SERVE ONE ANOTHER

SERVE ONE ANOTHER

by Keith Bellamy

My friend Keith Lancaster posted this quote by John Stott on his Facebook page. "The symbol of an authentically Christian leadership is not the purple robe of an emperor but the coarse apron of a slave."  Amen!

In Galatians 5:13 we notice these words, "but through love serve one another." (ESV)

So many people are going through a rough time.  Some have unpleasant memories from the past, and yet there are those who go about not thinking of self but are intent on serving and helping others.

Jesus taught that His disciples would be servants.  And He left us an example from His own life by serving others (Mark 10:45).  That doesn't appeal to some, but it is a way of life for so many.  Oh, yes, I know there are those who take advantage of the givers, but I would rather be a giver than a taker.  Oh, yes, we have been taken advantage of, but that's okay!  Jesus healed ten lepers but only one came back to thank Him (Luke 17:11-19).

My granddad Bellamy was a true servant of God.  He didn't think anything of sharing his garden with his neighbors.  Granddad would do without before he would let others suffer.  I think that's where my dad got the same idea.  Both of them would share what they had.

My mother was a real servant of God.  She believed what her mother believed.  Grandmother used to say, "Give me my flowers while I am living."  And Mother would share her flowers and plants and the goodies that came from her kitchen.

I knew of a preacher who pushed away from the table so his wife and children would have enough to eat.  He kept a small Christian college afloat when he sacrificed his pay and lived on his meager Social Security.

Serving others is what our lives should be all about.  I am thankful that we have known so many who do serve in one way or another.

I am trying more and more to be like Jesus.  He gave up everything to be a servant…and so should we!

Remembering the 4th of July

Remembering the 4th of July

By Keith Bellamy

Many people in our country think the 4th of July is about fireworks, picnics and time off from work.

However, I am very grateful for this day, and to remember that the Declaration of Independence was written and signed by men who knew their lives were at stake for signing it.

Most of us have never faced persecution for our beliefs!  Many have never experienced discrimination.  However, many have.

Some would want to accuse the founders of our country of being bigots and racist. However, because of those who signed that great document, we have what we have.

I don’t believe our country was founded by people who did not believe that God was behind it all.  Even those who may have been skeptics still knew that the cause was greater than any one person.

Some would want to destroy this country with no answers to the chaos that would follow. Some of these same people would not be able to make the statements they make in other countries. And they could not certainly earn a living in other countries as they might do here.

We have been in countries where freedom was not available for many things.

So, let’s not take the 4th of July for granted!

Let’s be proud to be an American.

Once again, I am reminded of Hosea 4:6. My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children (NLT).

Turn Down the Outrage

Turn Down the Outrage

By Robb Hadley

Scott Slayton, a Baptist preacher in Alabama, writes: "We have become a people who are addicted to outrage. Every day, we pick up our phones and are immediately bombarded with a thousand headlines yelling, 'here's something for you to be angry about!’  Like pigs going back m:o the s1op, every day we fall for the controversy de jour and work ourselves into a tizzv over something said or done by one we don't even know."

Maybe it's not your phone which proclaims the outrage, perhaps it is your news network. Whatever the source, there are plenty of outrage machines for people of every political stripe.

My point is not that there is a shortage of the outrageous. My point is that outrage has spilled into every corner of our lives. We are tempted to live for it, to search for it, to proclaim it. Loudly.

There is a problem in that for the Christian. We have something far more important to proclaim: the only thing that can fix broken humanity and our broken world. The wise man wrote: "With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered" (Proverbs 11.9).

It is hard to share the Gospel at the top of your lungs!