On January 15, 1535, King Henry VIII of England, declared himself King of the Church and the Anglican Church suddenly came into existence.  We could talk all day about “the church” he left and “the church” he formed, whether either of them were scripturally correct or even had the right to exist.  Today I just want you to think about this:  do you make yourself “king of the church?”  Do I?

            Although it was not as simple as this when you read all the various histories, the final straw for Henry was the pope’s refusal to allow him to divorce one of his many wives and marry another.  Henry wanted an heir and every woman he chose seemed unable to produce the desired son.  At first the pope was leaning Henry’s way, then politics reared its ugly head and in the course of all the complications, he denied Henry’s request.  So Henry simply left that church and made his own.

            I wonder how many of the various other denominations came about for the same sort of reason.  I wonder how many people try to camouflage their reason for dividing the Lord’s body by claiming that things are not done scripturally, when the real reason is, “They don’t do things the way I want them done.”  If you look at the makeup of the New Testament church, if you study carefully the things being said in the epistles, there was a vast plurality among those people.  Some came from Judaism and still practiced circumcision and Passover celebrations.  Paul did not tell them they had to change; he just told them not to bind their rituals on others.  The Gentile Christians came from a background of idolatry that kept them following dietary restrictions because they could not separate their old pagan beliefs from normal everyday activities, like eating meat.  Paul did not tell them to go ahead and eat that meat—he just told them not to look down their noses at people who did.  Even among the apostles we find a Zealot and a publican. 

            So believing things a little differently is acceptable as long as no one is actively sinning, or trying to force their own slants down other people’s throats.  Henry’s problem was that he didn’t like the rules so he made a completely new standard.  Now, he could do as he pleased.

            Jeroboam tried the same thing in the Old Testament.  He was not satisfied with the kingdom God gave him.  Instead of trusting God to fulfill his promise to build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and [to] give Israel unto thee, 1 Kgs 11:38, he was afraid he might lose it all when the people worshipped God as the Law commanded, especially when they went south to offer their sacrifices on feast days.  So he changed the feast days, he changed the place of worship, and he changed the priesthood.  They were still worshipping Jehovah, just not the way Jehovah had dictated they should.  At least that was how he rationalized it—we are still worshipping the One True God.  And God let him know exactly how he felt about that through Ahijah the prophet: he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he hath sinned, and wherewith he hath made Israel to sin, 1 Kgs 14:16.  Worshipping your own way instead of God’s way is sin.

            Worship, in the true meaning of the word, has nothing to do with how we want to do it and everything to do with how the Worshipped One wants it to be done.  That is why it matters what we do when we assemble, and that is why it also matters what we do the other six days of the week--our very lives are sacrifices (worship) to God, Rom 12:1-3. 

            I do not have a kingdom, and neither do you. We do not get to decide what the church does, or what will be acceptable if another does it. Who are you to judge the servant of another? Rom 14:4.  We do not even get to decide what we do.  Jesus Christ is King of the Church.  Let’s all be careful to do as he says, and not as we want.
 
And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Eph 1:19-23.
 
Dene Ward

The first recorded gladiator fight occurred in 264 BC when three pairs of slaves were chosen to fight at the funeral of a prominent Roman citizen.  What a strange way to mourn, I thought, only to discover later that Julius Caesar arranged for 320 gladiator fights at the death of his daughter Julia. 

            Gladiator fights became common entertainment.  50,000-80,000 spectators usually attended.  Admission was free.  The actual money was made in gambling on the fighters.  Slaves and prisoners of war were trained as gladiators, and the Roman courts could sentence criminals to “death fighting.”  Eventually free men enrolled as gladiators, some for the glory and some for the money to pay their debts.  Even some of the emperors were said to have been former gladiators, so that position could lead to political advancement as well. 

            The life of a gladiator was full of risk.  Not only could they be killed by another gladiator, but all prospective gladiators had to swear an oath and enter a legal agreement to submit to beating, burning, and death by sword if they did not perform as required.  Life must have been desperate for those who entered it willingly.

            The last gladiator fought on January 1, 404 AD, over a millennium and a half ago.  What startled me, though, was one of the reasons given for the rise of this type of entertainment.  Gladiator fights were seen as a way to appease the gods and avert disaster in the Roman Empire.
 
            To appease the gods?  Here you have yet again a big difference
between Jehovah God and manmade gods.  Our God hates fighting among his children.  Here are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers, Prov 6:16-19.

            Seven times in the New Testament He is called the “God of peace,” and Jesus said in his most famous sermon, Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God, Matt 5:9.  How did he tell us the world would recognize us?  [I pray] that they may be one…so that the world will believe that you have sent me, John 17:21.  Getting along with one another can actually create faith in unbelievers.

            Over and over in the New Testament the disciples are told to “be at peace,” to “avoid things that gender strife,” and to be longsuffering with one another.  Peace would be the defining mark of this brotherhood, not the constant wrangling that often mars manmade organizations. 

            The only fighting we participate in is a spiritual warfare against the Adversary.  Otherwise we are to be a peaceful people who call attention to ourselves only by the good we do to others, not the evil, and by our goodwill to one another despite our differences.  All the way back to the apostles, Jesus expected people with huge ideological differences of opinion to get along.  Matthew the publican and Simon the Zealot would never have eaten a Passover meal together until they both professed allegiance in something and Someone far bigger than their opinions.

          James makes it very clear in his epistle exactly where fighting comes from.  When we turn ourselves into gladiators against one another, when others of us watch from the sidelines, egging each one on and enjoying the battle, it is clear that our loyalty is to a master other than the Prince of Peace.
 
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace, James 3:13-18.
 
Dene Ward
 

George C Parker was one of the most successful con men in American history.  He made his living by “selling” national landmarks in New York City to naïve tourists.  His favorite piece of “merchandise” was the Brooklyn Bridge, which he sold twice a week for years.  He took whatever he could get for it, depending upon the bankroll in the tourist’s pocket and the balance in his bank account, from as little as $75 to as much as $50,000.  More than once police had to tear down the toll booths built by the new “owners.”

            Parker was arrested several times, but finally on December 17, 1928, he was incarcerated at Sing Sing for the final time.  He spent his last eight years there, one of the most popular inmates among both convicts and prison officials.  His legacy in popular culture is the phrase, “And if you believe that, I have a bridge I want to sell you.”  Other people’s gullibility made his living for him for a long time.

            Jesus warned his followers about being gullible.  Generosity may be a virtue.  Expressing confidence in the good intentions of others rather than assuming the worst may be a sign of the love described in 1 Corinthians 13.  Sometimes we will be “taken” when we offer compassion and that is as it should be.  “Turn the other cheek” may very well mean you get another slap.  But in other cases, Jesus reminds us to “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”  He tells us that he wishes his followers were as wise as the children of the world.  Does he give us any guidelines here?

            I am not the one to ask.  Many times I have been taken in, maybe too many times, so my record is not a good one.  But I can show you a couple of scriptures that might help.

            ​“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not cast your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” Matt 7:6.  Jesus meant for us to be discriminating in offering the gospel.  That does NOT mean you decide for yourself who will and will not listen.  What it means is to judge the reception and act accordingly.  Why waste time on those who scoff and scorn when there may well be others out there who are pining away at the chance to hear the good news? 

            He said the same to his apostles when he sent them out on what we call the Limited Commission.  And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town, Matt 10:14. Notice:  first they were given the opportunity, and when they refused the message they were left “in the dust.”

            Jesus did the same in his own work.  Look at John 6.  Early in that chapter Jesus feeds the 5000 with five loaves and two fish.  The next day they come seeking him again.  At least a few of them see Jesus as a meal ticket and he confronts them.  “You seek me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves,” (6:26).  Still later, as his discourse becomes plainer and he requires more commitment from them than they are willing to give, many leave.  Did Jesus chase after them?  No.  He looked at his disciples and asked them, “Are you going to leave too?” (6:66,67).

            Is this easy?  Knowing when the time has come to cut things off is never easy.  It may be that it takes some people years of teaching before they get it, and you find yourself saying, “What if I hadn’t kept on trying?”  But then what if you waste your time on someone who has made it plain he is not interested and you never get to the one who is? 

            Maybe Jesus is saying, “Just pay attention.  Don’t ignore the one who is ripe for the picking while you waste time on the other who has already dried on the vine.”

            Sometimes you have to make difficult choices.  Jesus is telling you it’s okay.  He is telling you that he expects you to be wise and do your best.  Sow the seed, give out of your pocket, but do not be taken in like a babe in the woods when the signs are obvious.  When people show up asking for money, telling you they are Christians from another city, ask them who they worship with.  See if they know the names they ought to.  It isn’t a lack of compassion to check out their story. 

            And then if you need to say no, say it.  If you need to shake the dust off your feet, do it.  Just don’t buy the Brooklyn Bridge if you can help it.
 
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone. Col 4:5-6
 
Dene Ward

The Erie Canal opened for business on October 26, 1825.  The history of the canal makes interesting reading.  Somewhere I came across the nickname, “the canal that salt built.”  Syracuse, one of its principal ports, shipped most of the salt used in the United States.  The Erie Canal dramatically lowered the shipping costs of that and other commodities, and made those otherwise inland cities more prosperous.  

            Keith and I have differing opinions about salt.  He adds it to everything, copiously.  I add it to some things all the time and others seldom, and usually just a mere sprinkle.  Since his stroke a few years ago, he has become a little more moderate, cutting his amounts by using serious quantities of black pepper instead.                                                                       

            In the summer he must worry less about it.  We live in Florida, which means on a summer afternoon he will come in from the garden soaking wet, with his pant hems literally dripping sweat, and even pouring it out of shoes.  He stays hydrated with a gallon of water sitting in the shade of a nearby oak, usually a gallon before lunch and another afterward.  On those days, he doesn’t worry about how much salt he puts on his platter of sliced garden tomatoes in the evening.

            Just out of curiosity I looked up the dietary salt requirement.  Considering how much you hear about the evils of salt, I was surprised.  Did you know that too little in your diet can affect your moods and even cause depression?  It is also the reason for some falls in the elderly.  They wind up with hyponatremia, which causes dizziness and balance issues.  Low salt diets can lead to Type 2 diabetes by impairing insulin sensitivity.  None of this gives us the green light to consume too much salt, but maybe we should check where we stand with our doctors on these issues before cutting out too much of it.

            In all that study I also found a list of special uses for salt.  We all know that salt is a food preservative.  I also use it as a gargle for sore throats.  I hate doing it, but it works.  These other things I have not tried, so take them with, ahem, a grain of salt.

            Sprinkle salt on the shelves in your pantry to keep away the ants.
            Soak freshly caught fish in salt water to make scaling them easier.
            A pinch of salt in egg whites will make them beat up fluffier.
            A dash of salt in gelatin will cause it to set faster.
            Clean greens in salt water for easier dirt removal.

            Pour salt on an ink-stained carpet and leave overnight.  It will soak up the stain.

            Pour salt on sidewalk cracks to kill weeds and grass.
Then I looked up salt in the scriptures and got another education.

            Ezek 16:4 mentions rubbing a newborn with salt.  For some that symbolized cleansing.  For the Eastern cultures at large, it was thought to make the infant’s skin firm.

            Ex 30:35 and Lev 2:13 tell us that God required salt on his sacrifices.  Salt was considered the opposite of leavening (so much for the notion that no salt should be used in unleavened bread), and it signified both the purity and faithfulness required to worship Jehovah, and Jehovah’s enduring love for his people.

            And that led to the “covenants of salt” mentioned in places like Num 18:19 and 2 Chron 13:5.  God’s covenant with his people was considered perpetual.

            So now you see why I started looking at Col 4:6 a little differently.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.  Usually I hear, “Salt makes things sweeter, so be sweet and kind when you talk with someone.”  That is truly a one-dimensional explanation.  Yes, salt can make a tasteless melon taste sweeter.  Even the ancients knew that (Job 6:6).  One of the classic combinations in Italian cooking is prosciutto, a salty ham, thinly sliced and wrapped around melon wedges.  Yet if there is no sugar in the food, the salt can hardly make it taste sweeter.  The correct statement is that salt brings out whatever flavors are present in the first place.

            And what about the other aspects of salt associated with that culture, purification, preservation, faithfulness, and perpetuality? That verse in Colossians indicates that my answer may change according to circumstance, “that you may know how to answer each person.”  Can the words I choose help purify a sinner?  Can they show my faithfulness to God when I am questioned by an unbeliever?  Can they tell others that I know my God will always be there for me and that is why I will always be there for him, regardless how they treat me?  Absolutely, and some of those words might not be particularly sweet. 

            Salt, on occasion, stings.  So does God’s grace when it offers me things I do not want to hear in my present circumstances, so my “graciousness” to others may well have them smarting when it comes “out of season”—a time they do not want to hear it.  In fact, since salt can only enhance what is already there, perhaps it is the hearer who determines how sweet my words are in the first place.

            God’s Word is simple enough for anyone to understand it on the surface, but remember that if you apply yourself, you can dig deeper into more layers than in any book written by a man.  Salt, for instance, can flavor your studies for a good while. 
           
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet, Matt 5:13.
 
Dene Ward

At 9 pm, Sunday night, October 8, 1871, a small fire started in the city of Chicago.  By Tuesday night, 73 miles of road, 120 miles of sidewalk, 2000 lampposts, 17,500 buildings, and nearly 4 sq mi of the city had been destroyed.  Property damages amounted to $222 million, and 90,000 of the city’s 300,000 residents were homeless.  A casualty count was never accurately determined but was estimated at 200 to 300. 
            Catherine O’Leary owned a small dairy at the fire’s origin.  It has become the stuff of legend and song that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started the Great Chicago Fire when it kicked over a kerosene lamp during the evening milking.  The woman was even vilified in the Chicago Tribune.
            All these years later I was able to find articles that, with both facts and logic, exonerated Mrs. O’Leary.  The Chicago firemen were weary from fighting a Saturday night blaze.  Many had been without food and sleep for close to 24 hours.  The equipment was in poor condition because of that earlier fire, especially the hoses.  The wrong alarm box was sounded in the firehouse due to an inaccurate sighting, which delayed the arrival of the firefighters, and the man responsible for re-sounding the correct one when notified didn’t, “because they’ll find the right place when they get there.  It’s on the way.”  Evidently not.
            As for Mrs. O’Leary, she claimed that she and her husband had gone to bed and were unaware that a fire had started until it was too late.  Dairy owners rise well before daylight to take care of the morning milking, so that makes sense.  Evening milkings are done much earlier than 9 pm.  In fact, had she been in the barn it would have been a simple matter to have put out the small fire before it got out of hand, if indeed it was the accused cow that started it.  No one in the barn means no kerosene lamp.
            So what about arson?  Was the dairy failing?  Were their huge debts that a nice-sized insurance check would have covered?  That is a moot point because neither the barn, nor the cows, nor the supplies were insured.  Arson would have done them no good at all.  I am inclined to believe that Mrs. O’Leary was completely innocent.
            We, though, are not as innocent when we start fires.  Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindles!  James 3:5.  A small barn was the starting point for 4 sq miles of devastation.  Something as small as the tongue can start something just as devastating, that travels just as far and just as fast.  We once received a phone call from a friend 150 miles away asking if what he had heard about us was true.  We are grateful that he called and asked, because it was not true at all.  Thanks to a friend who cared enough to check, we were able to put out a fire that could have caused us much trouble and sorrow, perhaps ruining our reputations for life.
            Sometimes the statements we make are perfectly innocent, but we are not careful how they come out or who hears them.  Kerosene lamps, especially in the nineteenth century, were beneficial tools after all.  Yet all it would take was one moment of carelessness for an accident to bring about a catastrophe.  And so all it takes from us is one careless word, even one well-meant, to “set on fire the entire course of life,” James 3:6. 
            And then there are the arsonists who set those fires on purpose.  They like to see the fire, the confusion, the havoc they can wreak in the lives of others.  It fills them with a power they otherwise can’t feel, and that is why it is so satisfying to them.  Gossip can do exactly the same thing.  Repeating rumors, perhaps even embroidering them to the point that by the fourth or fifth telling there is little if any truth left in them, can be empowering.  Nothing ever happens to me, I am important to no one, but look at all the trouble I can cause anyway.  Arsonists often kill people when they engage in their crime.  Gossips are no better than those murderers when they commit “character assassination.”  
            Be careful out there today.  If one kerosene lamp can start a fire that nearly destroys a large city, one word can ruin a life.  Don’t be the one who knocks over the lamp or the one who adds to the flame by listening.
 
For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.  As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife, Prov 26:20.21.

 

Dene Ward
 

I have been a Star Trek fan since Captain Kirk sat on the bridge of the first USS Enterprise—the first Starship Enterprise, that is—on September 8, 1966 (our time).  I wasn’t even a teenager then and didn’t realize until years later how ahead of its time it was, nor that the strongest episodes were really parables.  Remember the two aliens who had faces half black and half white, and who hated one another because one had the black half on the right side and the other’s black half was on the left?  Our biases make just as much sense, that episode taught us.

            The show worked for me because of the characters and their relationships with each other.  If it had been all about gizmos and explosions, I would have lost interest quickly.  I knew who they were, their backgrounds, their likes and dislikes, and their pet phrases.  When Star Trek: The Next Generation came along, the producers really hit the jackpot and this time people were ready for it.  It’s a shame that the television movers and shakers still looked down their noses.  Patrick Stewart deserved a couple of Emmys. 
Brent Spiner deserved even more.

            Get a couple of Trekkies together and they will talk for hours about favorite characters and episodes.  To them these people are almost real.  And they will spot the discrepancies between episodes or movies in an instant.  When Scottie showed up on TNG, having survived in a continuous transporter buffer pattern for 75 years, and thought Jim Kirk was still alive, my antenna twitched.  You see, in Star Trek: Generations, the movie that put Capt Kirk and Capt Picard together for the first and only time, Scottie saw Jim Kirk die.  He would not have expected to be saved by him.  The producers should have caught that.

            I’m sure you are already getting the point.  When we are really interested in something, we will spend hours on it.  We will take it in and remember it.  We will catch on to every detail, no matter how trivial and useless.  Why, who is to say it’s useless?  Have you noticed that no fictional character will sneeze or cough unless he’s doomed to a virus that affects the plot?  And everyone knows that the previously unknown character in the red shirt will soon be zapped by the alien.

            Doesn’t it strike you as odd that people who claim to be children of God know so little about His word?  That people who call themselves disciples of Christ have a problem remembering the main events of his life?  Forget about the details.  (Quick!  Name Jesus’ brothers.  How about his cousins?  Name all eleven of the Simons/Simeons in the Bible.  Which apostles were known by at least three names?)

            As people of God we should be interested in Him.  We ought to want nothing more than to know His will and do it.  We should be able to talk about it for hours and look for every opportunity to learn even more.  I know people who can list Erica Kane’s husbands in order, or recite the starting lineups for all their favorite pro teams, including stats and colleges.  Some of these people are Christians whose Bible knowledge wouldn’t fill a thimble.

            Trekkies are called that for a reason.  They know that James T Kirk was (will be?) born on March 22, 2228, in Riverside, Iowa.  They know that Spock’s full name is S’chn T’gai Spock.  They can even speak a few words of Klingon, a language that doesn’t even exist! NUQ DAQ YUJ DA’POL = “Where’s the chocolate?” a phrase everyone should know, whether Klingon or Terran!

            Christians are called that for a reason as well.  Do you fit the description?
 
But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness. The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you, Psa 9:7-10.
 
Dene Ward

Sir Walter Scott was born on August 15, 1771.  Besides being the inventor of the historical romantic novel, such as Ivanhoe,  he is also known for the many phrases coined in his writings,  “Caught red-handed,” “cold shoulder,” “go berserk,” “lock, stock, and barrel,” “tongue in cheek,” back of beyond,” and “apple of my eye,” are all common phrases attributed to Scott.

          “Blood is thicker than water,” is another, meaning that family relationships are more important than those between unrelated people.  I think to Christians, though, the sad truth of the matter is, “Blood is thicker than the waters of baptism.”

            How many times have you seen a preacher change his views on an issue when suddenly it involved his family instead of someone else’s?  How many times has an elder of the church shown a difference in how he treated the sins of one member and the sin of another based upon his family relationship with them?  And how many times has a family left the church disgruntled, or taken up for their wayward kin, when the church’s obligation to discipline fell upon that sinner?  Many seem to forget that Jesus plainly told us, “He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”

            Jesus loved his earthly family.  He made a point to give his mother over to the care of her nephew John, even while he hung in agony on the cross.  Yet when the family came to see him while he preached, he asked those who informed him, “Who is my mother and who are my brethren?  And he stretched forth his hands to his disciples and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  For whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and my sister, and my mother,” Matt 12:48-50.

            The Jews counted heavily on physical relationships.  More than once they proudly claimed, “We have Abraham as our father,” to which Jesus replied, “If Abraham were your father you would do the works of Abraham,” John 8:38-40.  John told them from the beginning of his ministry, “Do not begin to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father for I say to you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham,” Luke 3:8, so this was not a new thought, and it plainly shows how little physical relationships mean to God.

            We could multiply the verses telling us that physical parentage is not the most important thing, but rather one’s spiritual parentage.  Abraham, as the father of the faithful, is usually the one designated as our spiritual patriarch.  This also makes the point to the Gentile Christians that they did not have to be physically related to that great believer to be his children, and they were not second class citizens because they did not have a physical Jewish heritage.

            “…that [Abraham] might be the father of all who believe, even though they be in uncircumcision,” Rom 4:11.

            “…which is of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all,” Rom 4:16.

            “And if you are Christ’s you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise,” Gal 3:29.

            “For verily not to angels does he give help, but to the seed of Abraham,” Heb 2:16.

            And especially to the women, “Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham…whose daughter you are as long as you do well,” 1Pet 3:6.

            It does not matter who your parents are.  It does not matter where you came from.  It does not matter your race or country of origin.  You are the children of whomever you take after.  That is the meaning of so many metaphors in the scriptures.  Are you a “son of disobedience?”  You are if you disobey.  Are you a “child of light?”  You are if you walk in the light.  It is the spiritual aspect of a person that determines his spiritual end.  And that couldn’t be fairer, because while we cannot control who our physical parents are, we can control who our spiritual parents are.  Doesn’t that make it even more wonderful when those physical parents are also part of your spiritual family?

            If you are not living right, don’t blame your parents or society.  Abraham came from idolatrous ancestry, having grown up in an idolatrous culture, Josh 24:2.  Yet he is the very one given as an example of faith and obedience.  If he can overcome his heritage so can we, and if our heritage is a godly one, we of all people have no excuse.

            The waters of baptism have given us new parentage, a Father in Heaven, and new siblings, both here and in Heaven.  When we believe that physical relationships trump the spiritual, when our obligations to God are put aside for the sake of a family member, we are not just disowning the members of the church, but also our Father and Older Brother in Heaven.  We are saying that physical blood means more than spiritual water that put us into the sacrificial blood that frees us from a life of sin (Rom 6: 1-14).  No wonder he said He would deny us if we deny Him.
 
They answered and said to him, Our father is Abraham.
Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham…
[They said] We have one Father, even God.
Jesus said to them, If God were your Father you would love me…Why do you not understand my speech?  Because you cannot hear my word.  You are of your father the Devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do…When he speaks a lie he speaks of his own, for he is a liar, and the father thereof.  But because I say the truth you believe me not…For this cause you hear not—because you are not [children] of God, John 8:39-47.
 
Dene Ward

A few years ago, we had the coldest winter in years.  While it never went below 20 on my back porch thermometer, we had more consecutive nights in the 20s than I can remember in a long time, and twice had snow in the forecast.  We didn’t get any, but towns not too far north and south of here did.  For nearly two weeks in January the high temperature never climbed over 40.  That is NOT normal in Florida.

            More than any winter in recent times I was glad to have my wood stove sitting in the middle of the house.  When I came in chilled from being outdoors a little too long or damp from the many winter rains, or when I drank just a little too much iced tea for supper, I had a place I could back up to and get warm again. 

            On July 17, 1902, Carrier invented the first air conditioner, which later became central air, and then central heat and air.  As big a boon as that was, especially in the heat of a Florida summer, it lacks something in the winter—no place to go to get warm.  You don’t really want it that warm everywhere in the house.  Washing a sink full of dishes, or baking for a couple of hours in the kitchen would be too uncomfortable.  And who can afford the heating bill if you actually put the thermostat at something over 70?  But having every place in the house under 70 is uncomfortable.

            I remember dressing for school on winter mornings in the warm center hall of our little house, draping my clothes over the door to the oil heater to warm them, and huddling up to it while I waited.  It may have been chilly in the bedroom, but there was always somewhere to go to get warm.  Every home should have a center of warmth somewhere, a place where you feel like you are wrapped in a warm embrace. Every soul should have one too.

            Think about the scenes of comfort and acceptance the Bible speaks of.  Jesus took the little children “into his arms,” (Mark 9:36); John was “reclining in Jesus’ bosom,” (John 13:23); Lazarus died and went to Paradise and lay “in [Abraham’s] bosom,” (Luke 16:23).  It speaks of an intimacy we can only imagine, as Christ was before time in Heaven “in the bosom of the Father,” (John 1:18).  I cannot remember how many times I held a sick child in my lap, wrapping him up in my arms, a blanket over the both of us to keep him warm.  That often made him feel better than the medicine did, if not more so.

            The Lord’s bosom is where we go when the world seems a little too cold; when a spiritual fever wracks our souls and gives us chills; when even a friend greets us with an icy stare, when we are alone and need close contact with someone who loves us.

            God always provides a center of warmth for His children.  Run into His arms and get warm again.
 
He will feed His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that have their young, Isa 40:11.
 
Dene Ward

Back in the late 19th century a man named William Smart lost his wife in childbirth.  Somehow he managed to raise that infant and the five older children all on his own while supporting them all as well.  When his daughter Sonora Dodd grew up, she finally realized what an amazing feat that had been and how much her father had sacrificed for all of them.  She asked her minister to preach a sermon honoring fathers on June 5, 1909, her father’s birthday.  Evidently she did not give the man enough notice so the sermon did not occur until June 19 that year, the third Sunday of the month.

           It became a tradition there and gradually spread.  A national holiday in honor of fathers was supported by Calvin Coolidge but was not made official until 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson.

            When we discussed Mother’s Day I hope you remember that parenting magazine I spoke of that offered a list of things for moms to do since no one ever bothered doing anything for them [it opined], thirty-one items totaling nearly $1000.  The next month, Father’s Day month, that same magazine “celebrated Pop culture” with an article taking up less than a fourth of one page, the rest being filled with a 72 point font title and a picture of a dad playing with a little girl. 

            And what were we supposed to do for dads?  Four measly items, none of which cost a penny, and two of which were not even directed toward the fathers.  Read a book called Animal Dads.  Teach your kids how to say, “Dad,” in several other languages.  Help your kids learn some silly jokes to make their dads laugh.  Make sure they have breakfast with their dads at least once that month.  Evidently fathers are not worth a whole lot.

            While I don’t espouse spending nearly $1000 doing something every day of June for fathers any more than I did for mothers in May, doesn’t this strike you as incredibly biased?  Yet it all fits in with our society’s downplaying of the importance of the role of father.

            You haven’t noticed?  How long has it been since we have regularly had television shows with strong, intelligent fathers?  No, instead, if you get a father at all he is a buffoon on the order of Tim “the Tool Man” Taylor, an uncultured, clumsy, immature, dare I say “stupid” clod, who must constantly be pulled out of trouble by his smarter, wiser, more responsible wife.  Or you get a family without a father or with too many fathers, or simply a work-based sitcom because career is the center of everyone’s life now.

            Add The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan to the sexual revolution of the sixties and you get a society that believes a nuclear family is no longer necessary.  Women don’t need men except as sperm donors; they can raise their children alone just fine, thank you.  And while that may get you a few more women who no longer feel guilty about making their professional level careers the most important part of their lives, women who can afford nannies or other private care, it also gets you the rise of “the feminization of poverty,” as Mona Charen puts it in her op-ed pieces.  There are far more Wal-Mart cashiers and diner waitresses trying to make a living for their kids than there are female doctors and lawyers.  They were told they didn’t need a man and they believed it, so their children are being raised by grandparents or daycare center workers or simply being left alone at home, and they are pinching pennies trying to feed them and keep them warm in the evenings.  The media perpetuates the myth and more young women are taken in because they grew up on television shows with scripts—one crisis and suddenly we have a breakthrough and everyone lives happily ever after, all in thirty minutes.  Unfortunately, we are living real lives not following scripts with rosy endings.

            When God made the first family, He made a mother and a father—one each.  There may be legitimate times when that cannot happen, but we should be trying to help those single parents and deprived children, filling in as missing role models rather than telling them it doesn’t matter.  How will we ever have a nation of strong fathers if there are no examples for our sons to follow?  How will fathers ever realize how important they are when we minimize and marginalize those men as if they were nuisances instead of necessities?

            If your father is still alive, I hope you tell him how much you appreciate him.  If your husband is being the kind of father he ought to be, I hope you let him know how much you appreciate him.  If you are a dad, I hope you know that you are necessary to the lives of your children.  That is what God had to say about the matter—don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.
 
Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding; for I give you good doctrine; forsake not my law.  For I was a son unto my father, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.  And he taught me and said to me, let your heart retain my words, keep my commandment and live, Prov 4:1-4.
 
Dene Ward

On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May to be Mother’s Day, "as a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country."  I wonder what he would make of the way some folks view that day today.
          
            Last week I read two articles, each in a different magazine, about how to celebrate Mother’s Day all month long.

            The first was “Thirty-One Ways to Indulge Yourself,” a day by day guide through the month of May, “because no one ever takes care of you.”  I read through the calendar, at first smiling and sighing a little, but gradually growing more and more perturbed.  The list included things like, “Hire a handyman for a day to do all those chores your husband never gets to.”  “Go for a massage, at least a full half-hour appointment.”  “Get a pedicure and buy at least two new colors of nail polish.”  “Buy yourself a new piece of jewelry.”  I added up the entire list—readers were encouraged to do it all—and even estimating low (like costume jewelry instead of the real thing), I came up with a total of nearly $1000.00.

            A thousand dollars in one month would have made a mortgage payment, bought the groceries, AND paid the gasoline and electric bills when my children were still at home. 

            I am a mother--I understand that, as a general rule, mothers are overworked.  I tell every young couple that they should realize from the get-go that every young mother is always tired from the double whammy of pregnancy and delivery, followed by the constant care of a little person who does not understand schedules yet, and every young father always feels stressed from the realization that he is now responsible not only for another body, but as spiritual leader of the home, another soul as well.  In addition he is constantly bewildered by his young wife’s raging hormones, hormones she herself is disconcerted by and trying to control.  This is the nature of the job you have taken upon yourselves.  The whole process can be overwhelming.  But no one has the right to bankrupt her family because she is feeling weary. 

            The other magazine article was deceptively similar.  However, the words “almost free” and “for real moms” were also in the title.  Rather than 31 items laid out on a calendar, one for every day of the month, it was a list of 23 to choose from.  Evidently this writer understood that “real moms” have neither the time nor money to play every day.  What did they include?  “Free up the driveway and create some elaborate chalk art with your children.”  “Catch fireflies, minnows, or other tinies in a clean jar; take a good long look and maybe a photo or two, then let them go.”  “Declare a spa day with your kids, sipping smoothies by the (wading) pool, and giving each other manis and pedis.”  “Draw a comic book together, then make copies so the kids can share them with their friends.”  Are you noticing a difference here?

            Now let me add this bit of information to the mix.  One article was in Parenting.  The other was in a quarterly publication put out for customers of the grocery chain Lucas worked for at the time.  This is obvious, right?  The “experts” understand that young parents first, live on a budget, and second, need encouragement and suggestions for how to spend more “quality” time (I hate that phrase!) with their children, teaching them such things as core values and priorities, and the other magazine was interested in boosting retail sales during a sagging economy.  Wrong.  Parenting is the magazine suggesting that all young mothers go out and spend a good chunk of the family’s income pampering themselves for a solid month.  I am actually proud of Lucas’s company.  If I still had children at home, we would have probably done quite a few of the things they suggested.  The total cost for the whole list was about $10, and it also included some volunteer work.

            Now is it any wonder that elders and preachers regularly warn the church about non-Christian counselors, therapists, and mentors?  Is it any wonder that the average family is falling apart at the seams and couples are deep in debt?  Can you understand why this is also affecting the church?

            Parenting is a commitment just as much as Christianity is.  God has entrusted precious souls to you, and He expects them returned in good shape, better in fact than when He gave them to you.  A mother, or father for that matter, who folds when it requires sacrifice—major sacrifice—is not worthy of the name.

            When you become a parent, it is surprising how fast the feelings overwhelm you.  Love for your child is not just strong, it is fierce.  At least it should be.  It is exactly that fierceness that keeps you going when you lose sleep, when your body aches, and when your heart breaks because of the trials of parenting.  Nothing in this world is worth losing your child or his soul.  That is what the so-called experts need to be teaching us these days.  We already have enough selfish people out there who want the title without doing the job.
 
Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?…As a father pities his children, so Jehovah pities those who fear him…If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your father who is in Heaven, give good things to those that ask him, Isa 49:15; Psalm 103:13; Matt 7:11.
 
Dene Ward