We've got new symbols in the bulletin today. Let me tell you how they got there. I woke up this morning and decided I had had enough. I was sick and tired of my computer crashing when I try to play games, crawling slower and locking up for no apparent reason. Yes, I have that evil operating system, the that some of our past members worshiped almost as much as God himself. What choice do you have when it’s go a monopoly?

Anyway, I reloaded this buggy, insecure piece of junk and amazingly my performance is back to where it was a couple years ago when I foolishly upgraded in the first place. Funny thing, I have reinstalled all the same software that was on here before I reloaded it, from the same disks and CD's. Somewhere along the way my fonts got lost, and now I am using these strange faces. Exact same software, exact same CD, on exact same hardware, but they aren't there. Rather annoying, don'tcha think?

I don't seem to have sound, either. Again, I installed everything the same but the sound chose not to show up. So while the games now work, I can't hear a thing. Not real exciting, huh? But at least they don't seem to crash.

I don't know what it is about this software that causes it to behave so poorly. I do know that already my virus detection software has been telling me of leaks and attacks. I've been given alerts on a woeful list of things to patch and plug to keep hackers out, when I ran system checking software to look for holes.

I am SO glad the bible isn't like this. There are no loopholes for people to slip through, no weak spots that the devil can get at us through. All situations are prepared for, all bases covered, and nothing left for us to fool around with . We know how to treat our neighbors, our family, and even our enemies. We've got guidance on daily living, family living, and citizenship. God didn't have to send additional messages to patch in holes that weren't covered by his son or the apostles, he got it right the first time for all time.

It's not the bible that breaks down, it's us. When we're new (and freshly installed!) in the word, we often perform at a high level. We have zeal to spare. But over time we get jaded, and perhaps even discouraged. Instead of hoping for the good in people, we expect them to let us down, and we might even study the word less and less. Sin can "worm" its way in, and we find ourselves missing pieces and parts of God's word, misplaced I guess. The detection of these problems goes down, and we may not even notice by that time, being caught up in worldly things.

How to fix this? Well, maybe we need reinstalled. Or, as it were, renewed in the faith day by day. We should never forget the foul condition we once were in, and fully appreciate the cleanliness God has given us. In this world, the devil has a monopoly, that's true, but we should seek for something better for our lives, something that doesn't end up tainted and corrupt over time, and hold ourselves to that standard.

Randy