by Tim Hall

Watch out for the black cat that tries to cross your path. Never walk underneath a ladder. When you tip over a salt shaker, be sure to pitch a little over your left shoulder (or is it your right shoulder?). And by no means should you ever, ever attempt anything important on Friday the 13th.

Don't assume that everyone is chuckling along with you over these examples of superstition. According to an article on About.com on the subject, "Paraskevidekatriaphobia" (fear of Friday the 13th) is a condition that afflicts 21 million Americans - about eight percent of the population. According to the same article, a study appeared in 1993 in the British Medical Journal confirming that a greater number of auto accidents occur on Friday the 13th than on Friday the 6th.

What's a Christian to do? Do we play it safe and carefully avoid stepping on the sidewalk's cracks so as to avoid breaking our mother's back?

"Superstition" comes from a root that mean "standing over". It's the idea that certain dark forces hover above us over which we have no control. These forces (according to some) are not to be taken lightly. Laugh at the fear of Friday the 13th at your own peril.

The Bible, however, makes it clear that God is the ultimate Force to be heeded. Allowing our lives to be guided by fears of other "powers" is wrong.

In Jeremiah's day, many in Judah had turned from God to idolatry and other superstitions. He warned: "Thus says the Lord: 'Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile. . .'" (Jer. 10:2,3, NKJV). How much have we progressed in 21st-century America? Have we learned the futility of observing the positions of planets and stars for the purpose of guiding our decisions? Or do we continue to follow the way of the Gentiles?

Years earlier, Isaiah had put the problem in perspective: "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:19,20). The choice, according to Isaiah, is simple: Do we turn to the God of light for guidance, or to pseudo-forces that can give no light at all?

Sure, I avoid walking under ladders. But I do so because of concerns about falling objects, not because I fear some hex that may be placed upon me. As a Christian, I do not bow to irrational fears. I follow the revealed will of God and refuse to be shackled by superstitious ideas handed down through time.

Here's the Good News: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (Jn. 8:32). Now get out and enjoy the day!

by Mike Benson

Hearing is but one element of listening - it is not the same thing as listening. Hearing implies that sound waves have been received; listening implies that understanding and comprehension have taken place.

Ironically, listening is often the neglected realm in a marriage. Observation and experience have taught me that the overwhelming majority of marital problems are due to the fact that one or both partners are poor and/or ineffective listeners. Husbands and wives hear audible sounds (i.e., words, language, etc.), but they don't actually hear underlying meaning, nor do they grasp the other's feelings.

The Bible emphasizes listening (Psm. 34:15-18; 116:1-2; Matt. 11:15; 13:9; Luke 8:15). One author calls it the "holy ground" of marriage. He observes:

"Intimacy begins with the ears. ...The failure to listen might be the biggest hindrance of all to intimate communication. Real listening begins when a husband and wife decide to devote themselves to studying the innermost thoughts and feelings of their mate. This is holy ground - and listening is the doorway to all that lies beyond. There is little more irritating that the feeling that no one is listening. One woman said, 'My husband always seems to take a pen out of his pocket and play with it while I am talking to him.' Another said, 'He never looks at me. He won't put down his paper and make eye contact.' Still another complained, 'He always answers me with some humorous [remark], or tries to change the subject if I'm upset. Or even worse, he tries to complete my sentences, thinking he knows exactly what I am about to say.' That kind of half-hearted listening would be discouraging, would it not?

...Listening goes beyond hearing words. A wife seems upset. Her husband says, 'Honey, is anything wrong?' She hesitates, then blurts out, 'I guess not,' he moves to the next thing: 'That's good. I wonder if the Astros are on tonight?' Did he miss something? You bet he did. He missed an open door to real communication. He heard the words, but he failed to understand. A better response would have been, 'You really are down, aren't you? How can I help?' She allowed her husband to see just a little bit of her heart and he declined the invitation to further revelation."1

How can we walk into the holy ground of our spouse's soul? The Bible counsels:

1. Listen for comprehension. "A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart" (Prov. 21:11 TLB).

2. Listen all the way through - from first to last. "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him" (Prov. 18:13).

3. Listen readily. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (Jas. 1:19; Eccl. 3:7; 5:2).

1/ Ed Young, "Can We Talk?," Romancing The Home - How To Have A Marriage That Sizzles, 117-118).

by Phil Sanders

Azariah toward Uzziah

But when he [Uzziah] became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.

Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. And they opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful, and will have no honor from the LORD God."

But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him.

And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king's house judging the people of the land (2 Chron. 26:16-21, NASB).

Urijah toward Ahaz

Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar which was at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship. So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made it, before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus.

And when the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; then the king approached the altar and went up to it, and burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured his libation and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. And the bronze altar, which was before the LORD, he brought from the front of the house, from between his altar and the house of the LORD, and he put it on the north side of his altar.

Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering and the king's burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their meal offering and their libations; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by." So Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded.

Then King Ahaz cut off the borders of the stands, and removed the laver from them; he also took down the sea from the bronze oxen which were under it, and put it on a pavement of stone. And the covered way for the sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entry of the king, he removed from the house of the LORD because of the king of Assyria (2 Kings 16:10-18, NASB).

Both kings acted corruptly in their worship and presumptuously thought they could change God's plan for His temple. Azariah opposed Uzziah, but Urijah gave in to every whim of Ahaz. One priest was faithful to God's will, while the other regarded the king more highly than God. One priest warned the king not to disobey God, while the other priest never opened his mouth to warn the king of his grave sin.

We have no right to corrupt God's worship, and those who sit silently and allow it to happen bear great guilt. Are you like Azariah or Urijah? When those who seek change rebelliously force their way on the church, will you speak or sit silent?

by Jimmy Jividen

Contradictory doctrines are taught in the name of religion. Teachers on both sides cause confusion by claiming that what they teach is the will of God. How can one know who speaks for God?

One claims his doctrine is from God because what he says has the support of time-honored human tradition. Churches, councils, and human creeds have affirmed it. The problem is that human traditions are changing and contradictory. The creed of one church is directly opposed to the creed of another. One cannot depend on such human traditions for religious authority. God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33).

Another believes his doctrine is from God because he has been given new revelation. The problem is that these so-called latter-day revelations are changing and contradictory. When latter-day doctrines conflict, it is evident that one or both are false. When they change, it is evident that they cannot be from God. God does not change, nor does He contradict Himself. One cannot accept new revelation as a criterion for religious authority.

Another claims his doctrine is from God because it is accepted by many people. To him the voice of the people is the voice of God. He believes that the truthfulness of a doctrine is determined by the receiver — if he "existentially" perceives something as true, it is true "to him". Two contradictory doctrines can be true at the same time if they are so perceived. For him there is no objective, absolute, universal truth. This view of relative, subjective truth is a popular criterion people use to determine their faith. Such faith is contradictory and changing. It undermines the very nature of God, who "is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8).

The one and only criterion for religious truth must remain the Scriptures. They are inspired, absolute, and do not conflict. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16,17).

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 15, p. 37.

by J. Randal Matheny

[Editor's note: Randal is doubling his article from UPLift, his personal list. uplift-subscribe@associate.com He doesn't do it often so we'll forgive him ... this once.]

Ever notice how people walk? Each person seems to have a characteristic manner. Some are pigeon-toed, others bow-legged, still others seem to stick their feet way out front while the head and body follow far behind.

Men walk differently from women.

Some walk faster than others.

When I was a kid, I knew a Christian who, as a native American descendent, walked on the balls of his feet.

Walking is even the object of scientific study. See if you can adjust the options in this link to approximate your walk:

www.bml.psy.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Fun to fiddle with that, isn't it?

The Bible presents life as a walk that can be enjoyable, fulfilling, and rewarding./1 But we need to adjust that walk to the appropriate standards to make it what it should be. So Paul says in Ephesians 5:15, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise."

Though the Bible gives many descriptions of how we should and shouldn't walk, perhaps one sums it up best, "walk in the same way in which he [Jesus] walked" (1 John 2:6).

So our life as a walk could stand some serious adjustments, couldn't it?/2

1/ In the NT epistles, the NIV often removes the figure and speaks of "living." 2/ Do a word search in a version like the ESV for "walk" and see, especially in the epistles, how this figure is used: www.biblegateway.com