Taking Risks For Jesus!

          James Conant gives us something to think about with these words – "Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out." The apostle Paul often stuck his neck out for the cause of Christ. His brief statement at 1 Corinthians 15:30–31 reveals just how often – "And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." The passage reveals that serving Jesus was a hands-on, high cost and high-risk activity for this beloved apostle of Christ! He testifies he stood in "jeopardy" (or danger) every hour. According to Strong’s concordance the Greek word translated "jeopardy" [kindyneuo pronounced kin-dooon-yoo’-o] means "to undergo peril, be in danger, stand in jeopardy." The daily death Paul mentioned included the denial of self Jesus calls all His followers to make (Luke 9:23). But in 2 Corinthians 11:23 Paul gives further insight into the phrase "I die daily" when he writes he was "in deaths often" (New American Standard Bible "often in danger of death"). Paul physically, literally, and frequently risked his life for the case of Christ. Because he stuck his neck out for Christ, his words and teachings recorded in the New Testament continue to impact the lives of millions of people around the globe 2,000 years after he lived and died! But Paul was not the only risk-taker in the early church. In Romans 16:3-5a, as he begins a long list of personal greetings to Christians in the church at Rome, Paul himself mentions two wonderful Christians who came out of the safety of their shells and stuck their necks out – way out. Listen to these words: "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house." What fascinating – and challenging – words! We don’t know the circumstances to which the apostle refers. Paul was often in hot water from those who opposed the gospel of Christ (remember the verse above – "in jeopardy every hour"). But at some point Aquila and Priscilla stood up for Paul, and in so doing placed their very lives at risk! Concerning this incident, consider this interesting quote from Burton Coffman’s commentary on the book of ROMANS: "What a wonderful thing it would be to know just what happened. It was an event of the highest drama and significance, and known from one end of the pagan empire to the other; but now, alas, it is a deed buried under centuries of silence, with only this single finger of divine light having been left as a record of so brave and unselfish an act . . . In view of what surely happened, all of the illustrious achievements of this great apostle must be credited to this noble couple who saved his life. No wonder the pen of inspiration wrote their names first."

 The question for most of us is not will we have to die for Jesus. We likely won’t have to (although some might). I’m just asking each of us, starting with myself, how much risk are we willing to take for Christ? Are we willing to take any risk of any kind? The sobering truth is if we won’t put ourselves at risk for Jesus in the here and now, we are putting our souls at risk in the hereafter (see Matthew 10:32-33 * Luke 9:23-24). Thank you Bro. Paul – and Sis. Priscilla and Bro. Aquila. And more than anyone else, let us thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who was willing to be a risk-taker for the sake of our souls.

 One more time – will you dare to take some risks for Christ? Will you dare to take any? 

   by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

How Ron Wayne Lost a Fortune!

 Steve Jobs was the primary force behind what is known today as Apple Computers. He is widely recognized as the pioneer of the personal computer revolution of the 1970's and 1980s, along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Walter Isaacson published a biography about Steve Jobs in 2011 shortly before Jobs died from pancreatic cancer. He writes that when Jobs started Apple Computers with his friend Steve Wozniak, he also enlisted as a partner Ron Wayne, a middle-aged engineer at Atari. Wayne had once himself started a slot machine company that didn’t succeed. Wayne received a 10% stake in Apple, and on April 1, 1976 a partnership was signed – a 45% division of shares each for Jobs and Wozniak, and 10% for Wayne. But as Jobs pushed a plan to borrow and spend lots of money, Wayne recalled his own failed company. He got cold feet, and twelve days later sold his share of the new company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. A year later he accepted a final payment of $1500 to forego any future claims against the newly incorporated Apple. Now listen to this – had Wayne stayed on and kept his 10% stake, at the end of 2010 it would have been worth more than two billion, six hundred million dollars – that’s $2,600,000,000! By August, 2018 that number would have reached $95 billion as Apple approached a $1 trillion market share. Today Wayne, 84 years old, lives in a small home in Pahrump, Nevada on social security checks. Whatever his reasons, Wayne’s decision to bail out of Apple cost him a financial fortune that staggers the mind.

 Let us note an important spiritual application. If and when Christians "leave" the church they walk away from a staggering spiritual fortune. At Ephesians 1:3 the apostle Paul declared the source, scope, and sphere or the faithful Christian’s spiritual riches – "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." In his commentary on Ephesians, Burton Coffman calls the phrase "in the heavenly places" a "remarkable expression" occurring five times in Ephesians (1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; 6:12) and nowhere else. Coffman further posits that the phrase likely means something more than being in Christ’s church, but also admits that "the blessings ‘in Christ’ are certainly those in His spiritual body, which is the church." That being so, faithful members of the church of Christ (which is the body of Christ – Eph.1:22b-23a) enjoy a breathtaking spiritual fortune! In Ephesians 1:4ff the apostle Paul writes that Christians are chosen in Christ, adopted as God’s children, accepted [by God] in Christ, and enjoy redemption and forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ. All of this came about "according to the riches of His grace" (vs 7b). Those riches are later said to be "exceeding" (2:7), and Paul points to God’s "kindness toward us in Jesus Christ" as a dramatic illustration of just how rich God is in grace – and how enriched we are when we come into Christ and "sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (2:6)! Finally, the apostle writes at Eph.3:8 that the riches we enjoy in Christ are "unsearchable." I tell you with love – when you leave Christ’s body, the church, whatever the reason, you are no longer "in the heavenly places in Christ" where God placed every spiritual blessing. Biblically speaking, it is impossible to cut yourself off from the body of Christ and not also lose connection with Christ Himself, who is the head of the body. I implore you – learn to love Christ’s church. Walk away from her and you lose a spiritual fortune.

by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

 

God and Government!

A presidential election is right around the corner. Whatever your political preferences, the Holy Spirit speaks very counter-cultural words about government and how we relate to those who govern in Romans 13:1-2 – "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." The Christians who first read those words didn’t get to vote on who ruled. The guy in their White House was a morally insane, Christian-persecuting tyrant. Yet Christians were taught to submit to governing authorities. Modern Americans enjoy constitutional rights and protections citizens in many nations do not have. The First Amendment to our Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." The First Amendment permits and protects the right to "peacefully protest." What it nor any of the other 27 Amendments to the Constitution allow is to use protest as a guise for lawlessness and violence; nor for an individual or a group to decide they are "sovereign" and therefore not subject to the rule of legally and constitutionally established law without working through due process to change that law.

 There is much that needs changing in our culture / world. There are unjust and unfair political practices. There are (some) unfair and abusive cops – and there are without doubt a few (relatively speaking) who are racist. Prejudice is still a problem. Poverty is a continual plague. Christians ought to engage in the dialogue and address injustice and unfairness. We ought to speak out and stand against that which is immoral and evil. We must love our neighbor, whatever the color of his and her skin. We ought to "speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men" (Titus 3:2). Christians are urged by God’s Spirit to "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king" (1 Peter 2:17). Christians must be salt and light in a dark and morally and spiritually rotten world. Sometimes that means protesting. But we must consider carefully how we choose to protest against perceived injustice in any area – moral, political, economic, or social issues. Many Christians believe abortion is wrong – but we don’t honor God or change hearts and minds about abortion if we bomb abortion clinics or shoot doctors who perform them or applaud those who do. There are some bad cops and bad preachers / teachers / coaches / Congress men and women, etc., etc.,etc. But Christ is not honored and human society is not helped by careless, inflammatory rhetoric that suggests one or two or even three bad apples mean the whole barrel is rotten. And how does anybody right a wrong done by a guilty cop by executing an innocent one or slandering all cops as bad?

 In the politically charged times in which we live, let us remember words from Abraham Lincoln. When someone expressed to him the hope that God was on the North’s side, Lincoln replied, "My greatest concern is not that God be on our side, but that we be on God’s side." It might also be good to remember, as one preacher said, when Jesus comes back He won’t be riding an elephant or a donkey. Think about that.

      by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN