0301 fish tale

My father dropped me off at SBCC today for the evening service. It was overcast today and as we drove into the parking lot, he commented that it must have rained today, as the lot was wet. Then he saw the snow and didn’t know what to say. I told him that the church had a Snow Day today for the kids and brought in about 20,000 lbs. of fresh snow.

I wheeled into the service and Pastor Gary continued his series “National Treasure: God’s Book of Secrets” by speaking about the Mystery of Ghosts. He set the sermon by reading from Deuteronomy 18:10-12 that says: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.”

He also gave us Leviticus 20:27 that reads: " 'A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.' "

King Saul of the Israelites faced the Philistine Army and was afraid. He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him. So he sought out a medium so that he could seek advice from the prophet Samuel, who was now dead. Pastor Gary spoke from 1 Samuel 28 and told us of how the medium contacted Samuel, and how the spirit of Samuel rose from the ground to tell Saul how God will act according to the prophecy of before.

Pastor Gary spoke about a debate by Bible scholars today on the identity of the spirit. Some argue that it really isn’t Samuel because it rose from the ground, instead of coming down from heaven. He read II Corinthians 11:14 which says: “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” Pastor Gary gave us a lot to think about.

After the service, I spoke with a friend who warned me that if I continue to read the horoscopes, then he may have no choice but to stone me. I told him to relax, since I only read them to be entertained; I don’t live my life by them. Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve been a medium. I’m now a large. An extra large.

After sharing a laugh, he went out for supper in the lobby and I headed for the tech booth to prep for the Faith Lessons class. Tonight, Lesson Three was being moderated by Carlton, who said that he preferred a hand-held mic instead of a lapel mic, otherwise his hands would have nothing to do but cause distractions.

The lesson ran rather smoothly, with just a few bumps. I told Mike that we’d have it all down pat by the time we finished Lesson Five. After class, Kiyomi and Joy served up a light meal of Okinawan soba and pork. I asked Carlton if things would have been better if Debbie (his wife) had attended. He replied “Yes and no,” but he wouldn’t elaborate.

Mike & Carol had me home by 10:30pm.


A YEAR AGO TODAY: Nothing was noted for today.