When Push Comes To Shove!

 

An internet search on the phrase "when push comes to shove" led to a website at grammarist.com. That site defined the phase as "an American idiom that describes the critical time when a decision / commitment must be made, when action must be taken to back up words." That definition reminds me of the Spanish proverb that says, "It’s not the same to talk of bulls as to be in the bullring." And then there’s the unknown bullfighter who said, "To fight a bull when you are not scared is nothing. And to not fight a bull when you are scared is nothing. But to fight a bull when you are scared – that is something." These words apply to Christians. We all have some "when push comes to shove" moments. Those "fight or flight" moments when we must decide if a particular action will be faithful or foolhardy. David fought and felled a nine-foot tall giant Goliath with nothing but a sling and a stone (1 Sam. 17. But later, as he ran and sought to hide from King Saul’s attempts to kill him, David confessed in Psalm 56:3, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in you." We remember Moses as the fearless, mighty man of faith who marched boldly into Pharaoh’s court in Egypt, thundering God’s command to "Let My people go." But in Exodus 3:10ff, when God initially told him he would be the one to go to Egypt to lead God’s people out of slavery, the Exodus narrative reveals God had to push Moses to the point of shoving him! Moses’ faith finally kicked in. He overcame his fear and got busy doing what God called him to do. Peter and the rest of Jesus’ apostles had a "when push comes to shove moment" the night Judas betrayed the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. Earlier that evening all the apostles verbally expressed undying devotion to Him, declaring they would never forsake Him, even if they had to die (Matt.26:34-35). But a few hours later, crunch time came, and fear (temporarily) smothered their faith. They all forsook Jesus and fled (Matt.26:56). But later in Acts 2 and the following chapters, other "when push comes to shove" moments came along. Now, filled with the Holy Spirit of God and trusting Christ’s promise to always be with them (Matt.28:20), their faith pushed fear out of the way. Repeatedly facing verbal and even physical beatings if they didn’t stop preaching the Christ, they stuck their necks out and kept preaching anyway. Their actions backed up their words. And talk about a "when push comes to shove moment" – check out Esther, our ancient ancestor in faith, a Jewess who became the Queen of Persia (her story is in the Old Testament book that bears her name). The critical moment in her life is in Esther chapter 4. In a threatening situation fraught with risk and fear, she chose to line act in faith rather than allow fear to hold her back and imperil her own life and the lives of all her Jewish kinsmen throughout the Persian Empire. We remember Esther, not because she wasn’t afraid, but because when "push came to shove," she declared in Esther 4:16, "And so I will go in to the king, which is against the [Persian] law; and if I perish, I perish!" She fought the bull when she was scared. Now that was some- thing! Because she acted courageously even in the face of risk, she and the Jewish people were preserved.

Today, "when push comes to shove" moments still confront the people of God. Moments when the need is to step out in faith, push back on fear, and do what we know is right, not merely what is easy or "safe." Moments when we take actions that back up our words. What do you do "when push comes to shove?"

     by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN 

 

Caution: Don’t Let the "News" Give You the Blues!

 I want to warn you – you may hate this joke. So a man said, "I just bought my first car. I’m now at risk for the Car-owner virus." What’s that? You hated that joke? I tried to warn you! My subject in this piece is not about the novel coronavirus, Covid-19. Well, sort of not about it. The topic I want to address is risk. Specifically, the risk of infection with "the bad news blues." Millions are at risk of being infected with Covid-19, and the conflict and controversy over how to prevent and slow its spread and how to live until it goes away rages on. Politicians at the national level got into the discussion from the get-go, and each major party now seems determined to slant the virus issue to their own advantage, especially in this presidential campaign season, and even more so since President Trump was infected with it! The result, as is often the case when politics and politicians at the national and state level get involved, is more heat than light about the pandemic and how to best counter it. Mix in a clearly divided media, each relentlessly pushing its own agenda, and the result is mud-slinging on a national level! Lyrics from Anne Murray’s 1983 song are as pertinent now as when the song was released 37 years ago – "We sure could use a little good news, today."

 Now my main point. Do you want to make yourself feel better? Do you want to be less angry, depressed, and discouraged? Want to feel better about our country and enjoy life more? If so, let me urge you to exercise caution about gorging on too much "news" these days. I’m not sure many if any will heed the warning. Be that as it may, I will say it again: CAUTION: THE "NEWS" MAY GIVE YOU THE BLUES!" Why so? The oldest and best book on good mental health (better known as the Holy Bible!) urges us to understand in Proverbs 23:7a: "For as he thinks in his heart so is he." Even as he suffered unjustly in a Roman prison, the apostle Paul urged Christians long ago: "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, think on these things" (Philippians 4:8). It has been said, "You are what you eat." But God’s word clearly calls us to understand, "You are what you think" – and the quality and fitness of what we think is largely determined by what we allow into our minds ("heart" in the Bible ). In her book Rapt Attention and the Focused Life, Winifred Gallagher wrote, "What you focus on creates your experience. Choosing your targets wisely is the key to the good life." This is precisely why we are at risk. In this modern digital age, the "news" is pervasive, and much of it perversive. Via smart phones in our hands that deliver a heavy dose of visual images, we witness in what is virtually real-time the worst human beings can do and say to each other, as well as accidents and "natural disasters." Research reveals that the effect of all that bad, bloody, and bleak stuff – along with the constant conflict, anger, violence, and irresponsible and slanted rhetoric – delivered in spectacular and dramatic words and images, is generating high levels of anxiety and even depression in millions. Too much of it puts us at great risk of being infected with a bad case of bad, sad, mad "stinking thinking." Our minds become a breeding ground for all kinds of fearful, anxious, angry thoughts. I know this is not a technical analysis – but when all that fills your mind, that ain’t good! I say again: be careful, because too much "news" will likely give you a bad case of the blues!

          by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

 

Do Preachers Ever Know What They Are Doing?

 

 Many years ago Basil Overton grabbed me by the ears with this statement about preaching (in the middle of a sermon): "The reason I love what I’m doing is because a I never know what I’m doing." The apostle Paul loved preaching Christ’s gospel. After rising from the waters of baptism, "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God" (Acts 9:18-20). He had unbounded confidence that Christ’s gospel is "the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). This statement comes on the heels of verse 15 where he declared his eagerness and readiness to preach Jesus – "So, as much as is in me, I am ready (English Standard Version ‘eager’) to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also." And yet, the great apostle hints at the idea he never knew for sure what he was doing when he preached! That thought is clearly seen in 1 Corinthians 1:18 where he wrote, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Paul viewed the gospel message and preaching it as a divine drama. He knew God was reaching for people’s souls through the gospel message as he proclaimed it – but he never knew while doing so if the gospel was having a saving influence on those hearing it, or if it was taking hearers further along in the process of perishing as they rejected appeals to trust and obey Christ! All this reminds us the preacher’s task is a rather daunting one. He faces multiple challenges every time he rises to preach. He is expected to be well trained, accurate, and interesting as he retells the two-thousand-year-old story of Jesus, sometimes to people who have already heard it told 100's if not thousands of times. On Sundays the preacher faces a diverse crowd. People sitting in the pews are all over the map spiritually, socially, financially, philosophically, politically, and educationally. Interest in the sermon and moral / spiritual truth ranges from almost non-existent to intense. Some are wide-awake with anticipation as the preacher cracks open his Bible, while others yawn, watch the clock, go online via their smart phone, play with the baby, or otherwise tune the preacher out. Some want the sermon loaded with stories and illustrations; others are sure such things have no place in the pulpit, lest the preacher "entertain" listeners. Some agree and silently say "Amen" to the sermon; some disagree and not so silently say so, if not to the preacher’s face, then behind his back. We could go on but you get the picture.

 What should the preacher do in view of these challenges and uncertainties? W. A. Criswell once said, "When a man comes to church what he is actually saying to you is this – ‘Preacher, I know what the TV commentator has to say: I hear him every day. I know what the editorial writer has to say: I read it every day. I know what the magazines have to say: I read them every week. Preacher, what I want to know is, does God have anything to say? If God has anything to say, tell us what it is." Consider the apostle Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 – "And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Let us pray that God will give us preachers who will be determined to preach Christ and tell us what God has to say – even though they never know what they are doing. 

           by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN