OK, I'll admit that I'm a die-hard Auburn fan. But enough is enough! I've never seen so much hype, lies, exaggerations and false reports about one football player in my life! Just about every news report I've read about Auburn's star quarterback Cameron Newton has subsequently proven to be false. The whole story that was leaked about him getting caught for cheating at Florida and almost expelled has now been denied by the UF Student Affairs Committee. So, he didn't cheat. Then the story came out that the NCAA was going to suspend Cam "within 3-4 hours"... just how exactly would someone know that kind of info? Of course, that didn't happen either.
Here's what I believe is going on: Somebody- actually, a lot of somebodys - has it in for Auburn. Just when the Tigers are on the verge of winning another SEC championship, and possibly playing for the national championship, all these stories suddenly "emerge". The fact is, these allegations about Cam being "shopped" to the highest bidding college have been known since January. These stories coming out now are a case of pure, unadulterated bad blood towards Auburn. I just feel sorry for Cam and his family at this point. Even if they did seek money for Cam to play at Mississippi State or Auburn, that fact has to be proven by a REAL investigation, and there's no way it could be completed until next year sometime. I'm not saying Auburn is beyond wrongdoing; I'm just saying I'm sick of the hype and rumors that are flying around, and someone should be taken to task for starting them. In fact, the person who spread the rumor about Cam cheating at Florida has committed a felony crime, and I sure hope they're caught.
Enough ranting. We had our first good snow last night - only a couple of inches, but enough for me to figure out that my ATV needs some serious attention. Our wood stove downstairs is working like a charm - heats the basement like a cozy furnace, but the upstairs is still cold. Got to figure that problem out before we get some SERIOUS cold weather.
At last night's mid-week service we had 26 people - that's a record! We held a prayer meeting for all interested parties at 6 pm (before our service at 7), and we had quite a few people from other churches who came. The purpose was to pray for the families of all those who've died in car accidents on Hwy 285 in the last two months, and to pray against any spiritual powers that may be involved in the recent series of tragic deaths. After the prayer time I spoke from John 11 on the topic, "Why bad things happen to good people". There were two main things I focused on: First, that Jesus chose to delay His arrival (and risk being misunderstood and misjudged) until after Lazarus was dead for four days. Interesting fact about first century Jewish culture: mourners would often remain near the tomb of their loved ones until after the third day, because they believed the spirit of the dead person would stay near the body until the fourth day. After that, they were considered to be really and truly "dead". It makes more sense, then, why Jesus waiting until that critical day to raise Lazarus from the grave. My point was that God often chooses to delay answering our prayers in order to accomplish something more significant in our lives. The second point was this: in a personal tragedy or crisis, Jesus will meet us wherever we are - emotionally or spiritually. He dealt with Martha in a very different way than how He responded to Mary. Martha came wanting answers - rational, theological answers. Mary came to pour out her heart to the one she felt had forgotten her. In both cases, Jesus didn't condemn or judge - He just met them at their level with a rational discussion or with tears.
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