(Holy) Ghost in the Machine?

The Hadron Super Collider is, I believe, the most expensive machine of its kind, with a price tag of over 10 billion dollars, so far. Scientists at CERN hope to use the device to recreate the "Big Bang" (in scale, I suppose) and reveal the Higgs-Bosen particle or "God particle" as it is sometimes called. I don't know if I prefer the term "God particle" to Higgs-Bosen, but I would say it's far more appropriate. After all, if there ever was a Big Bang, God caused it, not these scientists who theorize that this particle exists.

The super collider broke down about a year ago, and after repairs, it seems it's ready to go again. The problem? A leak in the cooling system. The suspected source of the problem? Bread.

Apparently, somehow a small loaf of bread, like a baguette, found its way into the works.

Bread.

Fascinating isn't it?

Bread.

This 10 billion dollar machine, designed to reveal THE secret of the universe, shut down by... bread.

In search of the "God particle" scientists find...bread. Bread, where they expected to be able to see a replication of the Big Bang.

The Lord definitely works in mysterious, wonderful, and downright funny ways. God has a sense of humor, folks. It's as if He's saying:
"Okay, so you want to know how I created the universe? Bread. There ya go."

Makes sense to me. Jesus: Maker of worlds (read Hebrews;) the Bread of Life; the Word of God to man; is the reason for creation. By whom all things were made and without whom nothing was made. At the end of our search for the beginning of everything, we can see...bread. Jesus, the Bread of Life. To paraphrase Scripture: Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus was and is the Word. The Bread. Amen.

Cause for Concern

Our president said he would not participate in the National Day of Prayer earlier this year. I found it odd. I found it disturbing. I found it all the more reason to pray. Oh, I understand the whole "separation of church and state" thing, but why does this man have to take this stand when dozens of presidents before him did not? If he were a Muslim, or held any other beliefs for that matter, could he not have simply and quietly prayed to whatever god he does believe in if in fact he believes in a god at all? If he were praying to Allah, would anyone really know but him? God would, yes, but the rest of us? I suppose if he removed his shoes and laid on a prayer mat facing Mecca, then we might draw that conclusion, but without visible signs we wouldn't know. Where would the harm been in that? If he doesn't believe in God or any god, then I can understand and although I would strongly disagree with him on the issue, I can respect his integrity for not faking it. There are some who say that Barack Obama is a Muslim. I don't know if he is or if he isn't. I don't know if I could believe that he considers himself a practicing Christian either. He doesn't act like one. For a time, he did belong to the church headed by Rev. Jeremiah Wright but apparently, they had a falling out. I remember the "...God damn America..." video snippet of Rev. Wright. He should be glad he lives in a country that allows him to say such things. Try expressing those kinds of sentiments in Indonesia. If you stood up in Jakarta and said "Allah damn Indonesia." you probably would have signed your death warrant. You might not live out the day. You might not make it down from the podium.



Although Barack Obama did not want to participate in the National Day of Prayer, he is apparently willing to allow a celebration of Islamic unity to take place on Capitol Hill. Interesting.
I sincerely doubt any other religion would get such consideration. Please correct me if I 'm wrong. When was the last time the White House (under any President) hosted a day of Christian unity?

The first day of school

NOTE: Obviously, this was written a couple of months back. Sorry for the delay in posting this. Hopefully, you'll get the point anyway.


Our children started school today. Overall, things went really well. Everybody got up, got ready and got going. They knew what they had to do.



Can you imagine what it must have been like for the apostles meeting with the Lord for the first time? When Christ called the first disciples, they were busy getting on with the business of their daily lives... but they got up, got ready and got going. They knew what they had to do. School was in session. Their education had begun.



They met Christ and went with him immediately. They followed him right away. If only we all had the same will to follow. If only we did what we know we must do. That, more than anything would speed the coming of the Kingdom. Scripture tells us that Jesus will return when everyone has had a chance to hear the Good News, when the Gospel is preached to all nations. Let's get crackin' folks.

It must have been a devastating blow for the disciples to watch and/or learn of the Lord's crucifixion. They must have felt completely lost. Yet Jesus would return to them and remain with them for many days before His Ascension. How confusing and bittersweet this moment must have been. The Lord was leaving them again. This time, with instructions, a mission, a purpose, and a promise to not only be with them, but to return again.

It was kind of like dropping my son off at school. No doubt it was a bittersweet moment for both of us - probably more bitter than sweet to hear either of us tell it. Still, there was a purpose and a promise to return. School is in session. We are both teachers and students. What can we learn from Jesus today? What will we do to educate the rest of the world, until our Father comes to pick us up?

One little mistake...

I like mahjong. I find it interesting and challenging. A friend of mine introduced me to the game years ago. I played it for hours on his computer, long after he had turned in for the night. I play it when I can. It can be a nice diversion from the stress of my day, and yet, it can often add to the stress of my day.

At any rate, I finally got sick of my old computer and upgraded to a newer one which, to my delight, came with a very nice mahjong game. I've had the new computer for a couple of weeks now, and I've played mahjong at least a half a dozen times so far, yet I have only beaten the game once. Tonight, in fact. This was the catalyst for my post.

When you lose this game a window pops up and asks you whether you would like to simply quit or go back to the game and try to win again. Up until tonight, I've always just quit. Tonight, however, I decided to try to figure out how to win. I returned to the game and backed up move by move to see where I went wrong. Some of you can see where I'm headed with this already...aren't you clever!

Anyway, I found an interesting parallel. There was essentially ONE wrong move that prohibited me from winning the game. One little mistake and that was it. I had virtually no chance of succeeding from that point on. Life is like that for many people. If they go back far enough, they'll be able to identify that one step that led them down the wrong path to failure. Unlike mahjong, however, life doesn't come with a reset button...or does it?

God's grace is available to all who confess their sins (mistakes, wrong moves) and accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Jesus is the ultimate reset button. The great "do-over" when it seems like "game over." Thankfully, God is not waiting for us to slip up and say "Aha! Now I gotcha!" That's the enemy's game. And he does have us in his trap unless we choose the only way out. THE way, THE truth, THE life, and THE light: Christ Jesus. God has given us a way out because He loves us that much. Yes, he expects us to get right and put off the old man and put on the new. You can't have it both ways, folks. Still, once you live in the light you'll begin to wonder how you ever got around in the darkness.

Retrace your steps. Find out where and when you went wrong and get right with God. You'll be glad you did. It's the only way to play to win.

Overexposed

I'll admit I'm a little late posting on this one. It's yesterday's news for many people and maybe it's just as well. Was anyone else bothered by the whole Carrie Prejean/Miss California/Gay Marriage/Semi-nude photos debacle? Here are my "two cents":

First, I applaud Miss California's show of integrity in deciding to speak up and/or speak out against gay marriage. The acceptance of a "marriage" consisting of anything other than the union of one man and one woman has no basis in NT scripture. It caused quite a stir. Some said she abused the platform and spoke out of turn. People were calling for her to step down as Miss California.

However, what happened next was also noteworthy. All of a sudden, semi-nude pictures of this young lady began to surface. Coincidence? Perhaps. An attempt to discredit someone whose opinions were not popular with a certain percentage of the population. Plausible.

However, let's examine why semi-nude pictures of Carrie Prejean ever existed in the first place. Miss Prejean claims that they are the product of an unscrupulous photographer who snapped pictures of her when she was unaware he was doing so. She didn't appear to be unaware she was being photographed. She also claims that some of the pictures could be attributed to a "wardrobe malfunction" (a'la Janet Jackson) when wind swept across the site of the photo shoot and blew her clothing open, exposing parts of her body she didn't intend to expose. Hmmmm. Possible, but (pardon me) let's have a closer look.

Carrie Prejean wants the world to believe that when you're model, sometimes you have to wear things like, oh... a vest with nothing under it. I don't think it's absolutely necessary to wear nothing at all on your torso, and give the camera a "come hither" look while covering your breasts with only your arms, but she would probably have us believe it is a job requirement. Is this the picture of a Christian woman? In an attempt to defend her reputation, Miss Prejean went on TV to say that she is a model and a Christian. Which begs the question, why not try a little harder to be a model Christian? If being a model means having to take off your clothes for the camera, and therefore the entire world, then maybe it's time for a career change.

Enter The Donald. I can see both sides of this story. Donald Trump, who "owns" the pageant (a concept curious in and of itself,) had the final say in whether Carrie Prejean got to keep her crown as Miss California. He didn't say "You're fired." He gave her a second chance. I can respect that. People make mistakes. If they own up to them, repent and apologize, and get back on the right path, then that is as it should be. God's mercies are new each morning. If we could lose our salvation through one little lapse of reason, we'd all be in trouble. Still, the motivation for Mr. Trump's decision is unknown to most of us. Who is Donald Trump anyway? Is he the pinnacle of human morality? The example by which we all should live? Not exactly. That position is filled, and will only ever be filled by one Jesus Christ.

I can forgive Carrie Prejean for her poor judgment in the past. I have made more than my fair share of bad decisions. For her sake, I hope she has learned her lesson. I hope she won't slide back into the muck. The enemy would love to see Jesus' name dragged through the mud. It happened before as He Himself dragged His cross through the dirt on His way to Golgotha. Yet He was on His way to washing all of us clean in His blood. When those who call themselves Christians fall, their failings are their own. Christ cannot fail us, we can only fail Him.

When we expose ourselves to the fallen world, it's a wonder we don't fail more often. So, keep it buttoned up, brothers and sisters. Be modest, model Christians, or at least give it your best shot and smile...you're on candid camera.


UPDATE 6/11/09:

"You're fired!" According to the AP, Donald Trump has decided that Carrie Prejean wasn't holding up her end of the deal as Miss California and has decided to depose her after all. So much for second chances in the world of men. I am thankful God is more merciful (and less subject to public opinion) than Trump.

Vulture Culture

Is anyone else tired of seeing and hearing about Jon and Kate Gosselin? Boy am I ever. I think we have become a culture of vultures. We can't wait to swarm around some dead or dying thing. We feel like we have to know everything about everything.

This problem has its roots in the Fall. Man wanted to know everything, to be like God, as Satan wanted to be like God. In Eden, man had no concept of evil. They ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and everything went downhill from there. I think one of the primary reasons for the proliferation of so-called "reality" shows is the same root cause of gossip, something the Scripture condemns. It's a "need to know" feeling. It's a sense of entitlement. I have a right to know, and even if I don't, I want to know, so I feel better about me. When we can see the wreckage of another person's life, we can examine ourselves and say: "Whew. At least I'm not THAT guy!"

Jon and Kate Plus 8 was a train wreck waiting to happen. The producers knew it. That's why the cameras started rolling. It makes for "good TV" or more accurately "good ratings." Why would anyone agree to do this to their family? Money and fame. Notoriety. They want people to know them. Here they are, a couple of average looking people (reference tabloid cover pictures of Kate pre-TV makeover) with nothing particularly interesting to offer other than the fact that they had two kids and then went after - and got- sextuplets. It's not a whole lot different than the McCauley family from about ten years ago, except that they didn't get their own show. Don't even get me started on the Octomom, Nadya Suleiman. Here's a woman who says she just wants everyone to leave her alone, but she grabbed her 15 minutes of fame and is hanging on for dear life, reportedly agreeing to appear on her own reality show.


It's like NASCAR or any car racing for that matter. Why do people watch? To see who wins? Maybe. To see a spectacular crash? More likely.

These people do not realize, nor do we as a culture realize that our worth comes not from getting attention to others, but from God and turning our attention to our relationship with Him. I think most of us know evil when we see it - festering, stinking evil - but we like to watch. We circle in for a closer look and we feast on the rotting flesh of the dead carcass when we should be partaking of The Bread of Life.

Vulture culture rears its ugly, wrinkled, featherless head again.

God's Laundromat

The other day I was helping my wife with the laundry. She does the VAST majority of it, for which I am very thankful. I just transfer things from the washer to the dryer once in a while and bring the hamper full of dirty clothes down from the bathroom to the basement. While recently engaged in the latter activity, I began to sort the laundry into the baskets, to hopefully make her job a little easier. My sorting skills generally are limited to separating lights from darks. It made me think: "Hmm...This is basically what God does, too."





He sorts the light from the dark. He separated the light from the darkness in the beginning and that is what He will do in the end.



So what kind of load are you? Are you light, or are you dark? Mind you, even the light loads have stains that can only be washed clean in the blood of the lamb. Not even Billy Mays and Oxi Clean can promise the kind of sparkling white Jesus' blood provides the true believer.



I've struggled lately with concerns about my own salvation. The world crashes in and takes hold for a while and I start to wonder if I'm still okay with the Lord. He works in mysterious ways, as they say, and I don't think it has been any coincidence that my pastor's sermons these last two or three weeks have been about this very kind of thing.



We're studying Hebrews. The basic gist is that: "Yes. you are still saved even if you screw up - if you repent of your sin and continue to fight against falling again. The point at which you're in real trouble is the point at which you no longer care about your sin. If it no longer bothers you, and you're not sorry for it, then you in serious danger. To paraphrase pastor's message: If you're worried about whether you have committed the unpardonable sin, you haven't.




I'm reminded of a cartoon I saw in the paper, once. In the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf the Grey returns from death as Gandalf the white. In the newpaper comic, Gandalf stands before a Hobbit and introduces himself. "I am Gandalf the Pink." he says. "The colors ran in the wash."



God sees all the embarrassing and unfortuntate stains. He washes them all clean, when we confess Him as Lord. We can be washed in Christ's blood. Not pink. Bright white from the blood of the Lamb.