I was utterly confused when the older lady asked me about the bread recipe I had mentioned.
 
             “Is it short?” she wanted to know.

              The reply on the tip of my tongue was that it was about an inch high, but intuition told me that was not what she meant.  Someone else came to my rescue then and I gradually realized over the first few years of married life that “short” in cooking had nothing to do with height. 

              Shortening does exactly what its name implies.  It shortens the strands of gluten in a bread dough.  In a quick bread, which doesn’t take hours to rest and rise, that is important.  If it were not “shortened” it would be too tough to chew.  So biscuits, cornbread and other un-yeasted breads are far shorter than yeasted ones.

              Which shortening you choose makes a world of difference too.  Butter, oils, meat fats, and plain old shortening are the most commonly used, and the texture and flavor you want determines which one.  If you want a sandier texture, use oil; if you want a flakier texture, use shortening.  If the flavor makes a difference, choose olive oil for Mediterranean breads and bacon fat for cornbread—if you are from the south, that is. 

              Some recipes call for a mix of two or more shortenings to produce the best of each.  You want a great cookie?  Click on my recipes on the left sidebar and then click on Almond Crunch Cookies, which use both oil and butter—great flavor plus sandy texture. 

             I prefer to keep my pie crusts plain so they won’t detract from the filling.  To that end I use shortening only.  It also makes a flakier crust.  Others mix butter and shortening, but I can tell you from experience that an all butter pie crust is difficult to work with and tends to be heavy.
 
             Then there is cornbread.  I can tell from a recipe whether the cook is from up north or down south.  Northerners use less cornmeal, a good bit of sugar, and either oil or melted butter as their shortening—except maybe some Midwesterners who live where pork is king.  I nearly flipped when a television chef based in New York used 1 cup of cornmeal to three cups of flour.  To a southerner, it’s called cornbread because it has both the taste and texture of dried corn, plus that wonderful yumminess of bacon in the background.

              I have been trying to figure out what we Christians use as our shortening, and I think it has to be love.  Love can change both the texture and flavor of what you do.  Notice Mark 10:21:  And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing you lack…  Love made Jesus tell this young man, the one who had done well at keeping the law all his life, exactly what he lacked.  Try doing that without love and see how far it gets you.

              Sometimes love is tasty and easy to get down.  Sticking your finger in cake batter is a whole lot nicer than doing the same with pie crust.  One is far sweeter and has much more flavor than the other.  So pats on the back, compliments and pep rally encouragement are easy to stomach.  It doesn’t take any maturity to handle it well.

           Sometimes love gets a little salty.  Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.  Col 4:6.  Salt can sting an open wound, and sometimes that is exactly what we need—a sharp word to wake us up.  That one is harder to handle, but what are we?  Toddlers who still think that discipline means Mama and Daddy are mean, or adults who have learned the benefits of correction?
 
             Keith grew up in a family where compliments were rare, almost non-existent.  Until the day they died I never once heard his parents praise one of his sermons or Bible lessons.  They viewed criticism as a way of helping, and if they didn’t love him why would they try to help at all?  Most of the people up in those hills were exactly the same way.  They appreciated plain speech, people saying what they mean and meaning what they say.  They viewed pro forma compliments as hypocritical, and indeed, any teacher knows when the man shaking his hand and saying, “Good lesson,” means it and when he doesn’t.

              And we should recognize the value of love in all its forms.  When you know that a rebuke comes from a heart of love it is much easier to take, even a salty one—love shortens those tough strands of “gluten” and makes them tenderer and easier to chew on.  Don’t ever dismiss a word of exhortation because it doesn’t taste good to you.  God expects you to recognize the shortening and use the admonition to improve yourself whether you like its flavor or not. 

             A friend of mine once tried to sift some biscuit mix to “get out all those lumps,” not realizing they were lumps of shortening.  What she produced were the toughest biscuits anyone ever tried to eat.  If you try to get rid of the rebuke, even if it is shortened with love, God won’t be happy with your end product either.  In fact, the comment you get from Him when you try to excuse yourself from not listening is likely to be something like, “That’s tough!”
 
Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it... ​Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy… Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent…Psa 141:5; Prov 27:5,6; Rev 3:19. 
 
Dene Ward
 

I bet you have some of those recipes yourself—Hawaiian pizza, nacho cheese stuffed shells, Mexican lasagna, spinach and feta calzones.  It may not be an upscale restaurant’s version of fusion cooking, but for most of us it’s as close as it gets.  Italian cuisine mixed with Mexican, Greek mixed with Asian, French with Thai, anything to put a little variety in the weeknight meals.  And for many of us, they become some of the family’s favorite dishes.  When the flavors don’t clash but meld together beautifully, the whole dish is improved.
 
             Isn’t that the way the church is supposed to work?  God never meant us to gather in monochromatic assemblies.  He never meant for one ethnic or economic group to position itself higher in the pecking order as the more learned, the more spiritual, the more zealous.  The prophets prophesied a multi-cultural kingdom.  It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways... Isa 2:2-3. 

              Even as far back as Abraham God promised, “In thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed,” Gen 22:17.  Not one nation, not two, but all.  When you read the book of Genesis and watch God funnel his choice down to one people, then in the New Testament see that funnel turned upside down to include salvation for all in the fulfillment of that promise, you cannot possibly exclude anyone and still show a true appreciation for God’s plan. 

              And you cannot make yourself better than any other without annulling grace.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love, Gal 5:6.

              “God is no respecter of persons,” Peter said to Cornelius, and even he had to learn that lesson and teach it to others.  And the struggle went on for years.  Have we not in two millennia finally figured this out?  Even Jesus began the process when he chose Simon the Zealot and Matthew the publican.  If ever two people, even of the same race, could be polar opposites in ideology, it was these two, but they overcame their biases and went on to work peaceably and respectfully together to conquer the world for their Lord—the whole world, not just one race.

              Who are you teaching?  Who are you welcoming into your assemblies?  Who puts their feet under your table and holds your hands during the prayer of thanksgiving for the meal?

              A long time ago, my little boys wanted some friends to stay overnight and go to school with them in the morning.  “We’ll tell the teachers they are our cousins.” 

             We adults looked at one another and smiled.  These playmates were black and my boys were about as fair-skinned as they come.  Their father shook his head and said, “I don’t think that will work.”

              In all innocence and sincerity they asked, “Why not?”

             Finally Keith looked at the father and said, “We’re brothers, aren’t we?  So I guess that makes them cousins after all.”

            Would that we could all be as color-blind as an innocent child, as color blind as the Lord who died for all.


For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise, Gal 3:27-29.
 
Dene Ward

The United States Marine Corps was established by the Second Continental Congress on November 10, 1775, as the Continental Marines.  Still considered "The Marine Corps Birthday," it is celebrated by personnel and veterans alike as a time to remember one's own service and the brothers who have fallen, similar to Veteran's Day but specifically for Marines.  A Birthday Ball is held with a formal dinner, birthday cake, and entertainment.  Perhaps more than any other branch of the services, Marines feel a connection to each other, long after the battles are over.  Yet I have noticed that when it comes to tragedy and hard times, people with the same experiences always find each and create a special bond.

              Over twenty years ago, while on his weekly rounds as a probation officer, Keith was ambushed and shot five times by one of the convicted felons assigned to him.  It was a terrifying experience.  The word spread through all branches of the Department of Corrections and law enforcement.  Once we were sure he would survive and the details of his success in handling it were made known, we received well wishes and get well cards, emails and phone calls from people we did not even know, including the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections. 

           Probation officers all over the state congratulated him because it validated them as law enforcement officers themselves.  Many offered to donate some of their sick leave to him so he wouldn’t have to go on workman’s comp, which would have paid only 2/3 of his salary.  One of the news stories mentioned that he had been in the Marine Corps, and a couple of ex-Marines sent emails ending with the sentiment, “Semper Fi!’  Add this to the people who helped us that very night, including a local fireman who had heard the radio traffic, and after I had driven the forty miles to the town where this all happened and stopped at his station to ask directions, decided to drive me on the next 30 miles to the hospital.  He also called his wife to follow us in his own truck so he would have a ride home, dropped me off at the emergency room, parked the car, and paid the parking fee.

              Brothers in arms come out of the woodwork when a need arises.  They band together and support one another.  They offer service far beyond the minimum precisely because they are brothers.

              That’s the way the church is supposed to work.  We think we have found one that does.  When one of us has a serious surgery, the waiting room is full.  When there is an accident or medical emergency, the walls of the ER are lined with folks awaiting word.  Cars park along every piece of curb in our neighborhoods when one of us is called home.  The line to greet a wayward brother as he arrives back to his spiritual family fills the aisles to the back of the building.  When prayers are requested, if there were such a thing, the switchboard in Heaven would be jammed.  I know.  I have been on the receiving end of those times. 

              I am often bemused by things some do and do not allow to be announced during the services of the assembled church.  “That’s not a work of the church,” is patently false.  We are to “rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.”  We are to “encourage one another to love and good works.”  We are to “train the younger” and “support the weak.”  We are to gather “from house to house” and “practice hospitality one to another.” 

               If we can pray for it, why can’t it be announced?  And if we aren’t praying for the stability of newly married couples, the safe delivery of new babies and their mothers and the wisdom of new young parents, strength for recently graduated seniors set to go out and make their marks in the world, and thanking God for the examples of fiftieth wedding anniversaries, what in the world is wrong with us?  I can see Jesus shaking his head and muttering something about “straining at gnats and swallowing camels,” as we insist on the artificial boundary of a spoken “Amen” before we announce something in exactly the same room to exactly the same people.

              When something momentous happens in a Christian’s life, whether good or bad, his brothers and sisters in arms should come streaming out to meet him with whatever he needs.  He shouldn’t need to count on the world to support him and offer help.  And beyond that, they should be the daily spiritual support, the ones he counts on and runs to, and the ones he in turn aids far beyond the barest necessities.  Shame on any congregation when they are outshone by the carnal groups in this world.  They are supposed to be the spiritual family, the family of God.  When something happens in a family it affects them all, and this family should be the one that cares the most and gives the most because we all share the same Father, the same Savior, and the same salvation—undeserved grace.
 
             Brothers in arms are neither silent nor invisible.  If they are, then they aren’t the brothers they claim to be.  They know what binds them together and nothing can break that cord.
 
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  1Cor 12:26.
 
Dene Ward
 

I am sure you know someone just like him—or her, for that matter.  I know one of each.  "No one can tell me what to do," they say loudly and often.  At the same time, they renew their driver's licenses, pay their bills on time, file a tax return, stop at red lights, and, if they don't obey the speed limit otherwise, they will slam on brakes when a trooper appears over the next rise.

              Still, they rankle when told what to do, even kindly-intentioned advice.  All rules are for others, not them.  And conscientiousness is only for wimps.  When people like this become Christians, if that attitude does not become "Thy will be done," and "Each counting other as better than himself," they will cause trouble wherever they go.  They willfully forget this:  Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. (Heb 5:8).

              Jesus, the Son of God, the Creator of the Universe, learned to obey.  As someone recently told me, I am probably the least qualified person out there to exegete a passage theologically, but this one seems to say that someone did, and indeed could, tell Jesus what to do.  Let's see if we can learn anything from the humble obedience of our Lord.

              1.  Jesus paid the Temple tax, even though he, of all people, should not have had to (Matt 17:24-27).  Peter had assumed the Lord would pay the tax just like everyone else.  It was part of the Law.  First Jesus patiently instructed Peter about why he was not obligated to pay, but then told him he would, "so as not to give offense."  I have seen too many Christians claiming their rights when concern for others' souls should have caused some discretion.  Humility does what it doesn't necessarily have to do for the sake of others.

              2.  Jesus told the people to obey the Pharisees even though they were hypocrites (Matt 23:1).  I have seen Christians go out of their way not to listen to people they disagreed with, even if those people were right according to Scripture.  In fact, I have seen them change their minds just so they wouldn't be on the same "side."  Truth is the only side we should be on.  If that means we are obeying elders or preachers or Bible class teachers who are scripturally correct about that particular thing, even though we might disagree with them about something else, then so be it.  To do otherwise is to disobey God, not men.

              3.  Jesus allowed himself to be led by the Spirit to be tempted (Matt 4:1).  He obeyed this direction of the Spirit for us, so show us how to meet temptation and to prove that it can be done.  How many trials and temptations would we willingly take on for someone else?  It's all most people can do to serve when it's pleasant and convenient, much less uncomfortable and even dangerous. 

              4.  Jesus put up with a group of hard-headed, obtuse, petty, arrogant men, just so he could leave this world with qualified leaders for his church (Matt 16:18, 17:17, etc).  That church was part of God's plan from the beginning (Eph 3:8-12), so it had to be done.  These were the 12 best he could find, yet still it was a struggle, and not all of them made it despite his work, worry, sweat, and tears.  But Jesus did it because it was the Father's plan.  And he puts up with us for the same reason.

              5.  Jesus went to the cross, even though he was sinless and did not deserve it, because it was God's will ("Let this cup pass…but Thy will be done").  "This is not fair," would have come out of my mouth.  How about yours?  And if he thought it, he never said it, and certainly did not act on it.  He obeyed to the point of death—for us.

              Now, what was that about no one telling me what to do? 
 
​“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15).
 
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
 

On October 17, 1963 the Beatles recorded "I Want to Hold Your Hand," the first of their songs to catch on in America.  "Love Me Do" and "She Loves You" had already been released and, though hits in England, flopped in this country.  This one not only caught on, it became #1 on the charts.  It is still the best selling Beatles single in America. 

              It may have been a romantic gesture in the song, but holding hands means much more than that.  Every time we pray in our assembly of saints, two hands instantly reach for mine and hold them until the amens echo around the building.
 
             The hand on my right is my husband’s.  After spending over forty-five years together, it seems only natural.  We are always touching, patting, and hugging.  To walk past one another without some sort of physical contact is unthinkable.  What has made this relationship even more remarkable though, is the spiritual sharing and touching.  When two people pray for the same things, hope for the same things, and endure the same things with the help of the same Comforter, two people who were so unalike in the beginning that several people tried to talk us out of this marriage, the closeness can only be with the help of the Divine Creator who united us in far more than holy matrimony.

              The other hand belongs to a friend, someone I have known for several years now, who has supported me in every way imaginable, who has stood by me and has lifted my name up in prayer, who has shared her own trials with me and allowed me to help her as well, someone who lives nearly fifty miles from me, whom I would never have known except that we share the same Savior and the same hope and a place in the same spiritual family.

              Some people view holding hands in prayer as nothing more than an outward show of emotionalism.  To me those hands signify the unifying power of the grace of God.  That unity began with 12 men who would never have come together in any other way, and soon spread to add one more.  Some were urbane city dwellers who looked down on lowly Galileans.  Some were working class men while another was a highly educated Pharisee.  Some had Hebrew/Aramaic names while others’ names bore the influence of Hellenism.  One was a Zealot and another his political enemy, a tax collector.  Yet the Lord brought them all together in a unity that conquered the world.

              I have held black hands, brown hands and white hands.  I have held plump soft hands and rough calloused hands.  I have held the tender hands of the young and the withered hands of the old.  I have held the hands of lawyers and doctors and plumbers and farmers, teachers and nurses and secretaries and homemakers, hands that hammer nails and hands that type on computer keyboards, hands that cook and sew and even hands that carry a weapon on the job.  We all have this in common—our Lord saved us when none of us deserved it.  That is His unifying power. 

              The hand of God is the one that makes all of our hands worth holding.
 
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 15:5-7
 
Dene Ward

Let me tell you a sad story.

            A long time ago, Keith had one of those “try-out” visits that churches offer preachers.  I’ve often wondered whether these things would go better if the church considered itself being “tried out” that weekend as well, but that’s another blog for another time.

            We had lunch and spent the afternoon with a couple who would probably have been considered “pillars” of the church, primarily because they were better educated, had more money, and could quote more scriptures. 

            The church sat smack dab in the middle of farm country amid acres of melons, corn, peas, and tobacco.  Most of the members lived in old frame farmhouses and had dropped out of or barely completed high school.  A remark was made about the church members that gave me pause, but I was very young, wrestling with a two year old and an infant so I didn’t trust myself to have good judgment on the matter or even to have heard it well enough to comment on, so I let it pass.

            I shouldn’t have.  We hadn’t been there six months before the same woman told me I needed to meet the “cream of the crop” in the county.  She proceeded to take me to a gathering of what she considered such women.  Having grown up with parents who told me that the best people in the world were those who sat on the pew next to you on Sunday mornings, I was shocked to see who this Christian considered “elite.” 

            As we ate our finger sandwiches and mingled, I discovered that they all had money, judging from their dress and jewelry, and later the vehicles they left in.  Most were professionals or married to one.  Some of the others were farmers all right, but not hardscrabble farmers or sharecroppers.  These farmers owned large farms or ranches, big business enterprises, or had inherited both the farms and the money from generations past.  And notice this—she and I were the only Christians there.

            Now consider David’s statement in Psalm 16:3.  As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.  David took delight in the saints in Israel, their social class notwithstanding. 

            Where do I find “social class” in that verse?  The word translated “excellent” in the psalm is translated “nobles” in 2 Chron 23:20 (KJV), and they are grouped with high ranking military officers and governors.  In Judges 5:15 it is translated “lordly.”  Jer 25:34 calls them “principals of the flock” and Psalm 136:18 says they are “famous.”  Just to make sure you know who we are talking about, Nehemiah complains in 3:5 that those “nobles” were too good to work like the common folk.  Now do you know who we’re talking about? 

            Our culture idolizes the cult of the rich and famous—how they dress, how they talk, how they live.  We call them “America’s royalty.”  We do the same when we show partiality in the church based upon wealth, popularity, education, and social status.  It is a tacit admission that we consider ourselves better than our brothers and sisters who do not have such “assets.”  It is the opposite of “each counting the other better than himself,” Phil 2:3.

            David says the true “nobles,” the “excellent ones,” are the people who fear God, who live the life they preach, with justice, fairness, kindness, goodness, and grace.  These people “delight” him.  Now ask yourself:  who do I spend most of my time with, especially in the church?  Are we as wise as David?

            One of the common questions in an interview is, “Who would you like to have dinner with?”  Journalists choose that question because the answer tells a whole lot more about that person than they seem to realize.  The person you want to eat with is the one you want to develop a relationship with, the one who interests you, the one you might even model your life after.  The answer to that question shows who you consider the aristocracy in your world.

            Who is on your list?
           
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Ps 84:10
 
 
Dene Ward

I have never been a shoe person.  The last pair of dress shoes I had were classic black pumps—they were the only pair of dress shoes I needed because they went with everything.  I wore them until the heels were wrapped in black electrical tape to hide the nicks and scrapes, and the soles had worn through, showing the white plastic bottoms, about ten years I’d guess.  Then I went shoe shopping. 

              I have never seen so many ugly excuses for shoes in my life.  It seems today’s women want to walk on either ten penny nails or bricks.  The first are uncomfortable and the second are hideous.  Give me a toe that is at least a little rounded, a lower heel, and no pain.  I finally found a pair on a clearance rack for $19.99 that was perfect.  I was beginning to think I was going to have to find a blacksmith.

              And about those ten penny nails—after learning why men like women in stiletto heels, I am surprised that today’s modern, “liberated”, woman would wear anything that makes a man objectify her in the worst way.  Fashion designers obviously have no respect for the women they dress.

              Funny that shoes in the Bible can be matters of respect, too.  Take your sandals off your feet for the place on which you are standing is holy ground, God told both Moses (Ex 3:5) and Joshua (Josh 5:15).  Even today I am told that Muslims and several other Eastern religions take off their shoes as a sign that they are laying aside the pollution of the world to enter into a holy place.

              Are they really?  What about the olive oil stain on their sleeves from lunch?  What about the cigarette smoke soaked into the folds of their robes from an earlier encounter?  What about the everyday miasma we carry around with us from our environment, both in the home and out in the streets?  Of course they are still stained with their everyday lives.  Taking off the shoes is just a symbol of respect.  Does that make it wrong?

              In the West, we have a different symbol.  Men take off their hats.  They do it when they enter a room, when they greet someone, when the flag passes by, and during an outdoor prayer (it’s supposed to already be off indoors). According to the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by E. Cobham Brewer, the custom began when men took off their helmets to show they did not consider the person they were meeting a danger.  Thus it became a symbol of trust, and one can understand how not removing the hat could be considered an insult.  It still is.

              A certain generation likes to say that symbols do not count, that the only thing that really counts is the heart.  While it is true that the heart is the crux of the matter, I think I can show you that God still expects a few symbols from us too.

              But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless, Matt 22:11,12.  I won’t go into the parable, just notice this:  Jesus did not say the custom was wrong.  Instead, he knew everyone would understand the parable because in that society it was a sign of disrespect to show up at a wedding in something other than “a wedding garment.”  The garment was a symbol of respect for the occasion in that culture.

              God has always expected His people to know the difference between, in the wording of Scripture, the holy and the profane.  “Profane” does not mean crude and vulgar—it means having to do with common, ordinary life.

              The Levites were warned, you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die, Num 18:32.  Now that sounds serious.

              Ezekiel said of the priests in the restored Temple, They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, 44:23.  He also warned, This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut, 44:2.  As a symbol of respect for God, the door he entered was to remain shut and no one else could use it.

              And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood, Neh 8:5.  They showed respect for the Word of God by standing when it was read.

              Clearly, God expects some sort of symbolic respect for sacred things.  What does that mean for us today?  I am not sure.  Maybe it hasn’t been specified because God knew that this new covenant would be open not just to one group, but to all peoples.  What is respectful in one culture, may not be in another.  (Try belching out loud at a dinner party here in America.)

              In our congregation, we stand for the scripture reading.  Does that mean that everyone there has that much respect for the Word of God?  No.  For some it is just an outward sign.  They aren’t paying a bit of attention, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a sign of respect for the rest of us. 

              Take a few minutes today and think of the sacred things in your life.  Maybe that is a first step—our culture has become so “casual” that some people couldn’t even come up with a list of things that deserve that kind of respect.  We should be better than that.  These things do not have to be tangible like your Bible, though that might be a good one to add to the list—your Bible and how you treat it.  Do you just toss it around like a library book?

              As to the intangible, your marriage might be a good thing to show respect for in a visible way.  When our boys were little, they knew better than to ever sit between us at church.  That was just our little thing—it showed them that we were always one and they could never come between us.  I am sure you could think of another way to show respect to that God-ordained institution, one that means something to you too.

              Try to think of at least a few others.  Then think of ways to show that those things are sacred to you, not just some sort of mundane piece of life.  You might be surprised at how that one little sign of respect affects your whole attitude.
 
Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean…so that I am profaned among them, Ezek 22:26.
 
Dene Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Warren Berkley.

A.W. Tozer was precise and scripturally correct when he said: “Self-knowledge is so critically important to us in our pursuit of God and His righteousness that we lie under heavy obligation to do immediately whatever is necessary to remove the disguise and permit our real selves to be known.”

Central to all your character and conduct is your self-concept. This simply means how you see yourself, knowing who you are. You must avoid an unhealthy preoccupation or obsession with self. Subjective distortions can be detrimental. But there is an awareness of yourself and perception of who you are that is central to your potential. It is important to be strong and clear about who you are. Perhaps these inquiries will find a place in forming and maintaining clarity in your knowledge of who you are.

Do you see yourself as a giver or taker? Actually each of us are takers (receivers), for we are the unworthy recipients of the generosity of God evident in our very existence (Acts 17:28). Christians are recipients of the grace of God and Christ, “through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life,” (Titus 3:5b-7). Each of us, therefore, are takers (receivers, partakers). But in another sense the question ought to be weighed: Do you have greater interests in taking than giving? That goes to character. The teaching of Acts 20:35 is germane to this. “…And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.”  The generosity of Jesus’ character & teaching ought to become our purpose, so that we are focused on giving not taking.  (See also Rom. 12:8; Isa. 32:8; 2 Cor. 8:2).

Do you see yourself as a victim or perpetrator? There is a bothersome grumbling seen in people, always blaming others, pointing to circumstances and claiming to be victims. The cry (spoken or implied) is: “Everybody else is wrong. Everybody else is incorrect. Everybody else should take responsibility. Everybody should see and acknowledge my purity and know how unfairly I’m treated!” This is childish. It will help us – when things happen and generally in life – to prayerfully and cautiously evaluate if we were victimized or did we perpetrate the event or events. If you fall into the habit of dogmatically claiming to be the victim, this reflects an absence of humility. Assuming you never do anything wrong is a wrong approach. We are not always victims! We must not always and immediately come to our defense. Sometimes we are perpetrators! In fact, we are all perpetrators in this sense: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23). There is great value in humble self-examination.

Do you see yourself as a servant or a master? The Lord’s disciples, in their early days of coming to grips with the truth, sought greatness and vanity. Jesus responded by using a child to teach these grown men the humility they hadn’t yet embraced (Matt. 18:1-5). A few days later, the same ambition showed itself. Jesus responded again: “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” (Matt. 20:27,28).

Oswald Chambers has said: “If you are going to live for the service of your fellowmen, you will certainly be pierced through with many sorrows, for you will meet with more base ingratitude from your fellowmen than you would from a dog. You will meet with unkindness and two-facedness, and if your motive is love for your fellowmen, you will be exhausted in the battle of life. But if the mainspring of your service is love for God, no ingratitude, no sin, no devil, no angel, can hinder you from serving your fellowmen, no matter how they treat you. You can love your neighbor as yourself, not from pity, but from the true centering of yourself in God.”

Ultimately, all our inquires into self need to answer the question: Am I a child of God, or a child of the devil? Because of what Jesus Christ did, you can become a child of God; you can use the Word of God to know yourself, improve yourself and give of yourself to the Creator, to the Savior, to your family, your brethren and your fellowman.
 
Warren Berkley
berksblog.net

“Wonderful Love of Jesus” is an early 20th century hymn I remember singing often as a child.  But I must admit, I never knew what in the world was “lying around” when we sang “in vain in high and holy lays.”  Even as a musician who knows that a “lay” is a song, it took me decades to actually associate that with this hymn and understand what it meant.

             A “high and holy lay” is a sacred song, what we would call a hymn.  Even with that tidbit of knowledge it takes a little thinking to make sense of that first verse.
             
              In vain in high and holy lays
              My soul her grateful voice would raise,
              For who can sing the worthy praise of the
              Wonderful love of Jesus?
 
It is impossible for human voices, even singing the holiest songs they can compose, to praise the love of Christ as much as it deserves.  All our efforts are “in vain.”  That’s what it means.
 
           How can it have taken so long for me to figure it out when the scriptures are full of the same thought?

              Praise Jehovah. Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good; For his lovingkindness [endures] for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of Jehovah, Or show forth all his praise? Psalm 106:1,2.

              You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. Psalm 40:5.

              My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. Psalm 71:15

              Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” Rom 11:33-35.

              As you can see, it isn’t just the love of God we cannot speak adequately of, but also His wisdom, His righteousness, and His mighty works.  If ever there was a hymn of humility it is this one.  We cannot even begin to fully comprehend any of the Godhead and thus we cannot praise as they deserve.  We do so “in vain,” yet our gratitude continues to compel us to try, and so we do with songs like this one.  It may be “high and holy” but it is not equal to the task. 

              Yet now that I know what I am singing, I can hardly wait to sing it again.
 
[That you] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Eph 3:18, 19.
 
Dene Ward