"Anger is the wind that blows out the lamp of the mind." (Robert Green Ingersoll) Don’t hang out with angry people; don’t keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious—don’t get infected. (Proverbs 22:24-25 MSG) If your mom was anything like mine, she cautioned you to find the right group of friends, being wary of hanging out with the 'wrong crowd'. We all knew who the 'wrong crowd' were, didn't we? Depending upon our generation, they could have been the rebellious teens of the 50's who thought it was cool to smoke and dress in slightly more 'provocative' clothing. If we grew up in the 60's, it was likely the hippies who wore multi-colored clothing, sported peace signs, and drove VW buses. There were the anti-war protestors, draft dodgers, potheads, and later the ones who were labeled as 'lose' or 'gang like'. Regardless of the ones our parents labeled as the 'wrong crowd', it was always their intent to ke...
Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG) What is God doing? There are times we all ask that question, not really sure that God is in control, but trusting that he is, we still find ourselves asking what he could possibly be doing with what is going on around us. Watch what he does - that is a pretty specific instruction. We are to observe what he does because we learn best when we have an example of an expected action. God loves us - repeatedly, unconditionally, without doubt or regret. In the same manner, we are to love others, but we need to see his example in order to respond to others with this type of love, don't we? So, observe how he love...