Author: newlifenarrabri

We All Know Somebody Like This

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From Babylon Bee: 

Man Who Can Quote ‘Princess Bride’ At Will Struggling To Remember Single Bible Verse

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TEXARKANA, TX—According to sources close to local man Matthew Franco, the 39-year-old believer knows every single line from the classic film The Princess Bride by heart, yet struggles to quote a full Bible verse without having to look it up to refresh his memory.

The Christian man quotes the film throughout his day, responding to coworkers’ interactions by reciting lines like, “As you wish,” and “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!” but always finds himself struggling to recall whatever Bible passage he’s trying to remember.

According to his friends and family, he’s watched the film 17 times this year already, mouthing the lines along with the actors as Westley attempts to save Princess Buttercup from the weaselly Prince Humperdinck. However, not one of the people who know Franco can recall a time he’s sat down for a time of personal devotions and Scripture reading.

“Yeah, I just don’t have the time to sit there and memorize a bunch of Bible verses that I may or may not need to use throughout the day,” he told reporters as he commented, “Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something!” on a friend’s Facebook post. “I’ll just Google what a verse says if I really need to reference it.”

At publishing time, sources had confirmed that the man who’s “a little shaky” on his recollection of John 3:16 has the entirety of the film Tombstone “hidden in his heart.”

Reflection on 2 Samuel 6:1-23

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Ark of the Covenant

Scripture

David and all the people of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, singing songs and playing all kinds of musical instruments- lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.

Observation

David goes to bring back the Ark of the Lord and to locate it in Jerusalem. They place the Ark on a new cart, and then David and the people dance and sing before the Lord as they make their journey.

But the oxen stumble, and Uzzah reaches out to steady the Ark. The Lord strikes him down. The Ark is then left at the home of Obed-Edom.

After three months it becomes known that the Lord is blessing Obed-Edom because of the Ark, so David decides to complete its return to Jerusalem. Again there is much celebration, but this time David heeds the commandments of the Lord about how the Ark is to be carried.

As David dances with abandon, his wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, is disgusted by his lack of dignity. As a result she remains barren for her whole life.

Application

It is good to celebrate God in our worship. Worship should always be a celebration of God’s grace. The more instruments, the more singers, the more participants, the better. Let us sing and dance to the Lord as often as we can.

However, worship must be holy. When worship lacks integrity or becomes self-seeking, it can become dangerous. In this passage, David failed to observe God’s rules for moving the Ark, and a man died as a result.

This is not to say that worship should be legalistic and overrun with rules and traditions. We do need to make sure that individually and corporately we are living lives that honour the Lord before we pick up an instrument.

Then we can boldly come into the presence of the Most High God and rejoice in Him.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to worship you. May we always be mindful of your eternal holiness as well as your unfailing love so that we worship you in Spirit and in truth. Amen.

A Long Way On My Bike

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According to Map My Ride, I have now completed 600 rides in the last 4 years and 8 months. There are also a few that didn’t get saved.

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The distance of 14265 km is roughly equivalent to riding from Sydney to Perth and back again- twice. Further than Narrabri to Calgary (13000 km) but not quite as far as Narrabri to London- much drier than either, as I haven’t had to ride under water.

The energy I have burnt off is equivalent to 1186 Big Macs- that works out to 2 Big Macs per ride!

I never set out to ride a big distance, just to keep fit and have fun a few days a week. All of which shows that putting in a little effort every day adds up to big results.