Saturday, October 11, 2003

9:01 AM Speaking of Erwin Lutzer, his message, Bypassed Opportunities, is the sermon of the day. 8:55 AM Erwin Lutzer says that the quote attributed to him by the Chicago Tribune (see yesterday’s weblog for details) was correct but incomplete. The rest of his statement goes like this: “We should pray that win or lose the cubs would do so with dignity and class; some things are more important than winning.” Amen to that, but I’m sure glad the Cubs won last night anyway. 7:41 AM All three of our boys are here this weekend. Nick arrived from Birmingham last night and you could tell he was glad to be home again. Tonight Mark comes in from Moody and we’ll have a celebration dinner. The fact that Marlene’s mom is visiting from Phoenix makes it even better. It’s hard to put into words how wonderful it is when all our boys are home—an increasingly rare experience, and one that I treasure because it happens less and less often as the years roll on. When all my sons are here, I feel safe and secure as if nothing bad can happen while they are around. The words of Psalm 127:5 echo in my mind: “Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep” (The Message). The literal translation of that last phrase goes something like this: “He will not be ashamed when he speaks with his enemies in the gate” (ESV). The “gate of the city” was the place where men went to do business. It was like a county courthouse today. If a man was facing some trouble, he would meet his accusers at the gate of the city. In those days, a father would come to the gate surrounded by his sons. As I write this, suddenly an image from the old TV show Bonanza comes to mind. Whenever the bad guys would attack the Ponderosa, Ben Cartwright would ride out to face them with Adam, Hoss and Little Joe by his side. You always knew that the Cartwrights would win because who could beat such a father surrounded by three strong sons? I’m no Ben Cartwright but that’s how I feel when my boys are home. 7:39 AM Great victory for the Cubs last night. Of couse, readers of this weblog won’t be surprised since I predicted not just the victory but the exact score yesterday afternoon. Scroll down to check for yourself. We’ll see if the Rebels and the Bulldogs can do as well today.