YOU and GOD

What’s the nicest gift you have ever received from another person?

Was it an expensive jewel or keepsake? Or perhaps something that someone painted or built for you on which you could not put a price?

Maybe it was a gift of inestimable sentimental value. That first baby doll, or your first bike, or a cherished Bible.

Most of us could call to our mind-screen a number of very wonderful gifts that we’ve received along life’s way. Some have been very expensive. Some may have been very inexpensive.

But here’s another question: What’s the nicest gift you’ve ever given? It’s natural for us to think in terms of receiving when thinking of gifts. But whenever a gift is received, somewhere there’s a gift-giver.

No doubt you’ve given gifts, and no doubt you’ve given some very nice gifts. It may have been a costly gift for which you saved and sacrificed; or it may have been one that cost you little in money but lots in love.

When my mother was living, I had the joy of giving her one of those inexpensive gifts. It was a little book that Ellen bought, with pretty flowers on the cover and nothing but blank pages between the covers. I filled in the blank pages with some poems that I wrote on various subjects: motherhood, childhood, life, and love. It cost practically zero dollars, but it was a part of my soul that I shared with my mother to honor her in a special way.

I think, too, of a couple of Madam Alexander dolls that we bought for our daughters when they were 10 or 11 years old. Those dolls were coveted by little girls back in the mid-70s, so we had to look high and low, but finally found them in a store in Wichita, Kansas. We were living in Newton, Kansas, at the time, but did not mind making the trip to Wichita to buy those dolls for Sandra and Marti for Christmas.

Well, there are lots of memories of Christmases past, but of course I did not start this post to write about our gifts to each other, special as those memories are. What is on my mind and in my heart just now is what the apostle Paul called “the unspeakable gift.” (II Cor. 9:15) Note with me:

1. The Grantor, God: It is an unspeakable gift…the gift of God which is eternal life. (Rom. 6:23) Unspeakable because it was compelled by divine love: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love…with loving kindness I have drawn thee.” (Jer. 31:3)

This unspeakable gift was a gift of everlasting love, and it was compelled by an impartial love: “God so loved the world…that whosoever believeth on Him….” (John 3:16)

It is also an incomprehensible love: “And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge….” (Eph. 3:19)

And it is an inexhaustible love. Again, Paul says the breadth, length, depth and height of
God’s love is something that we should strive with all saints to comprehend; but which, in truth, “passeth knowledge.” (Eph. 3:18,19). His unspeakable gift, like none other, was compelled by love.

And it was constrained by His abundant mercy: “The Lord is merciful and gracious; slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.” (Ps.103:8) “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He saved us.” (Tit. 3:5)

His inexpressible gift of eternal life was compelled by love, constrained by mercy, and conveyed by His exceeding grace: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” (Tit.2:11) It was and is truly a grace gift; free and available to all who by faith will simply receive it: “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8,9)

2. The Gift: God’s unspeakable gift, which is eternal life, consists of a permanent place, a permanent provision, and a permanent peace. (John 14:3;14,27)
3. The Grantee: Any person who believes and receives the gift of God which is eternal life. (John 1:12; Romans 6:23; 10:9-13) All persons who will believe and receive the gift of God which is eternal life.

It’s as simple as this: 2 + 2 = 4; that’s mathematics. H2O = water: that’s chemistry. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved: that’s revelation. Someone asked, “How do you know?” Well, go add 2 + 2 and see what you get. Go believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and see what happens.

So great salvation! Such an unspeakable gift!

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (I Tim. 1:15)

Any pastor who has shepherded a flock of His lambs will experience some incidents that border on the bizarre over the course of time. I was a senior pastor for 48 years, 40 of them in the same church, and I can testify that I had my share of events that belong in the “Truth is Sometimes Stranger Than Fiction” file. For what it’s worth, may I share with you a few?

• As a ministerial student, while on a Christmas break, I was asked to preach in a small country church that I had never set foot in. I did so with all the passion that a 20 year-old preacher-boy could muster from the text of Matthew 5:23,24: “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come offer thy gift.” Later that day, I found out that my grandmother and one of her sisters, who had not spoken to each other for years, were both in the service. I never heard that they ever reconciled; and, in all truth, I didn’t know until after the sermon that they were estranged. But, they did hear a word from Jesus that day as I bore down on what He said about worship. “Out of the mouths of babes”—or 20 year-old preacher-boys!

• As a fairly new pastor in Indianapolis, I was asked to conduct a graveside service in a small cemetery near Indy for an infant who had died in childbirth. One of our deacons accompanied me, as I had never been to this cemetery before. We were busily chatting as we traveled, and instead of taking I-74, toward London, Indiana, we took I-70, toward Richmond. Somewhere close to the Indiana-Ohio line, I mentioned to my deacon that we must have missed our exit, and it was about that moment that he realized we were on the wrong highway! We made a quick adjustment (all before GPS) and headed toward I-74, arriving at the cemetery 45 minutes late. All the family had departed, and the only person in sight was a young woman, a cemetery employee, shoveling dirt into the small grave. As I approached her, I noticed a small firearm lying on the ground (I assumed for her personal protection) at the head of the infant’s grave. I quickly introduced myself and Brother Henry and asked her how long the family had been gone. We had a brief conversation, and it seemed as though the Lord led me to say, “I am a pastor, concerned for souls. If that were your grave, do you know that your soul would be with the Lord?” In a few minutes, I explained the gospel to this young lady, and she bowed her head and asked Jesus to be her Savior. Later, I called the family to express my deepest apology for not having been at the cemetery on time. They graciously forgave me and, in the ensuing years, called on me to conduct several more services for family members. It was, no doubt, a divinely directed delay that day when I missed the exit to the London cemetery!

• One Sunday morning at Thompson Road Baptist Church, one of our senior saints, sitting next to her husband, “died” in the morning service about halfway through the message. She just laid her head onto her husband’s shoulder and was for several minutes motionless. There was a nurse close by and a fireman and a medical doctor in the house of worship that morning. The nurse checked for a pulse and found none; the fireman knelt close by to help, if needed, and the doctor or someone in the rear of the auditorium called for an ambulance. It was decided that our dear friend had passed, so someone made a decision to hold the medics off until the service concluded, so that no more of a disturbance would be made. The service ended and the EMT personnel brought a gurney in and carefully placed the body onto the apparatus, proceeding then to the ambulance and on to the hospital. It so happened though, that on the way to the hospital, the EMTs reported movement in the deceased. By the time they arrived at the Emergency Department, our “departed” friend had revived. Upon further investigation, the woman had experienced a “sugar low” and had passed out. Soon she was her lovely self again—but decided it would be best not to try to make it back for the Sunday evening service. All were relieved that we would not be paying our last respects to another one of our senior saints!

• You may have heard the slogan, “With a name like Smuckers, it’s bound to be good.” Well, with a name like Slutz, they’re bound to be related. So, one afternoon years ago, I was traveling east on Thompson Road, about a half-mile from home, when, to my amazement, I saw approaching from the east a late-model car with a personalized license plate on the front. It read “SLUTZ.” I thought that surely could not be, so when I could see the car in my rear-view mirror, the license plate under the trunk lid read SLUTZ. Dumfounded, I told my wife when I got home that she’d never believe what I had just seen, then related to her my “Believe it or Not” story. That was Saturday afternoon. The next day, during the morning worship service, I noticed a man sitting alone in the very back row of the auditorium. When I greeted him after the service, he told me his name, and his last name was Slutz. In a brief conversation, I found out that he was a hog farmer from Ohio and had heard that there was a pastor in Indy with his same last name, so he decided to visit. He invited me to the Slutz reunion on a certain Sunday, but of course I told him I was always “tied up” on Sundays. I learned that in certain towns in Ohio, there are many people by the name of Slutz, which is of German origin. In fact, I am told that near Zoar, Ohio, there is a whole cemetery full of headstones with that particular name! And, all the while, I always thought we were the only family anywhere with the name of Slutz. There are, indeed, thousands, with variations of spelling and pronunciation. The truth is truly stranger than fiction!

(Pastor friends, share your “Believe it or Not” story and I will publish it with your permission.)

It was the earliest days of the Church that Jesus founded. Peter, on the notable Day of Pentecost, had preached a message to thousands of pilgrim peoples from all over the world, gathered there for this annual Jewish holy day. What made this day diametrically different than all those preceding it was that the long-promised Messiah had come, had offered to the nation His kingdom, had been rejected and crucified—and had, after three days and nights, been resurrected from the sealed tomb!

Peter lifted up his transformed, Holy Spirit-empowered voice to the multitudes assembled in the City of David that day and preached Christ to them. To their question—“What shall we do?”— Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for (because of) the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38) Three thousand souls who accepted that invitation were added to this infant church. A more Spirit- directed, dynamic period of church history has never been recorded. To that original number of believers the Lord added to the church “daily” such as should be saved. What an exciting time!

In this context, two of the twelve, Peter and John, went to the temple at the hour of prayer to pray. Approaching the Gate Beautiful they saw a lame man who was begging for alms. Peter looked his way and, with his apostolic eyes fixed upon the beggar, plainly said, “I’m broke and can’t give you a dime (paraphrase), but what I have I can give you: look at me.” Whereupon Peter extended a hand to the man, and, lifting him up, Luke tells us that immediately the man’s ankle bones and feet received strength. He was not only able to stand up; he walked, leaped, and praised God. (Acts 3:7,8) The lame man had been seen at the gate begging for years; people who had seen him there at his regular place, sitting, asking for help, now saw him standing, jumping up and down, shouting for joy and praising God! It was, no doubt, beyond belief! But there he was. It was an undisputed miracle! A crowd quickly gathered, and Peter—the powerful, Spirit-filled preacher—began to preach the gospel to them.

The first thing Peter said was, “Don’t look at us as though we had anything to do with this miracle.” He then introduced his message by saying that it was God’s Son, their Messiah, whom they a few days earlier had clamored crucifixion for, that was working in their midst. God had raised Him from the dead and they, though they had done what they did through ignorance, could repent and be converted so that their sins would be blotted out and they could be saved and part of His coming kingdom.

As one might guess, the same religious “big whigs”—priests, Sadducees, Caiaphas’s crowd, all of kindred spirit with the high priest—really got nervous about the crowd that was listening intensively to Peter’s preaching. Peter and John were called before the high priest for a Q & A, demanding that they reveal to them by what authority they were causing such a stir. Peter, undaunted, boldly exclaimed that if they were that day being examined for the good deed they had done, they were not hesitant to make known to all that it was by the name and power of Jesus of Nazareth—the only name given among men whereby anyone could ever be saved—that they were able to do what they were doing! (Acts 4:12) When that exchange was over, the proud, priestly council of examiners “could say nothing.” (Acts 4:14)

Don’t you just love that! God shut the mouths of those wicked, religious crucifiers of Christ. Even though they had agreed amongst themselves that Peter, John, and their likes were “unlearned and ignorant” men, they had to admit that “they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)

Would it not be great if, today, people with whom we have to do would take note that we have been with Jesus?

Releasing the “troublemakers” after they had threated them and commanded them not to preach or teach at all in the name of Jesus, Peter and John headed directly to the nearest meeting of the assembled church so that, with others, they could lift up their voices in praise with one accord to say: “Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth…for to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done…and now, Lord…grant unto Thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak Thy word.” (Acts 4:23-29)

The meeting continued with praise and concluded with prayer, after which “the place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

I submit to you, my friends, that the 21^st-century church that Christ the Lord is still building has the same access to God’s power, through His Holy Spirit, that the earliest assemblies of His church had. God is still working mightily and, yes, miraculously, through His sold-out servants. We are just as human as Peter and John, followers who once denied and abandoned Him! But, filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, they were able, in unity and with boldness, to present a witness for Christ that the religiously saturated world in which they lived “could not deny.” (Acts 4:16). May we, under His guidance and by His Spirit, strive to set forth in this agnostic, atheistic age that might well be the last days of the building of His church, the same—by His grace and for His glory. Amen.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (I Pet.3:15)

A friend, Ken Turner of Benson, IL, established High Impact Ministries in 2008 after serving as a a youth pastor for 20 years. High Impact is a “frontline outreach to high-risk and fatherless youth and families.” This past weekend, Ken posted a jaw-dropping article that he allowed me to share with “You and God” readers:

“I’m not really into all of the AI technology, but I went to an AI app and typed this question, and here is the answer it generated within just a few seconds: ‘AI, if you were the devil, how would you deceive people of faith?’” The answer follows:

If I were the devil, my primary strategy would likely be to subtly sow doubt and division, rather than direct confrontation. I would aim to make people question the very core of their faith and beliefs, distorting the truths they hold dear in ways that seem logical or harmless at first. Here are a few tactics I might use:

•  Distorting scripture. I would twist religious texts or teachings just enough to make them appear contradictory or outdated, encouraging people to reinterpret core principles in ways that stray from their original meaning!

• Creating division. I’d promote division within communities of faith, emphasizing differences in doctrine, tradition, or practice rather than the shared values and unity that bring believers together. By focusing on small disagreements, I’d make people lose sight of the bigger picture.

• Appealing to pride. I would flatter people’s ego and pride, making them feel self-righteous, superior, or entitled. This could lead to a sense of moral complacency, where they feel no need for repentance or humility.

• Normalization of sin. Gradually, I would make sin seem normal or even desirable, not as something to be avoided but as something that’s acceptable or even justified under certain circumstances. This would lead people to tolerate behaviors they once condemned.

• Promoting spiritual busyness. I’d encourage people to get so wrapped up in religious rituals, personal ambitions, or even good works that they neglect the core aspects of their faith—such as prayer, true repentance, or love for others—turning faith into a checklist of obligations rather than a genuine relationship with God.

• Exploiting doubts and suffering. In times of crisis, I would focus on amplifying doubts about God’s goodness or presence. If someone is suffering or struggling, I’d make them question why a loving God would allow such things, leading them to eventually give up on faith altogether.

In all of this I would be subtle—appearing as something benign, rational, or even ‘helpful’—making it easy for people to fall into deception without realizing how far they’ve strayed.”

Not AI:  “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (II Cor. 4:4)

Lots of names are given to him in scripture—Devil, Satan, Deceiver, Murderer, Liar and the father of lies, “god” of this world, and many more; but concerning each of us personally, probably the most significant appellation is “your adversary, the devil.” (I Pet. 5:8) 

He is a person older than time itself, and he will be confined, after time shall be no more, in an awful fiery abyss forevermore. It is well that we reckon with this ancient foe, assessing who he is, what he is about, and what role he plays in the “big picture” as it relates to the world in which we live.

Satan, “the old serpent,” was created as “Lucifer,” an angel of light; in fact, the archangel. A graphic description of him in Ezekiel’s prophecy portrays him as originally created as “the anointed cherub…set upon the holy mountain of God…perfect in his ways until the day that iniquity was found in him.” He was, tragically, lifted up in his heart because of his beauty, coming under the judgment of his Almighty Creator God. (Ezekiel 28:14-19) Isaiah further describes his pride and plight as one fallen from heaven—“O Lucifer, son of the morning”— whose demise was willfully thinking that he could exalt himself above the stars of God, to then dethrone God Himself and ascend above the heights of the clouds, so that he said “I will be like the most high.” God said, in response: “Thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Isa. 14:12-14)

This Luciferian coup against the creator God of the heavens resulted in Lucifer’s being cast out of heaven to earth, the tail of the red dragon drawing a third of the created angelic beings with him in his rebellion. (Rev. 12:3,4)

From that time on, Satan has had “access” to heaven as an accuser of God’s people, but he will never be able to call heaven his home as he once was able to; and, at some future date, he will lose this access to heaven and be confined in his war against the dominion of God to the sphere of this world. He has supernatural powers still, so that he is called the “god of this world” (II Cor. 12:4) and the “prince of principalities and powers,” as he presides over the “rulers of the darkness of this world” and commands “spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12)

Satan is powerful and no human being, in his or her own strength, is any match. But he is not all-powerful, and the believer clad in the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:10ff.) can deflect the fiery darts of the Devil, discerning also his wicked wiles. Peter admonishes us to resist the Devil, assuring us that when we do, by faith, the Devil—though appearing as a roaring lion that is on the hunt to devour—will flee from us. (I Pet.5:8)

Neither is Satan, that old serpent the Devil, omniscient. He is incredibly knowledgeable while lacking any true wisdom. He rules over an organized kingdom of darkness—and will until this present age is over—with myriad “little devils,” or demons , poised to do his bidding in executing his dark dominion; but his knowledge is limited and can in no way approach the infinite knowledge of his creator God.

The evil one is powerful, and knowledgeable, without being omnipotent or omniscient; and though his sphere of operation is the heavens as well as the earth, he is not omnipresent. He can be at only one place at a time; thus, he makes his influence and reach worldwide through the work of his devilish diminutives. While some of the fallen angelic beings are presently chained in caverns of darkness waiting their everlasting judgment (Jude 6), an incalculable number of that original one-third of the angelic creation that joined Satan in his rebellion against God are still navigating in this present darkness, fulfilling the “great omission” of their leader, Apollyon.

From the first days of human history, Satan has made it his first and foremost goal to tempt members of the human race to rebel against the authority of God. He succeeded in lying to the first couple in Eden’s exhilarating Garden, questioning the integrity of God, with such convincing success that Eve, and later her joined-at-the-rib husband, Adam, both willingly disobeyed God. By biting into the serpent’s subtle deception, they introduced sin into the human race for all of time, with its dreaded consequence(s) and the ultimate penalty of death.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

The Devil, no doubt drunk with power and success, thought he could use the same bag of tricks in tempting the fasting Jesus of Nazareth to yield to the lust of the flesh (stones to bread); the lust of the eyes (all the kingdoms of the world); and the pride of life (cast thyself down). Of course, Jesus would not sin, and Jesus could not sin; but the temptation was no less real when Satan threw his poisoned darts at God’s Son in the wilderness where He, Jesus, was “tempted in all points like as we are”—yet remaining through it all, sinless. God sent a special envoy of angels to minister to His Son when the temptation was concluded, so fierce it was. (Matt. 4:11)

Satan will continue his illegitimate lordship over this age, as the “god of this world,” until the rapture of the Church, at which time he will join forces with the Beast (antichrist) in the seven-year tribulation period on earth—until Jesus Christ comes in power and great glory. (Matt. 25:31ff.; Rev.19) At the second coming of Christ, the Beast—with his cohort the False Prophet, both of whom, with the Devil, will deceive multitudes during the Day of the Lord (Tribulation period)—will be cast into the Lake of Fire, their ultimate and eternal abode. (Rev. 19:20 ) Satan will then be bound and cast into a bottomless pit for a thousand years (the Millennium; Rev. 20:2,3), at the end of which he will be loosed, only to deceive and organize one more war against the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Jesus. This wild and desperate attempt of course will fail, and Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which was created originally for him and his fallen angelic followers.

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and all things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.” (Rev.10:5,6)  

If you were living during the Vietnam War, it is quite possible that you remember a picture of Kim Phuc, a nine year-old Vietnamese girl who, in the horror of war, was almost killed when napalm started falling on her village from a plane flown reportedly by a South Vietnamese pilot. The picture that was flashed around the world showed the child, running naked with outstretched arms, hoping to escape the horror of the napalm that was burning her skin. The pilot thought the village had been abandoned by all civilians.

Kim Phuc survived the attack after multiple surgeries. But though she recovered physically, her heart was full of anger. The physical pain required treatment decades after she survived the body burns, but she later testified that the psychological, emotional and spiritual pain, living as the “Napalm girl,” was even greater. She said, though, that “My faith in Jesus Christ is what has enabled me to forgive those who had wronged us, no matter how severe those wrongs were.”

Walter Everett, a Methodist pastor in Connecticut, experienced the ultimate test of forgiveness. His son had been slain by another man, who was convicted of man slaughter. The pastor let it be known that he had forgiven his son’s killer, explaining  that “people won’t be able to understand why Jesus came and what Jesus is all about unless we forgive.” End of story? No. The convict accepted Christ while in prison. When he was released and wanted to be married, Pastor Everett performed the ceremony. (copied, Our Daily Bread)

An unknown author celebrated the power of forgiveness when he penned the following lines:

Not far from New York is a cemetery lone,
	Close guarding its grave stands a simple headstone;
And all the inscription is one word alone—“FORGIVEN.”

No sculptor’s fine art hath embellished its form,
	But constantly there, through the calm and the storm,
It beareth this word from a poor fallen worm:  “FORGIVEN.”

The death is unmentioned, the name is untold;
	Beneath lies the body, corrupted and cold;
Above rests his spirit, at home in the fold—“FORGIVEN.”

And when, from the heavens, the Lord shall descend,
	This stranger shall rise and to Glory ascend,
Well-known and befriended, to sing without end: “FORGIVEN.”

Essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson said of Abraham Lincoln: “His heart was as great as the world, but there was no room in it for the memory of a wrong.”

English preacher Charles Spurgeon gives this advice: “Cultivate forbearance till your heart yields a fine crop of it. Pray for a short memory as to unkindness.” (Rev. David Currens)

A story is told of William Gladstone, who, when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer in England, once relied on the calculations of a trusted clerk in a budget speech before the House of Commons. Unfortunately, the clerk had made some critical miscalculations, which made Gladstone the object of ridicule. Gladstone sent for the clerk, who anticipated being fired. But instead, the statesman said to the embarrassed clerk, “I sent for you because I could imagine the torture of your feelings. You have been for many years dealing with bewildering intricacies of the national accounts, and you have done your job with exactness…. It was because of your splendid record that I did not trouble to verify your calculations. I have sent for you to compliment you on that record and to set you at ease.”

Part of forgiving is determining not to seek revenge. Here is a test that was once posed: “Imagine that you are given a choice to: (a) torment for all eternity those who have harmed you the most: the one who sexually abused you, your unfaithful spouse, the date rapist, the drunk driver who killed your child, your abusive parent, or (b) see them brought to brokenness and to their knees before the God who has been so kind to you. Which would you choose?”

Jesus told about two servants who illustrated the need for forgiveness. One had been forgiven by his master a huge sum, but he would not in turn forgive one of his debtors a relatively small sum. Rather, he had him thrown into prison until the debt was paid. Jesus said that the master of the wicked servant who had been forgiven so much–yet was unforgiving of a small amount–upon hearing of this injustice, was wroth and had the wicked servant delivered to the tormentors until all that he owed was paid. (Matt.18:23-35)

“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” (Matt.18:35)

“And forgive us out debts as we forgive our debtors.” (Matt.6:12)