By Michael E. Brooks

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet" (John 13:14).

Do you laugh sometimes at the old-fashioned "fundamentalist" beliefs of some? We wonder at the simplistic interpretations of scripture that result in worship practices like foot-washing and the like. But does it ever occur to us that sometimes in rejecting these things as items of worship we go too far and forget the impact of the original teaching?

Have you ever had someone wash your feet for you in circumstances where, first, they needed it badly, and, second, you could not do it yourself? I had that happen last week on a visit to some river-side villages in Bangladesh. We arrived by boat (there are no roads into these villages; the only way in is by river or canal) at low tide and had to run the boat into the mud bank several feet below the high water mark. That meant we took our shoes and socks off, climbed out of the boat, and waded mud for thirty feet or more up to the dry bank of the river. A lot of that black, sticky mud accompanied us, caked on our feet and legs. As we stood on one foot beside a pool of water a villager washed the other, dried it on his own towel, and put sock and shoe back on. Then he gave the same treatment to the other foot.

In the debate over whether modern churches should hold foot-washing ceremonies in their worship, we forget the real point of what Jesus taught in John 13. Be a servant. Do for each other whatever mundane, humble act of kindness circumstance requires. If your brother's feet are dirty, wash them. If some other need is found, meet it. None of us is too good, or too important to be a servant to others.

Jesus' words are far too simple and powerful to be misunderstood. If he, our master and lord, can humble himself to serve us, who are we to refuse help to anyone else? The very definition of Christian is servant! We are to seek out those who need help, and give them that help. Pride, arrogance, and selfishness are totally out of place in his kingdom.

I was privileged to be reminded once again how humble and helpful a true Christian can be, and how welcome such simple acts of kindness are. May we all follow the example of our Lord, and serve others.

by Tim Hall

Can you feel pity for Jack Whittaker? You really should try, though for some it won't be easy.

On Christmas 2002, Jack Whittaker of Winfield, WV won the Powerball Lottery. His prize of $314.9 million was the largest single prize ever won in U.S. lottery history.

Pity this man? Please, hear the rest of Jack's story.

According to an article carried by the Associated Press on March 11, 2004, Jack's office was broken into on Tuesday of this past week and $2,000 was taken. Two days later, thieves broke into his vehicle as it sat outside his home and made off with undisclosed property.

Earlier in the week, an employee of a local casino filed charges that Jack Whittaker had assaulted her in March 2003. Jack has made no formal response and no criminal charges have been filed.

There's more. In January of this year, Jack Whittaker was charged with threatening to kill the manager of a local bar and with drunken driving. In that same month, $100,000 was taken from his vehicle. Four months before, $500,000 he was carrying in a briefcase was taken from him after he was drugged at a strip club.

We suspect this is not the end of Jack Whittaker's woes.

As we consider the saga of this "lucky" man, let's also be sure to consider the words of Ecclesiastes 5:11,12: "When goods increase, they increase who eat them; so what profit have the owners except to see them with their eyes? The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep." Do you have trouble understanding what this passage means? Consider the experience of Jack Whittaker.

Whittaker's experience also helps us to see the truthfulness of 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (Do I hear an "Amen" from Winfield, West Virginia?)

What could be better than winning the biggest jackpot of all time? Here's God's answer: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6). "Great gain" isn't measured in dollars and cents; it's measured in peace of mind and contentment.

Now can you feel pity for poor Jack Whittaker?

by Phil Sanders

No doubt many of you have seen or heard about Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ. This film graphically tells the story of the suffering Jesus endured during his last twelve hours of life. When Jesus died on the cross, He accomplished many things:

1. He died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:3-5; 1 Pet. 2:24).

2. He purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). The church is identified in Rev. 5:9,10 with the "kingdom".

3. He brought both Jews and Gentiles near to himself by his blood (Eph. 2:11-16).

4. He broke down the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might reconcile both of them in one body to God (Eph. 2:15,16).

5. He became the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1,2).

6. He fulfilled the will of His Father and set an example of suffering with patience (1 Pet. 2:18-25).

7. He demonstrated the depths of the love of God (Rom. 5:6-8).

8. He redeemed us from the futile life of our forefathers (1 Pet. 1:18,19).

I am so thankful He was willing to die for me.

by Mike Benson

Question: "I am incarcerated. A lot of times I am asked the question, 'What denomination do you follow?' I always say, 'I am just a Christian — a member of the church of Christ.' Then after that it's hard for me to explain. Would you please tell me how I can discuss this and make it clear to others?"

Answer: This can be a sensitive question. It is difficult to talk about the concept of one church with those who are only acquainted with sectarianism and division. No one likes to think of his religious affiliation as anything less than adequate. Everyone who belongs to a church sincerely believes that his faith is just as acceptable to God as his neighbor's.

It is easy to become uncharitable and appear arrogant in a discussion on the Lord's church (2 Tim. 2:23-25). Our mandate is to lovingly, yet firmly, communicate the truth in this realm (1 Pet. 3:15; Eph. 4:15). While not everyone will be receptive, this should not deter us from our task. Please consider the following:

1. An illustration. You might ask your cell mates to define the word "denomination" and then inquire, "What are some possible divisions of a U.S. $100 bill?" A single $100 bank note could be divided into the equivalent of one hundred dollars with a $50 bill, a $20 bill, two $10 bills, a $5 bill and five $1 bills. Point out that any of these ten bills are but a part of a whole.

2. New Testament teaching. The Lord's church is presented in Scripture as the whole thing. It is "the FULNESS of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:23b — emphasis mine, mb). It is never spoken of as a "segment" or "part" of a larger religious entity. In fact, the word "church" is used only in two senses in the Bible: 1) as the UNIVERSAL church over which Christ is Head (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 1:22,23; Col. 1:18), and 2) in reference to LOCAL churches [i.e., congregations] in a given geographical area — "the church of God which is at Corinth" (1 Cor. 1:2), "the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 1:1), "the churches of Galatia" (Gal. 1:2), and "the churches of Christ" (Rom. 16:16; Cf. Acts 14:23; 20:28). "Christians" (Acts 11:26) "were of one heart and one soul..." (Acts 4:32a); they were not denominated or divided (Phil. 2:2; 2 Tim. 2:2). They followed "one faith" (Eph. 4:5), they adhered to the same doctrine (1 Tim. 1:3,10; 2 Tim. 1:13) and contended for the [singular] faith (Jude 3).

On the other hand, denominationalism — by its own admission — is composed of more than 1,600 religious groups, often wearing different (man-made) names, teaching conflicting religious doctrines, and endorsing contradictory practices. Note this statement from The Standard Manual For Baptist Churches by Edward T. Hiscox:

"It is most likely that in the Apostolic age when there was but 'one Lord, ONE FAITH, and one baptism,' AND NO DIFFERING DENOMINATIONS EXISTED, that baptism of a convert by that very act constituted him a member of the church, and at once endowed him with all the rights and privileges of full membership. In that sense, 'baptism was the door into the church.' NOW, IT IS DIFFERENT..." (p. 22 — emphasis mine, mb).

You might want to ask your peers as to why things are different today. Religious plurality is obviously not in harmony with either the Lord's prayer (John 17:20,21; cf. Matt. 15:1-14), nor the standard practice (Acts 2:42,47; Col. 3:17) of His disciples (John 16:13). In fact, on those few occasions when weak and immature brethren in the first century attempted to denominate and fracture themselves (1 Cor. 1:11-13), they were hastily condemned as "carnal" and "unspiritual" (1 Cor. 3:1ff; cf. Gal. 5:21).

3. Some questions:

. How many churches did Jesus promise to build (Matt. 16:18)?

. How many churches did Peter try to build (Matt. 17:4)? What was he told (v. 5)? How did he and his friends react when they were told to listen only to Christ (v. 6)? How should men react today when they consider building a church not sanctioned by the Father?

. How many different churches or choices of churches can we have today without dividing the body of Christ?

. Can you read of any "hyphenated" Christians in the Bible (1 Pet. 4:16; Acts 11:26)? Was Paul a Southern Baptist-Christian? Was Peter a Methodist-Christian? Was John a Lutheran-Christian? Was James a member of a Jehovah Witness group or any of the other hundreds of religious sects we find today?

. How many approved denominations can you read about in the New Testament?

. Did John, Peter, or Paul ever encourage men to join the church of their choice (Gal. 3:27)?

. Does Jesus desire a $50, a $20, two $10's, a $5, and five $1's, OR does He desire a $100 bill (John 17:20,21; Acts 4:12; John 14:6)?

I appreciate your sincere question, as well as your desire to share the Gospel to your fellow inmates (Rom. 1:16; Matt. 28:19,20). In closing, you might ponder the words of John Wesley, noted Methodist leader of long ago. He wrote, "Would to God that all party names and unscriptural phrases and forms which have divided the Christian world were forgotten: and that we might all agree to sit down together as humble, loving disciples at the feet of a common Master, to hear His word, imbibe His Spirit, and transcribe His Life in our Own" (Wesley's Notes on the New Testament, p. 7). To that we might add a hearty, "Amen" (1 Cor. 1:10)!

by Barry Newton

Admittedly, the tongue is difficult to control; and we have all made mistakes in one way or another. But like every form of sin, malicious gossip is something the Lord takes very seriously. Praise God for forgiveness. However, this does not justify ignoring any problem which we might have in this area; we must seek to change and conform our lives to His will. God wants our tongues to be tools in His service, not the enemy's.

Which of the following is not gossip:

___ Slandering someone

___ Spreading a lie about someone

___ Telling the truth about someone, so that the person will be hurt by what you say.

As you guessed it, all of these constitute gossip. Just because something is true (or you think it is true) does not make it OK to share with others. What is the motive for sharing something? Does it conform to edifying, building up or even training someone how they ought to go? Or does the motive arise out of something much darker? Might a juicy piece of information be shared to show that I am in the know? As people dedicated to growing more and more into the image of Christ, what can we do?

1. Do not listen to gossip. We can let a person know that we do not want to know the inside dirty scoop on others. We enable others to sin, if we passively allow others to fill us with trash.

2. Deliberately pray for your enemies. Instead of spreading the news about why they are so terrible, pray for spiritual growth in their actions and behavior.

3. Focus on doing good towards and blessing that person you might be tempted to slander. If our energy is focusing on loving others, then there is less room available for evil motives to sneak in.

4. We can pray for ourselves and one another that we might resist temptation.

May we not sin through those words we choose to say! May our LORD use our words as choice tools in His service.