I recently taught a class in which the various tenets of a major religious philosophy came up for discussion.  After a lengthy explanation of only one of those items, one of the class members said to me, “It must take a theologian to make something that is so simple so complicated.”  The more I thought about it, the more I agreed with her.  Just a little common sense makes them all sound ridiculous.
            Have you heard that we are all born in sin, totally depraved and unable to do anything good?  Yes, I can take some passages out of context and completely apart from the rest of the teaching of scriptures and make them say anything I want them to say too.  So?  Common sense makes it plain that this is a ploy to blame our sins on God.  After all, He is the one who made us, who created us the way He did.
            Now just exactly how did God create man?  He made us in his own image!  Now tell me I am completely and totally depraved and unable to do anything good.  That is not only ridiculous, but patently irreverent and probably sacrilegious as well, if I am indeed made in the image of God.
            But that doctrine does do this for me:  it takes the blame off of me when I sin.  It makes my sins completely and utterly God’s fault for making me that way.  Let me know if you are willing to be the one who stands before Him and tries out that excuse.
            The Bible teaches that there was a time when I was without sin, Rom 7:9.  What could that possibly be but childhood, before I was unable to recognize a consciousness of sin?  At that point, “Sin revived and I died [spiritually].”  So much for “born in sin.”
            Then there are passages galore that tell us that sinning is our choice.  “Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies,” Rom 6:12.  “God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability but will with the temptation provide the way of escape,” 1 Cor 10:13.  “Resist the devil and he will flee from you,” James 4:7.  My class easily came up with a dozen more telling us that sin is not inevitable for the Christian, the one who now has the help of Christ, that he now has a choice.  That means we do not have to sin--the blame is ours, not God’s, not the church’s, not our parents’, not society’s—not even Adam’s.
            And it certainly makes wonderful and obvious sense that someone created in the image of God was not only created “very good,” Gen 1:31, but also has the power to choose between right and wrong.  The problem comes not because we have no choice, but when we make the wrong choice.  You have to work pretty hard to complicate that.
 
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, Gen 1:26.
Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright, Eccl 7:29.
"'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'” Acts 17:28.
Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, Eph 4:24.
 
Dene Ward
 

I was concerned when we left our property because it had to be done quickly, so while packing, I cleaned each shelf as I emptied it—in the kitchen, in closets, in the laundry, and in bathrooms.  Early the week we left, I cleaned all the bathrooms, and sprayed down the shower the night before.  As the furniture was being emptied out of the house, I began sweeping—the floors and even the walls behind larger pieces of furniture that hadn't seen light of day in several decades.  And because the movers told us we had to go when they did, I even left a very good friend behind sweeping the last couple of rooms I hadn't gotten to yet.  The place was as clean as I could reasonably make it without an extra day to hire a cleaning company—but the buyer was impatient and wanted in NOW!  Still I felt a little bad about it not being exactly perfect.
            Then we arrived here and I stopped worrying.  Obviously, no one had cleaned up for us even a little bit.  I suppose they had swept, but the baseboards had not been touched in years, no exaggeration.  Every room was surrounded by a thin black line a couple inches above the floor.  And the bathrooms?  One day I spent three hours cleaning top to bottom, stem to stern, on step stools and on my hands and knees, and you could barely tell it because the stains were so set in.  And I must have scraped (with a knife) a quarter inch of soap scum off each soap holder, top and bottom.  Dust was caked above doors, above electrical outlets, and in every crevice of anything that could catch it for the past twenty years.  The air conditioner filter apparently had never been changed and you might be surprised what that makes blow out of the vents across the ceilings!  No one had cleaned these shelves as they packed.  I had to clean them before I could unpack.  The concrete floor of the back porch was black when it should have been gray.  I think that's enough for you to see what we had to deal with.
            Maybe because of all that grime, whenever we came across something left behind, I picked it up with two fingers and immediately tossed it.  I wanted absolutely nothing to do with anything that came from this filthy house. 
            But did I feel that way about the house I left behind?  I wondered, when the buyer took down some of the things that were attached to the house and we were instructed to leave, if he had felt the same way about our things.  I hope that the obvious effort we had gone to made a difference, but why should it?  If he found any dirt at all, it probably disgusted him as much as this dirt disgusted me.
            And isn't that always the case?  My dirt is not as bad as someone else's.  I could even change the diapers of my own children and grandchildren a whole lot more easily than I could anyone else's children's. 
            And that makes it harder to see our dirt, doesn't it?  And when we do, much less likely to be concerned about it.  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? (Matt 7:3-4).
            But dirt is dirt is dirt, and sin is sin is sin, as James indicated in 2:11.  Yours is not worse than mine, nor mine than yours.  They are all evil in God's eyes, and when someone has the love (and courage) to tell us about them, it should be a cause for rejoicing and gratitude, not anger.  Maybe we should all work on that a little more.
          God dwells in the church, his people.  Christ dwells in us by faith.  Neither of them wants to live in a dirty house, no matter whose dirt it is.
 
Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him (John 14:23).
 
Dene Ward

On September 9, 1776, The United Colonies became the United States of America, a name adopted by the Second Continental Congress.  That name meant something.  We were no longer the colonies of Great Britain, but individual states bound together into one brand new country.  It still means something to most Americans.  Why else do we constantly hear the chant, "USA! USA! USA!" at the Olympics?  We are proud to be Americans.
            Far more important is the name of God, yet this country, which values its own name so much, thinks less and less of His.
Have you noticed that no one can speak two sentences without taking the name of the Lord in vain?  Even children are uttering a phrase that once was never spoken in polite company, that men begged a lady’s pardon for saying, that television censors bleeped.  When you have an abbreviation for it, it has become entirely too common.  I have a friend who wants to make tee shirts with “omg” under the universal “not allowed” sign of a circle with a slash.  But that three word monstrosity is just the first, and most obvious way to take God’s name in vain.
            Recently, while I was doing some research, I came across a website called Judaism 101.  At the top, the following phrase caught my eye:  Please note that this page contains the name of God.  If you print it out, please treat it with appropriate respect.
            Oh, how we need this lesson today, and I don’t just mean the heathen out there in the world.
            The name of God stands for far more than the name we call Him.  It stands for His essence and nature.  It represents His history and reputation.  And I will sanctify my great Name which has been profaned among the nations, Ezek 36:23.  How would you feel if your “good name,” as we speak of this concept, were thrown around carelessly, used in sarcastic movie or book titles, or joked about?  Yet it goes much farther than that.
            In Judaism, any act that causes God to come into disrespect, or a commandment to be broken, is often referred to as profaning the name of God.  This makes sense when you realize that any good deed we do is spoken of as “sanctifying” or “glorifying” his name.  Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven, Matt 5:16.  One is just the opposite of the other, and there you have the second way to profane the Name of God—disobey or cause someone else to disobey Him.
            Number three hits a little closer to home.  The Name of God stands for His Authority.  Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord, Col 3:17.  If a policeman yells out, “Stop in the name of the law,” he is telling you that the law of the land gives him the authority to stop you, and you had better do it or pay the consequences.  Too many of my brethren are out there pooh-poohing God’s Authority these days, as if “authority” were a bad word.  When you act without God’s authority, you are profaning His Name as surely as if you spoke it in vain.  You have no respect for that Authority, nor, thus, for His Name.
            The website I mentioned listed several things that orthodox Jews will and will not do in reference to the Name of God.  Some of them seem awfully, well, "Pharisaic" comes to mind.  But at least they have the right idea, while we bandy about The Name of God as if it were just any other word, then profane it with careless, or even scornful attitudes, disobey His commands because they don’t suit us, and rationalize our way out of a life of sacrificial service because it’s “too hard” and “makes me feel like a failure.”  Disrespecting the authority of God is one and the same as profaning His Name, and conservative fundamentalists take part in it every day.  Number three is the scary one because it is so easy to fall into and still think you are just fine because you are so prone to shout Amen and Hallelujah.
            God is Holy.  His Name is Holy.  His essence is Holiness.  Since I claim to be His child, anything I say or do that detracts from that Holiness profanes His Name.  It can be a careless phrase.  It can be downright disobedience.  It can be deciding for God what He will and won’t mind.  Meditate on that awhile.  Stand in awe of a God whose Name is so powerful that it created the worlds, and be just a little scared of how you treat it.
 
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. Psalms 86:8-12
 
Dene Ward    

While that old chestnut about "reverend" only being in the Bible once is wrong (the English word may only be in the King James Version once, but the Hebrew word it is translated from is in there well over 300 times and often refers to men), the scriptures are plain about the attitude we should have toward God and only God, both in word and deed.
            In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isa 6:1-5)
            If that passage doesn't make you shiver, you have missed its point.  Isaiah felt that reverential awe we should all feel about God.  Contrast his words with the casual approach we take to God these days.  I imagine the old story about the young man who walked up front to pray on behalf of the congregation and began his prayer with, "Hi Dad!" is apocryphal.  Or maybe it isn't.  But it doesn't take much time to look and listen to see that attitude everywhere in our culture, maybe in our assemblies as well in many other ways.
            Here's something else to think about.  Look at the next few verses in Isaiah.  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people…’ (Isa 6:6-9)
            Isaiah's sin had to be atoned for before he could speak God's word to others.  It only makes sense.  If you are the vessel that God's word comes from, you had better be holy, just as God is.  Now how about me?  How about you?  If my life speaks of sin, I am not fit to proclaim His Word.  If my words are not pure, I have no business using my mouth as His.  When I hear a man talk about "his Lord and Savior" and then spout filth or take that same Lord's name in vain, I know he needs a hot coal pressed on those foul lips of his.
            Be careful what you say this morning—and what you do, especially if you plan to talk to people about the Most Holy God.
 
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. (1Pet 1:14-17)
 
Dene Ward

It was one of those recuperating days I have had so many of the past few years, so I sat in my lounger outside, the early morning autumn breeze ruffling my hair, a sweet little dog snuffling for a pat at my side, looking out over our domain, such as it is.  The east sun was filtering through the woods fifty yards in front of me, not yet high enough to cause me any trouble. 
            I had carried a pair of binoculars to do a little bird-watching, but saw on the northeast corner of the property what looked like a giant orange bloom.  So I lifted those heavy lenses and got a surprise.  The bloom did not really exist.  What I saw was the sun shining on a clump of dried out pine straw hanging on a low, dead limb.  I pulled down the binoculars and looked again.  I much preferred the big orange bloom.
            Then I started looking around and saw some more.  The dull green leaves near the top of the tree glinted like small mirrors in the few rays of sun that had pierced through to them.  Even the gray Spanish moss resembled icicles.  I knew in a few minutes the effect would all be gone.  The sun would have risen high enough not to perform these magic tricks.  Still, it reminded me of something important.
            All by myself I am nothing, I can do nothing, and I have nothing to hope for.  But the light of the gospel changes everything.  Through that light, we are able to see the glory of Christ and believe (2 Cor 4:3-6.)  When we are raised from the waters of baptism, God’s glory gives us the power to walk “in newness of life” (Rom 6:4).  We transform ourselves into the image of His Son by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2, 8:29).  When the glory of the Lord shines on us through our submission to his gospel, what looks plain and ordinary becomes beautiful, what looks dead and repulsive becomes glorious.  That’s us we’re talking about—you and me.  We can be beautiful.
            Look at your life today.  Would someone see a beautiful bloom, a sparkling mirror, a glittering icicle?  They only will if you have allowed that light inside you, if you have let it have its way, transforming you into the person God meant you to be from the beginning.  Some will not do this.  They fight it, and offer excuses of all sorts.  “I’m only human after all.”  “No one is perfect.”  “Someone has to have common sense around here and not be such an innocent babe!” “It’s my right after all.”  None of those will give anyone a beautiful view of a child of God.
            Peter reminds us, As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:14-16.  If we are not submissive to his will, we will never be transformed to his image.  We will look like nothing but dried out pine straw on a dead limb, and all the excuses in the world will never change it. 
            “What would Jesus do?” may be an old denominational catch-phrase, but is it any different than, “Be ye holy as I am holy?”  God desires nothing more than for us to be exactly like Christ, “conformed to the image of his son” Rom 8:29, “that you might follow in his steps” 1 Pet 2:21.  If you find yourself looking through the world’s binoculars and seeing nothing but your old self, the light of the gospel has not reached your heart.
            Conform yourself today.  In every aspect of your life, in every action you take, and every word you speak, “be ye holy in all your conduct.”  You can do it, or God wouldn’t have asked it of you.
 
But we all, with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:18

I have a friend who, before she retired, kept a bar of soap in her desk drawer.  Whenever a new young hire came in, it wasn't long before she was telling him about her soap and how much he needed to chew on it awhile.  If you have not noticed, the language around us is simply atrocious. 

"It's just a word," one young co-worker proclaimed.

"Choose another one," she tersely replied.

Why anyone would think that filthy language was appropriate in a professional setting, I cannot imagine.  But then I go out in the world and hear children saying words I would never have breathed aloud when I was young—not if I wanted to sit down again any time soon.

I am not just talking about the four letter words that people usually consider "dirty" or even taking the Lord's name in vain.  As a culture we have become crude and vulgar.  Lucy and Ethel had us rolling in the floor as we watched their antics on the candy wrapping conveyor belt and in the wine vat.  Now we seem to require a heavy dose of bathroom humor or sexual innuendo before anything is deemed funny. 

And talk about hypocrisy—the same media that berates the president for his bad language gives us a show called "S*****'s Creek" and a movie called "Meet the F*****s" with all the attendant jokes that can obviously be made from those two titles.  I won't dignify them with their supposedly cleaned up names.

Do you think it hasn't affected Christians?  I hear words all the time that I would never have been allowed to say without being punished.  No, they aren't "dirty" words.  They're just crude.  Swear words aren't the only words Christians shouldn't be speaking.  I regularly delete posts on Facebook from my brothers and sisters that a Christian shouldn't have spoken aloud to a few, much less put out there for literally thousands to see, demeaning their purity and holiness. 

Our culture has even managed to make it acceptable to use one of the ugliest phrases in our language, a phrase that would have ended up in a parking lot beat down when I was a child.  And the younger generation steadfastly refuses to accept its origin just because they can find no one who knows it either.  My poor husband wound up vilified once because he dared suggest that a brother shouldn't use that term, which refers to a homosexual act.  Even if the younger generation refuses to recognize the vulgarity for what it is, we older folks know exactly what it means and "everyone says it" never has been and never will be an acceptable excuse. 

Is it really that important?  Paul says it is.

And there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. (Eph 5:4)  That term "coarse jesting" is actually one word in the Greek and it isn't necessarily talking about dirty jokes.  It's talking about crudity, vulgarity, double entendres, and any other sort of coarse language.  It refers to bathroom humor, bodily functions, sexual innuendo and anything that should be unacceptable in polite society, and even more so among those who claim lives of purity.  Look at the rest of the context.

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Eph 5:3-5).

Do you see the implications Paul makes?  If I speak like this, I am impure, immoral, and not fit to be in the kingdom.  That's how important this is.  We are supposed to be different.  How will it be known if we sound just like everyone else, and laugh at the same crude humor?  Remember the old Ivory Soap ads?  "99 and 44/100th percent pure," they claimed.  We should be trying for a purity even beyond that, but we end up looking like someone dropped us in a tar pit when we open our mouths.

I am not some ignorant fool who does not realize that Paul spoke from time to time in figures that were shocking.  I would that they that unsettle you would even go beyond circumcision, (Gal 5:12) is a prime example.  But let me ask you this.  How much shock value would that statement have had if he spoke that way all the time?  This was a special circumstance.  People were losing their souls.  When this was read, I imagine there was a collective gasp as everyone suddenly understood how serious Paul was about the matter.  He would never had said such a thing otherwise.

Us?  We sound like that constantly, just for laughs, or even about the trivial everyday stuff.  I feel like my friend—I need to carry a bar of soap around.  But I never imagined I would have to offer it to a brother.
 
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Eph 4:29)
 
Dene Ward

Did you brush your teeth this morning?  Are you sure?  Do you really remember it, or are you remembering yesterday morning, or a morning last week?  How many other things do we do automatically, without thinking?  How about those scary times when you have been driving 10 or 15 minutes and suddenly realize you don’t remember that stop sign half a mile from the house or anything else between there and here?
            How about your spiritual life?  How many things do we do automatically?  We have a tendency to condemn that sort of thing, acting without thinking, as if it is hypocrisy, but is that always the case?
            I have always been in the same place every Sunday morning of my life, barring illness or injury.  No, the physical location may not be the same, but anyone who knows me, knows that on Sunday mornings I am assembling with my brothers and sisters in the Lord at wherever I happen to be.  There is never any question what I will do on Sunday morning if I am at all able.
            I used to worry about falling asleep in the middle of my final prayer of the day.  Surely, “pillow talk” is a close, intimate form of communication.  In fact, it is one thing we miss in our marriage—you cannot whisper to a deaf man.  So why should I be remorseful about falling asleep while having a comfortable, private moment with my Father?  Yes, there are times for more formal, reverential prayers, but who else would I rather be speaking to in my last conscious moments of the day, and why should He be upset with me if I feel so comfortable and easy with Him?  It’s not like it’s the only time we speak.  It is, in fact, second nature for me to do so.
            “Second nature” is defined as an acquired behavior or trait that is so long practiced as to seem natural or inborn.  It comes from an old proverb, “Custom (or usage) is a second nature,” which was first recorded in 1390. 
            “First” nature, then, would be things we do instinctively, that are inborn.  When we are born again into the kingdom of God, it becomes our responsibility to change our behavior, practicing it so frequently, that it eventually becomes our “second” nature, something we do automatically, with hardly any thought at all, but which we had to learn. 
            In the beginning of my life as a Christian I must consciously make decisions about how to react to others and how to order my new life.  Eventually, though, if I am practicing these things on a regular basis, that should become easier and easier.  How long have I been a Christian yet I still fly off the handle, still say things I should not say, still lower myself to the level of the world by seeking revenge over the silliest things in the most childish ways?  I must not be working hard enough to change those habits, for that is what they are, and they can be changed with enough effort, and with the help of Christ.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me, Phil 4:13.
            This does not mean there will no longer be moments of weakness, times when I am more susceptible to my old behaviors.  But if those old behaviors are still constant in my life, where is the transformation Paul talks about in Romans 12?  Why have I not become more closely conformed to the image of his son, (Rom 8:29)?  Something about me is supposed to have undergone a permanent change!
            Certainly, I must have my mind on my prayers and the words I sing.  I must listen consciously and carefully to those who seek to edify me.  My worship must not be rote.  But there is something to be said for operating on automatic pilot in my spiritual life. At some point it must reach past what I do, and become a matter of who I am.  If this never happens, then something is missing, and I need to find it—and fix it—soon.
 
Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new, 2 Cor 5:17.
 
Dene Ward

We had a storm a few days ago.  That in itself is not unusual.  Summer afternoons in Florida often include thunderstorms that go as quickly as they come.  But it reminded me of one we had a few years back, when Magdi, our first Australian cattle dog, was still alive.  It was not an ordinary storm. 
            You could hear it coming for about an hour, thunder in the distance, black clouds boiling in an increasing breeze that brought the smell of rain and ozone.  Finally the bottom fell out.  You could hardly see the bushes right outside the windows it was raining so hard.  Afterward, checks on the clock and the rain gauge would show that it rained 1.9 inches in 20 minutes.  Before long, we saw the fruit of Keith’s hours and hours of backbreaking labor, hauling dirt with a shovel and a wheelbarrow, creating a berm around the house.  It looked like we were on an island in the middle of a river, its strong current at least four inches deep as the water rushed down the slope, around the house, and toward the run to the east of us.  It would keep running nearly two hours after the rain stopped, and we drained just fine, but meanwhile I found myself humming, “The rains came down and the floods came up…”
            Suddenly lightning struck in the trees just across the fence to the north.  The clap was so loud I screamed, and even Keith, out in the shed without his hearing aids, heard it, and saw a ball of fire at the top of a pine at the same time.  He said Magdi shot out from her favorite place under the porch, eyes wide as saucers, circling here and there in the pouring rain looking for someplace safe.  He called her into the shed, normally a forbidden place, and petted her dripping and quivering sides until she calmed down.  We never saw Chloe until after the storm, but when we did, her tail was plastered down hard between her legs, the end of it curled up under her belly.  It didn’t come back up for two days.
            That reminded me of the Israelites’ reaction to God at Mt Sinai.  They were so terrified of the darkness, thunder, and lightning that they begged Moses that God would no longer speak to them.  I find Moses’ reply interesting:  Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you that you may not sin, Ex 20:20.
            I think that might just be our problem.  We aren’t afraid enough any more. 
            I can remember when a certain phrase was not only forbidden in polite society, it was certainly never said on television or radio.  It was considered “taking the Lord’s name in vain.”  Now I hear it all the time, even from children.  When ten-year-olds have an abbreviation for it in their text messages, “omg,” something has been lost in our reverence for God.
            The Word of God is called a book of myths, even by people who claim to live by it, even by some who claim to be its ministers.  Religions people are pictured in fiction and drama as bigots, fanatics, hypocrites or maniacs. God, Jesus, Satan, and the struggle against sin are used as comic foils by entertainers.  When I start thinking about how far we have gone down this road, it’s a wonder to me that lightning isn’t popping around us constantly.
            We, the people of God, have even taken the concept of “the fear of God” and watered it down to the point that it means nothing more than the respect we might show our own fathers.  Isaiah, when he had seen merely a vision of God said, Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, 6:5.  Isaiah was feeling a whole lot more than simple respect.  If there was ever a time when he could overcome sin more easily, it was probably in the weeks and months after that vision. 
            I have a feeling that if we ever stood in the presence of God we would finally understand what the fear of God is all about.  Some day we will.  I just hope it is not too late.
 
Any one who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.  How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?  For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine.  I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, Heb 10:28-31.
 
Dene 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

In case you didn't figure it out from the last post, the answer to the question that probably sprang to your mind is, "Yes."  I do have a participation trophy.  I know many young women who are as innocent and inexperienced as I was at 18, which is the year I received my trophy.  I hope what I am about to say will help you avoid the experience I had.  Some of these things I learned as a direct result of the harassment I endured.  Some of them come from the wisdom of age or from listening to other women who endured the same kinds of things.  It's time we prepared our daughters for the real world.  Sexual harassment comes in all shapes and sizes.  Some of it is fairly minor, and other times it is violent and criminal.  No matter which side of the scale, it is always terrifying and traumatic. 
            1.  Be careful what you wear to work or class or wherever you may encounter men who are in authority over you.  Yes, you may have the right to wear whatever you want to wear, at least as an American, but you may put yourself at risk as well as calling your reputation into question and giving the harasser "reasonable doubt" as he denies your allegations.  This one thing may be the most important thing I tell you.
            Don't wear anything that calls attention to your body—any part of it at all.  No tight pants, tight sweaters, short skirts, transparent blouses, or deep necklines.  Practice in front of a mirror how you sit, noticing what happens when you cross your legs.  Lean over as you would over a desk and look up to see whether your neckline falls open.  For good measure, make it a point to hold your hand flat on your neckline any time you lean over in front of anyone anywhere.
            Don't wear anything that shows a lot of skin—large expanses of leg, chest, shoulders and back.  If you are always cold, maybe it's because too much of you is uncovered.  Spaghetti straps might as well not be there for all the good they do, not to mention strapless.  A belly chain on an exposed midriff speaks volumes.  As I said, you may have the right to wear what you want to, but there is a difference between exercising your rights and lacking common sense.
            Fathers, if your daughters don't understand these things, tell them why this is so important.  You are her leader and guide and protector, the one who is supposed to be looking out for her welfare, not throwing her out to the wolves.
            2.  If a man says anything about what you are wearing, tell him right then that the remark was inappropriate.  All right, so a male friend looks up and say, "Hey, you look nice today."  That might be perfectly innocent.  Some men have no idea what is and is not appropriate to say.  But if he says, "Wow!  I bet your husband (or boyfriend) likes that outfit," he is out of line.  If he says anything about the length, the tightness, the shortness, or the neckline, he is equally out of line.  Tell him so and then go document the remark in a notebook you keep just for that sort of thing, and keep that notebook safe and hidden.  Do not tell anyone else about it.  Then pray you will never need it.
            3.  Do not let a man into your private space.  Private space may be smaller in an office than in a parking lot, but still, no one needs to be standing so close to you that you can tell what he had for lunch.  If a man comes too close, step back.  If he persists, try talking loudly enough for people to look up and notice, and if necessary say, "Back up.  That's close enough."  LOUDLY.  He will get the point.  Then document the encounter.
            4. Do not allow yourself to be cornered in a room.  Always pay attention to the situation.  Don't be caught unawares.  Keep doors open and make sure you have a way of escape.
            5.  Never, ever, touch a man.  Unless it is the polite, firm handshake of one professional greeting another, keep your hands to yourself.  If his collar is crooked, tell him so and let him go fix it.  Men read all sorts of things into touches, things that never cross a woman's mind, especially a chaste woman. 
            6.  Do not allow a man to touch you.  I know an older woman who had to deal with a boss who made it a point as he walked past his female employees to be close enough and to have his arms just far enough out to brush their breasts as he passed.  In those days, no one turned a boss in.   But she learned quickly to cross her arms across her chest as he came by.  She said the first time he just snickered as he walked past.  He knew exactly what she was doing, but that also told him that she knew exactly what he was doing too, and so would her husband. 
            No one should be stroking your arm or rubbing your neck.  Certainly no one should put an arm around you or hold your hand.  If he tries, just move away.  Then document it.
            7.  Do not meet with your boss, professor, etc, after hours, alone.  If he says you have work to do together, tell him you need to call your husband (or father or boyfriend) to wait in the office for you, or if it is too small, in the next room—with the door open.  If he says all right, you were probably safe, but you never know.  If he is insulted, tell him you are sorry but it is a policy you and your husband, etc. have, nothing against him.  It should be a policy you have.  Take care of that tonight.
          8.  If anything does happen, even something less than criminal behavior, go to whoever is in charge and take your notebook with you.  That is why you have been keeping it—to show a pattern of bad behavior.  If you have made it specific as to time, date, and specific words and circumstances, it will obviously be true. But do everything you possibly can to make this unnecessary by exercising the common sense principles above.  The fallout will be difficult.
            I doubt this is everything, but I wish someone had told me at least this much.  As a Christian you have the responsibility to keep yourself pure and to do whatever you can not to cause someone else to sin.  We women call men oblivious all the time.  Some women are just as oblivious about this subject.
From someone who knows:  trust me.  You do not want a participation trophy.
 
​Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! (Ps 119:1)
 
Dene Ward