August 9, 2010 by Shane Kastler.

There are two realities in the spiritual world which make the gospel glorious.  First of all, we must realize that God owes salvation to no one.  Secondly, we must be amazed at the fact that he can save anyone.  Even the worst of sinners.

            Prior to becoming a Christian, the Apostle Paul was as rotten as they come.  Writing to the young pastor Timothy, Paul said:  “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” (1 Timothy 1:12-13 ESV)

            It’s important to note that God didn’t need Paul, nor does he need you or me.  God could have used anyone he wanted in the first century to proclaim the gospel.  He chose freely to touch Paul’s wicked, sinful heart and transform him into a humble and faithful Christian witness.  Then he used Paul mightily to change the lives of others.

            Paul’s conversion was so astounding that many early Christians didn’t believe it could possibly be genuine.  Thinking it was simply a trick to infiltrate the church; the Apostles were to scared to associate with Paul.  But eventually other Christians came to Paul’s defense, and his actions proved his faith was genuine.  Though once filled with hate, Paul became a messenger of love…and the world has never been the same since.

            Paul’s conversion gives hope that none are beyond the reach of God’s grace.  Has your heart been transformed by an encounter with Jesus Christ?  The Bible calls us to turn from our sin in repentance and place our faith in Christ as Lord.  Though we are undeserving sinners, God still chooses to show us grace.  If he is working on your heart today then prayerfully seek His face.  Repent and turn to Christ.  And begin the new life that only comes by experiencing a life-changing encounter with the God who owes salvation to no one, yet has the power to save anyone.

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July 11, 2010 by Shane Kastler.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV)

Scripture teaches that all people are sinners and therefore deserving of God’s eternal judgment.  What a joy it is to know that forgiveness is offered through Jesus Christ to guilty sinners like you and I.  When God’s Spirit touches our heart bringing conviction, which leads to repentance from sin and faith in Christ we are granted eternal forgiveness.  It’s interesting that the Apostle John teaches that God is “faithful and just” to forgive us.  God’s faithfulness means that he always does what he says he will do.  Unlike people who may say one thing and do another; God never lies.  He never forgets.  He never falls short.  He is faithful.  Always faithful.  And in his faithfulness he promises to grant forgiveness to the repentant.

            You might think that God owes you forgiveness.  But you would be sadly mistaken.  As a sinner who has constantly shunned God’s holy standard, you (and I) deserve nothing but his wrath.  Sin requires punishment; and if God refused to punish sin he would no longer be just.  But John says he is “faithful and just.”  How can he be just when he grants eternal life to sinners?  The answer is that he still punishes their sin.  He just punishes it by pouring the punishment out on Jesus Christ instead of them.  This is what the cross was all about.  God’s justice is upheld because our sins are paid for.  He doesn’t simply wink and ignore them; he steps in and pays for them.

            Christ death on the cross paid the eternal price for those who would turn to him in repentance and faith.  If you refuse to turn to him, then you have no payment.  You will be required to spend eternity in Hell for your refusal to trust in the only mediator between God and man.  If Christ be not Lord of your life, think long and hard about whether or not you wish to spend eternity paying for your sins in Hell.  And if Christ is Lord of your life, rejoice that Hell is something that you read of in Scripture, but that you will never, ever experience….all because of God’s astonishing grace.

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May 10, 2010 by Shane Kastler.

“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1: 19-20 NASB)

We don’t typically equate peace with bloodshed.  Yet it is often only by bloodshed that true peace can be attained.  During World War II, global peace could never have been reached without the shedding of Nazi blood.  Adolph Hitler was obsessed with the idea of world domination and it was only through the crushing and bloodshed of his army that peace was granted to the rest of the world.  What’s true of military matters is also true in spiritual matters….blood shed brings peace.

            The book of Colossians tells us that Jesus Christ brought peace between sinful man and a holy God by “the blood of His cross.”  God’s justice demanded that sin be paid for, and only the sacrificial death of the perfect Son of God was sufficient to pay for our sins.  Peace was attainted for God’s elect by the blood of God’s son.

            Today, we can rejoice that God has chosen to save sinners.  But not all sinners.  The Bible teaches that we must turn from our sin in repentance and place our faith in Christ as Lord.  When that happens, we can rest assured that Jesus’ blood paid the eternal price for our sins, and Heaven is our future home.  If we reject Christ, then our blood is on our own hands, and we must face the sobering reality of an eternity in Hell.  It might not sound pretty, but it’s the truth.  Blood doesn’t sound pretty either.  But there’s nothing more beautiful than the thought of our blessed Redeemer willingly laying down His perfect life, and shedding his innocent blood for sinners such as you and I.

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March 22, 2010 by Shane Kastler.

How often do you think of eternity? I’ve noticed that it’s not too uncommon for people to think and speak of Heaven.  Yet, oddly enough Hell is seldom ever mentioned.  It might surprise you to know that Jesus spoke frequently of Hell.  In fact, Jesus spoke of Hell as an eternal reality that many would one day face because of their rejection of Him as Lord.  Any time we here of someone’s death, we should immediately put it into an eternal perspective and realize that such a person’s soul is either in eternal Heaven or eternal Hell.

            The deciding factor in this eternal destination is Jesus Christ.  Quite simply, the Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  And as sinners we are deserving of God’s wrath in Hell.  No one deserves otherwise because no one is without guilt.  Yet God in His infinite mercy has made a way for the salvation of sinners.  By turning from sin in repentance and placing our faith in Christ as Lord, we are eternally saved.  The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, driving us to our knees in true, broken repentance.  The result is a changed heart which leads to a changed life.  Much more than simply making a one-time “decision” for Christ; the truly saved make a lifetime commitment to Him as Lord.  Though struggles with sin might remain, the desires of the heart have been changed, and a yearning love for Christ-like holiness exists in the Christian’s heart.

            Have you committed your life to Christ as Lord? Is this evidenced by your daily love and obedience to Him?  Eternity hinges on what you do with Jesus.  Follow Him today and look forward to being with Him in Heaven forever.  Or reject Him and suffer the eternal consequences in a place called Hell.

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December 3, 2009 by Shane Kastler.

The past week has been a crazy one for world famous super-golfer Tiger Woods. Two days after a National Enquirer story comes out about him having an affair, he is injured in a mysterious 2 A.M. car wreck in his front yard that involves him, a busted mouth, and his wife with a golf club. Sound fishy? Most people seem to think it does. To make matters worse, he refused to talk to the police for several days after the incident. Every time the police would come to his house for an interview his wife would answer the door and say he’s sleeping. I can’t help but wonder how it might go if the police ever showed up at my house and my wife told them to go away because I’m sleeping. I’m pretty sure the police would say, “Tell him to get his dirt-poor, white behind out here and talk to us or we’ll go in and get him.” Being rich and black has its advantages in our racially over-sensitive, country. Ask Barack Obama (or ask O.J. Simpson for that matter). Tiger Woods can tell the police to “stick it” and get away with it. Most people can’t. But the Tiger Woods fiasco is about more than a bizarre car wreck. His life is coming unraveled because his secret sins are being found out. Sooner or later that will happen to everyone and no amount of money, nor public relations firms can change that.

Tiger Woods has been groomed to be a famous golfer from the day he was born. He was on television as a two year old and his dad had dreams for his boy. There’s no denying that Tiger is probably the best golfer the world has ever seen. But even world class golfers are natural born sinners. Everyone is.

Woods is married to a Swedish model…but it appears that he has cheated on her from day one. This week, two different women have been mentioned as mistresses. One of them, a Los Angeles cocktail waitress, saved 3 years worth of text messages, voice mails, and emails to prove her association with Woods. In one embarrassing voice mail, Tiger tells her to take her name off of her cell phone account so it won’t show up on his caller ID. This call was made two months prior to his wife giving birth to their first child, so it seems that his whole marriage has been marked by infidelity. This week, Tiger admitted to “transgressions” but chose not to elaborate. That’s OK, it’s not our business. But Tiger Woods’ greatest need (and everyone else’s) is to elaborate and repentantly confess their sins to Jesus Christ and begin a brand new life that only he can provide.

The Bible says: “Take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out." (Numbers 32:23) and “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) Make no mistake, Tiger’s sins have found him out, and he is in the process of reaping some embarrassingly painful consequences for the seeds that he has sown.

For his entire career, Tiger’s “image handlers” have been able to craft him as a superhuman golfer and world class human being. The golfing skills can’t be denied, but his transgressions are now available for all the world to see. Hopefully, this debacle will be used by God to humble Tiger and draw him to the cross of Christ. Hopefully his wife will show him grace, even though she doesn’t’ have to, and they will work out their problems. Hopefully Tiger will turn from his sin in repentance and commit his life to Jesus Christ as Lord. He’s now in a mess that his handlers can’t fix. No one can fix it, but God alone. Tiger is a sinner, just like you and just like me. The main difference is that his sins are more public because he’s famous.

Tiger Woods is a phenomenal golfer…but he’s not superhuman. He’s a sinful human. Here’s hoping he “sees the light” and comes to Christ before this temporal life ends and the eternal consequence for his sins begin.

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December 1, 2009 by Shane Kastler.

“For because you have trusted in your works and your treasures, you also shall be taken.” (Jeremiah 48:7 NKJV)

The prophet Jeremiah spoke of coming judgment on the people of Moab because they refused to trust in the one true God. Instead of trusting in God, they chose to trust in their own works and their own possessions for security. Many in our nation today are the exact same way. Rather than trusting in God, they trust in material possessions or money for their security. Rather than looking to God as their ultimate provider, they look to an employer or to the government. In so doing this, they commit idolatry. In essence they are breaking the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)

So who is your ultimate God? Are you trusting in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Or are you primarily looking to someone or something else as your ultimate provider. God may use secondary means to provide for us. But we must see Him as our ultimate provider; both in this temporal world and in the world to come.

Not only do many people trust in false gods for temporal security…they also trust in false gods for eternal life. Only a relationship with Jesus Christ will grant a sinner eternal life. The Bible calls us to turn from our sin in repentance and commit our life to Christ as Lord. It’s more than just a one time “decision” for Christ…it’s a lifetime commitment.

Have you committed your life to Jesus Christ? Is there proof of that by your daily love and obedience to Him? We should look to God the Father, through Jesus the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit as our ultimate provider. Only He can truly give us what we need; today, tomorrow, and forever.

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September 10, 2008 by Shane Kastler.

“If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed.” (1 Corinthians 16:22 NASB)

Newsweek columnist Lisa Miller wrote a critical column this week with a headline that reads: “The Senior Pastor of Palin’s Former Church Preaches Hellfire to Anyone Who Isn’t Saved By Jesus.” In typical, high-brow, snotty, liberal fashion, she looks down upon Christians and bemoans the fact that Palin is so narrow-minded that she is a pit bull for the “religious right” and for those who oppose abortion. While Palin’s conservative political views are well known, why is Miller, and other liberals so concerned that Palin’s church believes in Hell? Undoubtedly Miller is trying to scare her readers into thinking Palin is an extremist who should be shunned. Yet what Miller, and other liberals, fail to realize is that beliefs such as this one, in Hell for the unrepentant, is embraced and believed by all Biblical Christians. Millions of Americans believe in Hell, because Jesus spoke of it often. The Bible is full of warnings to those apart from Christ who will perish in their sins unless they turn to the Lord. That may sound “old fashioned” and “radical” to people like Lisa Miller; but that just sounds like Christianity to those who believe the Bible.

This is where I believe the Political Left and the Mainstream Media are shooting themselves in the foot with regards to Sarah Palin. Since they spend most of their time hob-knobbing with uppity, liberal, elitists they fail to realize that the majority of the country is much more like Palin than they are them. I recently heard a liberal pastor complaining that Palin didn’t win office in Alaska by courting the “religious right”—she ACTUALLY IS apart of the religious right. He said it as a put down, but I rejoiced to hear it. And many other Americans do as well.

When you listen to clips of Wasilla Assembly of God Pastor Ed Kalnins preaching on Hell, it sounds very similar to what I myself, and scores of other pastors preach every Sunday. Preachers who preach “hellfire” actually have the audacity to proclaim an eternal reality that Jesus Himself proclaimed, and commanded us to likewise preach. We have the audacity to believe that if you call yourself a “Christian” then you should actually believe what Christ taught. We have the audacity to believe that there is an eternal world that awaits all people after they leave this life. We have the audacity to believe Jesus’ words that “No one comes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6) And we have the audacity to believe that those who do not come to Christ in repentance and faith will perish in eternal Hell, just like Jesus said they would. When I hear that Sarah Palin attends churches that proclaim these eternal truths, I rejoice that at last a politician has arrived on the national scene who shares my beliefs, and I know that she will pay a dear price for it in the media.

But it doesn’t end with Hell. Pastor Ed Kalnins also apparently opposes homosexuality. Can’t you just hear the liberals shrieking!!! Imagine, a Christian minister who actually thinks homosexuality is a sin, and that unrepentant sinners go to Hell!!! Who knew???? Why it must just be an Alaska thing right???? No, my dear liberals, this is what all Biblical Christians believe…..and there are many of us in America today.

Kalnins says that people have a conscience that tells them what is right and wrong. And that homosexuals know their sin is wrong because their conscience tells them so. But in an effort to ease their conscience they try to pass laws supporting their sin. That way they can ease their conscience by saying the government approves of their behavior, even thought their conscience condemns them. To which I give a hearty AMEN!  That is exactly what Romans 1 teaches.

I’m not sure of everything Kalnins believes. He is an ordained Assembly of God, and I am an ordained Baptist so we probably would differ on some lesser issues. But on foundational issues, he teaches salvation through Christ alone, the reality of Hell, and the truthfulness of sin’s devastating effects. I commend him, and any Pastor, who has the backbone to speak out about Hell and Homosexuality since both issues will get you maligned in our world today. Incidentally, Kalnins and his wife also have 7 children, which no doubt drives liberals crazy as well. (Don’t those people in Alaska know we’re supposed to be KILLING babies, not HAVING babies??!!??)

I got to be honest…when I hear of Sarah Palin’s associations with “radicals” like Ed Kalnins, I rejoice rather than recoil. When I hear Barack Obama’s Pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright shrieking “God-D–N” America” and calling America the “US of KKKA.” Then I hear Kalnins preaching the truth of the gospel and the reality of Hell; the choice for our country is clear. While these two Pastors are not running for office, it says a lot about the candidates when you examine the spiritual company they keep. While Newsweek liberal Lisa Miller tries to scare people by writing of Kalnins belief in Hell, all she’s doing is galvanizing the millions of Americans who agree with him, and Palin; and she’s motivating us even more to get out and vote come November.

Sarah Palin has an extremely rough couple of months ahead of her. Her enemies are numerous and powerful and they will unleash all they have to try and destroy and discredit her. So far their attempts have backfired, and I hope they continue to. What our nations needs from it’s government leaders is a deeply rooted, God-fearing, love for Jesus Christ. Palin seems to fit the bill. Lisa Miller calls her the “pit bull for the religious right”…I simply call her a breath of fresh air. Continue to pray for her as the liberals, reporters, and snobs of America seek to ruin her….and in the process, further ruin our country. And pray for Kalnins and other Biblical preachers. The tendency will be to go soft on the gospel in order to avoid political fallout, but the Great Commission leaves no room for reticence in the pulpit. We must speak boldly, faithfully, and truthfully about all things Christian, including eternal Hell. Bravo to Kalnins for doing it. Let’s hope and pray he keeps up the good work; and that the gospel of Christ is proclaimed in the midst of this political election season.

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August 8, 2008 by Shane Kastler.

(Note:  The following isn’t really a “blog” its more of a “paper” that I wrote on the conversion of Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest.  It’s pretty long, but its a very inspiring and true story of how God can change any sinner. I hope you enjoy it.  –Shane Kastler)

………

When The Devil Got Saved: The Christian Conversion of Nathan Bedford Forrest

By Shane E. Kastler

Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a man that Samuel Montgomery wanted his niece to marry. In the early 1840’s when this young Tennessean appeared in Hernando, Mississippi to court Mary Ann Montgomery, her Uncle Sam tried to discourage him. Mary Ann’s father had died and Samuel, a Presbyterian minister, was her closest male guardian, and no Christian would have wanted their loved one mixed up with Bedford Forrest. “Nathan, you don’t want to marry Mary Ann. She’s a sweet Christian girl and you curse and gamble.” Nathan replied, “I know she’s a sweet, Christian girl…that’s why I want to marry her.” A “Christian” Forrest was not, but a protective and chivalrous man, he could be.

Mary Ann and her mother were on their way home one day when they got their horse and wagon stuck in a creek. While two young men sat laughing at them on the creek bank, another young man rode up into the creek on his horse, dismounted, carried the ladies to safety, and then pushed their wagon out of the creek. He then walked over to the young “no goods” and told them to stop laughing and move on or he would give them both a thrashing. They fled, and the “good Samaritan” went back and introduced himself to the damsels in distress. His name was Nathan Bedford Forrest, and he desperately wanted to see Mary Ann again.

The next week, Forrest rode out to the Montgomery place and began his quest to win the hand of Mary Ann. He promised her family that they would never have to worry about her safety because he would take good care of her. Six weeks later they were married and living their life in Mississippi.

Forrest must have seemed an odd match for the angelic Mary Ann Montgomery. Though raised by a Christian mother, Nathan was anything but a Christian himself. His father had died when he was 17, thus making him the “man of house” with a mother and ten younger siblings to care for. But Nathan arose to the challenge. He ran the family farm with a keen eye and a firm hand, and protected his family honorably. Life on the Tennessee frontier was rough and dangerous, proven by the fact that one day Nathan’s mother came home covered in blood having been attacked by a cougar. Nathan grabbed his gun and whistled at his two hunting dogs and off they went. He tracked and stalked the cougar until his dogs had it treed…..then waited until morning to get a clean shot. He cut off its ears and gave them to “Momma” as a trophy.

When Nathan was a teenager, he killed his first man. He was staying with his 65-year-old uncle when the four Matlock brothers, who were owed money by the elder Forrest, came calling. When they attacked, so did sixteen-year-old Nathan. He shot two of the brothers with a pistol, and stabbed the other two with a knife that was thrown to him by a witness during the brawl. Four Matlock brothers walked into the room that day to fight it out with “Old Man Forrest.” Three of them never walked back out, and one survived to tell the story. Even as a teenager, Nathan Bedford Forrest was not a man to be trifled with.

Nathan went on to become a very successful and wealthy businessman. Though uneducated and “backwoods” by nature, he was a skilled entrepreneur, albeit in an immoral trade. He made his fortune as a slave trader and as a plantation owner, and by the time the Civil War began in 1861, he was worth 1.5 million dollars, an astronomical figure, when considered by today’s standards. When his home state of Tennessee and his adopted home state of Mississippi both seceded from the Union, Nathan understandably sided with them. He enlisted along with his younger brother and his 15-year-old son Willie; and was made a Private in the Cavalry. By war’s end he would be a Lieutenant General, the only man to go from Private to Lieutenant General during the Civil War.

In 1861, Forrest was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given the charge to raise a Cavalry regiment. He did so and soon garnered a reputation as the most skilled Cavalry man the Civil War would produce. Though completely untrained in military tactics, his natural instincts were uncanny, and he was an absolute nightmare to the Union destroying railroads, communications lines, and supply lines. William Tecumseh Sherman declared that Tennessee would never be safe as long as “that devil Forrest” was a live and that they had to kill him “even if it takes 10,000 men and bankrupts the Federal treasury.” Fierce in battle, Forrest would kill 31 men in hand to hand combat, and have 30 horses shot out from under him during the course of the war. He rightly joked that he ended up “one horse ahead” by war’s end. It was said that Ulysses S. Grant claimed to fear no man on earth….except Nathan Bedford Forrest. Once in a fierce battle, while encircled by Union troops, Forrest began running straight for a Union supply wagon, which he then jumped and escaped capture. Another time he was personally fighting four Union soldiers at one time, all of them intent on making their name famous for “killing Forest.” He whipped them all, and yet again managed to escape.

Forrest employed many clever tactics throughout the war. When traveling with his Cavalry, he would determine where the Union spies were observing his men, then he would have his men peel off, backtrack, and ride again in circles past the observation point, thus giving the appearance of having thousands of men, when in fact he had mere hundreds. Then he would send a rider under a flag of truce and tell the Union troops that they were hopelessly outnumbered and must surrender or face the sword. By doing so, he captured scores of Union troops without firing a shot. But eventually his bluff was called and the results were dreadful and controversial, both then and now. At a location on the Mississippi River called Fort Pillow, Forrest ordered a Union regiment to surrender with the promise of honorable treatment as prisoners of war, or to be attacked and likely killed. The Union commander at the time was Major William Bradford, who was a “Tennessee Yankee” from Bedford County, ironically the county of Forrest’s birth, and the county from which he got his middle name. Bradford was seen as a traitor to many of his fellow Tennesseans, and was certainly not a man Forrest respected. Undoubtedly Forrest’s legendary temper played a part as he ordered the Fort charged having concluded the bloodshed was to be laid at the feet of Bradford, a traitor who refused to surrender against overwhelming numbers.

What happened next is disputed and fuzzy. Clearly in the heat of battle there were surrendering soldiers wrongly shot on sight. Fort Pillow being made up of white soldiers seen as traitors, along with 300 black soldiers didn’t gain a lot of sympathy from Forrest’s men. It was called a massacre, and in many ways it appeared to be. Forrest arrived in the Fort twenty minutes after it was overtaken by Confederates and immediately rode his horse between the two sides with saber and pistol drawn ordering a cease-fire. But the damage was done. Forrest would forever be remembered as the man who ordered the massacre of Fort Pillow, though a Congressional hearing by the Union army would eventually find him personally innocent of wrong doing. He was hated and feared that much more by the Northern people.

The war would rage on for another year with Forrest’s army trying to distract Sherman in his march to Georgia and the sea. Eventually it became clear that the cause was lost, and after both Robert E. Lee and Joseph Johnston surrendered Forrest saw the handwriting on the wall. Forrest told his men, “any man who is in favor of a further prosecution of this war is a fit subject for a lunatic asylum.” Forrest surrendered, and went to be reunited with his wife in Tennessee.

Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was worth 1.5 million dollars in 1861, was now broke. The only money to be found was $10 that his dutiful wife had saved for a rainy day. Forrest sought to take the money to a poker game and increase it, but his wife begged him not to stating that it would be immoral and a sin against God. He asked his wife if she would consent to pray for him as he played poker, so that their money might increase. She refused, but Forrest went to the poker game anyway. That night he returned with $1500, though his wife was unimpressed.

Forrest’s post-war life further soiled his reputation. As Reconstruction commenced in the South, many Southerners resentfully fought against the Northern “carpet baggers” who came down, collected government contracts worth millions, then did little to fulfill obligations. Tensions were high between Northerners, Southerners, and many freed slaves. In 1867 a group of white men in Pulaski, Tennessee formed a group that was meant to be a “protective” squad for Southerners that they dubbed the Ku Klux Klan. A year and a half later, Forrest became a member and was promptly elected as their first “Grand Wizard” thus forever cementing his reputation as the epitome of Southern racism. In 1868, after Tennessee’s pro-Union Governor William Brownlow was defeated at the polls, Forrest resigned from the Klan and urged their disbanding saying their purposes had been fulfilled. His urgings were ignored and the Klan set off on a violent streak of atrocities that would cause them to live forever in infamy. They would eventually disband, only to be re-chartered in 1915 with an even more violent and racist agenda. But the story of Nathan Bedford Forrest doesn’t end with the Civil War, Fort Pillow, or the KKK. As Paul Harvey would say…. “Have you heard the REST of the story?”

Nathan Bedford Forrest had been raised by a godly Mother to be a man of hard work and honor. Though he did not adopt his Mother’s faith, he held a reverence for Christians throughout his life. Chapel services were encouraged in his army, and General Forrest frequently attended. And though Forrest was famous for his profanity when in the midst of a tirade, his speech was relatively clean when he was calm, and he abhorred “smutty or vulgar talk” as being disrespectful towards women. Forrest never drank alcohol, nor used tobacco in any form. And he was absolutely devoted to his wife Mary Ann, declaring on many occasions that it was because of the prayers of his wife and mother that he had lived through so many fierce battles. When enraged, it was said that Forrest’s face would glow so bright red that he appeared to be a different person. Yet it was also said that his Godly wife could calm him down with only a word. He forever adored, respected, and revered her.

As Fort Donelson was falling to U.S. Grant in 1864, Forrest called his second in command, a former Methodist minister named Major D.C. Kelly to his side and implored him, “For God’s sake Parson, Pray! Only God Almighty could save that Fort now.” And as the war, and his eventual capture and death seemed likely, Forrest wrote a letter to his only son Willie imploring him to take good care of his mother and to be careful not to emulate his sinful and wicked ways. Forrest was glad to have Christians in his family, but he confessed that he considered Christianity to be “a woman’s religion.” But all of that changed in the mid 1870’s.

Though Forrest was only in his 50’s, a lifetime of hard living and battle were beginning to take their toll on him. He began attending church with his beloved wife at the Court Avenue Presbyterian Church in Memphis where the gospel was preached faithfully by Rev. George Stainback. And he began to feel the Holy Spirit’s conviction for a lifetime of sin. One day he ran into an old army buddy who had been under his command named Raleigh White. Forrest exclaimed, “Why, Raleigh White, its you! I heard you’d gone down to South America or somewhere!” White replied that this was not true, but that he had in fact become a Christian, having been led to Christ by his wife after the war. After trying his hand in business, White succumbed to an overwhelming call to preach the gospel of Christ to sinners; and was now a Southern Baptist Pastor living in Texas. Forrest listened to White’s testimony with obvious excitement, and then asked White if he would pray for him. The two veterans went into a bank lobby and knelt together as White prayed for Forrest. Then they parted ways. Another gospel seed had been planted that would soon take permanent root.

In the Fall of 1875, Forrest found himself setting next to his wife listening to Rev. Stainback preach from Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27 NASB)

Forrest’s heart was crushed and his spiritual eyes were opened. After the service he pulled Rev. Stainback aside and as Rev. Stainback later recounted: “Forrest suddenly leaned against the wall and his eyes filled with tears. ‘Sir, your sermon has removed the last prop from under me,’ he said, ‘I am the fool that built on the sand; I am a poor miserable sinner.” Stainback told Forrest to go home and read and meditate on Psalm 51 and see where it led him.

“Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.” (Psalms 51:1-3 NASB)

The next night, Rev. Stainback went by to visit with Forrest, and they fell to their knees and prayed together. Forrest said that he had put his trust in the Redeemer, and that his heart was finally at peace. The final two years of his life seemed to bear out the truth of his confession. Nathan Bedford Forrest the fierce fighter, gambler, racist, and sinner….was a changed man.

In 1875, Forrest was invited to speak to a black civil rights group called the “Pole-Bearers” Association, a forerunner for today’s NAACP. Though mocked by some white people for appearing, Forrest addressed the black people in love saying, “I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man, to depress none. I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going. I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment. Many things have been said about me which are wrong, and which white and black persons here, who stood by me through the war, can contradict. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I’ll come to your relief. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this opportunity you have afforded me to be with you, and to assure you that I am with you in heart and in hand.”

At the end of his speech a young, black girl named Lou Lewis presented General Forrest with a bouquet of flowers as a sign of reconciliation between the two races. Forrest accepted the flowers, then leaned down and gently kissed the girl on the cheek, a public act of reverence and respect that was absolutely unheard of for a white man to do in that day. Indeed, Nathan Bedford Forrest, former Grand Wizard of the KKK, was a new creature in Christ.

Nathan Bedford Forrest died from complications from Diabetes on October 21, 1877, when he was 56 years old. He said on his deathbed that there was “not a cloud that separated him from his beloved Heavenly Father.” The lessons from the life of Nathan Bedford Forrest are legion. His battlefield tactics have been studied by military men the world over, and he has been called by many a strategic genius in the art of war. But his personal and spiritual life give us far greater lessons. He is a clear testimonial example of God’s overwhelming power to change even the hardest of sinners. Though sadly, Forrest today is mostly remembered for his sin.

Many efforts have been made by civil rights leaders to have his name removed from parks and schools all across the South because of his being the epitome of racism. And yet, when the complete story of Nathan Bedford Forrest is known, we see him as being the very example of what we would hope to see from all racial bigots: a transformed and changed life. Though he was once the black man’s enemy, he became one of their dearest friends and defenders. His desire to see black people serving in politics and professional occupations was a clarion call for equality that was way ahead of its time. In fact, this “Southern racist” called for greater civil rights than most Northern abolitionists would have been comfortable with. Forrest had once owned and sold slaves for his business. Now his business was to see that they were treated fairly. It reminds me of another slave-trader turned Christian by the name of John Newton, who wrote a hymn you might have heard of: “Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.”

To hold a grudge against Nathan Bedford Forrest is to deny one of the greatest truths Christ teaches us; that the power of the gospel can change anyone. And that we should ask the Lord to “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” (Matthew 6:12) Nathan Bedford Forrest was a sinner par excellence. So am I. And so are you, if you would be humble enough to admit it. For the Bible teaches us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Nathan Bedford Forrest was despised in his day, as he is in most circles today, though Christians should forgive him just as Christ has forgiven us. Union General William T. Sherman vowed to catch “that devil Forrest.” But Sherman never was able to do it. In the end, it was Jesus Christ who finally caught up with him. And rather than kill him….Jesus changed him and on a glorious and providential day in 1875, the unthinkable and impossible actually happened: “that devil” got saved. Let us hope and pray that the Lord Jesus Christ would save many more “devils” like Nathan Bedford Forrest and transfer them from “the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Colossians 1:13)

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July 18, 2008 by Shane Kastler.

“For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:9 NASB) There once lived a man who was so vicious, mean-spirited, and hateful that most thought he was incapable of change.  There were a lot of things he hated in life, but the thing he hated most was Christianity.  This man lived in a day and age in which Christians could be prosecuted, jailed, and even executed for their faith; and he did all he could to rid the world of them.  He would chase them down and have them imprisoned and gender made no difference to him.  Men and women alike were in mortal danger if he was near.  At that time he was known as Saul of Tarsus.  But you probably know him by his other name, The Apostle Paul.

            Paul is remembered as one of the greatest Christians who ever lived.  His love for Jesus led him to embrace a life of suffering and persecution for the gospel.  But he started out as the persecutor, before he became the persecuted.  Jesus changed his life forever when he encountered Paul on the road to

            Perhaps you don’t see yourself as wicked as Saul of Tarsus was.  Yet, you are a sinner just the same.  The Bible tells us “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  And the only remedy for this sin is faith in Christ as Supreme Lord and Savior.  Will you turn from sin, and place your faith in Him as Lord?  Do you believe in His death, burial, and resurrection?  Do you believe He is coming again?  Are you living for Him daily?

            Saul of Tarsus is proof that God can indeed save anyone.  And Saul is also proof that no one can save themselves.  Saul thought he was working his way to Heaven by being a good Jew by persecuting Christians.  But no matter how good we think we are….we’re never really good enough.  Only Jesus was good enough.  Therefore it’s only through Him that we can be granted eternal life. 

            If you’ve never turned to Christ in full repentance, I encourage you to do it today.  Give Him your life, and He will give you eternal life.  After all, if Saul can be saved, anyone can be saved.  Even you.

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November 18, 2007 by Shane Kastler.

Are you perfect?  I can answer that question for you, even if I don’t know you.  The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  If you believe yourself to be above sin’s reach, then you’re living in a dream world according to the Apostle John. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)  The sad reality is that all people are affected by the dreaded sin curse that afflicts mankind.  The question is not whether or not you are a sinner.  The question is:  what will you do about your sin?

            Ultimately, there are only two options.  You will either continue on in your sin, and eternally perish.  Or you will turn from your sin in repentance, place your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and be saved.  This is the glorious promise of 1 John 1:9:  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

            If we will confess.  If we will turn.  If we will repent.  God promises not only to forgive us…but to cleanse us.  In other words He promises to remove the guilt…and also scrub the filthy heart clean.  In fact, He promises to indwell us by His Holy Spirit.  The sin that once enticed us now becomes disgusting to us.  And though the spiritual battle rages on, and we continue to stumble and sin…..our lives and our nature have been forever changed.

            Have you experienced that change yet?  Jesus called it being “born again by the Spirit” (John 3:3) Perhaps you think that you’ll make it to Heaven by your good deeds.   But you’re wrong.  Dead wrong.  Eternally wrong.  All sinners must throw themselves upon the mercy of the Lord, give their life to Jesus Christ, and accept God’s forgiveness.  On the cross, Jesus paid the eternal price for sinners who would trust in Him, and it was there that the debt for sin was paid.

            Trust in Christ today.  Follow Christ today.  Live for Christ today.  Accept the eternal forgiveness that only He can give.  Be spiritually cleansed.  Be graciously forgiven.  And be eternally saved. 

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