On March 1, 1692, ignorance and superstition came to the forefront as the Salem Witch Trials began.  The legal papers make a horrifying read—innocent until proven guilty was not the code back then, but the opposite:  if you came to trial you were assumed guilty.  Evidence from children as young as 9 was accepted.  Given the mass hysteria, it was probably impossible to find a child who was not willing to make accusations just to get the attention.  As far as evidence—when visions that no one else can see are counted as good evidence, there is no end to the mischief that can arise.  Unfortunately, 19 people died because of things like this.  Everyone listened to obviously made up stories with no concrete evidence because it was exciting, and in some cases, making the accusations was all that kept one from being accused herself.  Remember what caused this all—ignorance and hysteria, the exact opposite of clear and logical thinking.

 Don't think this kind of thing hasn't invaded the church today.  I have heard more than one preacher or teacher accused of teaching false doctrine when that was not the case at all.  Someone took something out of context or someone else jumped to an unnecessary conclusion and that was all it took to ruin a reputation.  When we pass these things along we are no less guilty.  The rule should always be, go to the person involved and check it out yourself.  I will always be grateful to a brother who did that for us.  He had heard something completely false 150 miles away from us, a rumor that could have ruined my husband.  As it turns out, someone had said something happened which most certainly did not happen, and then the next person decided to do a little embroidery that made the original accusation even worse.  Not only was it untrue, but we had witnesses.

 Sometimes an outright lie is involved.  When a man is accused of teaching something he flatly denies, has never taught in all his years, and the people who regularly listen to him will vouch for him, that ought to take care of it.  Instead, we hear of elders in one church telling another church they should withdraw from the "false teacher" or he will withdraw from them.  Talk about ignorance.  No elder in one church has any right to tell another church what they should do (1 Pet 5:2), and no one in the New Testament ever withdrew from a church—you simply cannot find it. 

 Often the problem is that one does not interpret a certain scripture exactly as the other, even though he agrees with the fundamental point, and always has.  A good friend and I interpreted a certain passage completely differently from each other, but we both agreed with the point each was making.  We just disagreed about which passages proved it.  So?  I never called him a false teacher and he never called me one.  Someone has forgotten just exactly how important unity among His people is to God and the Lord Jesus, and how angry they must surely be when we misuse Scripture to cause dissension.

 The Salem Witch Hunt was polar opposite of the way God intended for His people to handle questions we might have about teaching in the church.  Those people even used Scripture to accomplish what turned out to be murder (Ex 22:18; Lev 20:27; Deut 18:10,11).  They used God's Holy Word for evil.  Let's make sure we don't do the same.

Give diligence to present yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth. But shun profane babblings: for they will proceed further in ungodliness, and their word will eat as a gangrene: of whom is Hymenæus and Philetus 2Tim2:15-17.

Dene Ward

You’d think they would learn.  You’d think they would figure this out, especially people who are so smart, with so many letters after their names they could start a new language.  Yet for a long time the existence of the Biblical Ur of the Chaldees, Abraham and Sarah’s hometown, was denied.  Several excavations were begun in the early twentieth century, but Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, a British archaeologist, finally put the question to rest.  From The Bible As History by Werner Keller: “Under the red slopes of Tell al Muqayyar lay a whole city…awakened from its long sleep after many thousand years…Woolley and his companions were beside themselves with joy…for before them lay the Ur of the Chaldees to which the Bible refers.”

 Where today sits a railway station 120 miles north of Basra, Woolley found many closely situated private homes along with their broken pots, cuneiform texts, and even some gold jewelry.  He found silver lyres and other musical instruments and even a royal game board, complete with “men” to travel the wooden board. 

 What he discovered, in essence, was the ancient Sumerian civilization, He also discovered royal tombs dating from 2700 BC.  It became apparent to these scientists than these tombs also contained the king’s personal retinue, people buried alive in a form of large scale human sacrifice.  Is there any wonder God would have called his righteous servant away from that society?  And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many, Josh 24:2,3.  And so the Bible once again is proven not only accurate, but logical.

 Woolley’s faith may not have been as fundamental as we would like--he discovered evidence of a great flood in the area but you and I would not have agreed with all of his conclusions in that regard.  However, he seemed to work like this:  the Bible says it existed so he went looking for it.  How many others deny the witness of the Scriptures until their noses are rubbed in it?

 Charles Woolley died on this day in 1960.  Perhaps we can use this as a reminder.  More and more the world considers the Bible as anything but the Word of God.  Instead, they say, it is a book of myths and interesting stories.  Jesus was not the Son of God either; he was just a good rabbi.  Maybe it is time we spoke out more.  Are we embarrassed to be seen as ignorant yokels because we believe the scriptures to be the authentic and infallible Word of an Almighty Creator?  Do we water down the truths revealed in it because they are no longer politically correct? 

 It was easy to believe when most of our neighbors did.  It was easy to say, “The Bible says…” when we knew that statement would carry some weight.  Despite the fact that over and over discoveries are made to prove the factual content of the Bible, people still find reason not to accept it.  They always will.  Just read the first few chapters of Exodus.  Just read the gospels.  When people do not want to accept the accountability demanded of us by the Bible, they will reject it.  They will find every excuse in the world to say, “That’s different,” when the only difference is it refers directly to their lifestyles and habits. 

 Say thank you today to Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, but only if you will use his discovery to cement your faith and allow it to change your will.

But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who will hear, let him hear; and he who will refuse to hear, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house, Ezek 3:27.

Dene Ward

After seeing a performance of Verdi's Aida, 17 year old Giacomo Puccini decided to give his life to writing operas.  Now we know him as the composer of some of the most beloved operas—La Boheme, Tosca, Turandot, and Madame Butterfly.  But none of those were well-received in the beginning.

 Madame Butterfly premiered on February 17, 1904, at La Scala in Milan.  The audience hissed, booed, and even yelled.  Many walked out.  It was back to the drawing board for Puccini, who went to work on a revision.

 Several things had to be fixed.  The staging was abysmal.  He seemed to have fallen into a rut and this opera was too much like all the others.  The second act was ninety minutes long.  So first, he divided that act in half.  Then he added a different sort of musical piece called "The Humming Chorus" which became very popular.  Of course, the staging was fixed pronto, or should I say, "Presto!?"  Along with a few other minor changes, the second performance on May 24 was a grand success with extended applause, repeated encores, and ten curtain calls for Puccini himself. 

Suiting the audience is as it should be for operas, but can you imagine a church service that did the same?  Encores by the song leader, curtain calls by the preacher, and a long standing ovation before the final amen.  Of course not!  Pleasing the audience is not what a church service is about.  Or is it?

The problem is we mistake the performers for the audience.  You and I are not the audience.  God is.  We are the performers and it's our job to do whatever we can to please Him.  Puccini obviously liked his second act and all the staging, but his audience thought otherwise.  He fell all over himself trying to change things to please them.  When I pick a church because I enjoy (feel entertained by) the service, then I have missed the whole point.  I need to be choosing a church that acts as the New Testament has shown me is pleasing to God—whether I personally like what they do or not.  Which church is it that follows the guidelines set for pleasing Him? 

The question is not, and never should be, did the preacher/songleader/Bible class teacher perform well enough to please me ("What did I get out of it")?  The question is, and always should be, did I perform well enough to please my Audience—God. 

But the hour will come, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth John4:24.

Dene Ward

 On January 23. 1874, Prince Alfred, the son of Queen Victoria, married Marie Alexandrovna, the daughter of Tsar Alexander II of Russia.  The marriage is pictured as a political one, an attempt to calm relations between Great Britain and Russia after the Crimean War, even though the couple had met when she was 15 and fell in love immediately.  Unfortunately, the couple's own developing friction between themselves began to undo those initial feelings and kept much from being accomplished politically.  The continued tensions in Asia and other realms, didn't help much either.  If ever there was an example it's this—what began as a passionate love affair ended with a philandering, and possibly polygamous, husband, and a princess-wife who was a spoiled Daddy's girl" who had absolutely no one in her new family or country who liked her  They stopped trying to please each other and spent their time pleasing themselves.  Even ropes of precious jewels, royal title after royal title, and crowns in her carefully done hair did not give this lonely woman a happy life.  Her oldest son eventually committed suicide and her unfaithful husband died one month after a diagnosis of throat cancer.

 But the rest of the world got something pretty nice from this affair.  For the wedding, two bakers, James Peek and George Hender Frean created the Marie biscuit in her honor.  "Biscuit" in England is what we Americans call a cookie.  (Our "biscuit" is what they call a "scone," simplistically speaking.)  This particular "biscuit" is lightly sweetened and crisp and became an instant hit.  They are still eaten today, even in other countries than England.  Spain has its own special version called Maria cookies.  We have friends from Zimbabwe who have them at tea most afternoons.  If you care to look, you will find recipes all over the internet. So this couple did not leave much of a dent in history, but their cookie did.  It might be a small legacy, but it is keeping their names alive, especially hers.

 What kind of a legacy are you leaving?  Will people still talk about you after you are gone?  I am old enough to have lost quite a few friends to death.  They certainly live on in my memory, but they also live on in the memory of others.  In our women's class we still talk about a widow who spent her last years putting things in order in the meetinghouse every Monday and Thursday.  Lesson plans and bulletin boards were carefully filed, and new letters for those same boards cut out when old ones had finally become too soft and raggedy to use again.  Even a couple of years after her death, we were finding notes she had left on walls and in the storage room about where to put what and how to use those letters without sticking holes in them with tacks!  Another good sister's name always came up when we were coordinating meal lists for the sick and bereaved.  We missed the dishes she always brought, and that made us stand and talk about our favorites of hers for a few more minutes.

 After both of my parents died, people came up to me again and again as we traveled, or sent me notes or emails when they heard the news, telling me about the wonderful things they had done.  I had grown up watching them serve, of course, but I never heard about the things they did in later years after the money crunch eased up some.  They bought pews and hymnals for small churches.  They would walk up to a preacher who had minimal support that he could lose with hardly any notice, and hand him a check "for something special."  They were the first to donate when a need arose.  And when my Daddy was dying, a hospice worker came to check on him one day, commenting on the big shop fan he had in his garage.  "Wish I had one of those," she said.  "Our air conditioner is out."  When she left that day, he insisted she take the fan.

 My mother passed 8 years after he did.  When I was writing her obituary, it suddenly dawned on me that every one of her children, grandchildren, and their spouses were all faithful Christians.  If ever there was a legacy that speaks on for years afterward, it's that one.

 So what are you leaving behind you?  It doesn't matter that you are still young.  When do you think my parents started working on their legacy?  It certainly wasn't a last minute chore.  Those legacies took years to create, and those years pass far more quickly than you will ever believe—until it happens to you.

 If my children and grandchildren remember my cookies, that's fine but I hope they remember the love that baked them.  And I certainly hope you and I both have a far better legacy to leave the world than a tea biscuit.

“Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.Deut4:9

Dene Ward

On January 14, 1973, Public Television aired the final episode of The French Chef, hosted by Julia Child.  It was the first cooking show of its kind on television and had aired for ten years.  Julia went on to write several books and host other shows, the last of which, Julia and Jacques, with Jacques Pepin, spawned a cookbook I have on my shelf.  If you want great instructions and well-prepared food, it's the one to have.  It is especially interesting to see the comparison between the two chefs' ways of doing the same dish.

 Julia was quite a personality.  She was born on August 15, 1912, to a well-off family, attending private schools throughout her growing up years, but expelled from one for insubordination.  Having watched her cook and listened to her give her opinions in sometimes humorous ways, I can well imagine that happening!  During World War II she was an agent for the OSS, the precursor to the CIA.  She was six foot two and athletic.  Her role was the communication of top secret documents between government officials and intelligence officers.

 As an agent, she met her husband and fellow-agent Paul Child in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and they were married in September of 1946.  Paul was assigned to Paris, where Julia decided to attend Le Cordon Bleu, the famous cooking school.  Afterward, she and two fellow-students, Simone Beck, and Louisette Bertholie, wrote Mastering the Art of French Cooking, from which Julia's television show came.  Suddenly, American women were cooking French food and reciting French phrases.

 One of those phrases has become common on every cooking show you will watch:  mise en place.  It is something that every cook does, whether they know the phrase or not, or even how to pronounce it.  It means "set in place," and refers to the practice of gathering every ingredient needed for a recipe in one place so you don't have to run back and forth to the pantry or the fridge throughout the cooking process.  We all do it.  In fact, I have taken it to the next level—I read through the recipe and if several things are added at the same time, I put them all in the same small bowl.  It is so much quicker and easier to throw in the required measure of cumin, coriander, fennel, salt and pepper from one custard cup than having to stand there measuring it out as you cook.  Sometimes those few seconds can make a difference in how things turn out.  And if, like mine, your pantry is across the room from the stand mixer or the range, you can wear yourself out going back and forth.

 All of this came to me one Sunday as my husband was preaching on the phrase "the Lord is at hand" from Phil 4:5.  Some say this is evidence that Paul was expecting Christ's return any day.  He was "at hand."  But no, what it means is that he is always with you.  You could reach out your hand and he would be there.  Just like all my ingredients, he is handy when I need him.  When life is difficult, he is there to comfort: when I am tempted, he is there to strengthen; when I am lonely, he is there to show me I am loved.  But it is also a reminder than wherever I go, he sees what I am doing.  When I am driving, he is in the seat next to me; when I am talking to my neighbor across the fence, he is standing there too; when I must face a situation that might develop into bad feelings, he is there reminding me to be gentle for the sake of a soul that needs saving.

And of course, the passage itself tells us how knowing he is so nearby should affect us.  We should rejoice—if one cannot rejoice in such knowledge, something is wrong!  We should not fret but pray—just turn right around and talk to this ever-present Lord!  Wouldn't it feel awkward if you were walking with someone all day long and never said a word to him?  We should be grateful, and such knowledge should grant us peace. 

 Mise en place might be a catchphrase for a chef, but it should mean everything to a Christian—a disciple of Christ.  The next time you gather all of your ingredients together for your favorite dish, remember who else is "at hand," sitting in place right next to you.

Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.  In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus, Phil 4:4-7.

Dene Ward

If Type 2 Diabetes has not become an epidemic in this country, I would be surprised.  Our poor diets, full of processed food, excess fat and sugar may very well be killing us.  It is actually possible to undo the effects of that disease with a little care and self-control.  My own mother managed to do that, in fact.

 Then there is Type 1 Diabetes, a far more serious problem.  I'm told that it has three stages, the final being the one that requires daily insulin injections.  Before insulin, diabetes was a death sentence possibly within months and seldom more than a year away.  It was treated with an extremely low carb diet, sometimes leading to literal starvation. 

 However, after years of research, Frederic Banting and Charles Best, working in the laboratory of John MacLeod, developed insulin.  On January 11, 1922, fourteen year old Leonard Thompson, a patient at Toronto General Hospital, drifting in and out of a diabetic coma, became the first patient to receive an insulin injection.  After the second within 24 hours, he had improved dramatically, and his blood glucose levels had dropped.  He went on to live thirteen more years, dying at 27, not of diabetes, but pneumonia.  Banting and MacLeod received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1923.

 While Type 1 is an autoimmune disease, Type 2 is a metabolic disorder.  Although genetics can impact it, lifestyle is more the determining factor—diet and exercise—too many simple carbohydrates and not enough activity.

 The same thing can affect us spiritually—too much "smooth" (easy to eat and digest) teaching, and not enough exercise.  The Israelites were condemned for complaining to the prophets God sent, …Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceitsIsa30:10.  The Christians the Hebrews writer addressed were condemned for their lack of "exercise."   For when by reason of the time you ought to be teachers, you have need again that someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food…But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil Heb5:14.

 When you hear complaints like, "This Bible class is too hard," or, "too much work," "The preacher stepped on my toes," or "He wasn't uplifting," then a case of spiritual diabetes is soon to follow.  A dear friend of mine once told me, "I want to be challenged to do better, not patted on the head like a child and told I'm just fine the way I am."  Seems like Jesus thought that way too when, "loving" the rich young ruler, he told him, "One thing you lack" Mark 10:21.

 Too many carbs in your spiritual diet will give you a deadly case of spiritual diabetes.  Too many sit on pews in a diabetic coma, coming around only when the praise band gets loud enough.  Maybe it's time for a shot of spiritual insulin.

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who when they were come thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.   Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were soActs17:11,11.

Dene Ward

 Most of us have heard of the Braille system of printing and writing used by the blind.  In several public places you will even see room numbers printed in Braille to the side of the door.  Since I have eye problems and could someday be blind, I have often put my fingers over those Braille numbers and tried to tell the differences between them.  Perhaps it is because I am not versed in the system at all, but I find it difficult to feel any pattern to those raised dots.  Maybe it's one of those things that becomes easier when you actually need it because it has certainly been used to great effect by millions of blind people.

 Braille was invented by Louis Braille, a Frenchman born on January 4, 1809, in Coupvray, France.  Louis invented the system when he was only 15 years old!  He was not born blind but became blind in one eye in an accident with a stitching awl in his father's harness making shop when he was three.  The eye became infected, and the infection spread to the other eye, causing blindness in both.  He attended a regular school until he was 10, learning by listening.   Then he received a scholarship to the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris.  While there he learned a 12 dot cryptography system from an army officer name Charles Barbier.  By the time he was 15, he had developed a similar but simpler system using only 6 dots, which could be read by using only one index finger.  It was introduced to his classmates in 1824 and used by them for several years.  Then a new director arose at the Institute and, in true bureaucratic style, he "banned it in 1840 because he was afraid that there would be no need for sighted teachers if everyone who was blind could read as a result of using Braille." Louis continued his education and actually taught at the same school.  He was forced to retire because of tuberculosis and died two days after his 43^rd birthday on January 6, 1852.

 Jesus dealt with all sorts of blind people.  Some were healed of their physical blindness, such as the man in John 9 who was born blind, but it was those who were spiritually blind who upset him the most.  For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and that they that see may become blind. Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said unto him, Are we also blind? Jesus said unto them, If you were blind, you would have no sin: but now you say, We see: your sin remains, John 9:39-41. 

 The prophets also talk about spiritual blindness.  Listen, you deaf ones! Take notice, you blind ones! My servant is truly blind, my messenger is truly deaf. My covenant partner, the servant of the LORD, is truly blind. You see many things, but don’t comprehend; their ears are open, but do not hear(Isa 42:18-20).  It isn’t just that some people cannot comprehend God’s word—they blind themselves to it when they do not want to see what it says. 

 Peter also mentions people who are spiritually impaired in 2 Pet 1:9.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins (2Pet 1:9).  And then we have Paul:  But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God(2Cor 4:3-4). And John as well:  But the one who hates his fellow Christian is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes(1John 2:11).  You can find more passages about spiritual blindness than any of the other senses.

 We really do not need a system like Braille to see and understand God's Word.  What we need is an open mind and heart, one that wants to comprehend what God would have us do.  And that will not happen until we open those spiritual eyes as wide as possible, seeing, as James mentions, what is in the mirror and not forgetting what we see (James 1:23-24), but doing our best to change. But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he will be blessed in what he does (Jas 1:25).

 Be careful when, in a spiritual discussion, you find yourself uttering the words, “I just can’t see that.”  It may be that you have become spiritually blind.

They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern(Isa 44:18).

Information from the Foundation for Blind Children and the Imperial County (California) Office of Education.

Dene Ward

If you are a college football fan, I am sure you have heard about this.  Last year, in a bowl game, a running back came within 28 yards of breaking Barry Sanders's 1988 rushing record of 2,628 yards.  But of course, those of us who are old enough to know, realized that Sanders's 1988 record did not include his performance in the Holiday Bowl that year, 222 yards, because back then bowl stats were not counted.  Also last year, another running back gave his opponents bulletin board fodder by bragging that he was the best running back in the country and "no one can stop me."  Well, his team lost.

            Do you remember coaches like Bear Bryant, Vince Lombardi, and Paul Brown?  All three are credited with saying, "When you go into the end zone, act like you've been there before."  Lombardi said to it his kick returner Travis Williams when he danced in the end zone after a touchdown.  Evidently, one or all three of those coaches thought it smacked of a celebration because you have been there seldom and might never again.  An interesting way of looking at it, don't you think?

            As for Barry Sanders, he was certainly atypical.  He is known for his humility and gentlemanly behavior.  He did not celebrate touchdowns.  He simply helped his opponent to his feet, handed the ball to the referee, and walked back to the bench.  "I wasn't necessarily looking for fame and fortune," he is quoted as saying.  "I tried to make sure I upheld my end.  I took care of business and then went home." 

            Look up Barry Sanders's stats someday and you will find one of the best, if not the best, running backs who ever played in the NFL.  In this braggadocio world of ours, isn't he refreshing?  I have read that he is also religious.  Maybe that is the secret to his humility.  He understands that his talent was not his, but came from God.  For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it? (1Cor 4:7).  And perhaps he in some way follows the one who IS the greatest ever, but who gave it all up for all of us.

            People, how will our children ever learn humility in a world where "I am the greatest," and "Give me more money," are the two constant mantras?  It is up to us not to let them see us idolize men who have nothing more to give the world than a little excitement and a touchdown dance in the end zone.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? ” Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. “I assure you,” He said, “unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one child like this in My name welcomes Me (Matt 18:1-5)

Dene Ward

My high school class was just a year or two too young to lose many to the Vietnam War, but we knew upperclassmen who went, and Keith was in the Marine Corps from ‘67 to’71.  My life could easily be different now.

            The way those men were greeted when they came home from that horror is a shame to our country.  They did not start that war; they were just pawns on a larger political chessboard.  The ones who spat on them and called them names were, by and large, a younger group who had never fought in a war, never experienced any sort of economic deprivation, but rather, had their lives handed to them on a silver platter. 

            In 1994 another group of veterans was finally given the honor they deserved in the many 50^th anniversary observances of D-Day.  They were called “the Greatest Generation,” for making it through the Great Depression and then going on to fight for their country.  Many gave the ultimate sacrifice, as we call it.  Of the few, if any, still left, others still suffer from the injuries they incurred.  Many more still bear the pain of emotional scars from that awful conflict.  Truly they deserve our respect and our gratitude. 

            So what has happened?  1994 is gone.  I live in Florida, where a great many retirees, many of whom are veterans, finish their lives.  They are regularly the brunt of jokes and disrespect from a generation that may never know the trials that group went through, solely because those people went through those trials.  Funny how time can wreak such havoc with attitudes isn’t it?

            Unfortunately, I have seen the same thing happen in the Lord’s body.  A younger generation sneers at an older one because it is older, because it doesn’t understand that society is a bit different, and what was once expedient no longer is.  Yet that older generation is the one who saw the problems in the work force during the 40s, a war machine grinding out supplies at a pace unheard of before.  They were the ones who saw the need for a Sunday evening service so that those Christians who were working shifts would not be left out of the group activities, so they too could experience the encouragement that comes from praising and thanking God together. 

            You know what?  When they came up with that idea, it was new, it was different--it broke all the traditions.  Don’t sit there on your high horse and accuse them of not being able to change with the times.

            That is why those things are so hard for them to give up.  Yes, for some there may be an attitude problem, perhaps a willfulness or stubbornness that should be dealt with, but I would suggest that is not the case for most.  Just because someone has a difficult time seeing the need for an expedient change, does not mean he is a Pharisee, which seems to be the accusation du jour.  Too many times we act towards them with a disrespectful scorn and impatience, while at the same time being happy to stand on those same tired, hunched shoulders, shoulders that bore the burden of fighting the battles that have kept the church sound and faithful to the Lord.  Where would we be now without them? 

            My generation and the one just younger need to be careful.  Trying to withhold respect and honor and cloaking it as righteousness is simply another facet to the same Phariseeism we claim to abhor (Mark 7:8-13).  Our Lord would not like it now any more than he did two thousand years ago.

            So please, be a little more careful how you speak to and about the old warriors.  Be understanding of the feelings they must have, seeing their world change perhaps more than any other generation before.  Be grateful to them for what they have been through and the battles they have fought.  One of these days, another generation will come along and look at you and the things you don’t want to change.  What kind of example will you have left them?

You shall stand before the gray head and honor the face of the old man, and you shall fear your God.   I AM Jehovah, Lev 19:32. 

Dene Ward

College football has been around as an organized sport since 1869, when Rutgers played what is now Princeton University.  It took a while, though, for it to come to its fruition in what we now recognize as the various divisions of the NCAA and all of its conferences.  Even those took some time to become what we know today.  The SEC, in fact, first included Georgia Tech, Tulane, and Sewanee!

     But though organized college football may have begun in 1869, it was November 2, 1898, before the first man climbed a fence, ran onto the field and attempted to rouse the fans with a cheer.  His name was Johnny Campbell of the University of Minnesota.  Before long, others joined him, and yes, in the beginning it seems that they were all young men.  It was World War II when most of the young men were off fighting a war before young women stepped in as what were first called "yell leaders."  We now call them cheerleaders.

     It isn't just sports teams who need a cheerleader.  I suppose the first true cheerleader for the church might have been Barnabas.  Here was a wealthy man, a good man and full of faith, who not only sold a piece of property and gave the money for the aid of needy Christians (translate that to property prices today for an eye opener), but who was so encouraging to others that the apostles nicknamed him, "son of encouragement/exhortation/consolation" whichever your translation chooses.  He was a man of patience who gently prodded others to become what he knew they could be—John Mark, for example.  He was a man of trust and courage as he introduced the former persecutor Paul to the church in Jerusalem and then went with him to work with the church at Antioch where they received and taught Gentiles.  Truly if there was ever a cheerleader in the church it was Barnabas.

     We all need a cheerleader sometimes.  I remember clearly the many times friends have gone with me when I was asked to speak, especially in the early days.  Their friendly faces in the audience spurred me on when the topic became touchy, though necessary.  Students in Bible classes can do the same for teachers.  Elders need people who encourage the members to follow them, speaking of their wise decisions and the good that can come from their plans, instead of goading them into rebellion.  Evangelists need the same.  For some reason, we seem far more prone to DIScouraging than ENcouraging, and that simply ought not to be.   Imagine a cheerleader screaming, "Lose team!  Lose, lose, lose!"

     But we beseech you, brethren, to know them that labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them exceeding highly in love for their work's sake… 1Thess5:12,13.

     But let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teaches in all good things Gal6:6.

   God designed the church as a fellowship that helped each other.  That is why we cannot be a servant of God without being a part of the people of God.  We hold each other up and yes, we cheer each other on, especially when trials abound.    Blessed [is] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, who is comforting us in all our tribulation, for our being able to comfort those in any tribulation through the comfort with which we are comforted ourselves by God; because, as the sufferings of the Christ abound to us, so through the Christ our comfort also abounds; and whether we be in tribulation, [it is] for your comfort and salvation, that is worked in the enduring of the same sufferings that we also suffer; whether we are comforted, [it is] for your comfort and salvation; and our hope [is] steadfast for you, knowing that even as you are partakers of the sufferings—so also of the comfort 2Cor1:3-7.

     You may think you have nothing to offer the "team," but when you do so, you are arguing with the plan of God.  When you feel helpless at the plight of others and don't know what to do, you can always cheer.

And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believed turned unto the Lord. And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch: who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord: for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. And he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch Acts11: 21-26.

Dene Ward