OLD GARY

Miracles and Faith is such a common thought and a real stumbling block for many. To believe without seeing Christ risen from the grave is truly a step of Faith. If we could see the miracles and have been in the upper room then we could easily believe but I believe it is a stronger Faith to believe without seeing. The Bible tells us what happened and how things transpired but it is still the written and inspired word versus Jesus standing by us in person and letting us act as a doubting Thomas. We know that our Faith sees us through difficult times and lets us believe God is by our side.

The "WORD" makes Jesus God in the writings of John. The book starting out as does Genesis gets ones attention and then stating Jesus is the word is a statement that leaves no doubt as to John's thoughts. These are the inspired words of God so this is the way God wanted John to express who Jesus is. What a exciting beginning of Johns message. It can only get more exciting as we follow John an his writings.

As the lesson starts with some question as to the correct interpratation we can only ponder the full facts. Paul is expressing that Onesimus can be of greater use to Philemon as a Christian and follower of Christ. Since Philemon leads a home church and is a Christian leader perhaps he will better care for his slave. Returning a slave was the civil law of the time. Paul cannot betray a fellow Christian and friend such as Philemon by keeping his slave. We can only hope that Paul is correct in sending back this slave and he will be accepted as a Christian and treated properly while serving his earthly master. This is a very touchy subject as we are judging an act of the AD 60-62 time frame and realizing things would be much different than today. I wonder if the fact that Paul is an old man and in prison effecting his handling of the situation. A very interesting passage to ponder. Since letter writing is somewhat of the past I recall that starting a personal letter usually was upbeat and with praise so Paul did not do anything unusual in his greeting. We are fortunate that Paul was a vorious letter writer.

Archippus is found to be the key leader or elder in the Colossian Church. He was given the abilities of leader and inspired to preach, teach, and inspire the congregation to fullfill their roll and spread the message of salvation to the non-believers. He must hurry back to the Church and fulfill his God given roll to lead them forward and keep them a loving and cohesive group. His absence weakens the congregation. At times I have also been blessed or burdened with the roll of being the chosen leader of a group. I take the responsibility serously and try to lead the group to fullfill their destiny and roll in society.

Paul says "Devote Yourselves to Prayer" Devotion is the key through persistence, alert to loss of attention, watchful to direction and be Thankful in prayer. To follow this guidance would rejuvenate my prayer life and give it a new sense of direction and purpose. This is simple but yet says so much to get my prayer life on target and properly directed and give thanks to God for all I have. So much substance in this pair of verses.

Learing obedience to parents fosters a mental state that makes adapting to authority in the workplace and adult world more natural and more responsive. Resistance or refusal to accept parental authority frequently develops into antisocial and a total resistance to any authority in life. In raising of the child correction and leadersip is needed to foster the differance between right and wrong and the ability to make wise and learned life decisions. Correction of children who fail to obey should be done lovingly but forcefully to avoid a confrotational situation. It is a fine line when a child crosses into adulthood. Many factors of these directions are definetly influenced by socity and its level of acceptance of behavior. Children are frequently more influienced by peer groups than parental rule. "To rear a child obediently and lovingly will give great parental pride as they become adults"

Christian virtues make us Christ like and emulate his way. Christ is pleased to see his followers make a conscience effort to be like him in our conduct of life. The Church is built on the Christian values or virtues and it is imperative the members behave accordingly to assure the Church succeeds and flourishes as a happy and trusting community of believers- without the virtues the Church will fail. Non Christians see the virtues of a Christian and know they are trustworthy and many Non Christians will respond and respect the conduct- they may even see how beautiful the Christian way is and convert. In our homes the Christian virtues provide harmony and trust among the members. A home with such virtues should be a pleasant and happy home of beleivers.

Sins of the tongue are easy to slip into as they are considered very worldly in our modern times. Some groups feel swearing and gray area truth are a sign of belonging. The damage to our stature as Christians and family role models is not doable without the virtues of the tongue. The ability to adapt and adopt these virtues make us trustworthy and family members to trust, believe, and respect as Christians. When we are under the spell of our tongue sinning we must pray for strength to stop this and change our habits.