REPENTANCE
(TURNING AWAY FROM SIN)

Wabush, a town in a remote portion of Labrador, Canada, was completely isolated for some time. But recently a road was cut through the wilderness to reach it. Wabush now has one road leading into it, and thus, only one road leading out. If someone would travel the unpaved road for six to eight hours to get into Wabush, there is only one way he or she could leave--by turning around.

Each of us, by birth, arrives in a town called Sin. As in Wabush, there is only one way out--a road built by God himself. But in order to take that road, one must first turn around. That complete about-face is what the bible calls repentance, and without it, there's no way out of town.

REPENTANCE
(TURNING AWAY FROM SIN)

A pig recently traveled on a six-hour US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Seattle, and he didn't ride coach.

Two passengers convinced the airline representative that the pig needed to fly with them as a "therapeutic companion pet"—like a seeing-eye dog—so the pig was permitted to sit with them in the first-class cabin of the plane.

Passengers described the 300-pound pig as "enormous, brown, angry, and honking." He was seated in three seats near the front of the plane (and his companions), but the attendants reportedly had difficulty strapping him in: "It became restless after takeoff and sauntered through the cabin." One passenger said, "He kept rubbing his nose on people's legs trying to get them to give him food and stroke him."

Upon landing, things only got worse. The article reports, "the pig panicked, running up and down through economy class squealing." Many passengers, also screaming, stood on their seats.

It took four attendants to escort the pig out of the airplane, and he escaped upon reaching the terminal. (He was later re-captured).

When asked to comment on the story, US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said, "We can confirm that the pig traveled, and we can confirm that it will never happen again."

At one time or another each of us has done something that seemed right at the time, but we later said, "That will never happen again."

Preaching Today