A Fire Started By A Mother's Faith

2 Timothy 1:5-7

Timothy had a fire inside him. It was a spiritual gift, a fervor, a spark given to him by God when Paul laid his hands on the young missionary. Paul acknowledges, however, that it was his mother and his grandmother who cut the wood and stacked it, ready to be burnt. Eunice and Lois passed their wonderful faith onto Timothy.  Without this faith, no spiritual gift could have been given to him. But it was up to Timothy, and Timothy alone to fan this into flame.  His mom and grandma can't hover over him the rest of his existence fanning the fire.

Hannah, of Old Testament fame, promised her son to God. She literally took him to the tabernacle and left him there. That's all she could do. The rest was up to Samuel. She placed him in a place where the Spirits fire could be ignited and burn. It was up to him to keep the flames going. And if you know the story, that's exactly what he did.

Many a good, Godly mother has taken the heat (yes, the pun is intended) for a faithless, flameless child. Well-meaning "advice" from other parents, hell-fire sermons from the pulpit, and good ole fashioned gossip cause them to live in guilt and regret. But if mom put the material for the fire in her child's heart, if she took her child to a place where he could find God, what more can she do?

I truly feel sorry for those who spent their childhood years receiving from their moms and dads nothing with which a spiritual fire could be started. Heaven help them and may God have mercy on such ignorant parents. I feel more sorrow, however, for those who did indeed have the luxury of being born to a Godly, spiritual mother and father, but who are squandering that great blessing. You had a mother who read the Bible to you, who prayed for you and with you, who brought you to hear God's message, who instilled in your heart a faith in the Almighty and in His ways. Why have you let that fire go out?

My prayer is that God would bless all you moms who help start the fire, and that He would give us sons and daughters the courage to keep fanning it into flame.

~Charles Schultheisz

Selling It But Not Buying It

While standing in line trying to read the menu board of a local seafood restaurant, we overheard a very interesting conversation between the cashier and the customers in front of us. They inquired as to the best type of fish to order, and received this response: "Well, truthfully, l prefer Coleman‘s fish, yea;   I’d rather have it any day." The customer then replied, "l don’t see that up there." To which the all·to-honest employee said, "Oh, we don’t sell it. You can get it in Wheeling." All of us potential customers just kind of stood there in a moment of silence trying to decide on whether we should go ahead and order something or drive to Wheeling for Coleman’s fish.

This incident reminded me of one similar which precedes it by some twenty years. A fellow in our community owned a shoe store and was always complaining about Wal-Mart, and the great difficulty he had in competing with their prices. "I probably won’t be able to stay in business much longer because of them,” he’d say. While walking the isles of Wal-Mart one evening we encountered him and his basket which happened to be full of socks - an unremarkable fact, except that part of his own business was selling socks!

He ended up being right, by the way - his business didn’t last much longer.  

When it comes to Christianity, some of us are trying to sell what we ourselves are not buying. We pray along with those who ask God to help us reach the lost. We ask the church leaders about evangelistic programs. We gripe and complain about how bad the world is, how immoral our non-Christian neighbors are, and the prevalence of all the ungodly influences our children must endure day in and day out. But the real message we’re sending to our non-Christian neighbors is that we prefer the same things they do. We're paid, if you will, to tout God’s ways, but it’s his competitors ways that appeal to us.

While I’m yelling and screaming about how few souls the church is converting these days, I might want to take a look at my own life and consider this thought — what would my neighbor think they were being converted to?  Other than getting up and driving to a church building every week, is there; anything about my life that really stands out from theirs?

“Come, be a Christian,” I could. say, “you can be negative, pessimistic, and depressed about life, just like me, but you'll be able to call yourself a Christian."   Take a look today at 1 Peter 2:12 and Matthew 5:16.

~Charles Schultheisz
Woodsfield, Ohio 

Great Race and Honor Bus Winners

Congratulations to the Green Bus Riders for winning the Great Race award and Honor Bus for the month of April 2014.

The Pop-In Visit

While we may politely say, "Stop by anytime," many of us don't really mean it. In 25 years of ministry I've learned this the hard, and sometimes embarrassing way. I've been bitten by dogs who didn’t know I was coming, was once chased off the porch by an irritated Rhode Island Red rooster, and even scolded by a very direct toddler who exclaimed, "You ain't allowed in till dad gets his pants on." Thanks for the warning kid, but I can see dad through the window and I‘m already regretting this visit.

You know you should have called first when you get the "slide-out." This maneuver is usually preceded by the words, "I wasn't really planning on anyone today," or "the house is just a little messy right now." The door is slightly opened, allowing enough room for maybe a cardboard cutout of a human body to slide between it and the door jam. The door is then abruptly pulled shut behind the occupant and the entire duration of the conversation occurs on the porch despite the fact that it's 150 degrees in the shade.

A preacher was asked once by an elder, "Why don't you just stop I by and visit people more often?" "Because I got tired of feeling more like an IRS agent than a minister" He replied.

And I must admit, as the recipient of the occasional pop-in visit, I do understand your sometimes unwelcoming welcome. It's not that I dislike the visit itself, it's your timing. The house is clean and organized six days a week, but you come on the day dishes are in the sink, clothes are on the floor, and the cats decided the front sidewalk must in some way resemble a litter box. And no matter how clean and put-together I usually am, my guest will probably leave my house that day convinced this is how I always live.

There's definitely one pop-in visit you and I better be ready for. When I became a Christian, essentially, I told Jesus, "Stop by anytime." And when he does, there'll be no "slide-out" maneuver, no "can you wait a minute on the porch," or "now's not a good time." The house better be in order that day. And however my house appears on that day, it will be hard to convince Him that I haven't always been living like this! If your soul is in disarray, please take the time to get things cleaned up today.

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matthew 24:42-44)

~Charles Schultheisz

Just Tell Me How It Is

~Charles Schultheisz

Mike went to the doctor with pain in his back. After a comprehensive examination, the doc declared him free of serious disease or disorder. In fact, he suggested to Mike that much of the discomfort was probably of a psychological order and should he just stop worrying about it, the pain may eventually go away. Mike succumbed to cancer six months later. Some time following his passing, Mike's family confronted the doctor, who admitted to having suspected the disease all along. When asked why he did not take the appropriate steps, the doctor declared that Mike seemed like such a happy-go-lucky guy and he didn't want to bring him down or hurt his feelings in any way. He stated his hope that the problem would just work itself out on its own.

Then there is the case of Mike's mechanic. His widow took her car to the same man who had worked on Mike's cars for years. This time however the mechanic was dealing with what he perceived was an ignorant woman. The estimate he handed her was for two thousand dollars and accompanied a note declaring the urgency of all the repairs. A friend advised Mike's widow to get a second opinion from another mechanic. His estimate was for two hundred dollars. Furthermore, it was discovered that the first fellow was charging her to "replace" nearly new, perfectly functioning parts.

As part of a sermon once, I used Mike's doctor and mechanic as illustrations. I can still see the audiences response as I spoke of Mike's poor widow. Some faces went long, others showed anger, all were in awe that two supposed professionals could be so foolish. and untrustworthy. These stories, however, are not true. I made them up. They are parables. Mike and his widow are fictional. But your reaction to them has been most interesting.

Doctors who don't tell us the truth are irresponsible. We don't want them to be concerned with our feelings as much as we just want the truth about our bodies. Neither do we expect our mechanic to lie to us. If it doesn't need fixing, don't fix it. What do we want from the folks who inspect our bodies and our vehicles? Don't tell it better than it really is, and don't tell it worse — just tell it like it is.

Why then do we get frustrated with preachers who tell it like it is? If they are responsible for instructions regarding our souls, shouldn't we expect no less? We shouldn't tolerate preachers who insist on making everything sound better than it really is. Nor should we stand for those who blow everything out of proportion for drama's sake. From the pulpit we should expect to hear sin called for what it is -- destructive    to the soul and to the church. With a stubborn, rebellious attitude, no amount of grace is able to cover it. But we should also expect to hear that sin is forgivable. With a truly repentant attitude, no wrong-doing is beyond the grace of Almighty God.

Paul asked the Galatians (4:16), "Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?"

New Teen Room

The teen room is up and running.  It was breath taking for the youth as they entered their room of Praise and Bible Study to God.  The youth are very thankful for their new room and and a special thanks goes out to all those who helped make this project a reality.  May God use this room and may the hearts of God's youth always be open to making right choices and honoring the direction of our Heavenly Father.  Thanks again to all the workers for their love and compassion to help the Youth Ministry grow.  It takes many parts to make up the body, but one thing is for sure, God is always the head and we will always follow his direction.

Are You Feeling Really Inconvenienced By Your Christian Responsibilities?

Consider the lives of the Apostles!

John was exiled to the isle of Patmos for years.
Matthew was killed with a sword in Ethiopia.
James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded.
James survived being thrown from the top of the temple,
but was then beat to death with a club.
Philip was hanged against a pillar.
Bartholomew was skinned alive in front of an audience.
Andrew was hanged on a cross in Archaia.
Thomas died after having a spear run through him.
Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
Simon the Zealot was hanged on a cross.
Peter was crucified upside down.
Matthias survived a stoning, but was finished off by being beheaded.
Paul spent most of his final days either in prisons or under house
arrest before finally being beheaded.

~Charles Schultheisz

Big Day For Joy Bus Ministry

Today (04/06/14) is the first Sunday to run the new buses on their routes.  It's been 35 years of bringing souls under the sound of the Gospel.  The buses have air conditioning and teaching aids of DVD monitors.  Thank you God for being so good to this family.

Beneath Him

When one is hovered over a cat's litter box carefully scooping out its contents, one begins to wonder who really is the head of the     household -- who really is the superior being here? Especially when the cat is sitting next to the box monitoring the process! To clean up after a cat, or several cats, year after year, day after day, one really must love cats, or really love the one who loves the cats. It is often a disgusting job and always a humble one. I must confess a time or two wondering, "Does this stupid cat even know what I'm doing for it‘?" It's sounds I corny, I know, but it truly does require love to lower oneself in doing this job.

Whether it's cleaning up after a cat, or a person, or any other less-than-pleasant task, we have all found ourselves at one point or another in life doing something that we felt was really I beneath us. You've heard or uttered the exclamations, "I shouldn't have to be doing this," "I don't get paid enough to do this," or "I didn't work this hard in life to end up doing this."

From time to time, in the quiet moments of the days, I think about who Jesus really is. I think about where He came from, and what he did here on earth. I wonder if He ever thought, "I shouldn't have to do this, this is really beneath me. I am God. Do these stupid people even know what I am doing for them?" Thankfully, He never thought such! Thankfully, He did not view the task as being beneath Him! As good as He was, as good as He is, He's never been too good to clean up my mess. He lowered himself (Hebrews 2:9) to remove my sin, and help me to clean up my life.

Why would he lower himself so? Love. He loves me and He loves the One who loves me. Compared to the majesty, the wisdom, the power, the glory of Jesus Christ, I'm not much more than a dumb, speechless, clueless cat. I've never been his equal, nor will I ever be, but He lowered himself for me. He came to that which was beneath Him, so that we might be raised up someday with Him.   Thank you, Jesus!

~Charles Schultheisz
Woodsfield, OH
 

"Just Iron What They Can See"

The frustrated college freshman stood over the makeshift ironing board in the center of his dorm room and awkwardly attempted to press out the wrinkles from his new white dress shirt. His suite-mate entered the room and, sensing his obvious lack of home economics skills, offered a suggestion. "Are you planning on wearing a suitcoat?" he asked. After getting confirmation, he said, "Then just iron what they can see."

He then took over the task, arranging the shirt so as to accommodate ironing only a few inches on either side of the button row. "Don't mess with the sleeves or the back," he instructed, 'just keep your coat on and no one will know what the rest of it looks like." At the time, it made sense. It worked.

Now thirty years removed from that first ironing experience, that one time college freshman has been tempted to employ the same method, and would but for two facts. He doesn't like wearing suit coats and his wife, a home economics major, could never abide it!

Sadly, some of us members of the Lord's church seem to be "ironing only what they can see." There's a lot of wrinkles in our souls. There's things that go on behind closed doors, far from the "Church of Christ" sign that are very un-Christlike. But we make sure that we keep our church clothes, our Sunday appearance pressed nice and smooth. What they can see is the spiritual front. They can hear me singing spiritual songs and using spiritual words in prayer, but when I get home and take off that "church coat", worldliness and dysfunction make up most of me.

Here's the obvious problem — God can see the whole shirt, coat or no coat.

Jesus once said in response to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs." Luke 12:2-3

If I want to cover the sinful wrinkles in my soul, the way to do it is not by acting phony in a church building for an hour a week, but by repenting and accepting forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ, and living for him wherever I am.

~Charles Schultheisz
Woodsfield, Ohio