Overlap

I don't like this picture. Don't get me wrong; I know why Christ died and I do love DUNKIN' DONUTS, but the two should never be put together. Why? Because they have nothing to do with each other, that is why. In a way, though, I can see how it would be "funny". It does bring up a serious subject though; that of our ability to perceive and respond to the word of God. How do we understand it?

Matthew 13:1-23 (WEB)
1) On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.
2) Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach.
3) He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.
4) As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
5) Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.
6) When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.
7) Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.
8) Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
9) He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10) The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
11) He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
12) For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.
13) Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.
14) In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:
15) for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and should turn again; and I would heal them.’
16) “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
17) For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.
18) “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.
19) When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
20) What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;
21) yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22) What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23) What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”
(Matthew 13:1-23, WEB)

We are bombarded with an overflow of information each day. The television, radio, cell phones and internet all vie for our attention. Not only that, there are the normal functions of talking with others, driving, making purchases in stores, eating and many other such things that we do each day. When these overlap... watch out, something has got to give. Its no wonder there is a trend towards aloofness in our society; we are just too busy. Its time we started to slow down and when we do, the overlap will stop and life will be a little bit more clear. Why Christ died will be thought of by itsself and so will be Dunkin Donuts. Which is better for you.... the answer to that is a slam dunk... and I don't mean in your coffee, either.

birthday reflections

This is last years picture of me and my newest granddaughter. Both of us have lost weight since then, especially her. I have been thinking a lot about the both of us lately, especially with the arrival of my 61st birthday. For me, its easier to understand life if I compare opposites (like old and young). After some thought I decided to be happy today because it is my birthday and I want this to be a special day. Here is an example of how I would like to feel today.

Luke 1:5-20 (WEB)
5) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
6) They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
7) But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
8) Now it happened, while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division,
9) according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10) The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
11) An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12) Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13) But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14) You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.
15) For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
16) He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God.
17) He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.”
18) Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”
19) The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.
20) Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”

The announcement of life is a wonderful thing! Sometimes shocking, sometimes distressing, but always a pleasure: life is never, ever, wrong! Most people don't have a clue as to what their offspring will be like, but they are happy anyway. Imagine the joy of Zacharias! As I thought of my life and the future of my grandchildren I jotted down these words (excuse my poor poetry)

Today's my birthday and I'm just fine,
lovin every minute of the passage of time.

Don't know what's going to happen in the coming year,
but, hey, its OK as long as I'm here.

Each day is a victory as time presses on,
and I will rejoice and not be forlorn.

Because God has loved me and I know this is true,
for I have learned to live each day anew.

So, if you are listening, I just wanted to say,
YOU are my blessing, my friends far away.

Be happy, rejoice, in each day with me
for God alone gives true victory.

God's time

Time has changed. I remember when I was young, there was morning, lunch, nap-time, supper and bedtime. Then along came grade school with its regimentation. High School and college had their own sense of time. Over the past decade or two, time seems to have became faster and faster; the days and years seem to just fly by. And then there are the timepieces. Mickey mouse watches and BIG clocks with huge hands. Today, you see binary clocks, future clocks, atomic clocks, celestial ones and so many it would take a couple of pages just to list them all. Now, this isn't a bad thing; its good that things change, it keeps you thinking. But, I wonder, will it ever come to a head? I don't know, but as you step back and look at our society, things are forming patterns of change. For me, I think we are living in the last generation before the return of the Christ, but hey, I have been wrong before. I even voted for Richard M. Nixon (twice). The good news is: God is never wrong; his time is always the right time. Ephesians chapter one seems good to mention at this point, so read on....

Eph 1:1-14 (WEB)
1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;
5) having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
6) to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved,
7) in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8) which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9) making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10) to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
11) in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;
12) to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
13) in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14) who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.

The Hebrew Bible is not without a plan. God has been working with his created beings since the foundation of the world. Ultimately, he chose the people we know as the Jews and from them one very special man to lead ALL THE REST OF THE WORLD TO GOD! Understanding this is like looking at the watch in the picture. First you see the vague outline of the times (the outside of the watch, indicating the hours) and then as you understand more and more you gradually come to the point of being able to read the fine print (at the center of the watch, the seconds). God's time is his time and not ours. We know when Jesus came and went, but when he will come again, well, that is one very good question. Maybe the watch will tell me, I just wish I had the Japanese manual.

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!