Twinkle, Twinkle ...

We have all heard that nursery rhyme, that one that goes, “Twinkle, twinkle, little star…” And those of us who have kids have most likely repeated it to them. Did you ever stop and realize that this is the first astronomy lesson? It’s true. Remember that stars twinkle and planets do not because they are reflecting the light from the sun. the same as the moon’s light is a reflection of sun light. I am writing this in Dallas, Texas and it is mid-November. Once the sun has set and it is dark, there are these planets visible without a telescope: Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. Venus is a mere 25 million miles away from us, Jupiter 360 million miles, and Saturn 800 million miles from Earth. Now think about this: the distance from the sun to Saturn and back to Earth is only 1.7 billion miles. And yet we ca still see it unaided. It takes a total of two hours, 22 minutes for the light to make that journey! That is how bright our sun is. 

God created the planets, stars, and other things that are out there … and he is still doing it. The age of the universe is about 10 billion years old, but new stars and planets are being born and old ones die. Maybe this is how the supreme being has fun. And they are all different sizes. There is a red dwarf star that is 1/7th the size of our sun. The largest known star is UY Scuti. It is so large that you could take our solar system almost to Saturn, just about a 100 million miles less than its distance from the sun, and put it inside UY Scuti. It has a radius of 738 million miles. And God created both, the dwarf and the largest. 

Some night walk out and away from surrounding lights and look up and reflect on the wonder and glory of all of the stars and planets you can see unaided. There are about 5,000 stars visible. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, has about 400 billion stars, and there are about 170 million galaxies … and God created all of it, and is still doing so. 

The next time you read about creation in the bible, that God created the heavens and the earth, try to wrap your head around just how enormous is all you can see and can’t see and stand there in total awe of God and all he has created, far beyond the limits of what we can imagine. It the words of that old hymn, “Out God is an awesome God.” Truly he is.

The Silence

 Silence: the opposite of sound, or the lack of it. Silence is present in word and action throughout our lives, in song and entertainment and life. We hear that “Silence is golden” and songs like “The Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel from 1967, the movie “Silence of the Lambs”, a cliché tells us the silence was deafening. Then there are people who live in silence. I’m not talking about dead people here. In the Catholic Church, the Trappist Monks live in silence and prayer and contemplation of God.

We have all, at one time or another, experienced God’s silence. We know that when we pray to God, whether in praise or the request something, he hears us. It is a tenet of our faith that God answers all of our prayers, sometimes with a “yes” and sometimes with a “no”. But how about all of the other times when all we get from God in answer to our prayers is … nothing. Silence. We pray, we make offerings, sometimes we try to make a deal with him. And more nothing, more silence.

 I wrote a piece a few years back titled “God’s Good Time”. And that is sometimes how it is when we pray. We just aren’t ready for the answer yet.

Maybe sometimes God has a different motive for being silent. Think back to the story of Job in the Old Testament. He lost it all: family, crops, animals, buildings, health. Three of his friends insisted he must have done something really wrong to make God so angry that he visited all of these things on Job. We know that the purpose was to show Satan that Job’s faith was strong, that regardless of what befell him, he did not break faith with God. Surely, Job wondered why God was silent, not answering his prayers for relief and deliverance. In the end, Job was richly rewarded by God for his unwavering faith. 

How about us? Do you think that maybe God is giving us an opportunity to show our faith? It would certainly be easy to turn our back on God when we aren’t getting any response from him. Some may even go to the point of questioning God’s very existence. There is another cliché, “Keep the faith, baby”. That is what it is all about, staying faithful regardless of what happens to us, in that silence period. And when it is done, when God responds once again, what has happened to your faith? It has gotten stronger. You have added to the strength of your faith and are more able to resist the attacks of the Enemy. Remember, that in order for a muscle to get stronger, it must be damaged first and the healing gives it strength. The point where a bone breaks is stronger there after it heals than the rest of the bone. So, it is with our faith in that when we have come through a period of trial, our faith is even stronger than before. 

So, why does God do these things or allow them to happen? It could be that we need to discover just how strong we really are. Perhaps God knows we are going to come to a period of trial that tests our faith, and he is preparing us by making us stronger. 

How about you? Is God answering your prayers? If so, great. Are you experiencing God’s gift of silence? Also great! We may see his purpose then or it may be off in our future. It is a gift and you have the chance to use it wisely. So just accept it, just do it.

The In-Between

 In 1954 the movie, White Christmas was released. It starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Allen. One of the many songs was sung by Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen. That song was “Sisters”. The last two lines of the song are:

 “Lord help the mister who comes between me and my sister.

             And Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man.” 

It was a cute and humorous song and, yes, it is out there on YouTube. (You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?) 

The simple message is obvious, of course, that neither sister would let someone coming between them and, equally, neither sister would tolerate her sister interfering with her and her man. 

Let me expand on that a bit and how that sentiment should be a part of our lives. Bottom line, what do you allow to come between you and the rest of your life and your life around you. Do you allow your job or hobby take you away from your family, whether that be parents and siblings or spouse and children? Yes, most of us have to work and having a hobby or other outside interest is not a bad thing. It is finding the right balance that is important. Sometimes that which comes between a couple is when one spouse has an affair. There is no way to balance that. 

How about the spiritual side of your life? Those of us who are believers need and want God to be an integral part of our lives. Yet, too many of us allow or even encourage something or someone to come between us and God. On a day when you should be focusing on God, what is there instead? I know that not everyone who believes in God goes to church. There are many who worship God in private or worship online or by watching a service on television. Is what comes between us, between work, a hobby, the worn out statement that starts with, “This is the only day I can …”? Really? Of the 168 hours in a week, there isn’t any way to fix your activities so you can give one or two to God? If you developed a new interest, I’ll bet you would find some way to adjust your schedule to fit it in. God isn’t a new interest, but why not treat it that way? If you can fit in a new hobby or activity, then you can definitely find time for God. It is all about what is really important. 

Life is what it is and there are many parts to it. Is God one of those parts? If not, what is coming between you and the one who created you and loves you? What can you do to change it? More importantly, what are you going to do to change it? To paraphrase the last line of that song: 

“Lord help the (something) that comes between me and my God.”

It's Reality

Recently I was looking for a book to read. I am one of those people who always have at least one book in progress, sometimes two or three. Looking through the books and wanting something I had not read in a while, I picked up “Heaven Is For Real" by Todd Burpo. It is a true story about his son, Colton. A couple of months before his fourth birthday, he became extremely sick and was finally diagnosed with a burst appendix and was taken into emergency. While he was in surgery, he went to heaven. He met the Trinity, a grandfather he never knew and a sister whom his mother lost while pregnant. He saw many and experienced many wonderful things. I’m not going to recreate the book or the subsequent movie other than to say you should read the book. One of the interesting photos in the book is a painting of Jesus Christ. It was done by an eight year old girl, Akiane Kramarik, who had started having visions of heaven when she was four. When Colton saw the painting, he told his dad that this is what Jesus looks like.

It would be easy to blow off the book or Colton’s experiences. After all, there are other books by people who had near-death experiences and saw Jesus and dead relatives. Some scientists and doctors debunk the stories by saying these people were starved for oxygen and these were hallucinations. I don’t know whether they are true or not. Colton’s story is totally believable. Go read it.

Throughout the book, Colton describes his experiences in bits and pieces. He tells many details about what heaven is like, both in terms of everyone he met and what it looked like, a place of wonder and beauty. We have other descriptions of heaven, Revelations and other parts of the bible. Colton’s descriptions of God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, bring a reality to just how wonderful and loving they are, and what being in heaven is like. This is the reward that awaits us when it is our turn to go. It is far more vivid and real than the other descriptions from the many ministers I have heard. 

This is what awaits you, as God’s good and faithful servant. This is your reward for being one of God’s people. So the message of this writing is to follow him, obey his laws and commandments and live forever in eternity in the presence of God’

Where Are The Men?

Once upon a time, men were men and manly. The dad was the head of the family and his wife and children looked up to him as the leader. He was the one whose praise and approval were most sought. If you messed up, there was no more fear-inducing statement that your mother could make than, “Wait until your father gets home.” His physical stature didn’t matter so much as the stature of his position as the husband and father. He was looked up to and admired. Boys wanted to be what their father was when they grew up. Girls wanted to marry a guy who was just like their dad. It was a time when men, husbands, and fathers, were looked up to and respected just because that is the way it was. Men knew their duty, their place, and acted in that role. Today, that falls under the heading of, “Once upon a time…” 

So, what happened to those days? They were depicted in TV shows such as “Father Knows Best” and “My Three Sons”. Sons bragged about their dads, even to the silly, “My dad can beat up your dad!” 

Today, we see a totally different picture. Too often we hear women complaining that their husbands do nothing, they don’t take charge or make decisions, or only act when asked rather than initiating action when it is needed. Men today won’t even make a decision about which restaurant to visit when taking their wife out to eat. The awe or fear that was once felt by their children has been replaced by indifference or annoyance and disbelief. Today, men seem to see their role as bringing home the money that buys the bacon. The kids bypass him and go to their mother for the leadership and approval they once received from him. The role that God created in the very beginning for men has, in too many households, disappeared. The sad thing is men have allowed it to happen, and even support the new status quo. They don’t see themselves as leaders. Their attitude seems to be that they can’t change it so they might as well accept it. They grew up in a matriarchal family and handed over the reins to their wives after they got married. 

While there are certainly many different ideas and theories why this has happened, here is mine. We are influenced by what we see and hear. One of the strongest sources of that influence is television programming. Since the 1950’s, men have been depicted more as fools than as heroes on situation comedies. The standard scenario is, at the end of the program, the wife comes across as the “wise woman” and the husband is depicted as the bumbler, the fool. Think of the original “I Love Lucy” shows. While Lucy was shown as being foolish and in trouble at the beginning and through the middle of the episode, at the end, it was her husband, Desi, who was the fool and she was the wise one. Carry that same train of thought through “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and others from that era. 

Do you want a look at more recent times? How about “Everybody Loves Raymond”? Both Raymond and his father were bumblers, constantly being overshadowed by their wives. The sexual side of marriage was constantly being ridiculed. Raymond was depicted as having to practically beg his wife to make love, and it was often shown as his reward for good behavior rather than a joyous sharing of love and affection between two people who loved each other. 

Imagine a scenario for a situation comedy starring three women who live in the same house: a career woman, her sister, who is a professional, and the sister’s teenage daughter. The career woman amuses herself by cruising the bars and bringing home a guy whose name she doesn’t remember the next morning. The professional sister is socially inept, divorced, and unable to form a lasting relationship. The teenage daughter is rude and disrespectful to both of them. Can you just hear the objections from women calling the show degrading, disrespectful, and a total insult to women? Well, that show was on television for many years, except it is called, “Two and A Half Men!” Just think of the picture it portrays of men and how that could influence people and their view of how men act in this society. By the way, who is the “wise woman” in that show? The housekeeper, of course. 

Your natural objection to the above is, “But these are just comedies, no one takes them seriously, right?” Perhaps they aren’t meant to be taken seriously, but a sixty year diet of them can’t help but influence how men are looked at and treated. God did not create men to be fools or dunces. He did not set them down to be the servant, but rather to lead, to make the critical decisions that need to be made. It is time for men to return to the role which God ordained in the beginning, not as dictators, but has loving leaders.

The Nuclear Option

 The nucleus is at the center of every atom that makes up the physical matter of our world. Once just a part of theory in physics, it was thought to be a potential source of tremendous energy. During World War II, scientists and researchers in what was known as the Manhattan Project showed that if the nucleus of an atom of uranium was bombarded with neutrons, it would start a chain reaction that could, if uncontrolled, lead to a massive release of energy, an explosion. This was demonstrated first in the New Mexico desert when an atomic bomb was detonated. Later, two bombs were constructed for use against Japan. President Truman had the awesome and frightful decision to exercise the first Nuclear Option, whether to use those two weapons against Japan. That he did so in August 1945 against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki shows that he made a difficult decision which killed thousands of people and brought about the surrender of Japan and an end to World War II. 

Today we have controlled nuclear detonations going on throughout the world in the production of electricity. The physics is still the same: nuclei being bombarded with neutrons in a controlled way to benefit us. A seemingly endless source of power used for our good. Yes, there are those people who disagree with nuclear energy, but for the most part, we have accepted that the benefits far outweigh the risks. 

There is another nucleus in our world: God. As believers in His existence, we know that He is the center of everything, the source of all of the power and energy. An atom has to give up part of its nucleus in order to start the chain reaction to create energy. God is infinite and gives each one of us a part of Himself when we are created. That part is our immortal soul, that part of us that is created in His image and likeness. God had the option whether to create all that He has, including us. Because He is allloving, He had to share that love and the part of that which benefits us is our creation. 

God gave many gifts to us when He created the human race. One of the greatest of these is that of free will. That means we have the choice to obey Him or not. We have the choice whether to believe in Him or not. That is our nuclear option: whether to believe in Him who created us all. That answer lies in the core of our being, our existence. At the very center of us, at the soul level, we know that God is our creator. Our soul is a part of Him and as a part of Him we know that He truly exists. There are many in the world around us who deny Him, who claim He does not exist. All they need to do is to look into their own nucleus and feel the wonderful loving presence of God. That they choose to not do so is their nuclear option, exercising the very gift of free will we have always had. 

Regardless of what we do with our lives, be it good or bad, we will always be a part of the loving God who created us and implanted in our own nucleus His undying love for us. Can we do less than return that love by following His laws and His desires for us? Reach all the way down into the very core of your being and listen to what He has planted there for you, the guidance that He has given each one of us to follow our own individual path to an eternity with Him.

Behind Closed Doors

 If you are old enough or are a fan of old country music, then you probably remember Charlie Rich’s hit single, “Behind Closed Doors” from 1973. The song describes the woman he loves, how she is in public and how loving she is when the doors are closed and they are alone. It was, and is, a great song and it was a #1 hit for him.

There are other things that happen behind closed doors, and I could be talking about abuse of different kinds, like spouse abuse or child abuse, but I’m not. What this is about is closing the doors to keep yourself in and shutting others out.

We all like our privacy and want to be able to choose those who are around us. Sometimes, those who are with us, whether family, friends or acquaintances, do or say something that upsets us. At that point, we separate ourselves from them and go our separate way. There is nothing wrong with that is there? Not usually, but what if that person is a family member or someone who has been that close before? At what point do we draw the line and decide to never talk to that person or be with them again? There are some actions that deserve that treatment, like violence or abuse. What about harsh words, broken promises, or hurt feelings? What about forgiveness?

One of the things that sets Christianity apart from the rest of the world’s religions is its concept of forgiveness. It is a key part of the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus himself said we are to forgive others “seventy times seven times”, which really means there is no limit to the number of times we should forgive. If that is the case, and it is, then why do so many Christians who practice their faith so diligently refuse to forgive others?

Just listen to people who close the door to their homes and their hearts to a family member who has upset them in the past. They have all sorts of reasons or excuses for shutting that person out of their lives. Parents become estranged from their children, siblings no longer talk to each other, and the best of friends shun each other’s presence. I am not talking about a short period of time while someone works off a mad. I am talking about something that may go on for years, something that neither party is willing to resolve. Maybe one party will reach out to the other in an effort to apologize, to heal the hurt, and reunite. The door remains closed. The other party stays behind those closed doors. Where is Christ in that place, in that cold heart? We read in the Bible that if we have a problem with our brother and have brought our gifts to the altar, we are to leave them there and go reconcile first. So, why don’t we? Why do we not follow what Jesus has told us repeatedly to do?

Even the most devout Christian can be fooled by the Father of Lies into thinking they are justified in feeling the way they do. The Enemy cannot help but gloat over the situation, dancing for joy at the havoc he has created. The person behind the closed door can certainly rationalize his or her behavior in some way. Remember though, that “rationalize” is “rational lies” that we tell ourselves to justify words and actions which go against God’s teaching.

Are you hiding behind one of those closed doors? Who are you keeping away? Why? What would happen if you opened that door, if you invited that person back into your heart? Again, remember, I am not talking about someone who presents a danger to you and those you love. I am talking about someone who should be a part of your life but isn’t.

Look around you. Where is that person? Why not have Jesus help you to turn that doorknob and open not just your door but also your heart? You never know what you might find on the other side.