Giving Thanks For A Debt Paid

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:13-14 NLT)

Nailed to the top of Jesus’ cross is a “certificate of debt” to Caesar, a public display of Jesus’ crime: “King of the Jews.” When punishment is complete, Caesar’s court will cancel the debt with a single Greek word stamped upon the parchment’s face: “tetelestai.” Finished. Paid in full.
Being king of the Jews is not the crime Jesus pays for, however. Hidden to all but the Father is another certificate nailed to that cross: ours. In the darkness that shrouds Calvary from the sixth to the ninth hour, God the Father unleashes His fury for our wrong doings upon His sinless Son who has taken upon Himself our crimes as if guilty of all.
At the last, it is not the cross that takes Jesus’ life. When the full payment is made, when the last of the sin debt melts away and the justice of God is fully satisfied, Jesus simply dismisses His spirit with a single Greek word that falls from His lips: “Tetelestai.” It is finished (written by Greg Koukl).

I am thankful that I am no longer under law, but under grace (Romans 6)... my certificate of debt has been canceled. If you're reading this and don't understand, don't know where you stand with God, or have intellectual questions/doubts; please contact me or a leader in a healthy, well-balanced church near you. Many of us in Under Grace Ministries (UGM) were once atheist and agnostics. For that reason we've taken the time to explain why we believe what we believe (listed here) in hopes that you will understand: where you came from, who you are, why you're here, how you should live, and where you're going.

Volunteers and Supporters of UGM - I thank God for you continuously. I feel privileged to be numbered among you and am amazed at the things God is doing with this group. May you have a wonderful day of Thanks.

- Paul

Mentoring - A Serious Call to Separate Butt from Couch - Pt. 1

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist

For the past few years I've gotten to hang out with a group of thoughtful, committed citizens who joyfully give their time, talent, and treasure to incarcerated/recently released men and women. They wouldn't claim to be 'world changers'. For that matter, they wouldn't claim to be uniquely qualified, specially gifted, or overly knowledgeable. They accept no credit in success and are self critical in failure. But through their efforts I have seen sons connect (many for the 1st time) with fathers, moms reunited with kids, dads back with mom and kids, drug dealers holding legit tax-paying jobs, and whole families deciding that Jesus was who he claimed to be. So, while they don't claim to be anything special, their results seem to say otherwise. As Christians we'd say they're being used by God to accomplish the good works He created them to do (Eph 2:10).

A key to their effectiveness, whether in a class or outside the prison walls, is the life-on-life contact they have with those they are helping. In the next few posts we'll focus on the act of mentoring and the potential it has for real life change.

Rick and Carolyn Korte have been mentors for Mario and Chis (recently out of the IFI program in Tucker prison). This couple began volunteering in IFI which led to Rick becoming Mario's mentor (some of you may remember Mario from this video shot in Tucker prison late in 2006)

Then Mario and Chris got out 3 weeks ago and Rick and Carolyn kicked it into high gear helping these guys reintegrate into society. Carolyn has worn the phones out calling potential employers and visiting parole offices hunting down info useful to the ex-offender. She sent this email last week:


MARIO AND CHRIS GOT A JOB !!!!!!!!!!!!! They are on their way to take their drug test and have orientation of Friday and will start on Monday at ACE Glass Co. Some friends of ours (the Little's) that go the Fellowship own it and Rick called them yesterday and they went today for an interview. I think they start at $10/hr and once they learn everything they should be able to transfer to a big job at UAMS an earn $19/hr. YEA !!!!! GOD is Good !! We still have a couple of bumps to work out with drivers licenses' but will take that as we get more info. Chris went to Dr. Alfonso today and will have his tooth extracted tomorrow at 3:30pm so hopefully they will both be ready to rock-n-roll on Monday. Praise God. Carolyn

In the next post we'll hear from Rick as he tells us what it takes to be a mentor.