Picky Pete is another character from the book in the table manners section.  He is the child who will only eat about 5 things—if you are lucky—and it must be the correct brand prepared in the correct way or it doesn't count.  If you have a Picky Pete—and I did—you must eventually teach him to gratefully accept what is placed before him.  Unless he has a certifiable illness or allergy, it is rude not to.  In the first place, someone has worked long and hard to prepare that meal.  In the second, and most important, God has provided it, and that is the only reason he is not starving.  (But parents, cleaning your plate is not predicated on the children in China, okay?)
 
             We had a rule in our house.  You try everything once.  And if you ever say, "Yuk!" (or "Eeew" or any other such word of disgust) you have to eat a double serving.  At least I was never embarrassed at someone else's house that way, and they did discover that some things they thought might be awful actually tasted pretty good.

              The problem with Picky Pete is that the more he is catered to, the worse he gets.  And when he grows up, it will show in ways that are much more of a problem. 

              Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.  (2Tim 2:14 )

              Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.  (2Tim 2:23 )

              As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. (1Tim 1:3,4 )

              Pay special attention to that last one.  Folks, we are not talking about doctrine.  God expects exact obedience.  You cannot honestly study the whole Bible and come up with any other conclusion.  But some things are just not worth bringing up, especially in a mixed group of beginners and older Christians.  They will cause more confusion than clarity.  And you know exactly what I am talking about.  Picky Pete loves these things, and he doesn't care whose faith he ruins, just so he can get a good argument going.  Wise, considerate people who enjoy discussing those trickier things, and whose faith is mature enough to handle it, know that is it better to get together privately to do so.

              Picky Pete is not about details—God expects us to faithfully follow the pattern.  No, Picky Pete is about causing a ruckus regardless the collateral damage.
 
He is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth... 1 Tim 6:4,5
 
Dene Ward

I can’t really believe it.  I was going through all those painful physical therapy exercises you have to do to keep moving when you have injuries or surgeries, and to keep my mind off the pain and the endless repetitions, I flipped on a channel that runs only old shows, about the only kind I can stand to watch any longer.  On a defunct old program I suddenly heard something profound enough to catch my attention.  A character was complaining about his life and how bad he felt.  Another character looked at him and said, “If you want to feel better, take a pill.  If you want to BE better, face the truth about yourself.”
That old show was the original Perry Mason, which debuted on CBS on September 21, 1957 and ran until May 22, 1966.  It was television's first weekly one hour drama.  Based on Erle Stanley Gardner's books, it was every bit the hit they were, collecting a Golden Globe and at least 4 Emmys, along with a Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association.  I remember hearing that stirring music as my parents watched the show from the warmth of my bed as a very small child.  I was an adult before I ever saw an episode or read one of the books.

              As for that line of dialogue, it was spoken by Raymond Burr as he portrayed the eminent lawyer. I stopped mid-rep, losing count completely.  What was that I had heard?  I repeated it to myself at least three times so I wouldn’t forget it—maybe—and it was weighty enough a thought that it did stay with me until I could write it down.  “This one I must use sometime,” I thought, and then suddenly realized that God has been using it for millennia, sort of.

              “Face the truth about yourself,” we say.  He says:

              Be not wise in your own eyes…Prov 3:7.

              There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death, Prov 16:25.

              Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart, Prov 21:2.

              There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth, Prov 30:12.

              He feeds on ashes, his deluded mind deceives him, he cannot rescue himself,,,Isa 44:20.

              Let no one deceive himself.  If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise, 1 Cor 3:18.

              For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself, Gal 6:3.

              If anyone thinks he is religious but does not bridle his tongue and deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless, James 1:26.

              Your head should be spinning by now.  How many times have I deceived myself into ignoring rebukes and shunning well-intentioned advice?  And then, when it all falls apart and I am left hurt and weeping, did I ever once stop and think over that advice and those rebukes again and think maybe—just maybe—I should have listened?  Maybe—just maybe—I am not as astute as I seem to think I am.  Oh, I say the right words (“I am not perfect”), but when the fruit reveals itself in my actions, everyone knows I cannot be reasoned with because “My case is different.”  So many people think themselves the exception to the rule that you wonder why God bothered to write a guidebook for us—it doesn’t apply to anyone! 

              A rebuke should make me stop and consider, not stomp and smolder.  Yes, that is still difficult.  I am not sure it ever becomes easy.  But those scriptures up there say that if I do not consider, the vengeance I wreak with my answering anger to the one who cared enough to try, will only destroy me.

              “If you want to feel better, take a pill.  If you want to BE better, face the truth about yourself.”
 
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. Jas 1:22-25
 
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

When Keith was still an “apprentice preacher” under the tutelage of some local elders, one Sunday he ventured into an interpretation of a passage that he knew was not the standard.  As he talked he noticed one of the elders grimacing constantly, and he knew he was in trouble.               
 
             As he tentatively approached that man after services and asked what the problem was, he was startled to hear him ask, “What do you mean?’  When Keith explained the reaction he saw, the brother laughed and said, “Oh that.  I was just having some indigestion.” He added that he thought the interpretation was sound.  What a relief!

              Despite that little misunderstanding, the Bible talks a lot about body language and what it means. 

              But first, a little history.  What we call "body language" is technically known as "kinesics," which is defined as the study of the way body movements and gestures can serve as nonverbal communication.  The term was originated by Dr. Ray Birdwhistell in 1952, who estimated that no more than 30-35% of communication is actually accomplished through words. Really? Yes, just think about it.  Holding your forefinger and thumb together in a circle with the other fingers straight up, patting the seat next to you, breaking out in a big grin, blowing a kiss, raising a hand in class, rolling your eyes—all of these are movements and gestures we see every day, perfect examples of body language.

              Dr Birdwhistell was born September 18, 1918, and his studies in kinesics, which he named after the Greek word for movement, are legendary in the fields of anthropology, folklore, and psychiatry.  And now back to body language in the Bible.

              And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people, Ex 32:9.  That phrase must be the most commonly used one I found in regard to body language.  You know exactly what it means.  Talk to someone you have an issue with and you will see his shoulders draw up and his chin point down, his chest poke out, and his jaws clench—all signs of tension in the neck area.  It means here is a man who has already decided not to change his mind regardless what you say.  Nehemiah says it this way…and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey, Neh 9:29.

               Centuries after God’s words to Moses, we find this:  Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD…2 Chron 30:8.  You can only “yield” when you are pliable, and these people were rigid, determined not to listen and yield.  And the trait was passed down to the sons, not because of genetics, but because children take their cues from their parents.  Still later we find, You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you, Acts 7:51.  Body language does not change like spoken language.  It remains the same for thousands of years.

              Have you ever had a discussion with someone only to have that person start shaking his head no before you have even presented your reasoning?  The Bible describes people who were just like that.  But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear, Zech 7:11.  You automatically know that you will make no headway with that person.  In fact, you also know that you will not receive whatever benefits you might have from his study because the conversation is over before it even starts.  Isaiah says it this way: They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand, Isa 44:18.  You are only hurting yourself when you won’t at least listen with an open mind.

              Body language works with the righteous too.  ​He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure, Isa 33:15,16.

              Yes, you have to be careful when judging body language.  Sometimes a frown is simply a matter of indigestion.  But a teacher knows when the same person wears the same look of indifference, boredom, or agitation every week.  He knows when his words have struck a nerve.  Most of us are so obvious it’s embarrassing.  But he also knows when someone is eating up the study of God’s word, perhaps thinking of its application to his own life, perhaps eagerly wondering where a deeper study on the same subject might lead him when he returns home.  A speaker sees the nods of encouragement from the older members and even the light bulbs going off in people’s minds. 

              Just as so many years ago, we speak a silent language, one that is obvious to anyone looking at us, even those who do not speak English.  It’s a language that God can speak fluently.  Be careful what you “say.”
             
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart, Heb 4:12.
 
Dene Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Lucas Ward.

David’s sin with Bathsheba and his subsequent murder of her husband Uriah is found in 2 Sam. 11 and is one of the better known stories in the Old Testament. Instead of being a boring rehash, I hope to help you see some new things in this old story.

In 2 Samuel 11 we find David, having already conquered all the other surrounding kingdoms, sending his army to conquer Ammon. I’ve heard some decry the fact that David stayed behind, saying that if only he had been where he should have been – at the head of his army – none of this would ever have happened. This may be true, but it is equally plausible that David had legitimate reasons for staying behind. We just aren’t told. All we know is that he stayed behind. Then this happens:

2 Sam. 11:2-5 “It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, "I am pregnant."”

Now, first things first, let’s put to bed an old, tired, erroneous narrative. BATHSHEBA WAS NOT BATHING ON THE ROOF!!! Sorry to shout, but I get so tired of hearing people say that. Read the Bible again, it nowhere says that she is bathing on the roof. There is no mention of her on a roof. DAVID was on the roof and from the roof he saw her. Ten minutes of research into the historical context would show anyone who cares to look that most houses back then were built with a small courtyard in the center. They bathed in this court yard – they had no running water, remember – and were shielded from view on three sides by their house and on the fourth by an erected screen. No one could see them bathe, unless he happened to be on the roof of the house next door. If that happened, it was the responsibility of the accidental voyeur to turn away and not become a purposeful peeping tom. This kind of thing isn’t so far back in our own past, by the way. My father, who likes to say he was raised so far back in the Arkansas hills that they had to pump in the sunshine, didn’t have running water in his house until he was 12. His whole family, including his mother and two sisters, would take turns bathing on the back porch in warm weather. If you knew someone was taking a bath out back, you just didn’t go out back. If a visitor somehow stumbled back there when a bath was being taken, it was on him to skedaddle, and fast, too, or Granddad might start grabbing after the buckshot. So it was David at fault here, for not looking away, not Bathsheba for innocently taking a bath.

Now notice who Bathsheba was. When David asked, he is told she is “the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah”. These names meant something to David; Bathsheba wasn’t just a random woman. In 2 Samuel 23, where David’s mighty men are listed – these are the 37 greatest warriors in David’s employ and David’s power was built on their strength and loyalty – we see both of these men listed. Uriah is the last listed, in verse 39. Eliam is mentioned in verse 34 and we are told that he is the son of Ahithophel. In 2 Sam. 15:12 we find out that Ahithophel is David’s counselor and in 16:23 we learn that he was so wise that his counsel was like God’s counsel. He was, in his way, as important to David’s continued rule as were the mighty men. So, David was considering adultery with a woman who was the daughter of one of his most trusted warriors, the granddaughter of his most important advisor, and the wife of another important warrior. Basic common sense should have told him to back away from her, but David was apparently feeling pretty full of himself. After all, he was David the mighty and he could have whatever he wanted.

We know how the story goes: David’s carnal desires get the best of him. When Bathsheba winds up pregnant, he tries to get Uriah to go home to her so that all would think that the child was Uriah’s. When Uriah refuses to enjoy the comforts of home while his brothers are fighting, David has him killed and marries Bathsheba. The last line of 2 Sam. 11:27 is one of the bigger understatements in scripture: “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

So, Nathan confronts David with his sin and David repents. Most people focus on 2 Sam. 12:13, where Nathan tells David that God has forgiven him and that he will not die. God’s incredible mercy is the theme of these sermons, as well as the redemption of the fallen disciple of the Lord. Truly, this is a great example of those qualities of God. We can study this and have hope, knowing that if God will forgive David of adultery and murder He will forgive us of our sins. However, that is not the only thing being taught in this passage. We shouldn’t forget what else God says through Nathan, nor the rest of the history of David’s life recorded in 2 Samuel. Read all of what Nathan says:

2 Sam. 12:10-14 “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.' Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.'" David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die."”

David was forgiven of his sins, but he’d still have to face some consequences. David was forgiven, but his life would not be as pleasant as it would have been had he not sinned. If you list the consequences Nathan names and keep that list before you while you read the remainder of 2 Samuel you will find that almost everything that is recorded after 12:14 is David living through one of these consequences. Here is the list:

1) The sword will not depart from your house.
2) I will raise up evil against you out of your own house.
3) Your neighbor will sleep with your wives in the sight of all.
4) The son born to you (by Bathsheba) will die.

The last listed consequence is the first one to be fulfilled as we see in 12:15-23. David’s son is struck ill and dies one week later. Then, in chapter 13, David’s son Amnon rapes his half-sister Tamar (evil from out of your own house) and Tamar’s full brother Absalom kills Amnon for that rape (sword not departing your house, evil against you from your own house). Chapters 15-18 detail Absalom’s revolt against David, which was so serious that David had to flee across the Jordan to avoid being killed (sword not departing, evil from own house). To show how serious he was in trying to overthrow his father Absalom set up a tent on the roof of the palace and had relations with the concubines David left behind when he fled (Your neighbor sleeps with your wives in the sight of all). This was done at Ahithophel’s suggestion (16:20-22) who had joined Absalom’s revolt. Do you think that Ahithophel might have joined Absalom because he was still angry with David for forcing his granddaughter? Seems likely. Then, as soon as Absalom’s revolt is quashed and David returns to Jerusalem, another revolt arises (chapter 20) headed by a man named Sheba (the sword will not depart).

Even though he was forgiven, David had to deal with the consequences of his sin for the rest of his life. Interestingly, when he wasn’t running for his life David was planning to build the temple of God. While he was told he couldn’t build it, he did draw up the architectural plans, gather all the materials needed (including a personal donation that would be measured in the billions of dollars in today’s money) and plan the order of worship in the Temple, all at the direction of God by His prophets (1 Chron. 28:11-19, 2 Chron. 29:25). In other words, he was still the man after God’s own heart whose life was devoted to serving his God in every way he could. And he STILL had to suffer the consequences of his sins! Even though he was forgiven. Even though his life was devoted to God, because of his sins the final years of his life weren’t as pleasant as they might have been.

And that is a lesson we can all learn from. If we truly repent, God will forgive us of all our sins. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” However, we may still have to live with life-changing consequences. God will forgive you your fornication, but you might still have to deal with an STD, some of which still can’t be cured. Or maybe you get her pregnant (or you become pregnant) and that will certainly upset your life plans. God will forgive you for getting drunk, but if you drive and get caught, you will have to deal with the DUI. If you drive and kill someone, there are longer, more stringent consequences. You can be forgiven, you can devote the rest of your life to God, but those consequences still aren’t going away.

The first reason I should want to overcome temptation is because of my love for God. He sacrificed His Son so I could be washed free of my sins and stand clean before Him. I should love Him and want to maintain that holy state. I should be willing to fight hard to maintain my purity. God also offers us another incentive to remain pure: the threat of Hell. When my fleshly desires are almost overwhelming me, the threat of eternal torment in a lake of fire combined with my desire to please God might help me defeat the temptation. However, if you find all of that to not be enough, remember the last 20 years of David’s life. I don’t want the last years of my life to be anything like David’s. There will be consequences in this life for your sins, even if you are pardoned in the next life. Those consequences hold the potential to be bad enough to scare most anyone straight. I hope the thought of those consequences helps you overcome your next temptation.

“Jehovah also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, [there will be consequences].” (2 Sam. 12:13b-14)

Lucas Ward

In the book, Messy Bessy is a brown-haired, pigtailed cutie--until you look closer.  She is leaning over her plate at the table, both arms splayed out, cramming food in her mouth two-fistedly.  Her cheeks are smeared and the table is strewn with food. 
 
             It's one thing for a one year old to end up with half his meal on his cheeks.  I have a cute picture of Lucas after his first plate of spaghetti.  He is red from fingertips to shoulders, and ear to ear.  The only reason it wasn't worse is that I had the sense to tie, not a bib, but one of my kitchen aprons around his neck.  But by the time he was Bessy's age, he could eat neatly, if still voraciously.

              It is an absolute shame that we need to mention grown up Messy Bessys in the church, but they are there.  Have you ever looked at a theater floor after a movie, or the grandstand after a ball game?  Spilled drinks, scattered popcorn, empty boxes, sunflower seed hulls, and a few things I hate to even ask about lie there for the cleaning crew to take care of.  Unfortunately, some church meetinghouses look nearly as bad.  All sorts of papers litter the pews from lesson sheets to bulletins to candy wrappers, cough drop wrappers, cookie and cracker crumbs, and spilled Cheerios.  The bathrooms aren't much better, with soiled paper towels thrown everywhere but the trash can, toilets unflushed, and water dripping off the counters. 

              No one should have to clean up my mess but me.  A mature adult knows that.  What kind of impression are we leaving on visitors?  And just what do we think we are teaching our children?  Where is the spirit of "Lord, Make Me a Servant" that we sing so sincerely?  No, we expect some other servant somewhere to come in and pick up after us the way our Mama used to.  Do we still need her to tag along?

               And what does grown up Messy Bessy do?  She still has little concern for how the church looks to outsiders.  She will trash it with her complaints about how it is run, with the slander she spreads about her brothers and sisters, and with her ridicule of the preacher and his work.  She will spread its dirty laundry for all to see, even that which has been cleaned "white as snow" by the Lord through repentance.  Then when none of her friends are interested in coming to church with her, she is ready to accuse them of a lack of spirituality. 

            All of the things we have talked about in this series may start with a simple childhood fault, but every one of them has led to something far more sinister spiritually.  If I cannot keep my space neat literally, what will happen to my heart?  If the first comes from a don't-care attitude and a lack of personal responsibility, so will the second—a mess of a life that breaks hearts and ruins souls.
             
              Clean up your act, Bessy.  Grow up and be accountable.
 
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. (Col 4:5-6)
and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders…(1Thess 4:11-12).
 
Dene Ward
 

My grandniece has Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1.  SMA1 is a disease that causes progressive loss of motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and atrophy.  Type 1 usually shows in babies 6 months and under.  The infants will have difficulty moving, eating, breathing, and swallowing.  They will be unable to lift their heads on their own and unable to sit up on their own.  Most victims of this disease do not survive past age 2 due to respiratory failure.  Abigail has already survived the odds, having turned four this year, but her life is not an easy one.
 
             Abigail must often be rushed to the hospital.  Even a simple cold could be the end.  She recently gave us a fright as she was once again loaded into an ambulance and carted off first to an ER and then a PICU.  Abigail takes it all in stride, and today she is going to teach us a lesson we all need to hear. 

              My niece, Abigail's mother, recently posted the following on Facebook:

             "Abigail's full name is Abigail Andreia (on-DRAY-uh) Saltz.
          [Her father] was very partial to "Abigail," and I...was not. He always wanted purely Biblical names for our children and I told him we could use Abigail IF he could think of a middle name that had three syllables, accent on the second syllable. He stretched his Biblical names rule by choosing a Greek word for her middle name meaning "brave," because it seemed a fitting descriptor for the queen we were naming her after and an admirable quality to live up to.
              Wow. The things you don't know.
            I have told Abigail what her middle name means so many times now that she thinks her *actual name* is Abigail Andreia Brave Saltz. When she has to do something scary she says, 'Gimme a minute. I' takin' away da Andreia and da Saltz so all I have is da Brave. Brave means being still even when you're scared.'
             Today the IV techs marveled at how still she was while putting in her IV.
           And this is what people mean when they say their children teach them far more than they teach their children."

              Abigail has always been the happiest child I have ever known.  I always suspected she was brave—children who have physical difficulties often are because of the things they experience from early on.  Now I know exactly how she does it.  She "takes away" the names that might be in the way so she can make use of the name that counts--Brave.
 
             Can I ask you this morning, what names do you need to take away?  The only name that should count for you is Christian—a child of God, a disciple of Christ.  That name will give you strength when temptations arise.  It will give you peace and contentment when you don't understand.  It will give you courage and steadfastness when trials beset your soul. 

            And why is that?  Because through that name we have life (John 20:31), we have hope (Matt 12:21), we have justification (1 Cor 6:11), we have remission of sins (Acts 10:43) and salvation (Acts 4:12).  We also have absolutely no excuse for failure because the one who wore that name left the example for us to follow, and said it was possible to do so.

              Four year old Abigail knows the power of a name.  Remember the name you wear.  Take away all the others and use that one to be faithful to the end.
 
Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he! (Ps 99:3).

Dene Ward
 

Seems like every August one of the morning network shows will have a spot on what to do with all those tomatoes.  Unfortunately, those shows usually air from New York City where they seem to think that everyone thinks like they do and lives like they do, and that even the weather follows suit.  New York City must be the center of the universe. 
 
             Down here in Florida our tomatoes are 1 to 2 months gone by the time those shows air, depending upon the year.  We eat and give away those perfectly formed, unblemished firstfruits from the last week of May till halfway through June.  Then I spend a week canning tomatoes with the plum varieties, and a few days on specialty items like salsa and tomato jam.  Another week using up the end of the year uglies on sauce, and that’s that.  It’s a rare year that I have tomatoes after the Fourth of July.

              And guess what?  In the south part of this long state, things are different still.  Tomato season Is different for every location and climate.

              It’s like that for Christians too.  Not only do different spiritual ages have differing levels of understanding, but even different locations fight different battles.  A long time ago, we moved north.  Talk about culture shock.  Not only did I see my first snow, we had to fight heresies that had been fought down south ten years earlier.  You can see those things happen in the New Testament too, as trouble travels from city to city. 

              We can also discover exactly how patient—or impatient—we are with our brothers and sisters.  I forget how long it took me to reach this point and expect it of them in a few short weeks.  I become annoyed with their failures and with their lack of understanding.  Somehow I expect them to leapfrog a few decades and catch up.

              That is not how it works, and we must make allowances.  It may mean we are more careful in our decision making, and it may mean we give up our liberties.  It’s one thing to be held hostage by the views of the stubborn who claim they are “offended;” it’s quite another to trample on the fragile souls of those new in the faith, who are still grappling with the baggage they have not quite left behind. 

              And let us not deter, or even discourage completely, their salvation with some manmade list of things they should know before we accept them into our congregations.  Smacks a little of catechism class, doesn’t it?  Just how much do you think that Philippian jailor knew when Paul baptized him “in the same hour of the night?”  Enough to understand his need for a Savior and how to contact that redeeming blood.  He had a lifetime to learn the rest.
 
             Tomato season for me is not tomato season for you, and my Christian age is not the same as yours.  If you expect a green tomato to taste like one that has been vine-ripened in a home garden, you are not as wise as you think you are.
 
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me,  Rom 15:1-3.
 
Dene Ward

The person who survives life is not the one who uses his misfortunes as an excuse to fail but rather uses his trials as the impetus, and reason, to succeed.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Jas 1:2-4).

If you are a gardener, you have probably made your fair share of zucchini bread.  We quit growing zucchini a long time ago.  We prefer yellow summer squash instead.  At least it has a little flavor.  But it also works for zucchini bread, and I have found a way to make that little loaf that is actually worth baking.
 
             Most zucchini (or squash) bread is compact and dense, and just about flavorless.  Try this instead.  Cut the amount of oil almost in half.  Use brown sugar instead of white granulated, and at least double the cinnamon.  If you use nuts, toast them first.  Then here is the big trick—put all that grated zucchini in a dish towel and squeeze as hard as you can.  You will get anywhere from ½ to 1 cup of water out of that squash.  No wonder the loaf was flavorless. It was literally washed out.

              Now you will have a lighter loaf that is still plenty moist and actually has some flavor instead of that compact brick that hardly rises above the top of the pan.  In fact, you won’t mind serving this one to guests, and they won’t run away and hide when you mention it either.

              Modern organized religion has suffered the same fate as that old zucchini bread recipe.  It is literally washed out from all the additions men have made.  Just as schools are now expected to teach the things that parents should teach at home, churches are expected to right the social injustices in this world and support every worthy cause in manpower and money.  You can read the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation and never find half the things found in a modern denomination.  But then these are the same people who, like the Jews of Jesus’ day, expect a physical kingdom on this earth.  They’ve stopped hoping for Heaven and settled for a poor imitation on this earth.

              My kingdom is not of this world, Jesus said, John 18:36.  Jeremiah prophesied that no one from the lineage of Jeconiah (the kingly line of Judah through David) would ever sit on the throne reigning in Jerusalem, despite the beliefs of thousands of dispensationalists, Jer 22:31.  The work of the church is not about feeding the hungry—it’s about feeding the soul.  It’s not about making sure everyone has a fair shake in this life—it’s about enduring that injustice and preparing ourselves to be fit for the next life.  Check this out yourself:  churches that are sold on the social gospel no longer preach much about heaven.  To them this life is what matters and that’s why they are so hung up on it.  That’s why their religion is so waterlogged with extraneous rituals and activities.  That’s why so many of the “un-churched” are turned off by the dense brick of bread they are handed instead of the bread of life.

              Get out your Bibles and examine your church against the one in the New Testament.  Look through Acts and see how they converted sinners.  Here’s a hint:  it wasn’t with soup kitchens and Wednesday night potlucks.  Now look through the epistles and see the work they did.  It had nothing to do with gymnasiums and playgrounds.  See what they did when they met together for a formal group worship.  It wasn’t about entertainment.  Now maybe you can see the difference between an oily sodden brick of bread and a light flavorful loaf that actually appeals to the appetite.

              But then maybe it’s your appetite that is the problem in the first place. 
 
Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, You seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves, and were filled.  Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him the Father, even God, hath sealed, John 6:26-27.
 
Dene Ward