ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM NOAH'S ARK

In 1990, Robert Fulghum authored a best selling book titled All I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Doing a take-off of that title, someone (I know not who) wrote "All I Needed to Know I Learned From Noah's Ark."  I reproduce it below with a few comments of my own and commend it to our readers for their serious reflection.

1. Don't miss the boat.

2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.

3. Plan ahead.  It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

4. Stay fit.  Even when you are quite old, God may have something big for you to do.  (Noah was about 600 years old when he built the ark.)

5. Don't listen to critics.  Just get on with the job that needs to be done.

6. Build on high ground.

7. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

8. Speed is not always an advantage. The turtles were on board as well as the cheetahs.  (I have long remembered and profited from the story of the tortoise and the hare.)

9. When you are stressed, float for awhile.

10. Keep in mind that the ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals, but the ark floated and the Titanic sank its first time out.

11. Remember – No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

12. Once more – Don't miss the boat.

And there's only one boat that will take you safely to the port where you want to dock.  Check out John 14:6 and Ephesians 4:4-6.  Find out what the one body mentioned in this passage is by reading Ephesians 1:22-23.  In fact, reading the entire epistle to the Ephesians would prove to be a spiritually enlightening and enriching exercise.  It provides a full explanation of that spiritual "ark of safety" that God planned and purposed from all eternity, brought into existence by the blood of Christ, and in which is to be found all who have been reconciled to Him.  Don't fail to get on board.

Hugh Fulford

November 29, 2011

Grandma's Apron

As I get older I tend to become more nostalgic.  This seems to especially happen in the fall of the year. (Question: I hear and use the expressions "fall of the year" and "spring of the year," but don't recall ever having heard or used the expressions "summer of the year" and "winter of the year."  Why is that?) Recently, I had a long visit with three old college friends—Lynn Anderson, Lee Smith (great-grandson of the great evangelist T. B. Larimore), and Kent Hall—with   whom I was in school at Freed-HardemanCollege over fifty years ago.  We had a blast recalling "the former days."

The words of the apostle Paul in his second letter to Timothy (the last letter he is known to have written) have always struck a nostalgic note somewhere deep in my soul: "Come before winter" (II Timothy 4:21).  I think it was Clarence McCartney who preached a great sermon from that text.  I have used it on a few occasions.  It is a reminder that if we do not take care of some things "before winter," they never will be taken care of.

Another old college friend, Aubrey Wilson, sent me an article a few months ago that also put me in a nostalgic mood.  I think it helps some of us who are older to remember what life was like at an earlier, quieter, simpler time.  I hope you will enjoy "Grandma's Apron."

I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few and because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons required less material.  But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.    From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.  And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.  From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.  When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that old-time apron that served so many purposes.   And remember: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.  Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from that apron -- but love! There is something about "Grandma's Apron" that not only puts me in a nostalgic mood, but it also makes me think of Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is a wonderful day of the year, but I hope that you will remember that thanksgiving is not just a day but a constant attitude (see Ephesians 5:20).  Hugh Fulford                                                                                   November 22, 2011

Shopping At Wal-Mart

All my adult life I have enjoyed watching people.  The late TV personality, Art Linklettter, hosted a program called "People Are Funny." The name of the program stated a fact—human beings, in the normal routines of life, can be very humorous, even when they are not trying to be funny. 

Shopping at Wal-Mart gives one an opportunity to engage in people watching at its best.  We have a Wal-Mart Super Center a few miles from our house and I usually have a need to stop there at least once a week to pick up one or more items.  Wal-Mart carries just about everything—groceries, clothes, automotive supplies, all kinds of gardening items, hardware items, small electronics, tech gadgets, etc., etc.  Like other Wal-Mart Super Centers, ours has a pharmacy, an optical department, a hair salon, a bank, a place to get copying done, a tax preparation assistance center (during tax preparation "season"), an auto repair center, and at one time a McDonalds.  In my retirement years, as my needs have become fewer and simpler, I have often said if I can't find it at Wal-Mart I probably don't really need it.  Plus, they have a good return policy.  If for any reason you are not pleased with an item, return it and they will replace it, refund your money, or give you a gift card for the amount of your purchase—no questions asked.     

Wal-Mart shoppers come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and in both genders (and sometimes—with reference to the latter—it is hard to tell which is which).  They come dressed (or practically undressed in some instances) in all kinds of garbs.  Many come not only to shop but also to socialize.  Benches are found at the front of the stores and these are usually occupied by people visiting with one another—often older men waiting for their wives to get through with their shopping.  Sometimes it is hard to negotiate the aisles of the grocery department because women have parked their carts in such a way that it is virtually impossible to get by them.  There are no "driving rules" in a Wal-Mart, as shoppers switch from one side of the aisle to the other.  Often several women will be engaged in conversations around their carts, creating a real "traffic jam" for other shoppers.

Shopping buggies serve a variety of purposes at Wal-Mart.  Not only are they used to hold items the shopper purchases, but for older  people, especially those who are somewhat obese, they are used as a kind of "rolling walker" on which to lean as they negotiate their way through the store.  One is able to surmise a great deal about people's eating habits and overall health habits just by observing them at Wal-Mart.  Not long ago, I saw a middle aged couple, both using electric carts, loading their shopping cart with several sacks of candy.    

Wal-Mart has its downside.  Take, for example,  the check-out lanes.  There may be as many as fifteen or twenty checkout stations at the local Wal-Mart but only two or three open at any given time, creating a long wait for people.  Exacerbating the problem is the fact that some customers will wait until all their items have been checked and bagged to begin rummaging in their purse, wallet, or pocket for their checkbook or credit or debit card. What's the problem with having the card ready or the check already written except for the amount of the purchase?  People's failure to think or plan ahead is something one learns by shopping at Wal-Mart.  Come on, folks, get with it! Don't you know that we retired folks are in a hurry, with places to go and things to do? 

One other matter: Some people who can get to Wal-Mart at least once a week—sometimes more often—can't make it to church on Sunday.  If I were to do an interview with certain folks I see at Wal-Mart and ask them where they go to church I have no doubt that some of them would say, "Well, I've got this old arthritis so bad or this problem with the gout so bad or this knee problem or this hip problem that I am not able to go to church." (Maybe sometime I will tell you about the lady who suffered an injury in a car accident that put her on crutches and kept her out of church for about six months, and was embarrassed when I saw her hobbling high up into the stands at Ladd Stadium in Mobile, Alabama to see the Senior Bowl game!) 

Like I said, people are funny and you can learn a lot just by watching them—especially Wal-Mart shoppers.

Hugh Fulford

November 15, 2011

RIDICULING THE WORD OF GOD

"But when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked…" (Acts 17:30).  Such was the reaction in ancient Athens to Paul's sermon about the one true God, the resurrection of Christ, and the final judgment of all humanity.  Sadly, that spirit of mockery and ridicule still exists, even among some who profess to be friends of the word of God. Consider the following example of such. 

Jesus very clearly taught, "He who that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16, KJV).  The apostle Peter unmistakably commanded, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38, NKJV).  In spite of the clarity of these two passages (along with a host of others) as to the place of baptism in God's plan of salvation, there are those who seek to avoid the force of the passages by ridiculing them.

"When is the sinner saved in baptism?  When the tip of his nose breaks the surface of the water?" So asks one modern mocker.  Why are such blasphemous attitudes directed toward the plain teaching of God's word?    What if it could be proved that one is saved before "the tip of his nose breaks the surface of the water"?  Would that change what the New Testament says about the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins?  Why not simply preach and practice what the Bible says without caviling? Ridiculing the word and mocking it will not change what it says one iota.

When Jesus came to John the Baptist at the Jordan River to be baptized, John protested, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You." Jesus' response was, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:13-17).  At what point in Jesus' baptism was all righteousness fulfilled: When Jesus first approached John?  (Surely the Father knew the intent of His Son's heart!)  As He and John started down into the water?  When they were standing waist deep in the water?  While Jesus was still submerged in the water?  Or when the tip of His nose first broke the surface of the water?!  What a mockery of a holy act!

Paul wrote, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians3:27).  I wonder exactly when the Galatians got "into Christ": When they first approached the water? When they were standing waist deep in the water?  While still submerged beneath the water?  Or when the tips of their noses broke the surface of the water?  The utter foolishness of some!

I never ceased to be amazed at the lengths—to say nothing of the silliness—to which some people will go in an effort to get around the clear teaching of God's word!  Paul wrote, "For the message of the cross [and the response one is to make to that message, hf] is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God" (I Corinthians 1:18).  The apostle then follows with a quotation from Isaiah: "I [God] will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (Verse 19).  A moment later he declared, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (Verse 25). How modern man does need to learn this most basic and fundamental truth!

Several years ago I published an essay titled "Market-PlaceChurches, User-Friendly Elderships, and Generic Preachers."  In it I spoke of those who have compromised the word of God for the sake of their own opinions—those of whom Paul spoke when he said, "Be not wise in your own conceits/opinion" (Romans 12:16).  Those who mock and ridicule the clear teaching of Scripture and who seek to circumvent the obvious are guilty of just exactly that!   Christ emphatically affirmed, "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John12:48).  As I said in the above referenced essay, "I would not want to be in the shoes of some preachers on the day of God's final judgment."

Hugh Fulford

November 8, 2011

Antinomy of Scripture - November 1, 2011

In studying the Scriptures it is important to recognize the principle of antinomy.  Failure to do so results in warped and one-sided conclusions that have not taken into consideration the total teaching of God’s word regarding a matter.  The sovereignty of God and the free will of man,  God’s grace and man’s obedience to the gospel, and God’s keeping of the saved and the possibility of apostasy are but three areas (among many) in which antinomy must be recognized.

“Antinomy” means: “1. Opposition; contradiction.  2. Contradiction between inferences or principles that seem equally necessary and reasonable.”  (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).  There are many passages that speak of the sovereignty of God.  "For He says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.'  So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy" (Romans 9:15-16).  To read such a passage alone could lead one to falsely assume that man has no will or choice of his own.  Those Scriptures which speak of God’s work have led some to conclude that man is totally passive insofar as his salvation is concerned.  Yet just three chapters earlier Paul had written: "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves servants to obey, you are that one's servant whom you obey, whether of sin to death or obedience to righteousness" (Romans 6: 16)?   Humans have the power to choose whether they will serve Satan or God!  All are invited to come to Christ, and the invitation can be accepted or rejected (Matthew 11:28-30).

In the same vein, those passages which speak of the grace of God have led some to erroneously conclude that salvation is unconditional.  Yet, we need to read further.  With reference to the sins of one who has not yet become a Christian we might examine the case of Saul of Tarsus. When Christ appeared to him on theDamascus road, Saul asked: “Lord, what do you want me to do” (Acts 9:6).  Christ did not respond by saying: “Nothing, Saul; there is not anything you can do to be saved.” Rather, the Lord said: “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”  Unless the Bible communicates a contradictory message (which it does not), it is very clear that the sinner must do something to be saved!

As to the security of the believer, Christians can bask in the promise of Christ: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:27-29). Yet, the child of God must “beware lest anyone take you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).  Christians are exhorted: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12).  One cannot depart from God if he has never been in fellowship with God. 

What we see at work in all of these passages is the principle of antinomy.  Some statements of Scripture give emphasis to God’s side of a matter, with no intent or purpose of saying anything about man’s side.  Other passages speak of the human side of that same matter with nothing being said about God’s involvement in the situation.  Separating them and stressing one to the exclusion of the other creates a warped and unbalanced view of the matter, leading to confusion.  Looking at the complete array of Biblical teaching on the subject shows both sides to be valid, reasonable, and necessary.

Antinomy is like the two sides of a single coin.  Look at one side and you see one thing; look at the other side and you see something else.  Yet the two sides are all one coin.  So it is with the things of God.  Some passages speak of God's gracious activity in salvation; others speak of the conditions with which humans must comply in order to receive that salvation.  For a sinner to repent and be baptized "for" (eis = in order to) the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) in no wise nullifies the fact that one is saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Understanding and basking in God’s wondrous activities is the antidote to any and all legalistic and Pharisaic attitudes among the people of God.  Recognizing the conditional nature of a right relationship with God serves as a needed reminder that Christ is "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9).