Gratitude For God’s Grace!

Amazing Grace – That’s how John Newton summarized the good news of what God has done to transform sinners into saints. The apostle Paul declared in Titus 3:7 that because of and through Jesus Christ the potential exists for sinful people to be “justified by His grace.” The word “justified” in this verse is a legal word, and here means that in spite of our sin, God can declare and view us as being righteous in His sight. Our aim here is not to dig into when and how that happens (covered by Paul in the tightly packed words of Titus 3:3-7). The aim here is to illustrate what it means when we sing or hear preachers say, concerning our sins, “He paid a debt He did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay. I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song – Amazing Grace! Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay” (American Folk Hymn, verse 1). The following incident, quoted at length from a book entitled, Experiencing the Passion of Jesus (by Lee Strobel and Gary Poole, Zondervan, 20024) might help us. 

They write:

       An acquaintance called with what he said was an embarrassing request: His little girl had been caught shoplifting from our church bookstore. He wanted to know if I would represent the church so she could come and apologize. He wanted to use this incident as a teaching moment. I agreed—but I had a much bigger lesson in mind. The next day, the parents and their 8-year-old daughter trooped into my office and sat down. "Tell me what happened," I said to the little girl as gently as I could. "Well," she said as she started to sniffle, "I saw a book that I really wanted, but I didn't have any money…" Now tears formed in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. I handed her a tissue.  "So I put the book under my coat and took it. I knew it was wrong. I knew I shouldn't do it, but I did. And I'm sorry. I'll never do it again. Honest!" "I'm so glad you're willing to admit what you did and say you're sorry," I told her. "That's very brave, and it's the right thing to do. But what do you think an appropriate punishment would be?" She shrugged. I thought for a moment before saying, "I understand the book cost $5. I think it would be fair if you paid the bookstore five dollars, plus three times that amount, which would make the total twenty dollars. Do you think that would be fair?" She nodded sadly. "Yes," she murmured. She could see the fairness in that. But now there was fear in her eyes. Twenty dollars is a mountain of money for a little kid. Where would she ever come up with that amount of cash? I wanted to use this moment to teach her something about Jesus. So I opened my desk drawer, removed my checkbook, and wrote out a check on my personal account for the full amount. I tore off the check and held it out to her. Her mouth dropped open. "I'm going to pay your penalty so you don't have to. Do you know why I'd do that?" Bewildered, she shook her head. "Because I love you. Because I care about you. Because you are valuable to me. And please remember this: That's how Jesus feels about you too. Except even more." At that moment, she reached out and accepted my gift. I wish I could find the words to describe the look of absolute relief and joy and wonder that blossomed on her face. She was almost giddy with gratitude. (Story ends)

 Jesus paid our sin debt, friend. Are you grateful for God’s grace?   

 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” – Romans 6:23 

By: Dan Gulley, Smithville TN    

High Achieving Fathers!

 A father said to his son, “When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he walked twelve miles to get to school.” The son replied, “Dad, when Abraham Lincoln was your age, he was President.” Very few fathers become President, but every father who has faith in God has potential to be a high achiever. A faithful father is a partner with God in turning little hearts and minds toward God as they “bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4b). This has always been a huge task because the devil always has other designs for the young people among us. That is certainly the case in contemporary American culture. It requires much love, time, patience and effort to be a father.  More than some men who see themselves as fathers are willing to give. According to the U. S. Census Bureau (2021), 18.4 million children, one in four, live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home (enough to fill New York City twice or Los Angeles four times over). This information likely won’t stick in your brain, but each of those numbers represents a real person with a real life and a real need for an involved daddy to teach them things a daddy ought to teach them. Research shows that father’s absence affects children in numerous negative and hurtful ways, while a loving, involved father’s presence makes a powerful and positive difference in the lives of both children and their mothers. There are no perfect fathers or mothers. And there are no iron-clad guarantees that a child / children will “turn out right” even when father and mother faithfully and intentionally play their God-designed and God-assigned, complimentary but not identical, roles in the lives of children under their care. God was a perfect parent to His first two children, and still they chose to disobey. They and their children paid a very high cost. The fact of the matter is, while many children overcome disadvantages and hardships associated with an absent or non-involved father, many don’t. That’s not preacher talk. The proof is in the data if you care and dare to look. Children need a daddy who cares enough to stay connected and present and involved enough to influence and educate them morally and spiritually.

General Douglas McArthur is credited with this prayer – “BUILD ME A SON, O’ LORD, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory. BUILD ME A SON whose wishes will not take the place of deeds, a son who will know THEE – and that to know himself is the fountainhead of knowledge. LEAD HIM, I pray, not in paths of ease and comfort, but under the spur of difficulties and challenges. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail. BUILD ME A SON whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will reach into the future yet never forget the past. AND AFTER ALL THESE THINGS are his, add, I pray, enough sense of humor that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom; the meekness of strength. THEN, I, HIS FATHER, will dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain.’ ” Mark it down – any father who seeks to lead, train, and influence his children to love God IS a high achiever.

By: Dan Gulley, Smithville TN     

Character – Not For Sale!

Three thousand years ago Solomon reminded readers some things are worth more than money. He wrote: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1). Allow me to quote that verse in the Amplified Bible which reads: “A good name [earned by honorable behavior, godly wisdom, moral courage, and personal integrity] is more desirable than great riches; And favor is better than silver and gold.” That statement by an inspired man reminds me of a more recent quote attributed to Antonin Scalia (an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016) — “Bear in mind that brains and learning, like muscle and physical skill, are articles of commerce. They are bought and sold. You can hire them by the year or by the hour. The only thing in the world not for sale is character.” David Kaplan apparently understood that principle. Kaplan was a sports talk host on WGN Chicago Radio for many years. According to Chicago Tribune writer Skip Bayless, back in 2001 Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, offered WGN Chicago Radio David Kaplan $50,000 to change his name legally to “Dallas Maverick.” When Kaplan politely declined, Cuban sweetened the offer. According to Bayless, Cuban, a multi-billionaire, would pay Kaplan$100,000 and donate $100,000 to Kaplan's favorite charity to take the name for one year. After much thought and bombardment by e-mails from listeners who said he was crazy to turn down the money, Kaplan refused. He explained to Cuban: “I'd be saying I'd do anything for money, and that bothers me. My name is my birthright. I'd like to preserve my integrity and credibility” (“Radio Host Prefers Cash Over Crass,” Chicago Tribune, 1-10-2001).

 Kaplan demonstrated a sorely needed character trait in America – the trait of integrity. Integrity is defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” Those who follow Jesus are to display integrity in their lives and with their lips. The apostle Paul admonished and encouraged his preaching friend Titus in Titus 2:7 with these words: “in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility.” Wayne Jackson writes that the Greek word translated “integrity” (New King James Version * King James Version “corruptness”) suggests “purity of motive, without the desire of gain.” Purity and integrity was lacking among even some (false) teachers in and around the church on the island of Crete where Titus was serving in the first century. Titus 1:11 declares they were “teaching things they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain” – and Christ’s apostle tersely said [their] mouths must be stopped.” Simply put, these people valued cash more highly than character. Actually, they had character – but it was bad. Titus 2:8-10 goes on to teach integrity is expected of Christians – even those who were slaves, directing them to not steal but to “show all good fidelity” (or honesty). The reason is clearly stated: “that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.” What a striking and sobering thought – by the way I live I can make God and His gospel look attractive to people – or unappealing. Christian character can’t be bought and it’s not for sale, for any amount of cash. It’s an inside job that begins when I surrender my life to the Lord Jesus Christ who can give me a godly character (Ephesians 4:21ff). Think about it. 

             By: Dan Gulley, Smithville TN  

The Hope That Holds Us!

 There’s a story about a man who arrived at a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked   a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "They are beating us 18 to 0.” The spectator said, Boy, aren’t you discouraged?” The boy replied, "Discouraged? Why would I be discouraged? We haven't even gotten up to bat yet!” Hope always lives in the heart of a little leaguer even when things look bad! But it’s not just little leaguers that have undying hope. Christians literally have an undying hope! The apostle Peter described this hope at 1 Peter 1:3 as a “living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Two thousand years ago, the Gospel tells us, sinful people crucified Jesus until He was dead as a doorknob. They buried Him and used every    political, military, and religious means humanly possible to make sure He stayed dead and in the grave (Matt.28:62-66). But God raised Him from the dead (Acts 2:23-24, 32). But when some women showed to visit His tomb Sunday morning after His crucifixion the Friday before, they were told by an angel of the Lord, “He is not here; for He is risen” (Matt.28:6a). They were instructed, “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead” (Matt.28:7a). Verse 8 goes on to tell us these women “ran to bring His disciples word.” Mark’s account of the Gospel records that when they told the apostles, at first “...they did not believe” (Mark 16:11b). But it was true! And once they became convinced, they raced out to tell a hopelessly lost world that there is hope after all – “the Lord Jesus    Christ our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1b)! And His disciples have been holding on to and held by and holding out that blessed and undying hope for some two thousand years, awaiting Jesus' second coming (Titus 2:13).

 Hope – that powerful Bible word at the center of the Christian faith. Hope – that deep-down-inside fire that the devil's water can never, ever put out. Hope – that light that shines even during the darkest nights of our lives. An inspired man, referring to God's promises, declares at Hebrews 6:18a that, "it is impossible for God to lie.” He goes on to encourage readers to “lay hold of the hope set before us” (v 18b) and hurries on to add in verse 19, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure & steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil.” The Christian hope is a heavy-weight thing. The Hebrews writer says, in effect, that hope is what keeps our souls anchored in the next world even as we struggle with sin and setbacks and sail through a sometimes-stormy-sea of heartbreaks and heartaches in this one! Hope – why does it have such a hold on Christians? Words from Titus 1:2 are a big part of the reason. There, as he began a short letter to his friend Titus who was preaching on the Mediterranean island of Crete, the apostle Paul wrote that Christians are “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” Read Titus 1:10-16 and you might think things looked hopeless. The gospel appeared to be behind 18 to nothing! But the apostle Paul believed in a power-packed Gospel chock-full of hope! Hope that could change not only people’s lives but change where they spend eternity! Jesus Christ is the one hope we all have for forgiveness of sins and getting out of an eventual grave alive (Ephesians 4:4). Face it friend, there is no other hope. Why would you let go of the one hope you have in a world that offers no hope at all? If you hold on to that hope, it will hold on to you!

    By: Dan Gulley, Smithville TN  

The Truth About Lying!

 J. Michael Shannon tells about three men discussing the biggest liars they had ever heard. One said, “I know a boy who lied so often he had to get somebody else to call his dog.” The second man complained, “That’s nothing. I knew a man who lied about his golf score so often that one day he made a hole in one and wrote down ‘0’ (zero) on his scorecard.” The third man chimed in, “My preacher said last Sunday that our crowd was somewhere between four and five-hundred. I told him I only counted 125. He insisted, ‘Well, that’s between four and five hundred.’ ” These funny stories illustrate a sad truth – lying is common and acceptable. Groucho Marx once said, “There is one way to find out if a man is honest. Ask him. If he says yes, you know he is crooked.” David said in Psalm 116:11, “I said in my haste, all men are liars.” David admits he was hasty in saying that, and I don’t want to overstate the case. Still, there’s a lot of lying going on. Advertisers, politicians, even preachers sometimes prevaricate (a fancy way to say fabricate, fib,lie)! It is easy to say someone looks nice when they don’t, or tell the preacher you “enjoyed” the sermon when you slept half way through it! Or tell your host the grilled steak was great when it was tough as shoe leather! In "The Day America Told the Truth" (published 1991) author James Patterson, then CEO of J. Walter Patterson (an ad’ agency in New York) related that 91% of those surveyed lied routinely about matters they considered trivial; 36% lied about more important matters; 86% lied regularly to parents, 75% to friends, 73% to siblings, and 69% to spouses. Girls lie to boyfriends and boys lie to girlfriends. Husbands lie to wives and wives to husbands. People lie to the IRS, their employers, and their insurance companies. Witnesses lie to courts, students lie to teachers, and people lie to preachers. All indications are many people have a proclivity to prevaricate! Put more simply, there’s a whole lot of lying going on! And that’s the truth!

Abraham Lincoln famously said: “It is true that you can fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” What can you say about people who are consistently deceitful and dishonest and who make lying a way of life? All you can honestly say is they are liars. Some people lie to be polite, others out of carelessness or to avoid conflict, and some lie out of malice, seeking to create or add to conflict. Some people lie out of habit. The apostle Paul must have been referring to such liars (on the Mediterranean island of Crete) in Titus 1:12 when he wrote, “One of them, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This passage and the people it describes brings to mind the businessman who complained about a partner: “He’s a real phony – I wouldn’t believe him if he said he was lying.” If  we engage in deceit and lying, we are very unlike the God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and for whom it is impossible to lie (Hebrews 6:18). “The truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21b) and Jesus’ gospel is “the word of truth” (Ephesians 1:13). Christians are told to“ put away lying ... Let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another” (Ephesians 5:25). There will be no liars in heaven (Revelation 21:8). There ought not to be any in the church of Christ here on earth. To be like Jesus, Christians simply will not lie to one another (Colossians 3:9). That’s the truth about lying. 

By: Dan Gulley, Smithville TN