by A. A. Neale

Surrounded by immorality, a Christian fights an uphill battle to remain pure. But that is not his greatest challenge.

In a world awash in words and alternative philosophies, a Christian struggles to get the divine Word out. But that is not his greatest challenge.

In the rush of daily events, a Christian vigorously defends his time alone with the Lord. But even that is not his greatest challenge.

This is an opinion, and you are more than welcome to differ with me, but I think I have good evidence (in my own life) to back it up.

The Christian's greatest challenge is to live each day with a prayer of gratitude on his lips and with an attitude of thanksgiving among his fellow creatures.

The world's biggest problem is the gripe. Complaining is not just the fashion, the rage, the in-thing to do. It is the way of the world.

The moment you take up a worldly gripe, you lose gratitude. Let the miserly complaint find lodging in your heart, only to discover the gladness of thankfulness has fled to higher ground.

For lack of gratitude, almost the entire nation of Israel fell in the desert.

For lack of gratitude, nine lepers left Jesus marvelling before a single Samaritan.

For lack of gratitude, Esau sold out his birthright for a quick meal.

Thankful means I know the price paid for my soul. Thankful means I recognize that every good and perfect give comes from the Father of lights. Thankful means I understand that even the suffering I endure has its benefits. Thankful means I live in the embrace of a God who continually thinks of my well-being.

Blessed Lord of heaven and earth, you and you alone deserve all praise and honor and glory. Thank you for your love, your giving, your blessing, your presence. Thank you above all for your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." (Col. 3:15-17, NASB).

by Randal Matheny

Several programs, mostly messengers and chats, I think, have a feature that allows you to keep them on top of your screen. No matter what you pull up or load, you can always keep the program in front of the others. You will always see it. No other program you have running will be allowed to cover it over.

When you choose this feature, it means this program is the most important of all at that moment.

Seems to hold a nice spiritual analogy.

Whatever you may be doing at the moment, whatever "programs" you may be running in your life, no matter how many jobs you have piled up, keep the Lord Jesus on top. He can stay always in front of everything else. You will always see him, even when something else is loading in the background. No other item you have running will be allowed to cover Him over.

I take it that's what Jesus meant in Matthew 6.33 about seeking first the Kingdom of God. Get it out in front. Don't let any other pursuit obscure its place in your life.

But you must "click" on Jesus. You must, to put it more appropriately, decide that he will be your priority. Every moment. Regardless of the activity.

If you need to consult the help section on how to do this, let me know. I can give you some pointers.

by your loving editor

We're still getting adjusted to the place here, a few more pieces of furniture to mount, rugs to lay, that sort of thing. But I thought to put you up to date on what's happening.

Greg says he'll be able to write more now the GA List is gone. Jimmy needs about six weeks as he is moving from one non-virtual house to another.

Jeff Jenkins, who has written several articles for Forthright, will become a regular. This week another Good Soul or two should also answer our invitations in the affirmative as well.

Barry is still pounding out those great articles he always does. And Phil ... Anybody heard from Phil? Maybe it's the time of the year for Phil to travel abroad on one of his teaching trips. So we'll not mark him off. Yet.

And I'll try to pitch in with a morsel now and again.

So there you have it. Good people writing good thoughts for good hearts. Stick around, bookmark us, sign up to the e-mail list to keep abreast of new articles and features.

We want to go straight to the Cross. Every time. We hope you'll go with us.

by Randal Matheny

I was checking our visitor stats and saw that we had not a few hits from people querying the search engines for "W magazine Lauren Bush." Apparently some relative of Pres. George has made her 15-minute splash on the media.

I have no idea what W Magazine is, but on the old Forthright site, I had posted a kind remark about the magazine from a Lauren Bush from Florida. She is almost certainly not the same of the frenzied search. So take away the "W" from the search query, and Forthright showed up in the list.

I hope people found what they weren't looking for.

by Barry Newton

Regardless of economics, race or status, people value love and recognize that love will shape what is good and true. It should not be surprising to anybody that love permeates and lies at the heart of our Biblical message.

Since our English word love is used so broadly, it is helpful to distinguish between different types of love in order to gain a more precise understanding of the New Testament’s message. This can be easily accomplished because the New Testament was written in Greek and there are various Greek words for love.

Eros

Eros is probably what most people mean when they announce with a smile, “I’m in love.” This type of love covers everything from queasy stomachs and warm fuzzy feelings to strong sensual passion.

There are a couple of very interesting characteristics about eros. First, it is dependent upon the situation and circumstances. Second, it is also held captive to each person’s perception. For example, if someone perceives a particular quiet evening dinner with candles to be romantic, eros will thrive. However, passion becomes squashed for someone whenever he or she interprets the current situation to be undesirable. Although eros at times might make us feel like we are on cloud nine, because it is so fickle and dependent upon perception and circumstances, it is not a reliable basis for building a deep and meaningful relationship. Although eros is exhilarating, this is not the Biblical word used for love.

Philia

We recognize philia and its meaning from the name Philadelphia, that is, the city of brotherly love. This is the love of friendship, best friends, and being with those people you enjoy.

Although philia is wonderful, it too is unreliable since it is also held captive by the sifting sands of situation as well as by ours and other’s perceptions and expectations. Unfortunately, we probably all know of a friendship which waned or was severed because of time, distance, harsh words, how someone interpreted another’s actions, etc. When the New Testament commends love, philia is the not the word which is used.

The Beauty of Agape*

Unlike the previous two types of love, agape is not limited to being held hostage by its environment and someone’s perception. The reason why agape can soar above these is because it is based upon the commitment of a decision. It entails the decision to proactively seek someone’s wellbeing. Since it is not a knee jerk reaction or feeling to how I’ve been treated, agape is capable of acting in a hostile environment where there are no warm fuzzy feelings. For example, Jesus’ teaching that we should agape our enemies is intended to show the boundless nature of the Christian commitment toward seeking another’s wellbeing. Luke 6:35

The New Testament is full of examples and teachings illustrating the nature of agape as well as training the disciple’s heart to be shaped by agape. A few of these teachings which underline the active nature of agape include:

• Knowing that sinful man would kill His Son, but also knowing that without Jesus we were doomed, God loved (agape) us by sending his Son. John 3:16

• Those who love (agape) Jesus will do what Jesus taught. John 14:15,23

• If a person has material resources and the love (agape) of God within him, his heart will take care of his brother who is in need. 1 John 3:17

• Just as Christ through love (agape) acted on behalf of the church, so too the Christian husband is to be motivated by love (agape) to act on behalf of his wife. Ephesians 5:25-29

If it were not enough that the proactive nature of agape has the power to rise above its environment, it can also empower passion and friendship! For example, when a spouse chooses to speak and act toward the mate with agape, this creates the loving environment in which eros and philia can thrive! Although this spouse might even perceive the other spouse as being unkind or rude, additional problems can be prevented by responding out of agape while it works at nurturing the growth of the other forms of love!

If we announce to the world that we are concerned about accurately understanding biblical doctrine, it is not going to be impressed. What will cause them to take notice is if we demonstrate genuine agape. Jesus taught his disciples that the world would know they were his disciples if they would show agape toward one another. John 13:35

*For the sake of simplicity, both agape (noun) and agapeo (verb) are being referred to by agape.