DRIFTING AWAY FROM THE LORD

Drifting Away From The Lord

by Keith Bellamy

C.S. Lewis was once asked why so many have quit being active believers. With many British church buildings having so few worshipers, he replied, "Isn't it mainly a matter of drifting?" Isn't that the primary cause of attrition of many of our congregations in America today? And isn't it a clear alarm, when the Holy Spirit cries out, "Let us give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard, lest we drift away from them" (Hebrews 2:1).”

So many are drifting! So very many are walking away from the Lord. And it truly concerns me and saddens me that so many churches are shutting their doors.

If you have ever drifted in a boat, you know what little progress is made. But you also know you can get into serious trouble if you are not careful. Many years ago, my dad and I were taking his sister and her husband fishing. Dad gave me the steering wheel of the boat. It was very foggy, and I almost crashed the boat on the rocks surrounding the dike. If I had watched the compass, that would not have happened. As it was, I had made a 180-degree turn into dangerous territory. If you are in a boat and don’t follow the compass, you might get in trouble.

On another occasion we were drifting, not knowing if the anchor was doing its job or not. It wasn’t…because we had not secured it; so we drifted again.

Life is like that. We must stay on course, and we have to do that every day. My compass is Jesus Christ and the Bible.

Make sure you have a good compass and a secure anchor and consider Hebrews 6:19. “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.”

So, let me encourage you not to drift. Stay focused!

“All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”

“All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”

By Keith Bellamy

According to Wikipedia, “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” is a novelty Christmas song written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner (1913-2004). I remember that song and lately I have been wondering if we would be satisfied with just that – our two front teeth.

How many of you have the “I wants”? That meaning: How many of you really have to have something? It is obvious from all of the material things we must have that we think Christmas is about us. So, we want and want and want.

What if all you received for Christmas was a piece of candy or an apple or an orange? I remember my dad saying he was lucky if he got that. But he said, “We didn’t have anything so we didn’t know we were missing anything.”

There are so many out there in our community who will not have a Merry Christmas. They will not receive anything. Some call our church and we try to help, but there is only so much we can do.

I learned a long time ago that Christmas was about giving and not about receiving. I was never disappointed that we may or may not have received the gift we wished for. My parents taught us that happiness was not in things. And it isn’t.

Word got to me recently that our grandchildren didn’t want anything from us for Christmas. They wanted us to, make a donation to help the less fortunate out.

All I want for Christmas is not my two front teeth but peace and security that only comes from the Lord!

I know there are some parents who would love to see their children again, but they can’t. The unthinkable happened. May God help those families who have lost loved ones this past year!

You see, two front teeth aren’t so important anymore.

Jesus said to “Seek First His Kingdom”….!(Matthew 6:33). Have you?

“WHEN IS SACRIFICE REALLY SACRIFICE?”

“When Is Sacrifice Really Sacrifice?”

by Cecil Haffelfinger

We often toss about the word "sacrifice" as if it were a football. We sometimes use it to impress others…to make us look "more Christian." But is "our sacrifice" just rhetoric or does it really have substance? Not judging! Just asking. The "Rich Young Ruler" of Matthew 19:16-22 had deluded himself into thinking his life was a life of sacrifice. In reality, his was a life of covetousness.

Years ago in a country church the announcement was made that a special contribution would be taken to help the missionaries in a certain mission field. A little girl was deeply impressed. She told her dad she wanted to make a contribution. The father gladly offered her some money, but she said, "No, Daddy, I want to give something I will miss."

She had two possessions…a pet hen and a duck. That week when the peddler came down the country road the little girl was at the front gate with her pets. She asked, "What will you give me for my pets?" He took the fowls, weighed them, and replied, "They are worth 35 cents." The child pressed her pets to her bosom for the last time, and then gave them to the peddler. The next Sunday that 35 cents went into the collection plate for mission work.

Where there is a cross, there is sacrifice. The precious little girl's sacrifice isn't to be compared with the sacrifice of Jesus. But she made a sacrifice. She gave that which was most precious to her.

Beloved, that cross is still calling for sacrifice. And whatever our pet hen and duck might be, we must give it.

As a well-known song says, "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul…my life…my all."