Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 27th

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/27/

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Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 20th

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/20/

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Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 13th

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/13/

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Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, Apr 17th

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado “the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”   April 17 Got It All Figured Out   I look at your heavens, which you made with your fingers .... But why are people important to you? Psalm 8:3-4 (NCV)   We understand how storms are created. We map solar systems and transplant hearts. We measure the depths of the oceans and send signals to distant planets. We... have studied the system and are learning how it works. And, for some, the loss of mystery has led to the loss of majesty. The more we know, the less we believe. Strange, don't you think? Knowledge of the workings shouldn't negate wonder. Knowledge should stir wonder. Who has more reason to worship than the astronomer who has seen the stars?... Ironically, the more we know, the less we worship. We are more impressed with our discovery of the light switch than with the one who invented electricity.. . .Rather than worship the Creator, we worship the creation (see Rom. 1:25). No wonder there is no wonder. We've figured it all out.     From: In the Grip of Grace Copyright (Word Publishing, 1996) Max Lucado

Happy Easter - From the Bunny!

http://www.dougpatton.com/custom/flash/rapeasterbunny.swf

Blondes Know How to Drive in Winter

It was snowing heavily and blowing to the point that visibility was almost zero when the little blonde got off work. She made her way to her car and wondered how she was going to make it home. She sat in her car while it warmed up and thought about her situation.

She finally remembered her daddy's advice that if she got caught in a blizzard she should wait for a snow plow to come by and follow it. That way she would not get stuck in a snow drift. This made her feel much better and sure enough in a little while a snow plow went by and she started to follow it.

As she followed the snow plow she was feeling very smug as they continued and she was not having any problem with the blizzard conditions.

After an hour had passed, she was somewhat surprised when the snowplow stopped and the driver got out and came back to her car and signaled for her to roll down her window.
The snow plow driver wanted to know if she was all right as she had been following him for a long time.

She said that she was fine and told him of her daddy's advice to follow a snow plow when caught in a blizzard.

The driver replied that it was ok with him and she could continue if she wanted, but he was done with the Wal-Mart parking lot and was going over to Sears next.

Two Sources for Combating Racism

Moderate Baptist source:
http://www.ethicsdaily.com/news.php?viewStory=13608
Arkansas Baptists used this film to begin a dialogue about racial reconciliation.

Lou Gossett Jr's Foundation to Combat Racism
http://www.eracismfoundation.org/

A Telescope for the Soul

http://www.godissues.org/articles/articles/1532/1/A-telescope-for-the-soul/Page1.html

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado, Apr 10th

 

Daily Devotional by Max Lucado “the One who came still comes and the One who spoke still speaks”   April 10 Call It Grace   Being made right with God by his grace, we could have the hope of receiving the life that never ends. Titus 3:7 (NCV)   You may be decent. You may pay taxes and kiss your kids and sleep with a clean conscience. But apart from Christ you aren't holy. So how can you go to heaven? Only believe. Accept the work already done, the work of Jesus on the cross. Accept the goodness of Jesus Christ. Abandon your own works and accept his. Abandon your own decency and accept his. Stand before God in his name, not yours. It's that easy? There was nothing easy about it at all. The cross was heavy, the blood was real, and the price was extravagant. It would have bankrupted you or me, so he paid it for us. Call it simple. Call it a gift. But don't call it easy. Call it what it is. Call it grace.     From: A Gentle Thunder Copyright (Word Publishing, 1995) Max Lucado

 

"God Issues - an honest search for the ultimate truth"

A good website for Christians and those who seek Christ.

http://www.godissues.org/

Calvin & Hobbes - Week of Apr 06th

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/04/06/

To view strips after Monday, use 'Next day.'

Kate is Born!

Pictures of my new granddaughter, Kate Elaine Fobart, born Friday, April 3rd. She was 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and 20 inches long. A beautiful baby!

http://picasaweb.google.com/paulw.gray/KateIsBorn?authkey=Gv1sRgCOeA1fTNl9-Jeg#

Fight Fan Video

Great!

Malachi 3:3

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

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God's Super Glue

Written by a doctor....

A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio.... and I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned, but I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway.

He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is, how He spoke the universe into being, how He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire, etc. etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder.

At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know) and I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God's handiwork. I remember so many times thinking. How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???

Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart...how our loving Creator is also our Sustainer.

And then I lost my breath. And it wasn't because I was running my treadmill, either!!!

It was because he started talking about laminins. I knew about laminins. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: 'Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.' You see, laminins are what hold us together.... LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn't know is what they LOOKED LIKE.

But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since....

Here is what the structure of laminin looks like... AND THIS IS NOT a 'Christian portrayal' of it. If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see...



Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing.
The glue that holds us together.... ALL of us.... is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind.

'He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things HOLD TOGETHER.' Colossians 1:15-17

Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together... one cell to another... by the cross.

You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin 'glue' would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!