YOU and GOD

In his very emotional farewell meeting with the elders of the church of Ephesus, as recorded in Acts 20, Paul said toward the conclusion of his remarks—to which the elders were without doubt giving their undivided attention—“I have shewed you, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

One cannot find that direct quote by Jesus in any other New Testament passage; it must have been such a common quotation that it was generally known by anyone who had listened to Jesus’ teachings or Paul’s preaching. It is more blessed to give than to receive. But why?

The answer may be obvious to many who read this. But, just by way of review, I go to the classic passage of Paul’s epistles on the basics of New Testament giving, II Corinthians 8 and 9. There, he instructs the church at Corinth—and, by extension, the body of Christ of all ages, universally—on why it is more blessed to give than to receive. The reasons include:

1. Grace. Giving is all about grace bestowed upon churches by God (8:1,6,7,9,19; 9:8,14). In these verses Paul speaks, when teaching about giving, of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the grace of God, the “same” grace—abounding and exceeding grace. One cannot read these two chapters penned by Paul without concluding that the giving that ought to characterize followers of Christ is, first and foremost, about the grace of God. We are recipients of His bountiful grace; thus, we should want to respond in kind and be quick to give as a matter of grace, too. “Oh, to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be.”
2. Love. Then, too, we—into whose hearts the love of God has been shed abroad—ought never forget that giving is a practical way to show the sincerity of our love. (v. 8) You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving; and God gave His only begotten Son. If we indeed love God with all of our heart, it will be demonstrated by our love of Him, who “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” (8:8,9) “Oh what love, that He should die for me!”
3. Compassion. In the passage that we are considering, Paul speaks of the Macedonian churches upon which the grace of God had been bestowed. He remarks that these churches had given a special offering out of their “deep poverty.” He says, “For to their power and beyond their power,” they were willing to give. (v.3) In other words, the churches of Macedonia, though they were living by meager means, had seen the church of Jerusalem, for whom the offering was being collected, in dire need. And they were moved with compassion for their brethren—so much so that they gave an offering that, for all practical purposes, they could not afford to give. (vss.1,2)
4. Sacrifice. The crux of giving that pleases God is sacrificial. “To their power and beyond their power” is how they gave. Sacrificial giving is the heartbeat of the New Testament. God gave His Son sacrificially for our salvation. Recipients of such grace will respond by wanting to give back to God sacrificially what we are enabled to give, beginning with our “bodies, a living sacrifice.” (Rom. 12:1)
5. Faith. Paul said that the church at Corinth abounded in faith. (v.8) Giving by faith is giving that God blesses. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. As a pastor, God taught me early in my ministry that “faith-promise giving” to God, to advance His cause for world missions, is an exercise of faith. One’s faith is stretched, as no doubt the Macedonian believers were, to give what he or she cannot see a way to give, i.e., “over and above.” Experience has never failed to prove that this is a blessed way of giving; as Lonial Wire—one of God’s stewards who now makes his home in Heaven—always said, “I shovel it out (my offering) by faith, and God shovels it back to me; and His shovel is bigger than mine!”
6. Fellowship. “…the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” (v.4) What New Testament churches do is done in concert with other members of the body of Christ. For two years now, believers worldwide have been ministering, as a matter of grace and compassion—and, to be sure, fellowship—to the churches of Ukraine. Through a chain of love, through offerings, through van-loads of food, water, clothing, and other staples—all in recognition of the ONENESS in which His followers are connected, world without end. When one of us suffers, the entire body suffers. When any of us rejoices, the whole body rejoices. It is a fellowship known and experienced only by those who are one with God in Christ. (Please join the efforts: pastorarrowood@slavicbaptistmission.org or Missions@BaptistInternational.org)
7. Obedience. Finally, we give by grace, out of compassion and for fellowship, because it is our desire to be obedient to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. God has given us the example and the exhortation to give; thus, we give cheerfully, sacrificially, liberally, and obediently to Him, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. (9:7)

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” (II Cor.8:9)

For several years now, a group of 10 or 12 men have met on Tuesday mornings to discuss a book that we are working through as a group. The current one is “The Life God Blesses,” by Gordon MacDonald. Richard has been a faithful member of this group, never missing a meeting. The book we read just before this one was “The Measure of a Man,” by Gene Getz. It was a study of the Biblical pattern of a godly man, focusing on passages such as Titus, chapter 2, where Paul says that the aged men in the church ought to be “sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.” (Titus 2:2)

As most of you know, Richard was by nature a quiet person. So, in our group discussions on Tuesday mornings, he would seldom chime in with an opinion or an observation. He was alert and plugged in to our discussion; but it was obvious that there were times when he just did not feel well. But, though I would never have done such a thing, I would dare to say that if I had asked the men to write on a piece of paper the name of the man in our group who most exemplified those character qualities listed by Paul in Titus 2 (sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, charity, patience) Richard Hall’s name would have appeared on not a few of the responses. He lived out the Titus 2 man. He showed us in this 21^st century what the man Paul had in mind looks like today.

Sober: of a sound mind. Richard submitted himself to the systematic teaching of God’s Word, week in and week out. He seldom missed an opportunity to attend a service at Thompson Road Baptist Church after the day he confessed Christ publicly in baptism—joining the church one week after Easter, April 6, 1975, at the age of 35, having accepted Christ on March 5, 1975. For most of the past 49 years, I have had the opportunity of serving the Halls, Barb and Richard, as their pastor. As a couple, they have walked the walk, living exemplary lives as true-blue believers in this upside-down world. They have been faithful, consistent, surely sober-minded—not running after any wild tangents, but living, as best they understood the New Testament injunctions to believers, holy lives. I never needed to admonish them about any kind of spiritual concern. A pastor would only dream of having this couple to serve alongside of for decades upon decades. Richard was the head of the home; Barb the supportive and loving wife.

Grave. Worthy of respect; honorable, dignified. One person said, “I have never known a better man than Richard.”

Temperate: Clear-headed; self-controlled; marked by spiritual sobriety; without wine; sane.

Sound in faith: I know of no doctrinal quirks that Richard embraced. Not only was he sound in faith, he manifested his faith by his consistent, Christ-exalting works. For years he showed up at church at 7:30 a.m. to get his church bus ready to roll. Over the years, he picked up untold thousands of boys and girls, plus many adults, to bring them to Sunday School. He drove through streets lined with cars on either side of the bus, with inches on either side to spare, with an extraordinary patience and skill.

Charity. His own family could best testify to the generous love that Richard served up, a love that was genuine and ginormous! He never missed a ballgame that a child or grandchild played in. One family member remembers one of Richard’s birthdays when he got his wish: to provide pizza and games at a local pizza parlor that specialized in both good pizza and good games—all for the kids, especially. His love was infectious.

Patience. As illustrated in his unswerving patience as a church bus driver—sometimes with noisy, rambunctious children, 60 or more on a bus, both picking them up and taking them home after church and/or Bible-school. He was a perfect picture of patience.

Don’t get me wrong. I know Richard was not without flaws; I just can’t think of even one, to be quite honest. And, I have never heard anyone else mention one either. But we know he had some struggles with his old nature, as do we all. He just learned how to manage them and, I am confident, how to yield to the Holy Spirit in living the Christian life.

His children and grandchildren adore him. His friends respect him. His pastors thank God for him. His wife loved him and steadfastly walked by his side, day by day, through hard times as well as good times.

Each of us is richer for having known Richard Hall, and for having been the recipients of his kindness. He has left a mark on our lives and a memory in our minds that will never be erased.

As his former pastor, his friend, and his fellow pilgrim, my heart is full of deep gratitude that when I preached my first sermon at Thompson Road Baptist Church on Sept. 9, 1979, Richard and Barb Hall were sitting on the west side of the main auditorium, about 2/3 of the way back. Just where they had been when Pastor Moritz, and before him Pastor Julian, had opened up God’s Word to preach, Sunday after Sunday. The Halls were very seldom missing from their place. When they were, it was most often to visit their family in Evansville.

I hope it does not come across as trite, for I truly mean it: “May God increase their tribe.”

“I thank God…that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.” (2 Tim.1:3)

*Richard quietly and peacefully walked with God and was not, May 20, 2024, at the age of 83.

The Apostle Paul, writing to his protégé, Timothy, spoke of Timothy’s unfeigned faith—faith that had dwelt first in his grandmother, Lois, and also in his mother Eunice—and, Paul added, “I am persuaded also in thee.” (II Tim. 1:3,4)

Betty Blythe, like these mothers of old, possessed an unfeigned faith. That faith, operative most of her adult life, was manifested in her words. She was always talking about how good her Savior was; sending greeting cards with words of encouragement; and telling you, when you happened to be together briefly before or after church, that “I want you to know I pray for you every day.” Back in 2012, when Ellen had spoken to a group of pastor’s wives, Betty would later send this encouraging word through the mail: “I will cherish this day that I had the privilege to hear you speak to the Pastor’s wives at the IFBF meeting. You did an excellent job and you are a perfect pastor’s wife for sure!” Well, there is more, but you get the idea. Many of you got your own notes of encouraging words from Betty.

There was also her walk, a walk in light and in love. And then there were her works. She was not an inactive church member! She ministered uniquely to others in her church as a key component of Christ’s building program, which He spoke of when He said: “I will build my church.” Betty did what she could to keep Christ’s building program progressing on the corner of State Avenue and Thompson Road on Indy’s southside.

She taught Sunday School and could always be counted on to work in our summer VBS outreach. I know, because I had the honor of working alongside Betty for 40 years as her pastor. She served cheerfully, conscientiously, purposefully, prayerfully, and, without doubt, devotedly in His service. Betty did not try to do things she was not equipped to do; but her many years in the retail sales world made her, without question, the go-to person to manage and operate our TRBC bookstore. Betty would go to any lengths to get her patrons the Bible or book they were searching for; and the price would be the best one could get anywhere. She would combine someone else’s order with yours until the total was $100, so that she could get free shipping. The people at Christian Book Discount knew her name and voice. She was also meticulous about keeping records and reporting sales and income, and she kept in close touch with the TRBC bookkeepers.

She had limited shelf space in her small bookstore quarters, but she made the most of every square inch, stocking a good selection of seasonal greeting cards, Bibles, and Christian books. And I would be remiss were I not to mention that she kept an abundant stash of candies, which she always shared generously with KIDS—of all ages!

In this bi-weekly blog—“You and God”—I often feature stories of missionaries, pastors, and Christian workers whose lives have significantly impacted others for the cause of Christ. I never wrote an article about Betty—she would have scolded me and would have been totally embarrassed for receiving any recognition that might have diminished His praise and glory.

But, though I never wrote a blog about Betty, Betty wrote one about Betty—with an ink that is indelibly stamped on the hearts of those who knew and loved her. She was a living epistle of faith and works, satisfied only when her Jesus got all the glory.

Thank you, Betty, “Bookstore Betty,” or “Betty B” as I would sometimes simply say. Thank you for your quiet, steady, little by little, works for His Church—which, over the years, added up to an incalculable sum of deeds well done and words wisely spoken—all in honor of our great God, to whom be “glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages—world without end, AMEN!”

*Betty passed into the presence of Jesus a little over a week ago, and her memorial service was this past Friday (May 17). I decided to share this posthumous blog about Betty—the eulogy that I delivered at her send-off service—in hopes that her life story will challenge others to live wholeheartedly for Christ. 

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, ‘Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.’” (Rev. 14:13)

In a Faith Promise Missions conference at our church in 2003, missionary Ron White challenged us with these words, “If every time when your loved ones remember you, they think of Him, your influence lives on.”

Puritan pastor Richard Baxter wrote a book titled A Call to the Unconverted, and many folk were drawn to Christ who read it, including Philip Doddridge (1702-1751), who became well known as a preacher, hymnist and president of a seminary.

Doddridge wrote a widely-read book, The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. That book touched the life of William Wilberforce who, upon reading it, came to Christ as Savior. Wilberforce was instrumental in advocating freedom for slaves in Great Britain. In time, he wrote A Practical View of Christianity, read by Leigh Richmond, who later became the author of many gospel tracts, touching multitudes of lives, many of whom found Christ as Savior.

Sir Walter Scott realized how important one’s life story and influence was. He wrote: “I am drawing near to the close of my career. I am fast shuffling off the stage. I have been perhaps the most voluminous author of the day. It is a comfort to me to think I have tried to unsettle no man’s faith, to corrupt no man’s principle, and that I have written nothing which on my deathbed I should wish blotted out.”

One child so lived that even after her untimely death she continued to influence others for good. On the tombstone at her grave were chiseled these words, “A child of whom her playmates said, ‘It was easier to be good when she was with us.’”

I wish I could tell you whose words the following are, but I cannot; the author is unknown to me, but his/her words should never be forgotten:

“We die, but we leave an influence behind that survives. The echoes of our words are evermore preserved for the ages. It is what a man was that lives and acts after him. The sphere in which he acts may be small or great; may be a fireside or a kingdom. The grave buries the dust, but the character walks the world…the sun sets on the western hills, but the trail of light it leaves behind guides the pilgrim to his distant home. The tree falls in the forest, but in the lapse of ages it is turned into coal and our fires burn the brighter because it grew and fell. What we do is translated on a stage of which all the universe is spectator; what we say is translated in echoes that will never cease!”

We all leave our print and imprint upon lives we touch day by day. A little boy sat down beside his weary father who, on a front porch, sat viewing what a day before had been a brilliant golden field of grain—before, through the dark of night, a violent storm had swept through the farmer’s field, leaving nothing but a path of destruction. The lad expected to see tears falling from the father’s eyes, trickling down his weather-beaten cheeks; but instead was startled to hear his dad break forth with, “Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.” Years later, when the boy had grown to manhood, he testified, “That was the greatest sermon I ever heard.” His dad had lost his grain crop, but it just might have been the turning point in changing the course of that son’s life forever. We all influence others every day, for good or for bad.

I read of a pastor who, at the close of a church service, led an eleven-year-old boy to Christ at the altar before the service was dismissed. Rising from the front bench, the pastor introduced the lad as a new member of the family of God. But before dismissing the assembly, the pastor asked if there were anyone who had, at one time or another, a part in this youngster’s life, including his parents, teachers, superintendents, etc. All were invited to come to the front of the auditorium to stand with this young believer. So, one by one they came: a nursery worker, who recalled singing, “I like to go to church” when the boy was just a toddler; a beginner’s Sunday School superintendent, who remembered the smiling face of a five-year old as the child saw seeds sprouting in their Nature Center.  A superintendent of the Junior Department rejoiced that he had made those extra visits just last year when the child was confined with the measles. It took several minutes, as people moved to the front of the building—thirty-seven adults in all who gathered around this boy, each of whom in some way had a share in the child’s decision that day to accept Christ.

So, again, one day, or even today, when people remember you, do they think of Him?

“Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men.” (II Cor. 3:2)

Those words were whispered by a young woman in response to a Bible college chapel challenge presented by a Muslim-background believer in a missions service, as he shared God’s message to Isaiah: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for me?” (Isa. 6:1-8) As a young single woman, Valerie Anderson did not feel equipped to take the gospel to the “10/40 window” Muslim world; but, if no one else would say “yes,” she “reluctantly” agreed to go—if God chose to use her.

Born to missionary-pioneer parents, Vernon and Darlene Anderson, Valerie was reared in her early years in the Philippines and Indonesia. She sensed God’s call on her life as a junior in high school; and, observing that many women were involved in teaching ministries, she majored in elementary education in college. Valerie’s parents had suffered the loss of an 11-year-old daughter to spinal meningitis while planting churches in the Philippines. Undeterred by this personal setback, they founded the “Things to Come” mission agency. Church planters who have gone out under this banner have established lasting works in several countries besides the Philippines, including Indonesia and Kenya.

So, with her upbringing and education, Valerie was specially equipped to do the work of a missionary, even as a single woman. Her first assignment was in the Dominican Republic, where she spent three years teaching primarily unchurched children in an international school that had a predominantly Catholic student body. From there, the Lord directed Valerie to Nairobi, Kenya, to teach grades 1-3 in an academy that consisted of a mixture of missionary children and international children of other religions. While there, Valerie devoted her vacation times to assisting in the work of the “Things to Come” ministry.

After a year in the states pursuing a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri, Valerie followed the Lord’s leading to Senegal, West Africa—where, at last, she was able to minister in a Muslim world. She spent the next eight years at Dakar Academy, a school for both missionary and international students. Spending three years teaching grades 1-5, she rounded out her work there in administration as the Assistant Director of the Academy. From Senegal, this once cautious and “reluctant” volunteer accepted the call to Turkey, a country that at that time was 99% Muslim, with just 3,000 known, professing Christians in a population of 75 million. She served in Turkey as principal of a school from 2008 to 2012. On more than one occasion, she left what had become a comfort zone to follow her Lord’s leading deeply into the Muslim world. Every step of this “unchartered” journey was a step of faith, teaching Valerie to lean more each day on her guiding God, solely by faith. In her 30 years of overseas ministry, this once rather timid young lady returned to the states just once for a furlough.

Finally, Valerie spent three years in Tunisia, North Africa, teaching and coordinating a homeschool co-op for missionary children, before she returned home to Indianapolis to answer the need of a caregiver for her aged mother, whose health was failing. Having been in foreign countries for years, she did not have a car, so one of her first endeavors back in the U.S. was to find a reliable automobile. What to do?

Well, Valerie’s mother introduced her to Pete Wynalda, a retired Indianapolis policeman, who agreed to help Valerie find a dependable car. The whole process took some time, and, as the Lord would have it, in the course of finding a car, the casual friendship of Valerie and Pete became a friendship that was more than casual. In 2016, Valerie’s life-long journey—to that point, as a single person—blossomed in a beautiful marriage ceremony at the altar in the auditorium of Thompson Road Baptist Church.

Valerie’s mother was ushered into her Savior’s presence in 2024, and Valerie now works in the home office of the “Things to Come” mission here in Indianapolis. Her love of Christ is infectious, and her dedication to the ministry of church-planting missions is ongoing. She and Pete are an inspiring duo, and the vision that Vernon and Darlene Anderson had of planting “Grace” churches wherever and whenever possible continues through the ministry of many, including Valerie and Pete as well as a brother of Valerie—who once said that the work of “Things to Come” could not be thwarted even if he wanted it stopped. Missionaries starting churches and discipling believers, who in turn start churches, out of which come more disciples, who then start more churches. No one can reverse the ripple effect of churches starting churches world-wide, even if one should want to!

Valerie Anderson Wynalda can look back on a life well-spent, with no regrets that—as a junior in Bible College—she reluctantly but sincerely said “Yes” to the still, small voice during the invitation when the Spirit asked, “Will you go?”

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I: send me.” (Isa.1:8)

The Psalmist puts the burden of educating our children squarely at the doorstep of parents—not the church, nor the government, nor the greater community. Things which “we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done.” (Ps. 78:3,4)

The responsibility lies at home, with parents and grandparents. That does not mean that we cannot benefit from Christian education through the church or through educational institutions, but those helps do not absolve us from parental responsibility first and foremost, for “He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.” (Ps. 78:5-7)

That is how the “faith once delivered to the saints” is perpetuated from generation to generation. Parents accomplish this assignment by careful and prayerful instruction through our words and works in our homes before our youth, so that they will have the opportunity of knowing and trusting the God whose person and promises we have embraced by faith.

When I was a child, Christian schools and colleges were not common, especially for students in grades 1-12. Homeschooling was virtually non-existent; so I was the product of a public education. Schools then were diametrically different than schools today. I can remember many teachers who were committed to teaching the fundamentals of math, English, history, geography and music—the fundamentals without the liberal froth that is so common in today’s public school system. About the worst indoctrination we were exposed to then was that the United Nations was a positive entity that would foster dialogue between world powers, with the intent that World War III might be avoided. My mother was unrelenting, though—until the day she died—that we should “get the U.S. out of the U.N.” She saw early on what it was all about; and though as a high-school student I debated the opposing position with her, I learned, and am still being almost daily reminded of, how right she was!

We were blessed, Ellen and I, to be able to enroll our children in Christian schools for most of their years prior to going to college. And, again, two of the three of them graduated from a Christian college, while Marti attended Bob Jones University for two years and then finished at Butler here in Indianapolis, where she received her degree. We were thankful to have schools that were Christian in their educational philosophy to send our children to, and to recommend to members in our church; realizing, though, that no Christian school could ever be a panacea for all problems that arise in the process of educating one’s child, and that ultimately the responsibility for educating our children belonged to no one else but us.

Speaking of the philosophy of education, Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying that “the philosophy of the classroom in one generation will become the philosophy of the government in the next.” And, we have we seen that truth played out in real time today!

Those of us who desire a quality educational experience for our children (and grandchildren) have become alarmed the past couple of decades over the closure of many of the Christian colleges that once were alive and apparently thriving, but now no longer exist. A few smaller colleges are still open, and some are doing well in holding to their mission statements. But the number of larger Christian colleges, especially those where a well-rounded, traditional liberal-arts education can be gotten, is shrinking dramatically.

That is why I have followed with interest the transition that my alma mater, BJU, has been churning through the past couple of years. In the academic year before the one just concluded, the president resigned following some irreconcilable differences with the BJU board; and, through this present year, a triad of leaders guided this nearly 100-year-old Christian liberal arts university. Just a few days ago, the presidential search committee introduced to the students, staff, alumni and interested individuals the new president, Joshua Crockett, a BJU alumnus who currently pastors Morningside Baptist Church in Greenville, SC.

As an alumnus, my interest was deep-seated because of my love for BJU, my awareness of the critical need for a university today with BJU’s historic distinctives, and because I have a grand-daughter who is a student there, as well as friends who have children enrolled there. And there are innumerable other reasons!

That’s why I was more than pleased to learn that Pastor Crockett was chosen to lead BJU to its 100^th year and beyond. I had the privilege of getting to know the Crockett family well when the patriarch of the family, the late Leigh Crockett, pastored a sister church here in Indiana, Grace Baptist Church of Anderson. Joshua followed his father as pastor there. Like his father, he was involved in, and with, the Indiana Fundamental Baptist Fellowship of Churches, a strong group of pastors and churches that has been known far and near as a group that holds faithfully to the tenets of historic fundamentalism. 

Joshua Crockett is, in my opinion, the right choice to lead BJU on to greater heights while maintaining a conservative approach to Christian education in its finest tradition. Congratulations to the BJU board in this fine selection; congratulations to Joshua Crockett in being chosen to fill this key position for such a time as this in training the generations that are to come!

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children….” (Deut. 6:7)

Built for us in God’s own heart,
She would love us from the start;
Watching o’er us like none other,
We would cherish our dear mother.

In her arms she drew us near,
There would chase away each fear.
Through her loving, soothing voice,
We knew we were hers by choice.

From her eyes there shone rare grace,
Love was written on her face.
With her hands she met each need,
All our calls and cares did heed.

She was our first loving teacher,
Doctor, nurse and even preacher;
Words of kindness she would say,
Coaching us along the way.

Her wise lessons were our rule,
Ere we set our foot in school.
She would teach us by her life,
How to cope with stress and strife.

One could see her angel eyes,
When we called with coos or cries;
She was ever quick to come,
Caring ‘til the day was done.

Lullabies and sweetest song,
We could listen all day long.
Darkest room with heaven’s light,
Mother’s presence would make bright.

With a word or touch we’d know,
All was peaceful here below.
In her warm and caring arms,
We were safe from fears and harm.

So on this her special day,
We would simply pause to say,
“Mother, Mother, Mother dear,
You have brought to us such cheer!

We thank and praise you for your love,
You’re a gift from heaven above!
From our earliest infant cry,
To the day that we shall die.

We’ll thank God for you forever;
Nothing from your heart will sever;
‘til we draw our life’s last breath,
We will cherish you ‘til death.”

We will honor our dear mother,
For she loved us like none other.
Built for us in God’s own heart,
She has loved us from the start!

Anthony Slutz

(Ellen joins me today in thanking God for the blessed memory of our mothers; and in wishing all mothers an abundant measure of His grace, mercy, and peace on this your special day!)

One of the great pleasures of pastoring for 50 years was the joy of entertaining evangelists in our church and home as they held meetings with us, or when they were crisscrossing the U.S. from one meeting to another and needed a place to stay for a night or two.  I could mention many—such as Jerry Sivnksty, Gary Gillmore, Joe Mark, Monroe Parker, and others—but one of our favorites was Evangelist Phil Shuler and his beautiful wife, Marie. 

I had seen Phil from a distance and made the mistake of judging him and Marie, an off-the-charts talented pianist, as more “glitz” than glory. That was a terrible miscall!  Shuler was a Marine who had landed at Bob Jones University with some other GIs who were going to school on the GI Bill after an amphibian tour of the Far East in World War II, and they just about rattled BJU off its solid foundations with their shenanigans. I learned that Phil kept 12 weeks a year open so that he could hold revival meetings in churches of 50 or less, i.e., churches that were afraid to call an evangelist for help for fear they could not afford to pay their expenses and give them a love offering. Well, he made it a point to go to such churches at his own expense, and when I heard that, I figured he had to be a man of rare character. I was right. More about Phil and Marie in a later post. But in honor of Mother’s Day, coming next Sunday, I want to share with you an article Phil wrote about his mother. He posted it in one of his newsletters about 40 years ago. It read:

“On August the 4^th, my mother, Nelle Reeves Shuler, went home to be with Christ.  She was 96 and passed away in her sleep. If I live to be a hundred I will never, in this world, meet another woman like her!  Mother was reared in a well-to-do home in Jonesboro, Tennessee, went to ‘finishing school,’ and married my dad when she was 20.  Out of the state of Tennessee dad got the ‘pick of the litter!’  Those who remember her as a young lady remark about that ‘beautiful Nelle Reeves!’  Mom took her place beside her raw-bones, fiery preacher-husband, and never once let him down!  She was his mainstay!  Dad got the credit for great exploits for Christ, but it was Mom who stood firmly by him, and steadied him along the path.  She supplied him with most of his sermon texts and proof-read all his articles in THE METHODIST CHALLENGE.  You never saw mother in the foreground, but quietly she would be off in the shadow, supporting her husband and his work. (Phil’s father, “Fightin’ Bob Shuler, pastored a large independent Methodist church in Los Angeles and always kept the Devil on his case)  Her kind come along just now and then.

Mother raised seven children.  She lost Dick at the age of 9 months.  All seven of her children are bound for the Promised Land because of a mother who refused to see it otherwise, and stayed on her knees nightly to so convince her God!  I can remember walking by her room on more than one occasion to hear her mention my name to God in prayer!  She lived to see three of her boys enter the ministry, and one of those enter heaven!  I can’t remember the number of her grandchildren; it keeps changing all the time. And great-grandchildren….forget it!  But what a joy it was for mother to entertain them on visits!  She was quite a lady!

God occasionally sends along a preacher like my dad, but never without a wife like my mother!  As I reflect upon their influence on me, I determine in my heart to do my dead-level best to carry on the tradition.  I certainly have the wife for it!  And the opportunity is there! God give me strength!  Yours for souls, Phil Shuler.” 

Ellen and I will never forget the time that Phil and Marie were our houseguests and, while we were relaxing in our living room, Phil broke out into one of the lullabies that he used to hear his mother sing when he sat at her knee as a toddler.  He sang as only Phil could, in his “sweet” tenor voice, and he must have sung those lullabies for half an hour, one after another; most of them were new to us, but all of them had been tucked away in Phil’s heart. And now, as an older man himself, those sweet verses sung from his mother’s heart, through her holy lips, came back to Phil like a flood, and we just sat there listening “in another world!”  We have kicked ourselves a hundred times for not turning on something to record those musical masterpieces, but alas! We had no cell phones, and the recording equipment was not handy at that moment.  It was one of those unforgettable moments that one would love to have frozen in time.

I hope you enjoy this memory of Phil and Marie, and of Phil’s extraordinary mother—one of many I could share if time permitted, such as the time Phil reenacted the funeral service at his Dad’s church in LA when his 9-month-old brother, Dick, had died and Nelle, in the middle of her husband’s message in an auditorium packed with people, broke out singing, “Safe in the Arms of Jesus.”

I hope you all, especially Mothers, have a blessed day this second Sunday of May, Mother’s Day.

“Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”  (Provs.31:28 )

*This post first appeared in “You and God” on May 3, 2021

Solomon said that “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance,” and “he that hath a merry heart hath a continual feast,” and “A merry heart doeth good like medicine.” (Provs. 15:13,15 and 17:22) In this world of ever-present conflict, confusion, war, sickness, natural disasters, and political bombshells almost daily, a person with a merry heart is increasingly rare.

When a couple got married in the Mosaic dispensation, God instructed (through Moses) that the husband was, for one year, not to go to war; not to engage in business; and, positively, he was to stay at home for the first year of the marriage to “cheer up” his wife. My guess is that about six months into that year, the wife was looking at her calendar wondering how long it would yet be before her husband would be getting out of the house and going to work! Anyway, interesting, isn’t it, that his main assignment for the first year of the marriage was to “cheer up” his bride! (Deut. 24:5)

In three or four New Testament snapshots of Jesus in action, He instructed persons to “be of good cheer.” These occasions are inspiring and instructive.

The first occurs and is recorded in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 9. The occasion is that of a paralytic who was carried to Jesus on his bed by four of his friends. The house in which Jesus was teaching was so packed with people that the sick man’s friends had to remove tile from the roof above where Christ was standing; then he was lowered down into the room to where Jesus was. Matthew tells us that Jesus, “seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Matt.9:2) There was no penance, no probation, no purgatory, just “thy sins be forgiven thee!” This is before Christ would later say to the bedridden man, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house.” Is there any greater reason to be cheerful than to know your sins are forgiven? The palsied man was sick, to be sure, but his greatest need was not for physical healing but for soul salvation, which, because Jesus saw his faith, he received first and foremost! “Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes my sins are gone; now my soul is free and in my heart’s a song! Buried in the deepest sea, yes, that’s good enough for me; I can sing eternally, praise God, my sins are gone!” (Helen Griggs) No wonder Jesus said, “Be of good cheer!”

Then, in Mark’s gospel, chapter 6, our Lord employed those words again. Just the day before He had fed thousands of men, plus women and children, with only a few fish and a couple loaves of bread. After a full day of teaching, with evening approaching, the Lord astounded His disciples by refusing to send the multitude home hungry; thus, the miracle of the “feeding of the 5,000.”

Immediately after that, Jesus told his apostles to get into a boat and go to the other side of the lake where He would meet them; He himself found a quiet place to pray on the mountain side, the crowd having gone to their homes for the night. As the disciples began to row toward their intended destination, a squall on the small lake suddenly met their rowing efforts with fierce opposition. Sometime between 3 and 6 a.m., getting nowhere on the lake, the apostles saw what appeared to be, and indeed was, Jesus walking on the water! He strode effortlessly toward the boat and said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” (Mark 6:50)  And, as He got into the boat, the wind ceased. Mark gives us as a “footnote” that the disciples were “sore amazed…for they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” (Mark 6:51,52) It had only been a few hours between the miracle of the feeding of the thousands and the incident on the lake; yet, in that short time, the men who were to become the foundation upon which His church would be built had allowed their hearts to hardened, all because of a storm on the lake! And, do we not do the same? From a miracle on a mountain, to a storm on the sea of life, we can so soon forget the promise of His presence: “Lo, I am with you alway.”

The third time Jesus said “be of good cheer” is recorded in John 16:33. It concludes His upper room teaching when, in a most intimate setting with the eleven, Jesus instructs and prepares His apostles for His going to the Father. He then prays the prayer that we read in John 17, during which He acknowledges that Christ’s followers would face tribulation in a world that would hate them. In this context, Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  Paul would later affirm that this was a “peace that passeth all understanding.” (Phil. 4:7) 

Three times in the gospels, then, Jesus said, “Be of good cheer.” Once, because of the pardon He gave to a sinner whose sins had just been forgiven; then to the disciples who were calmed by His presence in a storm in a rowboat on a lake; and the third time to His disciples as He prepared them for coming tribulation with the assurance of peace that would be theirs so that they could be of good cheer because He had overcome the world!

His pardon, His presence, His peace: all reasons to “Be of good cheer!”

There is, by the way, one other time Jesus bid an apostle to “be of good cheer.” Paul, the apostle born out of due time, had just about been torn to pieces before an angry mob when he had been detained while on his way to Jerusalem. Alone at night, he was probably wondering to himself if he should not have heeded the warning of his friends who had tried their best to dissuade him from going to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:10-13)  But on that dark and lonely night, Jesus “stood by Him, and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.’” (Acts 23:11) His promise was all that the apostle needed to assure him that he would not be alone—ever.

His pardon, His presence, His peace and His promise—all cause for “good cheer,” then and even now. So, my friend, no matter how hard the winds of adversity blow; no matter how stiff the opposition becomes, or how dark and lonely the night in your corner of God’s world: “Be of good cheer.” He is with you, He has overcome the world, and “this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” (I John 5:4)

“In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: (the Septuagint rendering: “Be of good cheer”) and to Zion, Let not thy hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty: He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.” (Zeph.3:17)