More than a nice paint job

Now, this is one cool paint job.  As soon as I saw it, I was reminded of a book I read last year called "His Majesty's dragon".  I enjoyed it so much, that I read all the books in the series.  The dragon in the book was an awesome creature named Temeraire who was so big he could eat an entire cow at one meal.  Its hard for me not to think of another dragon which is found in the Scriptures, one who was as evil as Temeraire was good. 

Revelation 12:7-9 (WEB)
7) There was war in the sky. Michael and his angels made war on the dragon. The dragon and his angels made war.
8) They didn’t prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven.
9) The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

The dragon described in the Scriptures was evil and lost.  He will always lose because evil is weaker than goodness.  I really like the photo though and will try to remember Temeraire and not Satan when I look at the picture in the future.  If you have some time, read "His majesty's dragon", I think you might enjoy it.

Luminaries

This picture brought back memories.  My wife and I were on the trip home to New Jersey and we had a stopover in Florida.  It was late and we couldn't sleep, so we took a walk on the beach.  Even though it was winter, yet the air felt like May and the cool breeze made the walk delightful.  More than all this, there was that MOON!  So big and beautiful it was overpowering.  How big an impression did all this make on me; judge for yourself, its been over a decade since that walk.  The thing is... Christians are to be like that moon: luminaries.  The God of heaven shines on our hearts and we are never quite the same.  Jesus put it this way:

Matthew 5:14-16 (WEB)
14) You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.
15) Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.
16) Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Nothing you probably haven't heard before, but the more God affects you, the more others can see HIM in you.  That is exactly as it should be.  Something to think about the next time you see a full moon.  And, of course a trip to Florida couldn't hurt either!

The right way is....

Confusing isn't it?  And right now we aren't even moving!!  When I first saw this picture, I couldn't help but think of all the political ads on TV.  Everyone seems to bash their opponent and then at the very end say how good they are.  Who is kidding who?  Why would any honest person spend millions to get a job that pays less than $100,000?  Frankly, I don't know of any good reason, except for blatant stupidity.  However, there is one person I know I would vote for because of his track record.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (WEB)
6) For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7) Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
 (Isaiah 9:6-7, WEB)

Jesus.  Why? Because his government is founded on justice and righteousness.  So, forget all those ads, vote every single incumbent out and think spiritually, you will be glad you did.  Personally, anyone running for office who does not have a high moral standard is someone I don't want in there.  Boy, am I glad for Jesus.  His sign is simple... I am the way, the truth and the life.  Forget all the other signs, you will get lost.

The rules

This picture adds another dimension to the excuse:"my dog ate my homework".  This xray might be real, but probably not.  However, whether real or manipulated, it does show the fact that things happen.  Problems occur and sometimes your homework does get lost, the keys misplaced, the check for the electric was never mailed or one of a thousand different problems just happen.  When problems occur, what do we do, how do we react?  Read on for an interesting little story...

Genesis 2:15-25 (WEB)

15) Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16) Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.”
18) Yahweh God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
19) Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
20) The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper suitable for him.
21) Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22) He made the rib, which Yahweh God had taken from the man, into a woman, and brought her to the man.
23) The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”
24) Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
25) They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 3:1-19 (WEB)

1) Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’”
2) The woman said to the serpent, “Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat,
3) but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4) The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t surely die,
5) for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6) When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
7) The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8) They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
9) Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
10) The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
11) God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12) The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13) Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14) Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.
15) I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16) To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bear children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17) To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18) It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field.
19) By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

God made man and his wife, gave them a nice place to live and rules.  You know, do this, don't do that.  Seems simple enough, but sometimes even simplicity can be twisted.  Which is exactly what Satan (the serpent) did.  Adam and Eve didn't obey the rules and paid for it and there you go, we have life as we know it today.  No, there wasn't a dog who ate their homework, but there was trickery, deception and outright lying.  Just think of what life could have been like if only they had obeyed the rules.  Probably a lot better that what we have today. 

Change

If nothing is written in stone, why write this in stone?  Emphasis, probably.  But the fact that writing something in stone signifies permanence and if change is an unchanging factor in life... then go ahead, write all you want.  Things WILL CHANGE!!!  The Bible talks about things written in stone and one of the passages I like is found in the book of second Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 3
1) Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
2) You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;
3) being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.
4) Such confidence we have through Christ toward God;
5) not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God;
6) who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7) But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which was passing away:
8) won’t service of the Spirit be with much more glory?
(2 Corinthians 3:1-8, WEB)

Obviously, there is a reference here to the Sinaic commandments (ten commandments) compared to the gift of the Spirit found under the NEW COVENANT.  The rules under the old covenant are inflexible, unchanging, but those under the new covenant are full of life.  I don't know about you, but I like the idea of vibrant, flexible, life giving rules.  While hard and fast, written in stone rules may appeal to some, still when problems occur, I like the idea that God can be flexible with me.  I hope that little idea NEVER CHANGES.

Good things in small packages

What makes people make Bibles like this, anyway?  They are so small there seems to be no practical value in them, but nonetheless, from time to time I continue to see things like this.  My best guess is that they are really just symbols (because the print is often too small to read without a powerful magnifier) and their real value is that they remind the owner of what they already know of the Bible.  So, the real importance of Bibles like this becomes a matter of faith.  That God can work though even such a small thing has a parallel in the Gospels and the passage I chose comes from the book of Mark.

Mark 4:26-32 (WEB)
26) He said, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,
27) and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn’t know how.
28) For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29) But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30) He said, “How will we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?
31) It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,
32) yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.”
 (Mark 4:26-32, WEB)

The Kingdom of God is a recurring theme in the Gospels.  I like to think of it a the reign or domain of God's power. The power of the kingdom is God's word and whether the word be large or extremely small, it is of great power.  When coupled with faith within the human heart it becomes a very great thing indeed.  So, its not the size of the seed (The Bible) that counts, but its power.   While the Bible in the picture is cute and quite intriguing, I still prefer to use one that has print big enough to read; I am just funny that way.

Invisible visibility

When I looked at the NASA website today, I was a bit surprised to see this picture.  This three band infared picture showed at band of Aurora Borealis at the bottom.  Frankly, even though I have been collecting pictures of the universe for a few years now, I never even thought of something like this.  Somehow, I had the impression that the Northern Lights occurred only on Earth.  Surprise!!!  Consider the following passage from the book of Hebrews and I think you will see how it relates to the picture.

Hebrews 11:3 (WEB)

3) By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

We live in an age of science, where understanding everything seems inevitable.  Its just, that I have to ask the question: Do we even know what questions to ask?  If this Cassinni picture of Saturn is a surprise, then what other wonders await us?  And that is only in astronomy!  Consider all the new things that have come into being over the past 50 years: calculators, computers, DNA testing, envitro fertilation, stem cell research, to name just a few.  Its a brave new world out there, BUT, one created by God and NOT by man.  Faith is still an essential part of a healthy spiritual life and nothing can replace that.  Some may not agree with that statement, but they will, whether tomorrow, next year or perhaps in the next decade or so. Even those who look to science for the answer to EVERYTHING will be eventually be forced to look inward and upward; I know this because sooner or later we will all attend funerals, even if it is only our own.  Oh, I forgot to mention... these Northern lights are at the bottom.  What next?