Tag Bob Gempel

LA Story – Hope and Glory HopeWW

September 11th is about relationships. It has brought out the worst and the best in them. How could one group of people hate another group so much that they would plan and scheme for years and ultimately throw away their own lives to create as much havoc and destruction as possible? The answer is relationships, or rather the lack of them. What causes a nation to rally around 4,000 victims and their families, whom they have never met, to contribute time, money, blood, supplies, letters and prayers? The answer is relationships. God intends for hard times to bring out the best in us. Paul wrote in Romans 5:3-4, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” The worst kind of suffering is suffering alone. God created us to be community; that is why he said that it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). He has put into us a sense of community, an intuitive drive to care for the needs of one another. Satan and his demons devote themselves to destroying that sense and putting hate and mistrust in its place. Thus we saw the fruits of both God and Satan on September 11th.

LA Story – Good Will Hunting HopeWW

I like hugs. I never get enough of them. I like to fellowship other disciples – partly because of the many hugs. There is some- thing about another person putting his/her arm(s) around me that makes me feel good. It is not sexual; it is an expression of specialness. Touch is a very special human sense. It can communicate a tremendous range of emotions, from the anger of a slap to the elation of a “high-five” to the compassion of a pat to the love of a caress. A hug is different than a handshake. A handshake is a polite courtesy that preserves one’s personal space. A hug is a communication of warmth, openness and caring where the barriers are let down. I like hugs