Owing and Not Knowing

After dining recently at the Southern Thymes Café in downtown Greer, S.C., I did a bad thing, and Uncle Fred had to “make things right.”

My wife, Carol, did not travel with me, so I drove alone from our home in Southern Pines, N.C., on Saturday, July 17, 2010, and stayed in Greer at the home of my Aunt Frances and Uncle Fred Crain. I spoke the next day at Faith Temple Church of Taylors, S.C. The church’s pastor, the Rev. Raymond D. Burrows, said to me, “Take your liberty,” as he introduced me as a guest speaker. I grew up attending Faith Temple. Aunt Frances and Uncle Fred are charter members there.

Carol and I have two children, Janelle and Suzanne. Janelle, our older daughter, and her husband live in Taylors. She attended the Sunday service with us and prepared to travel with me to N.C. on Monday for a visit. I needed to return to work at Gulistan Carpet on Tuesday.

On Monday, Aunt, Uncle, Janelle and I enjoyed lunch at the Southern Thymes Café. I ordered country-fried steak, “tater salad,” turnip greens and peach cobbler. Good eatin’. Our waitress placed two “guest tickets” on our table. I grabbed them and argued with Uncle Fred.

“Give me them,” he said.

“No, I’m paying,” I said. “You paid Saturday.”

I stuck the tickets in my shirt pocket, laid down a $6.00 tip, finished eating and snapped some photos. On the way out, I saw friends and talked for a few minutes. Standing on the sidewalk in front of the café, I made more pictures.

Janelle and I stopped at a convenience store in McAdenville, N.C., near Charlotte. I entered the store and noticed something in my shirt pocket. I pulled out two “guest tickets.”

“Oh, no!” I thought. I showed Janelle the tickets and asked, “Would you mind paying these?”

She looked at the tickets, and her mouth dropped open.
“Woo-eee!” she said.

I called Uncle Fred. He said he had noticed our waitress standing at the cash register as we left the café, but he thought I had paid. He went the next day and paid the nearly $24.00 owed. He apologized to the waitress who served us. She told him, “At least there are some honest people.”

I had driven from Greer to McAdenville and was unaware of my guilt that whole time.

Perhaps you are a person who is unaware of an unpaid bill you owe. That bill is the “sin debt.” Perhaps you go day to day, thinking you are okay, believing your good deeds outweigh bad deeds you have done. Maybe you compare yourself to others, and, in your estimation, come out “looking pretty good.” That kind of thinking is based on the idea that people get to heaven because of “good deeds.” That kind of thinking is wrong, according to the Bible. There is a debt you owe, a debt you cannot pay.

The Bible lays out the story of man’s predicament. Because of “original sin,” no one can enter heaven. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “Sin” is defined as “missing the mark.” What mark? God’s “mark,” or target, is complete holiness. He is holy, and nothing unholy can find a home in heaven. We humans have missed God’s target or “mark” – and we were born unaware of that fact. We were born with “original sin.” Original Sin is the genetic defect we all inherited from Adam and Eve. Through this defect, we inherited death – both physical and spiritual – and were separated from God. Through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection (he paid our sin-debt), we have the avenue by which to conquer the genetic “sin and death” defect and be reconnected eternally to God.

“For the wages (the payoff) of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life…He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

If you have not trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are walking around with a “sin-debt ticket in your pocket.” Perhaps you were unaware you owed such an incredible debt. Today, ask Jesus take care of it for you. He will.

Hilda the Encourager

Hilda Gerald, who died in Pinehurst, N.C., at age 94 in 1990, had a reputation – one that is now carved in stone.

Some of Hilda’s friends and family felt she had not been given a proper headstone when she passed on, so ten years after her death, they purchased one, had it installed and gathered at her gravesite in West End, N.C., to honor her.

Carved on her tombstone are these words: “Hilda S. Gerald, Encourager of Missionaries.” Along with the names of Hilda and her late husband, Jack Gerald, a horse trainer who died in 1976, the stone features a special design on its right side – six cascading mailing envelopes.

“Hilda came to our church, Sandhills Assembly (in Southern Pines, N.C.) about 1978 when she was 82,” says Miriam Jones of Pinehurst (Miriam was born in 1914.) “Hilda began a ministry of encouraging our missionaries all over the world.”

Jones says Hilda, who was born in Sweden in 1896, asked her daughter, Inge Marra of Brooklyn, N.Y., to design a special birthday card – one Hilda could send to each member of Assembly of God missionary families.

Kay Beard, former secretary at Sandhills Assembly, estimates that white-haired Hilda sent 200 cards each month.

“She was quaint and had such joy,” Beard says. “Many missionaries communicated their sadness at her passing.”

“The stamps for these cards and letters were too much for her budget,” Jones says, “so she sold her crafts and advertised her need wherever appropriate. She always wanted beautiful stamps.”

Jones says a young man who moved away from the Sandhills once returned to visit Hilda and introduced her to a fellow traveling with him.

“As usual, Hilda mentioned her ministry of writing to missionaries,” Jones says. “She told them her next purchase of stamps would cost $24.25. As the men left, they each gave her $10. Hilda received the gifts with thanks and held out her hand, saying with her Swedish accent, ‘And four dollars and 25 cents, please.’”

Jones laughs, adding, “She got it!”

Jones says when Hilda “fasted,” she did not stop eating because of a heart condition, but she would “fast” her knitting, crocheting and craft-making – activities she automatically busied herself with when there was a quiet moment.

Hilda’s father was a Swede who married an Englishwoman.

“He was a ‘tailor to gentlemen,’” says Jones, recalling Hilda’s stories about her younger years. “Hilda said she wanted a doll when she was about four years old. She made one, and when her father saw it, he told her mother, ‘That one will get along all right. No need to worry about her.’”

Jones recalls Hilda, who worked many yeas as a chef, saying she became a Christian at a Salvation Army meeting before she married “Dave” and came to America at age 17.

Hilda and her sister, Vera Jacobson, who predeceased Hilda, would walk two miles to Garner’s Lake to swim, says Evelyn Garrison of Pinehurst.

“They must have been in their eighties,” Garrison says. “Hilda kept trim and had an appealing glow. She renewed her license at 85 and drove her old blue Malibu.”

Garrison says Hilda used crayons and watercolors to decorate the cards she sent to missionaries, and when she lacked money for stamps, she’d say, “Oh, they’ll come. I’ll get it. God will provide.”

“She was not one who cared for material things,” Garrison says. “She often quoted Jeremiah 33:3: ‘Call unto me, and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.’

“We who knew her saw her simple lifestyle and saw the abundant life that came from her faith in God. She was a fountain of inspiration for all of us.”

Now “Hilda Gerald, Encourager of Missionaries” is engraved on her tombstone, and on the right side of that stone are six carved images of envelopes, designed so they overlap each other and cascade downward, as if falling from a mailbag.

“No matter what circumstances life may present, we all have unique experiences, abilities, and God-given talents,” says writer Steve Brunkhorst. “We can discover ways to reach others who desperately need messages of encouragement and strength.”

America and God - Gloom or 'Not to Worry'?

Before and during recent July 4 Independence Day celebrations, I heard many people express concerns about what lies ahead for America.

Elaine Huttenstine of Greer, S.C., wrote the following prayer and e-mailed it to me on July 2, 2010:

“Dear Heavenly Father, We come to You in the precious name of Jesus, thanking You and praising You for America and all the blessings You have poured out on us as a nation. We thank You for our forefathers who looked to You for guidance; who established this nation on principles found in Your Holy Word. Forgive us for straying so far away from You. We have become prideful, acting as if we have made this country great. We have forgotten that we are nothing without You. We deserve punishment, but we beg for Your mercy. Please hear our prayer, forgive our sins, and heal our land. In the name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Tempe Brown, a Christian speaker-writer who lives in Greenville, S.C., recently posted this message on “Facebook”:

“Even though many in our nation have turned their backs on God, this nation is still under His grace. We have been Jesus to the world. We have fed the hungry; we’ve drilled wells for clean water, sent doctors to heal the sick, sent the gospel around the world and shed our blood so that others can be free. We’ve loved our enemies and have tried to bring peace wherever we’ve gone. I’m weary of hearing that this nation is doomed. We have sown enough blood, gospel and God’s love to reap a harvest greater than that! I’m proud to be an American and pray that those in office will not bring her down.”

Dr. Charles Stanley of “in Touch Ministries” says the U.S. now provides 85 percent of the financial support for Christian missionary work done throughout the world. Yet, we sense a “slip-sliding away” going on in U.S. culture, and we pray for Christian revival.

Dr. Stanley posted this article titled “A Nation Gone Astray – Isaiah 59” on July 5, 2010:

“The principle of sowing and reaping applies not only to individuals but also to nations. A country that ignores or rejects God and His Word will suffer the consequences…Though Israel had once honored the Lord, it went astray during the days of the prophet Isaiah and suffered the dire results….

“When a nation begins ignoring biblical commands and principles, truth becomes relative as false philosophies and “liberated thinking” take root. Leaders tend to consider themselves advanced and intellectual, but in reality, if they are separated from God, their thinking is foolish and their understanding darkened (Eph. 4:17-18).

“A society always behaves according to its belief system, so the inevitable result of skewed thinking is sin. Once sin becomes acceptable in the eyes of the people, sensuality and self-gratification dominate as restraint is lifted. The baser nature of man emerges in the form of immorality, greed, and violence. Injustice reaches its peak when laws permit the killing of the most helpless and innocent of all its citizens – unborn children. Even if the majority of citizens disapprove of the injustice and immorality, unless they act, that nation will continue its downward spiral into depravity.

“Our ultimate hope, of course, is in our coming King who will reign on earth with righteousness and justice. But the church must still awaken to its responsibility to be salt and light in a depraved world. Each generation is called to be alert and active during its appointed time on this earth.”

The Rev. Randy Thornton recently provided these age-group statistics for Bible-believers in the U.S.: Of “Builders” (people born between 1927 and 1945), 65 percent identify as Bible-believing Christians. Of “Boomers” (born 1946-1964), 35 percent identify as believers. Of “Busters” (born 1965-1983), 16 percent identify. Of “Bridgers” (born 1984-present), only four percent identify as Bible-believing Christians.

“If current trends hold true, only four percent of the millennial generation will be evangelical,” Thornton said. “Eighty-five percent of people who come to Christ make that decision before the age of 20...I believe there is something going to happen that will open the door of the Gospel in an unprecedented way…God has called us to our cities and our communities.”

“Then said I unto them, ‘Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach’” (Nehemiah 2:17).

The Best Thing You Can Do for America

Immediately after taking the oath of office to become President of the United States, John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural speech on January 20, 1961:

“The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God….

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty….

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”

He ended his speech with these words: “Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

President Kennedy’s famous line, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” has been repeated often.

So, what is the best thing an American Christian can do for America?

I believe that living for Christ, spreading the Gospel (by words and deeds) and praying for individuals, our country and the world is the best thing a U.S. citizen can do for his country.

Writer Robin Calamaio says there is one God who is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

“The Bible does not have an Old Testament God…and a New Testament God,” she says, noting that the Bible has plenty of information about God’s dealing with nations. “He speaks of their formation, life-span – and demise. But God, in a present grace and power, still addresses the nations – granting promises…and issuing warnings. As believers, we know that disaster is waiting at the end of unheeded warnings.”

“The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

Calamaio writes, “Nations that reject the dominion of the living Creator will be aborted by Him. The God of the Old Testament is alive and well. He always has been.”

She says “power positions” belong mostly to non-Christians, but even if believers filled those positions, leaders can only control a small part of human activity. Attempting to morally contain people is like trying to herd cats, she notes.

While “our citizenship (“conversation” is the word used by the KJV in Philippians 3:20) is in heaven,” our lives in our current society are very real, she says. “Family is real – and so are our friends, co-workers and fellow countrymen.”

Though many Christians believe the “end times” are near or already here, we must not give up and wait for the rapture of the Church and neglect filling our Christian roles in society.

Calamaio writes, “When the Israelites were exiled to Babylon, God told them to ‘seek the welfare (peace) of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on his behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare’” (Jeremiah 29:7). There are two directives here. First, benefit that society by doing positive things. Second, pray for that society. Could it be that God directs us in the same vein toward our native country?”

St. Paul tells us, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

What can we do to best help our country?

I believe the greatest contribution we can make to help our nation is this: Live for Jesus Christ, spread the Gospel, pray for individuals, pray for leaders, and pray for our country and the world.