Today's post is by Keith Ward, part 2 of last month's topic.
 
Though it is clear that demons no longer inhabit and control people as they did in New Testament times, that does not mean that demons are no longer active.
 
I am often frustrated and sometimes get sinfully angry because things are "out to get me."  Many times, things have happened to ruin a project or a chore in such an unlikely way as to make winning the lottery a sure thing.  A few times, things have gone wrong in ways that clearly violated the laws of physics.  No.  Really!
 
Sounds like paranoia right? But, that does not mean it is not happening.  Consider Job.  Satan said to God, "Bet you I can make him sin." God replied, "No you can't; go to it." Now, we know the story of Job losing everything by natural (?) means in a series of events so improbable that we would hoot and throw popcorn if it were in a movie instead of the Bible.
 
Peter warns, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1Pet 5:8).   Do we not realize that just like he did with Job, Satan is using natural means to destroy us? We hit all the lights green when we have time to spare, and red when we are running late.  The opportunity for pornography, or alcohol, or theft, or slander or….arises when it seems impossible for us to be caught.  Who do you think makes these things happen? That teaching that makes something we want to do seem so right entices us because "even Satan fashions himself into an angel of light.  It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works."  (2Cor 11:14-15). 
 
Demons, agents of Satan, are everywhere working to destroy our walk and turn our claim to be Christians into a mockery.  Sometimes things do "fall up." Sometimes we do believe something we want to be true in spite of unclear logic supporting it.  Whatever it takes, that evil one will do in hopes of destroying us.  Beware!
 
Physical ailments can be "messenger(s) of Satan to buffet" us (2Cor 12:7).
Our best and noblest plans can be hindered by Satan (1Thess 2:18).
Evil men arise to power in the world "according to the working of Satan" (2Thess 2:9).
 
It helps me to deal with my weaknesses to realize that things do not just "happen to happen." Satan is out to get me.  God so warned.  I am not a victim of circumstances.  I am the target of evil trying to destroy me.  My faith is challenged and rises up to defend my soul when I know I am in a warfare and deadly missiles are being aimed at me.  I hope this will help you do the same.
 
Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph 6:10-12).
 
Keith Ward

I was 18, but I might as well have been 12.  Looking back I can see the warning signs, but as naïve as I was then I was blind to them.
 
             The summer between my freshman and sophomore college years I had found a job not far from the house at a concrete plant.  I had signed on as a “tile sorter” out in the warehouse on a crew full of women, but the yard boss saw on my application that I knew how to type so the first morning he made me the office secretary. 

              The work was simple and a little scarce—I answered the phone; I made the coffee; I figured payroll from the time cards and passed out paychecks.  I might have typed three letters all summer long.  Finally I found the old directory of suppliers and other concrete plants in the area.  It was scratched out and scribbled over with address and telephone changes so I gave myself the chore of researching and re-typing that whole thing on the days when there was literally nothing else to do for hours.  I think the whole point of me being there was so the yard boss could say he had a secretary like the big guys up in the front office.

              Aside from the pride issue, he was a decent man, a Jehovah’s Witness who actually talked with me about religious things when he was free.  He seemed impressed when I showed him a passage or two he didn’t know was there. 

              But his immediate underling was not as nice a man as he pretended to be when the boss was there.  Not that I knew it at first or none of this would have happened.  I can look back on it now and hear his words and know what he was thinking as surely as if he told me out loud, but not then.  I was too innocent and trusting.

              One day late in the summer I found myself alone in the office with him.  The old clerk was sick and the yard boss had been called up to the front office on the highway, a good quarter mile walk through the hot dusty yard beneath overhead cranes.  I had gone to the front counter to look for some forms and suddenly I found myself hemmed into a corner with this six foot something, 250 lb, fifty year old man coming right at me   Before I knew it, he grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed me.

              I am not sure what he expected, but somehow I got loose, slipped around him, and ran as fast as I could to the only restroom in the place, a grimy cubbyhole about four foot square.  I locked the wooden door, grabbed a scratchy, brown paper towel and scrubbed my face over and over and over and over.  Then I re-wet the towel, added more soap and went at it again.  I couldn’t stop myself.  It’s a wonder I didn’t draw blood.

              Now look at Psalm 51:2.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  This is the psalm David wrote after Nathan convicted him of the sins of adultery and murder.  I have read that in the Hebrew “wash me thoroughly” is literally “multiply my washings.”  After at least a year, long enough for Bathsheba to bear a child and that child to die, David finally realizes the enormity of his sins and feels the remorse like a knife in his heart.  One little plea for forgiveness won’t do in his mind, not for the terrible things he has done.  He feels the need for ritual cleansing over and over and over and over.  It isn’t a failure to accept God’s forgiveness; it’s an overwhelming sense of absolute filth.  

              When I read the literal meaning of “wash me thoroughly” those feelings I had standing in that grubby little bathroom over forty years ago came flooding back to me.  And now, like never before, I realize exactly how I ought to feel when I ask God’s forgiveness.  What I have done to Him is much worse than that which was done to me by a sordid lecher so many years ago.

              You need to feel it too.  If there is anything that will dowse your temptations like a bucket of water on a fire, that will.  I am not sure now how long I stood there shaking, sick to my stomach, but I did not leave that hideous little room until I heard other voices in the office.  Nothing was going to get me out there until I was sure I was safe.   

              Sin in your life will corrupt you.  Soap won’t get it out, no matter how many times you wash yourself.  Only the blood of the Lamb and the grace of God can cleanse you.  And even then, you should feel the need for more, and more, and more, and more, until finally you can face yourself in the mirror. 

              If you are having trouble with temptations today, remember this little story.  It’s not something I share lightly.
 
Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord GOD, Jer 2:22.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which you have broken may rejoice, Psalm 51:7,8.
 
Dene Ward

Have you heard the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin?  Well, it seems there may be a kernel of truth to it, but first let's go through it quickly.  One June day in 1284, according to the brothers Grimm, a colorfully dressed man arrived in Hamelin, claiming he could rid the town of its infestation of rats.  The town burghers agreed to pay him a sum for doing so.  He began playing a silver flute and lured all the rats to the Weser River into which they plunged and drowned.  The burghers then reneged on the deal.   The piper returned to the town on June 26 and began playing his flute again, this time luring away all the children over the age of 4. 

            Just a fairy tale, you say?  Maybe, or maybe not, especially since an actual date has now been attached to the event.  Manuscripts, paintings, even stained glass windows have been discovered depicting and describing the event as real.  What caused the children to leave?  You will find as many explanations as scholars studying it, and I will leave that to you.  But the part about the rats?  That was not added to the story for 300 years, so it is probably just legend.  Still, rodents are the issue today. 

            We have never had much trouble before now.  Barn cats do an excellent job.  Even after the second in a row went hunting one evening never to return, we had no trouble because a garter snake moved into the enclosed crawl space under the house.
 
             For four or five years that snake minded his own business, which was good for us—we seldom had a mouse in the house, in spite of living deep in the piney woods.  Sometimes we’d see him stretched out in the sunny yard, nearly four feet long thanks to his dark pantry beneath our floors, but we would turn and go the other way to keep the dogs off of him until he had returned home.

             One summer day, he ventured out while Keith was mowing.  He assumed the snake would turn and slither back into the flower beds as he approached.  Just as he passed by, the frightened reptile turned and darted toward the mower.  Keith groaned aloud as he rode right over him, scattering garter snake to the winds.

              The trouble started in the winter, of course.  I began hearing them gnaw on the bottom of the house.  So Keith crawled into that dark, dusty cavern with packets of poison, a flashlight, and a pistol, in case a less benevolent snake had moved in.  In a couple of days the noises stopped, only to start again three or four days later.  The packets of poison were empty.  More crawling, more packets, and once again quiet reigned in the night.  In about two weeks, we seemed to have the problem licked.

              Two months later, when Keith rose at 4:30 am to get ready for work, he found a mouse sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor.  We set out traps this time, as well as poison.  Sometimes I hear one in the middle of the night crunching the poison pellets.  Then we’ll have two or three nights of quiet before the next one arrives.  You see, where we live there is an endless supply of rodents.  Rats and mice will never make the endangered species list.

              Not all endless supplies are bad though.  The grace of God is a good case in point.  Christ told Paul, “My grace is sufficient” (2 Cor 12:9) to help you handle your problems.  It isn’t that you need to get rid of the problem, he told him; it’s that you need to trust that there is enough grace to help you through it.

              Paul told Timothy that God’s grace was “exceeding abundant,” 1 Tim 1:4.  The root word means “to abound,” a word that brings to my mind that Southern phrase “a gracious plenty.”  Yet in this passage Paul attaches an intensifier, huper (from which we get “hyper”). So it means “to abound exceedingly.”  Not just a lot, but a whole lot of a lot.  You simply can’t need more grace than God has to give, no matter how big a sinner you may think you are, nor how often you sin; no matter how big your problems are.  That means he’ll have enough for your neighbor too—you won’t lose out if you share.  Yes, in this case, an endless supply is a very good thing.
 
But not as the trespass, so also the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many.  And the law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly: that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Rom 5:15,20,21.
 
Dene Ward

We made a mistake this summer.  We planted climbing roses at either end of a fifteen foot long trellis, and then planted morning glories along it as well.  To fill up the blank spot in the middle, we told ourselves.  But as the summer progressed those morning glory vines wound their way not only up the trellis but across to the new rose canes and completely covered them.  They shaded the leaves from the already filtered sun in that area of the yard and even hid the few blooms the roses managed to put out.

              Enough, we decided, and Keith clipped the smothering vines one morning.  They were wound so tightly, I had to wait for them to begin to wilt before I could remove them without damaging the rose vines.  Do you know what happened?  For five days those clipped and wilted vines put on new blooms and not just a few.

              Finally on the fifth day, I grabbed some heavy duty scissors and began cutting and carefully unwinding them.  After a half hour of cautious work and quite a few bloody thorn-pricks, nearly all the morning glories were lying in a pile along the bottom of the trellis and I discovered more rose vines than I ever imagined trailing along nearly the entire fifteen feet of trellis.  I gathered the morning glories in an armful and tossed them out in the brushy field.

              The next morning we came out to look at the roses.  New red leaves grew on nearly every end, with half a dozen new buds.  Finally we can breathe, they seemed to be screaming at us.  Then we walked over to the field and out there in the thick grass lay those dead morning glory vines—with brand new purple, blue, pink, and magenta blooms on them!  The next morning we saw more new morning glory blooms.  It had been a week since they were cut and they had lain in the sub-tropical summer sun without even any rain. Yet there they were, putting on new blooms still, even though their vines were wilted and brown. 

              By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaks, Heb 11:4.

              How many hundreds of names do we know from the pages of Scripture?  Though they are long dead, their examples still speak to us and help us along our path. 

              Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Heb 12:1.

              That great cloud of witnesses continues to speak as we read about their lives, as we study them in Bible classes and hear them spoken of in sermons.  We give our children great Bible heroes to pattern their lives after, and well we should.  But what is true of them is true of us as well.

              After we are gone, our deeds will continue to speak, maybe not to as many as those in the pages of Scripture, but to everyone who knew us.  What will they see in the field after we are gone?  Will we leave nothing but a wilted vine, or will colorful blooms still dot the ground?  Will the deeds we do continue to inspire others, or will our useless lives stand as an example not to follow?  Will people talk about us with words of blessing or will others need to come along and undo the damage we left behind?

              Think about my morning glories today.  Someday your stem will be snipped, too.  What will be left behind for others to see?
 
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us, Titus 2:7,8.
 
Dene Ward

We have always had a large garden, mainly to keep the grocery bill affordable.  An 80 by 80 foot plot has been planted in three different places through the years as we came to know our land and which areas of it were best suited for what.
 
             But the past three or four years, we have downsized.  Half the original garden, now 40 by 80, is plenty of room for the little the two of us need, and we still have extra to give away on Sunday mornings.  But since the other half was already tilled, it seemed a shame to waste it.  So that first year Keith planted an entire pound of wildflower seeds in it.  If that does not impress you, consider that those seed packets you buy in the store containing 25 seeds are less than even a tenth of an ounce.  In fact, most of the weight, should you put them on a scale small enough to weigh ounces, is the paper packet itself.  So a pound of flower seeds is an enormous amount.

              As the spring and summer passed by, nothing came up.  What a disappointment.  Planting those seeds was a lot of work—tilling, sowing, rolling with a fifty gallon barrel, hauling hoses and setting up sprinklers to water it.  Too much work, he decided, to try it again. 

              Then one spring morning during the second year, he looked out on that side of the old garden space and saw what he had expected to see the year before.  Bright yellow fleabane in huge clumps, fire engine red, deep pink, and fuchsia phlox, orange gaillardia, yellow and maroon tickseed, and tall stems of black-eyed Susans and cone flowers.  It has been a delight all year long.  We just had to wait for it longer than expected.

              I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (1Cor 3:6)

              Planting for the Lord is hard work.  It may be natural to want to see results immediately.  It may be understandable to become discouraged when we do not.  Stop whittling on God's end of the stick.  Our job is to plant.  Period.  God will give the increase in His own good time.

              So keep sowing that seed.  You sow it with your words, with your offers to hold a Bible study, with the example you set when life goes awry as it sooner or later will for everyone.  You sow it on purpose and you sow accidentally when you do not realize someone else is watching and listening.  You sow it formally with written invitations and flyers and you sow when you just happen to think to invite out of the clear blue.  One of these days you might see a few results.  But then again, you may never see one.  That does not mean they won't happen in a heart years removed from the time you sowed, long after you are gone.

              And when those seeds bloom, they will be some of the most beautiful blooms on the face of the earth—a heart where the gospel has taken root and formed a servant of the Lord.  Sow something today, on purpose, and think about my wildflowers as you do.  God will give that increase.  We must learn to stop counting and see it by faith.
 
For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and returns not there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isa 55:10-11)
 
Dene Ward

If you have followed this blog from the beginning, you may think we have lived an exciting life, and I suppose it has had more than its share of odd events.  But really, we have not experienced much more than the usual instances of tragedy or lesser problems that occur in everyone's life.  And because of that, I have learned—the hard way, I will admit—to keep quiet when disaster hits someone, and just offer my presence, my service, and my love if I truly have not experienced what they going through at the time. 

              But this subject I can speak to because of personal experience, and have finally decided to because there are not only few of us out there, but the way our justice system works, the things you would most like to do are exactly the things you cannot do without causing the victim more problems than they already face.  Some things will depend upon the type of violence they have endured, but many things are common to them all.  So here is my list of things to remember when someone you know has been the victim of a violent crime.

              Do not go to them asking questions about what happened.  In our justice system, the perpetrator is still just an "alleged" criminal, and the victim will actually be under investigation, too.  When law enforcement finds out he has talked to you, you will be on their list of people to question because they will assume that, as a close friend, the person claiming to be the victim will have been more open with you and may have actually said something incriminating.
              And the irony is that yes, that victim will not only want to talk, he will need to talk.  The adrenaline rush of his fight-or-flight instinct will turn him into a veritable chatterbox, and the professional investigators know that.  That is why they called my home at 1:30 a.m. trying to set up an interview—right then.  Having a husband in the system meant that we had already contacted an attorney and he had told us to tell them no, not without him present.  We did and they left us alone until we could make an appointment with attorney in tow.  But now, who to talk to?

              If you are a preacher, be ready to be an ear—and a shoulder.  The system recognizes preachers as "counselors," and their communication with the victim is thus, privileged information.  And you need to be there for that victim and also his family.  (There are some exceptions to this, so educate yourself before approaching the victim.)  The worst thing about that first week and even the months to follow was having no one to talk to, and I desperately needed to talk.  Once the imminent crisis was past, I needed to let everything out that I had been holding in for the sake of propriety, the media, and my children.  I needed a good cry, and there was no one to give me that.  You are just about the only one who can.

              The crisis is likely to continue for a long time.  Don't forget to check on the victim at every stage.  For us, it was thirteen months until the criminal finally pled out and was sentenced to prison.  During all that time, there were depositions, hearings, pain management and physical therapy appointments, and yes, even more investigations because while law enforcement may clear you in just a day or two, others, like your employer or even the community, may not.  Be aware of what is going on and the stresses on the victim and his family.  The night before the trial was to begin, when we had asked the church for prayers because everyone knew the only defense was to try to assassinate my husband's character, a brother decided it was the perfect time to bring up some nitpicky little grievance he had, and lambaste him over the phone.  That was the last thing we needed. 

              Do not make fun of the fall-out.  The direct result of being a victim is fear, sometimes irrational fear.  The victim will see a boogie-man behind every face in a parking lot.  He will think every car is following him.  He will want protection at hand every minute of the day.  No matter how much better you think you would handle it, I can guarantee you that you would have a fear unlike any you have ever felt in your life, and you would most likely do the same, or similar, things.  Terror will change you, and it may never go away.  Do not ever laugh, tease, or make a derisive comment about it, something men are especially bad about.  Be understanding and supportive in all of your comments and actions, and be aware that even though the legal and medical processes may be over, the fall-out may last forever.

              Encourage your friend to seek counseling for at least a short time.  In our case it was offered free by the department, but we did not realize how much help it would be.  Tell your friend, "You are not a weak Christian to accept help.  There is nothing wrong with you if you need it.  What has happened is a life-changing event with, as mentioned above, some serious consequences.  Take the help where you can."  And as a friend, do not make any negative comments about their need for it.

              I will not pretend that this takes care of all the problems victims will face, but I hope it will help them by helping those who love them to know better what they need and a few things they can do about it.  I wish we had had this help.
 
…encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all. (1Thess 5:14)
 
Dene Ward

What do you do in your spare time?  Yes, I hear you laughing, but I have come to the conclusion that as Christians we need to make sure we have some of that precious commodity.  Not because “I just have to have some time for me,” but because I just have to have some time with God. 

            So what would we do if we had a few spare minutes alone?  Prayer comes to mind, of course, but another important activity is meditating, or musing on God’s word.  In Gen 24:63 Isaac went out in the evening to the fields where he could be alone to meditate.  David made time too, even in the midst of tending sheep, leading an army, and running a kingdom.  When he was in the wilderness he meditated in the night watches, Psa 63:6.  He anxiously looked forward to those times, Psa 119:148. 

            Perhaps it is most difficult for mothers to find time to meditate.  Our entire day, from the moment we rise to the moment our heads hit the pillow again at night, is filled with “Mom, can you…,”  “Honey, will you…,” and, “Ma’am you need to…” until our minds are run ragged.  But even when we are alone we sabotage ourselves.  When the family leaves for work and school and the baby is napping, we turn on the TV “for company.”  When we drive, we turn on the radio.  When we exercise, we slip on the headphones.  I have decided that one of the nicest things God did for me was to not furnish me with a dishwasher.  Do you know how much meditation can be accomplished over a sink full of soapy water?

            Mary, as young and inexperienced as she was, gives us the perfect example--even as a new mother making the time to meditate, pondering things in her heart, Luke 2:19,51.  The word “ponder” means to put one thing with another.  But look at these other places where the same word is used (but translated by another English word), all in the book of Acts:  4:15—they conferred among themselves; 17:18—certain philosophers encountered him; 18:27—he helped them; 20:14—when he met us.  In all these cases words or people were put together (pondered) with a purpose—to learn, to assist, to come to an understanding.  So pondering God’s word is an attempt “to put it all together” in our minds.  Anyone who thinks they can read it through once and get the whole picture will be sadly disappointed!
 
            Meditation is not for the shallow-minded, but you do not need to be an intellectual either.  The greatest benefit of meditation is the sheer depth of understanding one can eventually come to about God, the nature of his kingdom, and the beauty of his plan, Psa 143:5.  One can find himself in a place he never dreamed existed years before when he so confidently knew all the Bible stories, the “plan of salvation,” and “the five acts of worship,” Psa 49:3; 119:99; and he can still see below him an awe-inspiring depth that makes Bible study once again vital and exciting, Psa 119:15.  Meditation can spawn a prayer, Psa 5:1-3, making that part of our lives richer and deeper as well.  In the end it can bring us acceptance by our God, Psa 19:14.

            So make some spare time today.  Get up earlier, stay up later, take off those earphones or turn off the radio.  Spend some time meditating.  You don’t have to twist yourself into a pretzel to gain a deeper understanding of the True God and his Word.
 
Blessed is the man who 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 in his law does 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 does not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.  Psalm 1:1-3
 
Dene Ward
 

It has been my experience in forty years of preaching and teaching in one capacity or the other, that no one quotes, "Judge not that you be not judged," who is not participating in something they know is wrong. 

Keith Ward

​Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24)

One of the benefits of becoming a birdwatcher is learning their songs.  It’s been a few years now, and every year I learn another call or sometimes unlearn one I thought I knew.  For the longest time I thought I was hearing a cardinal, when it was really a wren, but now I know them instantly. 
 
             I also know now that the same bird produces more than one call.  A cardinal will peep, one high light note at a time, or he will purty, purty, purty, or what, what, what, what, or even cheer, cheer, cheer, cheer, cheer.  It all depends upon whether he is courting a female, defending his territory from other males, warning other birds of interlopers, or just contentedly enjoying his meal.  But whichever call he uses, now I know it.

              Some bird songs are deceptive.  A mourning dove sounds like some kind of soft-spoken owl.  A blue jay’s whistle might sound a bit like a cuckoo to someone who is used to listening to cuckoo clocks.  And did you know that the movies often use a hawk’s call when an eagle is pictured because it sounds much more regal for our national bird than the squawk an eagle usually produces?  And so you have to be educated to these sounds to know them, to distinguish one from the other. 

              The same is true of the Bible.  The things I see people falling for astonish me.  How could they possibly believe such craziness?  How?  Because they have never educated themselves in the scriptures.  If you know the general teaching of the Bible, the general layout of the plot (yes, there is one), more than that, if you know the God and the Christ presented in those Scriptures, you won’t fall for the false teachings out there.  You may not know exactly what is wrong, but your mind will instantly say, “Wait a minute.  Something doesn’t sound right.”

              You can only do that by paying attention to everything Jesus says, not just the parts you like.  Too many of us don’t want a Savior who demands that we follow him only, that we give up ourselves, our likes and dislikes, our loyalties and loves, and who makes statements like, “Sin no more,” and “You are of your father the devil.”  We want the loving Jesus who forgives sins and holds the little children in his lap.  To truly accept Jesus is to accept all of his words and ways, not just the parts we prefer.  “The sheep follow the shepherd,” Jesus says, “because they know his voice” John 10:3.  Even the stern, disciplinary voice.

              Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  We must learn all of his words in order to truly know him and not be deceived.  All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen, John 10:8.  I’m afraid too many of us would listen, and become lost sheep in the process.

              Do you know his voice?  If you don’t know the whole of Jesus and God’s word, you don’t.  If I can learn a couple dozen bird calls in such a short amount of time, surely you can learn the call of a Savior who wants you to know him in even less. 
 
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32
 
Dene Ward

Although some might find it difficult to understand because of the past few decades, our country used to be fast friends with France.  After all, they were our allies during the American Revolution.  In 1885, they gave us a special gift, and on June 17 of that year, over 200,000 Americans lined the shore to welcome that gift, the Statue of Liberty, to her new home. 

              She consisted of 350 pieces transported in 214 crates.  When reassembled, she stood 151 feet tall.  Designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, her copper sheets were sculpted by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi.  The pedestal on which she stands was built with funds from benefits, charity auctions, and private donations.  In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge declared her a national monument, one that still represents freedom, not only to newly arriving immigrants, but to those of us who have lived here our entire lives.

              Americans cherish their freedom, although we sometimes take it for granted.  We seem to think we are the only ones so blessed.  Yet Christians have always had more freedom than anyone in the world.  Christ has set us free from sin and the power of death.  Too many times we take that freedom for granted as well.  We are too busy making excuses for our failures to appreciate the power he has placed in us to control ourselves and overcome.

              But then, that is a freedom we have too, isn't it?  The freedom to choose not to take advantage of his help and his promises.   How many of us look at the choices set before us and stubbornly make the wrong ones?  God tells us how dangerous the world is.  He warns against deception and trickery.  He tells us our salvation is our own responsibility so be careful who you follow.  Yet even when we look at the choices side by side, we seem so drawn to the wrong ones.  They are immediate.  They are tangible.  They are pleasant.  The idea of something far superior in the future seems to be pie in the sky.  “A bird in the hand…” the old saying goes, and we fall for it nearly every time.

              It would be so much easier if God made the choice for us, but where is the glory in a creature who cannot choose? 
 
              The idea that God did not give us a choice, that He makes the choice of who will be saved from the moment of their birth is, of course, a fairly common theological doctrine.  Yet it limits God in ability and creativity.  It makes Him a respecter of persons.  It makes Him unsympathetic and unapproachable, a tyrant who makes decisions seemingly at random, playing with the eternal souls of people as if they were plastic action figures.  That is not the God of the Bible.  There are too many heart-rending pleas for us to return.  There are too many passages giving options to people in all sorts of situations, including whether or not they will serve Him for that to be true.
 
              He gave me a choice; he gave you a choice.  Make the right one.
 
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed, Deut 30:19.
 
Dene Ward