7 Apr, 2008
Cut off!
Do you have a spiritual short circuit?
Zapped rat causes Stockholm power outage
STOCKHOLM, Sweden—The electrocution of a fat rat in an electric station Saturday caused a three-hour power outage in Stockholm's central train station, halting elevators and escalators.
The early morning outage led to some delays in train traffic, said Jesper Ekenlund, a spokesman for power company Fortum. Nearby hotels and shops also were affected, he said.
"The rat had sneaked into a secondary substation and came into contact with some parts that caused it to short circuit," he said.
"It must have been really big because there's a certain distance between the parts it touched."
Ekenlund said Fortum will now have to decontaminate the area where the rat met its fate.
photo courtesy images.google.com & story twincities.com, 4/6/08
-->
Isaiah 59:1-2 (NLT)
Warnings against Sin
1 Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.Because of your sins, he has turned awayand will not listen anymore.-->
According to today's God's Story scripture, what cuts us off from God?
Check out these notes from Tyndale's LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE:
59:1-14 Sin offends our holy God and separates us from him. Because God is holy, he cannot ignore, excuse, or tolerate sin as though it didn't matter. Sin cuts people off from him, forming a wall to isolate God from the people he loves.
When a rat got into an electrical source in Sweden, many stations, stores and people were without power. People were in the dark. They couldn't function in a normal way.
When you and I allow the things of this world to be our focus rather than focusing on giving ourselves to God in complete worship and obedience, we will find ourselves cut off from His power in our lives.
If you want to keep sin from short circuiting your spiritual life, get rid of the "rats". Keep your life "decontaminated".
-->
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
Praise God for His ultimate power! Thank Him that the same power that raised Christ form the dead is available to you through the Holy Spirit to live every day. Let His Spirit help you identify any "rats" in your life right now. Confess them and receive Christ's forgiveness. Thank God that He will restore you to a right relationship with Him. Thank Jesus for His love, His guiding light and power to live in obedience to Him.
Make a written list of the "rats" in your life that often cut you off from God's power. Thank God for using his power to remove them from your life. Keep the list and review it weekly to make sure that these "rats" don't sneak back into your life and short circuit God's power in your life.
Read the entire chapter of Isaiah 59 to learn more about God's forgiveness of sin.
-->
How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture and our story to others?
Make a plan with at least two other Christian friends to hold each other accountable and encourage each other. Whenever the power goes off wherever one of you might be, or a light switch doesn't work, let God's Spirit remind you to contact each other to check on any possible "rats" in your lives.
Think of friends in your storysphere who are interested in God's Story and your faith story. Use today's rat story to share with them what you have learned about staying connected to God's power in your life every day.
