Entry #17--The Baby Dipper

My Dad died suddenly when I was only 12 years old. I treasure the memory of spending nights with Dad just gazing into the sky at the clusters of stars.  We would have fun together pointing out The Big Dipper and The Little Dipper.  Did you know that these are actually star patterns called an asterism? They really aren’t constellations at all, but rather, they are part of the constellations called Ursa Major—The Great Bear, and Ursa Minor—The Little Bear.  Well, I remember that I could always spot Dippers, but for the life of me, I just couldn’t picture a big bear, or a little bear, or any kind of bear!

My favorite star cluster was the baby dipper.  No, this wasn’t the actual name. The actual name was Pleiades—The Seven Sisters.  But to me, it looked just like a tiny, baby dipper. So in our family, The Baby Dipper was always its name.

It seems like so long ago. Those childhood memories must be nearly 45 to 50 years old now.  I still love the night sky.  In fact, this blog entry is being written during the annual August event of the Perseid Meteor Shower. This year is particularly spectacular with an estimated 200 shooting stars per hour. Oh yes, I was outside for a while last night.  Amazing skies.  This is what triggered my childhood memories. 

But there was something else my Dad and I would do.  We sang. That’s right.  We would stand under the dark sky peppered with twinkling lights, and we would sing my Dad’s favorite hymn so often sung by George Berverly Shea’s rich deep voice.

My father is omnipotent, and that you can’t deny.

A God of might and miracles, ‘tis written in the sky.

It took a miracle to put the stars in place. 

It took a miracle to hang the world in space.

But when He saved my soul, cleansed and made me whole,

It took a miracle of love and grace.

When the LORD spoke to Job, he asked:

“Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?  Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?  Do you know the laws of the universe?  Can you use them to regulate the earth?”    Job 38:31-33 (NLT)

Job’s response can be found at the end of the book of Job, and I think I understand it.

“I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”        Job 42:5 (NLT)

When I gaze into the night skies and view God’s wondrous creation, I catch a glimpse of a God who is real, and a God who remains firmly in control—and I am at peace.

Entry #16--The Creator of All

Generally speaking when I begin a blog entry, I start with prayer, a thought, then the scriptures come to mind to support the thought, and finally a catchy title arrives.  Today was a bit different. After prayer, it was the scripture that came first, next the title, and now the thoughts are blooming. 

 “God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out.  He created the earth and everything in it.  He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth.  And it is he who says, ‘I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.’”  

Isaiah 42:5-6a (NLT)

Using basic scientific observation skills…VERY basic…let’s look at this scripture.  What do you see?  I see words.  I see four complete thoughts, or sentences.  I notice that each time the word LORD is used, it is written in all capital letters.  Let’s start there.

When God revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 3), the Hebrew name for God consisted of four consonants Y H V H (or Y H W H).  The Jews considered God’s name to be too sacred to be spoken, so it was usually translated Jehovah or Yahweh.  The group of four letters used is known as “tetragrammaton,” sometimes shortened to “tetragram.” If you check the Introduction in the beginning pages of your Bible, you will probably see a notation that any time the tetragram Y H V H is used in Old Testament text, it will be translated as LORD (all caps).  The New Testament scriptures were Greek texts. In Greek, the name for God is generally Adonai, and is generally translated and written as Lord (first letter capital).

Revisiting our verse, we now understand that it was the One and Only, True, Holy LORD God who created the heavens and earth.  It was no secondary, imaginary, or human-generated god… it was the LORD, Holy God, who created all things.  Man (including the ideas and theories of man) had nothing to do with it, because in fact, man was one of the creations that never existed until The LORD, Holy God, created him.  On the other hand, Holy God ALWAYS existed, He still exists TODAY, and He always WILL exist.  This is part of His Name Y H V H… 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”  [and]  “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.  For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Revelation 4:8b and 11 (NLT)

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Genesis 1:1 (NLT)

(Referring to scoffers…) “They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.” 

2 Peter 3:5 (NLT)

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it.”  Acts 17:24 (NLT)

“But the LORD is the only true God.  He is the living God and the everlasting King!”  [and]  “But God made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom.  With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.”  Jeremiah 10:10 and 12 (NLT)

The leading scientific or worldly explanation of how the world began is generally built upon mathematical theories and models—obviously because man has not yet created anything that can measure the universe’s birth.  The leading theory is generally referred to as “The Big Bang Theory” which began with a small singularity and evolved over the next several billion years into the cosmos as we know it today.  So for the world…it’s guesswork at best.  The world acknowledges a starting point, but they just can’t seem to figure out what the starting point was.

For the Christian, there is no guesswork.  The starting point was God—the Only True God, who always existed, exists now, and always will exist.  Was there ever a “Big Bang”?  I say, absolutely! The Bible proves it.

 “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”  Genesis 1:3 (NLT)

Folks, that had to be one spectacular Bang! Human brains cannot fathom just what that first instant of creation must have been like—the best we can do is create some mathematical theories and models in our feeble attempts at explanations. What humbles me is the fact that this same LORD who was able to create all we know to now exist, is in fact, the same LORD who knows each and every detail of my life!

“The LORD directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.”  Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

“The LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.  From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.  He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.” Psalm 33:13-15 (NLT)

“O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.  You go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” 

Psalm 139:1-6 (NLT)

When I think of the LORD, the Creator of All, I have only one humble response:

“You made me; you created me.  Now give me the sense to follow your commands.”

Psalm 119:73 (NLT)

Respectfully written and submitted by:

Dotty Willmon, Resurrection Christian

Entry #15--Floccinaucinihilipilification

What is the most difficult word in our English language?  No, I don’t think it is the title of this blog entry—but I’ll explain that a little later.  The most difficult word, in my humble opinion, is the word wait.  This tiny four-letter word seems to be our most challenging nemesis from the earliest onset of childhood.  As a baby you waited for feedings and diaper changes.  As a child you waited for cookies to finish baking, parents to answer questions, school to start, school to end, and you waited until you were “old enough” to do whatever it was you thought so important at the time. Now that we are adults, we still wait.  We wait in lines, wait for friends, and many of us find ourselves waiting in doctors’ offices.  Waiting is not always pleasant.

So what do you do when you are waiting?  I suppose the answer to that question depends largely on the need, purpose, and duration of the waiting. Waiting briefly at a traffic light may not require any action.  Waiting for an appointment might provide time for reflection, reading, working on crossword puzzles, or similar brief activities.  You see, one form of waiting might be to remain inactive or in repose until the expected event happens.  This is okay for short-term waiting.

However, waiting long-term is quite a bit different.  Waiting for special days or special visits can be particularly difficult.  Long-term waiting requires the kind of waiting for one to be available or in readiness; to look forward to an event with eager anticipation.  Long-term waiting requires an individual to remain in an active state—in our day we might use the expression, “keep on keeping on.” Doing what?  Ah, that brings us back to the title.

Floccinaucinihilipilification, n., the estimation of something as valueless

In Latin, the words [flocci + nauci + nihili + pili] all indicate something that is of little or no value; trifling.  The suffix [-fication] refers to expressing the state or condition of something. In simple terms, we have this enormous word that literally means nothing. In terms of waiting, floccinaucinihilipilification is a big waste of time doing absolutely nothing of lasting value.

I have an idea of what you might be thinking.  So how in the world can this, in any way, remotely apply to me? The answer might take a surprising twist for the Christian.  Look at it this way: What is the next special event for the Christian that will require waiting, possibly even long-term waiting?  Yes, the answer is the second advent of our Blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”  Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

“…while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…”  Titus 2:13 (NIV)

The truth is that none of us knows how much waiting this will require.  We do know that the Bible tells us some folks will get tired of waiting, and give up on waiting altogether.

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.  They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”   2 Peter 3:3-4 (NLT)

So what do we do while we are waiting for Jesus Christ to come again? I would encourage you to fill your life with those things having value and purpose.  Even daily chores have value and purpose. Encouraging one another has value and purpose.  Working has value and purpose. Some of my favorite passages with suggestions for what to do when waiting include:

“But this one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind [don’t waste time on the past] and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV)

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Ephesians 5:15-16, 19-20 (NIV)

“Preach the word of God.  Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not.  Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.” (and) “But you should keep a clear mind in every situation.  Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord.  Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.”         2 Timothy 4:2 and 4:5 (NLT)

“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.  Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.”  1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NLT)

“And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.  And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.”  2 Peter 3:14-15 (NLT)

Wow! That’s a lot to do, and if we truly believe that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent (i.e., likely to occur at any moment), then we have so little time left in which to work!  If we are to fill our waiting time with activities of value and purpose, then we have no time to waste on floccinaucinihilipilification.

Respectfully submitted by:                

Dotty Willmon, Resurrection Christian