‘Both Sides Now’

Posted on July 29, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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I need you. You need me. We mustn’t let this spirit of division get ahold of us. Mike McCausland, our Tuesday Conversation guest this week, said it’s not just in America. It’s a tendency that is everywhere, almost like a curse. Division is the spirit of the age, and we must not participate. It is the devil’s goal to divide; it is Christ’s goal to unite. That would mean not forwarding emails that promote one side over another, even if humorous. Sometimes those can be the most damaging. It makes no difference if you are convinced you are right. We need healing, not ill feeling. Harmony, not enmity. Don’t pass on what tears down. Pass on what builds up.

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‘For Free’

Posted on July 27, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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Last Sunday, Joni Mitchell appeared live at the famous Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Just the fact that she was live was pretty amazing given her long struggle to recover from a brain aneurysm. No one expected her to ever sing or play again, yet here she was at 78, sitting in a gilded chair surrounded by so many younger fans and friends still delivering with skill and her trademark melancholy songs like “Both Sides Now,” “The Circle Game,” even “Big Yellow Taxi.” And when at the end of “Both Sides Now” she sang, “I really don’t know life at all,” one reviewer concluded that was sung “not in bewilderment or wistful regret but with amused surrender and a glint of delight. Why waste time trying to pin down the unknowable?”

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Posted in Art and Life, Worldview | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The cross

Posted on July 26, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading tis Catch.)

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The cross is not a placard;

It’s not an icon;

It’s not a religious symbol.

The cross is not a piece of jewelry,

Nor is it a call to fight.

The cross is not a political symbol.

The cross is not a weapon.

The cross is not a sign of victory.

On the contrary, 

The cross is where we die.

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What to do about conspiracy theories

Posted on July 25, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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As followers of Christ and students of the Bible, we don’t need any conspiracy theories. We already have one, and it’s not a theory; it’s the truth. “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11-12). 

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Posted in fear, spiritual warfare | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Hard to receive

Posted on July 22, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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A real relationship with God is so hard for us to accept because we can do nothing to earn it, and nothing to discredit it. We are not used to this. We are used to earning our reputations. We are used to pleasing our superiors. We are used to gaining acceptance and love. We are used to a world where good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior is punished.

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Posted in God's love, grace turned outward | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Prophet weds and loves practicing prostitute

Posted on July 21, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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“Go and marry a prostitute.” Thus begins the unusual story of Hosea, one of the most surprising prophets to the nation of Israel. It was his prophetic mission to marry a prostitute and love her in spite of her whoring with other men. In doing so, he became a living illustration of God’s love for His people in spite of their sin of giving themselves over to the worship of other gods.

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Posted in God's love, grace turned outward | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Love for no reason

Posted on July 20, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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For the life of our marriage, quite consistently, my wife has loved me for no reason. 

Now in case you’re wondering, that’s a good thing — a very good thing, indeed. Because if she loved me for reasons, what if those reasons changed or if I changed and lost the reason why she first loved me? Then what? What if she loved me because I was a good guy but she later found out I wasn’t as good as she thought? What if she loved me because I could serenade her with my guitar, and suddenly I have a numb hand and I can’t play guitar anymore? No, I’m quite fortunate to have someone to love me like this — for no reason.

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Posted in love, relationships | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Voice of Dodger Stadium

Posted on July 19, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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With the All Star game set for tonight in Dodger Stadium, it seemed fitting to go back to a Catch I wrote in 2016 in honor of Vin Scully’s last game. You can’t breath the words Dodger Stadium without hearing Scully’s voice somewhere in the mix.

He had a voice that was made for the transistor radio. It was a match made in baseball heaven.

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Two players doth not a baseball team make

Posted on July 18, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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My Angels have fallen from heaven. Their halos are crooked. They started out this season so promising. They were tied for first place at one point and they have two of the best players in the game. There was lots of promise and lots of excitement and good vibes going around. But there’s a problem. There aren’t just two guys on a baseball team; there are nine, and more than that, there are at least three or four relief pitchers used in every game. That’s twelve or thirteen players or more a game. It’s a team effort. Two guys just can’t do it without a balanced team around them. They’re lacking the balance and the consistency. When they pitch well, they have no offense and they lose games by scores of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. And when they hit well, they don’t pitch well and they lose games by scores of 11-10, 9-7 and 6-5. How frustrating is it to score in double digits and still lose? It takes a toll on the emotions. And now, mid-season at the All Star break, they are 20.5 games out of first place. It’s possible to make that up in the last half of the season, but highly improbable.

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What are we?

Posted on July 15, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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You have set your glory
in the heavens. Psalm 8:1

I continue to be mesmerized by this picture of deep space taken by NASA’s new Webb telescope which we put out there in orbit along with us from where we can see further than we’ve ever seen before.. Yesterday we talked about the eternity in the heart that this picture represents, but there is more — so much more. One of those things is what David has captured in the Psalms.

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