Choices Still Matter!

 What choice do I have?" All kinds! Whether buying a car or cookies or crackers or clothing, Americans daily have a plethora of choices. For decades preachers have told people to go to the "church of your choice." Now choices are endless in religion and moral lifestyles. Millions are absolutely sure nobody can be absolutely sure about anything, and they are absolutely sure about that! The result is a radical pluralism that insists all choices in religious and moral and ethical areas are equally valid, and all roads somehow in the end lead us to God no matter how different and conflicting they are. But that won’t wash! As somebody observed, it is true there are two sides to every question – but it is also true there are two sides to a sheet of flypaper, and it is a matter of life or death to the fly which side he chooses.

 Choices still matter. Some matter more than others, and some result in very significant consequences. According to a Reader’s Digest article (07/85, p 173), in 1920 the management of the Boston Red Sox chose to sell a player named Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. That choice mattered, for the Red Sox and the Yankees. After joining the Yankees, in 10 out of the next 12 seasons Ruth hit more home runs than the entire Red Sox team! Boston did not win a World Series between 1918, when Ruth was on the team, until October, 2004! Choice matters. In 1938 Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel made what turned out to be a super- bad choice and for $130 sold all rights to a comic book character they had invented. The character’s name? Superman. Some choices greatly matter. In 1955 Sam Phillips sold RCA his exclusive contract with a young singer named Elvis Presley. Did that matter? It did to Phillips. He lost out on royalties from sales of more than a billion records. Adam and Eve discovered choice matters. After choosing to eat forbidden fruit God said don’t eat (Genesis 2:17), they found themselves outside Paradise and away from the tree of life. Choice mattered for King David. His secret, one night fling with another man’s wife led to a tortured conscience, a dead baby, and years of family strife, dysfunction and grief. The prodigal son in Luke 15 chose to reject the teaching and oversight of his loving father and ended up in a penniless, pigpen existence – until he wisely chose to turn back to his father. Choices have always mattered. Choices still matter. A single choice to drink or smoke or use other kinds of drugs can begin a downward spiral that ends in addiction and immeasurable loss. Marriages are marred, homes are hurt, innocence is lost, and hearts are broken because men and women make bad choices. Young people choose to quit high school and literally pay a price, often for the rest of their lives. Prisons are filled because of bad choices. Millions choose to overspend and bury their family in a grave of debt that proves hard to dig out of. The devil doesn’t want you to know it, but sin is always a bad choice (Romans 6:23a * James 1:15). As regards where we will be in eternity, there are only two choices – heaven or hell. With characteristic clarity, Jesus spelled it out in Matthew 7:13-14 – "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Some choices don’t matter much. Some choices matter a lot. No choice matters more than the one Jesus describes in Matthew 7:13-14. God will some day choose what to do with you. That’s why what you choose to do with Him will always matter – more than any choice you will ever have to make. Choices still matter! 

   by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

 

Grandmas and Mommas of Faith – Rock On!

 The following story was told by J. R. Miller, a writer for the once very popular TV program "Hee-Haw." A drunk wandered into the neighborhood gym and spotted a man shadow-boxing in the center of the ring. He watched the boxer dancing and punching the air for a minute or so, then called out to him – "Hey pal, you might as well quit fighting. He’s gone!" This little article is not about shadow-boxing, but it is about a fight. Not a physical fight but a spiritual one. The one mentioned by the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:12 as he encouraged his young preaching protege Timothy to stay in the fight against sin and Satan – "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses." Timothy preached the gospel in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3), a city of 200,000 people, considered by most historians as the most important city in Western Asia Minor in New Testament times. The New Testament books of 1 and 2 Timothy were written by Paul to strengthen and equip and spur the younger preacher on as he fought the good fight. So how did Timothy do? Tradition tells us he fought long and well. According to extra-biblical church tradition, Timothy ministered in Ephesus from A. D. 64 till he was martyred at 80 years old in the year 97 A. D. He sought to halt a pagan parade in honor of the goddess Diana (her temple was in Ephesus – see Acts 19) by preaching the gospel and exhorting the idol worshipers to acknowledge the true and living God. In anger they seized Timothy, severely beat him, dragged him through the streets, and stoned him. He died from the beatings and stones, but stood firm in his faith and fought the good fight to the end.

 How do you make a man of such faith and conviction? The apostle Paul clearly had a great influence on Timothy(Acts 16:1-3 * Philippians 2:19-23, etc.). They went through much in their service for Christ (2 Tim.3:10-11). Paul’s spiritual influence on Timothy was profound and long-lasting. But there is another influence in Timothy’s life, equally profound, though it gets little ink in the New Testament. Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 1:5 mention very briefly two faithful women who played prominent if not very public roles in shaping Timothy’s Christian character and faith in God. There Paul wrote, "when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also." Wow – "genuine" faith in God can be a multi-generational reality! It was in Timothy’s case! The faith that was in him "dwelt first" in his grandmother and his mom. They taught him the Scriptures from "childhood" (2 Timothy 3:15 – the Greek word can be translated "infancy" –). These two ladies intentionally and constantly sought, from the get-go, to get the genuine faith that was in them into Timothy! They helped shape Timothy into a Christian and a preacher just as surely as the apostle Paul. Their influence on Timothy’s faith in God began before his birth! They rocked his cradle but that’s not all they rocked. They rocked Timothy’s world by influencing him for Christ. Their names live on in God’s household of faith. Timothy and a host of people he led to Christ will be in heaven because faith was "first" in Lois and Eunice! Momma, Grandma – in our age entire movements are seeking to "empower" women. But Lois and Eunice remind us – women of genuine faith have long held great power. Faith can rock your children / grandchildren’s world, in time and in eternity. Grandmas and Moms with genuine faith – rock on!

by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

 

Will You Bounce, or Will You Break?

 

Consider this mind-teasing quote – "When you fall, I’ll be there to catch you. With love, the floor." Do you find much comfort in that? I’ve fallen several times over the span of my life. In every case the floor, or ground, caught me! Most of my physical falls have been of little lasting consequence. I just got up and went on, none the worse for the fall (except maybe embarrassed!). But two falls proved more serious, resulting in a broken wrist. The first time I broke the left wrist (while 36 years old). The second occurred earlier this year (February, 2021, at 66 years old!). The result was a broken left wrist. Months after this fall, I’m still recovering. I guess old bones heal more slowly than younger ones!

 Here’s a question to ponder – when you fall, will you bounce back, or will you break? It depends, someone observed, on whether you are an "egg" or a "tennis ball." When you drop an egg, it usually breaks and can’t be put together again (remember Humpty-Dumpty?!). But what happens when you drop a tennis ball? It bounces! We all take spiritual falls. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), and the apostle John shoots straight when he says in 1 John 1:10, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him [that is, God] a liar, and His word is not in us" (also see Romans 3:23). Here’s the thing. We all fall spiritually, but praise be to God, we can bounce back. All sin can be forgiven when we turn to God on conditions in the gospel (Act 2:38 * Mark 16:15-16 * Colossians 2:10-13). If we truly obey God, He is merciful to forgive us. Through Jesus, our sins He "remembers no more" (Hebrews 8:12). But while God promises to forgive us, many of us have a difficult time forgiving ourselves. Now make no mistake about this – God wants to forgive us. A cross stained with the blood of His only begotten Son screams He is dying to forgive us. But even though we all fall, we don’t all react the same way. Judas and Peter are examples. Judas, overcome with grief after he betrayed Jesus, went out and hung himself (Acts 1:8). When he fell, he broke. Peter also fell, more than once. In quick succession he denied he knew Jesus three times the night the Lord was arrested and tried by a kangaroo court of religious hypocrites. After he fell Peter was filled with guilt and remorse. Matthew 26:75 says, "He went out and wept bitterly." But though bruised and battered from his fall, Peter didn’t break! He bounced back like a tennis ball! Although at the bottom of a self-dug hole, he didn’t dig deeper. Through God’s grace and the love and forgiveness of Jesus, Peter was forgiven and restored.

 How about you? Have you fallen into some sinful relationship or activity that left you bruised with a bleeding conscience and gasping for spiritual air under a smothering load of guilt? Do you fixate and obsess on a past fall? To stay stuck there is like being stung to death by a single bee. It stings and dumps soul-killing poison into your heart every time you return there in your mind. Life is slippery, and the Bible seeks to sober us when it says in 1 Corinthians 12:10, "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." Life is a slippery place. It is easy to fall. But God’s word offers hope – "For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity" (Proverbs 24:16). The issue is not will you ever fall – we all do at times. The issue is will you break? Have you fallen into sin? Let me remind you that getting to heaven is a matter of bouncing back one more time than you fall! Christ died and was buried, but He bounced back! You may fall into sin, but thanks to Jesus, you can bounce back! Will you bounce, or break? 

     by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

Can God Smell Your Love?

"Let each one give as he purposes in his heart," the apostle Paul directs in 2 Corinthians 9:7a, "not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." But a story about American industrialist Henry Ford reminds us some people have to be strong-armed into giving. Ford was once asked to donate money for the construction of a new medical facility. The billionaire pledged to donate $5,000. The next day in the newspaper, the headline read, "Henry Ford contributes $50,000 to the local hospital." The irate Ford was on the phone immediately to complain to the fund-raiser that he had been misunderstood. The fund-raiser replied that they would print a retraction in the paper the following day to read, "Henry Ford reduces his donation by $45,000." Realizing the poor publicity that would result, the industrialist agreed to the $50,000 contribution in return for the following – that above the entrance to the hospital was to be carved the Bible-related thought: "I came among you and you took me in." (Bits and Pieces, 3/93, p 23)

 John 12:1-8 describes a lavish, sacrificial gift given to Jesus at a supper in His honor only a few days before He was crucified. Verses 1 and 2 relate that "six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany .... where they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him" [that is, Jesus]. Verse 3 goes on – "Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." Sadly, over against the beautiful fragrance of that sweet perfume and ungrudging generosity of Mary’s extravagant gift is the foul odor of greed and hypocrisy in verses 4-5 – "But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil not given to the poor?’ " John exposes Judas’s feigned concern for the poor with this blunt indictment in verse 6 – "This he said, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it." The Lord goes on in verses 7 and 8 to note that Mary’s actions reveal her deeper understanding of what would happen to Jesus a few days later when He would demonstrate an unparalleled love at the cross for all people, including Judas! Most commentators believe the Mary in this passage is the same unnamed woman and incident recorded in Matthew 26:6ff and Mark 14:3-9. Jesus said in Matthew 26:13 and Mark 14:9 what she had done would never be forgotten!

 Focus on the statement in the last part of verse 3 – "and the house was filled the fragrance of the oil." Strong’s Concordance says the Greek word for "filled" is "plaroo" [pronounced ‘play-ro’-o’], and means "to make replete, literally to cram." Such was the strength of the pungent smell that it wafted through the whole house where they were until it "filled" the house. Mary was practicing some ancient aroma therapy that evening – every nose in the house could smell it and was affected by it! What others in the room smelled that evening was oil spikenard, but Jesus smelled something else. He smelled the fragrance of a deep, sacrificial love that mirrored the love He Himself was preparing to show later that week – a love that in the apostle Paul’s words at Romans 5:8 "demonstrates His [God’s] own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Mary spared no expense to show her love for Jesus. God spares no expense, including the gift of His only begotten Son, to save each of us from our sins! Can God smell your love?

      by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

Is unity possible?Can we have unity?What steps can we take to become mor...

Many Ideas In a Few Words!

 Some people can talk all day and not say much, can’t they? A verbose speaker employing overblown rhetoric reportedly once inspired a humorous observation from President Abraham Lincoln. Henry Clay Whitney was a close friend of Lincoln’s. In 1892 Whitney published "Life On the Circuit With Lincoln." In that book Whitney related the following. "There was a small merchant in Chicago, whom (to suppress his name) I will call Blower, and who sold out his store and embraced the trade, or profession of politics. Lincoln had great contempt for him, although he gave him an office; but he said to me one day, ‘That Blower can compress the most words in the fewest ideas of any man I ever knew.’ " Most of us know a "long-winded" person or two who has the "gift of gab" – and as a preacher I’m sure I have been guilty of compressing a lot of words into a few ideas at times. But I resemble that remark!

 Let me spring from these thoughts into an observation about the Bible. In great contrast to politicians and sometimes preachers and people in general, the Bible has a way of squeezing a lot of ideas into a very few words! Let me point to one specific Bible verse and expand from there. In Romans 8:1a the apostle Paul declares, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Some translations leave off part of this verse, but the New King James and King James translations add, "who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." We don’t have space to dig deeply into all these words. Let us focus on the opening clause – "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." The first word, "Therefore," jerks our attention back into chapter 7 where, in the last few verses, Paul makes clear he was lost apart from the saving work and initiative and ongoing influence of Jesus Christ in his life. Sin had done him in – so much so it caused him to cry out at 7:24, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Then in verse 25 he answers his own question – "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! There is a way out of sin – a living way! His name is Jesus Christ!

 It is in that context we hear Paul boldly and confidently proclaiming the good news we hear in Romans 8:1a – "There is now no condemnation." But note it – the spiritual standing of not being condemned is not for every person. Rather it is for a very specific and well-defined group of people – those Paul classifies as "in Christ Jesus"! Talk about a lot of ideas – very big ideas – compressed into a few words! Those three words "in Christ Jesus" and their equivalents "in the Lord," "in Jesus Christ," "in the Lord," occur in a plethora of passages in the New Testament! And the little-bitty, two-letter word "in" represents a profound spiritual concept that is beyond the total grasp or mere human logic and reasoning power! Ephesians 1:3 states that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus." Revelation 14:13 states that even those who "die in the Lord" are blessed! In stark contrast to the multiple spiritual blessings "in Christ" is another spiritual condition described in Ephesians 2:1 as being "dead in trespasses and sins." This is the antithesis of being "in Christ." Each of us is either "in Christ" or has "no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). Only two verses in the New Testament tell us how to get out of sin and into Christ. Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27 declare unambiguously we are "baptized into Christ." A lot of truth compressed into a few words – "in Christ." Are you "in Christ?"

                  by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

An Act Too Large For a Small World of Fact!

A prayer by a Scottish preacher applies to Americans, too – "O Lord, may we always be right, for Thou knowest we will never change our minds." That prayer reminds us there can be a Grand- Canyon-sized difference between what people believe is right and what really is right. As late U. S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." The human tendency to equate opinion with fact is not a new one. The apostle Thomas missed out on a post- resurrection appearance by Jesus to the other disciples. That appearance, and a subsequent one a week later when Thomas was present, is recorded in John 20:19ff. At one point Thomas tells the other apostles, after they had related Christ’s appearance to him, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the print of the nails, and put my hands into His side, I will not believe." Fair or not, these statements have caused the moniker "Doubting Thomas" to stick to him like velcro. To be fair to Thomas, the next week he did feel those prints with his hands – at Jesus’ own invitation – and having done so, acknowledged Jesus in verse 28 as "my Lord and my God!" The difference in Thomas and many people in today’s relativistic, truth-o-phobic, Bible-o-phobic culture, is that he was willing to change his mind based on fact.

 Thomas reminds us the resurrection proves difficult for many people to accept. Not that there is no proof or evidence. The New Testament is filled with the first hand testimony of eye-witnesses who declared they saw Him after He was dead and buried. The apostle Paul points to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as the king-pin upon which the whole of Christianity hangs. In 1 Corinthians 15:3ff he says these three events were "delivered to you first of all" or "as of first importance." In this passage Paul points first to Peter (v 5a), then the twelve (v 5b), then to over five hundred brethren who saw Jesus "at once"(vs 6), then again by James and all the apostles (vs 7), and last of all to himself. That adds up to hundreds of first-hand, on-the-scene, eye-witnesses claiming Christ was raised from the dead! No wonder then, later (at vs 12) the apostle thunders, "Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" Whether they were doubting Christ was raised or doubting the resurrection in general is of little matter to Paul – he is challenging readers to understand that simply saying, "I don’t believe in the resurrection" does not change the facts. To deny Jesus’ resurrection or that we will all be raised is a choice anyone is free to make, but not without dismissing piles of testimony to the contrary!

 In the thought-provoking song "These Things Did Thomas Count As Real" (1984), Thomas H. Troeger said about our ancient brother "Doubting" Thomas – "The vision of his skeptic mind Was keen enough to make him blind To any unexpected act Too large for his small world of fact. His reasoned certainties denied That one could live when one had died, Until his fingers read like Braille The markings of the spear and nails" (verses 2, 3). The resurrection of Jesus (and our future resurrection) was indeed a large, unexpected act! But whether it is true or false does not depend on what goes on in the small world of fact (opinion) between our ears. We must follow where the evidence leads. You are entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Somebody is right about all this stuff, and somebody is wrong. We know what the Bible says, we know what a skeptical world says, and we know what the evidence says. Now, what do you say?

                 by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN