Serving Others

Neither the toxic worldview of evolution nor that espoused by mainstream Christendom fails to answer why we exist. We have a mandate to serve both God and man.

Have we lost the fire for God and His way that we we once had? If we have, we need to reconsider our basic commitments, and one of those is service. William Gray shows just how vital a key to success service is in all aspects of our lives.

Jesus modeled the practice of foot-washing to demonstrate the need to be submissive to one another, to serve one another, including those who betray.

Richard Ritenbaugh, while acknowledging that America's relationship with slavery has indeed been checkered, with chattel slaves and indentured servants contributing to the prosperity of earlier times, counters the 'Progressivist' claim that America invente. . .

John Ritenbaugh, reiterating that a major part of holiness entails loving one another, explores some ways in which we can fulfill this objective. We are to do unto others as we desire others to do to us, acknowledging that there is a reciprocity involved i. . .

Mark Schindler, focusing on John 15:9-10, affirms that if we stand firm in God's commandments, expressing them spiritually as well as in the letter, we are exercising the love of God the Father and the Son. We are commanded to love one another as Jesus Chr. . .

We live in a youth-oriented culture. Once a person grays and wrinkles, he is essentially pushed to the margins of society, but this should not happen in the church of God! The elderly have a great deal to offer—if we will only pay attention.

Kim Myers suggests that the government assumes an unseemly role as being entitled to do whatever it wants, dominating over the lives of its constituents, instead of functioning as a servant. Having in the last several decades ignored the Constitution, and . . .

Converted members of God's church have a blessing that absolutely no one else in the world has: Christians have a true understanding of living as God Himself lives. ...

John Ritenbaugh shows that the Days of Unleavened Bread have both a negative and positive aspect. It is not enough to get rid of something negative (get rid of the leavening of sin); if we don't do something positive (eat unleavened bread or do righteousne. . .

The humble attitude exemplified by Jesus in footwashing shows the mind of God. God expects us to follow Christ's example of loving others, flaws and all.

The unity of God's church does not derive from organizational expertise, the conformity of ecumenism, or the tolerance for evil, but from the family model.

Many consider the footwashing at Passover merely as a ritual to remind us of the need to serve one another. But it teaches another godly attribute: forgiveness.

God's way of giving is true altruism, and while we will never attain to such a perfect standard, He exhorts us to develop this characteristic.

The Parable of the Talents continues Jesus' thought from the Parable of the Ten Virgins. While the first parable highlights preparation and watching for Christ's return, the second portrays Christians engaged in profitable activity in the meantime.

James Beaubelle, insisting that there is nothing passive in the way God deals with His people and His creation, asserts that the God of the Bible was and is actively involved in the lives of His people with the expectation that they become active also. The. . .

Jesus Christ did not teach the pyramid model of leadership, where successive levels of leaders provide direction to those in the lesser ranks. He served.

Increasing knowledge without the capacity to process it leads to insanity. To combat information overload, we must get back to the basics of Christianity.

Deference is a foundational virtue. It reveals one's humility—that he is thoughtfully aware of others and seeking to serve them even in insignificant ways.

Richard Ritenbaugh, citing the African Proverb, 'It takes a village' asserts that this principle more aptly applies to the church, specifically designed to serve as a support for those in need. In this era of 'going it alone' or 'cocooning,' we as a people. . .

Martin Collins, concluding his series "God's Perseverance with the Saints," focuses on Christ's desire that all His disciples have unity and love. The unity He appeals for is not organizational unity, but unity within the divine nature, exampled . . .

Christianity has both an inward aspect (building godly character or becoming sanctified) and an outward aspect (doing practical good works).

The meal offering represents the second Great Commandment, love toward fellow man. Our service to others requires much grinding self-sacrifice and surrender.

God fills the first 15 verses of Isaiah 1 with a laundry list of sins, but He provides only two direct, uncomplicated verses on how to correct the problems.

Martin Collins, reflecting on an administrative decision about care of the widows in the early Church (mentioned in Acts 6:1), suggests that dual languages and dual cultures (Greek and Hebrew) led to at a perceived "double standard" in the way we. . .

John Ritenbaugh indicates that we are being fitted as lively stones into an already formed Kingdom, being conformed to the image of Christ, who has been designated as the Cornerstone. As God's future priests, becoming living sacrifices, we will constitute . . .

Richard Ritenbaugh identifies nine categories of the "we know" assertions in the first Epistle and the Gospel of John, asserting that fully knowing consists of developing a deep intense relationship with God. John asserts that (1) Commandment kee. . .

The meal offering represents the intense self-sacrifice required in service to man. Our service to man must be done for God's sake rather than man's appreciation.

Using an analogy of a Tlingit Indian ritual of leaving a young man on a remote island with only a bow and arrows until he learns to become a man, John Reid suggests that God requires a similar thing for us. We have to learn the survival skill of loving one. . .

John Ritenbaugh, focusing upon I Peter 1:13-16, reiterates that holiness must be an indispensible characteristic of the called-out priesthood. This mandate markedly influences our relationships, making us servants to one another as a band of brothers and s. . .

Jesus set the bar very high when it comes to love. We no longer live for ourselves, but to Christ, who commands us to love everyone, including our enemies.

John Ritenbaugh stresses that sacrifice (as an act and as a way of life) is absolutely necessary for the working out of God's plan. In taking undue attention off the self, sacrifice creates peace, prosperity, cooperation, and most of all, character. As cal. . .

Jesus sets a pattern for us by serving without thought of authority, power, position, status, fame, or gain, but as a patient, enduring, faithful servant.

Ted Bowling, reflecting on his recent participation in the 40th reunion of Frankfort, Indiana High School, recounts his initial feelings of apprehension at the prospect of being re-immersed in the culture of 40 years ago, in which jocks, nerds, cheerleader. . .

God can take satisfaction that He is doing the right thing, and thus His rejoicing can even come from painful judgments. Sarcificing and rejoicing are linked.

There must be something to prove we are one with Christ and in union with the Father and the Son. That something is the manner in which we conduct our life.