WHO'S ON FIRST?

Was there ever a funnier stand up comedy routine than Abbott and Costello's Who's on First? I don't know how many times I've seen it, but it's not too far into the routine before I'm grinning wide. It has its current counterpart in a Division III football game with Milsap College and the laterals with 3 seconds to go in the game. I taped the coverage and run it back. It doesn't matter how many times I see it, it causes me to laugh out loud. I think there were 14 laterals. Eleven, I'm sure of. On one play resulting in the game winning touchdown . The announcers simply went wild.

If Who is the first baseman (actually the Dodgers, I believe, have a player named Hu, and I saw him get on base, and sure enough Hu was on first) in a stretch it begs the question, "Who's on first in your life"? We know from scripture who better be on first, and it's our Lord and Creator.

I've said it many times, and I'm sure in this blog, one of my favorite book titles is Gayle Sayers' I Am Third. Sayers was a Hall of Fame running back for the Chicago Bears. His title means, of course, God is first, my family second, and I am third.

What a great priority, what a great testimony. If we can truly keep that order in our lives, we will be so blessed. God promises it.

So in the comedy routine, we have God on first, Family on second, and I on third. Or Keep Your Eye on Third. That's a good title for a sequel. Or should it be Keep Your I on Third?

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT BEING BIONIC?

Lindsay Wagner to me will be the only bionic woman. And there's only one 6 Million Dollar Man. But today A-Rod is a quarter billion dollar man who just turned down a guaranteed $72 million contract to play with the Yankees. There's something, well there's a lot of things obscene about that.

But back to my title and Lindsay Wagner. There's a new bionic woman. I don't know her name. There are people living today with Jarvis hearts, transplanted organs, prostheses which were only fiction, like Lindsay Wagner back when. And they're all great. Medical science and engineering have found each other to the wonderment of all.

Our son had his gall bladder taken out laproscopically. A good friend of mine is having a hernia repaired laproscopically this morning. After he had a surgery , performed laproscopically to disconnect his intestine from his bladder. It absolutely astounds me at the advances of modern medicine. May God bless you today, Bob.

May He give you the rest you'll need for recovery. And that's what's wrong with the Bionic Woman--new or old. Who needs rest when you have working parts that need no cessation, no release, no stillness? Rest is something we all need. If God needed it after 6 days of creation, don't you think we might need it after our daily toils?

One definition of rest is partaking of things that do not require performance. This is the kind I get at night before sleep. When I'm armed with remote control and a steady trigger finger. Some nights that's all I do, though last night during the World Series inane commercials, I found a great 1981 movie on PAX called simply Peter and Paul. It was an excellent movie about their lives, so my rest was more of peace than inactively disengaging my mind.

Now, had PAX shown Noah's life, then it really would have been peaceful, because that's what Noah means--rest. Better yet, the source of rest, now and for eternity, lies in our Lord. When we walk with Him, when we take the yoke (Matt.11), and when we become one of His, then we will receive God's grace and compassion.

WHAT IS A RUBBER SOUL?

Just about this time of year in 1965 I remember buying the Rubber Soul album by The Beatles. To this day it remains my favorite.

But I never knew what it meant. I still have no clue, so if you were expecting an answer, I'd suggest Google. And if it's some obscure reference to something else that should be obvious to me but is not, then feel free to comment and enlighten me.

But a soul is a soul is a soul. And I think it's good. In my NIV concordance, soul is defined as a "person's essential self; that part of a person that is eternal." There was no definition for rubber.

My favorite verse with soul in it is Psalm 62:5 "Find rest O my soul in God alone." And maybe that's where the rubber comes in.

The world will hit us with so many difficulties. It's just a part of living in a world stained from sin. We have to bounce back; we have to absorb the hits. You know, like rubber. Remember the children's retort to something bad said about them -- "I'm rubber; you're glue. Whatever bounces off me, sticks to you." We have to be that way, too, as adults. Have that bouncy soul that won't be injured, won't be altered.

Why? Because of our faith. Because of the peace we find in God alone. We are told to pray for our enemies. Then we can find rest. Then we can sing loudly, truthfully (and thankfully to the Beatles for coining the phrase rubber soul) "It's is well/with my soul/it is well/it is well/ with my soul."

OR ASK GOD FOR DISCERNMENT

That's what King Solomon did. He desired knowledge. To go along with his wealth and natural ability to lead. So that's what he got.

Was he happy? He says in Ecclesiastes that he took whatever his eyes desired. Now, if you have the ways and means and knowledge, then you should be happy if you get whatever you desire. Right?

But in the early chapters of the book he says there was "nothing under the sun" that wasn't meaningless to him. Everything was like "chasing the wind".

And he was right, of course. A life without God, a life predicated on pleasure, a life in which one serves only one, and not The Only One is often like that.

Unfortunately for him, the knowledge led him to that conclusion in the later chapters of the same OT book. I remember when I first read the Bible all the way through in a year, that a fellow Sunday School class member and I talked about how depressing, how almost existential the book of Ecclesiastes is.

But we must have not finished the book when we made that comment. Because the King got it right in the end. He was prophetic, too, in stating that after all the toil one does in his life, it's meaningless, too, because who follows him may not be as wise and therefore, all his work has amounted to nothing. Well, his son Rehoboam inherited his kingdom and took some bad advice. Ignoring the good advice of the elders, and wound up dividing the kingdom, losing much of what his father had achieved.

So what do we learn from Ecclesiastes? Just what the wisest man Solomon shared with us. It's all meaningless. It's all like chasing the wind. There's nothing new under the sun. Without the Lord guiding our steps.

PSALM 91 REVISITED

Three short years ago, our daughter was visiting friends in Tucson when she received a call from a neighbor. Telling her they were evacuating the condo complex where she lived because of wildfires in SoCal. It was only a weekend trip, so she hadn't called anyone to watch her cat, Miscellaneous. Funny story how he got his name, but that's another blog entry.

So obviously she was upset when she arrived at our house that Sunday afternoon after a short drive from Tucson. We prayed with her. I sat her down next to me and we read Psalm 91 together. I had just studied that Psalm as part of a BSF lesson the previous Monday night. Basically it was a psalm of protection, with beautiful images of a loving Lord "cover(ing) you with His feathers, and under His wing you will find refuge" (verse 4) and "a thousand may fall at your side, but it will not come near you" (verse 7). I really emphasized verse 10, "no disaster will come near your tent."

She got on the internet and found how close the fire was to her condo. "It's reached our crossroads," she announced and was really upset, but she didn't show it. I think the peace of God was over her. And He did protect. There were 6 or so condos that burned in her complex of 100, but the cat, rescued by the Humane Society, and her condo, her tent were spared.

Turn the clock forward to this weekend and this week when huge fires raged again. This time Courtney was in San Diego with her cat. She turned again to Psalm 91. I must have read it six times on Monday alone. She packed up and was waiting for a call to evacuate, but thank the Lord no call was made. Again, He covered her with His feathers. Many, many neighboring communities and as many as 700,000 have been evacuated. Many homes, churches, and businesses have been destroyed.

She's not out of danger yet, though she did return to work this morning. But she's thankful. Thankful for Psalm 91.

So why does God spare some and not others? Well, we may have to wait to be on the other side of Heaven to find out. But I think so that He can illustrate what He can do. And for people to share what miracles He still performs. You won't hear us say, she was lucky,or she was fortunate. What you'll hear is "God protected Courtney." Again.

MEMORY WORK

The picture on the right made me think of those balloon captions that appear in cartoons. They, of, course, reveal what the character says, or in some cases, they can also reveal what the character thinks. It's a good thing that those don't appear over our heads when we're conversing. At least, the thinking process.

But what I wanted to focus on in today's blog was our reaction to temptation. Jesus, as always, gives us the perfect example. His temptation, I should have capitalized it because He had many temptations just like us, with Satan (why do I have to capitalize him?) after His 40 days in the desert is my reference point.

How did Jesus respond? First of all, by quoting scripture. There's still no surer way of getting him to leave. But we have to know scripture to quote it. We may have to go back to our early days of Sunday School, Royal Ambassadors, Act Teens, Awana, or a plethora of other Christian youth groups that stressed Bible drills and memorization. Or better yet, memorize scripture today. Why is that better? Because it's more current to us. It's more meaningful than "Jesus wept." Your turn. " ' Caesar's,' they said." And any more short verses that are easy to put to memory. So if we memorize scripture these days, it's probably more meaningful.

Secondly, Jesus obeyed. He obeyed the Father to the point of suffering. Suffering then for a greater reward in Heaven. Had He turned the stones to bread, He would have been physically satisfied. But by denying his flesh (his not capitalized because at that time He was fully man) He was being obedient to His Father's desire and purpose for sending Him. If we love God, we will obey Him. Even if it means suffering or persecution.

Finally, He pursued Heavenly, eternal things rather than earthly or worldly things. It's about focus, too. King Solomon found that folly even along with material wealth and wisdom were futile.(Eccl 2:12) All the means and ways that he had to live a hedonistic lifestyle, he found meaningless. Because he had forgotten one item in his equation--God. Anything not based on Him is just that: futile. And doomed to fail.

When temptations come, and they most certainly will (remember when Satan left Jesus, he commented he would return at a more opportune time), they won't stop coming just because we conquered them once. They'll appear again and maybe in a different form. Arm yourself with scripture, obedience, and focus. And when those little cartoon balloon thoughts pop up, pop them. The Holy Spirit gives us that power.

PRAYER HAS FEET

I like that expression a lot. It goes right along with hearer of the Word versus doer of the Word. And I certainly have nothing against prayer. I don't really like the term prayer warrior, but I love the people who are. It's just such an oxymoron. But then again "Onward Christian Soldiers" is a paradox, too.

But then so is to "put on the armor of God". I just don't recall the 9 spiritual fruits mentioned in Galatians having any war metaphors. But then again, it is a constant war of good versus evil and it always has been.

I'm filling in for our leader in Prayer Works this Sunday while she's out of the state attending her new grandchild. I'm starting the session with silent prayer based on the theme "As there is no I in TEAM, there's no ME in CHURCH". I'm sure SBC is not the only church that needs a close inspection of how we can get over ourselves and our preferences and get back to what God wants for our church. He wants His saints pure in heart. Hopefully a closer examination will reveal where we as individuals fall short. For if we truly want to grow God's church, our church, we're going to have to do an inward assessment and grow the body one person (or two)at a time.

A great place to start is with doing. With reaching out to those who visit our church. Not just a friendly meet and greet (and no one is better at that than us), but we fall down in follow up. In finding someone to sit with them during the worship service. Someone to take them out to lunch after church. My good friends the Peachs are the beautiful exception, and there may be others I've unintentionally overlooked. There are other things we can do to ensure that visitors want to return. But we have to work at it. Prayer is wonderful, but we need to put our feet to work for them, too.

Same with the community. We can, and should pray for the lost in our community. What's our community? That was asked once to Jesus and He said the earth. But again, we need to do. We need to act. Maybe we even need to fight for the lost souls out there. We're equipped with the Word, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. And thank God for our bodies, and our feet that our Father God gave us to follow our prayers.

COMMISSIONED

Chapter 28 in the book of Matthew gives us the Great Commission that Jesus expects us to carry out. According to the Message, "Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name:Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

That's our task. It's a tough one. But you know what? Jesus knew that. That's why He vowed to be with us when we share the Good News of the gospel with the world. He was rejected; He was abused, insulted, mistreated, and put to death, the most agonizing death one could suffer. All for His faith. So I'd say He knows about suffering. But He also knows about righteousness or right thinking. He knows what lasts. He knows about eternity and joy.

He even knows what separation from the Father is. He was separated at the time He took on the sins of the world, for God cannot look upon sin. Thus, when Jesus is carrying the sin of the world to the cross, He was separated from Him. And Jesus knew how terrible that is.

He was at creation, He was in Heaven, He came to earth to live as a man, He was temped by the same things that tempt us, He suffered, He died. But He lived again. Witnessed by over 500 people, the resurrected Jesus appeared again. It's what we have to tell. To all.

A man who I graduated from high school passed away this week. We weren't close. We had a few PE classes together. That's all. His obit revealed absolutely no religious affiliation or reference to his faith. It saddened me. I've thought about him all week. About the separation he now has from God. Forever and ever. It still hurts me.

If I could go back in time, I'd love to, just to say to Art as we dressed in street clothes next to each other, "Hey, do you know the Lord? Do you attend church? Would you like to go with me? We have a great bunch of guys in our Sunday School class: Bernie, Connie, Alan, Len, Jimmy, Bobby, Terry, Johnny, Mike, Donovan, Rickie, Mike De Vivo. Most of us play Church League Basketball. We could use another big guy. What d'ya say?"

But I had the chance and passed. Maybe that's all he would have needed for the Holy Spirit to act in his life. You never know what you could mean to someone else. But when you don't obey the commands of the Lord, you rob yourself of the blessing.

ONE TRAIN MAY NOT BE ENOUGH

to hold all those looking for solitude. At least for awhile. I also find it interesting that it's dark outside while people are racing for solitude. Is it early evening or the darkest hour just before dawn as the Mamas and Papas sang to us about so many years ago?

I opted for early morning. At a time that Jesus in the book of Matthew sought solitude. First thing in the morning. And what do we find Him doing? Praying. Alone. Having a devotional with God.

In BSF this week, our last discussion question asked if we had a morning prayer time with God. One man in my group shared that as soon as he rolls out of bed in the morning he's on his knees submitting to the Lord. He continues with a 45 minute study of scripture. Before he starts his day.

He doesn't leave Jesus at the breakfast table, as I've heard it called. I'm certainly guilty of that on most days. Breakfast is the only meal that I don't ask the blessing for. Why not? Well, I usually eat on the run. And in segments. And before the computer. So that's ok, right? Well, no it's not. It's never right to have separation from God.

So solitude, quiet time, prayer time, devotionals are all vital to stay in touch. To check in with the Father. He never puts us on hiatus. We certainly don't want to do that to Him. If we can't follow the example of Steve, my BSF buddy, we can still get on that train to Solitude. Find the time and place. And do it until it feels bad when you don't.

THREE SCORE AND TEN

That's pretty much all we're promised in the Bible. And I wouldn't really call it a promise, more a general rule of thumb.

Author James Hilton divided our lifespan into 3 groups of 25. For the first 25 years, we're too young for things. For the last 25, we're too old for them. In between, what a short period of time illuminates a life.

Scripture tells us basically the same thing calling our span " a mist" or "a vapor", and then it's over. Depressing? Not really, if we have the Lord in our heart. If we've accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then our time is guaranteed to be in Heaven for eternity. Now how can that fact be depressing?

Thank your lucky stars? I'd say thank your loving Savior. And Creator who spoke you into your mother's womb before you were born. Who has a perfect plan for your short time here. And an even more perfect plan for your eternity. Ok, so there's no comparative or superlative form for perfect. Well, there's no comparison for our superlative Lord either.

ACTS 4:20

"We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

I love this verse of scripture. Well, what verses don't you love? You're right. But some hit home more frequently. Some hit too close to home as I'm finding out in our Seeking Him Bible study. What I mean by that is some verses point to our shortcomings and failures, while others inspire us in different ways.

Acts 4:20 does a little of each.

When we hear a good story we love to share it. Yesterday a former student turned friend called and told me about his baby daughter. He lives in St. Louis and his parents in MTV, so he hooked up one of those cameras to his computer. His parents have one on theirs as well and they get to see and hear their son and new granddaughter. As Jason was holding his daughter close to the camera, she spit up all over the keyboard. The new father yelled, the dog started barking, the baby became frightened and his parents didn't know what to think. End of story. See, I shared a somewhat funny story that we can identify with.

It's the same with a great play made by a blitzing linebacker, a great sale where I purchased a pair of shorts for $4, a great movie, ad infinitum. We can't stop sharing about what we've seen and heard.

John and Peter were the same way. They had been with Jesus for nearly three years. They wanted to tell others about Him. Even when threatened with arrest, their zeal for the Lord was such that they could not be quited.

We should be the same way. We should act as if someone's life depends on it. Because it does. We should talk openly and freely about the good news of the gospel just as we'd share a great recipe, a travel experience, a story about family and friends.

Matthew tells us in chapter 10 verse 30 '"that whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before the Father." If that's not reason enough, I don't know what is.

IN A PICKLE

When a base runner would get caught in a rundown, former Cardinal manager, Whitey Herzog called it "getting into a pickle". I'm not sure what image that conjures up for me, but I heard him use it enough that I knew what he meant. Others have called it getting into hot water, getting in way over our heads, getting in Dutch. Even a tempest or a storm. Politically once when there was much to do about nothing, it was called a "tempest in a teapot". A tempest nonetheless.

"God help me!" is probably the most spoken prayer in the world. We're told in scripture that He works good for all things that happen to us. With one reservation--"for those who love Me." (Romans 8:28) But does God hear prayers of those that don't love, or don't know Him? I think so.

After all, He is a God of second chances. He is not an exclusionary God. At least not until the last minute. Look at how Jesus handled His betrayer Judas. Right up until the end, He was still giving Judas a chance to repent.

If you know anything about King David, you probably know the story of his killing Goliath in the Elah Valley. You may know that Jesus came from the genealogical line of David and Jesse. And you probably have heard David was a man after God's own heart. You know what? God's after man's own heart, too. Now how cool is that?

So, yes, I'm convinced when anyone calls on the name of the Lord, He hears. Does He answer? Certainly. Does He answer the way we want Him to? Only if it suits His purpose. He calls all the shots, because He can. He's God. Does that mean we should not pray, that God will do what He wants anyway(s)? That we can't get Him to change His direction?

All we have to do is look at repentance. If we don't confess our sins, then we are not forgiven. But if we repent, are sins are covered; they're blotted out. Jesus died on the cross for them, but we have to confess to receive the pardon. So, yes, we have input. Vital input. The Father wants a relationship with us. He wants us as a bond servant to Him.

Call out to God when we find ourselves in a pickle? Most definitely. Maybe we could take a page from King David when in Psalm 40:11 he prays "may your love and your truth always protect me." What else would he or we need?

SHE WASN'T INGRID

But she was attractive. She was popular. She was smart. She was in my American Lit class as a junior. And as she walked into my College Prep Writing class as a senior, I cringed.

You see, I couldn't stand her. How I'd gotten through one semester with her was amazing. Another thing you may find amazing is that looking back after 30 years of teaching high school students, there were only a handful that I felt that way about. Personality conflicts are bound to occur when being within close proximity of so many people, but I was fortunate that most of my students simply did what I said. And I could avert or divert the ones who were unwilling to.

The classical ones that make you grit your teeth when they come into your classroom make that challenging. And she was a challenge. Apart from a schedule change, which I knew she wouldn't initiate, I was stuck with her.

At the time, I didn't know it, but I used the "fake it, if you can't make it" approach utilized by C. S. Lewis. He said, "If you don't love someone, then act like you do. Eventually the feelings will catch up with your actions." But that's what I did. I went out of my way to act as if I liked her. When she would be disagreeable, I would laugh it off. Sometimes I would agree with her.

If she needed attention, and she often did, I gave it to her or allowed her to express her feelings. Oh, it was hard to fake it. Often times I wondered why I was doing it. But just as Mr. Lewis said, I actually didn't dread to see her walk through my doors.

The last memory I have of her is at a Prom I was chaperoning. She walked up to me in her blue dress (how do I remember that?) and said some nice things (that I don't remember). She was with her date and friends, and it just seemed so out of character for her to do that. I know it doesn't seem like much, and there's no moment of illumination here, but just maybe I had helped her. Maybe I would have made C.S. Lewis proud. All I know is, by acting as if I liked her, acting in Christian love worked for me. And my 6th hour class.

FEAR VS fear

The angst the man in the picture is feeling is perhaps fear. But it's not the kind of biblical fear I writing about.

It's simply not reverential fear.

"He's a God-fearing Christian," used to bring up an image of one who was scared of what power the Lord had, and what power the Lord would and could use on him. The image of the omnipotent God as a punisher made me think the God-fearer somewhat paranoid. You see the God I knew was forgiving. Was full of grace and showed mercy. Was there for me when circumstances of living crashed down on me. I knew Jonathan Edward's "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God," but thought that the Puritans had no fun at all. What I'm saying is that I did not understand fear in a Godly way.

The fear of God is the one fear we should possess. A feeling of respect. A feeling of submission to a higher power. A feeling of awe. Those are the qualities of reverential fear. In Philippians, the Apostle Paul tells us we should be anxious for nothing. A popular catch phrase tells us to "let go: let God". In Psalm 27:3, David says, "Though an army besiege me, I shall not fear." That's the way we should be. Relying on God to be our sanctuary. Our safe haven.

So by relying on God. By constantly seeking Him. By not allowing other desires take away from our desire to have fellowship with God, we can show that we, too are God-fearing. "God hath willed His truth to triumph through us," a line from Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress is our God," and it's just as true today as when he penned it. Kind of like scripture, truth has no hands on its clock face.

It's great to have the feeling of fear-less-ness. But in order to do so, we must practice Fear, the reverent way.

AMEN AND CLAPPING AND TOSS IN AN APPLAUSE SIGN

My first time in New York City I thought I might like to see "Saturday Night Live". I mean we used to plan our social life around the 10:30 Central showing of SNL. Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Belushi, Garret Morris, Gilda, and the old time cast were too funny for almost 30-somethings. But no way could we get tickets back then. I'm not sure they would have needed the Applause sign on that show. The last time I watched even an opening monolgue, they definitely needed the sign.

But what about church? Usually applause is reserved for special music. Sometimes at the end of a praise song that was especially good or unusual. Lots of clapping in a lot of churches nowadays (or is it just nowdays, better yet, now). But mostly to the beat or instead of singing.

There are still a few "Amens" when older males feel moved to agree with a point made by the pastor. I've only uttered a few in my lifetime. I don't kow, maybe I don't feel old enough. I knew this young guy who Amened before he was old enough and they escorted him out of the church right on the spot. Ok, I made that up. But I think it could happen. I mean, you have to be old and male to Amen. Well, most of the time.

But what about applause for the preacher? Every preacher strikes a chord once in awhile. Why not just applaud for them right then and there? Without the applause sign being lit. How many times does the President get interrupted by applause (at least on one side of the aisle) when giving his State of the Union? I mean political analyists make mental notes who claps, who stands, who sits like Edward Kennedy and scowls. Why can't we give applause for scripture and solid biblical points that are made by the pastor? And you wouldn't have to be old. You could even be female. Just clap. Stand and clap for a great insight given. Even give a "Here, Here," or a "Hip, Hip, Hooray!"

Maybe I went too far. But would it please God if we got more animated in church? I think so. Would it please the pastor? It would me. I might emhasize a point, well more pointedly. I'd pause, just to give my listeners a chance to clap. I'd relish it. So maybe that's what's wrong with the suggestion. We might be giving glory to the wrong one. Only the Right One, should receive it. But any pastor worth his salt and light knows that.

ANDY'S RIGHT

But I'm not sure I have lived that credo recently. You see, people got too much in the way.

I once said that I loved God more than people. Part of that is good, for we are told in scripture that we are to love God more than our parents, our spouses, our children--anything. It's that kind of verse or scripture or teaching that is sometimes puzzling, sometimes caused by translation from Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek, but nonetheless accurate because all scripture is God-breathed. So, as I said, I was partly correct.

Now that calls for explanation. You see it's my annoyance with people that makes me say that, along with selfishness on my part. To get to my point with this entry: it's hard to like everybody.

Yet it is crucial that we do. Breaking down the Ten Commandments to two results in Number One loving God. More than anything. Number two loving everyone else more than yourself. And that's it in a thumbnail. Both are difficult. For all.

This past week has found me in MTV. It's found me having some great times with family and friends. Hey, they're easy to love. But some unknowns aren't. Long convinced that AZ drivers are the world's worst, I find a few have been transplanted to the Midwest. Tailgating is not just for football pre-game there. So my anger gets the best of me as I direct insults at them from the safety of the inside of my car.

"You're terrible! You're too old!" That was me yelling at an official at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis yesterday afternoon. Our seats are 4 rows from the field at the goal line. On a crucial play, an AZ Cardinal fumbled before reaching the end zone. A bad call gave the Cardinals a touchdown, and as they say, the rest is history. Actually I was more than halfway rooting for the Cardinals after Kurt Warner came into the game. Of course, I've admired him since he brought a Super Bowl victory to the Rams. Also, I saw him with Rev. Graham in one of his crusades. So I've been a Warner fan for years. But I can't say I acted very well in that situation on the goal line. Replays backed me up. How proud I must feel--I was right and the official was wrong. Thus, I was perfectly, legitimately right to yell abusive language at him.

Maybe that's why I'm hoarse today. Maybe Go'd going to remind me all day about my terrible. Not my bad. My terrible. And, I, too am too old. To act that way.

Now, about those drivers...

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET

I've been a cloud lover for years. Just not the gray steel curtain that drops over the Midwest for about 6 weeks of the year. Those days are depressing to me. I don't even like the two days we have like that in AZ.

But clouds are a different story. Even storm clouds are cool to me as I watch their formations. My favorite, though, are the ones you can make pictures of. White billowy ones as a backdrop or a scrim to a perfect blue sky.

To me they are like a Rhorshek (spelling impossible to detect) ink blot test. You know, the ones where the good guys see butterflies and the maniacal see bats. It's what ever you put into the clouds from your experiences that you'll see in their formation. And isn't it that way with God?

When we're away from Him, when we're not in the Word, it's surprisingly easy to stray out of that personal relationship. We lose focus. We lose our way. I used to think Sunday worship service was enough, and it was. For Sunday. Actually, it wasn't even enough for the whole day.

You see it's the constant walk with the Lord. He knows our motives anyway(s). He knows our needs, our desires, our thoughts. Scarey? Sometimes, but like the cloud formations, we have our moments. But they're not enough. Unless we walk with Him through Bible studies, small groups, personal quiet time. Better yet, all of those listed.

We want to see "that it was good" (Gen 1:4) when we make cloud pictures. Not "make {our} bed in hell". (Psalm 139:8)

We don't want to see those pictures, even in a storm.

NEW SHOW FOR ME

I think it's in its second season. I don't even know the premise. It's kinda like recommending a book when you haven't finished reading it yet. Believe it or not, I almost did that with The DaVinci Code after 75 pages. I'm glad I didn't recommend it. In fact, it's one of the very few books I ever threw away.

So I don't know after watching the re-run of the premier Sunday night and the first show of the new season last night. I don't know who or why they are heroes. But when some girl named Claire cut off her little pinky toe with a pair of scissors, well, it made me cringe. No worries. She is able to heal herself, and her toe regenerated. So maybe she is a hero. Or heroine. Which is pronounced the same as heroin. And current vernacular calls her an actor instead of an actress. I don't know about a lot of stuff anymore.

So what does Heroes have to do with a Christian blog? Well, I could name all kinds of heroes from the Bible, but not today. Ok, a few--Noah, Joshua, Moses, Rahab (Oh, there you go again, she was a female heroine).

In last night's show, a doctor complained that he couldn't worship a God that allowed his sister to contract a deadly virus. That comment sent me to my BSF lecture notes from Monday night; for, you see, I taped on NBC at 8:00 PM while I was at Bible study. Our DL said, "Don't blame God for what man does to man."

Now, I don't profess to know who gave the virus. How it morphed or evolutionized or how it came to be. But I liked the quote. I also like the show, so far. So it was a good way to write about both. Plus, it's definitely a line I will use when I hear people question where God was on 9/11.

It also reminded me of an Act of God school day that was canceled because of snow or ice. I never heard any administrator give Him credit for the beautiful weather days. Why weren't they Acts of God?

MAN, I DON'T EVEN WANT THIS PICTURE ON MY COMPUTER

This terrible patch is for sale. I'm using the present tense, because I hope nobody bought this item.

Matthew 12:30 tells us that "He who is not with Me is against Me." Those are the words of Jesus. If we're not with Him, then we will be thrown into hell where everyone (there) will be salted with fire. (Mark 9:48-49)

I've written about hell in a least three other entries. But Jesus talked about hell more than He did about Heaven in His preaching. It is a physical place according to Numbers 16:32-33. John also writes of it being at the center of the earth in Rev 20:10. If scripture says it's true, I believe it. And I believe I don't want to go there.

Daniel, the Old Testament's answer to Revelation, addresses the end times and resurrection.(Dan 12:2) Two distinctively different fates await us. (And fate has nothing to do with it.) It's clearly about choice. Hell is described by Daniel as an eternity of "shame and everlasting contempt".(NIV)

Hell can and must be avoided. At all costs. Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and count on your inheritance being in Heaven above. Not in the fires of the center of the earth.

YEE HAW OR HEE HAW: IT'S ALL ABOUT CHOICE

Remember when you got picked last. You remember. I'm sure you do. It was a big neighborhood game. Or a school PE class. There were two captains. Lots of kids to choose from. You didn't care which team you were on. "Please, someone pick me," was your silent prayer.

Oh, and you got picked. Numero last. "Ok, we'll take him." I'm not sure which was the bigger insult, standing there solo with all the others facing you, or having to make that walk to the team that got stuck with you. Both were devastating.

It's not that way for our eternal life. Oh, no. We're definitely wanted. There is no last pick. Oh, sure there are some more valuable than others to one captain. He loves to select a well-known, a saint, a clergyman, a deacon, an elder, a person of status, but the devil will take anyone. And gladly.

The other Captain makes His selections out of love. He wants no one to perish into the depths of the fiery lake for eternity.(Rev 20:10) There's no prejudice in His family. (Gen 5:3-5) Plus, He will wait. Patiently. For evil to be eliminated. (Heb 2:3)

But when the battle for your soul is won, you will have to line up. Unlike the captains picking, you get to. But don't delay, for if you don't make your selection, well, then you have. You'll be on the Hee Haw Team rather than the Yee Haws.