailments. The phenomenon occurs in several different areas, but it is perhaps most prominent in brotherhood teaching on marriage and family. Though marriage counseling based on secular wisdom varies greatly in quality, all of it pales in comparison to the word of God. If Christians want to treat such counseling as a side dish, fine, but they must not mistake it for the main course.

That main course consists of all Biblical teaching about human relationships. Too often, we behave as though the only texts about marriage are the ones that mention marriage: Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Peter 3:1-7, and the like. Indeed, this apparent paucity of Scriptural material becomes justification for the use of material from elsewhere. We can't just go on preaching the same three marriage sermons, can we?

For those with eyes to see, the list of relevant passages is far longer. In fact, thousands of verses of Biblical ethics apply with greatest force in our marriages. If we can't seem to manage treating our spouses in a Christlike way, it calls into question the sincerity of our godliness in every other area of our lives. James would ask us if the same spring can send forth both sweet and bitter water. A bad marriage is a fundamental and potentially soul-destroying problem for at least one spouse.

Sadly, Christians in difficult marriages commonly use this truth as an opportunity to pin all the blame on the other spouse. I suspect that most of the time, brethren go to marriage counseling because they want to get their partner fixed. Almost always, they try DIY counseling and berate their husband or wife for perceived failings.

This is exactly backwards and dangerous besides. Christ does not call us to control others. He calls us to submit to His control.

He also warns us in Luke 6:37-38 that according to our standard of measure, it will be measured to us. We are on notice, then, that if we harshly judge our spouses, God will treat us the same way, only more so. Thus, unless we are James’ hypothetical perfect person, able to bridle both our tongues and our bodies, our desire to improve our marriages amounts to the familiar call to improve ourselves.

At this, thousands of voices cry out in outrage, “But what about them???” What about them, indeed? Conveniently, the Bible gives us instructions for how to handle a spouse who is not merely engaged in questionable behavior but is clearly and actively sinning. They appear in 1 Peter 3:1.

The way for a wife to win over a disobedient husband is by submission and godly living, all without a critical word being spoken. It is the way, not an occasional break from a campaign of nagging. Neither does this text exist to provide moral cover for a well-I-tried-that refusal to obey in the present and future. The passage addresses women specifically, but it is excellent advice for men as well.

Along similar lines, consider the relevance of Philippians 2:14 to marriage. It is one of the shocking verses in the Bible. Surely when Paul says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing,” he is using hyperbole! He doesn't actually mean for us to do that!

It is not hyperbole. It is a commandment, and its edge is sharp. If you want a better marriage, you know what you can do? Don't dispute with your spouse. If they invite you to a fight, decline the invitation. Don't grumble to your spouse. Don't grumble about your spouse. If you obey, your marriage will be better, if only because it will contain less shouting.

There are many, many other passages with equally sharp edges that concern our marriages too. They are not easy to follow. In fact, they are quite difficult, which is why many Christians do not honor them. It is, alas, much easier to complain that our husband or wife is toxic, narcissistic, and gaslighting us.

Additionally, even if we do what is right, our godliness is not guaranteed to win over our spouse. Some Christians are married to people with hearts like rock. They will stubbornly pursue evil all the days of their lives to their ultimate destruction. If so, nothing we can do will change them.

We do not imitate Christ because it is effective in influencing others, though it is more effective than anything else. We imitate Him because it is right. Even if godliness does not lead to a better marriage, it invariably leads to glorifying God. When we are tested in our marriages, may He help us to steadfastly seek Him regardless!

Matt Bassford

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
            The book of Deuteronomy is a collection of the last few times Moses spoke to the Children of Israel before he died and they entered the Promised Land.  It ends with two songs and a farewell address, but the majority of the book is a series of sermons encouraging the people and re-giving the Law.  When I started seriously studying it to teach it in Bible class, I was amazed at just how much these sermons resemble sermons we might preach today.
            For example, the first sermon (chapters 1-4) begins with a quick recap of how their fathers had rebelled against God and refused to take the Promised Land.  They had been too afraid to go into the land.  Deut. 1:28 "Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’ Looking back on this, we shake our heads at their lack of faith but in reality, their fears were reasonable.  1)  The people in the land out-numbered them and were generally bigger.  2) The cities were huge and strongly fortified.  3)  In addition to the populous generally being bigger, there were actual Giants living in the land. (In Josh. 11:22 it states that the few Anakim who survived the conquest settled in Gath.  Now, who was the most famous resident of Gath?)  These fears were completely reasonable except for the fact that God was on their side.
            Moses then uses the history of his listeners to show just how ridiculous this fear was.  In chapter 2 he recounts the march to their current camp just east of the Jordan River.  On the way, God told them not to bother the Edomites because He had given them the land they occupied.  There had been other people there before, but when God decided to give the Edomites the land, they had no trouble occupying it (vs 5,12).  Then they were told not to bother the Moabites, because God had given them their land.  There used to be Giants there, too, called Emim, but the Moabites had no trouble driving them out when God gave them that land (vs 9-11).  This was repeated with the Ammonites (vs 19-22), who drove out another Giant race (the Zamzummim) to take their land.  The Israelites would have remembered God's instructions through Moses concerning these nations, and Moses uses that knowledge to refute two of the fears.  When God decided to bless these pagan peoples who had no relationship with Him, it didn't matter that there were people already living there nor did it matter how strong they were, God gave them that land.  So, what would He do for His people?
            Moses then uses the victories of Israel over the Amorite kings Sihon and Og to dispel with the third fear (2:32-3:6).  In defeating these kings, the Israelites captured all their cities, many of which were strongly fortified.  Moses graphically displays that if God is on their side, nothing could stand in their way:  "And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So will the LORD do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing.  You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you.’" (Deut. 3:21-22)
            Is it ever scary to be a Christian?  Be honest; sometimes it is terrifying.  To be different from everyone around you all the time, to be accused of self-righteousness or mean-spiritedness because of taking a stand for the truth can be pretty frightening.  To miss out on promotions because you won't work Sundays or because people think of you as judgmental can be scary.  To be attacked on social media and needing to erase your accounts because you declared that some things are right and some things are wrong can be unnerving.  Nowadays, some people are losing their businesses which they worked their lives through to establish because they won't' accommodate sin or are even being thrown in jail for refusal to follow immoral government mandates.  That can be terrifying.  These are all reasonable fears, from a worldly perspective.  But as Moses used the example of pagan kingdoms God wished to bless to encourage the Israelites, we can use the example of God's blessings on His earthly kingdom to find strength to carry on (Col. 2:17, Heb. 8:5; 10:1).  Joshua was told not to fear because God was fighting for them.  How much less reason do we have to fear as part of the Kingdom God established by the sacrifice of His Son?  Won't God fight even harder for us? 
            Fear is natural when Satan's forces are arrayed against us, but remember who fights on our side and keep marching forward to the Promised Land.
 
Luke 12:32  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Heb. 13:6  "So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'” 
 
Lucas Ward
 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Sometime in our first year or two, I read an article, I think in Reader's Digest, about the joy an older couple had in reading the journals they kept of their years together. Shortly after Lucas was born in 77, I began. I really did not know how. It was not a "Dear Diary" outpouring of thoughts and emotions, just a daily record of the things we did and sometimes what we thought about them. Each year, we bought a 200 page college ruled notebook and keep a day on one side of each page. For momentous events sometimes more than one side was needed. Dene added her bit sometimes but it was not until the boys were in high school that she became regular. Sometimes, I got behind and had to write events a week or more in the past. Now, we both write every evening.

And we have enjoyed reading them. They serve as a check on memory as both of us have been wrong about sequence of events and we each forget about the same number of things. Some things we had not recalled pop back in memory as clear as yesterday yet we wonder about some of the others. We have used hard cards to create a table of contents for each year and are current up to 2019. We learned the balance to keep it on one card plus half the back. We find many more wonderful memories than we find in our photographs of the same years.

Lesson one:
One cannot repent specifically of all his sins. I recorded with satisfaction something I had done to Dene and how right I was to do that.  When I reread that day this time through (not our first reading), I was smitten with remorse. I was proud of myself then. I was so right! With years of spiritual growth I now know I sinned. Of course I both repented and apologized to her right then. But, I had completely forgotten about doing this act. Had I not read it in the journal, no matter how spiritual I became, I could never have specifically repented of this sin I did not remember. This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. We all grow. We know better than we once did. Our memories fail us regarding all the things we need to repent.  We join the Tax Collector, "God be merciful to me, a sinner" (Lk 18:13).

Lesson two:
We have no way to know which events were God working through us and which were our own wills. I am often astounded at how much preaching/teaching I did, how many good and kind deeds, etc. I am just as surprised at how many foolish things I said and did. I can see no pattern. Many say, "God has a better plan for you" to comfort someone after a personal disaster. On the other hand, that disaster (sin?) may have slammed doors in God's face and made insurmountable roadblocks to his plans for us. We see no pattern when we read for we have no ability to know how things might have worked had we made different choices, had bad things not happened, etc.

Lesson three:
One constant we see in our past is a steadfast devotion to God. Our faith has been the basis of all our decisions whether we proclaimed such or even discussed it in that manner. Yes, we made bad decisions and bad choices but we did so in good faith efforts to serve God. However, our memories without the journals do not always see it that way. They have been a comfort to our souls.

Taking personal stock is always beneficial, as well as learning from the past.  This journal has helped us do just that. 

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Ps 139:23-24).
 
Keith Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
I've been teaching through the five books of Moses and after a while it struck me that God seemed just plain meaner and more short-tempered in the Pentateuch than anywhere else in the Bible. 
 
While there is a myth among the ignorant of the "mean" Old Testament God, a light perusal of the Old Testament shows this just isn't so.  God endured rebellion after rebellion of His people with punishments that were quickly rescinded as the people repented.  Although the cycle of sin/punishment/repentance/salvation in Judges is well known, what is sometimes missed is that this occurred over more than 300 years, and, often, fairly localized.  Over those 300 years we see eight or nine periods of punishment for the near constant sin of God's people? 
 
Once kings were established and the northern ten tribes broke away, those ten tribes constantly lived in sin.  First perverting the worship of God, they then turned away from Him to Baal.  And yet God, in His mercy, begged them through prophet after prophet to repent for more than 200 years after "Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin," and more than 100 years after the death of Ahab, who turned them to Baal, before He finally destroyed them. 
 
The southern kingdom of Judah, with its periods of repentance, lasted nearly 120 years more, despite greater levels of sin.  As the end came near, God begged Judah to repent for He did not wish to destroy them (Ezek. 18:31; 33:11).  Truly, the Old Testament shows not a vindictive God, but a merciful God who delayed punishment beyond all reasonable expectation of the people, desiring that "all should reach repentance." (2 Pet. 3:9)
 
But in the Pentateuch?  Wow!  In less than forty years, God plans to wipe out all of Israel and start over with Moses's offspring multiple times (Ex. 32:9-10; Numb. 14:11-12; 16:21).  Since the people had so thoroughly and quickly broken the covenant, He could not be held to it either.  He would get them to the Promised Land to fulfill His promise to Abraham, but He would not go with them (Ex. 33:1-3).  God "broke out against them" many other times in drastic punishments of their sins.  We see the jealousy and vengeance of God more often in the forty year period of wilderness wandering than we do in the rest of the Old Testament combined (maybe a slight exaggeration).  It made me wonder why.
 
Maybe one reason is this:  in every instance of God's wrath we see an instance of Moses interceding for the people.  In Ex. 3:11-14, Moses implored and God relented.  In 32:30 he tells the people they have sinned greatly but perhaps he could make atonement for them.  In 33:12-17 Moses intercedes and God renews the covenant relationship with the people.  Moses intercedes again in Numbers 14:13-19 and in verse 20 God relents again.  This is repeated in Numb. 16:22.  Again, it was Moses who interceded for the people when the fiery serpents came upon them (Numb. 21:7).  Even on a personal level Moses interceded for the people.  When Miriam was struck with leprosy for her rebellion, Aaron did not pray to God for mercy, he begged Moses to intercede (Number 12).  Moses did, and Miriam was healed after a seven day "timeout".   Moses constantly stood ready to intercede between the people and God, even when he was personally wearied by the people's sins. 
 
In Deut. 18:15 Moses prophesies that a prophet will arise "like me" and it is to that prophet that the people should listen.  When discussing this, most look at the fact that Moses spoke to God face-to-face rather then prophesying through dreams and visions and that Moses was the law-giver.  Jesus fulfills these qualities of a prophet like Moses.  He had been face-to-face with God for eternity and is the giver of the perfect law of liberty.  But to be truly a prophet like Moses, Jesus would have to stand between the people and God.  He would need to be ready always to make intercession and turn away the wrath of God.  Lo, and behold, Heb. 7:25!  "Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." (emphasis mine)  We can stand before God only because Jesus makes intercession.  We live, despite the wrath our sins generate, only because Jesus turns that anger away.  He is the only one who can stand with His hand on the shoulder of both God and man (Job 9:33), as He alone knows what it means to be both God and man.  He embodies this aspect of Moses as well, truly making Him the prophet that was to come. 
 
It is easy, as one reads through the Pentateuch, to see that the burden of intercession bore heavily on Moses.  One imagines that it might be so for Jesus as well.  Let us strive to lessen that burden as much as possible by living lives of righteousness.  One day that burden will grow too great and He will return "rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus" (2 Thess. 1:8)
 
Rom. 8:34  "…who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."

Isa. 53:12  "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
 
Lucas Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Sometimes I wonder whether our modesty has become a bushel that hides our light. Paul on occasion found the need to boast of the things he had suffered to preach, list the things he had given up to follow Jesus, and report the work he had done by God's grace (2Cor 11:16-33, Phil 3:4-7, Acts 14:27, 15:12). Not only so, but Barnabas's generosity was known to the whole church (Acts 4:36-37). Somehow, it seems we have let our fear of appearing like Ananias and Sapphira keep us from letting our light shine. Of course, many of you have already figured out that the above is my excuse for doing a little boasting. Judge whether it is light shining or ego.

For most of our 48 ½ years, Dene and I have lived with our financial noses barely above water and occasionally sputtered and bubbled a little bit. Then, beginning with the death of my parents we got our chins out and with the passing of hers, we find ourselves to be relatively comfortable. We have lived in the same 24 X 56 doublewide since the boys were 5 and 3 (1982) and have upgraded it over the years with a screened porch (her father's gift), a roofover, siding, kitchen cabinets, laminate flooring, but, it is still a mobile home. After the emotions settled from her mother's passing, we discussed building a house on our 5 acres. We can afford it now, a REAL HOUSE!

We decided not. Our grandparents raised 3-8 children in houses much smaller than even this trailer. At my age, we may be here a few more years or a few more days so a house might be all the disruption with little benefit. Finally, many had helped us along the way and we longed for this opportunity to help others. So, we will continue to pray throughout the hurricane season for truly, we live in a house of sticks.

In the last few years, we have helped preachers in Nicaragua, Africa and a few in the U.S. We have donated to St Judes (Not Catholic affiliated), the hospice that cared for our (Dene's) Mom, Sacred Selections, Florida College, etc. We continue to live under the budget set when I retired with an occasional splurge.
I am aware of a number of other twice blessed brethren who have followed the same principle and given much more in dollars, so the following will not apply to many of our readers.

But, it is immediately obvious on the face that many if not most church members are more interested in bigger houses, newer cars, fashionable clothes, recreation, etc. than they are in furthering the work of the Lord. Look where their money goes! Look where their time goes! Listen to what they talk about most. Bigger Barns.

We pray every night for the Christians in other countries that struggle for enough to eat, make decisions about going hungry or buying medicine for an ongoing illness, and other such problems, but who are rich in faith.

We pray just as fervently for Christians in America who are not aware that God is blessing them to meet those needs, not so they can have bigger, better, and more.
 
"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, THAT HE MAY HAVE TO GIVE TO HIM THAT NEEDS. " (Eph 4:28).
"And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise"  (Luke 3:11).  
"CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEEDS OF THE SAINTS, pursue hospitality." (Rom 12:13).
"Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and GENEROUS TO THOSE IN NEED, always being ready to share with others. " (1Tim 6:18).
Jesus and the apostles said one does not have to be rich to share.
 
Keith Ward