God, Your Gold, and Your Soul!

Fort Knox is a 109,054 acre army base near Louisville, Kentucky, built during World War I. In 1936 an area within Fort Knox was transferred from the army to the Treasury Department for the purpose of building the United States Bullion Depository. A fascinating online article by Shimon Rosenberg @ zmanmagazine.com describes Fort Knox as "the most secure building on the planet." He refers to Fort Knox as "America’s Treasure Chest." Security measures at the fort are extensive and extreme to the max, and for good reason. Locked inside the vault of the depository building are many billions of dollars worth of gold, secured by 30,000 soldiers and hundreds of army tanks with cutting edge weaponry. The vault "is constructed of such robust materials and protected by such advanced security measures that it is literally impenetrable." According to Rosenberg, the 5,000 tons of gold bars stored there equal 2.5% of all the gold ever mined in the history of the world! The underground vault housing all that gold has a 250-ton door that no bomb is capable of blasting through. Truly, the gold and other treasures laid up at Fort Knox are protected in one of the mightiest bunkers this world has ever seen!

If you could get your earthly treasures into the vault at Fort Knox, they would be in the most secure place on earth. The bad news is you can’t get them in there! Even so, there is good news. There is a vault that is even more secure than the one in Fort Knox, and the treasures it protects are quite literally out of this world! The treasures and the vault that protects them are described by Jesus Christ in Matthew 6:19-21 where He charges His disciples: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." Heaven stretches human imagination. Its glory is (many believe) metaphorically described by the apostle John in Revelation 21. Verse 18 says "the city was pure gold" and shortly later he wrote "the street of the city was pure gold." Besides gold, along the way John also mentions the most precious and valuable gemstones known to man (verses 19-21). And yet, astonishingly, Jesus, declares other even more precious treasures are being "laid / stored up" in heaven. Not in the form of gold bars. Instead, to coin words used by William M. Golden in his gospel song "A Beautiful Life" (1936), the "treasures" Christians put on deposit in heaven are "golden deeds." Verse one of Golden’s hymn says, "Each day I’ll do a golden deed, By helping those who are in need." We don’t think of common, everyday little things we do for others as "golden" or as something we would call a "treasure." But the Lord does. Jesus Himself attached great worth to the smallest of good deeds, promising that whoever gives "only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple shall by no means lose his reward" (Matthew 10:42). There is no eternal reward in simply heaping and laying up gold here on earth. If you owned all the gold in Fort Knox, and if no thief could break in there to take it away from you, the cold, hard fact remains that death would take you away from it. That’s the inherent weakness in ALL earthly treasures and the vaults we deposit them in. Now, how much treasure have you laid up in heaven? Let me encourage you to make daily deposits. God will take good care of your gold, and your soul – forever. Even Fort Knox can’t do that.

    by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

 

SAMO, SAMO – NOT FOREVER!

 Poetic words from the pen of Arthur Guieterman provide food for thought on what we call "progress": "First, dentistry was painless Then bicycles were chainless And carriages were horseless And many laws enforceless. Next, cookery was fireless, Telegraphy was wireless, Cigars were nicotineless And coffee caffeinless. Soon oranges were seedless, The putting green was weedless, the college boy hatless, The proper diet fatless. Now motor roads are dustless, The latest steel is rustless, Our tennis courts are sodless, Our new religions, godless." You might be surprised to discover Guiterman wrote those words in 1936 – 84 years ago! For the most part they sound as if they were written today. 

 We are told, and told, and told (by people who supposedly are smarter and more sophisticated and advanced than people in days gone by) that everything has changed. And that all this change has brought us to a "new normal" – not only a new normal, but, we are told, a much, much better normal. So they say. But wait a minute. Before you buy the idea we are so different and new and advanced and better than ages past, hear Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:9-10: "That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new?’ It has already been in ancient times before us." 

How can he say that? Some insist his words are ridiculous. They point out Solomon never flew on a jet liner or experienced space travel and never owned a personal computer or had a cell phone or did email. He never logged on the internet to see world headlines or posted a message @ wiseman.com. There are a thousand other things that are "new" that were undiscovered or undeveloped and unknown only a few decades ago. And yet, by inspiration Solomon confidently declared, "There is nothing new under the sun." Before you dismiss the ancient wise man’s statement, consider the next verse at verse 11 – "There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things to come By those who will come after." Paraphrased, the passage suggests that as a whole humankind just doesn’t learn much from history! 

The wise man asserts that from a moral and spiritual perspective humanity keeps plowing the over the same old ground again and again. Yeah – we have new and improved cars, tools for communicating, health care and medical techniques, yada, yada, yada. But surely you’ve noticed that while each generation and its technological advances are new, not everything about us is improved! Not by any stretch of the imagination. Sin, in all its many forms, is as out, loud, and proud as ever. Much of what the apostle Paul called the "works of the flesh" two thousand years ago in Galatians 5:19-21 ("sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies ...") show up in today’s headlines and daily news cycle. Rudyard Kipling expressed it this way: "The craft that we call modern, The crimes that we call new, John Bunyan had them typed and filed In 1682."

Morally and spiritually, it’s the SAMO, SAMO (that’s "same old, same old" story!). One other thing is always the same – "Jesus Christ (and His gospel) is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). That’s what sustains our hope! Someday He will make all things new (Revelation 21:5)! Praise the Lord! For those in Christ it won’t be the SAMO, SAMO forever. 

         by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

 

Improving the Silence!

 

Frank told about seeing his friend Fred one day. Frank said, "Fred had a bewildered look on his face, so I asked him if he had a problem. He looked at me and said, ‘I misplaced my dictionary, and now I’m at a loss for words.’ " Credit Fred for wanting to think before he spoke or wrote. Most of us would do well to speak less. The Bible admonishes "let every man (the Greek word includes every man and woman) be swift to hear, slow to speak" (James 1:19). We live in a loose-lipped world where people talk, text, tweet, and post on social media platforms. We are inundated with words. But not all words are equal or helpful. Many of them would be better left unsaid. The Greek word translated "slow" in James 1:19 means "slow, as in taking time to deliberate, unhurried, while still moving forward after considering all the facts" (HELPS WORD-studies). Edmund Muskie, a long time U. S. senator from the state of Maine, once said, "In Maine we have a saying that there’s no point in speaking unless you can improve on the silence." There’s not much silence left in America. The silence has been greatly diminished. America is awash with loud mouths that do nothing to improve the silence and very, very often horribly harm the silence. Out of people’s mouths come vile, vulgar, vain, and violent words. From cursing and swearing to complaining and grumbling to gossip and slander, there is sound pollution on every hand. On the street, online, on TV, in the music, in the movies, in the halls at school, and on occasion even in the church building and, God forbid, even in some pulpits, you may hear different kinds of trash talk and vile and inappropriate words. With the tongue people lie, flatter, blaspheme, backbite, tale-bare and dish the dirt. There is idle chatter, hate speech, harsh attacks, and cutting remarks. People use words to incite fear, stir up anger, spread half-truths and misinformation, discourage, and demoralize. If not careful our words can help to spread error, assassinate other people’s character, and ruin reputations. As part of his description of a largely godless society, the apostle Paul said in Roman 3:13-14 (quoting a string of psalms): "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." It’s not just smokestacks that foul the air and dirty up the environment. Filthy mouths do, too.

 Jesus warns us Matthew 12:36-37 we all ought to exercise great care that the words we choose to say will improve the silence – "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Jesus is not telling us to never speak up or out, nor was James in the passage noted above. Rather, they both call us to exercise our brains before we just start flapping our lips – or our pens or keyboards. The word Jesus uses for "idle" is a word that means lazy, thoughtless, careless, unprofitable, or injurious. These words about words and how we use them ought to jar us and make us think. Our words will show up at Judgment Day according to Jesus, and they will either condemn or justify us when we appear in God’s courtroom. American actor James Van Der Beek said, "It’s a free country and I can keep my mouth shut whenever I want." That’s a freedom more of us ought to exercise. A Spanish proverb says, "If your mouth is shut, the flies won’t get in." Or out, we might add. Does what you say improve on the silence? 

             by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

 

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