Stairway to heaven

This picture is entitled "stairway to heaven" and it certainly does point in the right direction. It made me think of the Led Zeppelin song of the same name. That song has become one of my favorites after I read an article describing it as a rock and roll song with a hidden Christian message. Whether or not that is true is up for grabs, but one thing leads to another and THAT SONG made me think of this passage from the Bible.

John 1:47-51
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"
48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!"
50 Jesus answered him, "Because I told you, 'I saw you underneath the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these!"
51 He said to him, "Most assuredly, I tell you, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."WEB

One thing is for certain, you can't buy your way into heaven, but there is a way there and its through Jesus. Music is probably optional.

Reflection, creation and attitude

I read the news today and frankly it was very depressing. It seems like the whole world is rotten to the core and putrefying at a faster rate, daily! Then I started my "daily" blog and saw this picture. Beautiful, simply beautiful! When we take the time to just look, sometimes that look becomes a a complete surprise. A surprise of the memory of what can be and what once was. The colors of the trees against their reflection on the water is marvelous. Add a couple of swans and somehow the old serotonin just flows and flows. Then, a scene from "Soylent Green" came to mind; you know, in the last part of the movie, where Edgar G. Robinson has his last moments of life and they are showing nature scenes and playing soothing pastoral classical music. And I thought... could the world ever be beautiful again? All this made me think of Genesis and do yourself a favor.... read all of it!

Gen 1:1-31
GENESIS 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.2 Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.3 God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. There was evening and there was morning, one day.6 God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse, and it was so.8 God called the expanse sky. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.9 God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear," and it was so.10 God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good.11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth," and it was so.12 The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.14 God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth," and it was so.16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.17 God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.20 God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky."21 God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.22 God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.24 God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind," and it was so.25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.26 God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."27 God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them.28 God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."29 God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food." And it was so.31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.WEB

God made everything, lets try not to screw it all up! We have the ability, the knowledge and the opportunity to make this world like the garden of Eden once again. We lack the willpower, but with a little reflection on what is possible; who knows, perhaps things can change? There you have it... instant attitude change. What next, world peace? No, that's a blog for another day.

Blind sight

When I saw this, I had to look at it again to believe it. Once in awhile someone will make a full court basket, but doing a front flip and then making that basket is unique. Life is like that, you think you have seen everything and then wham, something comes along and defines "new". One of my favorite chapters in the New Testament tells the tale of something "NEW" and that "NEW" involves Jesus.

John 9
9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"3 Jesus answered, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.4 I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man's eyes with the mud,7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.8 The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, "Isn't this he who sat and begged?"9 Others were saying, "It is he." Still others were saying, "He looks like him." He said, "I am he."10 They therefore were asking him, "How were your eyes opened?"11 He answered, "A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.' So I went away and washed, and I received sight."12 Then they asked him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."13 They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.14 It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.15 Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see."16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he doesn't keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was division among them.17 Therefore they asked the blind man again, "What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."18 The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight,19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"20 His parents answered them, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;21 but how he now sees, we don't know; or who opened his eyes, we don't know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself."22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age. Ask him."24 So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."25 He therefore answered, "I don't know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see."26 They said to him again, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"27 He answered them, "I told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don't also want to become his disciples, do you?"28 They insulted him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don't know where he comes from."30 The man answered them, "How amazing! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.31 We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God, and does his will, he listens to him.32 Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind.33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."34 They answered him, "You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?" They threw him out.35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"36 He answered, "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?"37 Jesus said to him, "You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you."38 He said, "Lord, I believe!" and he worshiped him.39 Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, that those who don't see may see; and that those who see may become blind."40 Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?"41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.WEB

Sometimes you have to see something in order to believe it, but not the Pharisees! They had their mind made up about Jesus and nothing was going to change it. Humm, ever met anyone like that? I have! New things happen all the time and if you live in the 21st century get used to it. As a child I would have thought that cell phones, computers and laser beams were just the stuff of imagination; but today they are commonplace. Today, how many of us really understand things like MRI's and the technology BEHIND the Internet? We take a lot of things on faith, we know things work, but not necessarily HOW! Its the same with faith, sometimes you have to just believe what you see and that's that! What the world needs are more people with "blind sight"; that is the ability to believe in that which they don't fully understand. A good place to start is with God and that is a good place to end as well. Humm, does the term alpha and Omega (beginning and end) sound familiar? Just because Christianity is 2000 years old doesn't mean that God can't be new to you... see what I mean?

movin on up (video link)

Germans by nature are not bad people. Overall, they are like us; they are good and bad and everything in between. I know this to be true because I worked for a German company for over 15 years and knew many, many people from Germany. After World War I, Germany had very severe economic times and this led to desperation, desperation so severe that it would turn to anyone who had an answer; anyone at all. Then along came Adolph Hitler; he was a master of public speaking and gave encouragement and a new self image to a downtrodden and hopeless country (at the expense of others, though). He made inroads to recovery, and the trains all ran on time. Things were moving on up, getting better, Germany was once again beginning to prosper. However, there was a fundamental error in the German solution, and that was too much emphasis on the power of one man, a man whose ego and secret hatred could not be kept secret for long. His "god complex" was ultimately revealed to all, but at what price to both Germany and the world? I do not know German and have no idea what Hitler was actually saying, but the substitution of the "movin on up" theme from the Jefferson's seems appropriate to me, nonetheless. Please read this rather long passage from the book of Daniel and I think you will see the obvious parallels.

Dan 4:18-34
18 This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken mute for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered, Belteshazzar, don't let the dream, or the interpretation, trouble you. Belteshazzar answered, My lord, the dream be to those who hate you, and the interpretation of it to your adversaries.20 The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to the sky, and the sight of it to all the earth;21 whose leaves were beautiful, and the fruit of it much, and in it was food for all; under which the animals of the field lived, and on whose branches the birds of the sky had their habitation:22 it is you, O king, that are grown and become strong; for your greatness is grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth.23 Whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from the sky, and saying, Hew down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of the roots of it in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of the sky: and let his portion be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him;24 this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come on my lord the king:25 that you shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass as oxen, and shall be wet with the dew of the sky, and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whoever he will.26 Whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; your kingdom shall be sure to you, after that you shall have known that the heavens do rule.27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of your tranquillity.28 All this came on the king Nebuchadnezzar.29 At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon.30 The king spoke and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from the sky, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from you:32 and you shall be driven from men; and they dwelling shall be with the animals of the field; you shall be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whoever he will.33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky, until his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.WEB

Nebuchadnezzar listened, Hitler didn't. Think something as bad as the Third Reich couldn't happen in America, think again! I saw a video the other day (I couldn't include it because of Blogger size limitations) where a newscaster called our president Obama a "sort of a god". I DO NOT THINK president Obama thinks of himself in this way, but that others may beginning to is scary. Shortly after seeing this video, I read about a coalition of opposing extremist political groups from both the Northern and Southern states wanting to secede from the Union. That these things could happen is an indication of how desperate a situation our country is in. America, listen to verse 34 and honor God before it is too late! Trust in God and God alone; governments rise and fall by the will of the Almighty; God alone saves, not the Federal government and certainly not one mere man. It may not take long to progress from the patriot act to the final solution; please, please think about it and work for change within our current political system and most of all, PRAY FOR OUR GOVERNMENT AND OUR LEADERS TO HONOR GOD!

Train up a child

If you have children, you know what this picture is about. Sometimes they make you want to roar. They say and do things that you would never do and at times can drive you completely out of your mind. The hardest thing for a parent to understand is that once they are grown they will do what they will do and that is that. Hopefully, they will have the faith you have and maybe a bit more. I think this passage from Romans is a good commentary on children.

Rom 9:1-8 I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit,
2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers' sake, my relatives according to the flesh,
4 who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises;
5 of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though the word of God has come to nothing. For they are not all Israel, that are of Israel.
7 Neither, because they are Abraham's seed, are they all children. But, "In Isaac will your seed be called."
8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as a seed.WEB

We can't choose or biological family, but we can chose our Spiritual one. Life is full of choices and hopefully your children will make good ones. The time to train them is when they are young and I think that the parent in the picture should start right now, don't you?

Quiet reflection

Have you ever been really, really sick? If so, you know how overwhelming it can be. But, there is another side to sickness; my Grandmother used to say "Sickness is God's call to quiet reflection". When I saw this picture today, her saying came back to me and I remembered how good (and bad) sickness can be. Take Hezekiah for example.

Isa 38:1-5 In those days was Hezekiah sick and near death. Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Set your house in order, for you will die, and not live.'"
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to Yahweh,
3 and said, "Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight." Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of Yahweh came to Isaiah, saying,
5 "Go, and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father, "I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.WEB

Hezekiah knew he was going to die and appealed to God.... and God listened. There is something powerful about the clarity of prayer from those of us who are really, really sick. Prayer becomes more focused. Our world becomes clearer when the frailty of our human condition is set before us. The things we see and the things we do while sick become more meaningful and leave an impression on our mind that remains with us longer. The person in the wheelchair will probably remember that sunset longer just because He IS IN THE WHEELCHAIR. I think my Grandmother was right, sickness is God's call to quietness (and therefore clarity of thought). The question is: now that I am quiet, am I really listening for God's voice or my own? The answer to that question only YOU CAN SUPPLY!!!

Forget the fortune cookies

I love Chinese food, but there is always the possibility that somehow some "non-standard" ingredients were used. I make sure to ask if the restaurant uses MSG, but beyond that I hardly ever inquire too deeply; unless, I plan to order something I haven't had before. When it comes to food, I really don't like surprises and its that way with the word of God as well. There are no surprises, except for the occasional serendipity. I like this passage from the book of Revelation because it shows how straightforward God is.

Rev 10:8-11
8 The voice which I heard from heaven, again speaking with me, said, "Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land."
9 I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, "Take it, and eat it up. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey."
10 I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
11 They told me, "You must prophesy again over many peoples, nations, languages, and kings."WEB

Even in the book of Revelation, God tells it like it is. You can depend on Him and that is that. Matter settled. The sooner we all learn that the better. Forget the fortune cookies, you make your own future, depending on what you do with God's word.

Just do it!!!

Have you ever felt like this? Sometimes the weight of responsibility can feel like a huge rock and it takes every ounce of strength just to hold things together. Such was my condition at twenty one, with three young children, a mortgage, a car payment, a dog and a parakeet. And I would do it all over again too, because it was the right thing to do; to stand by my family and the commitments I made. The Corinthians Christians needed to persevere as well. They had to get rid of those things that were wrong at Corinth and they needed to JUST DO IT!!! So, Paul writes this verse to them and although its short, it says a great deal.

1 Cor 16:13
13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. NASB

It can be easy to be complacent, to adopt other standards that those we know to be right and to be weak in our actions. But God (and of course, Paul) expects us to be strong spiritually and actually live our faith. Besides, if you don't push against the difficult things in life, THEY WILL CRUSH YOU. Splat!

I Love You (video)

There is something wonderful about the words "I love you". Unless you are in a very bad mood they should bring a smile to your face. Even if uttered by a dog they have a magic that is unexplainable. But what if the object of their affection were "not so lovable"? Would they still have such interest? Such is the topic of the book of Hosea, beginning with the first chapter.

Hos 11 The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
2 When Yahweh spoke at the first by Hosea, Yahweh said to Hosea, "Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution and children of unfaithfulness; for the land commits great adultery, forsaking Yahweh."
3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived, and bore him a son.
4 Yahweh said to him, "Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom of the house of Israel to cease.
5 It will happen in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel."
6 She conceived again, and bore a daughter. Then he said to him, "Call her name Lo-Ruhamah ; for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, that I should in any way pardon them.
7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen."
8 Now when she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son.
9 He said, "Call his name Lo-Ammi ; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can't be measured nor numbered; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'
11 The children of Judah and the children of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint themselves one head, and will go up from the land; for great will be the day of Jezreel.WEB

Israel and Judah played the harlot (whore) with other Gods and yet the God of heaven still loved them, still wanted to bless them and ultimately increased their number from one country to a world-wide phenomenon. When a little dog has learned to say "I love you", it brings on a smile, but when God says it, well, there isn't a smile big enough convey the thought.

Not only beautiful

Who doesn't like rainbows? A little extra art in the sky is a good thing, isn't it? The rainbow came about because God wanted a sign to show that he would never again destroy the Earth through a flood. Genesis chapter nine speaks to its inauguration.

Gen 9:1-16 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.2 The fear of you and the dread of you will be on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the sky. Everything that the ground teems with, and all the fish of the sea are delivered into your hand.3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As the green herb, I have given everything to you.4 But flesh with the life of it, the blood of it, you shall not eat.5 I will surely require your blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, I will require the life of man.6 Whoever sheds man's blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.7 Be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply in it."8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,9 "As for me, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, even every animal of the earth.11 I will establish my covenant with you: all flesh will not be cut off any more by the waters of the flood, neither will there ever again be a flood to destroy the earth."12 God said, "This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth.14 It will happen, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow will be seen in the cloud,15 and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."WEB

I find it a little interesting that God turned the catastrophic judgement of the flood into a new covenant that was "sealed" by something so beautiful. In the case of the above picture, the rainbow actually looks like two rainbows to me, so I wonder what that means? Whatever it means, rainbows are not only beautiful, but reassuring, because God tempers wrath with beauty. And if we learn something from them along the way, so much the better!