Quote for the Day

"As for the devil, I do not fear him. Nor can I approve of those who seem to be living a kind of constant 'devil theology.' It almost seems as if they pay more attention to the devil than to God. They see him behind every telephone pole and under every bed. He seems to play a great role in their lives, as they are always talking about him.

"I would rather talk about God and see God where God is -- behind every telephone pole and under every bed and everywhere else. . . . As for me, and, I hope, for you, dear friend, I will continue on in the loving search with the help of God's grace and 'even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for God is with me.'"

-- William A. Meninger The Loving Search for God

I once visited a church in California while on furlough from Zimbabwe. The Sunday School class I attended was doing a prolonged and intensive study of the devil. There was a strange fascination with the topic (and some rather bizarre interpretation of Scripture) with no mention, and seemingly no interest in God, Himself, or Jesus in particular. I suggested to the pastor that he might want to monitor the class to see if the devil had taken the members eyes off of God. What occupies our minds controls us.

I heard of a fellow who was challenged by a fundamentalist rabble-rouser, "Do you believe in a literal devil?" He replied, "I don't believe in the devil, but I've met him in the streets among the drug dealers and pimps. I BELIEVE in Jesus." A good response.