I have just spent an inordinate amount of time on the telephone with a person I have never met in my life.  I let her tell me what to do and I obeyed instantly.  I believed everything she said.  I trusted every decision she made for me.  And this is not the first time I have done this.  I have made it a habit in the past twenty years.
            I have decided that you need to have a bent for technology in order to get along in the world now.  Gone are the days when you can go out, buy something, take it home, plug it in, and it works.  Everything has to be set up, programmed, deprogrammed, downloaded, uploaded, or in-loaded.  I obviously do not have the mind for it.  When my computer asks me a question, I cannot even comprehend the words much less know the right answer.  Which is why we have a contract with Geek Squad.
            Geek Squad was originally an independent company founded on June 16, 1994 by "Chief Inspector" Robert Stephens to offer computer-related services for its clients. It later merged with Best Buy, retaining Stephens as the primary corporate leadership for the subsidiary.  Evidently there are people out there who have a talent for these things and don't need companies like Geek Squad.  We are neither of us one of them. 
            They have saved our bacon more than once.  Those techs on the phone are amazing.  They can understand my poorly phrased, obviously ignorant questions.  They can tell me exactly what my computer screen looks like, what to click on, and what will pop up next.  They can find their way through twenty different steps I never even knew existed, and magically make my computer do what it’s supposed to do.  It has happened over and over for years now.  That’s why I go to them as soon as I have a problem, and do exactly what they tell me to do, no questions asked. 
            We have never carried on personal conversations.  I have no idea what their qualifications are.  I have never taken a regular computer class from them. All I can see are results--when I need help, they always have an answer and it always works.  And so I even listened to them the time one said, “Ma’am, you need a new computer.”  We went out and bought a new computer.
            I wonder if we can’t learn something about evangelism from all this.  Maybe it isn’t about your qualifications as a Bible scholar.  Maybe it isn’t about people wanting to sit down and study with you on a regular basis, at least not at first.  Maybe it isn’t about you being able to come up with Bible verses for every occasion.  Maybe it isn’t even about the fact that every Sunday they see you load up the family and head off to church.  Maybe the thing that matters is your life.  Maybe because they see that you can handle whatever situation you find yourself in with grace and endurance, they know you have something they don’t have.  Maybe because they see your marriage last for years and years in spite of the trials of life, they know that the two of you have more than just a commitment to each other, but to something larger.  Maybe because they see that your children have turned out to be good solid citizens, they realize that what you believe as a family has lasting value.
            Because they see all that, they will come to you for advice.  They will ask how you do it.  And when they do, then you can talk about those scriptures in the Bible.  Then you can discuss the eternal purpose of God from the foundation of the earth.  They don’t want what you have to sell until they see the results in you. 
            Do you want to save souls?  Show them how it’s done.  If you cannot "work out your own salvation", why should they listen to you?
 
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…Phil 1:27
 
Dene Ward

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ (2Cor 11:3).
            I am afraid that too many of us think the verse above cannot possibly apply to us.  We would never be tricked like that, we think.  Paul, speaking earlier in the epistle, states that he is not "ignorant of Satan's devices" (2:11).  Unfortunately, despite our self-confidence, we often fall for his bait, hook, line, and sinker.  Let me give you an example.
            Many years ago, a young woman shared with me that her neighbor, who was a Wiccan, had invited her over for a meal.  She had gone in order to get to know her better, and to learn about her beliefs with a desire to reach her, if possible.  Fish, it seems, was on the menu, and her hostess had laid out the fish, stroked it with both hands, and then thanked the fish for giving its life to sustain hers.  "Isn't that beautiful?" the young woman asked me, "and oh, so spiritual."  As usual, finding the right thing to say did not occur when I needed it.  In fact, it took a few years, but now I might wonder aloud why thanking God for our meals is less spiritual than thanking the fish or the cow or the pig or the chicken?  Because that is who we are supposed to thank—God is the one who gave us those things.  Warning of a coming heresy that would forbid certain foods, Paul tells us that our meals, even that same fish, God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving (1Tim 4:3-4), thanksgiving to God, that is.
            It is not my intent to list the belief system of Wicca, but the Mother Goddess, nature, fertility, seasons, and the cycle of life are essential elements.  That should immediately make a Christian's ears tingle.  Of those sorts of beliefs Paul says,  …they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen (Rom 1:25).  The neighbor's actions were a perfect example of worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator.  Although it will be presented as an almost hyper-spirituality, Paul says it is a lie. Yet that is how paganism, which is what Wicca is, has made deep inroads into our culture, even among Christians who should know better, who should be able to see past this false spirituality. 
           Wiccans are known to be peaceful, even harmless.  But folks, they are deadly to our souls.  Certainly, be friendly to your neighbors and strive to be an example and teacher of your faith as you serve their needs.  But keep your eyes open and don't be taken in.  Satan is not so stupid as to make them look like evil personified.  He is simply reeling out a bait that looks delicious.
 
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds (2Cor 11:13-15).
 
Dene Ward

Saul/Paul of Tarsus Yesterday at 8:00 am:
            Hoo boy! Time for another day among people who don’t even care about God.  Why did this mission get put off on me?
Saul/Paul of Tarsus Yesterday at 12 pm
            Well, we got run out of another synagogue.  On to the next town, but I haven’t had a decent meal in three days.  And can anyone please find me the nearest Stella-cerva coffee bar?

Saul/Paul of Tarsus Yesterday at 3 pm
            Did you hear what Proditor of Seleucia did to us?  How can he claim to be on our side and speak out against us like that?  It’s hard enough what we must bear without a traitor among us.  No one understand what it is like to have this job and what it demands of you.

Saul/Paul of Tarsus Yesterday at 5 pm
            The government and everyone in it is corrupt.  I can tell you a few things I heard when I was in prison.  The guards talked to one another all the time and all we prisoners overheard everything.  One time…(See more)
Saul/Paul of Tarsus Yesterday at 7 pm
            Here is more proof of what I have been saying about those Roman senators.  Go to this link to see for yourself: http:Allpoliticiansshould(bleep).  (Sorry about all the foul the language you have to navigate, but this is really good.)

Saul/Paul of Tarsus Yesterday at 9 pm
            The end of another long day and little to show for it.  I am not sure I can take much more of this.  Surely twelve hours a day is enough to give to this thankless task.

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 12 hrs ago
            Here we go again.  And I had little sleep because John needed some counseling at 2 am.  Seems he is not sure he can handle any more.  What a wimp.  So now I have to write two epistles and get together a new synagogue sermon on little if any sleep at all because of his selfish waste of my time.
Saul/Paul of Tarsus 10 hrs ago
            Now what?  Have you all heard the latest from Corinth?  Can’t these immature brats get anything right?  It’s not about me, me, me, people.  In fact, maybe the few of you who are on my side, need to head across town and start a new congregation.

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 8 hrs ago
            What?  No comments on that last one?  Surely you see how wrong they are.  If you do, let me hear from you!

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 6 hrs ago
            Oh, so now I am being too harsh?   True believers won’t let something like this pass without comment.  If you are real Christians, copy and paste this to your page.  We’ll find out who is truly faithful to God.

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 5 hrs ago
            Here’s a fun pic of me and the guys taking a quick dip down at the river.  We’d already gotten wet baptizing people, so we just chucked the robes and had a good time.  Everyone deserves some fun! : )

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 4 hrs ago
            Here I am trying to spread the Word as hard as I possibly can and all I get is criticism.  Really people.  Someone find me an Stella-cerva coffee bar ASAP!  I won’t get through this ordeal without one.
Saul/Paul of Tarsus 3 hrs ago
            All right.  I’ve had it.  I am a Roman citizen.  I do not deserve to be treated the way they are treating me.  Everyone meet me at the agora at dawn tomorrow and we will show this government exactly what we think of it.

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 2 hrs ago
            I am so tired.  No one has to put up with the things I have to put up with.  Can’t you all take care of yourselves for a change?  Do you really expect love and encouragement from someone who has so little and has sacrificed so much?  It’s not fair!

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 1 hr ago
          Was that really necessary Peter?  After all, you are a Gentile-hating hypocrite.  Keep your criticisms to yourself.

Saul/Paul of Tarsus 30 min
           Nearing the end of another 12 hour day and I did not accomplish a thing.  Does anyone have any idea why?
 
            If there had been such a thing as social media in the first century, Paul would never have used it in those ways.  So why do I see these sorts of things from people I know are Christians?  Why do I see whining and “poor little me?”  Why do I see diatribes against brothers and sisters?  Why do I see posts designed to cause an uproar, and the writers then sitting there all day to gloat over it?  Why do I see people railing against the government they are supposed to obey and respect whether they agree with it or not?  Why do I see pictures of Christians in scanty clothing, doing questionable activities and passing along items with crude and vulgar language on nearly every line?  And why do I see idlers who cannot seem to get anything profitable done because they are posting all day long?
            If Paul were alive, how would he use social media?  Just look at his epistles, the social media of his day.  He edified.  He encouraged.  He counseled.  He commended brothers and sisters to one another.  Yes he did rebuke, sometimes harshly, but even then with the design to save souls not to exalt himself.  Yes, he did talk about some of his ordeals, but the percentage was minuscule and always with the purpose to teach and admonish.  Yes, he did ask for prayers, not because he deserved them but so he could continue to preach the gospel.  Yes, he did pass along personal information and requests (“Bring me the parchments,” etc.), but always with a humble attitude, not as a petty tyrant abusing his authority.  He never for a minute sowed discord among brothers.  Instead he told us all to do as he did:  be willing to take wrong for the good of the gospel.  His sacrifices were willingly given and never resented.  He knew others sacrificed as well and never put himself above them, even though he probably could have.
            So maybe we should consider this:  If Paul wouldn’t post it, maybe you shouldn’t either.
 
Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God: even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. 1Cor 10:31-33
 
Dene Ward

Neighbors are different out in the country.  First of all, they are a whole lot further away.  Instead of zero lot line houses barely five feet apart, they are 5 to 50 acres apart.  You seldom even see one another to wave, except maybe at the lineup of mailboxes out on the highway.  In the country, if you want to see your neighbors, you have to make it happen.
            In the city a good neighbor often boils down to this:  he’s quiet and doesn’t cause any trouble.  There may be a particular neighbor or two you really become friends with, taking turns having one another over for dinner, going fishing together, loaning your lawn mower and babysitting once in a while, but the rest are confined to a nod when you pass one another on the street and a quick word over the backyard fence if you both happen to be out at the same time.
            In the country, because you are so far out of town and away from help, “neighbor” takes on a much larger meaning.  The very lifestyle means you have far more need of one another.  You pull one another’s vehicles out of the mud.  You tag team generators when the power goes out for more than a couple of hours.  You feed one another’s livestock when the other one has to be out of town a few days.  You swap garden tilling for tractor mowing and tomatoes for blueberries.  You help one another shell peas and shuck corn, and then work together one hot afternoon to get it all put up.  You help load sick, but heavy, pets in the pickup for a trip to the vet.  You trade shooting lessons for help wiring the shed.  You loan cars when one is in the shop, or chauffeur a sick neighbor to the doctor if you need it yourself.  If a widow is alone, you load up her woodstove and get it set, ready to light on a cold night.  If a husband is away and there is a household emergency—like the refrigerator door falling off!—you head down the lane immediately and screw it back on.  When a storm passes through and leaves a live oak half out of the ground leaning over a house, all the neighbors drop everything and run with their tractors, chains and chainsaws to help.  There is something a little more primal about being a neighbor in the country.
            We’ve had neighbors like that and we’ve tried to be neighbors like that in return.  I think it’s the sort of thing Jesus had in mind when he told the story of the Good Samaritan.  This isn’t a matter of borrowing a cup of sugar.  It isn’t about keeping the TV low in the wee hours or not parking on someone else’s property.  It’s about real life and death matters, real trials and suffering, and aiding in whatever way you can.
           Maybe the Levite and the priest were used to city neighbors.  This guy on the side of the road certainly wasn’t being a good neighbor to them, causing them all sorts of trouble and a delay in their schedules if they had stopped to help.  But the truth is, you can be a bad neighbor anywhere, country or city, and the Lord expects a whole lot more from us than that.  He expects us to do just as that Samaritan did, helping beyond the expected—just think what a couple night’s lodging would cost today—and yes, for a perfect stranger.  Was he a good guy or a good-for-nothing?  We don’t know and that’s the point.  If someone needs our help, we help, even a stranger and even when we don’t have time to check and see if we are being good stewards of our money.
           “Love thy neighbor as thyself” was recognized by Jews as the second greatest commandment.  Yet they argued long and hard over who exactly their “neighbor” was.  It most cases it boiled down to a good practicing Jew.  We’re big on castigating those Pharisaical Jews who knew the Law but explained it away.  I think we just might have the same problem.
 
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Gal 5:14)
 
Dene Ward

Yesterday we spent a few moments looking at our obligations to civil government according to the New Testament.  Do those obligations change if we are being persecuted?  What examples do we have about our actions then?
           
1.  Quiet compliance when the laws are not opposed to God's Word.
          After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them (Acts 18:1-2).
            Aquila and Priscilla were told to leave Rome simply because they were of the Jewish race.  What did they do?  They left Rome.  I am not sure what difficulties it might have caused them, what hardships they suffered because of the ouster.  But that law was not against the Law of God so they did as they were told.
           
2.  Prayers for safety.
          About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also…When [the escaped Peter] realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying (Acts 12:1-3,12).
            If you are under threat for your faith, if you or a brother or sister have been arrested and put into danger, there is certainly nothing wrong with praying about it, or gathering with others and praying together.  It is not a lack of faith but a perfectly normal reaction.  What else should a Christian do in times of trouble but go to his Father and ask for help, for safety, for deliverance?
           
3.  Flight when possible
            When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket (Acts 9:23-25).
            There may come a time when we have to run, or when we have to hide.  I would say Paul's example, once again, shows us that is not a lack of faith but a very practical response.  We know of many such times in history where the early Christians had to do both of those things.
           
4.  Acceptance of circumstance and continuing the work.
            I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear (Phil 1:12-14).
            Paul eventually reached the point that he could no longer run.  He was arrested and lived under guard.  What did he do?  Sit there and cry about it?  Ask God, Why me when I have been doing such a good work?  No, he just kept working in whatever capacity he could, and trusted God to "give the increase."  He knew that to stop preaching would have made the enemy the winner.  I know of a brother in another country who, even now, while imprisoned because of his faith, is still preaching and converting souls.
           
          This certainly may not answer every circumstance that might come along, but I hope it will help you think about these things, things that could very well matter in a few years.  I pray not, but it's not looking good out there, people.  Be prepared and know what you need to do to remain faithful.
 
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! (2Tim 2:8-9).
 
Dene Ward

I think it is obvious that many of us are not particularly happy with our government these days.  This is not the first time in history this has happened, nor will it be the last I am sure.  Paul and Peter wrote to Christians who lived under a tyrant whom many historians have said was insane.  I daresay they were not particularly pleased with a government that used its tax dollars to fund a coliseum where the Romans citizenry at large made sport of Christians being slaughtered.  But I think some of us are coming dangerously close to sin in our actions and attitudes.  Let's just take a moment today to remind ourselves of our obligations to civil government, no matter how good or bad it may be.  In no particular order, we owe our government the following:
           
            1.  Obedience.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Rom 13:1-2).
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people (1Pet 2:13-15).
            Notice, this does not specify only a certain type of government.  Paul speaks very generally when he says "governing authorities."  Christ even went so far as to say that God gives government its authority, and he was talking to Pilate then (John 19:11), certainly an unrighteous ruler. Daniel says the following three times in his book:  "The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will" (4:17, 25, 32).  Jeremiah says much the same thing in Jeremiah 27:5.
              Peter says we are to obey "for the Lord's sake."  The only time we can refuse is when the government demands we do something opposite of God's commands.  But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men " (Acts 5:29).  Instead of complaining, count yourself blessed when you CAN obey because it means you are probably not under active persecution at the moment.

            2.  Respect
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor (1Pet 2:17).
Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed (Rom 13:7).
            I can hear it now:  "He doesn't deserve my respect."  Wrong.  He deserves your respect because God told you to respect him for who and what he is—your governing authority.  That doesn't mean you have to like everything he does, certainly not the unrighteous things.  But it does mean you treat him with respect, dignity, and honor because God said to.  This may be the most difficult part for many of us.  But here is the bottom line:  will you obey God in this matter or not?  Because if you think you can pick and choose the commandments you will obey, you may as well stop trying.
           
            3.  Prayers
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1Tim 2:1-2).
          That doesn't say we just pray for our country.  It says we pray specifically for those people "in high positions."  That means even people we don't much care for.  And here you can see exactly what we are to pray for in their regard: "that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life."  If you keep on reading in Timothy you see why this is so important.  It is not just a selfish desire; it's so we can more easily spread the gospel (verses 3,4).  Who can take the time to sit down and talk with a friend when you are having to hide from authorities or run for your life?  When things are peaceful, we can teach, we can preach, we can spread the gospel to our friends and show them our example in the way we live.  Count your blessings if you can do that, and then get out there and do it.
            Those are our obligations.  Now what do we do in regard to the government if we are indeed persecuted?  What godly examples do we have in the New Testament?  That will be our subject tomorrow.
 
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare (Jer 29:7).  (Spoken to the Jews in captivity.)
 
Dene Ward

We have experienced much in our forty some odd years of married life.  Joy, sorrow, excitement, abject terror, tornadoes, hurricanes, and floods, violent crime, automobile accidents, trips to the emergency room, frightening health issues, life-changing disabilities, serious economic woes, persecution on several levels—all of these and more have shaped us into who we are today.  I do my best to share with you what we have learned, and though we may have seen a lot, it still isn’t everything.  We can tell you some hair-raising stories, but we still consider ourselves blessed beyond measure.
            That’s one reason God gave us so many narratives in the Bible, so many faithful followers who have lived through practically every experience it is possible to live through. He has also given us people much closer to us, who set examples we can see every day.  Today I want to share with you a couple who went through one of the worst experiences in life—losing a child--and came out gold in God’s eyes. 
            My in-laws lost their little girl to cancer.  She went to the first day of school barely a month after her ninth birthday and had a seizure.  After a year of treatments and surgeries, even thinking for a while that the doctors “got it,” she died at 10.  I am not privy to everything that went on during that time.  But I did notice some things in them that seem to run counter to many of the things I have heard and read about experiences like this.
            First, Keith’s parents did not divorce.  Undoubtedly there were hard times.  I have seen that just in our marriage and the things we have dealt with.  Everyone grieves over losses in a different way and when I decide that my way is the only right way, there will be problems.  When I decide that my grief is worse than his, there will be problems.  When, “You just don’t understand,” becomes a wall instead of a bridge, you just might have reached the end.  However they managed it, the thought of divorce for these two never entered the picture.  This was a couple who understood lifelong commitment as they had vowed before God, “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part,” and they were determined to make it through no matter how difficult it became.   
            I wish I could give you specifics, the things they did that helped and the things they did that did not, but that was long before I knew them.  This I know:  They had a strong marriage, and however they managed it, they did it “together.”  The communication seems never to have stopped, even though I am sure it was occasionally painful.  They had each other and they made sure that the hurt drew them together instead of driving them apart.  They were married just a few months months short of 60 years when my father-in-law passed away first. 
            Second, this couple did not lose their faith.  Their commitment to God came even before their commitment to each other.  They did not expect a life of ease and they never had one.  They endured poverty, estrangement from family because of their faith, and many illnesses, some near death, besides this horrible illness and loss of their child.  But they believed in the resurrection.  They knew they would see their child again, and that was a primary source of faith and encouragement.  Keith remembers hearing, “This is what we believe” more than once during that period.  And now they are enjoying the results of that faith, together with that lost daughter, and they will never lose her again.
            And then there was this:  they did not let this tragedy define them as a couple or a family.  Of course they remembered their little girl and spoke of her often.  I heard many “Remember whens” and other references.  They were more than willing to help those who had similar situations and better able than most to offer the needed sympathy, but it never became an entitlement issue.  They did not think they ranked above any other family because of the things they had suffered.  In their minds, we all suffer, just differently.  And they felt their own brand of suffering made them responsible to be examples and sympathizers with others, not worthy of praise and admiration—not “special.”  Pain and death come from Satan and they would never have given him any credit in any way imaginable.  In fact, if anyone had tried to compliment them for how well they had come through the grist mill of life, it just might have made them angry. 
          Of course this experience changes you.  Life changes you, but something like this makes that change happen rapidly.  Keith told me they were different than before, but “different” isn’t always bad.  I could still see all these good things I have shared with you when I came on the scene over ten years later.  Isn’t it funny how it all turns out?  I was the same age as Keith’s baby sister, born the same year, and my birthday was the date of her death.  Nowadays people would have expected traumatic results, and analyzed it to pieces.  But they never even mentioned the coincidences.  If Keith hadn’t told me, I would never have known what they had been through, and the rest of their life story came out slowly over the years, most often from listening to Keith reminisce, not them. 
            Even through all their trials they stayed faithful to God and each other.  In fact, Keith’s father was converted several years into their marriage, when they had already faced some challenges.  None of this “health and wealth” sissy gospel for him.  But then, this was a man who jumped out of an LST and waded through the water to the beaches of Normandy, walking all the way to Berlin.
           I hope that you never experience the horrible tragedy of losing a child, but you will suffer something.  That is the nature of life.  When you do, here is a godly couple whose example might help you through it.  Did they do everything right?  No, and they would never have claimed to.  But they did do this:  They never gave up on their relationship, and they never gave up on God.  That is how they made it through.
 
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and hath not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone? Eccl 4:9-11

Dene Ward
 

We make one mistake in our Bible study over and over and over, and because of it we often miss the lessons we need the most.  What mistake is it?  We fail to make it “real.”  We see the words and know their meanings but never place it into our culture and our times.  Let me show you.
            Just a few weeks ago we talked about the Good Samaritan.  We mentioned that he left “two denarii” to care for the injured man.  So he was generous, we say, and move right along, missing just how generous he was.  Put it into our language.  A denarius was a day’s wage for a skilled laborer—not an untrained ditch digger, but someone like a mason, or a welder, or a carpenter or plumber.  Now think in your mind, how much an hour do those people make nowadays?  What would that be for two days’ labor today?  Relatively speaking, that’s how much the Samaritan left for a perfect stranger, and one who was his enemy at that.  Would we do that for, say, a Muslim we encountered in need?
            Here’s another one for you.  The early church sold property to provide for the needs of those who had come only for the feast and wound up staying far beyond that, with no work, no place to stay, no way to provide for their families.  Obviously those in Jerusalem did not sell the houses they lived in.  That would have exacerbated the problem with more homeless people.  But if they had another piece of property outside town, or maybe some rental property on the other side or even down the street, that’s what they sold.  Have you priced houses and acreage lately?  We are talking tens of thousands, maybe over a hundred thousand in our day, and the cost of living in their time would have made it relatively the same amount.  These were not paltry gifts.  Now you understand a little better the temptation that Ananias and Sapphira gave in to.  And doesn’t that make that instant excuse we fall back on so often when even a small need arises, “I have to be a good steward of my money,” just a little ridiculous?
            Sometimes we need to understand the culture in relation to people.  Young men were expected to be mature enough to begin a family and support that family with an occupation by the time they were in their mid-teens.  Young women were expected to marry at puberty and begin raising a family immediately.  John MacArthur says that girls in first century Palestine entered the betrothal (kiddushin) at 13 and married at 14.  Young people were expected to understand making a lifetime commitment well before we expect that of our own children.  Make it real:  13 back then was more like 19 or 20 now in regard to maturity.  Think about that before you begin pressing your child about baptism before he is even out of grade school.  Don’t make it a contest to see whose child is baptized first.
            A book of the customs of Bible times is an excellent investment.  When we do not know those customs we miss the bravery of women like the one in Luke 7.  The fact that she even got into the house to see Jesus took guts and what could have happened to her and been condoned by those in charge will fill you with shame at the times you have cowered in the back corner instead of admitting your faith.  How about the blind man in John 9?  Do you know what it meant to be cast out of the synagogue?  It meant no social and no business life—and that meant poverty.  And here he was just now able to have a normal life for the first time since his birth and he sacrifices it all when he puts those rulers in their place with the statement, “Here is the amazing thing—he made me see and yet you do not know where he came from.”
            When you make these things real, when you make them relate to something you actually know and experience, the application to your own life will become real as well.  In fact, it may hurt a little more.  It may hurt a lot more.  Maybe that’s why we don’t do it.
 
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Rom 15:4
 
Dene Ward

This past Thanksgiving we had our traditional game of Ultimate Croquet.  If you have been with me awhile, you know what that means.  It is far more difficult to play in a field instead of a table-top, bright green, freshly mown lawn!  Somehow paper-plate sized sycamore leaves, wads of gray Spanish moss, truck ruts, and armadillo holes wreak havoc with a rolling ball.
            This year both Silas and Judah were able to play their own game without help.  With 6 of us it was an interesting, if long, game.  Judah and I brought up the rear but we still had fun and cheered for each other.  At least twice both boys had little mishaps with their mallets.  Once the head of Silas's mallet hit the ground before it hit the ball and since all the impetus was gone, the ball only rolled an inch.  Another time Judah had a similar problem caused more by the fact that his arms are shorter than the mallet handle.  So almost at the same time with one voice, we adults cried, "Put it back and do it again."  They were much happier with their second chances.
            I suppose it is age that does it to you.  Several times lately I have had the thought, "This is it.  It's nearly over and you don't get another chance to do it any other way."  Every time, my stomach has done a little flip and I don't really know why.  It's not like I didn't know that already.  Maybe it's just having your nose rubbed in it by the early death of an old friend, or wanting to share something with your parents before realizing they are no longer there, or maybe it's just that you look in the mirror one day and, maybe due to illness or a bad night, it's really obvious how old you are now!  And when this is over, there is no going back.  Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass (Job 14:5).
            The only thing even close to a do-over is today.  If you opened your eyes this morning, you have another chance to be a better spouse, a better parent, a better friend, a better servant of God.  You have the opportunity to heal a broken relationship or confess a wrong.  You have one more chance to put down the mending and play with a child on his level, with ears open and welcoming to his words and thoughts.  Today is the only second chance you get.  And you never know—it may also be your last.
 
No man has power to retain the spirit, or power over the day of death… (Eccl 8:8).
 
Dene Ward

It is winter, even here in Florida, and we are once again drinking our last cup of coffee by a fire in the mornings, instead of under a fan.  Florida is not always hot.  It's not always even warm, especially in the northern parts.  On February 13, 1899, a Canadian cold front pushed a blast of arctic air into our state in what became known as the Great Arctic Outbreak.  Tallahassee woke to the coldest temperatures ever recorded in Florida, -2 degrees F.  Yes, that's a minus in front of that single digit number.  We have been here in north Florida for other amazing things, like an inch or two of snow on the ground and a white Christmas both in 1989, but never a negative temperature.  I hope we don't experience it any time soon.
            With the first front this winter, I was reminded of a basic fact.  Cool, crisp air behaves differently than hot, humid air.  Hot humid air is also hazy air.  You cannot see as far and the sky is a duller, almost muted, shade of blue.  Cool air is clear.  Even my weak eyes can see farther.  And a clear winter sky is one of the prettiest blues you will ever see.
            Hot humid air will also mute sound.  Not enough that you will notice it in the summer.  You only notice it on a cold morning when suddenly the traffic on the highway a quarter mile through the woods sounds like it might just be coming through the trees right at you.  You can always hear better in the winter.
            And that may very well mean that we need to keep a cool head about us in spiritual matters.  When your spiritual vision is clouded by the heat of emotion, you will inevitably make the wrong decision.  In almost every Bible narrative you will see the difference between wrong-headed emotion and cool, clear logic.  Look at Joseph and Potiphar's wife as a simple example.  Which one was guided by hot, wanton desire and which by a decision based on a cool, careful consideration of right and wrong?  And that process plays out over and over, not only in the Bible, but in our own lives.
            The difficult part of this, at least in a culture so steeped in emotionalism, is teaching these things to our children.  I told mine over and over, you have to be a little cold-blooded when it comes to choosing a spouse.  You have to be willing to ask yourself the hard questions.  Will she be a good mother to my children?  Will she be a help or hindrance in my chosen career?  Are her aims in life the same as mine?  Does she understand a lifetime commitment in the same manner I do?  Will she help me get to Heaven, and will she let me help her?  Too many times I see young ladies who are blinded by love, falling for exactly the wrong guy, and who will not listen to their friends who quite clearly see an emotional, and possibly physical, abuser.  And I see young men who refuse to understand that attraction should come from knowing one another and sharing spiritual ideals, not good looks and shapely figures.
            There are any number of decisions we make in life, some having nothing to do with right and wrong, and some everything, that require clear thinking.  Some things hurt, and hurt badly, but must be done for the good of oneself, one's family, and people we are trying to serve.  Some of those things are things God has said to do.  You would be surprised how many times I have heard God's commands completely dismissed because someone might be "hurt."
            And so, as you notice how clear things appear this winter, remember that a little cold logic can be an excellent thing.  You will see better.  You will hear better.  And you will make far better decisions both for this life and the next.
 
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD… (Isa 1:18)
 
Dene Ward