I sat down in front of the computer and asked myself, “How will I start off Ready for the Road Ahead” this time?”  Ah, time!  Time flies, the time of your life, as time goes by, time and time again, killing time, only time will tell, time after time, a race against time, it’s about time, time in a bottle, the phrases marched through my mind.  Time seems to take forever when you’re young.  Birthdays can’t come fast enough, Christmas can’t come fast enough, and summer vacation can’t come fast enough even more so!  Time passes by too quickly when you get older.  In a blink your children grow up and move on.  You think you have time before you retire and before you know it, it’s arrived.  And you know the days have gone by because your calendar tells you so!
            I confess that I can get lost in time without my calendar.  Calendars, those wonderful systems of organizing time have an interesting history.  The calendars we use now were introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 B. C.  It was the first time that dating was based on an algorithm which introduced a leap year every four years instead of being based on the lunar and solar cycles that calendars had been based on up until that point (which added in extra months occasionally instead) .  Our most ancient calendars discovered to date come from the Bronze Age from Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations.  The name calendar is a throw-back to the time when dating was based on the lunar cycle.  It comes from the Latin word calendae meaning “to call out” and referred to the “calling out” of the new moon when it was first seen. 
            We tend to run through our days, weeks, months, even years from one task to another.  We don’t really think in terms of making each day count for something unless we have a goal in mind such as completing a project for work or a personal goal like losing weight.  God’s idea on how our days should be counted is very different because God has a very different view of time.  Ps. 90:1-12 gives us a picture of God in respect to time and how He expects us to use it.  In verses 1 and 2 the psalmist talks about the timelessness of God.  Verse 3 speaks of humankind’s ephemeral (temporary) nature.   We begin as dust and end up that way.  Verse 4 proclaims that time is irrelevant to God in the greater scope of things.  A thousand years is as quick as a blink of an eye to Him.  In verse 5 the psalmist reflects on how the life of a person passes quickly before God and gives several illustrations of things which pass quickly: yesterday, the night, and a flood.  The psalmist continues his use of similes in verse 6 by saying that a “man is like the grass which springs up in the morning but is gone by the end of the day”.  Verses 7-9 get to the crux of the matter.  Israel has filled their time seeking their own gain and pleasure but this has displeased God and stirred up His anger.  The psalmist then reminds us that the span of life is, in God’s eyes, a brief 70 to 80 years and during the course of those decades a man will work hard.  But God’s judgment comes at the end (vv. 10-11).  The conclusion then is this:  God must teach us to “number our days” so that when that judgment comes we can “present a heart of wisdom” to Him.
            The words used here are significant.  The verb used for teaching is the kind that produces a deeper knowledge of something.  God used it when He revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush as Yahweh.  He had not made Himself known to the patriarchs in the same way.  As one would expect “numbering” days is the same as marking off a calendar until a special event takes place.  But instead of a counting the days until something like a birthday, God wants us to number our days in order to gain wisdom.  Wisdom is not extra knowledge, but the skill, experience and ability to live out God’s commands in everyday life with a proper fear and reverence for Him.  God wants wisdom to reside in us not on an intellectual level only but in our heart which in Biblical terms is the inner disposition of a person.  The Bible encourages people to devote their heart to the Lord (1 Ki. 15:3), seek the Lord with their heart (2 Chr. 11:16), and commit their heart to the Lord (Dt. 6:5; 2 Chr. 15:15), because God can truly discern what is in a person’s heart even if another person can’t (1 Sam. 16:7).  The reason to attain a heart of wisdom is simple.  It is to be presented to the Lord.  This verb literally means to bring something to a physical location.  Here the heart of wisdom is brought directly to the Lord.  It is our gift to Him.
            So often I run through my days thinking my goal is to get this or that done.  But God prefers that I number my days soaking in what He wants to teach me about Himself.  From now on, when I look at my calendar, I hope the dates will be filled in with wisdom so that my heart is filled with it when I stand before the Lord someday (Rom. 12:1-2).
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre
 

            It’s time for a history lesson on one of the more practical and useful tools in your home- the pencil sharpener!  A pencil sharpener (called a parer or topper in Ireland) is a device for sharpening a pencil’s writing point by shaving away its worn surface.  They can be manually or electrically operated and it’s common to find a casing around them which catches the pencil shavings as the pencil is sharpened.  The casing is removable so that the shavings can be dumped into a waste basket or trash bin when the sharpening is done.  Before the development of the type of sharpeners we use today, pencils were sharpened by whittling them with a knife.  French mathematician Bernard Lassimonne applied for the first patent on pencil sharpeners in 1828, but it wasn’t until 1847 that the kind we know today was created and patented by another Frenchman Thierry Des Estivaux.  The first American pencil sharpener was patented by Walter K. Foster of Bangor, Maine in 1855.  Electric pencil sharpeners were introduced in 1917.
            For some, like the Reverend Paul Johnson of Carbon Hill, Ohio, the pencil sharpener is more than a tool to take care of your writing utensils, it’s an art form.  Rev. Johnson began collecting them in the late 1980’s after his wife gave him some as a gift.  He kept them in a small shed outside of his home, organizing them into categories that included cats, Christmas and Disneyland.  The oldest one was over 100 years old!  After his death in 2010, the tourism board of Logan Ohio decided to put the collection of over 3,400 sharpeners on display in their welcome center.  Pencil sharpeners may be basically simple in design and function, but they are one of the most useful gadgets in your home.  No one likes a dull point on the end of their pencil!
            Of course pencils are not the only thing we like to keep sharp.  Saws, knives, needles and scissors are frequently sharpened to keep them in optimal condition for use.  And many of us enjoy word or number puzzles in order to keep our minds “sharp”.  The Bible offers up this advice about sharpening: As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another- Prov. 27:17 (NIV).  Iron was a widely used element in the ancient world.  Farm implements and weapons were the most common items made with it (Gen. 4:22; Dt. 27:5; 28:48; Jos. 8:31; 2 Sam. 12:31; 1 Ki. 6:7).  It was valued for its hardness and replaced copper which was the dominant metal in use from 3200-1200 B. C.  Iron was introduced into the Biblical world by the Sea Peoples of the Greek Islands, Crete and Philistia but it wasn’t until the reign of David that it became a part of Israelite life.  Iron is found in several lists detailing metals throughout the Old Testament (Num. 31:22; Jos. 22:8; Dan. 2:35).  It was recognized as an ore found in the earth which needed to be smelted in order to purify it (Dt. 8:9; Job 28:2).  Though practical and useful, like our wonderful pencil sharpeners, iron’s grandest role appears in the figurative sense in the Book of Proverbs.  Here it is a most useful tool in the form of other people who help to sharpen one’s character.  The verb used here is not a soft and gentle one.  It’s the intensity you see as sparks fly when a blacksmith grinds his handiwork on a grinding stone. 
            The idea here, as one commentator noted, is that “good friends have a way of making us better people- and we them”.  It would be nice to think that character can develop all by itself, but that is not the case.  Character develops in the process of interacting with other people.  The sharpening of Proverbs takes place when we are engaged in conversation, exchanging ideas, even in healthy disagreements at the workplace, in small groups, at home, in school and anywhere that people gather together.  I have noticed a disturbing trend not just in our cultural penchant for “social media” (which really isn’t social at all since it’s all done with the tap, tap, tapping of your fingers) but in Christendom’s growing disdain for the institutional church.  I do understand its shortcomings.  It can become stale.  It can become routine.  It can become dogmatic over dedicated.  Since it is a human institution, it has all the ability to be humanly fallible.  The sad thing is that once condemned, I see person after person leave- but never go anywhere else.  “I’m done with it!” they proclaim.  But is this what the Bible tells us to do?  How can iron sharpen iron if it is not pressed together and pressure applied? I think the writer of Hebrews had this in mind when he encouraged the believers to continue gathering together (Heb. 10:24-25).  The world can be a big, angry place and it’s easy to pick up that negativity.  But when we are together, we can encourage and stimulate one another in a Christ-like way just as iron sharpens iron- or a pencil sharpener refines a point. 
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com; https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre

            2018 got off to a bumpy start in the LeFevre household.  A trip to the E. R. proved Jeff had pneumonia.  Shortly after his diagnosis, I came down with the worst cold I’ve had in years.  With Jeff on MANDATORY bed rest and the coldest temperatures we’ve experienced in over a decade, it meant keeping the woodstove up and running was my job in spite of my aches and pains.  To top it all off one of the tires on our car went flat (in our driveway) due to a cracked rim and we learned that AAA’s “roadside assistance” program does not include changing a tire (only towing the car to a place that will) so the car has been patiently waiting for attention while we both recuperate.  It’s times like these that I realize I need a…belt.              No, not a vacation (I just had one!), and not some “miracle” drug to make the problem seem like it’s gone away (although in the case of Jeff’s pneumonia the antibiotics did help).  When everything around me seems off balance, unsettled and just plain crazy, I need something to hold me up and surround me with the truth.  The truth is what keeps me centered even when everything around me seems to be like a pinball machine in tilt mode. 
            When Paul wrote his letter to the believers in Ephesus (sometime around AD 60), the city boasted a very high status in the Greco-Roman world.  It was home to soldiers, artisans, trades people, aristocrats and commoners.  The Temple to Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was one of hundreds of temples and shrines that dotted the city streets and with two major markets within the city limits, life was BUSY between the shoppers and those who came to worship.  Could their lives become just as topsy-turvy as mine does on occasion?  I think so which is why I take note of what Paul says in Eph. 6:10-14.
            Paul encourages the Ephesians to first, “be strong”.  This verb means to actively strengthen something- somewhat like a mason who adds some sort of bonding agent to his mortar in order to make the mix even stronger.  If Truth is going to hold me up in chaotic times, I must make sure I’ve strengthened it with the right stuff.  Paul then instructs them to put on the armor of God which includes the belt of truth.  Most of us know why a soldier puts on his armor.  Arrows, bullets, swords and other forms of weaponry are obviously designed to harm but armor protects one from the attack.  Paul claims our enemy does not fling stones our way or charge at us with a saber.  Instead he uses “methodia”, schemes, a word that connotes a purposeful and calculated step by step progression to accomplish a goal.  It is no surprise then that when my life seems askew or filled with obstacles and challenges that I might be led to think that God has forgotten me or left me to drown in a sea of uncertainty.  It’s a progression of thought that Satan would love me to take.
            However, each part of God’s armor provides a means to combat the methods of Satan.  The belt of Truth is at the center of this equipment.  In the Greco-Roman world of Ephesus, the typical dress was loose and draped.  A man tucked his garment into his belt when he needed his legs free for battle.  Paul’s imagery reminds us that to be ready for battle, Truth must be located at the center of how we respond to any given situation.  What are some of the great Truths of the Bible that can help see us through those challenging times we face?  Here are a few for starters:  God loves us.  No matter what is going on around us, this fact remains (Dt. 23:5; Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 4:7-9, 19).  Jesus understands what we’re going through because He’s experienced it too (Heb. 2:17; 4:14-15; 1 Pet. 5:7).  This won’t last forever.  While it seems that it might (it usually does when we’re in the middle of the trouble), it really won’t and when Christ returns, we will not face times like this anymore.  In the meantime God uses trials to perfect our Christian character (Rom. 5:3-5; 2 Cor. 4:17; Js. 1:2,12).
            So although it will take some time before our heads are clear and we can breathe more easily, Jeff and I will get better.  And at some point we’ll put another tire on the car- we’re too sick to travel anyway!  In the meantime, I’ll put a belt where I can see it to remind myself to keep my circumstances tucked into God’s Truth.  That way I will “stand firm against the devil’s schemes (Eph. 6:11, 14)”.
Ann H. LeFevre, M. Div.
https://www.annhlefevre.com; Olivetreeann@mail.com;
https://www.linkedin.com/in/annhlefevre/; https://www.facebook.com/ann.h.lefevre