"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
I could say some things here, but I prefer Rich Mullins' take:
----------------------------------------------------------
There's a wideness in God's mercy
I cannot find in my own
And He keeps His fire burning
To melt this heart of stone
Keeps me aching with a yearning
Keeps me glad to have been caught
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God
Now I've seen no band of angels
But I've heard the soldiers' songs
Love hangs over them like a banner
Love within them leads them on
To the battle on the journey
And it's never going to stop
Ever widening their mercies
And the fury of His love
Oh the love of God
The love of God
Joy and sorrow are this ocean
And in their every ebb and flow
Now the Lord a door has opened
That all Hell could never close
Here I'm tested and made worthy
Tossed about but lifted up
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God
-----------------------------------------------------
Take a listen.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Fun Fact - The Universe Runs on Magic
So it turns out the universe doesn't work like it is supposed to. In our small little corner of the universe (i.e., the solar system, and the Milky Way galaxy it forms a very small part of) the great cosmic dance of stars and planets is arranged according to "fundamental forces." These include: strong nuclear force, electromagnetic energy, gravity, and something called weak force, which sounds like it would be simple, but is not. Anyway, these four forces, up until about ten years ago, were generally able to explain all the things that happen in the universe, even crazy things like black holes.
Given these fundamental forces, the general theory of the universe was that the universe started with a Big Bang, had been expanding ever since, that the expansion was slowing down, and eventually the universe would collapse back in on itself. Thank you Galileo, Newton, and Einstein.
But then, ten years ago, thanks to the Hubble space telescope, astrophysicists and astronomers made a fun discovery. And by fun I mean, mind-boggling. See the universe is expanding. But it isn't slowing down - it's speeding up.
"So what?," you may say. Well it turns out there is no explainable reason for that to happen. Imagine dropping a rock into a pond. It makes ripples. As the ripples go further out, they move slower. That's because things like water, rocks, and the light you see ripples by work according to the fundamental forces of the universe. Now imagine you drop a rock in the water and the further out the ripples go, the faster they go. That's what's happening in the universe.
There is no reason for that to happen. Scientists have proposed the existence of a new kind of energy - "dark energy" - which exists undetectable in the vacuum of space, does not interact with light, gravity, or any kind of matter we know anything about. It is this unknown and so far unknowable energy which somehow propels the ever-rapidly expanding universe.
Add to that the existence of "dark matter." Apparently, with the universe doing what it's doing, there has to be some other kind of matter in the universe for gravity to act on. There isn't enough non-dark matter in the universe - the kind that make up stars, planets, moons, and my dog - for gravity to work like it's supposed to. Our atoms should be flying apart. But, we're all still here, so there must be something else out there that is otherwise undetectable, but that the universe depends on to persist.
My first thought when hearing this was: why I have never heard about this before? Then I remembered that when astrophysicists talk, no one has any idea what they're talking about. Read this for an example.
But how great is that?! The universe as a whole plays by a completely different set of rules than everything else contained within the universe. I personally find that very exciting. But maybe I'm just weird.
P.S. Look at this -
96% of the universe is made of stuff we don't understand.
Isn't that great?!
Also, notice 3.6% of the universe is intergalactic gas. Inside, your inner 5 year-old is giggling.
P.S.S. The name of that graph is "Dark Matter Pie." That sounds delicious...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
What Are Little Girls Made Of? - Chocolate, Mostly...
Had an interesting experience Saturday. The three little girls next door came over to help make cookies. They are age 9, 7, and 5 - all very precocious and full of energy.
We've had some good times in the past. A year or so ago we found a very cute puppy in the front yard right before we were leaving for church. We put him in the little tiled area off the kitchen and headed for church, intent on finding the owner when we got back. When we returned, there was a note attached to the door:
"Daer Jenney,
That is are dog
Love, (the seven-year old)"
"Are dog" was later named "Coach Jack Bolton" by the girls. Coach Jack Bolton is the name of the father of Zach Efron's character in "High School Musical." Coach Jack Bolton may be the best name for a dog ever.
A few weeks back we got a handmade card in the mailbox:
"Happy Birthday -
Happy Birthday - Yuove been invite to Coach Jack Bolton's birthday August 23d 10:00-12:00 - Dog Birthday"
Unfortunately, we were not able to attend Dog Birthday, but it's always nice to be invited to things, and we sent over some dog biscuits as a gift.
Anyway, yesterday Jeni invited the girls over to help make Oreo truffles, which are ground up Oreos mixed with cream cheese, rolled into balls, and dipped in melted chocolate.
Observations:
* Excited little girls only have one volume.
* A pattern: Chocolate covered fingers must be licked. Licked fingers must be washed before touching new cookies. Cookies dipped in chocolate = chocolate covered fingers. Chocolate covered fingers must be licked. Repeat.
My favorite moment was when the oldest asked, "Are we having fun?" It wasn't one of those times when people are asking to lead you into saying you personally are having fun - she honestly wanted to know if she was having fun. "Yes. Yes you are," I said.
Anyway, the cookies were delicious, the girls were very happy to help, and it was a blast to see my wife wrangle small children with a cute apron on.
We've had some good times in the past. A year or so ago we found a very cute puppy in the front yard right before we were leaving for church. We put him in the little tiled area off the kitchen and headed for church, intent on finding the owner when we got back. When we returned, there was a note attached to the door:
"Daer Jenney,
That is are dog
Love, (the seven-year old)"
"Are dog" was later named "Coach Jack Bolton" by the girls. Coach Jack Bolton is the name of the father of Zach Efron's character in "High School Musical." Coach Jack Bolton may be the best name for a dog ever.
A few weeks back we got a handmade card in the mailbox:
"Happy Birthday -
Happy Birthday - Yuove been invite to Coach Jack Bolton's birthday August 23d 10:00-12:00 - Dog Birthday"
Unfortunately, we were not able to attend Dog Birthday, but it's always nice to be invited to things, and we sent over some dog biscuits as a gift.
Anyway, yesterday Jeni invited the girls over to help make Oreo truffles, which are ground up Oreos mixed with cream cheese, rolled into balls, and dipped in melted chocolate.
Observations:
* Excited little girls only have one volume.
* A pattern: Chocolate covered fingers must be licked. Licked fingers must be washed before touching new cookies. Cookies dipped in chocolate = chocolate covered fingers. Chocolate covered fingers must be licked. Repeat.
My favorite moment was when the oldest asked, "Are we having fun?" It wasn't one of those times when people are asking to lead you into saying you personally are having fun - she honestly wanted to know if she was having fun. "Yes. Yes you are," I said.
Anyway, the cookies were delicious, the girls were very happy to help, and it was a blast to see my wife wrangle small children with a cute apron on.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Bible Verses That Freak Me Out #13 - The Antichrist(s) -
For the 13th edition of "Bible Verses that Freak Me Out", let's take a look at the Anti-Christ!
First, take a minute and think about all the things we've heard about the Anti-Christ. If the movies are to be believed, he's the son of the devil. He'll establish some sort of world government. He might be Jewish, or the Pope, or Oprah. Perhaps you have received an email claiming the book of Revelations describes a person like Barack Obama as the Anti-Christ (I have received such).
And here's the part that freaks me out. None of the above has anything to do with what the Bible says about the term "antichrist." The word "antichrist"doesn't even appear in Revelation, which, by the way, does not have an "s" on the end.
There are a total of 4 verses in the Bible which talk about "antichrist," and they are all in 1 and 2 John. Here they are:
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that this is the last hour." 1 John 2:18
"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." - 1 John 2:22
"Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that is coming, and now is already in the world." - 1 John 4:3
"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist." - 2 John 7
In case you missed it, John describes plural antichrists as already present in the world in his day. He also helpfully defines the term - one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, and that Jesus has come in the flesh. And. That's. It.
So, now you can rest at ease. Neither Barack Obama, Oprah, or any of the Popes of the past two centuries claimed that Jesus was not the Christ, or that He did not come in the flesh. They all fail the Biblical definition of antichrist. There. Isn't that a relief?
All the other stuff generally associated with antichrist comes from mish-mashing together all the various apocalyptic material of the Bible, John Hagee or Jerry Falwell-style. It combines elements of the Beast from Revelation, the beast from Daniel, Paul's reference in 2 Thessalonians to a "man of lawlessness," and Jesus' warning in Matthew 24 that many would claim to be Christ (which literally happened both before Jesus' time and just after Him in ancient Israel). There's also a healthy dose of later tradition from folks like Hippolytus of Rome (A.D. 107-236), who said the Anti-Christ would be a Jew. Apparently he just made that up off the top of his head, which should serve as a warning for all of us who teach the Bible to at least have healthy skepticism for stuff we make up off the top of our heads.
Interestingly, several the earliest church fathers (except for Hippolytus) seemed to have a much better grasp of this whole concept. Polycarp (69-155 A.D.) said the term essentially meant anyone who deceives people about Jesus. John Chrysostum (347-407A.D.) said it wasn't something to worry about - that we should focus instead on doing what we know to do, and believing the truth.
And that's a theme that runs through the letters of John, the letters of Paul, the book of Revelation, and the gospels. Jesus Christ is the one who tells us the Truth, and to deceive about who He really is = anti-Christ.
So, since he brought the topic up, we'll let John have the last word:
"As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." - 1 John 2:24
First, take a minute and think about all the things we've heard about the Anti-Christ. If the movies are to be believed, he's the son of the devil. He'll establish some sort of world government. He might be Jewish, or the Pope, or Oprah. Perhaps you have received an email claiming the book of Revelations describes a person like Barack Obama as the Anti-Christ (I have received such).
And here's the part that freaks me out. None of the above has anything to do with what the Bible says about the term "antichrist." The word "antichrist"doesn't even appear in Revelation, which, by the way, does not have an "s" on the end.
There are a total of 4 verses in the Bible which talk about "antichrist," and they are all in 1 and 2 John. Here they are:
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that this is the last hour." 1 John 2:18
"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." - 1 John 2:22
"Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that is coming, and now is already in the world." - 1 John 4:3
"For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist." - 2 John 7
In case you missed it, John describes plural antichrists as already present in the world in his day. He also helpfully defines the term - one who denies that Jesus is the Christ, and that Jesus has come in the flesh. And. That's. It.
So, now you can rest at ease. Neither Barack Obama, Oprah, or any of the Popes of the past two centuries claimed that Jesus was not the Christ, or that He did not come in the flesh. They all fail the Biblical definition of antichrist. There. Isn't that a relief?
All the other stuff generally associated with antichrist comes from mish-mashing together all the various apocalyptic material of the Bible, John Hagee or Jerry Falwell-style. It combines elements of the Beast from Revelation, the beast from Daniel, Paul's reference in 2 Thessalonians to a "man of lawlessness," and Jesus' warning in Matthew 24 that many would claim to be Christ (which literally happened both before Jesus' time and just after Him in ancient Israel). There's also a healthy dose of later tradition from folks like Hippolytus of Rome (A.D. 107-236), who said the Anti-Christ would be a Jew. Apparently he just made that up off the top of his head, which should serve as a warning for all of us who teach the Bible to at least have healthy skepticism for stuff we make up off the top of our heads.
Interestingly, several the earliest church fathers (except for Hippolytus) seemed to have a much better grasp of this whole concept. Polycarp (69-155 A.D.) said the term essentially meant anyone who deceives people about Jesus. John Chrysostum (347-407A.D.) said it wasn't something to worry about - that we should focus instead on doing what we know to do, and believing the truth.
And that's a theme that runs through the letters of John, the letters of Paul, the book of Revelation, and the gospels. Jesus Christ is the one who tells us the Truth, and to deceive about who He really is = anti-Christ.
So, since he brought the topic up, we'll let John have the last word:
"As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." - 1 John 2:24
Movie Moment: Violence!
My wife occasionally goes out of town for a weekend at a conference, or retreat of some kind. When she does, I like to buy some of those really cheap oven pizzas, and rent a bunch of movies that I want to see, but she doesn't. The consistent theme in such films is that they feature people committing acts of violence against each other. Now, Jeni is not against violence in movies per se. She liked "V for Vendetta" and all the "Lord of the Rings." I watched "The Departed", and even though it featured three of Jeni's top ten Least Favorite Things to see in Movies (1.horrible violence, 2.flagrant swearing, 3.an unhappy ending - the others are 4.gratuitous sex, 5.Japanese animation, 6.animals being hurt, 7.a heavy metal soundtrack, 8.a gratuitous hip hop soundtrack, 9.gratuitous vampires, and 10.Nicholas Cage as an action hero), I made her watch it because I knew she would think it was good. And even after seeing multiple shootings, arm breakings, face smashings, and one man dropped off a building, she agreed that it was a great film. In contrast, we started watching "Kung Fu Hustle," and one guy gets his leg chopped off with an axe and she refused to watch any more. So when it comes to violence, I have to pick and choose carefully.
Here are the movies I watched during my last bachelor weekend, and my favorite elements of each:
"Iron Monkey"
Hong Kong action. A teenage boy battling adults with an umbrella. An evil Shaolin monk with telescoping sleeves which could punch through walls. A climactic battle between three men balanced atop ten foot wooden posts - which were on fire.
"Once Upon a Time in the West"
Sergio Leone's very....slow....camera....moves (Westerns are about space). Henry Fonda as the bad guy. Henry Fonda's line, "Suspenders and a belt? You can't trust a man that can't trust his own pants." After which he shoots the man twice in the chest and once in the gut, severing his suspenders and belt, and making the dying man's pants fall down.
"Leon: The Professional"
Jean Reno as a hitman who apparently subsists entirely on milk. Gary Oldman as crazy bad guy. 12-year old Natalie Portman using a sniper rifle.
"Spirited Away"
Miyazaki masterpiece. Utterly bizarre and ultimately touching story about a haunted bathhouse, growing up, a boy who is also a dragon who is also a river(?!), living soot balls, a monster named "No-Face," and frog people. One the most original and engaging imaginary worlds I have ever seen.
My list of violent movies (or anime, or both) to see is quite long - so you'll probably see one of these again...
P.S. Guess who learned to use the link button! Thanks, Dani!
Here are the movies I watched during my last bachelor weekend, and my favorite elements of each:
"Iron Monkey"
Hong Kong action. A teenage boy battling adults with an umbrella. An evil Shaolin monk with telescoping sleeves which could punch through walls. A climactic battle between three men balanced atop ten foot wooden posts - which were on fire.
"Once Upon a Time in the West"
Sergio Leone's very....slow....camera....moves (Westerns are about space). Henry Fonda as the bad guy. Henry Fonda's line, "Suspenders and a belt? You can't trust a man that can't trust his own pants." After which he shoots the man twice in the chest and once in the gut, severing his suspenders and belt, and making the dying man's pants fall down.
"Leon: The Professional"
Jean Reno as a hitman who apparently subsists entirely on milk. Gary Oldman as crazy bad guy. 12-year old Natalie Portman using a sniper rifle.
"Spirited Away"
Miyazaki masterpiece. Utterly bizarre and ultimately touching story about a haunted bathhouse, growing up, a boy who is also a dragon who is also a river(?!), living soot balls, a monster named "No-Face," and frog people. One the most original and engaging imaginary worlds I have ever seen.
My list of violent movies (or anime, or both) to see is quite long - so you'll probably see one of these again...
P.S. Guess who learned to use the link button! Thanks, Dani!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Random Thoughts on Politics...
The past 100 years have been the only period in history where any significant portion of the world's population was able to participate in democracy. One hundred years ago the world still had several empires.
From that perspective, representative government could still be considered an experiment.
Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the other ones."
I have a friend with the mellifluous name of Song who is a Ph.D. student and a Chinese national. He is 25 years old. He was living in Beijing during the 1988 Tienanmen Square incident. He was playing in the street when he thought he heard fireworks a few streets over, and his grandmother ran out and pulled him into the house. He has never voted for anything in his life - no local, regional, or national election, no school bonds, nothing. No one he knows from his country has ever voted for anything, ever.
It's easy to become cynical about our current political process. Considering the alternatives certainly helps with that.
From that perspective, representative government could still be considered an experiment.
Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the other ones."
I have a friend with the mellifluous name of Song who is a Ph.D. student and a Chinese national. He is 25 years old. He was living in Beijing during the 1988 Tienanmen Square incident. He was playing in the street when he thought he heard fireworks a few streets over, and his grandmother ran out and pulled him into the house. He has never voted for anything in his life - no local, regional, or national election, no school bonds, nothing. No one he knows from his country has ever voted for anything, ever.
It's easy to become cynical about our current political process. Considering the alternatives certainly helps with that.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Bible Verses That Freak Me Out #12 - "Whoever wishes to be great" - Mark 11:42-45
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." - Mark 11:42-45
This pronouncement appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Matthew and Mark, it's as Jesus and the disciples are walking toward Jerusalem before the Passion. In Mark, James and John ask for seats at the hands of Jesus in His kingdom. In Matthew, it's their mom who asks on their behalf. They are essentially asking to be Jesus' vice-president and prime minister.
In Luke, this is Jesus' response to the disciples' discussion of which of them is the greatest, which they are having at the Last Supper!
Jesus isn't just recommending a new model of leadership. It's a revolutionary way to live your life. Jesus has been demonstrating it to His disciples, and will soon make the climatic statement of what it means to live a sacrificial life.
The thing that freaks me out is asking whether I have actually bought into this. This is Christianity. This, if nothing else, is what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Oswald Chambers takes this principle in "My Utmost for His Highest" and applies it to John 7:38 - "He who believes in me...out of him will flow rivers of living water."
"Jesus did not say - 'he that believeth in Me shall realize the blessing of the fulness of God,' but - 'he that believeth in Me out of him shall escape everything he receives.' Our Lord's teaching is always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a man; His purpose is to make a man exactly like Himself, and the characteristic of the Son of God is self-expenditure. If we believe Jesus, it is not what we gain, but what He pours through us that counts. It is not that God makes us beautifully rounded grapes, but that He squeezes the sweetness out of us. Spiritually, we cannot measure our life by success, but only by what God pours through us, and we cannot measure that at all....God spilt the life of His Son that the world might be saved; are we prepared to spill out our lives for Him?"
This pronouncement appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Matthew and Mark, it's as Jesus and the disciples are walking toward Jerusalem before the Passion. In Mark, James and John ask for seats at the hands of Jesus in His kingdom. In Matthew, it's their mom who asks on their behalf. They are essentially asking to be Jesus' vice-president and prime minister.
In Luke, this is Jesus' response to the disciples' discussion of which of them is the greatest, which they are having at the Last Supper!
Jesus isn't just recommending a new model of leadership. It's a revolutionary way to live your life. Jesus has been demonstrating it to His disciples, and will soon make the climatic statement of what it means to live a sacrificial life.
The thing that freaks me out is asking whether I have actually bought into this. This is Christianity. This, if nothing else, is what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Oswald Chambers takes this principle in "My Utmost for His Highest" and applies it to John 7:38 - "He who believes in me...out of him will flow rivers of living water."
"Jesus did not say - 'he that believeth in Me shall realize the blessing of the fulness of God,' but - 'he that believeth in Me out of him shall escape everything he receives.' Our Lord's teaching is always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a man; His purpose is to make a man exactly like Himself, and the characteristic of the Son of God is self-expenditure. If we believe Jesus, it is not what we gain, but what He pours through us that counts. It is not that God makes us beautifully rounded grapes, but that He squeezes the sweetness out of us. Spiritually, we cannot measure our life by success, but only by what God pours through us, and we cannot measure that at all....God spilt the life of His Son that the world might be saved; are we prepared to spill out our lives for Him?"
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