Hubble Finally Proves We Are Not Alone.

It took the longest time for the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) pictures to start showing up in the public domain in a big way. For a few years I used to joke that some atheist at NASA was keeping the pictures from the public as the telescope actually found that God was out there looking at His creation as if He were looking at fish in his family room aquarium. The end of the Universe, the definition of reality as we understood it, was the outside surface of a galactic glass fish bowl. Certainly, the atheists couldn't let the human race know that there really was a god and that he looked suspiciously like the guy painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Thankfully, that is not exactly what the HST found. God does not have gray hair, His palms are not pressed up against a glass bowl, there seems to be no end in sight of His creation, and time and distance still remain so unlimited that our minds have little or no chance of grasping their magnitude nor meaning. Some have suggested that the Universe is a lonely place. They use HST photos to suggest that there probably is life somewhere else, but it is unimaginably remote to us.

I, however, see the HST photos in a different light. God is always everywhere in His creation. He is all around us. He gave us such a wonderful place in His creation to stand, so that we can see Him through His creativeness. Those galaxies...perhaps they are God's palms on the glass surface of our imagination and His reality.

We are not alone in this Universe. We have each other. We have our families. We have our relationship with our creator through His Word, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. It never ceases to amaze me at how lonely some folks feel. It never stops boggling my mind that we think we are the only ones with a problem, that what we are going through is novel to the human race, and that God might not or doesn't understand. We also fear that He will not be willing to forgive us. This fear causes us to withdraw from Him and from our fellow believers. No, no, no...He is faithful and just to forgive....and cleanse...all unrighteousness.

I think that feeling alone is the wrong way to look at life. Our culture wants us to define ourselves by emphasizing our uniqueness. I am reminded of Gary Larson's "The Far Side" joke of the penguin standing up in the midst of thousands of identical penguins and singing out Frank Sinatra's famous song, "I Did It My Way." Uniqueness is fine, but it has its limits. Those things that make us "the same" as others are sometimes better to consider. We are all sinners who have access to God's grace through Jesus Christ. We all are His creations. We are all human and loved by God. We all live in the same world and though we may each view it differently, that world is our gift from God. We all need food, water, shelter and the like. We also all need to love and be loved.

When we look at the stars and feel alone...that is wrong. Those stars mean God is out there. It means God is with us. So, let's be with each other, be there for each other. No need to be or feel alone...the Universe is a beautifully together place.

It's Time To Play- Seek and You Will Find!

I can not remember whether it was Josh or Mark who came up with the idea that everyone should come to study with a note card filled with questions they want to explore. Zack was our inspiration and we trust that after the swim season he will again be able to join us. We are going to be "wide open" following our hearts, minds, and hopefully the Holy Spirit in bringing up topics and issues that we young and older men need to explore and sometimes find answers to. It may be that we will not be able to some to consensous answers on all issues. There certainly is an argument that there are some gray areas in life even when looking at Scripture. Honest men and women, in all sincerity, can come to different conclusions or paths after reading the same text. There is such a thing as relative truth, subjective reality, and personal opinion. As followers of Christ we do hold that there are some absolutes in life. We will now explore them and some not so absolute truths. Some would think this a tad dangerous. They would say that we are putting ourselves in "Jepardy" by opening up the flood gates. But, we will do this in faith. We will trust that our submission to God and our commitment to His Word will bring us home safely, faith intact, our selves strengthened to better serve Christ in our future lives.

I can't wait!

No Charles Atlas, But No Girly Man Either

Perhaps Desmond Tutu has some things to say to us about being a man and a follower of Christ.

I have finished reading Archbishop Desmond Tutu's little book entitled "God Has a Dream-A Vision of Hope for Our Time." I highly recommend reading it. You will find that he holds some potentially "politically incorrect" views on some social matters. I will not go into them as you should read and formulate your own analysis of what he has to say. However, I would implore you to "read through" those statements. Don't let them cause you to stop or become over critical. We, who consider ourselves to be "Evangelicals", have a tendency to write entire persons or people groups off if they don't agree with us on some particular issue. We also identify ourselves not as individuals but representatives of a group, "Evangelicals." We actually short change ourselves when we do this. I am reminded of Soren Kierkegaard's statement, "Label me, negate me." When we place a label on someone based upon one attitude or view that they have that is contrary to our beliefs or feelings, we tend to shut them out completely. In political terms this is referred to as a litmus test. I am sure all of you have used litmus paper to determine the acidity or baseness of an element or compound. This process of litmus testing people's attitudes and labeling them conservative, liberal, progressive, gay, straight, left, right, patriot, traitor is a tool, is an action, which demands division, separation. If Christ separated himself from anyone it was the hypocrites, not the sinners. If we are to come out from among them it is to come out from those who are hypocrites and embrace those who are sinners...like me. Also, what is politically incorrect to one person may be political perfection to another. I, therefore, call all of you to "understanding" not "negating." Wouldn't it be sad if someone were to negate you because of your beliefs? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Charles Atlas was thought to be "the most perfect human specimen of a man in the entire world." I remember my grandparents and parents applying that title to him. He first showed up on the scene in the 1920's. Now, in the year 2008 a question is begged. How could he be considered "the most perfect" if not all men were considered? It is no accident that Asians, Africans, South Americans and other people groups were not considered to even be in the running. That title was given in a totally, racially prejudiced world view setting. Though he certainly was handsome and strong, his title was a lie. I am reminded of Samuel seeking the next King of Israel. It's the HEART boys! It's the HEART!

When I saw the two pictures of Charles and Desmond I could not help but see this amazing principle visually glaring out at me, and I think to anyone who desires to be honest. The two images could not be more culturally, physically, and racially opposite. It just jumps out at me! I must admit to striving to be more like Charles at one time in my life. I had no chance. Now, I'd love to strive to be more like my brother in Christ, Desmond Tutu. I think he is a man after God's own heart. The Bible teaches that I have little or not chance to be like Mr. Atlas. It teaches that even if I could achieve this it would be of little value. But, God's Word also teaches that I can be "Just Like Desmond!" I can get there and in doing so...be more like Christ...be more "a real man." I to, can be a man after God's own heart. That would last me forever. All of us can. WOW! Desmond and Jesus may look like twins?! Shocking.

One final issue. I know nothing of Mr. Atlas's life other than the pictures and the physical fitness advertisements that were based upon his image and his workout system and ethic. He may have been a follower of Christ. I do not know. I do not mean to be judgmental towards him. I am simply taking his image and the use of his image and juxtaposing it to a much different image (Tutu) and what it has been used for.

Off I go to the health club!

Blam! Blam! Bang! You're Mine!

It was a most interesting discussion last night. Joel, thank you for your input! Don't be shy. You write well and your thoughts a interesting. The discussion on what "dominion" means and how we should apply it to our walk with Christ brought out points that need to be considered by all of us. In the new "green" political landscape the Church is being challenged to answer for itself as to what dominion and stewardship mean and how the Church should live out its beliefs on these matters. Truth be told the Church in America has all too often stood within its communities for the "status quo." Oft times this is not good. Martin Luther King Jr. certainly took the Church and local bodies in the south to task for their errors in judgement and their sins of inaction when he wrote his letter from a Birmingham jail. In some sense Dr. King was a prophet of God. Perhaps there are others crying out to the Church on environmental issues. We ignore them at our peril not only from an environmental standpoint, but also from a leadership perspective. Should the Church lead or should we follow? What has been the Church in America's history on this point?

The tying of "manhood" to fighting, hunting, and war was interesting too. Hopefully some of you will read what Joel wrote and my comment in response. There are some critical considerations within that topic that we should noodle out. I stepped over a line (on purpose of course) when I indicated I had a problem with duck hunting as I really love watching ducks both paddle around and fly. I hope I didn't get you all riled up? Maybe I hope I did? Please don't get mad at me...don't shoot me! Try to see what I am saying from my perspective. At the same time try to listen to yourself. That is why I love to write. An author once responded to the question "What do you think about?" She said, "How do I know what I think until I have read what I have written?" The very process of writting out your thoughts helps you to develop them more clearly and accurately. I can remember a time when I had to breath the smoke of a fellow passenger while sitting next to them on a long transpacific flight. It irritated me, but it was "just the way it was." Now, how shocked we would all be at how insensitive this person was and we would demand that he or she put the "butt out" or suffer our full fury and the full weight of the law? Perceptions change! Perhaps we need to review our personal perspectives and perceptions some? Maybe those ducks deserve to be photographed as miracles in flight rather than be stuffed in a hunting bag shot full of bleeding holes? Just a thought. Loved last night!

Casting Pearls Before Swine: More to Come

We had an interesting discussion regarding Christ's admonishment to his disciples "to not cast your pearls before swine." Well, I've been thinking about that and may have some thoughts on the subject that go beyond our discussion. I'll update this post again and flesh those thoughts out. At the same time I'd like to "jab" you guys and say that since you don't visit my web site much, don't hardly ever make comments, I sometimes feel that I am blogging to myself. Am I casting my pearls of wisdom before swine? Are you the swine or am I the Pig!? The photos above are kind of fun. The sow is from Wikapedia and the giant "Pigzilla" is from a web search. I remember when that kid was the talk of the Internet news outlets. We all thought it was wild before word came out that it was originally owned by a family and was a pet of sorts. Its name was "Fred" or some such thing. Oh, My! THE KID CALLED FREDDY OVER TO HIM AND SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD! I think the dad and his son felt they were pretty "wild at heart", but I'm not so sure Fred was. There is a fairness thing going on here...I think. Did shotting Fred with a high powered pistol make this young boy "more of a man?" Is this a legitimate form of passage to manhood? Interestingly there is significant disagreement on this point.