Do I Love You This Much? A Father’s Day Reflection
There are some moments that happen in the life of a dad that are so precious that once they happen, they are forever imprinted on your heart. One such moment happened tonight as we were getting our kids ready for bed. Every parent has special little “inside” things they do with their children. One such inside thing that I have with Colby is a little thing we do from time to time where I will take my hands and I will hold them open and very close together, with only a centimeter or two between them. I will say, “Hey Colby, do I love you this much?” He’s become so used to this that when I do it he automatically gets a huge smile on his face. Laughing he will say, “Nooo!” I will then move my hands a little further apart and ask again, “Do I love you this much?” Laughing even harder he responds, “Nooo!” I will repeat this a few times moving my hands further and further apart. Then finally at the very end I will throw my hands back as far as I can behind my back and say, “Do I love you this much!?” He then shouts, “Yeeees!!!” Tonight as I was tucking him into bed he looked at me and I noticed that he had his hands open and close together. I knew what he was about to do. He was about to do the “I love you this much” game with daddy! He asked, “Hey dada, do I love you this much?” I smiled and said, “No…” He moved his hands apart and repeated his question again, to which I replied again, “No…” I thought I would trick him the third time to see what he would say. He asked again, “Do I love you this much?” I said, “Yeah, you love me that much!” He got a confused look on his face and said, “No dada, that’s not the much that I love you.” I laughed so hard and when Colby heard me laugh he began laughing too. I said, “Ok, ok…no that’s not the much you love me.” He continued moving his hands apart asking me until he had his hands as far around his back as possible. That afforded me the opportunity to tickle his belly. “Stop! Dada!” he cackled, laughing uncontrollably. “Good night buddy,” I said as I kissed him goodnight. “Good night dada.” After we said our prayers I turned off the light.
A Church In Crisis: Should We Ever Disfellowship Someone?
In 1981 in Collinsville, Oklahoma, there was an event that took place that surprised a lot of Christians. After the leaders of the Collinsville church of Christ found out that one of their members, a lady by the name of Marian Guinn, was having an illicit affair with the local mayor, they confronted her a number of times. In accordance with their beliefs, according to Matthew 18, they formally asked her to break off her relationship with the man. After a few times, the leaders wrote her a letter warning her that if she persisted in the affair they would have to disfellowship her. They were writing her the letter in an effort to get her to make a public confession. Upon hearing the stance of the church leaders, she repeatedly said that the issue was “none of their business.” She felt that the leaders “…had no right to get up and say anything against me in church…” Guinn felt that the leaders of the church were having a judgmental attitude and that it was her own personal life that was being impeded. The church preceded with their actions and 3 days later they read a letter in front of the congregation asking for prayers on her behalf and it also gave Guinn 1 week to repent. Guinn then sued the church basically on the grounds that they were meddling into her personal business and that they had no right to do that. The jury agreed with her argument and awarded her $390,000 in damages. In 1989, the verdict was reversed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
What Every Tongue Owner Should Know
I often write on these blogs topics that interest me. It may be things that I have studied recently or things that God has laid on my heart. This week I write out of a sense of sadness. Why? Because I see the enemy trying to destroy Christian community. I have over the course of the last several weeks been witness to a number of encounters between Christians that left one, the other, or both parties feeling betrayed, hurt, and slandered. My heart has gone out to these believers because, from the sidelines, I think all parties involved are missing the big picture—that God has called us into Christian community based on love, mutually born out of the Holy Spirit. As such, any (and I repeat any) backbiting, gossiping, talking behind other’s backs, etc. in that community can come from only one of two places; with the Enemy as he tries to sow seeds of discord (in other words divide and conquer) or with the flesh (as we rather selfishly justify our own actions against another brother or sister as being ok). Here are my thoughts on the matter…
Are The Churches Of Christ The Only Ones Going To Heaven?
You can take as long as you like answering this…But, it’s been a huge problem for me… HUGE. As a child listening to my Father preach (Church of Christ) we were taught that ONLY Church of Christ members would be allowed in Heaven. I don’t believe that, I truly don’t.
Does Jesus Know When He Is Going To Come Back? Another look at Matthew 24:36
From Tutti in Tennessee:
