The last entry in the series.
I have had some wonderful comments come up in my classes.  Women who were not too embarrassed to share a moment of vulnerability, a mistake in judgment, or a light bulb moment have all had great impacts on their listeners.  I have come to love these women who have faced adversity in many ways and kept their faith, who have handled doubt and come out stronger.  Without these students, my classes would have been ho-hum at best.

            I haven’t much to add to this after the last subject we discussed.  Comments can be motivated by practically all the things that questions can be, both good and bad.  As we said last week, we won’t discuss the negative attitudes.  No one who cares enough to read these things is likely to have bad attitudes.  The same guideline goes for this topic as that one:  think of your classmates when you make your comments.  I honestly believe that love is what has made my best students so willing to share—to keep others from the same painful mistakes or help them through similar experiences.

            I especially appreciate a student who sees that I have not communicated well and has a simpler way to say what she has understood.  More than once it has instantly cleared confusion from the other faces.  When you do this, though, please make it brief.  Too many times we spoil what would have been wonderful by adding too many unnecessary words, words that dilute the effect of the simple explanation and make it once again muddled. 

            “Muddled” is the perfect word.  When you put fresh mint, for example, in the bottom of the pitcher and pound on it with a wooden spoon, you are “muddling” the drink you are making.  Instead of being plain tea, it will now be mint tea, or peach, or raspberry, or whatever else you “muddled.”  It will no longer be plain and simple tea.  In fact, you might not be able to tell what the initial beverage was before you “muddled” all those flavors in it.  The simpler the comment, the fewer the words, the better.

            And may I say this as kindly as I know how?  Class is not the place to show everyone how much you know.  I have been in Bible classes where people in the class practically took over and taught it from their seats.  I call these “preacher comments.”  I’m sorry, dear brothers.  I have the utmost respect for what you do, but you are definitely the worst offenders.  Then there are the ones who seem to think no one can say it as well as they can.  As in the first instance, comments should be brief and to the point.

            Comments should also be on the subject.  Any time I hear, “I know this is off topic, but...” I groan inwardly.  We are supposed to be learning what the teacher is supposed to be teaching us, not some other lesson someone in the pew decided on.  The elders have a reason for the classes they choose—at least they should—and no one else should decide what needs to be taught.  The shepherds are feeding the flock the things the flock needs, from careful observation and thought.  The man in the pew may be feeding them what he thinks they need, and in reality, what he wants them to hear, usurping authority in the process.

            And we should make this clear too—just because a class was full of comments does not mean it was a good class.  It may very well mean the teacher completely lost control.  If you remember nothing else, remember this:  anything anyone can come up with off the cuff is far less beneficial than the things the teacher has spent hours preparing—at least it had better be.

            So, comments?  Yes, please.  Brief, on topic, clear and helpful.  Always think before you speak—but then that is perfect advice any time.

            My students excel in all the areas we have discussed.  They are excited learners who work hard and consider one another before themselves.  Together we make a safe place to discuss the things we have all wondered about or that trouble us, without having to worry about anyone judging us or spreading our comments and private experiences beyond the classroom doors.  What is said in class, stays in class—that is our rule.  If every Bible class followed their examples, the church would be more knowledgeable and more loving, just as they are becoming week after week.

Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me, Rom 15:2,3.

Dene Ward

I am getting tired of this.  Too many times lately I have heard that we should not worry about the examples left to us in God’s word—we can’t do it anyway.  It’s just a bunch of idealism.  We should be content with what we can do so our self-esteem won’t suffer; so we won’t have to deal with guilt; so we won’t push ourselves beyond our limits.  We should stop looking to Biblical role models and just be ourselves.

            Maybe it’s the generation I came from.  Maybe it’s the family work ethic I grew up with.  I can just hear my grandmothers both saying, “If you have time to whine, you have time to do a little more work.” 

            Those women just did what had to be done, when it had to be done, how it had to be done, and never expected praise for it.  They never suffered a lack of self-esteem either.  They were both happy women, content with their lots in life despite the real sweat they sweated and the long hours they kept, both in the home and in the workplace.  One grandmother, widowed from her 40s, was still walking to work in her 70s.  In Florida.  Even in the summer.  If you had told them they were strong women, they would have laughed in your face.

            I am tired of having Biblical examples held up as impossible.  I am tired of hearing how we should just ignore them and not worry about being like them, because we can’t anyway.  God has always given His people examples to follow.  Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Abraham, Samuel, and David were always held up for the Israelites to emulate throughout the chronicles, the psalms and the prophets.  What?  Should He have given them a reprobate to imitate?

            The Hebrew writer gives us a whole list of people to model ourselves after.  And guess what?  Not a one of them was perfect—yet they all did at least one amazing act of faith, something we probably think we “just can’t do.”  Shall we ignore them because, after all, God would not want us to experience a feeling of failure? 

            Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Cor 11:1 to follow his example.  Yes, it was a specific example the context of which begins in chapter 8, but still—can we imitate Paul at all?  Or shall we claim disability and dispense with his advice?  “After all, we’re not Paul…”

            I am tired of having women who began in the depths of sin held up as the example to follow as if they had never changed.  Jesus told the adulterous woman in John 8, “Go thy way and sin no more.”  Wasn’t that an impossible task?  But I bet that forgiven woman tried to accomplish it a whole lot harder than we do and succeeded far better for the trying. 

            If we are asking too much of people to strive for the ideal, then how could Peter have ever written:  For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps, 1 Pet 2:21.  How could Paul have said we are to be “conformed to the image of His son,” Rom 8:29; and “walk in love as Christ loved us” Eph 5:2; and “Have this mind in you which was also in Christ” Phil 2:5?  How could John have dared write “If we abide in him we should walk as he walked” 1 John 2:6?

            Certainly following Christ’s example perfectly is a difficult task.  But tell me, how can you ever become better if the goal you have set before yourself is easily attainable?  If I wanted to become a long distance runner, surely my goal should be something more than running down to the mailbox and back—even my mailbox which is nearly half a mile away.  Surely if it is frustrating to model ourselves after a high example, we should avoid using the Lord as one.  That is what follows from the logic I have been hearing lately:  the only thing that will come from me trying to be like my Lord is self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness, so I shouldn’t even try.

            God must think otherwise.  He places high expectations in front of us, and He expects us to use them as goals, not ignore them because they are impossible.  Do you know why?  Because He gives us the tools to reach them.

            1 Pet 4:11—We serve by the “strength which God supplies,” not what we supply.

            Eph 3:20—His power “works in us;” His power, not ours.

            2 Tim 3:17—He equips us “for every good work;” not just the ones we find easy.

            God does expect a lot from us.  Here is the key:  stop picking at it like a sore.  Just do what is set before you every day, that much and no more.  If you have time to sit down and cry about it, you’re wasting one of the few precious commodities you can control, and that for only the moment.  Remember where your power comes from, and do not doubt it for an instant. 

            Will it be easy?  No—maybe that is another one of our problems.  We expect God to make it comfortable.  We expect it to be fun.  We expect it to never hurt.  We think if we have to sweat it isn’t fair.  God never promised any of that.  He did promise all the help we could possibly need.

            Here is where you find your sense of self-worth:  not in what you alone can do, but in recognizing that with a loving Father’s help, you can do more than you ever dreamed possible.

 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work, 2 Corinthians 9:8.

Dene Ward

I went into the grocery store a few months ago with my check ledger in hand.  I had written a check for groceries that, after two months, had not shown up at the bank.  Usually that store processes my checks faster than anyone, so it seemed obvious that they had somehow lost the check, and my groceries had not been paid for.

            I asked for the manager, and the young lady behind the desk went to find him after I assured her that I really did need him and she could not handle the problem.  “Uh oh,” her eyes said, obviously expecting a serious complaint.  When the manager came, I opened my ledger, explained the problem, and offered to rewrite the check, less the stop payment charge on the first one.  They were the ones who lost it after all.

            For a moment he just stood there.  He was so shocked that the words would not come, not even to okay this solution to the problem.  Finally he said, “I appreciate your honesty.  Give me a few days and we will see if the check is around here somewhere.”  I said that was fine, but as I walked away I felt his eyes on my back.  I was some sort of alien creature, he probably decided.  Anyone else would have jumped at the chance for a week’s worth of free groceries.

            Honesty is a rare commodity these days.  For a country that claims to be “Christian” this is a travesty.  Honesty is perhaps the most important factor in whether or not we will be saved.  Jesus himself said that the Word could only grow in hearts that were “honest and good,” Luke 8:15, and how will I ever know I need the Lord if I am never honest with myself?

`           I think that nothing makes me angrier than to have someone accuse me of lying.  Yet, I know that others lie every day.  Keith’s work is totally infested with it.  Lies are a criminal’s stock in trade.  What is so funny is that when they get started, he usually interrupts them and finishes their stories.  They look at him in amazement.  “Don’t think you are so smart,” he tells them.  “I’ve heard them all before.” 

            And they usually trip themselves up anyway.  How about the guy who “accidentally” killed his girlfriend?  “You fumbled the gun in an armload of stuff and hit her?  What bad luck.  Where?” Keith prompted.

            “In the leg.  The second time I got her in the face,” he answered.  The second time.  “Accidentally.”  Suuuure.  Lying lips are an abomination to Jehovah, but they who deal truly are his delight, Prov 12:22.

            Too many people who, technically, are not criminals think they can get away with dishonesty as well.  They cheat every little chance they get, bending the truth in their favor, or keeping part of it secret, the part that will benefit them.  False balances are an abomination to Jehovah, but a just weight is his delight, Prov 11:1.

            Dishonesty may seem small when compared to other sins, but God places it among what we would consider the worst, including murder, Rom 1:28ff, 1 Tim 1:9,10.  Over and over the New Testament enjoins Christians to live an honest life in every area, 2 Cor 4:1,2; Eph 4:25; Phil 4:8; Col 3:9; 1 Thes 4:11,12, and it ends with this promise: But the fearful and unbelieving and abominable, and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death, Rev 21:8.

            Go out there today and make someone look at you funny.  Make someone wonder what planet you came from.  Tell the truth.  Pay your debts.  Don’t take advantage of someone else’s poor math.  He may snicker behind your back because you were so naïve as to be honest, actually paying what you owe rather than getting away with something, but his opinion is not the one that matters.

 
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, he who despises the gain of oppression, that shakes his hands from taking a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of blood and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil, he shall dwell on high, his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks, his bread shall be given him, his water shall be sure, Isa 33:15,16. 

Dene Ward

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.
 More and more I hear people talk about how “the Lord opened a door to me,” or some variation such as, “This is an opportunity from the Lord.” 

 My first thought was how nice it is that more and more people are putting the Lord God into their decisions and their lives on an everyday basis. Then, further, that it was nice that they were not too scared of being labeled “Pentecostal” to talk about God working through them.

 But then I began to wonder how I am to know whether a door is an opportunity from God or whether it is an open trap from Satan. Of course, if the thing is wrong in and of itself, we can be sure. But, not all Satan’s traps are baited with lusts/evil; some are baited with distractions and time-wasters and faith-weakening actions that are not of themselves sinful. We do agree that God is not whispering the answer in our heads, so how can we know? 

 Well, the Apostle Paul could not tell according to Acts 16. He started for Asia. To all measurements this holy man could take, Asia was the door. The Spirit had to say, “No.”  Later Paul would call Ephesus a “great door and effectual,” but not yet, the Spirit said. Then he looked to Bithynia for it likewise seemed to be an opportunity for the gospel, but again the Spirit said, “No.”  Finally we know the Spirit led him to Philippi.  None of the choices were sinful, but only one was God’s door at that time. Absent such a direct leading from God, no one can know whether a thing is a door or a side road into a bog, not even so spiritual a man as the Apostle Paul.

 Some have so fiercely latched onto the idea that their choice is an opportunity from God that even advice from sincere, older, godly men with a whole lot more experience they denounce with, “You do not as much faith as I do.”

 Does no one else see the potential for an almost arrogant spirit in this attitude? First, God chose ME. Second, I listen to no one, not even brethren with knowledge, brethren with love for the Lord and love for me. Third, I turn it into a matter of faith and I have enough to make it go. Often, when the door slams, the opportunity sinks without a trace, and their faith goes with it.

 Looking back through my life, I can discern a few times that now appear to me to have been God’s door of opportunity. But is that how God views them? Again, I see many times I slogged through the bog, slowed by mud and briars and in danger of varmints. But, is that how God views those times?

 I doubt that at 11:30 pm, Paul and Silas, being in severe pain from a beating and after hours of being locked in stocks, were thinking of their inner prison as a door of opportunity. By dawn, they knew that it had been. All we can do is the thing they did—however they could at that moment they served the Lord. They sang and prayed. Wherever we are, we need to be doing what we can, making the best decisions we can to accomplish God’s work. We must not let ourselves become too enthusiastic, and certainly not too arrogant, to hear wisdom.

 A thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong, 2 Cor 12:7-10.

 Keith Ward

            We recently had a visit from some old friends we had not seen in 25 years.  It was as if it were just yesterday.  We spent the time saying, “Remember this one?  Remember that one?  But whatever happened to so and so?  Remember when we went here or there, did this or that?”  We started talking and went on for seven hours.  We looked at pictures too, usually recognizing old friends in an instant—the eyes never change.

            Seven hours, while a good visit, is not enough time to catch up on the entire 25 years since we had seen this couple, or the 31 years since we had seen our mutual friends.  Maybe that is why one of the greatest appeals of Heaven is seeing loved ones and friends once again.  How many hymns do we sing about it?

            Dreaming of the comrades that so long have gone…
            Saved ones gone to be with Jesus… now are waiting for my coming…
            Oh, think of the saints over there, who before us the journey have trod…
            If we never meet again this side of Heaven, I will meet you on that beautiful shore.

How many funeral sermons leave us with the hope that once again we will all be together?

            It’s real, you know.  Jesus promised a believing centurion in Matthew 8:11, Many shall come from the east and the west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven.  If their loved ones will see them again, why won’t I see mine?  After Lazarus’s death, Martha said to Jesus, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day, John 11:24.  Jesus never said anything to indicate her perception was wrong.  It’s a real hope, a real promise, one that should get us through the worst temptations and the worst trials successfully. 

            Isn’t it worth any sacrifice or any trial to see a long gone grandparent or parent again, a beloved mate who made the trip ahead of you, or old friends who meant so much to you?  That’s how it will be, picking up where we left off when they had to say good-bye, if we only want it badly enough.

            Beyond the sunset, oh glad reunion,
            With our dear loved ones who’ve gone before.
            In that fair homeland we’ll know no parting,
            Beyond the sunset, forever more.

 

Dene Ward

I love students who ask questions, and most of mine do.   Please ask your questions.  Many times when one of my students asks a question, someone speaks up and says, “I was wondering that too.”  A teacher who doesn’t welcome questions ought to have a seat and stay there.  Questions show you have been listening, and even better, thinking about what you have heard, the answer to every good teacher’s prayer. 

            My classes are peppered with questions.  I am thrilled that these ladies are not too embarrassed to ask, and confident in how I will accept those questions.  Yes, there are unwelcome questions, but the difference between them and the good questions should be obvious to anyone. 

            This guideline takes care of almost everything: don’t be selfish in your questions.  Consider the effects on the other class members.  Consider who might be listening to you, including babes in Christ and outsiders from the community.  Remember that there may be visitors passing through or people moving in, “shopping” for a new church home.  Consideration for others should be the main characteristic of a Christian, even in Bible classes.  I seldom have a problem with questions like that, unlike my brothers who teach auditorium classes, and my wonderful students deserve all the credit for that.  Here are some other guidelines, most of which I have never had to deal with.

            Questions that are so far off the subject they give everyone mental whiplash are not appropriate.  One wonders, in fact, if the student has been listening and considering the class material at all, or simply letting his mind wander.  A good teacher arrives with a goal and a plan to reach it.  When you dig a pothole in the road with an unrelated question, you can seriously hinder progress in the journey to that goal. 

            Recently a teacher I know was asked, “Would you please comment on…” and because the subject was totally removed from the point of the lesson and not one he could have intelligently answered without study, he simply said, “No, that’s not something I am prepared to talk about.”  Some might criticize him, but I won’t.  He had the best interests of the class at heart.  As their leader, it was up to him to reach the goal of the lesson, not be sidetracked by something that didn’t even have a black and white answer in the scriptures.  It’s time we supported our teachers and the risks they take to their reputation, when anything they say can be misconstrued and often is, instead of sitting back taking the easy, judgmental way out and joining the bandwagon in criticizing them.  If you have one of those questions, please save it for private conversations with the teacher.  Do not disrupt the learning of others because you have a private problem. 

            This is especially true in the Sunday morning adult class where you never know who may be there.  A smaller class with a defined sub-purpose of encouragement may stop for a moment if someone is in need.  Many of my women’s classes have done exactly that, but even then, we were conscious of who was present.  If I deemed it inappropriate at that particular moment, I gently suggested a private moment after class.  Usually several others, mature women who made it a point to be aware of what was going on, stayed with me and the one in need received the attention she required.  I learned this the hard way, after allowing classes to continue on a distracting course, which ultimately led to damaged relationships because I was too afraid of hurting feelings.  Tell me which is worse, a permanently injured bond between sisters in the Lord or a momentarily bruised ego that was soothed as soon as possible?  We have said this before—teachers must sometimes make hard, spur-of-the-moment decisions.  If you can’t, then you shouldn’t teach.

            Then there are those who seek to mask an agenda with their questions, or who have a major hobby they wish to broach at every opportunity, or who have a vendetta against the teacher.  I would assume that none of those even care to be reading this, so we won’t deal with them here.  Let me just add this:  I have seen young teachers in adult classes discouraged to the point of never teaching again because no one but him was brave enough to take on a sinner.  Shame on the leadership of a church when that happens.

            As I said, the wrong questions are usually obvious.  Sometimes, though, an honest person simply needs a little direction.  It is easy when you are in the middle of a personal problem, to forget one’s obligations to others. 

            A class full of questioners is a teacher’s dream, a dream I have fulfilled every week by some wonderful women.  Don’t be embarrassed to ask the questions that need asking.

After three days they found [Jesus] sitting in the Temple, listening to them and asking them questions, Luke 2:46.

Dene Ward

When my studio was still open I enrolled in several professional organizations.  The one dearest to my heart was the small group here in the county.  We met seven times a year, had our business meeting, followed by a lively program one of us, or sometimes all of us, participated in, then a country potluck lunch that had us all trying to keep our eyes open as we taught that afternoon.

            Keeping the membership up was a constant battle.  We talked to our friends, invited neighbors, even advertised in the weekly paper.  The results barely kept up with the attrition of old age, relocation, and moms going back to work.  Oh, everyone got a kick out of the programs.  No one turned down a free lunch.  But when they found out they would have to work on fundraisers and projects, suddenly everyone was too busy. 

            Some of them paid dues, but never showed up, thinking that was at least a monetary help.  Eventually we decided that if that was all they would do, we would not approach them the next year to renew their membership.  Our state and national affiliation dues were charged per capita, and our miniscule local dues barely covered them.  What we were about wasn’t fun and games and good food.  Our stated aim was to help keep music programs in the poor rural schools and provide scholarships for worthy students to help with the costs of private lessons.  If a member did not have the same interests, he really didn’t belong anyway.

            Isn’t it that way with the Lord’s body?  Too many are on the rolls in name only.  Oh, they may come, but not for the reason the scriptures give.  Assembling with the saints is not about entertainment; it’s about provoking one another to love and good works, Heb 10: 24, 25.  It isn’t about showing off our talents and receiving praise; it’s about edification and giving God praise, 1 Cor 14:26.  It isn’t about whether I approve of what went on or who is there, it’s about communing with the Lord, Matt 26:29.  It certainly isn’t about judging others, their clothing, their words, their actions; it’s about realizing that the Judge of all is watching my worship and deciding whether or not it is acceptable.

            If all I do is sit there waiting to be catered to, or even uplifted for that matter, I have not fulfilled the real duty of meeting with my brethren no matter how many times I sit on that pew, or how long.  Walking in those doors places an obligation on me to act, not react.  Claiming membership means I need to get busy, not be served.  Putting my name on a roll means I do more than put my check in the plate. 

            Eventually my little organization no longer invited members in name only to re-up.  What would happen if the elders did that in the church?  But here is a more sobering thought—the Lord is already doing it.  Is your name still on His list?

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done… And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:12,15.

Dene Ward

These days I don’t do a lot of reading for pleasure.  By the time I do my Bible study and the necessities of life, like balancing the checkbook, paying bills, and making menus and grocery lists, all with the help of a magnifier or two, or three, my eyes are tired, and a headache is not far away.  So Keith has started bringing home books on CD from the library.

            For awhile I was carting my big boom box from room to room, which got old in a hurry, especially after the doctor said I had to be careful not to carry anything too heavy.  So Lucas picked up a portable CD player for me, with earphones and a belt to carry it.  Now I can go anywhere and listen to my books, while washing dishes, making beds, folding clothes, sorting coupons, sweeping the carport, or fixing dinner. 

            There are disadvantages.  If you walk into the laundry room while the washer is running, you miss a sentence amid the roar.  If the phone rings, you must quickly unzip your holder to get to the pause button before the answering machine picks up on the ringing phone.  If the earphone cord is hanging too freely, it will invariably snag on something and be yanked out, leaving you in total silence while the CD plays on.  Then there is what happened the other day.

            I was washing dishes and had to reach high up to hang a wet Ziploc bag from a shelf to drip dry into the sink so I could use it again another day.  I heard a beep, but thought nothing of it.  In another minute, the story mentioned something totally out of the blue.  A minute or so later a character I had never heard of spoke.  I took out the CD player and looked at the window.  I had been on track 3 only five minutes before and now I was on 12.  That could not possibly be right.  I hit the “next track” button and instead of going to 13 it went backwards to 8.  Again and it went ahead to 16, then backwards to 5, and then ahead to 10.

            Suddenly my slow brain caught on.  When I had bumped the countertop with my midsection, I had bumped the “shuffle”: button through the belt material, and the player was playing the tracks randomly instead of in order.  What a mess!  No wonder the story made no sense.

            You know what?  Sometimes we do that with the Bible.  It’s not just that it must be read in some sort of order.  It must be comprehended in order.  How many times have you tried to set up a Bible study with someone and the first thing he wants to study is the book of Revelation?  You cannot understand the book of Revelation without a working knowledge of prophetic language and an understanding of Old Testament prophecy.  When I hear some of the strange interpretations of that marvelous book going around, I immediately know someone is totally ignorant of those things.  The book itself is sandwiched by the promise that the things contained in it “must shortly come to pass,” 1:1; 22:6.  John expected those early Christians to understand it and be comforted by it in the tribulation which he “shared in,” 1:9.  Obviously, they knew how to interpret it correctly because they knew their scriptures, with less access to it than we have, I might add.

            Then there is the matter of context.  I have heard prooftexts taken out of their immediate context so often that when I actually looked them up and read the entire passage for each one, I had “epiphany” after “epiphany.”  There really is more to them than telling others they are wrong; in fact, many times they speak directly to us.  Take Matthew 15:9 for example: in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrine the commandments of men.  I have heard that applied to man-made creeds all my life, but start at the top of the chapter and see who Jesus is addressing—not pagans, not Samaritans, or even people who simply worshipped God incorrectly, but scribes and Pharisees, those of God’s people who tried their best to obey the Law exactly. In doing so, however, they managed to create traditions--commandments of men--that they treated as more important than the Law. 

            There is also “book context.”  Don’t treat the book of Proverbs like a book of Laws.  Proverbs are sayings that are generally true, not always true.  “Sacrilege!” I hear someone scream.  Look at Proverbs 26:4: Answer not a fool according to his folly lest you be like him.  So?  Now look at the very next verse.  Answer a fool according to his folly lest he be wise in his own conceit.  Now do you see what I mean?  You will definitely treat that book differently than you treat a doctrinal book.

            And that leads us to “Bible context.”  Many people find passages they think excuse them of whatever it is they are doing wrong, and spout them like water out of the blowhole of a whale, ignoring the entire teaching of the Bible.  Never interpret a verse in a way that makes it opposite of a plain teaching in another passage.  The Bible does not contradict itself.  If it does, then why should you care what it says?

            Be careful of that “shuffle” button when you study today.  It will confuse you as badly as reading a mystery story out of order.   

Give diligence to present yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling correctly the Word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15

Dene Ward

I have told my Psalms class several times as we go through these first five introductory lessons, “Yes, you can understand the Psalms without all this specialized knowledge.  You can read a psalm and make sense of it without knowing its genre, without understanding Hebrew poetry, certainly without knowing the difference between a miktam and a maskil.  But guess what?  You will not get as much out of that psalm as you will if you go to the trouble to do the research and learn a little about a foreign culture and its poetry.”

            In the past I approached Psalms the same way I approach poetry, which is seldom.  I am not a poetry person.  I much prefer reading and writing prose.  To me, and to anyone from our culture, poetry is about emotion, about attitude, about the “better felt than told.”  Because of that you are not going to find pure fact in poetry.  Poetry is “feel-good-fluff” to me and I really don’t have much use for it.

            Now re-read that last paragraph and insert the word “Western” ahead of every reference to “poetry.”  You see, our attitude toward poetry is the opposite of the Oriental’s.  Orientals believe that the function of poetry is to instruct.  Did you hear that?  Poetry is a teaching method.  Its very form aids in memorization—short lines of roughly equal length and abbreviated word count.  Their poetry is reserved for subjects of the highest order, especially the Divine. 

            My Western view may say, “This is poetry.  It’s all emotion, very little, if any, fact.  Don’t take it too seriously.”  But the Oriental mind says, “This is poetry.  These are the most important, most profound subjects you will ever read.  Pay attention and think about it.”

            Do you think that hasn’t changed my approach to the Psalms?  And how do you think I learned that?  From taking the time to research a foreign culture.  From going beyond the minimum in my Bible study.  Because of that I now know even more about the Word that is supposed to be guiding my life.

            How much time do you spend in the Word of God?  How much extra effort do you go to?  If the doctor told you that you have a disease, would you spend time looking it up?  Would you care enough to know as much as possible, instead of being satisfied with the doctor’s explanation?  Would you want to have hands-on control of your life, or would you just sit back and be happy with the briefest scan of a medical dictionary?

            You do have a disease—sin.  You do have dangers in your environment, things just as deadly to your soul as secondhand smoke to your lungs.  You need to be aware of every aid, every pitfall, everything that can possibly affect the outcome of your life. 

            Do you care enough to learn the Word of God as completely as possible, or will you trust someone else with your soul and hope a verbal vitamin a day will take care of it?

Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stands in the way of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of scoffers:
But his delight is in the law of Jehovah;
And on his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also doth not wither;
And whatsoever he does shall prosper. Psalms 1:1-3          

Dene Ward              

            I recently did a personal study about prayer, particularly using passages in the epistles.  One thing that struck me immediately was how much the early Christians prayed.  It was not merely a respite between songs or a punctuation mark at the end of the sermon; it wasn’t just a ritual at home performed before meals or at bedtime.  It was an important part of their lives and of their assemblies.

            Another thing I noticed was what these people prayed for.  Think a minute.  The last time you specifically asked someone to pray for you, it was about your physical health wasn’t it, or the health of a family member or friend?  Here is a challenge for you:  pick up a concordance and look up every use of the words pray, prayer, prayed, praying, or any other form of the word.  Confine yourself to the books of Acts through Revelation, since the point here is how early Christians prayed.  As you read through those passages, make a note of everything they prayed for or about.  Out of 52 passages, I found once or twice where physical health was mentioned or even alluded to—well, three or four if you count all three times Paul says in the same verse that he prayed for his thorn in the flesh to be removed.

            So what does that say about them and us?  Here were people, the majority of whom had come out of paganism, who had  to make drastic lifestyle changes, who, despite their immaturity in the faith—as we who were “raised in the church” or at least grew up in a “Christian nation” would define immaturity—these people, could see that the spiritual mattered much more than the physical.  As Paul might have worded it, they were spiritual and we are carnal.  Ouch!

            Does that mean it is wrong to pray for “the sick and afflicted?”  Of course not, since we do have a few examples.  I have asked for a lot of prayers lately.  But what is our motive in praying for health or safety?  What was theirs?  As Paul says in Philippians, do I want to stay here for the sake of others, for the sake of the gospel?  Do I want to stay healthy so I can serve the Lord and his people?  Or have I just not been everywhere and done everything I wanted to?  Am I just so sold on this life that the next holds no appeal for me?

            Once you have completed the little challenge I gave you earlier, try this one:  pray one prayer that does not mention anyone’s physical health at all.  You know what will happen?  If you are like me, a very short prayer.  You sit there and wonder, what do I say?  That was a sure indication to me that my prayers were not as spiritual as they ought to be. 

            Here are some passages that may help you start changing the emphasis of your prayers:  Eph 1:15-19; Phil 1:9-11; Col 1:9-18; 4:2-4; 2 Thes 1:11,12.  You can also refer to the list you made earlier.  The point is not to remove all prayers for the physically ill, but to add more for our spiritual needs, the things which should be most important to a Christian.

            You know that passage that says Ask and it shall be given you?  You will find that when praying these more spiritual prayers, when God answers them, your life will change for the better, no matter what your state of health.

But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and does not upbraid, and it shall be given him.  But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting; for he who doubts is like the surge of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord, a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.  James 1:5-8

Dene Ward