Head-dibs

Enjoying the beauty of God's creation in our backyard today.

Mothra, In Fall Plaid Choo-choo

Last week, it sounded like every bird in the neighborhood was singing--even special guest showed up!

Part of my journey in re-reading the life of Christ has taken me on a side trail that wound all the way back to the start, with Creation itself. The life of Christ does not really start in the gospels, but with Creation--actually before Creation; however, this is not the subject. Our understanding of Christ begins with Creation because, in effect, this is our beginning. He is our Creator. Reading Genesis, one is able to suspect that most minds run on “fast-forward,” along with the text. Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, rest. Then we have the details concerning the creation of man and the fall, then we have the rest of the Bible. What happened between the Creation of man and the fall of humanity into sin and death by sin? Man walked with God, man was tempted and was deceived. Was it over that quickly? I get the sense of the text that God and man enjoyed walking together for a long, long time. I will even venture that the length of time man spent in unbroken relationship was...

Or is this just a story about God’s creative power only? How does Genesis 2:21-25 read? “ So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made  into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed .” What Moses was inspired to write here is an expansion of what was started in the previous chapter, “ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them .” Returning back to chapter 2, we find that Eve is declared to be man’s helper (2:18, 20, 24). Is that it? Is the woman merely the helpe...

Luke's gospel describes the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. As He entered the city on the colt of donkey, the people sang out praise and laid palm branches and their cloaks along the road while crying out, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" The Pharisees wanted to silence this praise, to which Jesus responded, "if these become silent, the stones will cry out." Science confirms these rocks are made of a volcanic basalt, but cannot explain the particular musical tones they produce when struck. One cannot help but be amazed to hear the Creator speak of particular qualities such as this, embedded within His Creation. Additionally, it makes one wonder exactly how the stones will cry out when these stones must be struck . . .

Richard Adams in his novel “Watership Down” paints a rich picture of the full moon, providing a fresh glimpse of the landscape at night. By the way, “Watership Down” is not the name of a sunken submarine. “Down” here refers to treeless, rolling hills (the Downs of Southern England). “The full moon, well risen in a cloudless eastern sky, covered the high solitude with its light. We are not conscious of daylight as that which displaces darkness. Daylight, even when the sun is clear of clouds, seems to us simply the natural condition of the earth and air. When we think of the downs, we think of the downs in daylight, as we think of a rabbit with its fur on. Stubbs may have envisaged the skeleton inside the horse, but most of us do not: and we do not usually envisage the downs without daylight, even though the light is not a part of the down itself as the hide is part of the horse itself. We take daylight for granted. But moonlight is another matter. It is inconstant. The full moon wanes...

Amazed at the wonders of Creation. These two were found merely inches apart.

Our oldest son recently took me on an excursion to show me a back-woods trail that goes around the lake here on the campus of Columbia International University. While I instantly began planning how to incorporate this trail into my workout regimen, I was delighted by the sights, sounds and smells of the woods. I ran the trail it for the first time yesterday and though it was the most challenging track I’ve taken yet, I am most delighted that I don’t have to choke on the traffic exhaust as I usually run along the road. I spoke with a friend recently about the trail and he discouraged using it because of the stones, spider webs and branches. When I ran it yesterday, for the first time in my life, I’ve never been so delighted to run head-on through a spider web. Instead of being repulsed (I loathe bugs), I was awed how all creation moves in a cosmic dance according to the design and to the delight of the Creator: the lights and shadows of the woods; the variant temperatures and humidi...

" Why Batman Doesn't Know Jesus ." The answer is worth consideration. " Alleged Samson seal found at Beth Shemesh " Click on the link to see a photo of the tiny find. Discuss: what are your thoughts concerning the remarks made by the excavation directors? Leave comments below (please follow standard rules of acceptable discussion, keeping on topic). Bible teachers may appreciate these NASA photos . Assessing children’s bibles is not child’s play. The relationships between them, the Bible, and their readers are complicated, yet because we too easily see them as simple and trustworthy, we have not learned how to read them carefully or critically enough." Read more here at  " How Story Bibles Work ." 5 Surprising Reasons Expository Preaching Makes Sermon Preparation Easy 10 Civilizations That Disappeared Under Mysterious Circumstances President Obama’s infamous 'You didn’t build that gaffe' may have originated from a lit...

“How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought which is independent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to the objects of reality?” — Albert Einstein

Recently I’ve been reading about Leonardo DaVinci and have been intrigued by his style of observation: he did not merely “observe,” but he “examined” everything--even things considered mundane--from at least three perspectives. He was fascinated by what he saw. I thought to test his style and went for a short walk on break the other day. I was astounded at my discovery. Outside, I accepted the challenged to learn from a cloud of gnats. Yes, gnats. They could not be examined against a light background, so I positioned myself to cast them against a dark background. The gnats did what they do best—the tumbled and jumbled silently in the air, their aerial acrobatics about 6 feet from the ground, rising and falling in an 18 to 24 inch range. I could only imagine how they must have sounded to each other, or what they were doing (but one can guess). I watched the cloud. These little bugs so small they were barely discernable as bugs, only dots, rising and falling in the air, doing what co...

"The only time we fail in evangelism (presuming it is done biblically) is when we fail to evangelize."  Tony Miano passes along " The Encouragement of Discarded Gospel Tracts ." Fireworks, Lightening and a Comet .  God displays his marvelous handiwork while we marvel at the little things. When I saw this Dirt Artist , I could only imagine what "Pig Pen" (Peanuts cartoon character) grew up to be. And finally, some advise on writing short stories: 

The short answer: “Yes.” Here is the link of reasoning behind the question:   Genesis 1:1 says God created the heavens and the earth and Isaiah 44:24 says, “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Myself.’” The New Testament says that the world was made by Jesus in John 1:10 and 1 Corinthians 8:6. The bottom line is this: Jesus and God are not divided. Colossians 1:15-17 is one place that explains, “ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together .”  The explanation is quite simple: Jesus is the “ image of the invisible God .” The Greek word here is “icon” and we use th...

It doesn't say that.  The Bible teaches that birds were formed from the ground.  Let’s read the passage in question from the King James: “ And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.’ And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good .” Notice those words in brackets? They are not there in the Hebrew and have been inserted for easier reading in English. What does it say in the Hebrew? The poetry alone is quite impressive: “ And God said, ‘Let the waters teem/swarm [“sharats”] with teeming/swarming things [“sherets”] that have life, and flying creatures [“owph”] flying [“uwph”] in the open expanse of heaven. And God created great sea monsters/dragons/whales [“tanniyn”] and every living soul that move...

How can they “sing for joy” (Job 38:7) at the creation of the earth on Day 1 if they were created on Day 4 (Genesis 1:16-19)? God asks Job this question: “ Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7). Frankly, I am surprised that the question is not “how can stars sing?” The first part of the answer regarding the stars is found in the figurative language itself, a kind of language we use daily. If I were to ask, “Who won Super Bowl XLV?” the answer would be a representative name (The Packers) instead of the roster of those who actually played in the game for the winning team? MSNBC says the Packers Beat the Steelers—did they really? Is everyone ok? What did they beat them with? The article also says the quarte...

Genesis 1:1-2:3 describe the first six days of creation, but 2:4 says, “ This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and heaven .” So which is it: did it take one day, or six days? Answer: six days. Let’s be fair in the use of language. When we refer to a day of work do we mean “9 to 5” or “24 hours?” “Back in the day,” I had a mullet. “Back in the day,” I drank beer. “Back in the day,” I could have cared less. What day? There is no particular day of which I am thinking, but am instead recalling a period of time—a number of years as a matter of fact! The same is true here. Moses is not being fickle, but for the purpose of introducing a new narrative is summarizing what he has said once already.

When I read and hear the news about the recent tsunami that swept over Japan (as I write this, keen eyes are on California as the water level is rising) and I reflect on the many other similar events of the past few years, I find my perspective being challenged. Why do we call things like earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes and storms, tornadoes, volcanoes, snowfalls, and like events “natural disasters?” I had to stop watching the news and local weather because when it rains, it is disaster because we need the sun. When the sun shines, the report is delivered apologetically as we need the rain. When we refer to these things as natural disasters, aren’t we implying that creation should behave in some other fashion? What is creation’s view of the events? “Disaster” is defined as a state of ruin or misfortune, an occurrence of widespread destruction and distress. Ruin for whom? Misfortune for whom? What is being destroyed? Who is having the distress? Creation is to behave a ce...

Dr. Rick Higgins writes on " This One Thing ." "Hey, Ma! You'll never believe what I caught while offshore fishing !" Definitely some crazy artwork  out there.  They say "weird."  I say " Amazing" cloud formations .  These supercells are incredible . Ok, one more.  Here are some incredible photos of Earth, as art ! Drifting.  It takes me away:

Remember, the holidays are for families, so remember this amphibolie during this festive time of year: "include your loved ones when baking cookies!"  Happy Thanksgiving!  Speaking of pilgrims, when did American accents diverge from British accents ?  Beware that dreamy and disembodied after-turkey feeling . How to miss the moment with your iPhone . Get some perspective with this " Scale of the the Universe ." If you are watching movies for the holidays, don't miss the Architecture of Inception .