Let the show begin!!!

An unusual "Northern Lights" display; they don't normally ascend vertically!!!  Take away the housing and it looks like an introduction for an old movie.  In other words... let the show begin...  While thinking about this, I thought of this passage from the book of 1st Peter.

1 Peter 4:1-11 (WEB)
1) Forasmuch then as Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;
2) that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
3) For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries.
4) They think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming:
5) who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6) For to this end the Good News was preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit.
7) But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.
8) And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.
9) Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
10) As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.
11) If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Today, for most of us, practicing our Christian faith is easy compared to what Christians had to endure in the earliest centuries.  It is a rarity for someone in the United States to die for their faith.  Notice a little statement that is casually mentioned: "but the end of all things is near".  This sort of statement is found in several of the New Testament and is a problem for some.  Their problem is... if this is true, then why hasn't the return of Christ happened?  Good question!!!  Consider that God has made everything in the universe and that with HIM a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.  Imagine that all time is viewed as one of the giant Egyptian pyramids and that the time of the end is as a postage stamp at the top.  The end times would appear insignificant and fleeting; a mere wisp of time.  Who says we must consider the end of all things from our perspective?  Why not God's?  Also, whether God comes today, tomorrow, or in 50 or 90 years, we are but a heartbeat away from meeting our maker.  So, let the show begin; sooner or later (in God's own time) judgment day will come!!!!!!

JOY

This picture brings back memories.  One and only one time have I seen this and that was 47 years ago.  I had just started to go steady with my Linda and was visiting her home for the first time.  Her mom (Dorothy) was giving the baby (her brother David) a bath in the sink.  That was the first time I had ever seen anyone do this and although David was not quite as happy as this baby, it still was something to see.  As for this picture, what struck me was how happy the baby is.  There is a special kind of joy associated with bathing, one that makes whatever time you have doing it WAY TO SHORT.  But, it also raises a question, and that is... What makes YOU joyful??  Take a look at the following passage and I will talk a bit about one of the ways I understand joy.

WEB: Philippians Chapter 2
[12] So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. [13] For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. [14] Do all things without murmurings and disputes, [15] that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, [16] holding up the word of life; that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain. [17] Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all. [18] In the same way, you also rejoice, and rejoice with me.

[19] But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing. [20] For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you. [21] For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. [22] But you know the proof of him, that, as a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News. [23] Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.

Paul was a servant of his brethren; he loved for them, cared for them, was concerned for them and prayed for them. So, because of this, he sent a man after his own heart to them.  Timothy was young, inexperienced and somewhat timid... but he did care and tried to do the best he could for others.  Nice way to be remembered!!!  The first sermon I ever heard at Northeast School of Biblical Studies was by brother Ed Healy.  It has stayed in my mind for 32 years because of its simplicity and profoundness.  Briefly, JOY means Jesus first, others second and yourself last of all.  In a way, its almost a complete definition of Christian discipleship.  If "JOY" is not a good way to characterize your lifestyle, then today is a good time to change.  You may or may not look like the baby in the picture, BUT, you will be a better person for it.  Oh, yes; I forgot one thing....Yyippee!!!

"Cute"

This image gives no doubt as to what this baby's parents think.  Even though babies have different temperaments, still, every baby is precious.  Not only are they "cute", but they don't even know how to lie, cheat, steal or do so many of the things that God calls sin.  We love them for their innocence, their purity and because they represent the future.  Over time, though, they do things that irritate and anger us; how we wish they could always remain pure!  This passage from the book of 1st Peter shows us how.

1 Peter 2:1-10 (WEB)
1) Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking,
2) as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby,
3) if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious:
4) coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.
5) You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6) Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.”
7) For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,”
8) and, “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.
9) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
10) who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

God has shown us the way to purity; he has done this through the living, breathing, Jesus; the one who overcame sin and has given us a way to heaven.  Imagine, being able to "erase" all the wrong (sin) we have ever done?  Being able to be looked at like the baby in the picture and feeling like that too!!!  God teaches us through "the pure milk of the word" and that word helps us to be pure.  Spiritually, we become "cute" and once again are loved as we love that little "angel" in the picture.  Nice thought for me, as its been a long, long, long time since anyone thought of me as "cute".

Rainbows, rainbows, everywhere...

The vapor trail of this jet is unusual; it looks something like a rainbow to me!!!  I know, its not REALLY a rainbow, it just resembles it.  And, yes, this is much, much higher than any "normal" rainbow would be.  It also has a different shape (a "V") but even with all that, it still looks like a rainbow.  As long as we are talking about rainbows that are not really rainbows, consider chapter 21 of Revelation...

WEB: Revelation of John Chapter 21
[1] I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. [2] I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. [3] I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”

[5] He who sits on the throne said, "“Behold, I am making all things new.”" He said, "“Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”" [6] He said to me, "“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life. [7] He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son. [8] But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”"

[9] One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the wife, the Lamb’s bride.” [10] He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, [11] having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, as if it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal; [12] having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. [13] On the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. [14] The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. [15] He who spoke with me had for a measure, a golden reed, to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. [16] The city lies foursquare, and its length is as great as its breadth. He measured the city with the reed, Twelve thousand twelve stadia. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. [17] Its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. [18] The construction of its wall was jasper. The city was pure gold, like pure glass. [19] The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; [20] the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst.

Somehow, this multicolored foundation reminds me of a rainbow.  Perhaps its the varied colors or maybe its that this city is coming down from heaven (like the jet will), or that its a different shape (square), I really don't know, but of this I am sure; like the jet trail one above (a like to call it a "jetbow") it will sure get my attention.  Maybe that is enough for a Friday morning.  Life is good, Heaven will be BETTER!!!!!!

The biggest of the big!!!

WOW; four trailers!!!  Most of the time you just see a tractor and its trailor; sometimes a tandem trailer, but I have never, ever seen anything this big!!!  I can't even imagine what it must be like to drive such a thing; this is truly something to marvel at.  Greatness, pure and simple.  But, I wonder, what is the greatest of the greatest thing that ever was (or perhaps will be?)?  Read on...

Daniel 2:1-49 (WEB)
1) In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
2) Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
3) The king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
4) Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live forever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
5) The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6) But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.
7) They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
8) The king answered, I know of a certainty that you would gain time, because you see the thing is gone from me.
9) But if you don’t make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.
10) The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man on the earth who can show the king’s matter, because no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
11) It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12) For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13) So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
14) Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;
15) he answered Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16) Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.
17) Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18) that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19) Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20) Daniel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.
21) He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22) he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
23) I thank you, and praise you, you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king’s matter.
24) Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.
25) Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.
26) The king answered Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?
27) Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show to the king;
28) but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:
29) as for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall happen.
30) But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
31) You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its aspect was awesome.
32) As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,
33) its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.
34) You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
35) Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36) This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.
37) You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
38) and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold.
39) After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40) The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.
41) Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.
42) As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43) Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not mingle with clay.
44) In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
45) Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.
46) Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.
47) The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.
48) Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.
49) Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

Nebuchadnezzar was truly a great king, with a vast kingdom and power almost beyond imaging.  His dream was very special and puzzling and his request for its interpretation unusual.  The answer can straight from God and the explanation of it showed how magnificent his kingdom really was.  Yet, his kingdom was NOT EVERLASTING!!!  Other kingdoms would follow his, but none would endure, except that which comes directly from God himself.  As wonderful as all the kingdoms of the Earth were, yet they were overshadowed by the sheer power of that which comes from heaven.  Now, that is something more wonderful than anything I can possibly imagine and somehow a four trailer truck load seems to pale in comparison.

A letter for ME!!!

Even though we are far apart, I regularly give my younger brother Dave a call.  He is retired as I am, so we both have time to follow the news.  One of the biggest changes in the Albany, New York area will be the reduction of post office branches.  Most of the branches that I went to when I lived up there are being closed.  Doesn't sound like much, but after going into the same post offices hundreds of times, it leaves a pattern in your life that you WILL remember.  I know, things change, but sometimes, NOT FOR THE BETTER.   The post office was where I met both relatives and friends alike and somehow having those branches closed will change my perception of "home" forever.  But, the letters I sent from "home" will always be the same, regardless of where they were sent from, or for that matter in what form.  Paul puts it this way...

2 Corinthians 3:1-18 (WEB)
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?
9) For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
10) For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses.
11) For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
12) Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech,
13) and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away.
14) But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.
15) But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.
16) But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17) Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Communication that means something comes from the heart, from the essence of what it means to be YOU.   Whether written on stone, parchment, velim, papryus, paper or with the 1's and 0's of today's electronic age, the heart of human beings remains the same.  If that is true in human terms, consider what it means in heavenly concepts.  The love of God has never changed.  The expression of it has, from the original interpersonal connect with Adam or the patriarchs, to that of the prophets and finally with Jesus, God has loved us.  God has loved us, now that is something worth repeating, something we should always remember, something that should be engraved on our hearts forever!!!  In a world that is constantly changing, it is nice to know that some things DO NOT CHANGE.  So, even though you may be seeing this on facebook, or my blog, or in the form of a direct e-mail or a referral of some kind God still loves you and that is good news no matter how you get it!!!!!!!

Close, but so far away

Wiley E. Coyote.  I enjoy watching him because of his creativity and determination.  Think of all the ideas he has had to catch the road runner!  Whenever I open a phone book to the first page and see the word "Acme", I think of him.  Yet, for all his abilities, he continually fails...why?  Perhaps this passage from Romans will help us understand...

Romans 1:13-21 (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.

Thinking, the answer is in his thinking.  He just doesn't get it.  The road runner is beyond his reach and he will never, ever, get him.  But, he keeps trying and trying and trying and trying; all in vain!  Why?  Look at verse 21.  Stubbornness clouds reasoning and eventually blocks all understanding.  We, as human beings, can try to know everything, try to control everything, but eventually (if we are smart enough) we realize there is someone smarter and more powerful than any human being.  Wiley E. Coyote is both smart and stupid at the same time; perhaps we can learn from his mistakes and realize all the futility around us and turn from the path that excludes God.  Until we do, we will be just like him and go nowhere, even though we may rev our motor all the way up, we will still stay right where we are.  And God is laughing!