Today's Word for Pastors...

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. 
1 Cor. 10:21

Today's Preaching Insight...

Anything Goes?

There's part of us that wants to live in the reality that anything goes.

There is something in each of us, at the same time, that pulls back from this concept of freedom. We feel more secure where we are surrounded by rules that confine us. We get a bit scared out there in that big, wide world where there is no security of fences to help us feel secure in our own territory.

This year, Anne and I have adopted two, adult male dogs, King Charles Cavalier Spaniels. The first one, Monty, we brought home on Christmas Eve. He is a little five-year-old Blenheim. The second, Travis, we brought home on Labor Day weekend. He is a little Tri-Color. Both these dogs love the freedom to roam. At the same time, we discovered from the breeder that they are happiest when they have a secure space, quite limited in size, where they feel comfortable. To bring them to a brand-new environment, as we did, and give them immediate access to the entire house was quite disconcerting. It is better to make clear what is their safe space to which they can return, so they are not insecure, than suddenly thrust them into a whole new environment of freedom. It is too much for them to handle.
When we did that too quickly, we saw that it produced anxiety in these perfectly housebroken little fellows. They reverted to some anti-social behavior, making their mark on some of our prize furniture in an endeavor to create a safe place, familiar to them.

True freedom does not mean that "anything goes."

Anything does not go!

(To read the entire article "Living by the Spirit" by John A. Huffman Jr. at Preaching.com, click here)

Today's Extra...

This Week's Laugh

Science Test Answers

The following are actual submissions on a series of science quizzes, tests, and essays:

• "Nitrogen is not found in Ireland because it is not found in a free state."
• "H2O is hot water, and CO2 is cold water."
• "To collect fumes of sulphur, hold a deacon over a flame in a test tube."
• "When you smell an oderless gas, it is probably carbon monoxide."
• "Water is composed of two gins, Oxygin and Hydrogin. Oxygin is pure gin. Hydrogin is gin and water."
• "Three kinds of blood vessels are arteries, vanes and caterpillars."
• "The body consists of three parts — the branium, the borax, and the abominable cavity. The branium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abominable cavity contains the bowels, of which there are five — a, e, i, o, and u."
• "Blood flows down one leg and up the other."
• "Respiration is composed of two acts, first inspiration, and then expectoration."
• "The moon is a planet just like the earth, only it is even deader."
• "Dew is formed on leaves when the sun shines down on them and makes them perspire."
• "A super saturated solution is one that holds more than it can hold."
• "Mushrooms always grow in damp places and so they look like umbrellas."
• "The pistol of a flower is its only protections agenst insects."
• "The skeleton is what is left after the insides have been taken out and the outsides have been taken off. The purpose of the skeleton is something to hitch meat to."
  (from The Daily Dilly)

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