Forthright Magazine http://www.forthright.net Straight to the Cross One site, many authors. The Fellowship Room is filled with interesting, sound, Biblical articles. http://fellowshiproom.org/ COLUMN: REALITY CHECK Don't Listen to It! by Stan Mitchell "An evil-doer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue" (Proverbs 17:4, ESV). Do you know how to douse the fire of gossip? How to stop its vicious spread dead in its tracks? "You know you're having a bad day," someone once said, "when you are standing in a grocery store line and see your picture in the National Enquirer." It always seems that the least inquiring minds read the scandal-laden, gossip driven magazines. "Whitney Houston gives birth to aliens!" "Jerry Lewis and Marilyn Monroe were Secretly Married!" "Man with Two Heads Baffles Scientists!" scream the headlines. As if a reputable scientist would talk to National Enquirer! You stop the scandal sheets by not buying their paper; and you stop a gossip by refusing to listen to his idle speculation. Shut your ears, walk away, tell him you're not interested, pay no attention. The term "informed gossip" is an oxymoron term, like "convention in a telephone booth," "jumbo shrimp" and "military intelligence." Gossip needs the fuel of a sympathetic ear for it to survive. Starve it of oxygen. Don't listen to it! ---- Read this article online, write your reaction, and read others' comments as well. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/2f2bhf8 COLUMN: ENCOURAGING WORD Where Were You? by Paula Harrington I was at home with a nine-month old who still wasn't sleeping through the night. When the phone rang that Tuesday morning, I wearily made my way across the room. I'll never forget the anguish in my friend’s voice when she said, "Turn on the TV." Where were you September 11, 2001? Did you overdose on the wealth of information that was streamed 24/7? Could you turn the television off, even when you saw those towers fall repeatedly? I'm sure you remember exactly where you that Friday years before in November. Were you in school, at work, or home when you heard the news that our 35th President of the United Stated had been assassinated? What about the Sunday when Pearl Harbor was attacked? Recently, friends were talking about how their family gathered around their radios listening to the newsman, hoping beyond hope, that it was a cruel joke. Throughout our history, moments and events have captured the attention of the world. Dates are permanently etched so deeply in our memories that we will never forget the day or place where we first heard the news. In all of time though, there has never been a day worse than when they crucified our Lord. However, that dreadful day was quickly followed by the greatest and I'm certain the early believers inquired of one another, "Where were you when you heard he had risen?" Thankfully, Jesus did rise and most assuredly is returning (John 14:3). That moment will capture the attention of every person who has ever lived. We may even have the opportunity to ask each other, "Where were you when Jesus came back?" Eternity is near. Are you ready? ---- Read this article online, write your reaction, and read others' comments as well. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/2amd4c7 You can help get the word out. Here's how: http://www.forthright.net/editorial/lend_a_hand.html