Where do you get your news?

[Sirk]

This speaks to the subject:

When A Friend Has Been Offended
Beverly Caruso

When a Christian friend begins to pour out his heart to us, what are we to do? This can be just as difficult to handle as a personal offense. It's hard not to simply listen and commiserate with the one we care about. Or maybe we're inclined to tell him he's being too touchy and should just forget the whole matter.

Our responsibility as a Christian brother or sister to both the offended and the offender is to see reconciliation, not to take sides, nor to quiet our hurting friend. (2 Corinthians 5:18).

Yet it's hard not to take sides once we've heard an emotional description of the offense. Is there a Biblical way to respond other than simply to listen in silence?

I've learned to keep on the watch for the beginning of a complaint about an absent individual. When I sense that I'm about to hear something I might pre-judge, I stop the person as politely as I can. Often I ask, "Do I need to know this?" Sometimes I simply ask, "Have you talked to so-and-so yourself about this?" This is what I did when a Christian I'll call Ray approached me in anger one day.

He told me that Ed, his apartment manager, had asked him to prepare his apartment for the carpet to be cleaned the next day. It took several hours that evening to rearrange furniture and get small items cleared away. When he returned from work and the carpets had not been cleaned, Ray was angry.

It was several days later when Ray started to tell me about it. I gently interrupted him and encouraged him to talk to Ed and Jeannie. Then I added that if things couldn't be resolved between them, I would go with him to talk to the managers.

When I refused to listen to Ray's complaint, he was visibly disappointed. He was aware that Ed and Jeannie were members of our church group. Perhaps he even hoped I would confront them about their broken promise.

I later learned that Ray reluctantly approached Ed. To Ray's surprise, Ed apologized, explaining that the carpet cleaners had canceled at the last minute and that he had made several unsuccessful attempts to let Ray know the cleaning was being rescheduled. Then, to Ed's surprise, Ray apologized for his attitude, as if he had done something wrong.

When we direct the offended person toward reconciliation, we must be willing to go with the wronged person if the offender does become hardened and resists correction. That kind of commitment cannot be entered into lightly. But it is implied in Jesus' instructions to His disciples.

When we become third-party to a conflict, there is at least one big pitfall to watch out for: we are often quick to take up the offense of another. The problem here is that now there are two offended people who need to be reconciled to the offending brother. This can be avoided by refusing to listen to the complaint of the offended party until we're with the two individuals together. By not listening to another's offense, we're practicing Biblical loyalty to both parties. "A friend loves at all times" (Proverbs 17:17).

Throughout the process, our responsibility is to pray that hearts will soften and that the adversary will not enter the situation to score a victory by keeping the two parties divided. There's a preliminary step that simplifies this whole process. As a church congregation we discussed the whole issue of offenses and being loyal to one another. Then we made verbal commitments to hold each other accountable regarding giving and listening to negative reports. As a family, we've also discussed it with Christians outside our local congregation, though sometimes not until the issue arises.

Jesus knew the potential damage to our spiritual health, and to the work of His kingdom, when relationships are broken. By refusing to listen to reports about others--and directing them toward the offender--we can become instruments of reconciliation. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9).

yup... stopping someone midstream in their anger and asking "is what you're about tell me going to permanently alter my opinion of this person" is a great way to halt gossip.

 

[Depleted]

Ultimately, it seems quite a few here get their news through whatever the imagine in their head.

 

[SparkleEyes]

It is not the responsibility of the government to create or fund any media outlet. Good riddance to NPR.

NPR is NOT going anywhere, thank goodness. I know many solid Christians who listen to NPR. Maybe not everything, but NO outlet's content is all correct.

I think the govt should NOT fund NPR. That eliminates one criticism people have about it.

 

[seed_time_harvest]

Where do I get my news...


I come to CC and read what our liberal friends have to say about the latest events.
Then I try to imagine the exact opposite.

And THAT is how I get my news.

: )

Thats not good.

 

[prove-all]

Real World news relating to bible prophecys
https://www.facebook.com/PhiladelphiaTrumpet

 

[JustWhoIAm]

Thats not good.

Yeah, but one could do a whole lot worse... and it is pretty funny.

 

[joaniemarie]

What are your major sources for news on a day to day basis?

Just curious to see how the forum responds. Links are encouraged.

Good Morning Desdichado., That's a good question because many people even Christians get news from main stream media sources that don't report the news, they report what they think of the news and what we should think of the news as if we are idiots. I had no idea this was happening until my son became a Marine 10 yrs. ago.

Our family was thrown into a mess when our son got involved in the war in Iraq. But our govt. didn't tell it like it was and we were shocked to see the lack of facts and instead saw the playing politics with our son's life. But after years of watching liberal media and politically driven career politicians leading our country., I began learning to read past the "news"

Now I get most of my info from on line sources and Fox News. Even they don't get things 100% but it's much more in line with truth than what we got before. Also, in all this I am aware Jesus is coming back and He will make all this right in the end. That the church will be spared the judgment coming. The Bible says we are to encourage one another with these words in the Bible.

1 Thess.4:
[SUP]13 [/SUP]But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope.

[SUP]14 [/SUP]For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep [SUP][e][/SUP]in Jesus will God bring with him.

[SUP]15 [/SUP]For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the [SUP][f][/SUP]coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.

[SUP]16 [/SUP]For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;

[SUP]17 [/SUP]then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

[SUP]18 [/SUP]Wherefore [SUP][g][/SUP]comfort one another with these words.

 

[zeroturbulence]

I get my news from Fox news' website and from local tv and radio stations, and I like to listen to conservative talk radio but by then I already know whatever it is they're talking about... like today they're all talking about that crazy senator Warren, who the dems are now trying to paint as a martyr because she got silenced for breaking a formal senate rule even though she said she knew she was about to break it before she did it.. SMH..

I used to get my news from yahoo and aol but they've devolved into liberal propoganda outlets. No thank you.

I get stock market news from Marketwatch and CNBC even though they are liberal-biased because it seems like there's nowhere else to get news that's about nothing but stocks and the economy. (Its just a hobby... I'm not rich!)

 

[seed_time_harvest]

Alternative media sources, Don't trust the mainstream media at all.

That could be like talking to your neighbor over the fence style.