First day of fall?

Uh, .... yup!

Troy Davis

The execution of Troy Davis is all over news wires today.  His self-proclaimed innocence to the very end has sparked a lot of interest in the case.  Personally, I'm going to try to trust the courts to have made the right decision.  I can't answer that.  I haven't seen any of the evidence, in fact didn't even know of the case until yesterday.  But, I wonder a couple of things in this weird world that we live in.  First, how many of those protesters were aware of this since 1989, when the slaying of the police officer was done?   I have often said I could pull the switch for a convicted killer.  I'm not sure I can anymore.  To usher someone into eternity is not something to take lightly.  What awaits them is frightening if they haven't found Christ yet.  So, that makes me more reluctant.  HOWEVER, if this had been my loved one that was killed by Mr. Davis, my reluctance may not be quite so profound.  Dunno.  I'm not there and haven't ever been.  Don't EVER want to be either.  What evidence did the Supreme Court see that caused it to allow the execution to proceed?  What about all the others who have been asked to review the case - all of the appeals?  What did they see?

Here's one other thought that occurs to me during this whole thing.  Where are the news hounds for the family of the slain police officer?  Silence.  Don't you think they have an opinion in this whole thing?  If, and I mean "if" since I don't have the evidence, Mr. Davis killed the policeman, justice demands retribution.  Is life without the possibility of parole a better option?  I suppose it keeps hope alive, and hope can always dream.  The execution kills the hope.  How come we don't show compassion for the victim's family?  What's up with that?  Are we so in need of a cause that we forget those who are suffering every day because someone couldn't control themselves, because they were "in control" of their own lives?

Whether Davis is guilty or not, he has been executed for crimes he was convicted of.  The policeman's family continues to move forward as will Mr. Davis' family.  May God comfort the hurting this day an on.

Word

What is a word?  Perhaps you want a technical definition.  "A unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation, that functions as a principal carrier of meaning." (dictionary.com)  Well, okay.  But, there's more to it than that, right? Words have meaning.  Each word has a meaning of some kind.  Of course, here I'm talking about real words, not gibberish.  Last night in our Bible study, Dr. John Oswalt briefly discussed the meaning of the word "word" in Hebrew.  Yes, the translation of "dabar" does mean word.  But, it also carries with it the thought of a "thing".  In the Hebrew mind, a word, once spoken, became a thing, almost a living organism.  Once spoken, you can't retract it even though you might pass it off as meaningless or of no consequence.  It is a thing and it becomes a thing in the ear of the listener.  A written word is much the same.  Once in print and published, it is .. it is there, a physical reality that carries it's own life and weight.  Why is it that Jesus warned us that we should be careful about everything we say.  As a child, I used to sing the tune, "O be careful little mouth what you say... For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little mouth what you say."  Ya know, I don't think the song was so far off.  James said we are to be slow to speak.  Why?  So that we truly engage the brain, know what we are saying before we say it, and then pass judgment before our words pass judgment on us.  So, be careful about what you write and what you speak.  Those words may come back to haunt or help you.