First of all, they were concerned that the Big Bang Theory tells what happened, but not why it happened. In other words, if the Big Bang happened, then what happened just before that bang; even a micro-second before. Why did it bang just then and not before or after that? What set it up to happen right then? Until that question can be answered, then “The Big Bang Theory” isn’t really a theory to explain anything, it is only a theory of what might of happened and not a theory of what happened or what caused it to take place. There has always been a question in my mind about what exploded in the Big Bang and where did whatever that is come from?

This show went on to explain that the Big Bang fits a Physics mathematical model, but…the problem is that an explosion sends things into random areas and not perfectly ordered and balanced debris in all areas. Suddenly, the math doesn’t add up…..so, they came up with another theory called, “Expansion or Inflation”. This states that after the Big Bang there was a delay for a few seconds where everything settled from the bang and then expanded out almost instantaneously sending forth the debris into equal, ordered masses in every direction at once. Ahh… they now had a theory that they could make up a mathematical figure for and add into the equation to make it balance.

Then their research revealed that although the universe is expanding and they now had their “Expansion Theory” to explain it, that they had a new problem: If everything is expanding then why are the Galaxies all staying intact and not coming apart? If everything is expanding then even the Galaxies should be repelling its own matter, one part to another. The math, once again, didn’t work. No matter how they added it up, they found that there was not enough matter to create the enormous additional gravity that would be required to hold things together while the expansion of the universe took place. To handle this they made up another theory called “Dark Matter”. The idea is that there is matter that is unseen, undetectable and immeasurable. (Incredibly, a scientist got a grant to spend millions of dollars to set up a laboratory ½ mile underground to try and find a way to measure this immeasurable and undetectable substance.) So they took this “X” factor and called it “Dark Matter” and added in a figure to their mathematical equation that they needed to allow for all of the Galaxies to stay together while the universe continues to expand.

They were all set until a scientist in New Mexico observed something through a telescope. The idea that the universe is expanding is true, it can be seen to expand through observance and measurement; except that, with all of the gravity in the equation, the expansion should be slowing and eventually coming to a stop. The gravitational influence should be acting as a brake. What this man saw was undeniable proof that the universe was actually speeding up its expansion! Again, the math didn’t work. There was no explanation for this additional energy, so they did what they’d always done; they created a new theory called “Dark Energy”, which states that there is unseen energy coming from an unknown source to add enough energy to accelerate the expansion. They added a new energy factor in to make the math work again.

This story had even more such examples. Their final conclusion: there must be another universe that all of this stuff was coming from. Who votes that they are right this time? All that energy and order is coming from outside the universe. Got God in your universe? Blessings!

When we’re seventeen, we’ve moved into a world of our own. We are no longer defined by our parent’s identity alone. We now have our own identity. We have our own friends, our own problems and challenges. We have an identity defined by who we are and not who someone else is. We are not defined by who or how our parents are, nor are we completely defined by who our friends are.

We are students who maybe have part time jobs. We are not defined by that job, nor are we defined by the subjects which we study. We are a collection of all of those things and a lot, lot more. We are things unseen, things not yet experienced. We have likely been involved in losing someone, either a death of a friend or loved one or perhaps a good friend has moved very far away.

We now have issues in our lives that we try to handle by ourselves instead of asking our parents to fix them for us. We have dreams and aspirations that are our very own. Some of these dreams will be fulfilled. That will help to define us as we go forward. Some of these dreams and aspirations will not be fulfilled. That too will contribute to our future view of self.

We have emotions which are more complex than angry, happy or sad. We have come to deal with anxiety, love, infatuation, grief and sorrow. We have had to deal with friends that have betrayed us and look at our family in the cold light of reality, which reveals them to be flawed and human, rather than perfect and knowing all the right answers. We are, in short, ourselves. We are alone, an individual.

We are a book not yet completely written. We have questions about how the future chapters will unfold. We are just now realizing that we are, in fact, the author of this story. We have this individual freedom. We have this hope and promise that truly anything can happen, and the scariest part of it all is that it is completely true. It is scary because although anything is possible, we suddenly realize that all of those possibilities are our responsibility.

Seventeen has hope and promise. It carries the alarming reality of “self” being called to autonomy.

Everyone failed at seventeen and missed some opportunities, forgot who they were as that individual of promise and have looked back with some measure of regret for things that might have been. In that moment we feel the grief over things that were once so alive and vital; things that were the essence of seventeen’s very nature, but that have gone undone or unrealized. It often feels too late.

Here’s the good news: seventeen is not gone. Seventeen still lives very much in our hearts and memories. If you don’t believe me, play a song from when you were seventeen. You’ll likely remember some or all of the lyrics and know the melody by heart.

Although seventeen may feel like it has come and gone. It has not. It is also not necessary to quit this life in order to find those dreams. Those dreams were in the context of a seventeen year old. But what if the dreams could be acquired by whatever year old you are right now? Not in the same context that a seventeen year old dreamed them, but in a context that fits your life as it exists today?

God doesn’t ask us to stop dreaming. He inspires dreaming and helps dreams to become fulfilled. We don’t ever truly get over seventeen and we don’t need to have a mid-life crisis in order to fulfill those dreams. We can still be us and let those old wonderful dreams take on a new, more realistic and mature look. We can fulfill them in a way that enhances our life that we now have, our here and now, seventeen-plus however many years life.

We never get over seventeen. Why not let a little of seventeen’s hope shine through today? Blessings!

The thing is that everything on this big blue sphere fits together. There are delicate and not so delicate balances of things that fit together so that they work. My money is on Creation and intelligent design for that to happen so spontaneously and perfectly. Furthermore, I think that maybe way too much emphasis may be put on the delicate balances from time to time. They are, of course, the most critical, but they also seem to be the ones that are renewable. The oxygen on our planet gets renewed. The plants on our planet get renewed. The water on our planet gets recycled through consumption by plants, animals and humans, as well as through evaporation and precipitation.

Sometimes, when we hear of bad conditions and think about saving the planet, it seems like an impossible task. But, if we remember that programmed into it all is the desire of the things on earth to naturally renew and refresh, we may be able to see the hope that our efforts to be good stewards of the earth will be aided by the Earth itself. All this programmed in by the Master.
Our lives too, at times, can feel like they are out of control, that nothing can fix what’s wrong with them, or the lives of our loved ones, whom we may see struggling and not know how to help them.

The Master’s hand is there in those challenges also, at every heartbeat. If we give Him the opportunity, He’ll reveal to us His plan, a plan programmed in for our renewal and refreshing. Blessings!

Once the feeling began to return to my extremities and my muscles began to recover, I recognized that I was a lot hungrier than I realized. My head was a little foggy from the lack of sustenance. My blood sugar had to be low. I was now very glad to have stopped when we did and was beginning to look forward to a nice leisurely meal; not to mention the break from driving. I had suddenly developed high hopes of a good meal and a significant amount of time spent relaxing.

We went in, got seated right away and almost immediately were served coffee and water and handed our menus. I took a sip of coffee. My mind couldn’t immediately register what my mouth was experiencing. I took another sip as I scanned the menu. My mind registered that my mouth was not enjoying the experience. I took one more sip, this time paying attention, focusing on the taste that was engulfing my mouth. It took only seconds to register the familiar taste of burnt, bitter, old coffee.

I set it down and sipped the water, which tasted only slightly better. I turned my attention to my stomach’s needs and refocused on the menu. I looked up and down. I checked the back, the front and everything in between. I found nothing there that I wanted. My idea of a pleasant and relaxing meal and break was beginning to crumble and fade.

Disappointed, I ordered a burger and a salad. When the meal came the burger was over cooked and the salad was made with iceberg lettuce which was more brown than green. In short, it was all quite bad. So much for the relaxing break I had envisioned. We paid the bill and went to the car. I got in and we started off. I drove for a few minutes when I realized how happy I was to be back on the road. It turned out to be more relaxing driving than it was stopping for a relaxing break.

We don’t know where our joy will come from. It can appear suddenly and often from unexpected sources. Maybe it would be wise to remember that trying to make joy happen is often less effective than simply letting it happen at any time. Blessings!

What do we hear in comparison about our love for Him? We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts minds and souls. We are commanded to have no other god’s or idols or graven images. We are commanded to keep the Sabbath holy. Many other things that we were told in our beloved Scriptures teach us the merits of growing in a personal and intimate relationship with Him. These verses teach us that He first loved us, first showed us mercy and grace, and for these things alone we ought to have fallen in love with Him and lived our lives continually with loving Him in the forefront of our minds.

We might want to pause here a moment and reflect upon what it looks like to love Him. The shortest answer, of course, is obedience. But obedience to become obedient is somewhat of a loveless practice. We are not called to be fearful conformists living under a tyrant. His love, as we’ve already discussed, precludes the need for perfect adherence to perfect performance of obedience.

That condition, however, should not lead us to determine to live by the grace of His love. It should, quite conversely spur us on to desire to please Him through conforming to His desires. What’s even more compelling is that He doesn’t request obedience to these things for His benefit, but rather that our adherence to these principles and practices benefit us! If we learn to live according to His prescribed pathway, we will flourish as individuals and as people. Like, love or vehemently disapprove of the 10 commandments, the truth remains that if all of humanity conformed to their guidelines for love, fellowship and society, most every problem known to man would begin to disappear from the planet.

The interesting conclusion is that our willingness to conform blesses us and not Him. With that type of love being received, how can we help but love and serve this incredible being, our Father who art in Heaven. Blessings!

I went out to repair the fence, not knowing the extent of the problem, equipped with a small pair of insulated pliers to use on what I suspected would merely be the wire coming out of an insulator and needing to be placed back in it. This is a very easy task if you use the insulated pliers so that you don’t get zapped by the current. This particular spot, however, had slipped free at a corner post and therefore the wire had snapped and released in several spots.

I picked up the wire with the pliers and went to replace it back into the insulator, when it snapped free and onto my hand. ZAP! It bit me. The next step was to march back to the barn and turn off the power. I did so and then returned to the spot which needed to be repaired. Now the power is off…right?

Just before I touched the wire, my previous experiences flooded back into my memory. Those were times of thinking that the power was off, when in reality….it wasn’t! Grasping the fence in my bare hand on those occasions, I immediately felt the jolt of electrical voltage surging through my body. Man I hate that!

Anyway, the deal with electricity is that you can’t see it, smell it or sense it in any way other than feeling that jolt! Did I tell you that I hate that? It’s kind of funny. All that power right there next to you but you can’t even tell it’s there.

How many times I’ve been wrong, I cannot even tell you anymore, but suffice it to say, “A lot.” Too many! It’s right there and all you have to do is reach out and touch it to find out. Did I mention how I hate that jolt?

Our life of faith is like that too. How many times have we wondered where the power of the Almighty is? We think, “I don’t see it. It must not be nearby.” But we are mistaken. All we have to do is believe that the power and presence of our Father is right there, even though we cannot see it. If we have faith and reach out, we will find that His power is great, it’s always present and that it will sometimes give us a jolt. Did I mention that I love that feeling? Blessings!

There are some files that we no longer need and so we “delete” these files. The files that we delete go into a trash bin file and then the trash bin file can be emptied, permanently deleting the files. This is how we think of this process and basically it’s true. The detailed reality, however, is slightly different.

The deleted files are actually not erased from the storage device. They are, in actuality, marked as okay to overwrite. In other words, the data still exists until it is overwritten, but the area which it has been stored in has now been changed from a protected area to an area which allows new data to come in and displace the old data.

Gradually, as new information comes in, it overwrites the old data, thereby essentially replacing it. In truth, however, even after this overwriting process has begun, traces of the old data still remain. In most cases it would likely be several weeks before all signs of the original data are completely gone.

This is akin to a memory of the old data remaining even after it gets overwritten with new data. It is not unlike the way our human computer, our brains, function. We may have new experiences that overwrite the old ones as we gradually change our lives, but that new data doesn’t overwrite the old data right away. It takes time.

Once we decide to try a new behavior or go in a new direction, we don’t lose our memory of the old way. It still exists, even though it is no longer used or accessed by our brains as a valid resource from which to draw our standards, beliefs or behaviors.
It takes many weeks and often much longer for the new data to overwrite the old and begin to eradicate it from our files, i.e. our standards of behavior resources. We must realize that having the memory is not unexpected and even having some fond attachment to those memories is not unrealistic. The point is to not let that fondness and familiarity deter us from continuing the overwriting process.

Eventually the old data will fade to a distant memory with only bits and pieces, fragments, remaining.
Life takes time to happen. Today isn’t the story of your life and neither is yesterday. Sometimes those fragments of yesterday seem reluctant to disappear, but don’t give up, it’s just a matter of time and a willingness to keep overwriting with the new data of today and tomorrow. Blessings!

That resulting sound is known as the “Fifth Voice.” It is a voice which does not exist on its own. It only exists as a result of the combination of those four voices. Without all four voices doing their different and unique parts, the fifth voice will never be heard from.

This analogy is reminiscent of the Body of Christ. We are each unique and called to produce our individual part of the harmony. When we become obedient to our personal and unique calling, we allow the beauty of the human creation to reveal itself in all of its intended glory and splendor. We must come to realize that humanity is not depraved when it responds obediently to its intended calling and purpose as defined by humanity’s Creator.

It is only when humanity answers the call of self that its voice begins to pitch out of harmony. When, however, the voice is used as intended, to lift itself in unison and play its own individually unique pitch in such a way as to harmonize with the tune prescribed by the Almighty, then the voice resulting from humanity’s voice of obedience is that true voice of the Creator. It is a voice that remains unheard unless it is spoken through the creation, just as the fifth voice remains hidden until all agree to meet together in the unity of the true harmonies of any musical arrangement.

You and I are designed to be unique, but at the same time to operate in harmony with each other. This design is constant throughout the creation of humanity. When we seek to fulfill that harmony by putting self at the forefront, we sing off key. Conversely, when we seek to fulfill that perfect harmony by putting Christ at the forefront, our voice takes on the perfect pitch to fulfill our unique individuality AND to fill the purpose which we carry as a required element that combines with all the other voices of His creation in order to reveal the previously hidden presence of the great Orchestrator, our Savior.

Today, let’s turn our thoughts to Him and listen to His beautiful melody of life with renewed attention and seek to fulfill our piece in the harmony of the brotherhood of man, thereby revealing the “fifth voice”, the true voice of God calling His creation to unity in Him. Blessings!

I wonder if King Solomon really needed everything that he possessed. We hear in the Scriptures how he was the wisest man, the wealthiest man and the most powerful man. We also see how he came to rely on himself and his own wisdom far more than he was advised to.

It seems to me that his problem was not listening, more than it was that he had too much. If he had continued to obey the Creator who gave all of these things into his hand, his problems would have been few, although his possessions were great.

Maybe there’s a good lesson in this for us. Maybe it’s not wrong to ask our Father in Heaven to bless us immensely. Maybe it’s just wise to think through “why” we want it and if receiving it would distract us from Him. Perhaps, just perhaps, what we truly need to learn is how to prosper with Him and remain focused on Him with those blessings.

A vow of poverty doesn’t have to be the answer. I don’t think that the Apostles are recorded as being all that wealthy, but they are recorded as prosperous and having all that they needed, and more, provided for them.

We live in a time where prosperity is measured in dollars and cents, or at the very least by the dollar value of our possessions. This dollar value is not the true point of being blessed by the Almighty. We can’t just get everything appraised and declare son-ship based upon the fact that our balance sheets show great prosperity.

3 John – 1:2 “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
Truly, a prosperousness of the soul is the most important aspect of life. Abraham, however, was exceedingly prosperous and greatly blessed. So too were King David, Joseph and Job.
Being prosperous is not evil and neither is asking your Heavenly Father to bless you. So, be careful what you ask for, but, also be careful what you don’t ask for. Blessings!

We’d spend hours chasing them down on hot, humid summer nights. Usually that meant finding an old Mason jar or some other jar that had once contained pickles, mayonnaise, mustard or something else, and had been washed for reuse. We’d cut a hole in the jar lid and we’d partially fill the jar with grass or other vegetation to act as a comfortable “home” for those which we would eventually capture.

The nights that were best were moonless nights. The darkness would increase the visibility of the flashes made by these fascinating little creatures. Once a flash was spotted, we would run to the area of the flash and silently wait for another flash of light. Each flash would bring us closer to the fireflies’ location, which was often the leaf of a weed at the edge of the surrounding wooded area.

Once we were close enough, we would wait for one more little flash with hands already cupped around the area of the previous flash. The next flash would light the exact location and the little bug would be trapped in cupped hands, while shouts of victorious glee would fill the night air. Then, carefully, the firefly would be transferred to its new ‘home” in the jar. An evening would often result in jars containing a dozen or more fireflies each.

The last part was maybe the most rewarding. After the parents called us in out of the darkness because of the growing lateness of the evening, we would reluctantly return to the house with our jars in hand. Then, however, it was straight to the bedroom, all lights off, huddled around the jars, watching them as multiple flashes would light the area around the jars. Having so many bugs meant that the flashes were often one right after another and that collectively they created enough light that we could see one another’s faces in the completely darkened room. It was exciting and fascinating.

I was reminded of these memories recently and couldn’t help but think about how much light these little flashes created. In the vastness of the outdoors, a small flash of light makes a huge impact on the surrounding darkness.

I also can’t help but think how much impact our little acts of truth and light can affect the darkness of the world that we live in. Our collective little flashes are enough to illuminate the face of God in that darkness and reveal it to others. If we will so let our light shine. Blessings!

I had a great aunt who married a Know-it-all. He basically had an answer for EVERYTHING. He once told a story to some of my adult relatives, which stated that the he had worked at the Telstar facility and knew all about it. He claimed that it had a tendency to “ice up” on the inside, in the cold, Maine, winter months. He claimed that it got so bad that large icicles would form on the inside of the dome and hang down. This created a danger to the equipment and the employees, should any of those icicles break loose and fall. They could impale a person and destroy the antenna. He claimed that the way they had devised for removing those icicles from the inflated fabric, 95 feet high, was to use a 12 gauge shotgun and shoot them off! Yep, you heard it right. Reread it if you need to. It’s really what he said. Shoot them off and never pierce the fabric.

Interestingly, being a know-it-all doesn’t actually require anyone to truly know all. It only requires the ability to maintain the illusion that one knows all. This trait can quickly become annoying and even more quickly cause the know-it-all to begin to “guess” at more and more of their “facts.”

This annoying characteristic can be slipped into and out of by the best of us. We need to avoid this whenever possible in areas of faith. We can be bearers of God’s love and grace, even if we cannot answer every question about God. We can never know all things about the eternal God, but we can know His love and share that in honesty.

Perhaps our goal should be to become less of a Godly know-it-all and more of a Godly Love-it-all. Blessings!

The unknown has always plagued mankind. The less that’s known; the more it seems to plague us. There are times when we don’t know the outcome of certain events and we tend to become anxious over that outcome, especially if one of the possible outcomes would negatively impact us. We hope and/or pray for the best. But, in fact, in this case the unknown is not all that, well, unknown. The truth is that we really do know the probable outcomes, even though we don’t like one or more of them.

There are also times when we truly are dealing with the unknown, when we don’t even understand what the possible outcomes are. We are not so anxious over a certain outcome, as we are over the fact that we don’t actually even know what the options are. We don’t know if there are any good or negative outcomes possible.

This is when we truly feel like our life is out of control, when we don’t really understand how things will go.

Mankind has always approached God from this same perspective, that we don’t really know Him and we don’t really understand Him. In some instances that leads to a lack of belief in Him. I find it interesting that the “Great Unknown” is considered so great, in the mystery of its ability to be unknown, but that God Himself is not believed in, based on the fact that there is no evidence of His existence. So, the unknown is great because of its inability to be seen, known or proven, but God, who created the universe, including the unknown, doesn’t exist for the same exact reason the unknown is considered great?

God is great, known or unknown. God’s greatness is not dependent on man. He does not exist or cease to exist based upon our decision to believe whether He exists or not. We can deny His existence to ourselves, based upon a lack of physical evidence, but, if we do so, we must include the great unknown along with Him. If He exists, then the unknown exists in Him. If He does not exist, then neither does the unknown.

Fortunately, God does exist and He is in charge of the unknown. In fact, the unknown doesn’t exist to Him, because He is all knowing. It only to us. So, if you’re struggling with the unknown, turn to the One, who knows all and give your fears to Him. Whether His existence is proven or not, we can know Him, we can be like Him and reveal His existence to the world through His forgiveness, mercy and love. Blessings!

How success is truly even measured in this area is not clear. No one completely escapes trouble, so any attempts to avoid “all” trouble is futile. Then again, how does one try to avoid “some” trouble, or even “most” trouble, without attempting to avoid “all” trouble?

We must look to our Savior for true answers. He alone came to save us from trouble. He doesn’t always rescue us from trouble, but He does rescue us from the consequences of trouble. His promise is that through Him, we have overcome the world. It’s important to note that the promise to overcome the world doesn’t come with a promise to avoid it, or its troubles. It only extends to enduring hardships and challenges with Him, while He leads us to its resolution through Him, instead of through ourselves.

Trouble is unavoidable. Resolution to trouble is not. Steering the boat while it is in troubled waters becomes every bit as important as trying to navigate around the obstacles and avoid them. In fact, if we were to follow the ways and commands of the Almighty, we would see that His directives help us to chart a course, which steers us free of many of the hazards of life.

Another valuable asset in these troubled seas is to have a good crew. Whenever the storms and hazards do appear, it’s good to know that you’re travelling with a competent crew who is willing to jump right in there and begin the process of minimizing the damages; saving the ship and getting her headed into the wind and toward smoother sailing. It is therefore wise to choose a likeminded crew who is willing to travel the course charted by God and willing to follow His directives on finding the route through the storms of life and on to the victory of having overcome.

Smooth sailing is the goal. Preparing the ship and crew beforehand are vital; but choosing the Captain and following His orders to the best of our ability are the surest and truest ways to avoid trouble whenever possible and when it is unavoidable, to find the most expeditious and beneficial route to safety.

May the wind be at your back, may your seas be ever calm and may you be blessed with a loving and faithful crew to see you through. Blessings!

I am reminded of the many tests that I faced in my school career and also in life. We all face tests in life. In fact, we face them daily.

I also think of the many examples in the Scriptures of how God tested the hearts of His people. I recall the tests of Abraham, Moses, Joshua and Joseph. No less were the tests that the Apostles faced. Paul even lists the many tests and challenges he had faced: beatings, shipwrecks, stoning and false imprisonments. The Lord was even tested forty days in the desert, in the Garden of Gethsemane and at the Cross.

Hezekiah was tested and the Scripture teaches us that God allowed Hezekiah to see all that was in his heart through that test.
The interesting aspect here is that what was revealed was the way his heart already was. The test didn’t make his heart become that way; it merely was the instrument which revealed the current, already existing condition of his heart.

The same was true for all of the tests. In some cases, like Abraham and Job, it revealed the great faith, love and devotion that their hearts contained for the Almighty. In other cases, it revealed a lack. The times where lack was revealed, however, was not something which God used to point out lack and condemn them for. Instead He used it as evidence of their need and also as a tool to use in order to lead them on to something greater.

The test doesn’t ‘Create” results, it reveals them. Tests show us the current condition. When that truth is revealed to us, it is sometimes different from what we thought was the case and when that happens, it often feels like it just happened, but in reality what happened was that our understanding caught up to reality. The good news is that now we’re dealing with reality and can do something new, different, better and most of all real.

Remember, this is only a test. The results can lead you beyond the boundaries of yourself if you’ll let God use them to lead you there. Blessings!