a "new" dawn

I wonder, How many sunrises have I seen? Probably more than most because for a number of years I worked the overnight shift and I always made sure to schedule my break at first-light. So, sunrises are quite special to me; something that I always look forward to seeing. This one is different, as you look down as well as up when you see the sun. Interesting! A new perspective on a "common" occurrence. Somehow, I thought of Zacharias, who had been left without speech after his encounter with an angel in the temple. How ordinary it is for us to talk, but if for some reason you can't for awhile, then your first words flow in joyous tumult. Listen (that is, read) to what he has to say.

Luke 1:67-80 (WEB)
67) His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68) “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
69) and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70) (as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
71) salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
72) to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,
73) the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father,
74) to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,
75) In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76) And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
77) to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
78) because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
79) to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80) The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Zacharias' son John was to be a great prophet and naturally this made Zacharias overjoyed, but he also put things in perspective by realizing that John was just to be a herald of the one to come. A herald of the dawn of a new age, one where God-in-the-flesh was to teach in person the way to true peace. It was if all mankind had suddenly been raised a little higher; to the very top of the world to see to see a new dawn and view it through the eyes of heaven itself.

pot luck?

When I took my lunch break yesterday, I accidentally turned on "wheel of fortune". The show was a special one with a Chicago theme, but I noticed the stars: Pat Sajak looked the same, but Vanna White looked quite different to me. Isn't it funny how some people change quickly, while others seem to stay the same for a long, long time. This picture of a birthday cake caused me to think about life and ask the question: Are our lives really like this cake; do we really just get "pot luck"? Then I remembered a couple passages from the Bible that set me straight in a hurry.

Prov 20:24 (WEB)
24) A man’s steps are from Yahweh; how then can man understand his way?

Rom 8:28-39 (WEB)
28) We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
29) For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30) Whom he predestined, those he also called. Whom he called, those he also justified. Whom he justified, those he also glorified.
31) What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32) He who didn’t spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how would he not also with him freely give us all things?
33) Who could bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies.
34) Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36) Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37) No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God has always and will always work in the lives of us all. Those who do their best to follow him obviously get special attention. I know this because of the effort God made in providing a "new covenant" through Jesus; a new way to God. We may seem to have a "pot luck" life and the cake is cute and all, but make no mistake, God is there and working through your life to fulfill his will. We all enjoy the pleasant aspects of life, but even those of lesser enjoyment or unhappiness can be wonderful if we understand that God can use even those things. So, even "lose a turn" and "bankrupt" can be a blessing. I know this is true, but I still would feel a little strange if someone gave me a piece of either one of them on my birthday.

Seeing things differently

A couple days ago I tried something new; my digital camera and Microsoft's ICE program. The software takes many pictures and stitches them together to form one large panoramic composite. The day was cloudy so the picture was a little dark, but not bad for a first attempt. Until I encountered this software the only time I have seen panoramic pictures was with APS (advanced processing systems) cameras which are MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE. It was interesting to see life from another angle and I wondered: How does God see his creation? This passage from the prophet Isaiah came to mind.

Isa 55:1-11 (WEB)
1) “Come, everyone who thirsts, to the waters! Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2) Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which doesn’t satisfy? listen diligently to me, and eat you that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
3) Turn your ear, and come to me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4) Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples.
5) Behold, you shall call a nation that you don’t know; and a nation that didn’t know you shall run to you, because of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he has glorified you.”
6) Seek Yahweh while he may be found; call you on him while he is near:
7) let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to Yahweh, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” says Yahweh.
9) “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10) For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11) so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing I sent it to do.

Just as his thinking, so his vision; different. So different from us that its impossible to comprehend. Imagine, being able to see beyond time and space and into the very hearts of his created beings? Wow, now that's one very big panorama!! As far as the panoramic software goes, the next day I took 14 pictures encompassing 360 degrees and the subsequent circular picture came out great. Only one thing, it was too big to post on the blog, rats, big green rats!!! Only one more thing... did I mention the software was FREE? Also, after completing the publishing process with the blog software, I noticed that it truncated the picture. You will need to go to the site and double click on the picture to see the WHOLE THING.

one thing is uncertain.....

If you don't understand this little beauty, take heart, there are a lot of us out there who don't either. This is the equation for the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, used in quantum mechanics (Physics). I was curious, so I looked it up; basically, it says that the more you think you know something, the less you really do (I hope I got this right). One more paradox in this life to deal with. However, we see this sort of thing all the time. Remember: butter is bad for you, so try margarine or how about sugar is bad for you, so use Splenda. It seems that almost every week there is something like this on the web or in the news. You think you know something for sure and then the next day what you know is "wrong" followed by the next day in which you discover you were "right" all along. Naturally, I thought of Job: A man utterly convinced that he was righteous and pure before God, until he is asked a few questions by the Almighty himself. I know this is a LONG series of verses, but it really is worth reading.....

Job 38:1-41 (WEB)
1) Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2) “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3) Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
4) “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
5) Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
6) Whereupon were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7) when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8) “Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth from the womb,
9) when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10) marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
11) and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’
12) “Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place;
13) that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
14) It is changed as clay under the seal, and stands forth as a garment.
15) From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
16) “Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17) Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18) Have you comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if you know it all.
19) “What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
20) that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
21) Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
22) Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
23) which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24) By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25) Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm;
26) To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; on the wilderness, in which there is no man;
27) to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to spring forth?
28) Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29) Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?
30) The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31) “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
32) Can you lead forth the constellations in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33) Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34) “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?
35) Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are?’
36) Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37) Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of the sky,
38) when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
39) “Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40) when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket?
41) Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?

Job 39:1-30 (WEB)
1) “Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears fawns?
2) Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they give birth?
3) They bow themselves, they bring forth their young, they end their labor pains.
4) Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go forth, and don’t return again.
5) “Who has set the wild donkey free? Or who has loosened the bonds of the swift donkey,
6) Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?
7) He scorns the tumult of the city, neither does he hear the shouting of the driver.
8) The range of the mountains is his pasture, He searches after every green thing.
9) “Will the wild ox be content to serve you? Or will he stay by your feeding trough?
10) Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with his harness? Or will he till the valleys after you?
11) Will you trust him, because his strength is great? Or will you leave to him your labor?
12) Will you confide in him, that he will bring home your seed, and gather the grain of your threshing floor?
13) “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the feathers and plumage of love?
14) For she leaves her eggs on the earth, warms them in the dust,
15) and forgets that the foot may crush them, or that the wild animal may trample them.
16) She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
17) because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has he imparted to her understanding.
18) When she lifts up herself on high, she scorns the horse and his rider.
19) “Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?
20) Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome.
21) He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men.
22) He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword.
23) The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin.
24) He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
25) As often as the trumpet sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
26) “Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and stretches her wings toward the south?
27) Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up, and makes his nest on high?
28) On the cliff he dwells, and makes his home, on the point of the cliff, and the stronghold.
29) From there he spies out the prey. His eyes see it afar off.
30) His young ones also suck up blood. Where the slain are, there he is.”

Job 40:1-5 (WEB)
1) Moreover Yahweh answered Job,
2) “Shall he who argues contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
3) Then Job answered Yahweh,
4) “Behold, I am of small account. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth.
5) I have spoken once, and I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”

We are human beings, we don't know everything and never will. Remember the concept of humility? We all need to remember this one. There is one true constant in the universe and that is its maker, God. For us, one thing is certain, and that is, one thing is uncertain when it comes to human knowledge. So, the next time you feel really, really smart or clever, remember Heisenberg. I just wish someone could explain that equation to me... OH, WELL!

No words can express the beauty

The rainbow is a promise of God. Specifically, that he would not destroy the Earth by means of a floor. It is a beautiful thing, showing the color within the light that we see every day. Most of the time when I see a rainbow it is on the horizon, but once in awhile it is close by and the closer it gets the more beautiful it becomes. How could a rainbow be any better? Why, if you are in it of course. So the concept of "better" came to mind and of course this passage from the book of Hebrews.

Heb 8:1-13 (WEB)
1) Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this. We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2) a servant of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
3) For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
4) For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
5) who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.”
6) But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8) For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days come,” says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9) not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord.
10) “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11) They will not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest.
12) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”
13) In that he says, “A new covenant,” he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.

The relationship God had with Israel was a very special one; He gave them laws, watched over them and guided them for literally hundreds of years. So, what could be better? The answer is to go beyond the concept of LAW entirely; to create a new way of knowing God... from the heart. the LAW was superseded by Grace, just as the rules of childhood are replaced by the understanding of an adult. After all, isn't it better to know what to do rather than be told what to do. Grace is like being IN A RAINBOW; the promises of God and you become one. When the human heart is colored by the promises of the living God, no words can express the beauty of it.

Find the answer...quickly

When I saw this picture on the net, I could only think of one thing: "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?". OK, I admit it, I do not know the answer to this one. I don't know what this man was thinking, but when I saw this question, I felt my I.Q. level drop about 40 points or more. The recent volcanic eruption may be news, but I only make the connection as far as that "Scandinavian" country. If I lived closer I might know more, but I don't, so my eyes bulged out too when I saw this simple little question. Even if I did know more than I do right now, I would have to be motivated and willing to listen to do something about it; otherwise I stay right where I am; period! Which is exactly where Felix was when Paul made his defense before him.

Acts 24:22-27 (WEB)
22) But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerning the Way, deferred them, saying, “When Lysias, the commanding officer, comes down, I will decide your case.”
23) He ordered the centurion that Paul should be kept in custody, and should have some privileges, and not to forbid any of his friends to serve him or to visit him.
24) But after some days, Felix came with Drusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus.
25) As he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified, and answered, “Go your way for this time, and when it is convenient for me, I will summon you.”
26) Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore also he sent for him more often, and talked with him.
27) But when two years were fulfilled, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and desiring to gain favor with the Jews, Felix left Paul in bonds.

Why do we do the things we do? What motivates us? Fear, peer pressure, family, economics, love, hate and probably a thousand other things might "get us going", but when it comes to God, somehow many of us turn a deaf ear. Felix's "deaf ear" was money and power. Because of these he never acted on his knowledge of "the way", even though he was terrified of the future consequences. Is there a question that really bothers you? How about: If you died tonight, where would you go in the next life? If your eyes just bulged, then perhaps you might want to open your Bible to Acts chapter 2; interesting reading. And, oh, yes, you will find the answer there!!! Next step: You need to do something about it!!!

It doesn't take an Einstein...

Some time ago, I used to subscribe to the Einstein quote of the day; some were amusing, others insightful, but all of them seemed to make sense to me. Don't misunderstand me, I certainly do not understand all of his theories and for his math--forget it! But for a man who was obviously extremely smart, he had a down-to-Earth quality I have always liked. As I looked at these two pictures, I couldn't help but wonder what he would think of today's society. Look around, things are changing: today I read in the news that a street preacher was arrested for telling a homosexual that God hates him. I don't think the preacher was right. It seems to me that God hates the sin, but still loves the person who sins. Read this passage from the book of Romans and YOU BE THE JUDGE.

Rom 1:13-32 (WEB)
13) Now I don’t desire to have you unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, and was hindered so far, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.
14) I am debtor both to Greeks and to foreigners, both to the wise and to the foolish.
15) So, as much as is in me, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who are in Rome.
16) For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.
17) For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.”
18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19) because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them.
20) For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.
21) Because, knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.
22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23) and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things.
24) Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves,
25) who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26) For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For their women changed the natural function into that which is against nature.
27) Likewise also the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men doing what is inappropriate with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.
28) Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
29) being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil habits, secret slanderers,
30) backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31) without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful;
32) who, knowing the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.

God lets people who practice such things "do their thing". However, there will be consequences. The street preacher made a mistake and put himself into the picture, when he should have just read all or perhaps part of the Romans passage. Anyone listening to God's word would soon get the idea. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure this one out. Now, if I could just put this into an equation....