Used Christians!

 

                           

Somewhere I ran across this quip by a lady named Greta K. Nagel: “You can still drink from a chipped cup.” Her quote reminds us usefulness is not impaired by imperfection. Most of us have drunk from a chipped cup! Nagel’s quote went on to say, “There are many reasons God shouldn’t call you into His service ... But don’t worry, you’re in good company.” Her point was that some of the greatest people God used in Biblical history to accomplish His plans and purposes had serious moral and spiritual chips and cracks in their character, at least on occasion. A partial listing includes Moses who couldn’t talk right (Exodus 4:10) and killed a man (Exodus 2:12-13); David who had an affair (2 Samuel chapters 11-12); Elijah who suffered  burn-out (1 Kings 19); Samson who had long hair and multiple chips and cracks in his character (see Judges 13-16); Noah who once got drunk resulting in something really bad (Genesis 9:21ff); Peter who cursed and swore three times he didn’t know Jesus even as Jesus suffered painful beatings and humiliating treatment by those orchestrating His death on a cross (Matthew 27: 66-54); Timothy who suffered from ulcers or some other kind of stomach-related problems and apparently tended to be a little shy and timid (see 1 Timothy 5:23 * 2 Timothy 1:6-8). And last but not    least there was Saul turned Paul who, because of His efforts to persecute Christians out of existence before his own conversion to Christ, was the great persecutor of Jesus and His church (Acts 9:1ff). Even a surface reading of the Bible makes clear that over the centuries of time covered in the Bible, Christ was the only flawless, sinless individual who ever showed up! There were no chips or cracks in His moral or spiritual character. He was the sinless, peerless, pure and holy Son of God, Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21 *    Hebrews 4:15 * 1 Peter 2:21; 3:18). Regarding perfection, Jesus is truly in a class all by Himself! 

 God used imperfect people in the past, and He can use you in the present. He’s not expecting that you won’t have a chip or two in your cup. But be careful – none of what has been written here is to say He does not have some criteria and does not make some demands if you want Him to use your life to bring glory to Himself and good to the church and to the world. Words from the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:19-21 tell us the kind of traits God expects on anyone’s spiritual resume if he / she desires and expects God to        use them – “Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’ But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” A careful study of the books of 1st and 2nd Timothy makes clear God was calling Timothy to place Himself at God’s disposal and to serious responsibilities, in spite of apparent limitations mentioned earlier in this little article. The people God is willing to use don’t have to be flawless, but they are required to be faithful. They must maintain a serious commitment to “depart from iniquity” – be a “vessel [instrument] for honor”, be “sanctified” (that is set apart) in order to be “useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” Christ will serve His living water in a chipped cup. What He won’t do is serve His bread on a dirty plate. The issue is not will God use you – He clearly is. The issue is how willing are you to be used by God.  Are you a used Christian?  Think about it.

  Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

Heaven - Don’t Miss It For the World!

 Robert M. Edsel published a very interesting book in 2009 entitled “The Monuments Men.” The book tells about a group of men in World War II who traipsed through bombed-out Europe tracking down and recovering valuable paintings, statues and other cultural treasures filched by Adolph Hitler and his high-powered Nazi thieves during the war. “Monument man” Walter Hancock was with the U. S. army as it moved quickly cross Germany toward a rendezvous with Russian troops at Dresden (yes, we were allied with Russia against Hitler at that time!). Hancock wrote his wife a letter that told her his 16-hour days were spent, “half in the pain at seeing beauty needlessly destroyed by those we might have hoped would show more signs of being civilized, and half in the joy of seeing spring days returning to rural Germany.” The letter continued: “How can I describe the strange, strange combination of experiences each day here in this beautiful place brings?! ... Flowering trees everywhere and the charm of the romantic little towns and the fairy tale countryside is enhanced by all this freshness. And in the midst of it all – thousands of homeless foreigners wandering about in pathetic droves. Germans in uniforms, mostly with arms and legs – or more – missing. Children who are friendly, older ones who hate you, crimes continually in the foreground of life. Plenty, misery, recriminations, sympathy. Such an exaggerated picture of the man-made way of life in a God-made world. If it doesn’t prove the necessity of Heaven, I don’t know what it all means. I believe that all this loveliness showing through the rubble and wreck are just foreshadowings of the joys we were made for.” Hancock’s words described both hurt and hope, beauty and brutishness – all mingled together as the world sought to right itself after a terrible, horrible World War II.”

 Consider this – in the world as God originally made it, Adam and Eve had access to a beautiful place the only true Paradise that ever existed on earth. There was no sin, sickness, sorrow, suffering, or death; no war, want, hunger, hatred; no prejudice, poverty, perversion, and no pandemic viruses! They lived in the presence of God who sometimes walked in the garden (Genesis 3:8). The only time when all was right with the world was before mankind, with the devil’s help, created a man-made way of life on God’s earth –  a world now marred by all the sin and misery and sadness we sometimes see and hear and / or experience. The simple if sobering fact of the matter is that if there is ever to be a place of true, ultimate beauty and blessing, a place free of sin, stress, suffering and death, a place where God is ever-present and where we live forever in peace, harmony and eternal happiness – Heaven is a necessity! And according to the Bible, Heaven is a reality! Hours before His death on the cross, Jesus assured His troubled, worried disciples: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1-3). We live in a fallen, devil-dominated world where sin makes for a lot of man-made misery. But another God-made world awaits those who are faithful to God and His Son, Jesus Christ – a place of              eternal beauty and bliss beyond description, a place where the soul is at home with God, forever. Read about it in Revelation 21-22 – it’s out of this world!  It will be an eternal God-made world, unmarred by the miseries man’s sin has made in this one. Don’t miss it for the world (1 John2:15-17). Think about it. 

    Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

Your Faith – Firm or Fragile?

 A  number of years ago I was challenged by the following words from an anonymous preacher: “Wherever the apostle Paul went, there was a riot [after he preached]. Wherever I go, they serve tea.” On a more personal note, when I preach, there is sometimes a potluck afterwards. My aim is not to put-down tea or potlucks. My aim is to point out Paul’s faith was firm and durable, not fragile and easily broken. The gospel Paul preached promised a crown in the hereafter, but the path to that crown called for taking up a cross of self-denial and possible suffering in the here-and-now. Late in Paul’s career, after years of self-denial and suffering, he urges Timothy, his partner in the gospel, on with these words in 2 Timothy:8-10 – “Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” Preaching Christ brought Paul as much trouble as it did triumph, more loss than gain (materially), and as much suffering as personal satisfaction. So how was he able to prove tougher than anything the devil and demons in hell could brew up and throw at him? The key words of the text quoted above reveal the secret to his “stick-to-it, see-it-through, finish-the-race” at all costs mentality – “Jesus Christ ... raised from the dead ... the word of God is not chained ... obtain the salvation in Christ Jesus ... eternal glory.” Paul believed what he preached! His soul was soaked in convictions about Jesus Christ and the reality of Christ’s triumph over death and the tomb; convictions about, heaven, hell and the salvation of souls in eternity. Convictions so dyed into the fabric of his soul      they couldn’t be beaten out of him. Convictions so powerful that prisons and unpopularity and suffering couldn’t lessen or eliminate them or make him quit his faith or his ministry. Paul’s faith was a force in his life. It proved stronger and more firm than any foe he ever faced or suffering he ever endured.

 John Piper, an American Reformed Baptist preacher and author, gave a speech in 1989 at a conference to an assortment of denominational preachers. The speech was entitled, “Brothers, We Must Not Mind a Little Suffering.” He stated, “One of the pervasive marks of our time is emotional fragility. I feel as though it is hung in the air we breathe. We are easily hurt. We pout and mope easily. We break easily. Our marriages break easily. Our happiness breaks easily. And our commitment to the church breaks easily. We are easily disheartened, and it seems we have little capacity for surviving and thriving in the face of criticism and opposition ... We need help here. We are surrounded by a society of emotionally fragile quitters ...” Those words jar me and compel me to ask questions about my own faith (will you ask them, too?): Is my own faith firm and durable, like a piece of tough leather? Or is it fragile and flimsy, as easily broken as a thin piece of peanut brittle? How “emotionally fragile” am I? Are my feelings easily hurt? How much time do I spend pouting and moping? How easily is my commitment to the church broken? Do I not only survive but thrive in the face of criticism and opposition? Jesus Christ was not an emotionally fragile Savior. Paul was not an emotionally fragile Christian. The question here is not is your faith too fragile to die for Jesus. The question is, is your faith too fragile to live for Him? What are you willing to endure now in order to secure eternal glory in eternity? Is your faith fragile, or firm? Just asking.

   Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

Do You Ever Mention Him?

 A man commented about a preacher he knew, “He speaks very well, if he just had something to say.” The church of Christ has something to say. Jesus Christ saw to that 2,000 years ago when He charged His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15 -16). The early church was committed to that God-assigned commission. Their irrepressible resolve to tell Christ’s gospel is seen in the words of the apostles Peter and John in Acts 4:19-20. When opponents of the gospel commanded them to stop preaching Jesus, “Peter and John answered them, saying, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard.’” They had something to say and nobody in hell or on earth would stop them from saying it. In Acts 8:4, severely persecuted Christians “scattered,” but then “went everywhere preaching the word.” Early Christians believed the gospel was a message that could save the souls of men and women from sin and reconcile lost people to God. They believed the gospel gave them something to say. They believed God meant for them to say it, and so they refused to stop saying it. The apostle Paul declared to the elders of the ancient church at ancient Ephesus in Acts 20:26-27, “Therefore I testify you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned [or avoided] to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” Paul was confident that in God’s court no one at Ephesus would be able to truthfully) accuse or charge that he had been silent concerning any part of God’s gospel. No one could say to him, in the words of the sobering old gospel song, “You never mentioned Him to me, you helped me not the light to see. You met me day by day, and knew I was astray, Yet never mentioned Him to me.”

 The contemporary church of Christ still has something to say. As regards sin and salvation, heaven and hell, and where souls will be for eternity, what the church has to say is the most important, imperative, vital and urgent thing that can be said. The question is not do we have something to say. We have as much to say and the same thing to say as those early Christians did. It haunts me to think of the day when I will stand before God, that someone I met day by day, someone I knew was astray, might look at me and say, You never mentioned Him to me.” Yet, too many saints are silent. How often do you tell about what you have “seen and heard” in the gospel of Jesus Christ? If you are truly a Christian, somewhere, somehow, somebody mentioned and talked to you about Jesus Christ and the gospel, and you chose to follow Him. Fundamentally, our God-given task is not to “bring the whole world to Christ” but to “take Christ to the whole world.” Somehow, someway, every Christian needs to be active in that mission. Words written by Brother David Sain continue to convict me: “... if we do not believe that people who have not believed and obeyed the gospel are lost, we have no valid reason to evangelize. I remember H. A. Dixon saying there are two reasons why we are not more concerned and more active in confronting people with the gospel. First, he said, we are not convinced that they are lost if they do not obey the gospel; second, we are not convinced we are lost if we do not try to teach them” (The Spiritual Sword, January 2003, p 40).  May I remind you, Christian friend, you have something to say. Are you saying it? Do you ever mention Him?

                      Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

A Heavenly Crown on the Cheap?

 An old story tells about squirrels overrunning three churches in town. The leaders of the first church, after much prayer, decided the little creatures, pesky though they were, were predetermined to be there. They reasoned there was no way they could or should

fight against God’s will. The leaders of the second church decided they should not harm the squirrels no matter how “squirrelly” they were. After all, they said, squirrels are God’s creatures, too. They trapped the cute little creatures and set them free outside of town.

But, alas, two days later they were back! The third church alone came up with a solution that kept the squirrels away. The elders baptized the squirrels – now they show up only on Christmas and Easter! Yes, I know that story is nutty. And you may think I am for

telling it. Be that as it may, the story touches on a very serious problem that plagues the church in many cases and places. The problem is not just Christians who are absent from the church’s worship assemblies and work activities. For any Christian, habitual, willful absence, whatever the “reason”, is symptomatic of a deeper malady. Many attempt to practice a costless, cross-less, Christianity that suggests followers of Jesus can receive a crown on the cheap, that is without the cost of bearing a cross. But Jesus Christ still

calls all potential followers, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). What Jesus preached in this text is what He practiced with life – a profound commitment to do God’s will, not one’s own will (Matt.26:37-42). He went to a cross because       He was fully surrendered to God’s will, costly as that commitment proved to be. Christ promises a crown of life for those who bear the cross, not just wear it or sing about it (Revelation 2:10).      

Just about everyone has heard the phase, “No pain, no gain.” It suggests great rewards for those willing to endure hard and even painful work. Consider professional football players. Tom Junod wrote about the high price they are willing to pay for NFL money, fame and glory (“Theater of Pain”, 2-11-2013, Esquire magazine). Junod reported that during the 2011 NFL season, the 2,000 active players suffered 4,500 injuries, an injury rate of 225%! The list included “concussions, torn ACL’s, ruptured tendons, ankle sprains, turf toes, stretched or compressed spines ...” and various other painful injuries. Junod was not encouraging this “war even if wounded” mentality. He was simply noting the fact that many athletes are profoundly committed to the point of suffering serious pain to achieve monetary gain and NFL fame. May I offer an application and take-home-point for your consideration? In 2 Timothy 2:1-7 the apostle Paul calls Timothy (and, in reality, every Christian) to a profound commitment. He depicts the level of commitment with words like "strong ...endure hardship ... soldier ... warfare ... competes in athletics ... hard working” (New King James Version). The truth is profound commitment is not unusual today. People practice it in many fields of endeavor for what 1 Corinthians 9:27 describes as “a perishable crown.” How committed are you to obtain “an imperishable crown?” The idea we can gain a heavenly crown on the cheap is not Biblical. Martin Luther said, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.” We may never have to die for Christ, but the Bible is clear –– to truly follow and live for Christ involves profound commitment. How much is following Christ costing you?

                            Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

The Power of Encouragement!

 The story of swimmer Eric Moussambani is nothing short of remarkable. The 22-year-old from Equatorial Guinea competed in the 100 meter freestyle swimming event at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. Here’s what’s remarkable -- he had only learned

to swim the past January before the Olympics that summer of 2000! By special invitation from the International Olympic Committee, under a special program that permitted poor countries to participate even when their athletes didn’t achieve normal standards,

Moussambani entered the 100 meter men’s freestyle. After the two other swimmers in the heat were disqualified due to false starts, Moussambani found himself swimming alone in lane 5. The first 50 meters went well, but into the final 50 meters he tired. He virtually

stopped and flailed in the water, trying to stay afloat. Some feared he was drowning. Mousammbani later told reporters, “It was then I stated to hear the crowd screaming and shouting, encouraging me to ‘Go, go, go!’ It gave me the strength to finish, and when I touched the wall I said to myself, ‘Oh, I’ve done it.’ ” After the race he told a reporter, “I want to send hugs and kisses to the crowd. It was their cheering that kept me going.” There’s more to Moussambani’s story, but not space to tell it. Suffice it to say he finished his Olympic race because of the great power of encouragement and went home and did great things.

There are times in life when the strongest among us needs encouragement to keep us from drowning. Not drowning in a pool of water, but in a pool of fatigue and stress and strain. Dealing with people and problems and pressures, at home and work and even at church, has a way of wearing us down and tiring us out. We feel like we’re “dead in the water” and find it hard to keep going. Nobody is beyond the need of a big dose of encouragement at times. Think about the apostle Paul. If we think of him as a spiritual    Superman beyond the need for encouragement, we are wrong! As he pens the book of 2 Timothy he is suffering for the gospel (2 Timothy 1:8, 12), viewed as an “evil-doer” and is “in chains” (2:9). Some who once supported him have deserted him (1:15). A brother in Christ named Demas has forsaken him (4:10). Another individual, Alexander, caused the apostle much harm (4:14). Besides all that, he is expecting imminent execution, for he metaphorically says “I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand” (4:6). He may have been cold, asking Timothy to bring his coat (4:13). Time is short, and he urges Timothy to come as quickly as he can (4:9, 21). It is against this backdrop that we read the words recorded in 2 Timothy 1:16-18 about a man named Onesiphorus, mentioned in the Bible only here and at 4:19. Paul prays mercy on the household of Onesiphorus,” adding that “he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain.” The Greek word translated “refreshed” means to cool off; to bring much needed relief, causing someone to recover a state of encouragement after a time of anxiety or trouble.” Wow! – the apostle Paul needed an Onesiphorus to spur him on, and sometimes you and I need one, too! The Bible often directs us to “encourage one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 English Standard Version). Sometimes we need an Onesiphorus, and sometimes we need to be an Onesiphorus! God help the church to be a crowd that encourages one another to “go, go, go” until we finish the race! 

            Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

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