Monday, February 20, 2006
Amazing Fish Story
I received these pictures in an email a few weeks ago. I checked the story out at www.snopes.com and found out it's true. You can read the newspaper article at that link, but the short part of the story is this guy saw a huge catfish with a basketball stuck in its mouth, and he rescued the fish by deflating the ball. Here's the pictures small:
This is the gospel story. I even wrote a sermon using it as an illustration how we are catfish, attracted by the things of the world, stuck in sin which exhausts us and promises to kill us, unable to either free ourselves or even feed ourselves to gain strength for the struggle.
Like that catfish, we have a savior who is not only able to set us free, but wants to set us free, wants to see us live lives abundant and full, the way God intends for us, and rejoices when we are free.
Bill took that ball and removed it from the fish, and I imagine both parties want the fish never to be in that situation again.
God takes our sins and removes them to the bottom of the ocean.
We should let 'em stay there.
This is the gospel story. I even wrote a sermon using it as an illustration how we are catfish, attracted by the things of the world, stuck in sin which exhausts us and promises to kill us, unable to either free ourselves or even feed ourselves to gain strength for the struggle.
Like that catfish, we have a savior who is not only able to set us free, but wants to set us free, wants to see us live lives abundant and full, the way God intends for us, and rejoices when we are free.
Bill took that ball and removed it from the fish, and I imagine both parties want the fish never to be in that situation again.
God takes our sins and removes them to the bottom of the ocean.
We should let 'em stay there.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Love is...
My wife shared this with me recently. Neither of us made it up (apparently David Sanford did). The Apostle Paul's version can be found here.
LOVE: A PARAPHRASE OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13
By David Sanford
If I talk a lot about God and the Bible and the Church, but I fail to ask about your needs and then help you, I'm simply making a lot of empty religious noise.
If I graduate from theological seminary and know all the answers to questions you'll never even think of asking, and if I have all the degrees to prove it and if I say I believe in God with all my heart, and soul and strength, and claim to have incredible answers to my prayers to show it, but I fail to take the time to find out where you're at and what makes you laugh and why you cry, I'm nothing.
If I sell an extra car and some of my books to raise money for some poor starving kids somewhere, and if I give my life for God's service and burn out after pouring everything I have into the work, but do it all without ever once thinking about the people, the real hurting people-the moms and dads and sons and daughters and orphans and widows and the lonely and hurting-if I pour my life into the Kingdom but forget to make it relevant to those here on earth, my energy is wasted, and so is my life.
Here is what love is like--genuine love. God's kind of love. It's patient. It can wait. It helps others, even if they never find out who did it. Love doesn't look for greener pastures or dream of how things could be better if I just got rid of all my current commitments. Love doesn't boast. It doesn't try to build itself up to be something it isn't. Love doesn't act in a loose, immoral way. It doesn't seek to take, but it willingly gives. Love doesn't lose its cool. It doesn't turn on and off. Love doesn't think about how bad the other person is, and certainly doesn't think of how it could get back at someone. Love is grieved deeply (as God is) over the evil in this world, but it rejoices over truth.
Love comes and sits with you when you're feeling down and finds out what is wrong. It empathizes with you and believes in you. Love knows you'll come through just as God planned, and love sticks right beside you all the way. Love doesn't give up, or quit, or diminish or go home. Love keeps on keeping on, even when everything goes wrong and the feelings leave and the other person doesn't seem as special anymore. Love succeeds 100 percent of the time. That, my friend, is what real love is!
Copyright 2003 David Sanford. Permission is granted to send this to others, but not for commercial purposes.
Now, I also like verses 8b - 13, which Mr. Sanford chose to leave out. Perhaps it could continue:
Words are uttered once and then they're history. They can be repeated but their meaning cannot remain static. Even things we hold in high regard, like education and experience, these things are confined to flesh and blood, and they are not immortal. We as a species don't know as much as we think we know - how can we accurately describe what the Almighty has done? When God reveals everything, then we'll know. An apple seed knows only what it's like to be an apple seed, but an apple knows what it's like to be both seed and fruit, and it is no longer like the seed. Wait til it's a tree. It's the same with people and God: wait til God gives you your spiritual body, what a difference! In the end, as now, only faith and hope and love exist. And love - everlasting love - love trumps 'em all.
LOVE: A PARAPHRASE OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13
By David Sanford
If I talk a lot about God and the Bible and the Church, but I fail to ask about your needs and then help you, I'm simply making a lot of empty religious noise.
If I graduate from theological seminary and know all the answers to questions you'll never even think of asking, and if I have all the degrees to prove it and if I say I believe in God with all my heart, and soul and strength, and claim to have incredible answers to my prayers to show it, but I fail to take the time to find out where you're at and what makes you laugh and why you cry, I'm nothing.
If I sell an extra car and some of my books to raise money for some poor starving kids somewhere, and if I give my life for God's service and burn out after pouring everything I have into the work, but do it all without ever once thinking about the people, the real hurting people-the moms and dads and sons and daughters and orphans and widows and the lonely and hurting-if I pour my life into the Kingdom but forget to make it relevant to those here on earth, my energy is wasted, and so is my life.
Here is what love is like--genuine love. God's kind of love. It's patient. It can wait. It helps others, even if they never find out who did it. Love doesn't look for greener pastures or dream of how things could be better if I just got rid of all my current commitments. Love doesn't boast. It doesn't try to build itself up to be something it isn't. Love doesn't act in a loose, immoral way. It doesn't seek to take, but it willingly gives. Love doesn't lose its cool. It doesn't turn on and off. Love doesn't think about how bad the other person is, and certainly doesn't think of how it could get back at someone. Love is grieved deeply (as God is) over the evil in this world, but it rejoices over truth.
Love comes and sits with you when you're feeling down and finds out what is wrong. It empathizes with you and believes in you. Love knows you'll come through just as God planned, and love sticks right beside you all the way. Love doesn't give up, or quit, or diminish or go home. Love keeps on keeping on, even when everything goes wrong and the feelings leave and the other person doesn't seem as special anymore. Love succeeds 100 percent of the time. That, my friend, is what real love is!
Copyright 2003 David Sanford. Permission is granted to send this to others, but not for commercial purposes.
Now, I also like verses 8b - 13, which Mr. Sanford chose to leave out. Perhaps it could continue:
Words are uttered once and then they're history. They can be repeated but their meaning cannot remain static. Even things we hold in high regard, like education and experience, these things are confined to flesh and blood, and they are not immortal. We as a species don't know as much as we think we know - how can we accurately describe what the Almighty has done? When God reveals everything, then we'll know. An apple seed knows only what it's like to be an apple seed, but an apple knows what it's like to be both seed and fruit, and it is no longer like the seed. Wait til it's a tree. It's the same with people and God: wait til God gives you your spiritual body, what a difference! In the end, as now, only faith and hope and love exist. And love - everlasting love - love trumps 'em all.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
State of the Union
How many blogs today have this subject, I wonder?
Click on the picture to make it bigger if you wanna see my notes during the speech.
I thought it was a very politically correct, hopeful speech. Surprised by the "American Competitiveness Initiative" (?) that will ride on the successful tails of No Child Left Behind (?). Surprised at the oil addiction statement, and the 20 year plan to decrease our dependence on the foreign stuff (20 years? c'mon, how bout a little initiative?). W told of a plan to cut the deficit in half over the next three years. Said the same thing last year: cut it in half over the next three years. He referred to 9/11 only twice, by my count, and hinted that if we'd have had something like the Patriot Act in place pre 9/11, 9/11 wouldn't have happened. Nice.
Now I guess I'll see what the media has to say about it. I watched on Fox, btw.
