Our last two dogs are the only purebreds we have ever had—Australian cattle dogs.  Not Australian shepherds—different breed altogether—but cattle dogs, often called heelers.  As is usually the case with purebreds, they had a few health issues that ordinary dogs (mutts) do not have.  Chloe, for example, has rampant allergies.
              At least twice a year for a good three months at the time, she wakens in the morning with a stuffy, runny nose.  I have already written about how disgusting it can be to see what looks like two strands of spaghetti hanging out of a dog's nose.  She has learned to "wipe" her nose every morning on the grass, but that only gets rid of the worst of it and before long she looks like a toddler with a bad cold—a wet, shiny spot under her nose that she can even blow bubbles in. 
              Because of that, her sense of smell is not so hot.  We throw treats for her in the morning and often have to get up and help her find them.  Even those loud-smelling things that look like bacon strips are difficult for her to sniff up.  I have seen her step right over a snake when all of our other dogs have smelled them a good five feet away and either gone into a point or a crouch, ready to save their masters from the big, bad boogie-creature.  But not Chloe.  Whoever heard of a dog with no sense of smell?
              And whoever heard of a Christian who has no sense of right?  Whoever heard of someone who claims to be a child of God but does not understand purity and holiness in his life?
              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.”  (1Pet 1:14-16)  Peter seems to expect that we will want to emulate our Father, just as small children like to wear their daddy's shoes and put on his hats, only in this case we emulate His holiness.
              Paul lists in 2 Corinthians 6 the promises we have as children of God and finishes it up with a great motivational passage:  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.  "Let's cleanse ourselves," he says, as if it is something we should all want to do.  (2Cor 7:1)  We are ungrateful children when we do not grow in our holiness and purity.
              And then, of course, Peter gives us the ultimate in motivation in these words:  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! (2Pet 3:11-12)  If the positive won't work, the glorious promise of His welcoming us as His children (2 Cor 6:17, 18), perhaps the fear of punishment will do the trick!
              I have heard people say that we need to learn how to be holy and pure and righteous.  Really?  Just ask your neighbors what a Christian should and should not do, how they should talk and dress, what sort of entertainment they ought not to participate in.  Seems that even the godless know more than some of my brothers and sisters.  If nothing else, look at the godly people who sit around you on Sunday morning.  What do those women wear?  How do those men talk?  Do they stop at the bar for a drink after work?  Do they watch smut on TV?  It is not that hard to figure out what is and is not holy and pure behavior.
              Whoever heard of a Christian who doesn't live a life of purity and holiness?  Whoever heard of a child of God with no sense of right?  Chloe can't help having no sense of smell.  We don't have her excuse.
 
For My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing what is evil, but they do not know how to do what is good. (Jer 4:22)
 
Dene Ward

A few Sundays ago the chill weather made it possible for me to wear my best suit, one a little heavier than anything else I have, one a little more expensive, but a hand-me-down from a friend.  We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a couple of limited time specials.  That’s one way we stay financially afloat—picking up specials when we are already the thirty miles into town for assembly.
              So we were loading the trunk and as she passed, a stranger said to me, “That’s a lovely suit.  You’ve been to church, haven’t you?  I apologize for being nosy, but would you mind telling me where you attend?”
              Would I mind?!  Of course I spent the next five or ten minutes telling her where I attend, when we meet, who we are, and what we do.  Then I handed her a blog card and pointed out my contact information in case she had more questions.  “Please email me or just call.  I can give you more detailed directions,” I finished with.
              I know a lot of people who no longer “dress up” for church.  They certainly have that right.  But I know a lot of others who go even further—who tell those of us who grew up doing it that we are wrong, that we are trying to be Christians on the outside instead of the inside.  I have yet to figure out why wearing my good suit on Sunday makes me a hypocrite any more than someone who thinks sitting on the pew in jeans on Sunday then dressing up for the boss all week makes him a Christian. 
              In fact, tell me this.  If you were this woman and you were searching, who would you ask on a Sunday about noon at the grocery store—the guy in shorts, tee shirt and flip-flops or the man with a tie on?  The lady with a dress on or the one with cut-offs and an oversized shirt hanging over her waistline?  Maybe there is something to be said after all for making it obvious on a Sunday that you have been to church. 
              But then we have this point—it isn’t what you wear on Sunday that makes the Christian; it’s what you wear every day. 
              Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do you: and above all these things [put on] love, which is the bond of perfectness, Col 3:12-14.
              My neighbors need to see these spiritual clothes every day.  There can be no “dressing down” spiritually after you have “put on Christ” in baptism, Gal 3:27.  The people I work with, the people I go to school with, the people I come into contact with, especially on a regular basis, should know by my speech and my actions that “I went to church on Sunday.”  God won’t accept a “casual Friday” set of spiritual clothes any day of the week.
              I’ve had a great many things make people ask me questions—maybe that’s a good subject for another day, but it all boils down to this—I have to look different.  Whether it’s how I act, how I speak, how I run my family, or any number of ways, it needs to be obvious.  Let’s stop making judgments about one another’s literal clothes, and just go out there and show people who we are with the spiritual wardrobe of a child of God. 
 
The night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof] Romans 13:12-14.
 
Dene Ward

Another checkup, another new disorder.  I did not realize there were so many things that could go wrong with an eyeball.  Remember freshman biology in high school?  The model of the eye sat up on its white plastic pedestal stand, and you could lift off the layers and see the various parts of the eye:  the cornea, the pupil, the iris, and the retina.  You might see the optic nerve running off from the back, and if you had a particularly diligent teacher you might hear the words sclera (eyeball skin) and vitreous humor (eyeball fluid), but that was it.  That is what we were all taught an eyeball was made up of.  Let me tell you, that is not even half of it!
              My knowledge has come a long way in the past 17 years, but once again I have learned something new, something else that can go wrong.  I won't trouble you with the four word disorder or describe it.  Here is the frightening thing:  within five years I could need a cornea transplant to save the eye.  HOWEVER, in all caps, italicized, and underlined, the so-called easy cure is not for me.  All these other problems I have make me a horrible candidate for that surgery—unless there is just no other choice.  And should that be the case, the complications may very well cost me the eye.
              My vision may now have a real, concrete time limit.  So what do I do in the meantime?  Of course I pray.  That is obvious.  I have already had one timely "coincidence" save my vision for a while longer.  God can certainly make that happen again.  But in the words of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, "Even if he doesn't…" how shall I prepare myself for the days of darkness ahead of me?
              Instead of making this a totally self-absorbed post, let's consider your days of darkness, too, because it does not have to be blindness we are talking about here.  What is troubling you?  What lies ahead in your life that either might come or definitely will come, all things being equal?  What should any of us do to prepare for those frightening times?
              Let us fill our minds with the good.  Are you reading his Word on a daily basis, not just a minimal chapter a day, but a good hour of real study time?  Are you spending time with brothers and sisters in worship, in study together, in encouragement and exhortation?  Have you ever taken advantage of the extra studies that take place during the week, both at the building and in homes?
              Do you follow the admonition of Paul?  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. 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)
             Or do you spend more time on Facebook, surfing the web, playing video games, watching mindless or, worse, worldly entertainment, or any number of other time-wasters that are using up the precious time you have left?  How are you preparing for the moment when all you will have due to a disability or an illness or other circumstance is what you have stored in your heart?
              The days of darkness will come, sooner or later, for all of us.  What will see you through it?
 
For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. (Ps 18:28).
 
Dene Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.
 
“And the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins." So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. And I said to her, "You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you." For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days.”

The first three chapters of Hosea show God using Hosea’s life as an allegory of God’s relationship with Israel. Hosea is told to marry a woman who will turn to adultery, so he marries Gomer, who begins cheating on Hosea almost immediately (his third child’s name is “Not Mine”). This was to show the people how God felt about the nation turning from Him. By chapter three, Gomer has left Hosea for idolatry so completely that Hosea has to pay to get her back. By the way, while the price doesn’t jump off the page at us since it is mixed silver and grain, the value of that much grain was about 15 shekels of silver, so the total price paid was 30 pieces of silver. Hosea’s wife was now valued as much as a gored slave. (Ex. 21:32) Upon retrieving her, Hosea tells her she will have to live with him as a servant for a good while and remain faithful before he would consider re-establishing their marriage relationship.

God then says in the last two verses that His relationship with Israel would be much the same, due to their sins. They would remain without king, prince, ephod, or sacrifice for many days before He’d renew His relationship with those who would seek Him and the Messiah (“David their king” in a figure). We can actually track the fulfillment of this relationship prophecy by paying attention to tabernacle/temple dedications.

When Moses dedicated the original tabernacle, there was a seminal moment that showed God’s commitment to a relationship with Israel: Ex. 40:34-35 “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” God’s glory so filled the tabernacle that Moses couldn’t even get into the tent. Symbolically, God came down to live among His people. When the Temple replaced the tabernacle in the time of Solomon, something very similar occurred at the dedication: 1 Kings 8:10-11 “And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.” Again, the glory of God filled the temple. He was among His people, ready for a close relationship with them. Then the people turned away from God and began to worship idols. He sent prophet after prophet to lead them back, but the people never changed. Finally, he came in judgment and sent them into exile in Babylon. At this time Ezekiel sees an interesting vision. In chapters 10 and 11 of his book, Ezekiel describes the vision of God’s glory leaving the temple and ultimately the land of Israel. God’s people had rebuffed Him, so He withdrew His presence and the close relationship was over.

Bringing the remnant back from captivity was much like Hosea buying Gomer back from her servitude. Just as Hosea had told Gomer that their relationship as husband/wife wouldn’t restart immediately, God had told Israel that there would be many days without a close relationship with Him. Again, there is evidence of this in the temple dedication.

Ezra 6:16-18 “And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses.”

The dedication was celebrated with joy and there were many sacrifices made, but did you notice what was missing? Unlike in Moses’ or Solomon’s day, the glory of the Lord never came down to inhabit the new Temple. God’s presence WASN’T among His people. The close relationship was over, for now.

Many days later, God sent His Son. There were those in Israel (spiritual Israel) who sought God and “David their King” and God renewed the relationship, just as He promised. Notice how the description of what happened to the Apostles in Acts 2 fits to the earlier descriptions of God’s glory entering the Temple.

Acts 2:2-4 “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

The house was “filled” with the sound. More importantly, the men were “filled” with the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t just a building or tent filled, it was men who were filled. It wasn’t the symbolic glory of God, it was God’s Spirit that filled the men. God had come to be among His people again. The road to a relationship with Him was again open. Just as Hosea prophesied.

Lucas Ward

“It’s just for fun,” I keep hearing.  “I know it doesn’t mean anything.” 
              If it doesn’t mean anything, why am I wasting my time on it?  And since when does God ever countenance sin “just for fun?”
              Astrology, palm reading, psychics, mediums, “ghost whisperers”—God condemns every one of these things and all their cousins in His word.
              There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this, Deut 18:10-14.  “God has not allowed you to do this.”  Isn’t that plain enough?  And if it isn’t, do you really want to be lumped in with people who sacrifice their children?
              “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers (people who claim to consult the dead}; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God, Lev 19:31.  It makes you unclean, unfit to serve God.
              And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead? Isa 8:19.  It doesn’t even make sense, God tells us. 
              But it does make sense to Satan.  If he can get you to listen to anyone besides God, he has made his first inroad into your heart.  And lest anyone say, “These are all Old Testament passages,” let’s remind him of Gal 5:20 where these things are lumped under the heading of sorcery and labelled “a work of the flesh.”
              And no, these condemnations are not only to those who actually practice these things as Ezekiel makes crystal clear:  And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the [false] prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike--Ezek 14:10.  You can’t play around with this stuff and not be considered guilty, even if all you do is ask them a question.  Even brand new Christians understood that in Acts 19:18-20, and at great financial loss burned their books of divination.  It was obvious to them, babes that they were, that these things were an abomination to God.
              So please, stop playing with fire.  Stop making excuses.  Don’t let yourself be so fascinated that you lose all sense of right and wrong.  God will not tolerate a little playing around.  To Him it is sin, plain and simple.
 
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death, Rev 21:8.
 
Dene Ward

Have you finished the leftover turkey marathon yet?  Turkey pot pie, turkey divan, turkey enchiladas, turkey soup, turkey salad, and anything else that will use up a good-sized portion of that leftover bird.  It seems they all have something in common—some sort of sauce, gravy, or broth to make the endlessly heated up, dried out meat palatable.  If you like turkey leftovers, it is not the turkey you like—it is what the turkey becomes, a new dish with flavorful moist ingredients that fill you up and satisfy your hunger.  You can only reheat unadorned meat so many times before it turns into sawdust.
            While my family enjoys leftover turkey dishes, God most emphatically does not like leftovers. 
            If you are a gardener, you understand the concept of first-fruits.  The first pickings, like the first serving of turkey, are always the best.  By the end of the summer the beans are tough, the corn is starchy, the squash is wormy, and the tomatoes are small and hard or half-rotten.  That is why you doll them up in casseroles and sauces.  I always make the tomato sauce in July.  The June tomatoes are ripe, sweet and juicy, far too good to turn into sauce.
            God has always expected the first-fruits from His people. The first of the first-fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Jehovah your God, Ex 23:19.  He expected the first-fruits of everything to be given to His servants, the priests, who waited on Him night and day, And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. The first-fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him, Deut 18:3,4.
            The Israelites in Malachi’s day discovered exactly how God felt about offerings that were less than the best.  You offer polluted bread upon my altar. And you say, Wherein have we polluted you? In that you say, The table of Jehovah is contemptible. And when you offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! And when you offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now to your governor; will he be pleased with you? Or will he accept you? says Jehovah of hosts, Mal 1:7,8..
            We usually cite these verses when it comes time to put money in the plate.  Certainly we should be planning ahead, “purposing in our hearts” what we will give to God, rather than reaching for the leftover change in our pockets.  But what about the rest of our “offerings?”
            Too many of us give God our leftover time.  Rather than planning to pray and study, scheduling time in the week to care for our brothers and sisters in need, and putting our assemblies at the top of our agendas, we wait till we have finished what we consider necessary, then look to see if we can give any time and energy to God.  Usually it is too late, or we are too tired, or something else that really cannot be rescheduled takes the last few minutes of our day.  If there is time, we are tired, our energy flagging and our concentration poor.  No wonder some of the children I have taught in Bible classes treat the concept of a family Bible study as something unheard of.  No wonder the adults in Bible classes sit close-mouthed with little to offer to edify their brothers and sisters, or spout out something that even a quick study of scripture would prove to be wrong.
            It only makes sense for us to give God our best.  God has given us His best too, an only begotten Son, the firstfruits of them that are asleep, 1 Cor 15:20, as a hope of the resurrection.
            God not only expects us to give our first-fruits, he expects us to be one. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures, James 1:18.  Maybe that is the problem—our lives do not match the concept.  Instead, we are the blemished fruit, the tough, small, wormy, and half-rotten.  How can we give God anything else when that is all we have to offer?  This business of leftover offerings covers far more than the collection plate, far more than we would like to believe.
            Turkey leftovers are one thing.  They have a place, especially in the lives of those trying to be good stewards of their blessings.  But leftovers in my service to God might as well be fed to the dog.
 
Honor Jehovah with your substance, and with the first-fruits of all your increase: So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your vats shall overflow with new wine, Prov 3:8,9.
 
Dene Ward

We saw that sign on the side of the road, complete with exclamation point at the end.  “Fresh Cut Firewood!” followed by a phone number.  I wondered how many people fell for it. 
 
             Here’s another one:  “Olives fresh off the tree!”  I actually saw someone fall for that one, and he never will again.

              You see what sounds good may not always be good.  Fresh cut firewood is green—it won’t burn.  Firewood needs to sit and dry out for awhile, at least a year down here in this humid climate.  In fact, when Keith cuts wood in the winter, it is for the next year, not the present year.

              When it comes to religion a lot of people fall for what sounds good.  For example, just like firewood is a good thing to have when you own a woodstove, unity is a good thing to have among Christians.  God demands it among His people.  We are not supposed to be arguing all the time.  We should not be dividing into cliques and basing that upon carnal things like status and wealth.  But God also set some qualifications on the matter. 

              The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable…James 3:17.  Unity is a wonderful thing, but you never sacrifice purity for the sake of unity.  The New Testament is full of admonitions to be pure in heart, pure in doctrine, pure in fellowship.  “A little leaven leavens the whole lump,” Paul warns the Corinthians when he tells them to withdraw from the adulterous brother (1 Cor 5:6).  If you want to worship a holy Father, then you have to be holy, Peter tells his readers (1 Pet 1:15,16). 

              As children of God we hope to be like Him some day, John says, but that will only happen if we purify ourselves and stay that way (1 John 5:2,3).  Earlier in his letter he talks about fellowship with God.  Fellowship implies unity, but while unity with one another is important, unity with God is even more important and it cannot happen if we do not keep ourselves pure, or place unity with the impure ahead of unity with God.

              As to that second sign I mentioned above, olives fresh off the tree may sound good, but the informed know that they are too bitter to eat.  They must be processed first or they will turn your mouth inside out in a permanent pucker.  I am sure you could go on and on with the things you are familiar with that others might not be.  Here is the point:  don’t be taken in by how things sound.  Read the Word.  Study it and see the entirety of truth on a subject, not just one angle.  God expects you to see His angle, not the one you think sounds best.
 
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, 2 Thes 2:9-12.
 
Dene Ward
 

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

I walked down the sidewalk toward a class and one of the young men lounging against a building said, "Babykiller." It was 1971 and no secret that I had been in the Marines or that I had not been to Vietnam. The insult stung for all the buddies I had lost in that useless conflict and my step hesitated for just a second and then I went on. The class was the book of Hebrews and it would have been a shame to miss for a fight. But, I have recently decided that he was right.

Often people ask, "How could a good God let babies die," or "suffer horrible diseases." One answer is that man sinned and sin and death are in the world and since disease and death are indiscriminate, sometimes the innocent suffer. It does not seem fair to me either that the baby should suffer because some adult sinned. It is clear that sin and disease and death are not on a one for one ratio in our lives, but there is little question that death rules the world because we keep on sinning. It is not only a result of Adam's sin as Paul clearly states, "and so death spread to all men because all sinned"-- (Rom 5:12). Death and sickness and pain and loss because I sinned, because you sinned.
 
A situation in David's life illustrates how one man's sin brought destruction on others who were innocent of what he had done.  David numbered the children of Israel over the protests of Joab. God offered him 3 choices for the punishment of this sin (lack of trust in God).

So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Take your choice: three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes with the sword of your enemy overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD — a plague on the land, the angel of the LORD bringing destruction to the whole territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I should take back to the One who sent me.” (1Chr 21:11-12).  David chose number three because he trusted that God was merciful. Then, as 70,000 Israelites died in the plague, he appealed to God, "And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O LORD my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people.” (1Chr 21:17). God stopped the plague. Whoever the 70,000 were, men, women, children, they were innocent of the sin that brought the plague.

If nothing else, we must learn that God is holy and even our "little sins" bring great consequences. Further, the consequences of sin are all around us in this life as well as awaiting us in eternity. Trust God's mercy and escape the eternal consequences though disease and death will haunt us and prefigure them all our days.

So, all have sinned and we are all responsible for the ugly diseases and unfair deaths that strike innocents and guilty alike. I am a baby killer and so are you. When will we recognize the "exceeding sinfulness of sin" and stop sinning through the power of the grace of Jesus Christ?

Jeremiah stood among the ruins of Jerusalem where many children had died in the siege by the Babylonians and exclaimed,  Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins? (Lam 3:39).
 
Keith Ward

The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. For he has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods, Psalm 24:1,2.
 
            Many scholars believe that the twenty-fourth psalm was written by David to celebrate the arrival of the Ark of the Covenant to his new capital, Jerusalem.  When you read 1 Chronicles 13 and 15 and see the great amount of singing and worshipping going on, and then read the words to this psalm, that supposition makes good sense, and the ancient writings of the rabbis attest to it as well.

            However, even here at the beginning of the psalm David sees a danger in settling this manifestation of God’s presence in one location—the people would be tempted to think that God was stuck there, that He did not reign over the rest of the earth, much less any other people.  So he begins this psalm with the passage above to remind them that God could not be put in a literal box, and certainly not in a figurative box of one’s own expectations and understanding.  God made the whole world, and therefore rules the whole world and every person on it.

            David was right to be so concerned.  Ezekiel spent several of his opening chapters trying to get the same point across to the captives in Babylon by the canal Chebar, who believed that God was no longer with them, but still back in Jerusalem.  He is right here with you, Ezekiel told them.  That is the point of that amazing vision in chapter one—God can be anywhere at any time.

            Do you think we don’t have the same problem?  We keep trying to put God in a box called a church building or a meetinghouse or whatever your own bias leans toward calling it.  That’s why we have people who compartmentalize their religion.  They think “church” is all about what happens at the building, and the change in their behavior when they leave that building is the proof of it. 

            A man who can recite the “plan of salvation” in Bible class will cheat his customers to his own gain during the week.

            A woman who can quote proof texts verbatim on Sunday morning will turn around and gossip over the phone every other day of the week.

            A couple who appears every time the door is opened will carry on a running feud with a neighbor and treat each other as if none of the passages in the New Testament apply to anyone with the same last name. 

            What? God asked His people.  Will you act like the heathen around you six days a week “and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?”  Jer 7:10.  David used the middle of this psalm to remind the people who was fit to come before the presence of the LORD—only men of holiness, honesty, and integrity, not just on the Sabbath, but always. 

            Because they put God in a box called after the covenant He made with them, they thought that their behavior only counted in His presence, forgetting the lessons that both David and Solomon had tried to teach them—God cannot be confined to anything manmade, not even the most magnificent Temple ever built by men, much less a comparatively miniscule box.  As David proclaimed in finishing Psalm 24, Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!...The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! — Selah. 

            Selah--pause, and feel the impact.
 
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? ​He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation, Psa 24:3-5.
 
Dene Ward

Summer thunderstorms are nothing unusual in Florida.  Even when we don’t have a hurricane, we can count on dark skies, roiling clouds, strong winds, and heavy downpours almost every afternoon from June through September.  This summer seems to have been worse than usual.

              Just in the past four days we have had two storms that knocked the power out for a total of seven hours, with two plus inches falling in an hour’s time.  In fact, this last time we had an inch and a half in thirty minutes flat.  The water ran down from the top of the hill in a river around the house and down to the creek just past the boundary fence.  The wind blew the rain in vertical sheets, leaving standing water an inch deep on the covered carport, and the screened porch floor wet to the wall of the house.  The wind blew in gusts that twisted fifteen foot long pine limbs off the trees—green limbs, not rotten ones.  Smaller limbs flew by as we watched, almost as thick as the rainwater.  The lightning was loud and close and almost constant.  When I stepped inside and saw the power was out I was not really surprised.  This was one angry storm.

              And suddenly I thought, “This was the kind of rain Noah lived through.”  God was angry.  He would not have sent a gentle patter of raindrops on that gopher wood roof.  His wrath would have been obvious in the gusty winds tearing roofs off houses and branches off trees.  He would have vented his anger in the boom of thunder rolling over the hills, hills that slowly and inevitably disappeared under the waves.  That last storm we had scared me just a little; I bet the one Noah endured for forty days was terrifying.

              And we need to be terrified too.  An angry God is not the God we want to face on judgment day.  Do not let the world, and sometimes even the brethren, blur your view of an irate God who cannot countenance sin.  You need that picture to keep you straight sometimes, and so do I.  It’s too easy to think, “This is no big deal; God won’t mind this once; God is a God of mercy,” and forget the God of wrath and vengeance.  Don’t let anyone turn “fear” into nothing more than respect.  You can love someone and fear them too.  Anyone who had a godly father knows that.  Don’t let them lie to you and steal your soul by telling you otherwise.

              By the end of summer I am ready for a calm fall.  I want sunny days and gentle breezes.  I am sure that’s what we want from God too, but just as those storms do good for this land—replenishing the water table and keeping the tropical plants green—remembering the stormy wrath of God can do your soul good too.  Don’t forget it.
 
Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end, Ezek 13:13.

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience, Eph 5:3-6.
 
Dene Ward