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Table of Contents:What Does God Owe Us? - - - - - - - - - - 1Jesus, the Son of the Living God - - - - - - - - 2Grace from Beginning to End - - - - - - - - - 4Exegetically Speaking - - - - - - - - - - - -4Words to Stand You on Your Feet - - - - - - - 6Living out the Living Word - - - - - - - - - -7Following God - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8Points to Ponder- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9Jewels from Past Giants - - - - - - - - - - -10

Counselor’s Corner - - - - - - - - - - - - 12The Story behind the Song - - - - - - - - - 13Church Builders - - - - - - - - - - - - - 14Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel - - - - - 15Marks of the Master - - - - - - - - - - - - 16Book Reviews - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17News Update - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 17Sermon Helps - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18Puzzles and ‘Toons - - - - - - - - - - - - 21

__________________________________________________________________________________________What Does God Owe Us?By Spiros Zodhiates

Originally published in Pulpit Helps, November 1989.

The ancient Greeks used to say, “Whatever good you do, record it on sand. But the good others do to you, carve it on marble.”

Our sinful nature, however, urges us to reverse the procedure. We remember our benevolences to others, but we forget their benevolences to us. We forget the harm we do to others, but we remember the harm others do to us.

This attitude shows not only in our interpersonal relationships, but also in our relationship with God. His benevolences toward us are countless. They are so numerous and varying and constant that we fail to identify them. They escape our attention. But we never seem to fail to notice any lack we may experience, no matter how infinitesimal. Some dare suggest, like Job’s wife, “curse God, and die” (Job 2:9).

“I have reason to thank God” said someone to a friend. “As I was crossing a narrow open bridge on horseback, my horse stumbled. I fell from the horse and almost drowned.” The friend answered, “I have a greater reason to thank God. As I traveled on horseback, my horse did not stumble at all.”

The presence of danger causes us to appreciate God’s providence and protection, but we fail to notice the daily absence of danger. That is the way we think!

As you awoke this morning, what was the first thing you did? Did you pause to thank God for the sleep you enjoyed, your health, the privilege of life? Or have these become so commonplace that you are not impressed by them? The greatest things in life we take for granted many times because we have become used to them as if they were our inalienable rights. A gift regularly and freely given soon becomes a demanded right. Have you ever thanked God for your ability to breathe and that there is never a lack of the necessary oxygen?

If we were to be struck by a spell of insomnia for a few days, we would then gratefully remember all the wonderful nights of sleep we enjoyed for so long but for

which we never stopped to thank God. Beware of ingratitude in the midst of plenty which is taken for granted.

Sometimes, God may deprive us, because of ingratitude, of that which we fail to count and consider as His blessing.

Let us not only thank God for the dangers from which He protects us, but also for the safety we commonly enjoy. Ingratitude is a child of pride. The proud considers himself able to manage his own life without God’s help. It is often intolerable to live with a person who considers himself self-made.

For the proud person, God is not benevolent, but a debtor. Whatever God does for the proud person, He owes it to him. He comes to God with demands, not requests. He commands from God his due share, even like the prodigal son, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me” (Luke 15:12).

That was the attitude of the nine lepers cleansed by Christ. They felt it unnecessary to go back and thank Him since they felt that what He did for them was not part of His grace, but what was due them (Luke 17:17).

The Greek word for “thank” is eucharistō, which is made up of the adverb eu meaning well or good and cháris, grace. Who thanks God? The one who, on receiving from God whatever He decides to give him, considers it as good and consequently thanks Him.

A child who considers his parents as his debtors will never thank them for what they do. He will consider their provisions and kindnesses as his due, for which he does not have to thank them. No parent can do enough for an ungrateful child! Similarly, if we consider God as our debtor, He can never do enough for us. We must never consider anything God does for us as our inalienable right. God does not owe us anything. As David, a man after God’s own heart, said of the condescending Christ, “I am a worm, and no man…” (Ps. 22:6). We deserve hell and misery since in Adam we decided to separate ourselves from Him. Anything less than hell is grace (cháris) for which we must give thanks (eucharistō).

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The only one of the ten lepers who came back to give thanks to Christ was not a Jew, but a Samaritan. The Jews had an air of spiritual arrogance toward God. They considered Him their exclusive Jehovah! They were His people. Whatever He did for them was out of indebtedness since they were His elect people. Their privilege became the greatest hindrance to their intimate relationship with God. The Samaritan expected so little from Christ. The Jews abhorred the Samaritans, and certainly the Samaritans did not expect any benevolence from the Jews.

You remember how the Samaritan woman at the well countered Jesus’ request for a drink? “‘How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?’ For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). Jesus knew of the deep-seated hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans, hence His specific command to His first apostles “…into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not” (Matt. 10:5). Later, when Jesus sent messengers into a Samaritan village to make ready for Him and they did not welcome Him, James and John asked Him for permission to command fire to come down from heaven upon these Samaritans (Luke 9:52-54). Such hatred! Such ethnic pride!

In the discussion about Christ’s claim to pre-incarnate existence and deity, the Jews accused Him of being a Samaritan and possessed of a demon (John 8:48).

Where were the nine Jews, the lepers whom Jesus cleansed? They did not come back to express their thanks because they, as Jews, considered that whatever Christ, the Jewish Messiah, did for them was their due share for which they owed Him no gratitude. Jesus Christ was their debtor, and, therefore, thanks were considered unnecessary!

I had an aunt who could not understand why I was thanking my mother for all the things she was doing for me in my childhood. She said to me, “Your mother owes it to you.” Woe unto the person who thinks others, no matter how closely related, or even God, owes him anything at all.

A preacher was known for always finding something for which to thank God. One day it snowed very

much. Everybody in the congregation was wondering what he would find to be thankful for that time. In great calmness he started his pastoral prayer, “Lord, we thank You that it does not always snow like this. Thank you for having brought this snow to remind us to thank You for the many sunny days.”

A thankful person is a joyful person, because he always finds something for which he can thank God. As far as others are concerned, if we try, we can always find something good in them for which we can be thankful. The more difficult we find it to thank God for others, the more difficult they will find it to thank God for us.

Do you sometimes feel that people take advantage of you? Someone wrote: “I felt God and others were down on me for something until, as a result of an accident, I temporarily lost the use of my arm. I took a walk in a crowded street where I saw someone with one leg, another without hands, a blind woman, one with a deformed face, two deaf and dumb men, two funerals, and at the end of the road, I came upon a psychiatric hospital. I returned home, and in spite of my handicapped arm, I decided I had much for which to be thankful.”

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, that is the most important thing for which you must be thankful. Christ died for you while you were His enemy. Now He has made you His friend. No wonder the Samaritan leper came back to express his gratitude to Jesus. He was an enemy who, because of Christ’s mercy on him, became a friend! There is no greater blessing than to have Jesus Christ count you as His friend, a privilege you do not deserve, but which is yours because of His grace (cháris). Therefore let your heart be filled with thanksgiving (eucharistō) and rejoice!

Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International for over 40 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine (Disciple’s predecessor), and

authored dozens of exegetical books.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus, the Son of the Living GodBy Donald W. Raub

Jesus did not come to earth to show how clever He was, even though He clearly understood the attitude, motives, thoughts, needs, and desires, of every person He ever met. “He knew what was in man” is a powerful analysis of His ability to discern the condition of the inward man. Even more amazing was His willingness to provide and share a perfect remedy for man’s depraved condition. He was envied by the religious leaders, but loved by the “Common” people, for “They heard Him gladly.”

The modest “Man of Galilee” would bring calm to the raging sea, healing to the infirm, peace to the demon-

possessed, and satisfaction to the hungry; yet this same Jesus angered the self-righteous, put greedy cheaters out of business, confused the minds of the “wise”, embarrassed the religious leaders, and at the age of twelve, astounded the doctors with His questions. His life was a mystery, His teaching misunderstood, His death disappointing, and His resurrection perplexing. This description of our Lord and Savior would seem to be a resume of instability and disaster. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Every action of Jesus was intentional; His parables were carefully constructed; His plan of salvation perfectly

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executed and clearly revealed to those who loved Him. The intellectuals were confounded, but a Roman executioner was convinced that this unusual man was the Messiah. His solemn words, “Surely this was the Son of God”, must have startled others who stood at the foot of the cross, watching the last drop of blood fall from the body of Jesus to the ground below. This same mob had demanded Jesus’ crucifixion, defying the decision of Pilate who said, “I find no fault in Him”, after which he attempted unsuccessfully to wash the “blood of injustice” from his hands.

The spiritual meaning of a parable was often hidden from many of the elite, but to Peter, the fisherman, God revealed the second-most powerful statement recorded in the Gospels regarding the identity of Jesus, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This was his response when Jesus asked, “Whom do you say that I am?” Of course, the most powerful of all was the confirmation by God Himself who said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him” (see Matt. 3:17 and Luke 9:35).

As controversial as the life and ministry of Jesus was in His day, we find it much the same today. Many came to hear what Jesus would say; some were critics; some haters, some skeptical, and of course, there were the sincere followers of the Master. Each had his reasons for being there.

True ministers of the Gospel face similar audiences. Though congregations may be a bit more refined today, they bring with them the same mind-set variations as those in Jesus time. Some are easily persuaded to believe anything, but retain nothing. Truth may not be relative to their cultural upbringing. They see the light, but walk in darkness; they see spiritual food but choose to starve; they see the “green pastures” but live in the desert. Most remain silent even though they disagree, simply because they do not care enough to question what was said.

We have become “spiritual junkies” who feast on opinions, and gag on the truth. Many sermons today could be classified as junk-food instead of the “Bread of life.” Church has for many become a convenient “pit-stop” where the conscience is temporarily appeased, but never spiritually satisfied with the “True Bread” and “Living Water” offered to us by our Heavenly Father.

You see, God knows what is in the heart of man; not what others think of us, or what we think of ourselves. There is a sinful nature that resides in the heart of the unsanctified, it is opposed to the divine nature, and should not be accommodated, but crucified, as the Apostle Paul so vividly points out in Romans, chapter six.

One old-time evangelist put it this way, “Some people try to accommodate the ‘Old man’ in the basement,

and the Holy Spirit in the attic, then wear themselves out running up and down the staircase trying to please both.” This is a picture of some well-meaning believers in our day. The sad part is that some pastors are telling them that this is the best that God can do for them in this life.

Not so; the mission of Jesus was and is to set the captive free. The Bible is a book that declares deliverance, not bondage. “Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify [purify] the people with His own blood, suffered without [outside] the gate” (Heb.13:12). Jesus preached deliverance to the captives; not tolerance for sin that enslaves, but freedom from it. A person may be justified (acquitted of a crime), but unless he is freed from his prison cell, he remains a captive. I fear that too many people remain in their “prison cells” after receiving forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, not realizing that the Holy Spirit has unlocked the door, and that they are free indeed.

An old song, “O for a Heart of Calm Repose” by Henry W. Greatorex, clearly expresses the desire to end the conflict of the human heart:

O for a heart of calm repose Amid the world’s loud roar, A life that like a river flows Along a peaceful shore!

Come, Holy Spirit! still my heart With gentleness divine;Indwelling peace Thou canst impart; O make the blessing mine!

Come, Holy Spirit! breathe that peace, That victory make me win;Then shall my soul her conflict cease, And make a heav’n within.

Jesus, the Son of the living God, has made it possible for you to enjoy your salvation without that inner conflict. Of course, the battle against “The powers of darkness” (Satan’s domain) will continue, but there is deliverance from the conflict within (see Eph. 6:12). It is hard to fight two wars at the same time.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Do you have this peace?

Donald W. Raub is pastor of East Rockhill Chapel in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Grace from Beginning to EndBy Shea Oakley

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In the end it is grace, and grace alone, that enables us to live out the Christian life. If any part of our salvation and sanctification were dependent on our own strength, we would only know frustration and, ultimately, despair. This seems like a simple enough concept. So what is it in our nature that seems unable or unwilling to accept not only this truth, but grace itself?

Some of the problem is intrinsic to who we are as fallen human beings. Even after coming to genuine faith in Jesus Christ we continue to be plagued by a tendency to try to make it on our own. Christian theology tells us that conversion does not automatically and immediately set us free from what is called the “flesh”, the part of us that makes us want to try to “make it on our own.” The persistence of the flesh is responsible for our drift in this direction, a drift that must be consciously fought on a daily basis. In fact we are called not only to fight the flesh but to crucify it.

However the weapons of our warfare are all empowered by the grace of God. We cannot fight the tendency to try to be Christian in our own strength with our own strength! The result is a Catch-22. Fighting the flesh with the flesh is obviously untenable, but that fact does not seem to free us from trying to do it, if only unconsciously.

Another contributor to the failure to fully open ourselves up to the grace of God comes from without. Many of us have had the early life experience of receiving love that was highly conditional. All earthly love tends to have at least some element of condition. To love freely and without any expectation of some benefit to ourselves is more a characteristic of the divine than the human; but the truth is that some of us have received far more of the

conditional kind than others, and we therefore find it more difficult to trust our lives to outside help. The grace of God is the “outside help” we need, but it is hard for us to freely and fully receive it. The only seeming alternative is to try to earn our keep in the Kingdom of God.

So the issue is the tension between our intrinsic/extrinsic resistance to the unmerited favor of God, the gift of His unconditional love in Christ that is the only thing that sets us free to truly persevere in the Faith. In short, it is our resistance to receiving grace.

Ironically it is the persistence of the grace of God that is the answer to resisting it. It is the continuing presence of this profound divine generosity that can chip away at our futile self-reliance. In fact, it was the entrance of saving grace into our lives at the time of our conversion that firmly established our ability to resist, and ultimately forsake, our tendency to work for rather than from our salvation. It is, in a sense, grace that enables grace. As believers, we already have the source of unconditional saving and sanctifying love living within our hearts. By it we increasingly tap into what is already ours. We can find in the indwelling Spirit of God, who is also the Spirit of grace, the power to crucify the flesh in increasing measure and so truly live the Christian life to the full.

So the answer to living in the grace of God rather than our fleshly-effort is the grace of God itself.

© Shea Oakley. All rights reserved.

Shea Oakley is a freelance Christian writer from Ridgewood, New Jersey.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Exegetically Speaking—by Spiros Zodhiates

Ushering in the House of GodJames 2:3-4

From Faith, Love & Hope: An Exposition of the Epistle of James, AMG Publishers, 1997.

“And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” (James 2:3-4).

In verse 1 of this chapter James declares that it is sinful to judge people by their outward appearance. In the second verse, he gives the illustration of a rich and a poor man entering the place of Christian assembly. What treatment should they receive? Where should the usher place them? Should there be reserved seats for the President of the United States, his family, and his cabinet, for

instance? Should there be preferential treatment according to the mundane position of the person worshiping? James discusses this in the third verse.

The word translated “ye have respect to him” in the original Greek is epiblepsēte, which is a compound verb made up of the preposition epi, meaning “upon,” and the verb blepō, which means “to look.” Therefore the word should rather be translated, “to look upon, to look attentively, to look well at.” The picture is very clear. As soon as the Christians of that time, who were for the most part poor, saw a finely clothed rich man visiting their congregation, they immediately stared at him. Their eyes were focused on him instead of being fully occupied with

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watching the Lord Jesus. Is it not true that the rich sometimes receive more attention than Christ Himself? Yet it is a sin when we focus our eyes on a person more than on Christ. Nobody stared at the poor man clad in his working clothes.

There is a second meaning to the verb epiblepsēte, and that is “to eye with envy.” It is not just admiration, but it is admiration mixed with a feeling that is contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures and the very fundamental ethical code God gave us, the Ten Commandments. How the commandment, “Thou shalt not covet [or envy],” should ring within our Christian churches today! As we look at a rich man entering the house of worship, do we say to ourselves, “Oh, how wonderfully dressed he is, but after all, why should he have so much and I so little?” If we just looked at the nicely dressed rich man and said, “Oh, how wonderful!” but did not envy, it would not be so bad. What a terrible thing it is, however, to look upon somebody with favor mixed with envy. Many Christians are like that person who was seen to be very sad one day, and one who knew him well said, “Either some great evil has happened to him, or some great good to another.” Someone has very aptly said, “The man who keeps busy helping the man below him won’t have time to envy the man above him; and there may not be anybody above him, anyway.”

Our verse tells us that only the rich man is looked upon attentively and with envy. The poor man does not attract the attention of our usher. The usher says to the man who wears the bright clothes, “You sit up there, please.” Now, the King James translation has it, “Sit thou here in a good place,” but I believe that the adverb kalōs rather means “please.” Even to this day in Greece, for instance, in the Greek Orthodox churches there are no regular benches or chairs for those who come to worship. Most of the people stand through the liturgy or the service. There are, however, just a few seats in the front and also against the walls. These seats, apparently, are what James is referring to. The front pews, especially, are for the most prominent people in town, who in many instances even pay rent for them. This practice must be an inheritance from the past. Only as we remember this situation can we fully understand what James is endeavoring to describe. He is trying to impress us with the fact that the usher of the assembly shows extreme politeness to the well-dressed and elite of the town, whereas the poor are neglected.

It is significant that the verb epiblepsēte is not mentioned in the case of the poor man who enters the house of God. The poorly dressed person is not the center of attraction at all, but he is to God. We know that the Lord Jesus loved to minister to the poor and destitute, the sick, the hungry, and the blind, and He always found them far more responsive to the Gospel. Was not the Lord Jesus Himself poor in earthly possessions? At His birth He borrowed a manger from the beasts of the field; He preached His first sermon in a borrowed boat; He rode into

Jerusalem on a borrowed beast; He ate His first supper with His disciples in a borrowed room; and He was buried in a borrowed grave. He never went out of His way to pat the rich and mighty of this earth on the back, and He rebuked those who did that to Him.

Therefore, if we are to be Christ-like, we are supposed to be happy in whatever state we are, not to envy the rich but to consider the poor. Let us not regret our poverty in any manner. The eyes of men may not be upon us, but the eyes of Jesus are; and sometimes the rich wish they had the happiness of the poor.

There was a little boy who came from an extremely poor family. He received no gifts at Christmas time but he often looked into the store windows at the pretty things other little boys could have but he could not. One day he was run over by a car and taken to a hospital. One of the nurses brought him some toys—a troop of soldiers. As he touched them, he said, “There isn’t any glass between!” There is a glass separating us now from the things that many of our fellowmen enjoy in this life, even good seats and honeyed words in the house of God, but the day will come when there will be no glass.

What does the usher say to the poor after he has escorted the rich man to his special seat? “Stand thou there or sit down on the ground under my footstool.” In those days the poor and common people, even as today in many instances, either stood or squatted on the floor. To have several people sitting on the floor around your seat would puff up your ego considerably and be very humiliating to the person who sat so low. Such practices of inequality God detests. The truth is that, although we may not have such things happening in our day, we have other situations which may be worse. We determine the worthiness of a person by the color of his skin, his national background or his upbringing, forgetting the immortal words of the Apostle Paul that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26).

Surely there is nothing wrong in standing up or sitting on the floor to worship the Lord. In fact, there is a great deal of commendation for the one who takes the low and humble place. The Lord Jesus rebuked those who “love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues.” It is wrong, however, to discriminate in the house of God and to assign places to the worshipers according to their social or economic status. What a responsibility is the preacher’s, and also the usher’s. In my ministry I have known of many hungry souls who have stayed home simply because they had no clothes decent enough to wear to church and they were acutely conscious of the distinctions made in our Christian churches. Back in the days of James, the people stared at the rich, but today, especially in this great country where God has so richly blessed the majority with so many material blessings, the exception is not the rich, but the poor and shabby entering the house of God in their working clothes.

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A preacher one Sunday morning noticed a man in the congregation in his Sunday best. But in the afternoon that same man was there in working clothes. The preacher afterward spoke to him. “What is the meaning of this?” he asked. “Are you going to work?” “No,” was the reply, “but this morning something was said that stirred me up to go and seek my brother. I knew he had no Sunday clothes, and I knew he would not come if I put on my Sunday clothes, so I put on my working clothes and went for him, and here he is.” That is the kind of Christian we need in our day. Woe unto him who is the cause of class consciousness in the house of God.

Now just a moment (James is saying, in effect), you who have acted in such a way, do you know what you are really guilty of? Are you not distinguishing or dividing in yourselves and become judges of wicked thoughts? That is indeed a great indictment. James returns to the idea of Christians being double-minded or two-souled. A friend who read the exposition of James 1:6, where the same verb, diakrínomai, is used, remarked that this is “Christian schizophrenia.” You classify people in your mind, not according to their real spiritual worth, but according to their outward physical appearance. If you are a spiritual being as you ought to be, you had better go all the way. The faith of Jesus Christ cannot possibly have one standard for the rich and another for the poor. All are saved the same way and all

occupy the same position before God. Furthermore, with this indictment James clearly indicates that this outward behavior of the usher has its roots inside, in the heart, in the mind and tends to rob one of his blessedness and happiness in Christ. A man should not profess to be a Christian and have worldly standards of judgment at the same time. Let us remember to look at the inner man, first in ourselves and then in others.

If we act in such a way, James declares, we have become judges of wicked thoughts. What does this mean? In our mind when we ushered the rich and luxuriously dressed worshiper to the best seat in the assembly, we did so for the sake of expediency. Perhaps one day we might need this rich man for a personal favor. Our favoritism stems from selfishness when we come down to it. That is one of those sins which creeps into our hearts, often quite unconsciously. We are so saturated with self that even our preferential treatment of others has self in the background. Who cares about the poor? We can never expect anything of him. But the rich—we never know when we are going to need him, so we treat him with kid gloves.

Spiros Zodhiates (1922-2009) served as president of AMG International for over 40 years, was the founding editor of Pulpit Helps Magazine (Disciple’s predecessor), and

authored dozens of exegetical books.__________________________________________________________________________________________Words to Stand You on Your Feet—by Joe McKeever

People We Should Highly Regard

Paul wrote to the Philippian church of his friend and fellow-laborer Epaphroditus, “Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard” (Phil. 2:29).

On the one hand, Scripture teaches God is no respect of persons and He’s not pleased when His church people fall into the trap of pigeon-holing people. “If you show partiality, you are committing sin…” (James 2:9).

Then, on the other hand, Scripture is consistent that we are to give honor to whom honor is due (Rom. 13:7). We are to highly esteem the members of the Christian family who go to great lengths to bless brothers and sisters and to honor the Savior.

Paul said of Timothy, “I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare” (Phil. 2:20). And of Epaphroditus, he said, “He came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service for me” (Phil. 2:30). So, “hold men like [these] in high regard.”

We do well when we honor the godly and the faithful among us. Where we get in trouble is a) expecting to be honored because (ahem) surely we are the godliest and most faithful in this crowd, right? And b) honoring

someone, not because they deserve it, but because they expect it and will get their feelings hurt if we don’t. Or, c) some family members will!

At one church I pastored, we quit honoring the “senior adult of the year” for this very reason. Some were offended that “I’ve been here longer than her, and I should have received this honor.” Once the event began causing more problems than it solved, it was time to discontinue the practice.

No parable of our Lord speaks to our own expectations for honor the way Luke 17:7-10 does. (In fact, there is nothing else in Scripture like this parable.) Jesus said, “When you have done everything which I have commanded of you”—get that? Everything! Anyone here done that? Raise your hand? No one? “When you have done that, then say [to yourself], ‘I am only an unworthy servant. I’ve just done my job.”

Now, we do not say that to each another, but we are to honor one another. We are to appreciate those who serve well (see 1 Tim. 5:17). But expect your reward to come from on high, from the Master Himself. Do that, and you will have freed yourself from a multitude of temptations.

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Jesus said, “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14). And the Lord pays His debts, friends. Never doubt that for a moment. The resurrection is going to be a time of great debt-repayment from our Lord. The question is whether we can wait that long? Can we believe that strong? Can we sing that song?

Joe McKeever is a retired Southern Baptist pastor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He blogs regularly at

www.joemckeever.com.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Living out the Living Word—by Justin Lonas

Thanksgiving: At a Loss or at the Cross?

Originally Published in Pulpit Helps, November 2007.

With each passing year, it seems as though Thanksgiving Day becomes less and less a major holiday in America. What was once the defining event of every autumn and the day we came together to rejoice for all we’ve been given now is seen as just another day off, lost in the stretch of commercialism between Halloween and Christmas.

Perhaps, however, the disappearance of this great celebration into the generic “holiday season” is part of a larger cultural shift from gratitude to entitlement. It makes little sense to us to celebrate and give thanks for what we’ve been blessed with when we feel as though it was all owed to us in the first place. We’d rather just jump from one “gimme” festival to another.

With our prosperity has come a loss of purpose. Plenty is so ingrained within us that we no longer treat our possessions as though they belong to God. Materialism doesn’t seem as much of a sin as it once did when churches often spend more on buildings, technology, and marketing than they give to the poor and to missions. We’ve broken the old rule of how to handle blessings: “Increase your standard of giving, not your standard of living.”

In the Scriptures, we see repeatedly that stewardship, not ownership, is the plan God has for our possessions (Matt. 19:20-26, et al.). The hallmark of ownership is worry, and the hallmark of stewardship is thanksgiving. Cultivating an attitude toward God that focuses on His being rather than His blessings is the key to a right relationship with Him.

To God, unadulterated gratitude for His grace is perhaps the purest form of worship. In thanksgiving, we acknowledge God’s sovereignty over our lives and our

readiness to be vessels for His purpose. According to Strong’s Concordance, the Book of Psalms, ancient Israel’s hymnal, contains 31 occurrences of the word “thanks” and its derivatives, “thankful” and “thanksgiving”—often in the form of a call to worship, as in Psalm 136:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

The New Testament is equally emphatic on the centrality of gratitude. Among the 50 occurrences of “thanks” and related words in the New Testament we find Paul’s injunction to be “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the father” (Eph. 5:20). Worship is completely entwined with thanksgiving; in fact, both the Hebrew (tôwdâh) and Greek (eucharistía) words most often translated as “thanksgiving” also have the connotation of worship!

True worship is the attitude of making God’s name great, and expressing our gratitude to Him (i.e., praising “Him from whom all blessings flow.”) is an important aspect of confessing His sovereignty. He wants us to live our lives overflowing with the awareness of His mercy, grace, and blessing in spite of our depravity.

Accepting Christ’s sacrifice and receiving baptism into the Spirit require a heart of thanksgiving. All our desires and demands have to melt away at the foot of the cross, when we look up into the face of a Savior who gives the gift we dare not refuse. There is no entitlement at Calvary, only those who know they have nothing to give bowing in thanks to Him who offers us everything. That’s an attitude that will change our world, and it’s certainly something worth celebrating!

Justin Lonas is editor of Disciple Magazine for AMG International in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Following God—by Erik Christensen

Who We Were; Who We AreEphesians 2

Originally Published in Disciple, November 2013. In chapter one of Ephesians, Paul expresses the beauty of our salvation due to the love of Christ and the fact

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that, in Christ, believers have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Paul also shares how our salvation takes place with a list of blessings that have been accomplished by the Father in order that we might be in Christ. Now in chapter two, he reminds us of our lost state and transitions us into the beauty of the grace and love of our Lord.

As believers, we need to be reminded often of the greatness of our salvation! In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul reminds each believer of what we used to be without Christ—lost! We were estranged from God and as Paul puts it, we were “under the prince of the power of the air,” speaking of Satan. We were children of the wrath even as those who are still lost.

Paul soberly reminds believers that we were constantly indulging in the desires of the flesh. We did not just sin, we enjoyed it. We were not in Christ, but rather we were willfully disobedient to Him. Disobedience is the antithesis of faith and obedience. Due to our sin nature, we were not surrendered to the Lord or walking by faith. Instead we were contrary to God, continuously at war with Him in our attitudes and actions. Considering these things is sobering indeed.

However, God’s grace is amazing! Is this not what separates Christianity from all other religions? Despite what we deserve, God saves. Why? Paul proclaims in Ephesians 2:4 that the Father is rich in mercy because of His great love, the love of Christ. Mercy is not simply a feeling of compassion. Mercy is compassion in action. The Lord saw our helpless estate knowing that there was nothing we could do in and of ourselves to become right with Him. Because of His grace and love, He showed mercy—He acted.

Paul highlights this tremendous love seen in the activity of mercy by again affirming that what the Lord has done is not based on us, but rather in spite of us being actively at war with Him. His grace, which is what He shows by His own will in showing favor regardless of merit, provided the opportunity for each one to believe upon Him in order to be saved. His mercy (compassion in action) sent His Son to the cross so that we might be forgiven. His love conquers in spite of what is deserved. Paul reminds believers that our salvation is not of our works but rather His works. Our salvation is provided due to the greatness of God’s grace, mercy, and, most profoundly, His

love. Salvation is a gift of God. Only through believing in Him, not attempting to pay Him back, is this gift received.

So what does the Lord do? He seats us in the heavenly places in Christ. He takes each one of us who, at one point, were at war with Him (enemies of God) and brings us into His very presence by His grace, mercy, and great love. We are in Christ, He in us, and we are seated with Him. What is the purpose? Clearly the purpose is our salvation. Yet this purpose is not fully completed without us being raised and seated with Him. We are His workmanship, and the Lord has a further purpose for us—good works.

Interestingly, Paul places the phrase “in order that” in the subjunctive mood. This mood expresses that which is a very real, tangible possibility. Unfortunately, not all believers participate with the Lord in walking in the good works that He has planned for them. Not only can every believer have the assurance that their salvation is a finished work of the Lord and cannot be undone, but he also has the opportunity of walking with the Lord, experiencing Him in the midst of his life. Paul expresses that we are saved for the purpose of good works that He prepared before the foundation of the earth. We will never walk in them apart from God’s grace and enabling power in our lives as we yield to Him by faith.

Do you need to remember who you used to be apart from Christ? Paul reminds the Ephesian believers of who they were and who they now are as a result of God’s grace and love. He also reveals what they have the potential to experience as he encourages them to follow the Lord.

Are we following Christ wholeheartedly? Are we seeking Him with all of our hearts not simply to “do” but rather to “enjoy” Him in the doing? Have the activities of life, although they may be good and perhaps even biblical in nature, become our focus rather than the Christ Himself? Take a look back and be reminded of how great God’s love is for you. By His love, being rich in mercy, and because of His great grace, we can enter into a relationship with Him, experiencing Him for the rest of our lives. Follow the Lord! Seek Him and find the purpose that He has planned for you.

Erik Christensen is senior pastor of Hoffmantown Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Points to Ponder—by David L. Olford

A Passion for the Truth of the Gospel—Part 4 of 4

Text: “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear in my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen” (Gal. 6:17-18).

Thought: When Paul wrote the Galatian Epistle, his passion for the truth of the Gospel was displayed in no uncertain terms. And as we have seen in our previous studies, Paul concludes this “letter of liberty” (Gal. 6:11-18) with both pastoral passion and personal directness. We see

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this in verses 17 and 18, his final request and benediction. The Apostle has just shared a positive word for those who have grasped his teaching in this Epistle and are choosing to live according to the Gospel (Gal. 6:16). Peace and mercy are to be the portion for those who live according to the Gospel. Then, just before his closing “grace,” Paul expresses strongly a request which has an exhortatory tone to it: “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear in my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17).

I. The Personal RequestIn his commentary on Galatians, the late Dr. James

Montgomery Boice accurately and helpfully explains Paul’s words in verse 17. The Apostle is not addressing the legalists who are impacting the churches. No rather, Paul’s “appeal is to the churches themselves…that they might no longer trouble him by giving way to the legalistic heresies. The reason, Paul says, is that he has suffered enough already.” *

As Dr. Boice pointed out, we read both a request and a reason in verse 17. I believe that it is beyond doubt that the Apostle desires that this epistle be used to thwart the legalistic heresies in Galatia. It is his hope, his request, and indeed his exhortation that there will be no more trouble about these legalistic issues. Notice, though, how he words his request in a very personal way. Paul is not just requesting that there be no more trouble; he does not want to face these troubles personally any more. Paul has been deeply upset by what was taking place in the Galatian churches, and he seriously hopes that the trouble would be over, finished, done with, on the strength of the letter he has written.

Paul’s reason is “for I bear in my body the marks of Jesus.” These words are personal, vivid, and impactful. Paul had suffered much for the Gospel, and on one level, these sufferings were his credentials as an authentic Christian and Apostle. Paul’s physical body was the actual evidence of the very sufferings that the legalists were trying to avoid. Paul had the marks of Jesus on his body, not in some mystical sense, but in the most realistic sense. The marks, the scars of persecution could be seen on him. Later, Paul would state, in Colossians 1:24, that his sufferings were linked to the sufferings of Christ as the Apostle sought to bring the Gospel of Christ to the nations.

Here in Galatians, Paul reminds his readers of his own sufferings, which back up what he preaches and teaches and support his argument in the epistle. At the same time this phrase, “for I bear in my body the marks of Jesus,” would indicate that Paul does not need any more suffering. He has suffered enough, and would like to be saved from any more trouble in relation to the issues addressed in the Galatian Epistle.

II. The Parting GraceWhat could be more appropriate than ending this

epistle of grace with a benediction that simply focuses on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is the cross of “our Lord Jesus Christ” that was Paul’s boast (6:14). That cross was at the center of the Gospel of grace that Paul has defended in this epistle. And it is that “grace” that will be the sustaining and life-giving source and resource for the Galatian churches. How they began in Christ is how they are to continue in Christ, by grace.

And this grace is specifically the grace of “our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is His grace, and He is the source and resource for His people. Paul’s use of the phrase “with your spirit” may not have any deep significance. On the other hand, it may point to the spiritual nature of the people of God rather than the outward physical dimensions of life that were at the center of the circumcision controversy (see also Phil. 3:1-3).

Thrust: Behind the word “grace” are the fundamental truths of the Gospel. If we are passionately appreciative of the grace that we have received in Christ, then we must be passionately committed to the truths of the Gospel. These truths are what make grace grace; indeed they are the real meaning of grace. In a day when passions rise over so many things, may we be passionate about the truth and the truths of the Gospel!

David L. Olford teaches expository preaching at Union University’s Stephen Olford Center in Memphis,

Tennessee.

*The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 10, p. 507, Frank Gaebelein general editor, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Jewels from Past Giants

The InheritanceBy Thomas Guthrie

Previously published in Pulpit Helps, November 2000.

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in

light” (Col. 1:12).

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One thing is often set against another in the experience of the Christian; and also in the every-day procedure of the providence of God. So it was with Jacob that night he slept in Bethel. A ladder rose before him in a vision. It rested on earth, and reached to the stars, forming a highway for a multitude of angels, who ascended and descended in two dazzling streams of light. It was the bright sign of a redemption which has opened a path for our return to God. Taking my text, I remark:

I. Heaven Is an InheritanceHow prone are men to attach importance to their

own works, and to seek at least some shining points of goodness in them—like grains of gold in a mass of rock! We are reluctant to believe that those things for which others praise us, apart from Christ, have no merit; but appear in the sight of the holy and heart-searching God as “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). Nor is it easy to believe that the loveliest, the purest, the most virtuous of womankind, a mother’s pride and a household’s honor, must be saved just as the vilest outcast is saved—as a brand plucked out of the fire.

Volumes of theology have been written, and long controversies have waxed hot, about whether heaven is, or is not, in part, the reward of our own good works. Now it appears to me that there is one word in my text, whose voice authoritatively and summarily settles that matter. That word is “inheritance.”

What is inheritance? The pay of a soldier is not inheritance; neither are the fees of a lawyer or a physician; nor the gains of trade; nor the wages of labor. In the terms of a court of law, the saints hold heaven, not by conquest but by heritage. None in heaven has earned a place—no “rights” there, but privilege granted! There, all eyes are fixed on Jesus; every look is love; gratitude glows in every bosom, and swells in every song; now with golden harps they sound the Savior’s praise; and now, they cast their crowns in one glittering heap at the feet which were nailed on Calvary. The faith of earth is just a reflection of the fervors of heaven; this the language of both—“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory” (Ps. 115:1).

II. Heaven Is a Heritage of Free Grace.In consequence of a distant relationship, earthly

heirs have sometimes entered on the property of those between whom and them there existed no acquaintanceship, nor friendship, nor fellowship; for whom, in fact, they entertained no regard while they lived. But it is by no such obscure connection or remote relationship, that the inheritance of the saints becomes ours. We are constituted its heirs by virtue of sonship; we, who were once afar off—the seed of the serpent, the children of the devil, the children of wrath even as others—becoming sons by that act of grace, which has led many to exclaim with John,

“Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1).

Thus, heaven is not only an inheritance, but a home. Home! That word quickens the pulse, warms the heart, stirs the soul to its depths, makes age feel young again, rouses apathy into energy, sustains the sailor on his midnight watch, inspires the soldier with courage on the field of battle, and imparts patient endurance to the worn-down sons of toil!

Grace sanctifies these lovely affections, and imparts a sacredness to the homes of earth by making them types of heaven. As a home the believer delights to think of it. Thus when, lately bending over a dying saint, and expressing our sorrow to see him laid so low, with a radiant countenance he raised and clasped his hands, and exclaimed, “I am going home.”

When we arrive at our heavenly home, what a meeting there will be of parents and children, brothers and sisters, and death-divided friends! And, when they have led our spirit up through the long line of loving angels to the throne, what happiness to see Jesus, and get our warmest welcome from the lips of Him who redeemed us by His blood, and, in the agonies of His cross, suffered for us more than a mother’s pangs—“the travail of his soul” (Isa. 53:11). Heir of grace! Your estate lies there.

III. The Heirs of Heaven Require to Be Made Fit.I knew a man who had amassed great wealth but

had no children to inherit it, so he left his riches to a distant relative. His successor found himself suddenly raised from poverty to affluence.

In his original obscurity he had been a happy peasant, whistling his way home from the plough to a thatch-roofed cottage. Child of misfortune! He buried his happiness in the grave of his benefactor. Neither qualified by nature, nor fitted by education, for his position, he was separated from his old friends, only to be despised by his new associates. In his case, the hopes of the living and the intentions of the dead were alike frustrated, because the heir had not been made meet for the inheritance.

Is such training needful for an earthly estate? How much more for the heavenly inheritance. “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). No change in earthly condition can adequately represents the difference between the state of sin in which grace finds us, and the state of glory to which it raises us.

The most ignorant and debased of our city outcasts, the most wretched and loathsome wanderer of these streets, is better fitted to be received into the bosom of a Christian family, than you are, by nature, fit to be received into the kingdom of heaven. A sinner there were more out of place than a ragged beggar in a royal palace. Compared with the difference between a man, as grace finds him, and heaven gets him, how feeble are all earthly distinctions!

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What would heaven be to man with his ruined nature, his low passions, and his dark guilty conscience? Incapable of appreciating its holy beauties, of enjoying its holy happiness, he would find nothing there to delight his senses. And, supposing him once there, were there a place of safety out of it, how he would long to be away, and keep his eye on the gate to watch its opening, and escape as from a doleful prison!

People talk strangely of going to heaven when they die; but unless your heart is sanctified and renewed, what were heaven to you? An abhorrent vacuum. Neither angels nor saints would seek your company, nor would you seek theirs. Unable to join in their hallowed employments, to sympathize with, or even to understand their holy joys, you would feel more desolate in heaven than we have done in the heart of a great city, without one friend, jostled by crowds who spoke a language we did not understand, and were aliens alike in dress and manners, in language, blood, and faith.

On that eternal Sabbath, what would they do, who hear no music in church bells, and say of holy services, “When will they be over?” Oh, the slow, wary march of the hours of never-ending Sabbath devotions! Oh, the painful glare of a never-setting Sabbath sun!

Such is by nature the disposition of all of us. “The heart is desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). The carnal mind has an aversion to spiritual duties, and an utter distaste for spiritual enjoyments. Nor is that all the truth. However it may lie concealed, like a worm in the bud, “the carnal mind is enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7).

Therefore, the heaven that purifies the saint would be exasperate the hatred of the sinner; and the more God’s holiness and glory were revealed, the more would this enmity be developed. Sin, could it sink root in heaven, would grow more rankly, more hating and more hateful than on earth, and man would cast on God an eye of deeper and more intense enmity.

Hence the need of being made, by a change of heart, new creatures in Jesus Christ. Hence, also, the need, which by reason of indwelling and remaining corruption, even God’s people daily feel of getting, with a title to the heavenly inheritance, a greater fitness for it. In other words, you must be sanctified as well as saved. This work, so necessary, as we have seen, in the very nature of things, has been assigned to the Holy Spirit. It was the office of the Son to purchase heaven for the heirs. And it is the office of the Spirit to prepare the heirs for heaven. Thus renewed, purified and at length wholly sanctified, we shall carry a holy nature to a holy place, and be presented “faultless, before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy” (Jude 1:24).

IV. As Heaven Is the Gift of God, Our Fitness for It Is the Work of God.

By whatever instruments God executes His work, whether the means He uses to sanctify His people be dead books, or living ministers, be sweet or severe, common or striking providences, the work is not theirs, but His.

Let me illustrate this point by a reference to the case of Lazarus. On the day when he was raised from the dead, Lazarus had two things to thank Christ for. His gratitude was due for what Jesus did without human instrumentality, and also for what He did by it; both for the “Lazarus come forth!” that restored the dead, and for the “Loose him and let him go,” not only for life, but for the liberty without which life had been a doubtful blessing. What enjoyment had there been in life so long as the face-cloth was left on his eyes, and his limbs were bound fast in the windings of the tomb?

Pointing to Lazarus—who was, perhaps, endeavoring at that moment, like a newly-awakened sinner, to fling off his shroud, and be free—Jesus addressed the spectators, saying, “Loose him, and let him go!” And thus God deals with renewed souls. Liberty follows life. To His Holy Spirit, and, in a subordinate sense, to providence in its dealings, to ministers in the pulpit, to parents, teachers, and all other human instruments, he says, Undo the bonds of sin—loose them, and let them go!

To bring the subject home, have we solid scriptural ground for believing, that the same spirit-freeing words have been spoken of us? Have we been freed from habits that were to us as grave-clothes? And, emancipated from passions which once enslaved us, are we now, at least in some measure, doing what David undertook, when he said, “I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart” (Ps. 119:32)? In growing holiness—in heavenly desires that shoot upward to the skies, in godly resolutions that aim at, if they do not always attain, a lofty mark—“the lust of the flesh” and the “pride of life” are nailed to a cross where, if not yet dead, they are dying daily in longings that aspire after a purer state and a better land. In these things have you at once the pledge of heaven and the meetness for it? If so, “this is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Ps. 118:23). As delightful as marvelous! What joy, what peace should it impart to the hearts of those who, feeling themselves less than the least of God’s mercies, unworthy of a crust of bread or of a cup of water, hail in these the bright tokens of a blood-bought crown—that coming event which casts its shadow before!

But if, without this fitness, you are indulging the hope that, when you die, you will succeed to the inheritance—ah! How shall the event, the dreadful reality, undeceive you! Ponder these words, I pray you, “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). “There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:27).

Believe me, the only proof that God has chosen us is that we have chosen Him. The distinguishing mark of

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heirs is some degree of fitness for the heirship. In saints, the spirit is willing even when the flesh is weak; the body lags behind the soul; the affections outrun the feet; and the desires of those who are bound for heaven, are often far on the road before themselves. By these signs you may know yourself. Can you stand that touchstone?

Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873), a Free Church of Scotland minister, was born in Brechin, Scotland, and educated at

Edinburgh and Paris. In 1830 he took the pastorate of Arbirlot Established Church. In 1840 he was called to St.

John’s Church in Edinburgh. When a divisive controversy arose in the Established Church, Guthrie left St. John’s, and

with other clergymen organized the Free Church of Scotland. He built the Free St. John’s Church and

ministered there for twenty years to large crowds. Guthrie was known for his excellence in sermon preparation and delivery. He was the editor of Sunday Magazine, wrote

numerous devotional books and studies of Scripture, and was highly regarded in Scotland for his charitable work in

establishing schools and combating alcoholism.

_____________________________________________________________________________Counselor’s Corner—by James Rudy Gray

Counseling and Evangelism

Originally published in Pulpit Helps, November 2004.

What partnership can counseling and evangelism share in the ongoing ministry of helping people who are hurting? The hope and power that Christ brings to a believer is the same type of hope a counselor must present to a counselee.

Sharing the Gospel, the simple plan of salvation, or a personal testimony are all appropriate means of doing evangelistic work. However, the timing of the sharing can either hinder or help a person who is struggling with an emotional issue.

It is a good practice for a counselor or pastor to establish a bridge of trust to the counselee first. Once trust is established, an effective witness can be a tremendous means of helping another person. Some people who come to us for counseling are lost and they need Christ as Savior. When they come to us, they may not be at the place in their lives where they are ready to listen. As someone once said, we should not pick fruit before it is ripe. Neither should we automatically try to present a packaged “witness” to everyone in a counseling situation.

It is important that a Christian counselor have a genuine and ongoing walk with God. That relationship itself creates a confidence that transcends the pressure to rescue someone by simply sharing the plan of salvation before they are ready to receive it.

I have had the privilege of seeing many people over the years come to faith in Christ during the counseling process. I made it a practice to pray, share Scripture, and communicate clearly the need for faith in God. I also worked hard to help hurting persons analyze their problem, discover alternatives, and formulate positive changes that would help them find relief from emotional distress. Once that connection of caring has been established, the counselor has a much stronger opportunity to share the Gospel effectively.

In simple terms, the problem is sin and the solution is Christ. But, if we do not get involved in the nuts and bolts of the counselees’ concerns and help them to see things differently, we will forfeit the opportunity to witness to them. They must see that we care about them and their situation.

I am convinced that there is a pre-conversion ministry of the sovereign God as His Spirit leads people to faith in Christ. By the same token, I am equally convinced there is a pre-conversion work that counselors can do as they help people. This work quite often builds the kind of trust that leads to a genuine conversion, but not always. A Christian counselor can help a person in some areas of life and yet not be able to lead that person to faith in Christ. We can be faithful witnesses. God has not called us to be successful but to be faithful. If we are obedient to His Word, we can trust Him to do what He wills to do and what we cannot do.

Counseling includes helping a person cope; providing a basis for hope; and being a tool for change in a person’s life. The greatest change a person can ever experience is the new birth and it may be that in the process of effective Christian counseling, personal changes provide the foundation for the greater change.

Persons who do not know God but are led to a Christian counselor are looking “Godward” for help, though they may not even realize it. I have counseled many lost people who would not go to a “secular” counselor. Why?

For some reason they were looking for something they believed they could really trust. If they can see God at work in those who counsel in His name and rely on His truth, they can be prepared by God Himself to move on to trusting Christ in the surrender of their lives to Him.

James Rudy Gray is certified as a professional counselor by the National Board for Certified Counselors, and is a

member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He serves as the editor of The Baptist Courier,

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the official newspaper of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

__________________________________________________________________________________________The Story behind the Song—by Lindsay Terry

From the Kitchen Table to the WorldSong: “The Old Rugged Cross”

Originally published in Pulpit Helps, October 2009.

“They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between” (John 19:17-18).

When polls are taken to determine what are the most popular American hymns, invariably near the top of the list is “The Old Rugged Cross”. The popularity of this hymn started during the Billy Sunday campaigns in the earlier parts of the 20th century. Some claim the song was written between December 29, 1912, and others January 12, 1913. What is certain is that it has been by far the most popular of the approximate three hundred songs written by George Bennard, who lived from 1873 to 1958.

Bennard was born into a very modest family in Youngstown, Ohio. His father passed away during George’s teen years, leaving the youth with the tremendous responsibility of helping his mother and his brothers and sisters. To that end, he became a coal miner like his father before him.

The Salvation Army, which has been a helper of “others” for so many years, was an attraction to Bennard and his young wife, who joined their ranks and worked with the “Army” for a number of years.

Bennard later felt impressed of the Lord to become an itinerant evangelist, in a time when it was tough to be on the road. He served for years in Canada and some of our northern states. It is also reported that he felt puzzled that others of his hymns did not become as accepted and used by masses of people as “The Old Rugged Cross.”

Bennard’s favorite Scripture verse, John 3:16 (which he quoted often), did not become worn or threadbare to him, with the oft quoting of it, but more alive and deeper in meaning. He seemed to always have a vision of a cross when quoting the verse—a crude Roman cross, stained with the blood of Christ, God’s only Son, who gave His life for our salvation.

One day, as he was thinking of that scene, an original melody ran through his mind—“a complete melody,” he later reported, but very few words came with it. He struggled to write lyrics, but all that came were the words, “I’ll cherish the old rugged cross.”

The song seemed to take shape in bits and pieces. He completed the chorus, but the verses did not seem

proper and fitting to him. Shortly thereafter he preached in a Friends Church in Sawyer, Wisconsin, and a Methodist Church in Pokagan, Michigan, in the southwest part of the state. During those meetings he sang his song for the people and they responded favorably, but he was not satisfied.

Following the meetings in Pokagan, he was scheduled to speak in New York State, where he majored on the theme of the cross. Numbers of people were trusting in what Christ had done for them on the cross as payment for their sins, confessing Him as their Savior and Lord. Bennard felt that the Lord was revealing to him, in a more meaningful manner, Christ’s love as demonstrated at Calvary.

He returned to his home, in Albion, Michigan, thrilled with the experiences in New York, and with a renewed meaning of the cross etched into his mind and heart. He went to the kitchen table, took the manuscript that he had so labored on, and in just a short period of time was able to rewrite the stanzas with each word falling perfectly into place. He called his wife and joyfully sang it to her. She loved the song very much.

He then sent the manuscript to Charles H. Gabriel in Chicago, asking him if he would write the proper chords with the melody line. Gabriel did so and returned the song with the message, “You will hear from this song.” Others who heard the completed song were also very pleased and made similar predictions.

Bennard said what I have heard countless other songwriters say, “I really hadn’t written it. I was merely the instrument that God used.” A State of Michigan Historic Site marker stands at the site on Michigan Avenue in Albion where Bennard wrote the song.

George Bennard lived his retirement years in Reed City, Mich., and died there in 1958. His last trip to Albion, where he wrote the song, occurred in June 1958 just a few months before his death in October. The first verse of his song: “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suff’ring and shame. And I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain.”

How marvelous that Christ’s cross of shame became to you and me a badge of honor. The pain and suffering that He endured there was for our eternal deliverance.

© Lindsay Terry. Used by permission.

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Lindsay Terry has been a song historian for more than 40 years, and has written widely on the background of great

hymns and worship songs including the books I Could Sing of Your Love Forever (2008) and The Sacrifice of Praise

(2002).__________________________________________________________________________________________Church Builders—by Bernard R. DeRemer

Charles Gabriel: Gospel Music Legend

Originally published in Pulpit Helps, April 2001.

Although he never had a music lesson, Charles H. Gabriel composed more than 7,000 songs and “seldom violated any of the rules of harmony or good musical and literary form.” He compiled or helped compile 174 books of Gospel songs, cantatas, other volumes, and became “the most gifted and brilliant writer of gospel songs for 40 years.”

Gabriel was born in 1856 on an Iowa farm, where his early education was limited to a few winter months each year. He encountered his first musical instrument, which he never could identify later, at age 9. Later he rode 10 miles just to see and hear a melodeon. As he plowed fields or did other chores, music was constantly running through his mind.

During field labors, he would sometimes take a moment’s rest “to write down the notes and words of a song that had found its way into his head.” With his early interest and aptitude, by age 16 he was teaching singing and had begun his lifelong ministry of composing music.

One of his first compositions, “Waiting on the Shore,” appeared in the Musical Messenger during 1875. Gradually, his musical output began to soar. It is said that no Gospel song in history “has ever attained the international popularity of his ‘Glory Song’ in so short a time.” In only five years, it was “sung around the world, largely because of the great Torrey-Alexander revivals as well as other meetings.”

“When all my labors and trials are o’er,And I am safe on that beautiful shore,Just to be near the dear Lord I adore,Will through the ages be glory for me.

Chorus:

Oh, that will be glory for me,Glory for me, glory for me;When by His grace I shall look on His face,That will be glory, be glory for me!”

Some 30 million copies were published.Gabriel lived most of his life in Chicago, where he

became associated with the Hope Publishing Co. Then for a longer time he served as music editor for the Rodeheaver

Publishing Co. There his work was credited with being a major factor in the success of that distinguished firm.Homer Rodeheaver, the famous music director, testified that “Without ‘Brighten the Corner Where You Are’ (and others)...I could not have held the immense choirs and tremendous audiences I have had to quiet and control.”

A few of Gabriel’s many numbers still widely used today include “He Lifted Me,” “Since Jesus Came Into My Heart,” and “Send the Light.”

His own favorite was “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” which Ethel Waters greatly popularized with her distinctive, soulful renditions during Billy Graham crusade meetings.When asked about trashy music of that day, Gabriel declared that music committees were made up of those who could not distinguish “devotion from commotion.” One can only speculate at his reaction if he were to survey today’s musical field.

Gabriel married Amelia Moore in 1888. His son, Charles Jr., served on the staff of the Chicago Tribune and had charge of the musical program on Station WGN, Chicago. There he had the distinction of starting the radio team of “Sam and Henry,” which became “Amos ‘n’ Andy” (radio’s all-time favorites). He also became program director for NBC in San Francisco, and collaborated with his father on several hundred compositions.

In 1926 Gabriel moved to California to enjoy retirement, but alas, experienced “years of sickness and continued attempts to clear up copyright renewal controversies.” It seems his business acumen did not equal his musical aptitude.

After a period of failing health, he went to be with the Lord in 1932. Today, he deserves to be remembered as “one of the most prolific composers in the history of gospel hymnody,” whose numbers continue to bless and challenge multitudes.

Bernard R. DeRemer chronicled the lives of dozens of heroes of the faith in more than a decade of writing for Pulpit Helps Magazine, and continued to serve in this

capacity as a volunteer contributor to Disciple. He joined those he had written about so faithfully in the Lord’s

presence in 2014.

Excerpts quoted from Dr. Terry York’s D.M.A. dissertation on Gabriel at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.”

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__________________________________________________________________________________________Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel

Gifts to Glorify the Greatest GiverBy Anastasios Ioannidis

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15).

Christmas is around the corner, and it just is not Christmas without gifts. How fitting that we celebrate the coming of God’s “indescribable gift” in His Son Jesus by thoughtfully sharing with our loved ones from His blessings to us?

This is especially true when children are involved. When I was growing up in Greece as the son of AMG national workers, I remember how excited I was in anticipation of Christmas. It meant a few days out of school and, of course, a present. My parents always seemed to know just what I needed. One year it was a wool sweater that kept me warm for a few years. Another time it was a simple model car that gave me hours and hours of enjoyment.

At AMG, Christmas gifts mean even more, thanks to Bundles of Love. Every child sponsored through AMG around the world receives these special gifts each year.

Every Bundle includes items chosen especially for each child’s needs—school supplies and uniforms, shoes, clothing, blankets, books, or toys. We also provide copies of God’s Word to those who do not have one. While the contents of a Bundle are often very practical and sometimes very necessary, they are still a special gift provided over and above the basic needs met by sponsorship.

These simple gifts excite the kids, and the joy on their faces as they receive them is incredible to see! I wish I could take all of you at the special celebrations that take place each year to see it for yourself. Children coming from extreme poverty may have never even received a present like this, but Bundles are about transformation, not handouts. Bundles of Love draw them back to the great giver who sent His Son to save us.

Childcare center directors in each country carefully craft Christmas celebrations around giving out Bundles,

retelling the story of Jesus’ birth, singing praises to Him, and showing how every good blessing flows from the Father’s love.

The kids aren’t the only ones this ministry touches. All the national workers who serve so faithfully in reaching their native countries for Christ (including those who serve at childcare centers and medical clinics) get a Bundle of Love each Christmas. Leprosy patients served by AMG India receive these gifts as well.

As Christmas approaches Bundles of Love also presents a tremendous opportunity for you to get involved. You can get a few Bundles of Love banks to store up your family’s spare change to help purchase these gifts. Our home office staff would love to tell you about how to get your whole church involved through a Bundles of Love Sunday. If you are considering a short-term mission trip, there are few more rewarding opportunities than traveling with AMG to help out with Bundles of Love celebrations at our childcare centers.

Bundles of Love presents a unique occasion to bless others with a gift, making Christmas a powerful, thankful season of joy in the life of a child.

Anastasios “Tasos” Ioannidis became president and CEO of AMG International in 2013. He has served since 1989 in

many different roles with the organization.

To learn more about Bundles of Love, AMG’s ministries around the world, and how you can partner with us, please

visit www.amginternational.org or call 1-800-251-7206.

Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel (AMG) International is a non-denominational, international

missions agency based in Chattanooga, Tenn. AMG’s distinctive has always been its reliance on national workers

to carry the Gospel in their own cultures. Today, they operate ministries in more than 30 countries around the

world through partnership with national believers.__________________________________________________________________________________________Marks of the Master—by the Old Scot

How Old Is Really Old?

Previously published in Disciple, August 8, 2011.

Imagine that your years stretched back to America’s Civil War. You’d have heard President

Lincoln give his Gettysburg Address; you would personally remember all the good times and hard times our country has gone through ever since. But that’s just 150 years. Suppose you were on that hillside in Galilee,

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hearing Jesus of Nazareth say: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” That would be old! But let’s go back further, to the days of Father Abraham, 4,000 years or so ago: that would be really old!

Of course that’s fantasy, as far as any animal life is concerned. But some plants have lived that long. For instance, there are giant redwoods on the West Coast which were already husky trees when Jesus Christ walked on this earth. The species Sequoia sempervirens, which grows from southern Oregon to just north of San Francisco, has several trees among its number which are well over 2,000 years old. These magnificent redwoods are the tallest trees on the face of the earth. The tallest on record is called “Hyperion”, a California specimen which was measured at 379.1 feet and still growing!

But some Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganticum, a chubbier and longer-lived close cousin of the sempervirens) are known to be as much as 3,500 years old (getting close to Father Abraham!), and one great old forest monarch is very close to 4,000 years old.

Even older are some Bristlecone pines. The oldest known Bristlecone, growing high in the Snake Range of eastern Nevada, is believed to have sprouted in the year 2,932 B.C.—nearly 5,000 years ago! Another in the White Mountains of eastern California is more than 4,600 years old, and several more are well over 4,000 years.

Don’t expect great height and grandeur if you ever see a Bristlecone, for they seem to like it where hardly anything else can survive—high in remote mountain ranges, where they constantly struggle against wind, cold, and drought. The oldest examples are apt to be stunted and even grotesquely twisted from their battle with the elements. Their top branches will probably be

just dead spikes—all that’s left of growth during the rare good years, which died back later because of the terrible cold and drought. But still these ancient survivors cling to life, waiting for yet another good growing season.

By comparison, we humans do well to reach the biblical standard of “three score and ten.” The Bible compares us to grass, not trees: “They are like grass which groweth up: in the morning it flourishes and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down and withereth” (Ps. 90:5-6).

Yet there is in each of us a spirit sent from God which never dies. We are not limited to the few years given to our mortal bodies. We will live forever. It will one day be said of us, as it is said now of God, that “a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night” (Ps. 90:4).

But living forever does not necessarily mean enjoying it! Those who have been born again, through accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, will spend eternity basking in the warmth of His everlasting love. That is heaven. However, those sentenced to live forever under God’s curse—whose “worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched” (Isa. 66:24)—will spend eternity wishing they could die! That is hell.

The Old Scot (Ted Kyle) served as managing editor for Pulpit Helps magazine (Disciple’s predecessor

publication) from 1993-2008. He was always fascinated by the natural world, and readily saw God’s hand in

every detail. Ted went to be with His Creator and Savior in April 2013.

Reference: Ingenious Kingdom, Henry and Rebecca Northen, Prentice-Hall, 1970.

__________________________________________________________________________________________Book Review—November 2015

Guest Review

Parables: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed through the Stories Jesus Told, John MacArthur, 2015, Nashville, Thomas Nelson, ISBN 9781400203482, 288 pages, $24.99, hardcover.

There are always many more worthwhile, edifying books published than we have time to read and review here.

Often, good books come out and find traction in the wider Christian community, but we are a little bit too late to the

table to provide a worthwhile original review, and our staff resources these days don’t always permit time for the thoughtful book recommendations you deserve.

That being the case, there is a book we would like to recommend: Parables by John MacArthur. For a full discussion of the book, we are referring you to an excellent review by Tim Challies: http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/parables.

Thank you.

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__________________________________________________________________________________________News Update—November 2015

Australian Bishops Face Lawsuit for Distributing Traditional Marriage Booklet

Roman Catholic bishops in Australia are under fire from the members of the country’s homosexual marriage political movement after they distributed a booklet that supported traditional marriage. 

Charisma News reports the booklet, titled “Don’t Mess with Marriage” was distributed nationwide. Additionally, the archbishop of Hobart, Julian Porteous sent the booklet home to parents of Catholic school children in Tasmania. 

The Daily Signal writer Lyle Shelton said the booklet maintained a respectful tone toward individuals with same-sex attraction. This is what “Don’t Mess with Marriage” said about traditional marriages: “Their physical, spiritual, psychological and sexual differences show they are meant for each other, their union makes them whole, and through their union ‘in one flesh,’ they together beget children who are ‘flesh of their flesh.’”

The distribution of “Don’t Mess with Marriage” outraged Rodney Croome, the leader of Australia’s gay marriage political movement. Croome claimed that the bishops had turned the children into “couriers of prejudice” by giving them copies of the booklet.

Left wing Australian Greens party politician Martine Delany has filed a complaint in response to the incident. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference have 21 days to respond to the complaint which will likely go to the Tasmanian Supreme Court.

Christian Headlines

Singapore Megachurch Pastor Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Embezzling Millions

A megachurch pastor in Singapore has been sentenced to eight years in prison for misappropriating church donations to support his wife’s singing career.

ABC News reports that Kong Hee, founder and senior pastor of City Harvest Church in Singapore, was found guilty of using over $35 million in church donations to fund his wife, pop star HO Yeow Sun’s, career.

Prosecutors said that Kong, along with five other church leaders, placed 24 million Singapore dollars ($17 million) into sham bond investments so that the money could actually be used for Ho’s career.

Kong and the other church leaders also used another 26 million Singapore dollars ($18 million) to cover up the first embezzlement from auditors.

Kong and other City Harvest supporters have argued that the church was supporting Ho’s career in order to draw more people to the church, but Judge See Kee Onn dismissed this claim.

“This trial did not concern mere lapses of corporate governance,” the judge made clear. “They were effectively putting (church) funds into their own hands, to be used as they needed.”

Many members of City Harvest were present in the courtroom and continue to support Kong and maintain his innocence. 

Christian Headlines

High Court to Consider State Abortion Law CaseThe U.S. Supreme Court agreed Nov. 13 to hear a

challenge to Texas’ abortion center regulations, the first major abortion case since the court upheld a ban on partial-birth abortion in 2007. The court’s decision in this case could affect not just Texas, but a number of other states with similar regulations. Lawyers had expected the court to finally hear an abortion case this term, but that doesn’t diminish the significance of the decision.

Over the last five years, states with new Republican majorities have tightened regulations on the abortion industry, and the number of abortions nationwide has declined. Some states with these kinds of laws have seen the number of abortions drop at least 15 percent since 2010, according to data the Associated Press compiled.

Planned Parenthood greeted the news from the court with a fundraising letter titled, “The biggest threat to abortion rights in decades.”

“If we lose this case, its impact will be immediate and is likely to be far-reaching,” Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards wrote.

But the case could equally threaten the pro-life cause at the state level. Justice Anthony Kennedy is yet again the likely deciding vote, and he voted to uphold the constitutionality of abortion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. Casey struck down one state regulation but upheld others. Pro-life groups take consolation in Kennedy’s vote to uphold the partial-birth abortion ban in 2007.

“[W]e are hopeful that he will uphold the Texas law which is clearly intended to protect women from an under-regulated and predatory abortion industry,” Denise Burke, vice president of legal affairs for Americans United for Life said in an email.

The Texas law in question, enacted in 2013, requires abortion centers to have admitting privileges to a hospital within 30 miles, and to operate under the same regulations as a clinic doing outpatient surgeries. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law, but then this summer the Supreme Court blocked it until the justices decided the case. The law has resulted in 22 of the state’s 41 abortion centers closing.

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The court did not act on a similar case from Mississippi, and likely will hold that appeal until it issues a ruling in the Texas case which is Whole Women’s Health v. Cole.

WORLD Magazine

U.S. and U.K. Governments Discriminate against Christian Refugees

Recently released statistics show that Christian refugees are being “unintentionally discriminated against” by the U.S. government’s refugee program.

According to Christian Today, the statistics show that only 2 percent of Syrian refugees allowed in the US since 2011 are Christian. More than 96 percent are Muslim, the US state department statistics show.

The nation’s refugee program relies on the United Nations refugee camps to decide who to accept into the United States, but Syrian and Iraqi Christian supporters say

that Christians fleeing the violence avoid the camps because they feel they could be targeted there.

“Christians are not to be found in the UN camps, because they have been attacked and targeted by Islamists and driven from them,” said Lord Carey, former archbishop of Canterbury. “They are seeking refuge in private homes, church buildings and with neighbors and family.”

Since the fighting started in Syria in 2011, more than 2,200 Muslims have been accepted into the U.S. Only 53 Christians from Syria were accepted.

The U.S. refugee program is under fire after the attacks in Paris, in which it is speculated that the attackers may have entered Europe disguised as refugees. In response, Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has asked that there be a focus on admitting Christian refugees.

President Obama, however, said discriminating against Muslims is “not American.”

Christian Headlines

__________________________________________________________________________________________Sermon Helps—from www.sermonhall.com

Sermon OutlinesThe Christian’s Knight in Shining ArmorRevelation 19:11-21 Prop.: Christ’s Second Coming is meant to comfort believers, not discomfort them.I. Allow the Vision to Comfort You (vv.11-16)

A. His attributes comfort us (v.11).B. His appearance comforts us (vv.12-13).C. His armies comfort us (v.14).D. His arms comfort us (v.15).E. His ascription comforts us (v.16).

II. Allow the Voice to Comfort You (vv. 17-18).A. God provides for the hungry in all creation (v.17).B. God punishes the haughty of all classes (v.18).

III. Allow the Victory to Comfort You (vv.19-21).A. The bosses of evil will be seized (v.20).B. The losses of evil will be swift (v.21).

Conc.: We need to meditate on the Second Coming of Christ more often (cf. 1:3).

Steve Eutsler

Leaving, Leaning, Living, Looking1 Thessalonians 1Intro.: Paul expresses his gratitude to God for the faith, hope, and love of the Christians at Thessalonica.I. The Evidence of Their Faith (1 Thess. 1:3, 9)

A. It was the right faith (Eph. 2:8, 9).B. It was receptive faith (1 Thess. 1:6; 2:13).C. It was a responsive faith (1 Thess. 1:9).

II. The Expression of Their Love (1 Thess. 1:3, 9)A. Their service to God was prompted by love.

B. The furnished dynamic: “the love of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:1; Rom. 5:5).C. The faithful declaration (1 Thess. 1:8).D. The fruitful demonstration (1 Thess. 1:6, 7).

III. The Expectancy of Their Hope. (1 Thess. 1:3, 10)A. Their hope was built on a miraculous provision: “The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.”B. Their hope was based on a mighty preservation: “Delivers us from the wrath to come.”C. Their hope was blessed with a marvelous prospect: “The promise of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-13).

Conc.: Let us be faithful to the will of God, the work of God, and the Word of God.

Ernest C. Ferguson

IllustrationsSeek God’s Blessing Daily

When Sir James Thornhill painted the cupola of that world-famous structure, St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, he was obliged to work while standing on a swinging scaffold far above the pavement. One day, when he had finished a detail on which he had spent days of painstaking effort, he paused to evaluate his work. So well had he succeeded in his task that he was lost in wonder and admiration.

As he stood there gazing at the structure, he began to move backward to get a better view, forgetting where he was. Another artist, becoming suddenly aware that one more backward step would mean a fatal fall, made a sweeping stroke across the picture with his brush. The shocked artist rushed forward, crying out in anger and

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dismay; but when his companion explained his strange action, Thornhill burst into expressions of gratitude.

This is an excellent illustration of how God blesses the material things in our lives and why we should ask Him to bless them. There are two possible outcomes: Either our plans will turn out as we hoped or they will fail. Having asked God to bless, we ask Him to be a partner. Only if that is our attitude shall we have the grace to praise God whatever the outcome may be. If we succeed, we shall give Him all the credit. If we fail, we shall take it that He has something different in mind for us.

Anonymous

“Jesus Does All Things Well”The noted hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, once found

herself in need of five dollars, a good sum in the 1870s. She had nowhere to turn and took the need to the Lord in prayer. Soon after, there came a knock at the door. A stranger stood there with a gift in the exact amount she needed. Fanny Crosby marveled at the way the Lord had led her in praying and how He led the man to give the exact amount. Immediately, she wrote the hymn “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.” Written around 1875, it was the expression of gratitude for the way the Lord had provided for her.

Here are some of the words from this great hymn:All the way my Savior leads me. What have I to ask beside?Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who thru life has been my Guide?Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell!For I know, whate’er befalls me, Jesus doeth all things well;For I know whate’er befalls me Jesus doeth all things well.

Eddie Rasnake

Bulletin InsertsOn Hope and HeavenMan’s way leads to a hopeless end! God’s way leads to an endless hope! 

When life gets hectic and hard to cope, repeat these words—love and hope. 

The next time the devil comes to remind you about your past, remind him about his future.

These three Anonymous

God’s promises have no expiration date.Croft M. Pentz

It is important to remember that one’s harvest is not always reaped in this life.

Paul Powell

Immortal Hope dispels the gloom! An angel sits beside the tomb.

Sarah Flower Adams

Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.Old Union Reminder

The more I learn about God, the more excited I get about heaven. The more I learn about heaven, the more excited I get about God.

Randy Alcorn

The cross bearers here will be the crown wearers over there.Paul E. Holdcraft

The difference between man-made utopias and a God-made heaven is the cross. That is why the former can never be.

Ravi Zacharias

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__________________________________________________________________________________________Puzzles and ‘Toons

Church ‘Toons by Joe McKeever

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Answers to last issue’s puzzles:Hidden Wisdom and Father Abraham

By Mark OshmanOriginally published in Pulpit Helps, February 2000

Hidden Wisdom on next page

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