Good morning readers. First I want to thank those of you who participated in the discussion last week regarding infant salvation and baptism. I believe it is a sensitive topic, but one that scripture is clear on. It is certainly one of those issues that will test the faith of anyone who happens to lose a child.
Second, I want to let you know that I am changing the format of the weekly memory verses. Or rather, I am changing the expectations. I realize that some, if not all, of us are unable to memorize the verse(s) each week. This can become discouraging and may end up turning you away from simple meditation on a selected passage. So, for those of you who are nodding your head at this, myself included, you can expect to see a change in the expectations regarding these weekly passages. I want you to meditate first, and if memorization comes out of that time then great, but that is not our goal.
The goal is not to be able to say a verse on command; the goal is to read a passage over and over again so that through doing so you begin to truly ponder the words, meaning, and application. How does this sound to you?
To kick off this new view, I want you to chew on the passage from James below (my wife and I are reading through the book of James, so expect a lot from this book here):
James 1:19-21 (ESV)
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Aaron Aiken 
“…slow to anger”…Easy to read and easy to understand. Why then, is it so hard to just do? This is one of the challenges I an attempting to overcome in my daily life. What has helped is recognizing that the sin here is not just becoming angry. It is the poor example I set when angry and the clear disregard for the feelings of those around me when I get angry.
Dan, thanks for the comment and for sharing your struggle with anger. I believe anger is something that we all struggle with at some point in our lives; although it seems to take shape in different ways depending on the person. The best thing to do, as with all things we struggle with, is to give it to God and ask for his help. Easier said than done, I realize, but worth saying nonetheless.
Hope you are doing well, it was good to hear from you.
– Aaron
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