Beyond the Telescope

Up until the 17th century the entire world perceived the planet to be a flattened-circular disc that hung in space at the center of the universe. So great was this scheme of thought that people of all nations feared to sail beyond any charted waters by the fear of falling off the edge of the world into oblivion.

Today, this view is not only obsolete, but anyone who assumes the idea to be true would be counted mad. The fathers of astronomy and modern science have provided humanity with an eye of perspective to the world; offering us proof that fearful ignorance does nothing but prohibit progress and condemn credible curiosity.

With Truth to be something far beyond the limits of our human understanding, are we fearful of exploring beyond the waters of uncharted territory when it comes to the Bible? Have we made our religious doctrines a map of a conclusively flat world of Christian thought; accusing the perspectives of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to be heresy?

With the many added historical perspectives of theology, the Church today has so much more to appreciate beyond a narrow scope of mere ignorant fear; pursuing heaven in a more brilliant light than ever before. However, we ought always to hold the Holy Spirit close when applying finite human conception to an infinitely perfect God.

If It All Burned Tomorrow

Have you ever considered how you would live your life if you knew the precise day, hour and minute you would die? Honestly, think about it for a minute. Now consider how you would view life if you knew on that same day the world would be destroyed and everything else along with it. What within the world would matter to you? What would truly matter in the scope of eternity?

Today, we are persistently bombarded with materialism; targeted by the narrow-minded scope of a superficial world that believes it is all that matters. It denies eternity, and believes everything of worth is determined by what we make in the short lives we live on earth. When we turn on the television and watch commercials make their vain attempts to convince us to buy products we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't even like, suddenly our lives appear as small as they really are.

The point is, we ought to consider what really matters in our lives. What do we do with our time and resources that work to benefit us on the timetables of eternity? In Matthew 6:19 & 20, Jesus tells us, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Think about eternity, think about what we could be doing with our short lives today, to benefit us beyond the short flash of time we have on earth.

Worth More than Sand

At over 3,630,000 square miles of endless sands and uninhabitable wilderness, close to the surface area of Europe or the United States, the Sahara desert (or Great Desert) is the largest dry climate desert in he entire world. If a single grain of sand were removed from this perpetual wasteland, it would be impossible to account for its disappearance; the human capacity to exercise such knowledge is restricted by its own finite condition.

But God knows.

And as the sands of the Sahara are countless to the human eye, every mortal life of the past, present and future have been created, known and loved by the omniscient Author of existence. Nothing is a mystery to the Lord God Almighty; we are worth far more than mere grains of sand in the Sahara. We are God's children, intended for the purpose and pleasure of His will; whom He loved enough to become flesh and blood to die for the sake of our redemption. How truly great is our God.

Iron Sharpens Iron

A sword will naturally wear when used often in battles; dulling the edge as it cuts through weapons, armor, flesh and bone. Similarly, a blade will become blunt and dull if used merely to smash objects for no good reason at all. In both circumstances, the blade's purpose is made sound if used and cared for properly. After all, when the time for battle comes, one's blade should be made ready for war.


"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17) or in my case today, a God fearing woman sharpened my sights on something I failed to see for myself. Were it not for her boldness to approach God intently with prayer and confront me with the truth, the iron of my soul would have otherwise remained blunt and ineffective for the throes of war.

Fortunately, strong Christian community serves much like an armory for repairing and preparing weapons and armor for the war on spiritual darkness. I thank the LORD that my sister in Christ was able to see the weakness in my spiritual armor today and was willing to point out the defects in my defenses so that I might tend to them before marching into battle to face the enemy. Thank you Lord for my sister, thank you Lord for the Church!

Beauty Among Thorns

The rose is among the most popular of floral expressions in love. Its crimson petals appear to cradle the beauty of love in a way that no other flower can. Its long stem reflects the promise love offers as it stretches, in hyperbole, beyond the pitiful efforts of all the other garden blossoms. Yet among this bountiful expressive passion of a flower there stays its robe of thorns; a picture to prove beauty on earth is all but perfect.

Each day is as a rose with its thorny charm, potentially perfect were it not for the curse of sin we experience in so many ways. Still, among the thorns we learn to appreciate the beauty that we behold of the rose.

Today I learned through some uncomfortable issues that there is still beauty in the hurt we feel; teaching us to turn to God in our discomfort for peace. In reaching out to our LORD we can discover beauty even among the thorns as we receive the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7)! In the end, the thorns are all part of the same beauty of the rose. Praise you Lord when we face trials because we know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance (James 1:2-3).

Evil meant for Good?

In Genesis 50:20 we read of Joseph's conclusion over his life of misery ending in a greater good. Today I thought about how so many things which appear to be wrong or evil in our lives, are pieces of something which benefit us for a greater good.

Today someone did something selfish, thereby forcing me to be considerably delayed. In all the time I could have spent complaining about the selfishness of this person, I had time to consider his actions as a flag to pray for him. Whats more, God revealed to me that the amount of time I had to wait for the situation to resolve itself, I may have in-fact been protected from finding myself in a horrible traffic accident. Whats more, I found a great opportunity to minister to the children who were in my company about the beauty of patience and how God sometimes tests us to see where our faith lies in Him.

So, in the end what might have been a small act of evil, had consequently produced a multiplied opportunity and blessing of good. Only a God as Great as the LORD can reveal such hidden beauty in the tragedies of our everyday lives.