Are You Still Digging Johnson Grass?
A young man hired himself out to a neighboring farmer for the summer. The farmer turned out to be a strict boss who worked the boy very hard. Finally, the young man decided to claim his revenge. Late one night he took fifty pounds of Johnson’s grass, one of the most despised nuisances a farmer can face, and sowed it into the farmer’s fields.
A little while afterwards the young man happened to meet the farmer’s beautiful daughter. The young couple fell in love and, after a suitable courtship, got married. That made the young man family and destined him to work the farm for the rest of his life. Years later someone asked him how his life on the farm had been. He answered, “Wonderful, but I’ve spent all these years digging up Johnson grass.”
Moses once warned the tribes of Reuben and Gad, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). We should all heed that warning. God doesn’t miss a thing, and He seems to take great pleasure in looping our sin back around and nailing us with it.
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I fell completely out of church. Even worse, when some of my fellow church members said and did things that I didn’t think were very Christian, I criticized the church every chance I got. One day an old church member named Charlie said to me, “We’d sure like to have you back at church.” I looked at him and said, “I don’t want to go to church with a bunch of hypocrites.” Then I walked off. I thought, “Boy, I sure told him.”
A few years later, when the Lord broke me, I rededicated my life to Christ and got back into church. Since Charlie was there every time the doors were open, I had to somehow deal with the Johnson grass I had planted. My sin had found me out. Finally, I went up to him and apologized for what I had said. He just smiled and said, “Son, don’t worry about that. It’s alright.” That was very gracious, and it taught me a lesson about forgiveness.
In Luke 15:11-32, we find Christ’s famous story of the prodigal son. In the story, the son sins against his father by asking for his inheritance while the father is still very much alive. It’s bad when your father is worth more dead to you than alive. The boy was sowing his Johnson grass. He had to deal with that grass when he blew his entire inheritance, hit rock bottom in a foreign land, and had to come crawling back home. And what did the boy say to his father upon his return? “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.” There it is. That’s how you say, “I’m sorry for the way I treated you.” And what did the father do? He played the role of Charlie by instructing his servants to clothe the boy in the finest apparel and throw a great feast for him.
Take an honest look over your past and see if you have sinned against someone to such a degree that you need to apologize or ask for their forgiveness. Please understand, I’m not trying to get you to needlessly poke a stick at a calm hornet’s nest or reignite a dormant volcano. The fact is, some situations just need to be left alone. But if God presses His finger directly on some old scar, you need to deal with that.
It might mean making a phone call. It might mean sending an email. It might mean writing a letter. It might mean paying a visit. But whatever God burdens you to do, do it. You’ve dug enough Johnson grass over the situation. You’ve regretted what you did a million times. Now it is time to remedy things as best you can.
And don’t be afraid. The world is filled with Charlies who are just waiting to graciously forgive and release you of your guilt. But you’ve got to take the initiative in the matter. Will it involve laying your pride in the dust? Sure. Will it mean admitting you were in the wrong? Oh, yeah. But will you regret doing it? No way. The regret is in continuing to live with the shame.
My Runaway Child
Last night Tonya had to chaperon a school-dance for a couple of hours. That left me at home with the boys. Everything was going fine until Royce, my eight year old, decided that he wanted to go outside and practice his baseball swing. There he stood, holding his plastic ball and bat, while I told him that it was getting too dark to go outside. He didn’t like my verdict, but he seemed to take it in stride.
Not long afterwards, I heard some kind of crash down in our basement. I didn’t think too much about it because I knew that Royce had gone down there after I had told him he couldn’t go outside. I also knew that he has an average of three or four “crashes” every day. If they are serious enough, he comes and reports. Since he didn’t report, I figured that everything was okay.
Finally, after about fifteen minutes had passed, Royce came to me in tears. As it turned out, he had taken his ball and bat downstairs to practice his swing. He had thrown the ball up and hit it straight into one of our fluorescent lights. The light was now lying in a milion pieces all over the basement floor.
Here’s where I need to give a little background to the story. A few weeks ago, Ryan and Royce busted another light by throwing balls in the basement. At that time I laid down one of those eternal, never-to-be challenged rules concerning balls, the basement, and fluorescent lights. Fathers love doing that kind of thing. Naturally, when Royce busted another light with another ball, he knew he was in for a spanking.
Oh, yes, we practice the art of spanking around our house. We don’t cross the line into child abuse, but we do spank. If you disagree with this time-honored parenting method, please read the following Bible passages: Hebrews 12:5-11; Psalm 119:67; Proverbs 3:11-12; 13:24; 19:18; 26:15; 23:13-14; and 29:15,17. The board of education applied to the seat of knowledge can do wonders for the thought process of the mind. God gave us extra padding back there for a reason!
And so, Royce knew that he was in for some disciplining. But he had a better idea. While I went downstairs to survey the damage, he headed out the door toward the garage. By the time I came back upstairs, he already had his little scooter out. When I said, “Get in here,” he said, “I’m going to run away because I don’t want another spanking.” I said, ”What are you going to do, just walk the roads?” He said, “That’s why I got my scooter.” I said, “And how do you plan to eat?” At that point he showed me that he had gone to his room and gotten his little billfold. He said, “I’ve got $30.” (That was the truth. He’d been saving his “Grandpaw” and “Grandmaw” money.)
Well, even though he had obviously thought things out pretty clearly, I still made him come in the house. And, yes, I gave him a one-swat spanking. (Two-swat spankings are reserved for really bad disobedience.) When Tonya came home and got the whole report, she said, “I can’t leave you alone with them for two hours.” I said, “I thought I was doing good by not letting him go outside at dark.” I’m telling you, I just can’t win for losing. As for how Royce was going to live on $30, he said he would just keep on buying bags of Cheetos.
Two things struck me about Royce wanting to run away. First, I was actually glad that he had enough healthy fear of me to know that disobedience would bring punishment. Did you know that a child gets his first concept of God from his father? How the father acts pushes the child towards that idea of God. Abusive fathers turn God into a bully. Absentee fathers turn Him into someone who cares more about everyone else than the child. Milquetoast fathers turn Him into a timid, unassertive weakling. I don’t mind influencing Royce to view God as an authority figure who will punish disobedience. After all, that’s what He is.
The same book of Proverbs that has so much to say about spanking also has lots to say about the fear of the Lord. This is far from a coincidence. God understands full well what I just said about a child getting his first impression of God from his father. According to Proverbs, the fear of the Lord:
-is the beginning of knowledge (1:7)
-leads to a departing from evil (3:7, 16:6)
-will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones (3:8)
-leads to a hatred of evil (8:13)
-is the beginning of wisdom (9:10)
-prolongs days (10:27)
-brings strong confidence (14:26)
-is a fountain of life (14:27)
-turns one away from the snares of death (14:27)
-is the instruction of wisdom (15:33)
-leads to life, an abiding in satisfaction, and a protection from evil (19:23)
-leads to riches, honor, and life (22:4)
Now you see why it is so important for Royce to have a healthy fear of me. As he grows up, he will be able to naturally transfer that fear from his earthly father to his heavenly father. Last night showed that we are on schedule in that department.
The second thing that struck me about Royce wanting to run away was how much it reminded me of Adam and Eve. When they heard God walking in the garden of Eden after their sin, their first impulse was to hide, get away, and keep from reporting (Genesis 3:8). The fact that this was Royce’s same response after he had disobeyed me proved that the inherited sin-nature is alive and well in the little fellow. He was born with mommy’s eyes, daddy’s nose, and Adam’s nature.
Now that I’ve had some time to think about it, I can see even more similarities between Royce’s situation and Adam and Eve’s:
#1: I didn’t want Royce to run away and hide any more than God wanted Adam and Eve to run away and hide. It would have crushed me to lose my son forever just as it would have crushed God to lose His two kids forever.
#2: Like Adam and Eve, Royce was all ready to accept an inferior way of living rather than confess his sin. Adam and Eve had their fig leaves; he had his Cheetos.
#3: Just as God couldn’t wink at Adam and Eve’s disobedience and say, “We’ll let it go this time,” I couldn’t let Royce off the hook. The disobedience had to be addressed.
#4: After the disobedience was addressed, the fellowship was restored. The souls of Adam and Eve are in heaven right now, still enjoying fellowship with God. Royce and I are getting along just fine today too.
#5: Even though the disobedience was dealt with and the fellowship restored, the fallout from the sin remains. We lost our basement light and Adam and Eve lost their sinless perfection, innocence, and immortality. Sin does damage, and there’s no getting around that.
I love Royce, and we’ll buy a new light. God loves Adam and Eve (and their race), and He sent His Son to die so that His blood could cleanse all sin (John 3:16). Adam and Eve placed their belief in the Lord and learned the lesson that forgiveness of sin only comes via the shed blood of a sacrifice (Genesis 3:21). Now the question is, Have you placed your belief in Jesus and allowed the blood He shed in dying to cleanse you from all sin (Hebrews 10:4-14)? Or are you still going down life’s highway on your scooter, living on Cheetos?
Why Hasn’t Russell Been Posting More?
This morning I want to thank all of you who faithfully read this blog. Don’t ever think that I don’t appreciate your interest and confidence. I also want to explain why I haven’t been posting as much the past couple of weeks. It’s not because I’ve been too lazy or didn’t have anything to say. The fact is, I’ve been absolutely slammed with work.
For one thing, we’ve been plowing through the process of moving Disciples Road Church into a larger facility with a better location. I’m thrilled with the new building, but it took some doing to get us in there. We had to purchase a shipment of new chairs as well as a new sound system. We had to mount the video projector and screen. We had to get all the computer stuff up and running. My brother-in-law, Ben Pressley, handled all of the electronics. (I’m useless in that department.) And I’m happy to report that we held our first service in the new building on Mother’s Day.
In addition to the church move, I’ve also been very busy working on a website for the church. We’ve hired David Biddix to create the site for us, and he is doing a great job. My role is to figure out how we want the site to look and get the content for it to David. The site will offer a word about Disciples Road Church, a place where people can listen to some of my sermons, a link to this blog, and an “Articles” section that houses some pieces I’ve written on various topics. We are far along with this project and hope to launch the site in the next couple of weeks.
Another item that is on the schedule for the month of June is the release of my first book, Straight Talk About God’s Will. The book is being published by Jebaire Publishing in Snellville, Ga. For the past several months I’ve been working with Shannon Clark, Jebaire’s acquisitions editor, to get the book out into the marketplace. We’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on that. But, man, has it been a chore! I wrote the book over the course of January-March of 2008. If you’ll do the math, you’ll find that it has taken over a year to:
-send out queries and proposals to publishers
-find a publisher who wanted it
-weave through the steps of the editing process
-get a preliminary version printed for early reviews
-etc., etc., etc., etc.
Needless to say, I’ve got a whole new appreciation for what it takes to get a book to a store shelf. I feel like that father in that movie “A Christmas Story.” When he won that awful, gaudy lamp, he said, “It’s a major award!” When I’m actually holding my published book in my hand, I plan to quote that line.
And, of course, it’s not like life slows down to let you move into a new building, launch a website, or get a book published. This past Tuesday night my eight-year old, Royce, had his last rec. league, coach-pitch baseball game. The “coach” in that term “coach pitch” was me. We had a great season, but I don’t mind admitting that I’m glad it’s over. That’s one less thing on my plate. The same can’t be said for Ryan’s season. He’s my eleven-year old and he still has a lot of baseball to play this year. He’s got one game left in his rec. season, followed by a season-ending tournament. Then he heads right into the practices and tournaments for his Cal Ripken All Stars team. I’m an assistant coach for his rec. team and his Cal Ripken team.
Of course, there’s always the yard that needs mowing. I’ve got that on the itinerary for this afternoon. I also need to preach and record the sermon for my Sunday morning radio broadcast. I’ll do that either today or tomorrow. That’s in addition to finishing the preparations on my Sunday morning sermon for Disciples Road. A new building doesn’t do much good if the pastor doesn’t have God’s message for the hour.
But you know what? As rundown as I get sometimes, I’ve learned to be thankful to have the health to be able to go. The Bible says “In Him (God) we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). It also says that life is so fragile and vaporous that we aren’t guaranteed another tomorrow (James 4:13-15). Take a trip to the hospital or the nursing home sometime. That will give you a new perspective on things. Those folks would love to have the health to be “busy.” So, if you’ve got such health, thank the Lord for it and use it for Him.
I’ll end this little personal update by asking you to pray for me, Disciples Road Church, the website, the book, and this blog. Ask God to use every item on the list to expand His kingdom, instruct His people, and bring honor and glory to His name. Any ministry that I have is really just Jesus ministering through me. If it wasn’t for Him, I wouldn’t be doing any of this. Instead, I’d be off playing some brand of ”trivial pursuit” with my life. Again I thank you for your interest in this blog and your confidence in me. If God is using the blog to help you, I’d love to hear about it. Leave me a comment sometime. That would be a real source of encouragement to me. Have a great day!
A Dry Land
Lately we’ve been getting quite a bit of rain here in western North Carolina. That’s good news. For the past couple of years we’ve been in a drought of some historic proportions. Wells have gone dry. Rivers and creeks have run low. Some towns have imposed mandatory water restrictions. Others have encouraged voluntary restrictions. Thankfully, though, experts have now declared the drought officially over.
There is, however, another kind of drought. It is mentioned in the last part of Psalm 68:6: “But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.” The literal teaching here is that God doesn’t bless the rebel. He acts as a “father to the fatherless” (v.5). He serves as a ”defender of widows” (v.5). He “sets the solitary in families” (v.6). He “brings out those who are bound into prosperity” (v.6). But what does He do for the rebellious? He lets them dwell in a dry land.
If we bring symbolism upon this portion of scripture (and it’s perfectly alright to do that if God is in it), we can equate water with the word of God. The Bible does this in passages such as Psalm 119:9 and Ephesians 5:25-27. This means that the rebel’s land is dry because his life runs contrary to the word of God.
The rebel may own a Bible, but you can live like hell with a Bible under your arm. You can memorize and quote various passages and yet still live a life that contradicts the Book’s plainest teachings. The great evangelist, Gypsy Smith, said, “What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times and how thoroughly the Bible has been through you.”
And, oh, how our society glorifies the rebel! James Dean and Marlon Brando became icons by playing that role. Frank Sinatra’s signature song was, “I Did It My Way.” Pirates, gangsters, outlaws, and bad boys all have their “coolness.” People look at them and want to be like them, either secretly or not so secretly.
Still, God’s word offers a different opinion of rebellion. It says: “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23). Have you been dealing in magic, conjuring up spells, and chanting to strange spirits lately? Probably not. But have you been rebelling against God? If you have, you might as well have been practicing witchcraft. Have you been offering sacrifices to a graven image in your backyard? I doubt it. But have you been stubbornly refusing to do what God wants you to do? Then you might just as well have been fully embracing idolatry.
Isaiah 65:2 is another verse that goes a long way in describing the rebel. In it, God says, “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts.” Obviously, God wants the rebel to rush into His arms so that He can hug him and pour out His blessings upon him. That doesn’t happen, though. Why? It’s because the rebel wants nothing to do with submitting to God’s commands. To the rebel, no word carries the stigma of that word “submission.” He’d rather die in rebellion than live under submission.
The rebel will go to great lengths to explain away his sin. He’ll rationalize his conduct in an effort to make it look acceptable. He’ll compare his life to the lives of other sinners rather than to God’s standard of holiness. But through it all one word will ring out loud and clear over his life: rebellion.
Those of us who know something about a fireplace know what a backlog is. It is a big log that you put at the back of the fire to keep the smaller logs from rolling off the back. One day a father asked his grown son to bring in a backlog. The son said, “No.” The father kindly but firmly said, “As long as you live in my house you will obey me. The choice is yours. You can obey me and live here or disobey me and leave.” The son became furious, packed his bags, and left. A few days later, though, he came back home. The father met him and said, “Son, that backlog is still out there.” This time the son obeyed and was welcomed back into his father’s good graces.
It’s sad that so many people love their rebellion more than they love God. Even as their lives dry up, they refuse to repent of their sins. The bottom line is, they’d rather dwell in a dry land where they can do as they please than dwell in a lush, fertile, well-watered land where they must submit to God.
So, I ask you, do you have some backlog that you are in rebellion to God about? If you do, I plead with you to lay aside your rebellion, repent of the sin, and rush into God’s open arms. Dry lands always come to rebels as God eventually reaches the limits of His patience. But that doesn’t have to happen to you. Your land doesn’t have to turn dry. To keep it watered you must live in obedience to the word of God. Yes, that will cost you your rebellion, but that price will pale in comparison to the blessings that God sends your way.
Why God Hates Gambling
Last week it was announced in our local newspaper that a citizen of the county had won the lottery. The woman will receive $50,000 a year for the rest of her life. She bought the winning ticket at our WalMart Super Center. She said that she usually buys one ticket per week but decided to splurge for two the day of the purchase. It was that second ticket that hit the jackpot. Stories such as this one keep people buying lottery tickets. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that playing the lottery is gambling and the Bible teaches that gambling is not of God.
Perhaps your response is, “Oh, come on, Russell. What’s wrong with having a little fun? I can buy a lottery ticket every now and then, go to a casino a couple of weekends a year, or put some money on the ballgame, and it not be a big deal.” Well, my friend, it is a big deal with God. Let me take the Bible and give you four solid reasons why He hates gambling.
Reason #1: God hates gambling because it shows a lack of contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-10, Philippians 4:11-12, Hebrews 13:5, and Exodus 20:17). When you gamble, you are, in essence, saying to God, “I am not content with the financial situation in which you have me. I want more money.” The subject of discontentment can be traced back beyond the tenth commandment, all the way back to the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve coveted the fruit from the one tree that God had deemed off limits to them.
Reason #2: God hates gambling because it involves get-rich-quick schemes (Proverbs 28:20,22; Proverbs 10:4; Proverbs 13:4; Proverbs 13:11). The Bible never promotes such schemes. Instead, it consistently promotes hard work, good stewardship, and even wise investing.
Reason #3: God hates gambling because it exploits the poor (Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 28:27; Proverbs 29:7; Psalm 41:1). Did you know there are many more lottery outlets in poor neighborhoods than in higher income areas? Did you know that on those days when welfare checks arrive around this country, long lines form around the stores that sell lottery tickets? Did you know that in Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods, the Illinois state lottery rented billboards that showed a lottery ticket and the caption, “This could be your ticket out of poverty”? In gambling, for one person to win, other people must lose. And what category of people can least afford to hand over money and get nothing in return? That would be poor people.
Reason #4: God hates gambling because it frequently destroys peoples’ lives (Proverbs 24:1-2). Evil people work to tear down, not build up, society. But how does the gambling industry tear down society? First, gambling leads to an increased crime rate. Studies have shown that while casinos initially bring short-term economic benefits, property crimes take a sharp rise by the fourth year. Second, gambling leads to addiction. A survey done by two Duke University professors found that 10% of those who buy lottery tickets are compulsive gamblers who account for a whopping 50% of all money bet on lotteries. It’s also been proven that people are twice as likely to become problem gamblers if a casino is located within fifty miles of their home. Third, gambling leads to what we might call “a culture of destruction.” One survey of compulsive gamblers found that 22% had divorced because of gambling, 49% had stolen from an employer to pay gambling debts, and 79% said they wanted to die. Fourth, gambling leads to a demise in local business. Show me $50 that was spent on lottery tickets, and I’ll show you $50 that wasn’t spent in local stores on groceries, gasoline, clothes, or dinner.
The fact is, the gambling industry is a dirty business that thrives off peoples’ pain. Evidence of this is seen in the pawnshops that are frequently located near casinos. One pawnshop owner in Reno, Nevada has actually displayed a jar of gold-filled human teeth that his customers have pulled and pawned. Why would we want to have anything to do with an industry that causes people to do such a thing?
Matthew 27:35 is an interesting verse on this whole subject. It says of Jesus and the Roman soldiers: “Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, ‘They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.’” Even while God in the flesh was giving His all in dying for the sins of mankind, sinful men were engaging in the equivalent of “shooting dice” to see who would get His clothes. Instead of recognizing what Christ was doing for them, their attention was focused upon gambling. Sadly, there is something about that scene that makes me say, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Ah, but here comes the cry, “But so many people are doing it.” Well, a lot of people are cheating on their spouses too, but that doesn’t make it right. A lot of people are abusing their kids, but that doesn’t make it right. A lot of people are watching pornography, but that doesn’t make it right. Therefore, let’s have none of this argument that says that gambling must be okay because so many people are doing it. That argument is nothing but a lie. The hard, cold truth of the matter is that God hates gambling, and it’s about time that message started being heard.
Abounding More and More
In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul says to the Christians of Thessalonica, “Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.” Please notice the phrase “abound more and more.” His point is that, generally speaking, a Christian’s service to the Lord should increase over the course of life. There should be a noticeable progression in service. At twenty, the Christian should do more for Christ than he did at fifteen. At twenty-five, he should do more than he did at twenty. At thirty, he should do more than he did at twenty-five. On and on it should go.
Of course, we understand that at some point the physical limitations of getting older will stop a Christian from performing certain acts of service. Even in old age, though, a person can shift focus to different kinds of service. The elderly preacher can’t hold down a pastorate anymore, but that just gives him more time for prayer. The retired school teacher can no longer be ”salt and light” in the school system, but she can do more visiting. Even the Christian in the nursing home can be an effective witness for Christ. The goal is to always abound more and more in service.
I was in my early twenties when I gave myself fully to Christ. Since I had been out of church for some time, my first order of business was to start slipping in for Sunday morning worship services. That led to my faithful attendance in Sunday School. That led to me getting serious about having a daily prayer life. That led to my faithful attendance for Sunday night services. That led to my faithful attendance for Wednesday night services. All of that church attendance led to me getting serious about Bible study. That led to me teaching a Youth Sunday School class. That led to me hearing God’s call to preach and accepting it. That led to me becoming a pastor.
You see, things started with me taking the baby step of slipping in for Sunday morning worship services. I took that step, stayed at that level for a little while, and then felt God push me to take another step. I took that step, stayed at that level for a little while, and then felt Him push me to take another step. I took that step, stayed at that level for a while, and then felt Him push me to take another step. The process has been a slow walk, not a long jump. The fact that I currently serve as the pastor of Disciples Road Church is simply where I am right now in my lifelong process of abounding more and more in service to Christ.
The New Testament uses the words “bishop,” “elder,” and “pastor” interchangeably to describe the role I play. Each word speaks to a different aspect of the role. “Bishop” carries the idea of overseeing. “Elder” carries the idea of leading with wisdom. “Pastor” carries the idea of shepherding the sheep. In 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul gives a God-inspired list of the qualifications of a pastor. Interestingly, in verse 6, he says that a pastor shouldn’t be a “novice.” It’s a real shame when a young Christian is rushed into the ministry. He hasn’t had the necessary time to get his roots sunk deep. He hasn’t been able to sit under enough teaching. He doesn’t have adequate experience where the rubber of Christianity meets the road of life. For this reason, young preachers oftentimes flame out like shooting stars. Most of that kind of thing could be avoided if each potential preacher was made to work through the careful process of abounding more and more in service to Christ.
I’m not saying that the end of every Christian’s road of service will be the ministry. It won’t be. I’m saying, Christian, that your life should show progression in service. If you aren’t currently doing any more for Christ than you did last year, you are wasting valuable time. You need to get off dead-center and take another step in service to Him. There is another level, one just above you, that you need to reach. Once you’ve been at that one for a while, then you’ll be ready for another one. You’ve got to keep moving up.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson was one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He had incredible natural talent, but he also had a strong work ethic. Each off season he would diligently work to add another dimension to his game. One off season he worked on his free-throw shooting and became an excellent free-throw shooter. Another off season he worked on his long-range shooting and became an excellent long-range shooter. He was never satisfied with where he was as a player. He was always working to get better.
Well, Christian, what Magic Johnson did as a basketball player, you should do as a servant of Christ. When you get your church attendance to where it needs to be, start working on your prayer life. When you get that in order, go to work on your Bible study. Once you get a good handle on that, hone in on specific acts of Christian service. Once those have become part of your routine, start working on your evangelism. Then work on your giving. Then work on your personal holiness. As I said earlier, on and on it goes.
God will take you as you are but He won’t leave you there. In our 1 Thessalonians 4:1 verse, Paul doesn’t talk about “how you ought to stand and to please God”; he talks about “how you ought to walk and to please God.” There is a big difference between standing and walking. Walking implies movement and progression. It goes right along with “abounding more and more.” Take a look at where you are in service to Christ right now and dedicate yourself to doing more for Him.
A Costly Salvation
The great preacher G. Campbell Morgan was once approached by a miner who said, “I would give anything to believe that God will forgive sins, but I cannot believe He will forgive me if I just turn to Him. It is too cheap.” Morgan replied, “You were working in the mine today. How did you get out of the pit?” The miner answered, “I got into the cage and was pulled to the top.” Morgan asked, “And how much did you pay to come out of the pit?” “I didn’t pay anything,” said the miner. ”Well,” said Morgan, “weren’t you afraid to trust yourself to that cage? Wasn’t it too cheap?” “Oh no,” said the miner, “ it was cheap for me, but it cost the company a lot of money.” That gave Morgan the perfect lead in to explain that the salvation the miner called “cheap” cost Jesus His life. Jesus is the cage God uses to pull men out of the pit. We don’t have to reconstruct the cage. We don’t have to pay for it. All we have to do is climb aboard and let it pull us up from the pit.
Consider the following passages:
-Mark 14:64-65: And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands. That’s not cheap.
-Matthew 27:26: And when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. (A scourge was a whip in which the thongs were weighted with jagged pieces of bone or metal to rip away more of the victim’s flesh.) That’s not cheap.
-Isaiah 50:6: I gave My back to those who struck Me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. That’s not cheap.
-Isaiah 52:14: His visage (appearance) was marred more than any man. That’s not cheap.
-Matthew 27:28-31: And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. That’s not cheap.
-Luke 23:35-36: And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.” Then the soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.” That’s not cheap.
-John 19:32-34: Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. That’s not cheap.
-Isaiah 53:5: But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed. That’s not cheap.
Many of us have seen the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ. Admittedly, the film is not without its drawbacks, most of which stem from Gibson’s Catholicism. For one thing, the virgin Mary is played up too much. For another, certain scenes are based upon the so-called “visions” of a nineteenth-century nun rather than the Biblical text. Still, though, despite these flaws, the movie has spiritual value in that it graphically depicts Christ’s death in a way that other films don’t. Actually, Gibson probably goes a little too far with the brutality of Christ’s scourging. At least, however, the film doesn’t try to clean up the very messy and bloody process of a Roman scourging and crucifixion.
The bottom line is this: If we think salvation is cheap, it’s only because we don’t properly understand what it cost Jesus. Isaiah 53:7 says, “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter.” Let’s not miss the imagery of that word “slaughter.” A “slaughter” is not a pretty scene. It isn’t for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Being whipped with a scourge produces real blood flowing from real stripes. Having a crown of thorns placed on your head produces real blood flowing from real cuts. Having nails driven through your hands and feet produces real blood flowing from real puncture wounds. Being pierced with a spear produces real blood oozing from a real gash.
Why did they offer Jesus that sour wine as He hung on the cross? They did it because the wine was a narcotic that was used to deaden excruciating pain. Why did Jesus say to doubting Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side” (John 20:27)? He did it because those marks on His body were conclusive evidence of a terrible death.
And why did Jesus voluntarily submit to such a death? He did it to pay the sin debt of the entire human race (1 John 2:2). Now He asks each person to believe in Him as Savior so that death can stand good for the person’s sins and provide forgiveness for them (John 3:16). So, tell me, have you done that? If you haven’t, just know that you are ignoring a salvation that was very, very costly.
A Boll Weevil Experience
In his book, It Is Toward Evening, Vance Havner tells the story of a group of cotton farmers in the deep South. Year after year these men grew cotton. They put their profits back into it and set all of their fields in it. Then tragedy struck in the form of the devastating boll weevil. All of the cotton was destroyed and it looked as if the farmers were headed for the poorhouse.
Being farmers, though, the men persevered. In the wake of their disaster with cotton, they shifted gears and planted peanuts. Amazingly, they ended up making more money with the peanuts than they ever had with the cotton. When the farmers realized that what had seemed to be a disaster had actually turned out to be a boon, they erected a large monument to the very thing they thought had ruined them: the boll weevil.
Havner concludes the story by saying:
“Sometimes we settle into a humdrum routine as monotonous as growing cotton year after year. Then God sends the boll weevil; He jolts us out of our groove, and we must find new ways to live. Financial reverses, great bereavement, physical infirmity, loss of position – how many have been driven by trouble to be better husbandman and to bring forth finer fruit from their souls! The best thing that ever happened to some of us was the coming of our boll weevil.”
When God either causes or allows you to go through a boll weevil experience, you might think it is the ruin of you. You might say, “I will never come back from this. This is more than I can overcome. These wounds are too deep to ever heal.” But that is a wrong assessment of your situation. If you will turn things over to God and allow Him to help you, you won’t just get past the experience; you will come out the other end of it a better person who will, as Vance Havner said, “bring forth finer fruit.”
The book of Genesis gives us the record of Joseph’s boll weevil experience. He was sold into slavery by his brothers (Genesis 37:12-36). He was taken from his homeland of Canaan and transported south to Egypt where he became the servant of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard (Genesis 39:1-6). He was falsely accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39:7-18). He was thrown into Pharaoh’s prison where he remained for two years (Genesis 39:20-41:1). Talk about devastating times!
But God took that whole experience and used it to bring incredible fruit from Joseph. After interpretting two dreams for Pharaoh, Joseph was made second in command of all Egypt (Genesis 41:1-46). Because of Joseph’s foresight and administrative skill, Egypt prospered through a seven-year famine (Genesis 41:48-57). Ultimately, because of his position in Egypt, he was able to reunite with his family and bring them from famine-ravaged Canaan to Egypt, where they thrived (Genesis 42:1-47:27).
I can just hear Joseph saying when his brothers sold him into slavery, “Lord, don’t let this happen to me.” I can just hear him asking when Potiphar’s wife told her lie, “Lord, are you going to let her get away with this?” I can just hear him praying as he languished in Pharoah’s prison for those two years, “Lord, it seems as if my life is over.” But then I can also hear him, as an old man, looking back over his life and admitting, “When I was going through that experience, I thought it was the end of me. But now I see that God used it to make me better than I was.”
Perhaps you are in a boll weevil experience right now. Something has happened that has just devastated you. If that’s the case, don’t give up hope. Times may seem hard now, but God isn’t finished working the process. He’s been clearing the fields of your old crop of service so that He can make room for your new and more fruitful crop. Don’t begrudge whatever it takes for Him to do away with your cotton because that cotton has to go to make room for your peanuts.
Is a boll weevil experience pleasant? Certainly not. Is it something you want to volunteer for? Not if you have any sense. But is it something that God can use to make you a better servant? Most definitely. He won’t expect you to follow those farmers’ example and erect a monument to your experience, but He will expect you to see the value in the experience. And there will be value in it. The fact is, you will never produce a certain quality and quanitity of fruit in your life until your boll weevil wipes you out and you are forced to rethink the way you live.
Billy Graham
The Billy Graham Training Center At the Cove is located in Asheville, North Carolina, about an hour from my home. Yesterday the Center put on a free breakfast for the pastors of this area. I fired up the Dodge Caravan, met three of my fellow pastors from the county, and off we went.
The breakfast buffet was an impressive spread. As we ate, a few speakers took turns standing at a podium and telling us some nice things about The Cove. The last speaker was Will Graham (Franklin’s son, Billy grandson), who also gave us a personal report on how Billy is doing these days.
For most people, that was the end of the breakfast. But my friends and I had an “inside man.” Even though this fellow works at The Cove, he lives in our county and attends the church where two of my friends serve on staff. After the breakfast, he took us on an extensive tour of the whole facility. He drove us around Camp Cedar Cliff, the youth camp that is located at The Cove. He walked us through the Visitor’s Center and the Chapel. He took us into one of the rooms of The Cove’s two inns. He even let us go inside a couple of the cabins where the famous speakers who come to teach at The Cove stay while they are there. Billy’s daughter, Anne Graham Lotz, had recently spent about a month in one of the cabins we toured.
Rest assured that The Cove is quite a place. Wherever we went I couldn’t help but marvel at the simple beauty of the design and construction. Millions of dollars have been spent, but the place is far from ostentatious. It strikes that difficult balance between the time-honored and the contemporay. I don’t impress all that easily, and I was impressed.
We all know about the praise and laud Billy Graham has long received. But do you know about the criticisms he has also long received? There are three of them. As I say a few things about each, I want you to do me a favor: Take an unbiased look at each case and see what you think. When I get to the end of this post, I’ll sum up what I think.
The first criticism involves the close relationships that Billy Graham has enjoyed with many of our Presidents. In particular, he and Richard Nixon were very dear friends. The critics say that Graham always went too soft on the Presidents. They say, “Here was a man who had the ear of the most powerful men on earth, but what did he do with it other than keep himself in the celebrity spotlight?” The contention is that Graham was more concerned about remaining in good standing with the Presidents than truly playing the role of sin-renouncing, fear-of-God-evoking prophet. The critics feel that he should be have been more like Nathan (who boldly looked at King David and said, “You are the man”: 2 Samuel 12:15) or Daniel (who defied Darius’ decree and openly prayed to God: Daniel 6:1-10).
The second criticism stems from Billy Graham’s breaking down of denominational lines. It was back in the ’50s when he started letting ministers other than Baptists sit on stage with him. Over the years he continued down this path of religious inclusiveness. Bringing a Graham crusade to an area meant all of the local churches working together. Baptists got on the same team with Lutherans. Methodists came alongside Episcopalians. Presbyterians joined up with Catholics. When an individual responded to a Graham invitation, the person was asked to give a denominational preference. His or her name was then handed over to a local church from that denomination. Critics have always contended that Graham’s practices violated Bible passages concerning separation over doctrinal error, passages such as: Matthew 15:9; 1 Timothy 1:3; Titus 2:1; Hebrews 13:9; Ephesians 4:14; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 Timothy 4:1; Romans 16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 John 9-11; and 2 Corinthians 6:14-15.
The third criticism has to do with Ruth Graham, Billy’s wife. She was left at home to raise the children while Billy traveled around the world holding his crusades. Billy himself has even admitted that this criticism holds some merit. He loved Ruth and his family immensely and couldn’t help but feel some remorse that his schedule took him from them so much. Of course, it should be noted that Ruth never complained about Billy’s constant traveling. Marrying him had ended her hopes of becoming a missionary, and she believed that, by raising the children while he was off preaching the gospel, she was doing her part to see people won to Christ.
So, what is my opinion of Billy Graham? I think he is like most of us in that he is not as wonderful as some perceive him but not as bad as others perceive him. The truth is somewhere in the middle. I do know there will never be another like him. At The Cove, I saw pictures of him with celebrities such as Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. I saw a picture of him sitting on his front porch with Muhammad Ali. I saw other pictures of vast crowds gathered in stadiums to hear him present the gospel. I saw sermon outlines that had been given to him, handwritten outlines from Charles Spurgeon and D.L. Moody. I saw a priceless pocket watch that had been given to him by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. I saw old posters for the legendary Los Angeles crusade that made him a household name. For reasons that are still debated, news mogul William Randolph Hurst, who never met Graham, ordered all his newspapers to play up that crusade and make it headline news. I saw a Dallas Cowboys jersey that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had given to him. It had the name “Graham” on the back.
What do you make of such a preacher? It’s kind of hard to say. I can understand the points of both the praising and the criticizing. What I’m going to do is let God sort it all out. And, from what I know about Billy, he would be just fine with that answer.
Brief Bio
My name is Russell McKinney. I am 43 years old and have served as an ordained pastor for the past sixteen years. I’ve been married to my wife, Tonya, for sixteen years. We have two great kids – our sons Ryan (13) and Royce (9).
What do I do? As a husband, I love my wife, empty the dishwasher, take the clothes out of the dryer, and remember our anniversary. As a father, I love my boys, help coach their ball teams, enforce the house rules, and splurge for a night at the movies every now and then. As a pastor, I love my church members, preach, counsel, and visit.
When I was a young man, I believed in Christ as my Savior and was “born again” (John 3:1-16). But I didn’t fully sell out to Him with all of my heart, mind, and body until I was in my early twenties. Since then I’ve sought to do His will in every area of my life. Sometimes I’ve failed Him, but He’s never let me stay down long.
I try to be ”salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16) whatever the situation I’m in, and I try to do whatever I do “in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17) and “to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). I don’t have all the answers, but I am willing to learn. I’m far from perfect, but I’m always striving to improve.
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