Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Only a few times in Scripture are mortals permitted a glimpse of God’s heavenly throne. His throne, I say, because we are never shown any representation of the Lord himself.  Read the great Old Testament vision scenes such as Isaiah 6 or Ezekiel 1 or in the New Testament, Revelation 4.  We find glorious descriptions of the throne, the pavement, the lights, etc., but never a description of God himself.  This underscores God’s declaration to Moses, "You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20).  So we are only allowed the sights and sounds surrounding the Lord: we see his attending angels, his robe, the lightning, the smoke; we hear the thunder and a mighty angelic chorus; we feel the earthquake.  If you can imagine yourself actually being there and experiencing all this, it will take your breath away.  But you never see God.

In the New Testament, aside from the very symbolic book of Revelation, we seemingly lack these glorious visions of the Lord . . . or do we? Philip raises the question in Jn 14, “Show us the Father.”  Jesus’ answer, if you think about it, is astounding, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”  Think about that: Jesus himself is our vision of God!

We should never allow ourselves to view this “vision” as being somehow inferior or less glorious than those other visions.  Jesus was not like one of the prophets, chosen and sent to us with God’s message.  He was God incarnate! Immanuel!  “God with us!”  Understand, not representatively but in reality he was God in the flesh.  Far more than the visions of God’s throne, this should take our breath away.

Philip wanted to see the Father.  I think we all do.  But why?  It’s pretty simple, I think.  We want to know what God is like.  Not merely what he looks like (as mortals, we can never know that) but what is he like toward me.  Does God love me?  Learn about Jesus and you have your answer.  Can God ever accept someone as corrupt as I am?  Look at Jesus, the friend of sinners.  Can God change my life?  Look at everyone Jesus came in contact with.  Who was not changed?  What does God want from me? To love God, obey him, and go about doing good, just like Jesus did.  Will I have to give up a lot for God?  Yes, everything!  But you get much more than you give up.  Look how God glorified Jesus (Eph 1:20-23).

So then, God has given us this vision of himself, the grandest and most glorious vision of them all.  This vision we can all understand, and yet in a way that is so profound that it staggers the imagination; we can never fully plumb its depths.  We continue to look at this Jesus, in wonder and amazement—this man—this glorious vision of God.

What more can we say then?  Such a vision lays claim on our lives, makes demands of us.  “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19).  That is what Paul said after seeing Jesus, and that is our question—you and I—are we obedient to Jesus, our heavenly vision?
 
…who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; (Col 1:15).

Keith Ward

We lived in Illinois for two winters.  It was this Florida native’s first experience with snow.  The neighbors laughed at us.  Despite a lack of children in the house, we built a snowman in the front yard, dug tunnels through the eight foot high drifts on the side of the house, and had snowball fights.  I had never had a chance to do those things before, or survive nighttime temperatures at zero or below, or drive on ice pack to the grocery store.  Suddenly I did them all.
            In mid-January I woke to another new experience--snowmelt dripping off the eaves on a sunny day.  I glanced outside and the snowman had gone on a crash diet, slimming to the point of losing appendages and facial features.  Before long patches of brown peeked through the white and the piles of dirty gray snow left by the snow plows on the roadsides were shrinking.  Salty slush splashed up under the passing cars.  We even abandoned our heavy coats for cardigans.  A few hardy souls went out in shirtsleeves as the thermometer climbed toward fifty. 
            “It’s over already?” I wondered.  “Is this spring?”  But no, not a week later a blizzard blew through.  The respite was over.  This was just “the January thaw,” I was told.  Some people dispute the notion of a January thaw.  Others, who have charted temperatures for decades, cite those figures to show that there is indeed a rise in them occurring the third week of January in New England, and a week or so earlier in the Plains states.  It may be folklore, but there appears to be something to it.
            The scriptures talk about a more important thaw—that of the heart.
            As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel. Josh 5:1.  Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt, Isa 13:6,7.
            The Canaanites’ hearts melted with fear at the power of Jehovah.  The Babylonians would fear when that same Jehovah came in destruction on their empire.  Even his own people feared enough to repent for awhile.  The Bible is full of such language.  It is nothing more than pure terror.  In most of those cases, the fear subsided and the heart froze yet again.  How many times do we hear that Pharaoh once again “hardened his heart?”  Just as the presence of a trooper on the side of the road will lighten a lead foot for about a half mile, terror only lasts a short time.  And while fear certainly has its place in our relationship with God, it isn’t the antifreeze a heart needs to stay faithful.
         And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules, Ezek 36:26,27.  Just as Judah needed not just a melted heart, but a completely new and soft one, we also need a new heart—a new attitude—about who God is.  Not just an all powerful king and authority in our lives, but a provider, a redeemer, and a Father.
         Recognition of what God has done to save us, and the gratitude and love that follow will keep one’s heart warm toward God.  It will last more than a few days, and even through a blizzard of trials.  Then we can experience the true warmth of spring in our hearts, the flowering of new growth in our spirituality, and a flourishing relationship with our Creator.
 
I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you, 1 Chron 29:17,18.
 
Dene Ward
 

Having lived through the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, I grew up knowing about fallout.  I knew people who had bomb shelters in their backyards, and full pantries in their closets.  And at school we practiced diving under our desks, using our hands to cover the backs of our necks, every time a plane flew over.  At 8 or 9, I learned to live through national paranoia like we have never seen since.
            But about that fallout—originally it referred to radioactive particles that might descend through the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion.  We all understood that even if we survived the blast, we were not yet survivors.  Fallout could kill too, just not as quickly, and there would be nothing easy about it.
            I suppose this came to mind after I dirtied up four dust rags and two Swiffer dusters one morning during our recent renovations.  Scraping off popcorn ceilings and taking up 20 year old tiles will raise a dust worse than any Okie ever saw in the thirties.  When it was finally over, we changed air conditioner filters for about the fifth time and hired someone to come in and do a complete and thorough cleanup.  This old, arthritic body just cannot handle it any longer.
            These days, fallout has taken on a different meaning—secondary, lingering effects after an event.  Anyone who has lived through an emotional trauma understands the concept.  Children's misbehavior, depression, or even feelings of guilt after their parents' divorce.  Nightmares after being victimized by a crime.  For soldiers, PTSD.  Many of these people need counseling or some other sort of help because the emotional pain and scarring run so deep.
            But there are other kinds of fallout, some of which we cause out of carelessness.  Words are usually the weapons in those cases.  When two brothers raise a fuss in the Bible class, what do we think will be the effects on visitors from the community?  I once knew of body of the Lord's people which was known in the community as people who couldn't even get along with each other, much less their neighbors.  I wonder how many souls were lost in that area because of that?  When someone thinks it is their God-given right to blast out the preacher on the front steps after a difficult but necessary sermon, I wonder how many weak brothers and sisters are so disgusted they leave—for good?  When a young person overhears two women gossiping about another, I can only imagine how much respect they have lost or how that bad example will reap more just like them.  In each of these cases, it's a slow spiritual death that often follows.
            I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned (Matt 12:36-37).
            We all need to be aware of the fallout we cause by our selfish and careless behavior.  In 1 Cor 6, Paul admonished us to be willing to take wrong rather than do harm to the reputation of the body.  And Jesus was even harder in his judgment.  But whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea (Matt 18:6).
When we set off a bomb, we are responsible for the fallout.  That means we are responsible for the deaths that follow as well.
 
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear (Eph 4:29).
 
Dene Ward

Despite living 38 years in one place, we have been in many places during our marriage, with many different neighbors.  Meeting them and learning them has always been an interesting part of the experience of each location.  And hearing how people define themselves upon introduction says a lot more than most people realize.
            One man we met could hardly get past hello before we knew that he had had a highly successful career in an area we won't name.  He listed instance after instance of winning moments.  And each of those "wins" involved making a huge sum of money.  It wasn't long before that defining mechanism showed in everything he did—where he went for entertainment, the items he purchased and the brand names he insisted on.  He was too good for anything "economical," whether a trip he took or a car he bought.  Before long, he had nothing much to do with us.  It was obvious we were poor peons compared to him.
            As Christians I hope that we define ourselves by something much more important than how much money we make, where we live, the cars we drive, and the vacations we take.  I am reminded of Hezekiah, truly one of the most righteous kings Judah ever had, but what happened when the Babylonians came to visit?  At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah; for he heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not (Isa 39:1-2).
            These pagan people understood that Hezekiah had just been seriously ill, so ill he should have died but for his God's intervention.  Yet God is never mentioned when Hezekiah shows off his wealth to these Babylonians.  Why wasn't he talking about his God, the one who answered His prayer, showing the house where Judah worshipped that God instead of showing his own, and proclaiming that God to these pagans?  For some reason, this otherwise godly man did not at that moment choose to define himself as one of God's people to a nation that needed that testimony.  And what did Isaiah tell him because of this?  Hear the word of Jehovah of hosts: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, says Jehovah (Isa 39:5-6).
            How do we define ourselves, especially to people of the world?  We should be talking about eternal things, not the physical.  Hezekiah was reminded that not only would he leave behind those physical things at his death, but none of them would survive the coming destruction either.  They do not matter!  All that matters is our relationship with God, the one who watches over us, sustains us, and ultimately, forgives us so we will have a place that does last.  Do we really need an Isaiah to remind us that it will all be gone in a moment, maybe even before we are if the economy crashes?
            Think for a moment this morning, about how your neighbors would define you based upon the things you have told them.  Maybe we need to change our place in the dictionary.
 
​Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! ​Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways (Ps 119:36-37).
 
Dene Ward
 

Now that we have Jephthah’s vow straightened out, maybe it’s a good idea to look at his daughter.
            First, let’s realize her age.  If she was not married in that culture, she had not yet, or had barely reached the age of puberty.  The custom was to marry the daughters off once they reached that age.  John MacArthur says they were generally betrothed at 13 for one year and then married, so this girl could not have been over 14.
            Let’s take a side trip here to forestall a few wrong conclusions.  Even if puberty arrives earlier nowadays than it did in ancient times, as some scientists seem to believe, it doesn’t mean maturity does.  One is physical and the other mental.  In that time those young people were expected to be responsible enough to raise and provide for children as soon as they were able to have them.  Do we expect that of our children?
            Even as late as the 19th and early 20th centuries young men were working to help provide for the family as young as 12 or 14.  Boys brought up on farms were doing men’s work at 8 or 10.  Girls were caring for baby brothers and sisters, and working as hard as their mothers in the house and field at the same age.  No wonder they were ready to marry in their early teens, and no wonder they could make a valid commitment to God at an early age.  They weren’t pining to be a fireman one day and an astronaut the next.  They understood responsibility and lifetime commitment and were ready for it far sooner than our children are.  Maturity isn’t about knowing facts and answering questions.  Neither is spirituality.  Be careful what you equate.  Culture does make a difference.
            So this very young teenager has just found out that her life is going to be different than she ever expected because of a decision her father has made, not one she has made.  Can’t you just see the TV depiction of a teenager today?  Standing hipshot, she crosses her arms, rolls her eyes and whines, “Da-uhd!”  This isn’t fair.  This isn’t what I planned.  I had dreams and you ruined them all!  It’s my life not yours!
            Don’t think for a minute that a child has no responsibility to his parents’ vows.  As soon as a man accepts the office of an elder, his family is accepting extra scrutiny and extra inconvenience as he performs his work, and less of his time.  The same is true of a deacon though in a lesser way.  The same is certainly true of a man who gives his life to preaching the gospel.  It doesn’t lessen his own obligations to his family, but it does increase his family’s obligations to God.  It also means their behavior must be above reproach. 
            Let’s be realistic here.  No, it isn’t only elders, deacons, and preachers’ families who must behave themselves, but the ramifications are much worse since they represent the local church, and the Lord, in the eyes of the world.  The world may very well be wrong about what they expect of these men, but it is simply naïve to think it doesn’t work that way.
            Then there is this point—every Christian has vowed his life to God.  So in a very real way, every Christian family is under the microscope.  As soon as a child crosses the line, you know what everyone thinks—wasn’t he raised better than that?  As soon as his life deviates from the life a Christian should live, the world suddenly looks at his parents differently.  Even if it is not their fault, even if they have done the best they possibly could have, someone will lose respect for that couple, and certainly for the life they have espoused.  No, it isn’t always fair, but what is it we always tell our children?  Life isn’t fair.
            Every one of us is someone’s child.  If you were blessed as I was to have godly parents, they vowed you to God just as surely as Jephthah vowed his daughter.  They said, “We will raise this child to serve you all his life.”  Have you honored that vow?
 
"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children-- how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.' Deut 4:9-10
 
Dene Ward
 

Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. John 7:24
 
            What do you really know about Jephthah? All your life you have heard about the violent man who made a rash vow and lived to regret it when he killed his daughter as a burnt offering to God.  If you have not read the first of these two articles, close this one now and go do so.  No one knows anything good about Jephthah because we have let our preconceived notions keep us from looking at his life any further—who wants to use a man who killed his daughter as an example? Today we are going to fix that.
            One of the most obvious things about Jephthah is his desire for peace.  Jephthah—a peacemaker.  Does that surprise you?  Here is a man run off by his half-brothers because his mother was a prostitute, who takes up with a band of renegades out in the wilderness to survive.  Does that remind you of anyone?  David’s run from Saul comes instantly to mind—David, “a man after God’s own heart.”  So don’t judge Jephthah’s living arrangements harshly, unless you are willing to treat David likewise. 
            Despite his companions, when Jephthah was approached to save his people from the Ammonites, instead of rushing immediately to war, he tried to reason with the enemy.  He practically quoted two whole chapters of Numbers.  This man knew the writings of Moses—another reason we know he knew the law—and was not impulsive at all.  So much for “rashness.”
            How about us?  Do we know God’s word well enough to quote it when needed?  And do we try to keep the peace, even with our enemies, or are we chomping at the bit to get into a fight so we can strut our stuff?  Jephthah knew the cost of violence, and he didn’t want anything to do with it if he could stop it.  Spiritual fighting works the same way.  There will be casualties when the need arises.  Don’t rush into it if things can be settled peacefully and the truth remain unsullied.
            Jephthah kept his vow.  Don’t think for a minute that his daughter was the only one who lost out in this case.  Remember the culture.  She was his only child, the only descendant, and descendants and inheritances in the Promised Land were a big deal.  In fact, he knew that because of his vow, those half-brothers who had run him off in the first place would now receive his inheritance.  But this man who put God in every part of his life, kept the vow anyway.  “If Jehovah give me the victory,” he said to his half brothers.  “Jehovah our God gave us this land,” he told the Ammonite king.  “Whoever Jehovah our God dispossesses, we will dispossess,” he added.  He made the vow, “unto Jehovah.”  And notice this, “The Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah…and Jephthah vowed a vow,” 11:29,30.  Surely the Spirit of Jehovah would have left him if he intended to sacrifice anyone in a bloody way.
            Jephthah was a man of faith.  The Hebrew writer holds him up as our example.  He remained faithful despite ill treatment from both his family and the people of God.  How many times have you heard the excuse for leaving the church, “They treated me wrong? If that’s the way the church is I don’t want anything to do with it.”  Jephthah put God first in every consideration.  He knew that God was with his people so that’s where he needed to be, despite how he had been treated.  His own feelings were not more important than the plan of God.
            Would you have ever known the examples this man set if you had not gotten past the barrier of ignorance surrounding his devoting his daughter to God?  It isn’t even logical to believe that he killed her.  Who would have offered the sacrifice?  Only a priest could offer an acceptable sacrifice, and which one would have ever dared?  Jephthah knew the law and would never have done it himself.  Saul did offer a sacrifice and lost his kingdom for doing so.  King Uzziah did burn incense on the altar of incense and was immediately struck with leprosy.  Jephthah did not know about them, but we do.  God does not stand for disobedience in the rituals of His service.  He would not have stood for it from Jephthah either.  The man obviously obeyed God’s laws in all its particulars, including the manner in which he devoted his daughter to God.
            Remember context.  Remember word studies.  Remember to think.  And don’t ever forget the lessons Jephthah has to teach us.
 
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight…Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, Heb 11:32-34; 12:1.
           
Dene Ward

Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment. John 7:24
 
            One of my women’s classes just reached the story of Jephthah’s daughter.  Once again I have enjoyed watching the dawning of realization in the eyes of those who thought they knew something but found otherwise, followed by the absolute joy of discovery as they looked again at old passages and found new things.  It’s addictive.
            Studying Judges 11 is about learning what “context” really means.  The context of that chapter isn’t just the chapters before and after.  It isn’t even just the whole book of Judges.  The context involves the Law of Moses, both the historical and legal aspects, the prophets, and even the gospels. 
            Jephthah did with his daughter “according to his vow,” 11:39.  If you want to know exactly what he did, you first need to investigate the laws about vows.
            There was absolutely nothing wrong with making a vow.  All my life I have heard about the “rash vow made in the heat of battle.”  Wrong.  The vow was made well before the battle.  I have heard about “the lack of faith in making a deal with God—if you’ll do this God, I’ll do that.”  Wrong.  The law expected men to make such vows.  It was common and considered a sign of piety and devotion to God.  After all, they went to God with their requests, not to an idol.  In fact, Jacob and Hannah both made vows with the same formula (Gen 28 and 1 Sam 1), as did others.
            Jephthah did not expect an animal to greet him at the gate when he came home.  The correct reading of 11:31 is whosoever not whatsoever.  Perhaps he expected a servant to be outside working, to see him coming from a distance and meet him to help him unload his gear.  Whoever he expected, it was not his daughter. 
            The Law did make provisions for vowing people.  Just read Leviticus 27.  When a person was vowed to God, they were redeemed with a certain amount of money, and then their lives devoted to God.  Ever read the story of Hannah and Samuel?  Hannah did the same thing to Samuel that Jephthah planned to do to whoever came to meet him, vowed him to God, which to his dismay turned out to be his daughter.
            Besides knowing the law, it helps to know the meaning of the word “devoted.”  The Israelites were required to “devote” Jericho to God as the firstfruits of the land of Canaan.  To do this they burned it, Josh 6:18,24, except for a few things that were “devoted” to the treasury.  That Hebrew word for “devoted,” is also translated “cursed,” “destroyed,” “consecrated,” or “dedicated,” depending upon what is devoted.  It is found all through Lev 27, the very place we found how to vow people to God.  When Jephthah speaks of offering a “burnt offering,” he is simply using an idiom for “devoting” someone to God.  According to the law, she had to be redeemed instead of killed and burned.
            So how was she devoted to God?  Evidently it involved celibate service of some kind.  What was it she mourned?  Her virginity—the fact that she would never marry, 11:37, not impending death.  What happened immediately after he fulfilled his vow?  “She knew not a man” 11:39, evidently for the rest of her life.  That phrase makes no sense if she were killed. For men celibacy was not an issue--Samuel had sons--but I can well believe that for women in that culture who wished to vow themselves, or who were vowed by another, it had to be otherwise.  In fact, according to the law, a husband could undo his wife’s vow, so it made sense that she should not put herself in a position where that might happen if she truly wished to devote herself to God.  We read of women who served at the door of the tent of meeting in 1 Samuel 2:22.  In Luke we read of Anna who, after her husband’s death, instead of remarrying, spent her remaining days at the temple, which turned out to be several decades.
            And finally:  in the Law, human sacrifice was perhaps the most odious crime listed.  “Thou shalt not…” it plainly said, Lev 18:21.  It was “an abomination,” Deut 12:31.  Anyone who did was to be “put to death,” because God would “set his face against that man,” as well as the people who tolerated it, Lev 20:2-5.  Jephthah was not only not executed, he served as judge for six more peaceful years, Judges 12:7, and that was after successfully putting down a rebellion, 12:1-6.  Get out your Bibles and read your prophets, particularly Jeremiah 19.  God would never have allowed Jephthah to continue as judge, or succeed in battle (“and the Lord gave them into his hand” 11:32), if he had participated in human sacrifice.
            See what I mean about context?  Where did we go to find all this information about vows and devoting people to God?  We went to Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Joshua, 1 Samuel, Jeremiah, and Luke.  If you don’t know your scriptures, you can make some dreadful mistakes.  For one thing, you can misjudge a man and completely miss some of the lessons his faithful life can teach you—which we will look at next time.
 
American Standard Version (1901)--And the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah…
New World Translation--...the daughters of Israel would go to give commendation to the daughter of Jephthah…
King James Version, New Encyclopedic Reference Edition margin--And the daughters of Israel went yearly to talk with the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. Judges 11:40.
 
Dene Ward

One of the things we dreaded about moving into town was having to deal with an HOA.  Homeowners' Associations breed all sorts of nightmare stories that are easy to find on the internet.  I think that every time I look at the news, I see yet another story about people losing their homes to the petty tyrants of one of those institutions.  As for ours, at least the fees were small, about 10% of one of the other neighborhoods we looked at.  Since it was so small we reasoned that they were not doing that much and shouldn't be a problem to deal with.
            About a week after we moved in, still trying to clean the place up and unpack, we received a letter from the HOA saying our "turf was weak" and we had "one week" to fix the problem or we would be fined every day after that until it was.  This was not a good introduction to our HOA.
            I sat down and sent an email to the property manager detailing all we were dealing with inside the house which was our priority, plus our ages and disabilities, and finally asked the question, "How exactly do you make ugly grass grow beautiful in one week?"  Especially after just coming through a drought (as our next door neighbor told us).  That did take care of the problem, but then two months later, we were having our yard dug up to fix the drainage issues in an HOA-approved action, and got another letter saying our sod needed replacing in ten days, "or else."  The work would not even be finished for another month.  Once again we called, and the problem was taken care of.
            Then we received notice of the quarterly HOA meeting to which all residents were invited.  So we went.  Having arrived early and with only a couple of others besides the board of three (and one of them absent) and the property manager, we were able to engage in small talk and get to know one another better.  Our impression?  These were not unreasonable people.  They were much friendlier than those two letters sounded and welcomed us into the neighborhood.  Then the meeting began and we suddenly saw some of the things they dealt with, things that might have left me much less cheerful than they were.
            At last we got our chance to speak, and we learned some things about how an HOA runs, the responsibilities they had that neither of us had ever guessed, and the legal ramifications if things were not done in a certain way.  When Keith finally had his say, we were encouraged to always call when we got a letter so they could consider the circumstances.  We discovered that they had, in fact, not fined anyone in years!  The law says they have to treat every resident the same regardless their situation or they could be sued, but if we just called and talked to the property manager, it could probably be handled that way.  Perhaps there are legitimate HOA horror stories, but we left with a much better opinion of our HOA.
            Do you think it was that sort of communication that the Lord had in mind when he said that people with personal issues should get together and talk with one another first? (Matt 18:15-17).  We went with an attitude to listen first.  Listening taught us many things we were unaware of.  Then when we had our turn to speak, we automatically tempered our language and heat level because we realized things we had never known before.  We still had suggestions, but put them forth in a manner that meant the board listened instead of automatically tuning us out.  We all understood one another a lot better, and we came up with a solution that kept them out of legal trouble and us from a lot of resentment.
            When we go to others first before speaking to the brother in question, what should have been a small problem becomes much larger.  Before long, something between two becomes something between a few dozen or more.  Do we tell others because we want everyone's sympathy rather than a closer relationship with our brother?  If so, that attitude tells tales on our own hearts, even if we are in the right in the personal matter—which is now no longer personal, and in which we are now no longer in the right because we have disobeyed the Lord's instructions for how to handle it.
            God's way is not only the right way, it is the wise way.  Maybe it will not always bring a good resolution because of the recalcitrance of the wicked, but it is far more likely to do so with a brother who has made an honest mistake or just acted in a moment of weakness than our disobedient way will.
 
​Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another's secret, lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end (Prov 25:9-10).
 
Dene Ward

A long time ago, I invited a newcomer to our women’s Bible study and was shocked when she adamantly refused to come.  “I know what happens in those so-called classes,” she said.  “They gossip and try to run the church.”  I assured her that such was not the case in our class, but she soon left our congregation without ever giving us the opportunity to prove it. 
            That comment upset a lot of the women in that place, but you know, she had probably seen a class that did do those things.  I have heard of classes like that from others.  I have also visited in places where the cotton candy fluff being touted as serious Bible study was enough to turn me off as well.  Then I recently sat in a gathering of women where we were told that we probably had more interest in the teacher’s choice of makeup brand than in her qualifications to teach us.  Shame on us if that is true, and double shame for perpetuating it.
            Some shallow-minded women probably do sit on the pews in every meetinghouse—right beside men who spend more time talking sports, cars, and tools than they do Bible.  Trivial pursuit has nothing to do with gender; it is just that each gender considers the others’ more trivial than theirs.           Why we think that women are incapable of deep study and deep thought is a mystery.  I can bear witness to more deep discussions on a Tuesday morning than I have ever heard on Sundays or Wednesdays in a class dominated by male conversation.  It may be true that women are the practical ones who get things done, but that does not mean they cannot think!
            There have always been Marys, willing to sit at the Lord’s feet.  But just because Martha was busy serving—especially in John 12 where she was not chided by the Lord—does not mean she was not listening.  If women couldn’t cook supper and hear what was going on across the room at the same time, the family would fall apart.  At the death of her brother, Martha met Jesus with exactly the same words her sister did, Lord if you had been here, he would not have died, but she went on to add, and even now I  know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you, 11:21,22.  She then discussed the final resurrection with him.  Don’t tell me this woman was shallow because she knew how to cook.
            When Paul says to Timothy, From a babe you have known the sacred scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through Jesus Christ, 2 Tim 3:15, it wasn’t his Greek father who taught him that.  It was his mother and grandmother, and they taught him about Christ from the Old Testament in such a way that all of them could recognize him when he came along, something most of the scribes, priests, rabbis, and Pharisees, learned men that they were, could not do.
            In every place I have been, I have found a group of women who will spend hours studying the scriptures, who will dig deeply into subjects that confound even the great Biblical scholars.  They not only do it, they eat it up.  Once or twice, the growth of the women has finally inspired their men to study more, just so they wouldn’t be embarrassed.
            Today, ladies, I challenge you to study—to dig deeply into subjects you may have never even heard of.  Open your minds to ideas that may seem new and show God that you do care about Him and what He says, and not just the daily running of your homes.  If people think we cannot handle the depth, it is up to us to show them otherwise.  Don’t just get angry at the stereotypes, prove them false.
 
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.  And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38.   

Dene Ward

We were driving down the country highway to Bible study.  It became apparent when we crossed the county line that the mowers had been sent out to cut the grass on the right of way.  I suddenly thought of the increasing gas prices and asked Keith, “Is there a valid reason to mow the side of the road these days?”
            Turns out there is.  “It increases visibility for the ones pulling out of the driveways and lanes.”  Fewer accidents is certainly cost effective, not to mention the value of saved lives.  It also helps the ones already on the road to see the deer or the raccoons or the possums or the stray dogs standing at the side so they can be aware and slow down.  I never would have thought of that if I hadn’t asked.
            God obviously intended that we should ask why.  Remember those piles of stones taken from the bottom of the Jordan River? When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' then you shall tell them… Josh 4:6.
            I have been places where anyone who asked why was treated like either a troublemaker or a heretic.  It isn’t unscriptural to ask why.  In fact, the unscriptural thing is not to explain why.  God meant us to tell each generation why we do what we do.  He meant us to carefully explain his authority, his plan, and his promises.  Maybe some are trying to make trouble, but the remedy is the same as for those who are sincere—tell them why! 
            Do we want our children to carry on the plan of God in the next generation?  Do we want them to have the same hope that we do?  They cannot get to Heaven on our coattails.  They must have their own faith, a faith that comes by hearing the word of God, just as ours did.  Or did it?  Are we also carrying on practices we cannot prove are correct, only because that is what we’ve always done?  Have we mistaken traditions for laws, binding the commandments of men on others just as those we so often condemn?  If we don’t know the answers to why, we might be open to the same criticism.
            I have heard people ruin the opportunity when an interested soul asks why.  If a friend or neighbor asks why we do things that way in “our church,” we often jump on that phrase and explain, scoldingly, that the church belongs to Christ, and the poor questioner never does get an answer to his question.  Instead he feels attacked and never asks again. 
            More than once Keith has been addressed as “pastor” when a similar question was asked.  Imagine if he had simply spent the time pontificating about the correct Biblical meaning of “pastor” instead of answering the question.
            God always expected people to ask why. Check out these passages:  Ex 12:26; 13:14; Deut 6:20,21; Psa 78:3,4; Isa 38:19.  Even today he expects us to be able to answer the question, “Why?”  But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear, 1Pe 3:15.
            Perhaps you should begin with this question:  Can I do that?  Can I give the “why” for my hope?  Peter gives you the answer if you just keep reading.  Let that be your project for the day.
 
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.         
 
Dene Ward