Tribute to Graham Keltner 10-27-24

The tears hit when I heard the news. 

I spoke to Graham two weeks ago and it seemed like there was hope…it appeared the worst was behind him even though his continued treatment was going to be challenging. He sounded good, and we talked about his favorite subject, Jesus Christ. Graham was content in the Lord with whatever his outcome would be. After all, eternal life is not a consolation prize.

I love Graham Keltner and always will. His childlike innocence and genuine affection for all of us will live on as an example of godly character. Though Graham and I were in different parts of the country for the past 40 years, I spoke to him often over the last five years and always smiled when he talked about his sinful days before Christ when he was 12 or so and causing mischief in his neighborhood, falling to peer pressure, and rebelliously disobeying his parents when told to go to bed. Young Graham was out of control.

I’ve known Graham since grade school, and I never saw him as anything but a Christian…a rare gem of fallen humanity who followed the Savior as a child. There was Daniel, Shadrach, Meschack, Ebednego, Samuel, David, and Graham. Graham’s salvation was so real that I sometimes avoided him because his presence convicted me.

But Graham did not see himself the way I did. Graham saw himself as a sinner saved by grace. He often spoke of the Prodigal Son and the love of a father who came running to embrace his rebellious son who humbled himself and returned home. Graham spoke of Jesus, not as an example of good behavior, but as righteousness personified, of holiness in the form of man, and as peace in the battle of our will against God’s. 

This morning I sat outside as the sun came up and read posts about my old friend. I wept, but I didn’t cry for Graham, I cried for you and me. Our friend, our rock, and our compass always pointing to Christ is gone, and it hurts. There is a void. There is an open wound, but if Graham was right (and I believe with my whole heart he is) there is a God who is concerned about the plight of his children. There is a God who left the comfort and majesty of heaven to be one of us, and he lived as a man, he died as God, and he rose from the dead so that you and I can rise from death to be with him and be reunited with his sheep. And that’s where Graham is right now, and I can see him in my mind’s eye entering the gates of heaven as Jesus meets him, embraces him, and kisses him: “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”

‘Rest In Peace’ is an ancient and trite saying which refers to any person’s death regardless of their behavior, moral character, or spiritual condition, but when it comes to Graham Keltner, resting in peace is a perfect description. He was a man who spent his entire adult life resting in the peace of Christ, and now he rests there forever.

In addition to his great salvation, God gave Graham a beautiful woman to be the wife of his youth. Michelle and Graham were born to be together, and they always were. Michelle, I am heartbroken for you, yet I know you would not have changed a thing if you could have foreseen this day. Just as I admire Graham, I admire you greatly as a godly example and faithful wife. May the peace of God fill you forever.

Graham…I miss you terribly brother, but I’ll see you again soon…

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21

The Origin of the Scam

Scam: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation. (Merriam-Webster)

In 1973, the first Friday in September was declared a holiday, and every student in the Shelby County school system received a free ticket to the Mid South Fair. Never one to pass up a good deal, I arrived at the fair with my friends just before lunch. The four of us waited in line, handed over our tickets, and went through a row of turnstiles that opened up to the sights, sounds, and smells of the fair. We didn’t know it then, but it was the most wonderful existence a kid could have.

I had eight dollars in my wallet, five of which my dad gave me that morning along with two dimes for phone calls. He warned me to keep my wallet in my front pocket to protect it from pickpockets and to call home if I had any problems. I was ready for all the dangers the Fair had to offer, or at least I thought I was…

We waded through the crowds at the entrance where we were met with a variety of carnival games, each one operated by carnys challenging us to show off our shooting, throwing, and balancing skills to win coveted prizes which were mostly ugly, stuffed animals or cheap toys. We ignored the badgering and sales pitches because we were on our way to see the military display of tanks, jeeps, weapons, and  planes. Besides that, the Army recruiters always had plenty of free stuff to give away.

We took a short cut through an alley to avoid the crowd leading to the midway. There were fewer games, but one of them got my attention. It was an open air booth operated by a young guy wearing jeans and a pullover who had a bucket of softballs and three wicker baskets. He was different than the others. As we passed, he effortlessly flipped one of the balls into a bushel basket. It was a simple toss, and he did it over and over, never missing. I slowed down and watched.

“Three tosses for a dollar my man. All you have to do is get the ball in the basket twice and you get a prize. See how easy it is?” He tossed another softball, and like the others, it landed perfectly in the basket. His prizes seemed bigger and better than the ones in the main thoroughfare. He promised me a long blue stuffed snake if I dropped two balls in the basket. The odds were good, but my friends told me come on.

“Hold on guys…this is easy.”

They kept going.

I got three tosses for a dollar. The distance was short, and there was no way I could miss. I hit the middle of the bushel every time, but the ball bounced out every time. In less than three seconds my dollar and snake were gone.

“Aw-w-w man…you almost had it. That snake was almost yours. Just think how good you would look walking down the Midway with that snake your shoulders. All the girls will know how skilled you are” 

The second time was a replay of the first.

“You’ve got a spring in the bottom of that crate!”

“No buddy…it just takes a gentle touch and some skill. Watch…”

With a spin of his hand, he instantly put three balls in the bushel. Something primal inside me took over. I didn’t really want the snake, but I thought it was worth more than the money I had in my front pocket, and I wanted to win.

The third time I mimicked the tossing technique the carney showed me, but I missed the bushel completely on my first and second tosses. The third ball hit the bushel dead center but bounced out. 

I was a three time looser, but it wasn’t enough for the carny. He desperately wanted to help me, so he once again demonstrated how easy it was by dropping three balls in the basket.

“I think you’ve almost got it.”

I pulled out my forth dollar without thinking. Victory was within my grasp. My first toss stayed in the basket, but I missed the other two. I realized that half my money was gone. I was desperate. 

“I believe you got it now. Just one more time…”

Having failed on eleven attempts, I decided to change my strategy by throwing the balls at the bushel as hard as I could hoping to break out the bottom of the bushel. It didn’t work.

With my five dollars gone, I thought of my dad. I had squandered the hard earned money he gave me, and that thought caused me to realize the carny was really not looking out for my best interest at all. I thought he wanted me to win, but now I knew better. The game was rigged. The sole purpose of the Carnival man was to take money from unsuspecting boys like me. What a fool I had been.

I turned my back on him and walked away. He pleaded with me. He told me I was getting close to winning. 

“Don’t quit now you’ve almost got it.”

But it didn’t matter. I was done, and he knew it, so he showed his true character by mocking me.

“The simplest game at the Fair…too bad that young man was unskilled…and a quitter…he almost had it. How about you my friend? How about taking a shot to win this massive stuffed animal…”

I had been scammed.

The history of scamming goes back to the very beginning, the Garden of Eden. There was Adam, Eve, and God in a perfect environment where there was work to be done, animals to be named, and food for the picking. Our first parents had all they wanted and needed with just one restriction: God told them not to eat fruit from a tree called the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil. All other fruits in the garden were good for food, but if the ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, there were serious consequences. God told them they would, “…surely die.”

Things went well for awhile, but there was another creature in the Garden named the Serpent. The Serpent was not a hideous monster like we think. He was pleasant and likable. His nickname was Angel of Light. 

One perfectly beautiful day in the Garden, Eve was hanging out with the Serpent by the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Serpent asked her, “Has God really said you can’t eat from any tree in the garden?”

It seemed like a legitimate question from one of God’s creatures who was looking out for the best interest of mankind, but in his dialogue with Eve, the Serpent questioned God’s word. He cast doubt on the legitimacy of God, and it was a scam. The first scam in history, and it set a precedent for every scam that has ever occurred because scams always question what we know to be true and right by promising something better.

You know the rest of the story, and you are familiar with the Serpent’s other nicknames like Satan, the Devil, the Dragon. Satan is the father of lies, deception, and scams. What we often forget is that Satan left an indelible imprint on the children of Adam. Satan, the deceiver, left all of Adam’s children a heritage: deceptive hearts. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us: “The heart (of man) is deceptive above all things and desperately sick: who can know it?”

When you combine the deception of the satanic world with the deceptive nature of human beings, the result is people who deceive and are easily deceived. The deception is so thorough, that human beings often deceive themselves. This gives us a world of people who question God’s word, his goodness, and his character. The reality of this fact is bad news. It means that Satan and his army of demons use their skills to scam every human being who themselves are preprogrammed to deceive others and themselves, and the program of deception will succeed totally unless someone perfectly good, righteous, holy, and honest intervenes.

Just when Satan rewrote the entire course of human history, God intervened. Hebrews 2:2-4 says it like this: “For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”

 The horrible bad news of an entire human race being overcome by a scam is erased with the Good News of redemption (being bought back) given only by God through Christ alone to all who believe that Christ is who he claims to be and rewards those who diligently seek him through repentance and faith giving them this great hope: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

Notice this great hope is not in anything you and I could possibly do, it is in what Christ has done in his perfect obedience to the Father: active obedience to God’s commands, passive obedience by dying for the sins of his people, rising again on the third day, and ascending into heaven to intervene for his sheep. It is Christ’s righteous that satisfies the Father (not ours). It is Christ’s sacrifice that pays the just penalty for our sin, and it is Christ’s righteous which guarantees eternal life for all those who believe in Christ alone.

Don’t be scammed. Grace, peace, and hope are found in Christ alone.

Solus Christus