Grace Produces Change

He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is a brilliant young man, kind of profound and very, very intelligent. He became a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a very conservative church congregation. They wanted to develop a ministry to the students, but were not quite sure how to go about it. Hearing about this, one Sunday Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, in faded jeans, his T-shirt and wild hair. The service has already started as Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church building is completely full and he can’t find a seat. By now people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer to the front of the auditorium where he still finds nowhere to sit, so he just cross-legged squats down right on the carpet of the aisle. By now, people are really uptight and the tension in the air is thick. About this time the minister sees an elder is slowly making his way toward Bill. This elder has silver-gray hair, and wearing a three-piece suit. He is a godly man, very elegant, very dignified, and courtly. He walks with a cane and as he starts walking towards this boy, everyone is thinking to themselves that no one can blame him for what he’s about to do. Honestly, how can one expect a man of his stature to understand some college kid sitting on the floor? It takes what seems forever for the man to reach the boy. The building is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane. All eyes are focused on him. The minister stands silent at the pulpit awaiting the finale of what the elder has to do. Surprised, everyone sees the elder drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won’t be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. After the minister regains control, he says, “What I’m prepared for, and about to preach, you will probably never remember word for word. What you have just witnessed, you will never forget.” Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read.


[James 2:1-13] John Vaughan writes about a spring day prior to the Civil War. A boy named Jim was looking for work and stopped at Mr. Worthy Taylor’s prosperous Ohio farm. The farmer gave Jim a job cutting stove wood, bringing in the cows and generally making himself useful. The boy ate in the kitchen and slept in the hayloft. During the summer, Jim fell in love with Mr. Taylor’s daughter. However, the father refused to give his daughter in marriage, saying that Jim had no money, no name and very poor prospects. Jim put his belongings into an old carpetbag and disappeared. Taylor could not see it, but this boy was going to amount to something after all. Thirty years later the farmer pulled down his old barn to make way for a new one. On one of the rafters just above the hayloft, he found that Jim had carved his full name into the wood – James A Garfield. He was then President of the United States. The Lord looks beyond what we are to what we can become by His grace. God turned a timid Gideon into a mighty judge. He transformed a powerful persecutor into the apostle Paul. He changed rash, impulsive Peter into his spokesman at Pentecost. A sculpture can turn marble into a masterpiece. An artist can change a canvas into a creation. A carpenter can transform trees, steel and rocks into a building. However, only Jesus Christ can make a saint out of a sinner. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Pray God grants wisdom and grace on all those who are seeking public office in 2020, for the sake of all Americans and the preservation of the Constitution.