Life Goes On

Regardless of whether we set out to establish a "norm" for our family, it will happen.  Families that worship (more than just attend church) together will produce an air of worship within the household,  Families that pray together will produce a dependence on prayer in each member.  Families that fuss and fight will produce an atmosphere of animosity that filters down to the youngest member of the family. Sometimes I hear my father or my mother speaking in my head and suddenly realize that it is my voice and I'm actually saying what they said, the way they said it.  My Mom passed away 27 years ago and my Dad about 4 years ago.  I really didn't live with them much beyond my graduation from high school, and yet their influence is still strong almost 70 years later. I've said all of this to make a particular point.  We must be aware of the enemy at our gate.  If Satan can sneak in when the door is left ajar by sin that is not confessed, unresolved confl...

A couple of entries back I talked about love for one another being a badge of discipleship. That idea acutally springs from the words of Jesus in John 13:34-35. One problem that many of today's Christ-followers have with this is that their definition of love is too shallow. Anyone raised in the modern west has been programmed to believe that love is primarily a feeling that comes upon you and there is little or nothing that you can do about it. We're stuck in the phileo (brotherly love) or eros (physical or fleshly love) definitions of love, and have very little understanding of agapaeo. Agape love is what I call "love on purpose". The act(s) of love precede, and eventually produce, feelings. The old DC Talk song, "Love is Something You Do" pretty much nailed it. Bottom line; I can choose to love people that I really don't even like. I can choose to do loving things for them because that is what Jesus did for me. I can choose to love that other...