Heartache and Tragedy

The Preacher Says

Heartache and Tragedy

By Keith Bellamy

Imagine going on a boat ride and losing your whole family. Unless that has happened to you, you can’t possibly comprehend the loss that people are experiencing in Branson Missouri. That kind of heartache and sorrow is beyond what most of us have ever experienced. So, our prayers are with the families affected by this devastation.

I was flying back to Houston a number of years ago and a lady sitting by me was very nervous. She stated that her son had barely escaped from the first tower of 911 and that she was going to California to see him. She talked about the stress her son endured from 911 and how at age 35 his hair turned completely white almost overnight.

So, what do we do when everything seems to fall apart? Where do we go when another tragedy takes place?

Jesus referred to two events that may have caused some to wonder…when bad things happen to people, do they deserve it or not? Some may have been very self-righteous.

Luke 13:2 - Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? Luke 13:4 - Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them…do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? In verse 3 and 5 He called on them to repent, which is what He would ask us to do if we think we are better than those who suffer.

Jesus was the only One Who understood and I think the same is true today. There are many who suffer from some sort of mental affliction. Some must take medicine and some endure depression that no one seems to understand. Some live believing there is no hope and some describe this life as living in a place of darkness.

I believe our God understands and that we will have to lean on His everlasting arms! Jesus is the LIGHT!

My favorite passage is in 1 Peter 5:7. “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you!”

HOW TO IMPROVE THE IMPERFECT CHURCH

HOW TO IMPROVE THE IMPERFECT CHURCH

By Jim Mullican

The church of Christ in ancient Corinth was a church with many problems and imperfections. A study of the two letters to Corinth that are preserved in the New Testament quickly impresses us with that fact. They were divided into cliques that refused to welcome outsiders. They idolized certain preachers. They were filled with pride, arrogance, and self-centeredness. Some were guilty of immorality. Some weakened the influence of the church by participating in the false religions of their neighbors. Women were usurping authority God didn't give them. Some were not giving as they should. They were focusing their attention on unimportant things and failing to show the kind of genuine love for one another they should have. As a matter of fact, they were very much like most congregations today!

Even their meetings on the first day of the week to participate in the Lord's supper, to give, to pray, to sing and to hear the word of God were occasions when some seemed to go out of their way to hurt the feelings of others. Paul reminds them that Jesus instituted the supper on the night before his death, and then he says, "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself" (I Corinthians 11:27-29).

On occasion, some have declined to participate in the Lord's supper, feeling themselves to be "unworthy," but the fact is that all of us are unworthy. We are all guilty sinners, saved only by the grace of God shown in sending Jesus to die in our place (Ephesians 2:8-10). Paul is not saying that those who are conscious of personal sins and shortcomings need to abstain from participation in the supper. In fact, he's saying just the opposite. Many in the Corinthian church saw themselves as the spiritually elite. They were convinced that they were right on everything, and they were upset with those who failed to measure up to their standard. They made their point by their refusal to speak to others or to fellowship with them. But Paul reminds them that those others whom they criticize and exclude are members of the body of Christ too, and probably are even more acceptable to Christ because of their humility in contrast to the arrogance of the "judges." He says, "Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup." No one is told to abstain. We are simply told to focus on our own attitude, correcting that. Then we are all to share in the Lord's supper as imperfect but equally valued members of the body of Christ.

“DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR OR READ!” Part Four

“DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR OR READ!”

Part Four

By Keith Bellamy

A false accusation can really hurt. If you have ever been the recipient of such, you know full well what I am talking about!

We so like to speculate on someone else’s misery.

Lynn Anderson related a story one time about a preacher who was conducting a revival in a town. There was a house sitting across from the church building and the preacher asked if the people living there had been invited to attend the revival. Some of the members, including some of the leaders at that church said there was some bad things going on in that house. There was a teenage girl living there and some guy was coming in at night in the late hours when the mother goes to work.

The preacher decided he would invite the mother and her daughter to the revival. When the preacher entered the lady’s home he noticed an older man in a hospital bed. It was obvious that the man was incapacitated.

The lady said that she was trying to take care of her invalid husband and her daughter was trying to help when she was home from school. The man who came in at night was the lady’s brother and he was giving his sister a break, so she could get a little rest before she went to work at her 11 to 6 job.

Something was going on alright.

These people needed encouragement and help but the good church people were not willing to do what Jesus would have done.

Would you please consider the following passages?

Matthew 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners “(NASV).

Matthew 12:7 “But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.”(NASV)

Romans 9:15 “For He says to Moses, ‘I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.’” (NASV)