Forthright Magazine http://www.forthright.net Straight to the Cross The Fellowship Room, warm posts and hearty communion. http://fellowshiproom.org/ COLUMN: REALITY CHECK School of Just a Few Less Hard Knocks by Stan Mitchell Some of you who are "mature" enough will remember the philosophy behind experimenting with drugs in the 60's and 70's. "You won't know if it's really harmful," we would reason, "unless you try it yourself!" That was about as smart as a cat inviting himself to a national dog show! Do you have to jump out of a five- story building to know that it's not advisable? Or can you learn by observing its effects on others? Why did we, geniuses all, not learn simply by observing the bad effects of drugs (or alcohol, or multiple sex partners) on others? "I went by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment ... Then I looked and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come on you like a robber, and want like an armed man"(Proverbs 23:30-34, ESV). "Then I looked and considered it," Solomon declares, "I looked and received instruction." Presumably a dilapidated farm is equally observable to a fool, but he would learn nothing from what he saw! Solomon's wisdom lay in his ability to learn from other people's actions. That's why they put crash dummies in the cars, and not humans! We're supposed to learn from what we see! ---- Read this article online, write your reaction, and read others' comments as well. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/4onn9zn COLUMN: ENCOURAGING WORD Brotherly Love? by Paula Harrington If you read much of my writing than you know that I love the Chess Club and I'm not ashamed to admit that I like the kids much more than I do the game. We recently began this semester's meetings and I was delighted at the new faces that arrived. A few minutes into the first session, a third grader marched to where I was sitting and declared, "I don't like the kid I'm playing! He's calling me a liar and I'm not one! I don't want to play with him anymore!” I calmly instructed him to quiet down and then asked to whom he was referring. He motioned to where he had come from and replied, "That kid who keeps calling me a liar." After I asked him to direct me to that kid, we walked to the other side of the room and to a table where one very cute first grader sat. The older child proclaimed, “Him!” I tried not to laugh but my older student’s finger was pointed right in the face of his little brother. Sometimes we’re less patient with those we should love the most and sadly, that’s sometimes true in the church as well. The Devil knows that if he can divide us, he will conquer us and in some places, he’s doing a fine job. Our Christian family is under attack. In order to fight the evil, we need to encourage and edify one another. We need to work, worship, and walk this road to Heaven together. No, we might not always see eye to eye on everything but we must remember that God is our father and we are family (Galatians 3:26, Ephesians 2:19, I John 3:1). We will answer to him for the way we treat those in and out of the body of Christ. Regardless of what our enemy may try to do, let's love each other, glorify Jesus, and advance our Father’s Kingdom. Aren't those the reasons we're here anyway? ---- Read this article online, write your reaction, and read others' comments as well. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/4kstygq You can help get the word out. Here's how: http://www.forthright.net/editorial/lend_a_hand.html