Big City Astronomy

 

Psalm 19:1 King James Version

19 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

 

Big City Astronomy

 

 

Great astronomical observatories tend to be on high mountains far away from the dwellings of people, with good reason—city lights. Go out in a parking lot sometime and look up. It’s almost impossible to tell whether it is cloudy or clear. At the right times, you may see the moon.

Last week my brother sent me a text message with his first picture of two dots of light in a dark sky between two palm trees. The upper one (brighter) is Venus and the other Jupiter. On Sabbath morning, I went to my bedroom window before 6:00 a.m. and could see the dots, one nestled on the top electric line. I have blue circles in the second picture, around the dots to help you find them. That one was almost too late to be able to see them. The out-of-focus square lines are the mosquito netting on my bedroom window. I took the last picture at 5:00 this morning (August 11). Do you see how close the planets appear to be to each other? The picture was highly adjusted by my phone to make it look more like daylight. The planets are close together above the fencepost. From here on out, you will be able to see both of them before sunrise, but they will be separating steadily. It is major chore to see God’s handiwork in today’s illuminated world.

The sad fact is that today’s light successfully obscures most astronomical events to us living in town. For many years I used to take a group of my students up to Las Vegas to a major computer show. On our way home we would stop at a casino and buy supper. Then we would caravan down I-15 freeway in the dark, I would often exit the freeway in the middle of the Mojave desert, miles from any lights. The caravan would follow me off the freeway. When we stopped in pitch darkness, the students would all run up to my car as I got out, enquiring: “What’s wrong Dr. Clarke?” “Why did you stop?”

When I had their attention and their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I would point skyward and say “look up!” Expressions of amazement would escape their mouths. These city slickers had never before seen the glory of God’s vast starry heavens.

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalm 33:6.

I know this is easier written than done, but go out into a very dark night miles away from all city lights, and take you time looking at the marvelous astronomical handiwork of our caring Creator. Spend 20 minutes or more letting the peace of God flood your soul.

Jesus our loving savior will become more real to you, after all He is the one who created this universe: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1: 1-3 Take your mind off of the emaciated, persecuted, haggard, bloody star of “The Passion” And become astounded by the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, almighty God—Jesus Christ.

His redeeming grace is freely offered to you, and His steadfast love and invincible power will see you through to the home He has prepared for you.

 

 

 

 

The Sun is Running out of Energy

 

[1]

Psalm 102:25-27 Good News Translation

²⁵ long ago you created the earth,
    and with your own hands you made the heavens.
²⁶ They will disappear, but you will remain;
    they will all wear out like clothes.
You will discard them like clothes,
    and they will vanish.
²⁷ But you are always the same,
    and your life never ends.

 

Since I was ten years old, I have been enamored by the universe. Some things have puzzled me, especially from a creationist world view. [Of course, from a big bang world view I was stymied from the git go—the Big Bang.] One puzzle is the size and apparent antiquity of the universe. Another is the temporary nature of everything. This also appears to be puzzling the psalmist

As we examine the sun, it appears to be a giant bonfire, consuming fuel (hydrogen) at a prodigious rate. Evidently the fuel will run out, whether or not there was ever sin in the universe. This has been disturbing to me. The Lord has designed obsolescence into our home, our planet, our solar system. The psalmist recognized this: “They will disappear, but you will remain. … You will discard them like clothes, and they will vanish.” God does not plan that we will remain on the “third rock from the sun” forever! The psalmist concludes “But you are always the same, and your life never ends!” Besides God, the only constant in the universe is change.

In my more adventurous puzzling, I realize that God is definitely not part of our universe. He made the universe; therefore, he antecedes the universe. This is a most comforting concept. Since God is not in our universe, He is outside our universe. If He is outside our universe, then He can be as close to us as He wishes, but since He is outside it is impossible for us to detect Him. Of course, it also means He can interact with us in whatever way He pleases—such as healing, communicating, and adjusting events. It also means that when our sun starts running out of fuel, He can place us in orbit about a brand-new sun.

Thank You Lord that you are always the same especially in our universe where the only constant is change. We count on You for we know You are thinking of and preparing for every change.

 

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[1] https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/review/solar-system-scramble/scramble-text.html

Mighty Resurrection

 

[1]

Matthew 28:2-4 Good News Translation

 ² Suddenly there was a violent earthquake; an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away, and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid that they trembled and became like dead men.

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In our Better Than 50 Club meeting the week before Easter, I asked the members to bring a text they liked about Christ’s death and resurrection.

John Champlin spoke about Abraham’s answer to Isaac’s question about a lamb for the sacrifice. “God will provide Himself a lamb.” He submitted that Abraham knew that God was providing His body as the sacrifice. He understood what God’s purpose to abolish sin would be.

Amongst other responses to the Easter message, I suggested: Satan, with the cooperation of God’s people had successfully killed Christ by the most inhumane method they could think of. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had been assigned Christ’s dead body and had buried it in Joseph’s rock tomb. On Sabbath the high priest and Pilate, the Roman governor, had stationed a hundred tough Roman soldiers around the entrance to the tomb. No human disciples were going to steal His body and circulate the rumor that Christ had risen. Satan posted legions of his most ruthless angels around the whole area. No angel would dare break through their guard! Satan gloated over his victory over the Son of God.

Although He told them numerous times, Christ’s disciples never understood that Christ would rise on the third day. But God did. On the dawn of Easter Sunday, God’s mightiest angel descended directly to the tomb in a blinding flash of lightning. Satan’s legions of angels on guard, scattered in all directions. The flash of light and bolt of thunder caused a great earthquake and the Roman guard to fall as dead men about the tomb. With his little finger the angel flipped away the massive rock covering the tomb.

The angel called in a death-defying voice: “Your Father is calling You!” Christ immediately stood up. The grave clothes fell from his glorified body, and he strode out of the tomb, a conqueror.

The angel sat down on the rock he had flipped aside just as Christ’s devout women followers came up to the tomb, carrying embalming ointment. They peered into the empty tomb and then turned a questioning eye towards the mighty angel.

The angel spoke to the women. ‘You must not be afraid,’ he said. ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has been raised, just as he said. Come here and see the place where he was lying. ⁷ Go quickly now, and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from death, and now he is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him!’ Remember what I have told you.’” (Matthew 28:5-7 GNT)

“The Lord is risen!” Our salvation is sure. Let us rejoice in our glorious future.

Dear Lord, we thank You and praise Your name for Your unconceivable sacrifice and Your marvelous love for us.

 

 

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[1] https://baptistspirituality.org/2014/04/24/the-day-after-easter-fear-and-joy/

The Power of God's Word

 

 

Matthew 7:6 (Good News Translation)

Do not give what is holy to dogs—they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs—they will only trample them underfoot

I have been attending a memoir writing workshop by Rose Monge. For this week she assigned the following prompt: “Select a tangible artifact, prized possession or object that has meaning to you. What and why is this artifact so significant? Write about it.” What follows is my response.

I had been teaching for 5 years at a Christian high school in Tanzania. The seniors, whom they called the Form IVs, finished their external exams on Thursday (November 25 1971) and were scheduled to leave for home on that day. They made a special request to stay another day, “to say goodbye!” I encouraged the principal and the faculty to deny the request. I feared they could be up to some mayhem; however, their request was granted. The other classes didn’t take their final exams until the next week, so we had regular classes Friday. I had Form I mathematics at 7:00 a.m. that day. As usual, the teacher who had the first period class each day was also expected to start off with a ten-minute devotional with the students. I locked the classroom door because I saw some Form IV students walking around outside. I started the class on time. However. the Form IVs, started banging on the windows and door and shouting and making more noise outside the classroom. They continued this raucous behavior for the entire period. It was so loud that I couldn’t lecture. When the period was over, I opened the door and started to leave the classroom. However, the 10 disgruntled seniors were not done yet. They formed a circle around the door, one of them menacingly swinging a rawhide whip. The Form I students crowded around the door behind me, so there was no retreat there, Evidently, they were expecting something to happen. The student with the whip stepped up to me and said, “I hear you have called us dogs!”

I said firmly, “I never called you dogs!” I paused, “but Jesus Christ[1]  did. ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs—they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs—they will only trample them underfoot’.”

“Where!” demanded the whip kid.

I opened the little Testament pictured above that I carried in my shirt pocket to Matthew 7:6 and handed it to him, “Here!”

He took this proffered Testament, read it in silence, after a moment’s hesitation closed it, handed it back to me, turned on his heels, and stalked away. His fellows followed him. Although it is well worn, I still treasure this little Todays English Version testament with a color striped cover that saved me from a beating that day.

I stepped into my office door, which was right next to the classroom. I turned to lock the door, but my hand was shaking so badly, I had a difficult time. After locking the door, I sat there for a whole class period and praised the Lord. Fortunately, I had a free period at that time, and slowly my shaking stopped.

Meanwhile the disgruntled boys went to the principal’s office. He told me about the encounter afterwards. They demanded that he come out of his office. He saw the whip which the ringleader was waving menacingly. He declined to come out. They still demanded that he come out so they could talk with him. Whether it was the aura of the principal’s office or just the fact that they figured they couldn’t swing the whip effectively in the office that caused them to finally turn around and leave the building.

They still thirsted for blood, so they went over to the vice-principal’s home and pounded on his front door. His wife came to the door, and they demanded to see him. His wife quickly assessed their menacing attitude and said, “Sorry, he’s in the shower!” and closed and locked the door. They stood around waiting for a long time, hoping for him to come out. Finally it became time to catch the bus, and they dashed off.

Thank you Lord, for using such a little thing as this Testament to quell the fury of the disgruntled youth, and saving me from a beating.

 

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[1] Matthew 7:6 GNT

Massive Disasters

[1]

Romans 8:38-39  Good News Translation

³⁸ For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, ³⁹ neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

When I booted my computer this morning, there was a horrific picture of the fuselage of a passenger jet lying upside down with smoke billowing from one end. The wings had been ripped off the plane, and the whole airfield was covered with snow.

This year has already had more than its shares of disasters. Sylvia and I have both contracted Covid and recovered—again. We have visited loved ones some of whom have suffered much worse, including heart attacks, mental breakdowns, and other major health problems—hey! We are in our ninth decade, and many of our loved ones are there, too. Many Americans succumb to death in this decade.

Unquenchable fires have ravaged great parts of Los Angeles. Fierce winter storms have flooded and frozen much of this nation. It seems like there have been more catastrophic plane crashes than usual. Thousands of people have been snatched off our streets or from their jobs by a vengeful and unsympathetic government and flown to some destination across the globe without any due course to law—and that’s America. Hundreds of government workers have been fired with no warning and left to flounder on their own. Internationally whole cities have been bombed out of existence. Those who have fled have nothing to return to.  

Are we headed into the prophet[2] Daniel’s “time of trouble such has never was since there was a nation”? I rejoice with St. Paul that no amount of disaster and trouble can separate us from the love of God, not even the devil himself!

Lord, thank You that nothing can separate us from You. All we have to do is to daily remind You, by reminding ourselves, of Your promise to keep us from being separated from You.

 

 

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[1] https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/california-los-angeles-fire-pacific-palidades-la-evacuation-latest-news-wctv8656d

[2] Daniel 12: 1 (KJV)

What You Think Will Change Your Life

 

[1]

Proverbs 4:23 Good News Translation

²³ Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

 

Solusi, the first Adventist mission station amongst non-Christian peoples, was founded in 1894 about 30 miles west of Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe, Africa. Elder William Harrison Anderson moved to Solusi about a year later to replace several of the first missionaries, many of whom had died of malaria and are buried on the campus of what is now Solusi University. He was about 25 years old and stated he would take quinine to battle the malaria, in spite of council against using it as a drug for humans. By 1901 he and his wife Nora Haysmer were the only missionaries left at Solusi. The other missionaries were either dead or had moved on.

He spent 50 years as a missionary in Africa. About the malaria, he is quoted as saying, “Ellen White or no Ellen White, I’m going to take quinine.” She later supported his choice and remarked that she had not been talking about the use of quinine for curing malaria. While teaching at Solusi and Rusangu that he later founded in Zambia, he found that students would start attending classes but would give up after the novelty wore off. He is credited with taking a sjambok, or hippo-hide whip, to drive the students into class. In support of this he quoted Christ’s parable of the feast where he sent his servant to “go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

To eliminate lice, he shaved all of the students’ heads, which became the common practice in almost all of the missionary and government schools in Africa. One young fellow had a lock of hair that was over a foot long. When Anderson went to shave his head, he protested that the witch doctor had told him not to cut that lock—if he did, he would surely die. Anderson told him that the Lord was stronger than any witch doctor’s curse and shaved the lock off. Within a few days the fellow was dead! It was determined that he died of malaria—but he was dead. As our verse teaches us, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” Of course, all of the animists in the area were sure that his death was on account of the curse. Animism is the major religion of Africa. Even Christians and Muslims often follow what they believe their ancestors tell them today.

Satan’s first lie to the human race was when he told Eve “That's not true; you will not die. God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.” [2] This doctrine of Satan is the foundation of animism. Anyone who subscribes to this doctrine can be deceived easily by having evil spirits impersonate the departed soul and continue Satan’s deception on the unsuspecting victim. This lie of Satan is perpetuated in many Christian churches that teach that when people die, their spirit goes to heaven, and they spend their time looking back to earth to see what foolish things their former loved ones are doing with their earthly lives. It is then but a small intellectual leap to consider that the departed can communicate with the living—and, voila, Christians are sucked down into animism: direct manipulation by the evil one.

Lord! Preserve us from Satan’s trap of believing that at least part of us continues to live after we die.

 

 

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[1] http://animismspirit.weebly.com/uploads/5/7/3/3/57336339/3757006.jpg?1439982013

[2] Genesis 3:5 GNT

Gird Up the Loins of Your Mind

[1]

1 Peter 1:13 (Margin) Holman Christian Standard Bible

¹³  Therefore, when you have the loins of your mind girded ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

Our church has started a plan this year of reading the whole Old Testament in one year. I encourage you to adopt it. I encourage you to discover YouVersion.com for yourself. I first tried it several years ago, and it had so many features that I finally gave up in disgust. Judson Nelson, my brother-in-law, helped get back on it in a meaningful way a year ago. Thanks. Jud!

However, install it on your phone and sign into it. It has well over a hundred different versions of the Bible The second language I learned as a kid (English was my mother-tongue) was Afrikaans. At one point in my life, I learned the Lord’s prayer in Afrikaans. At the end of its Sabbath worship service, the church urges all its members to pray the prayer out loud together, “In any language that you wish.” So, I started praying it in Afrikaans. Well, after 60 plus years, I didn’t trust my memory. I checked out YouVersion.com, and after some experimentation, I found at least five different translation versions of the Afrikaans Bible! I have no clue how many English versions it has, but there are many.

As you open YouVersion, it gives you the verse of the day. At the bottom are several icons representing various popular features, one of which is “plans.” Click on that one. Click on the button “Find Plans”. One of the plans is “Bible Projects | Old Testament in a Year.” If you start today, you have only thirty-six sessions to catch up.

This morning, we read Genesis 12-14. It starts the story of Abraham. In chapter 14 Lot is captured by a Persian invading army and carted off with his wife and children towards Persia. In Abram’s entourage, he has 318 trained soldiers. Together with his allies they spring a night surprise attack, and he defeats the reveling invaders and recaptures all of their loot including the people they were taking back to sell as slaves in Persia.

What never ceases to amaze me is the size of Abram’s household. If he has 318 troops, he must have had well over a thousand people, including wives and children, etc. In other words, this was no lonely Bedouin camp with a dozen or so people camping out in the desert. He also had his troops ready for action so they could set out at a moment’s notice.

Our verse encourages us to have girded up the loins of our minds, ready for immediate action—in other words, be ready to fight to retain the grace we have been so graciously given. God has freely given us a vast store of His grace. Let us be ready to defend it at all costs until He comes.

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[1] https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexternal-preview.redd.it%2FGNQHGXeC4TKxHrX6_XoXvOTERRJdyNqx5rfu9x4-BHI.jpg%3Fwidth%3D900%26height%3D471.204188482%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D34adac866fccb5d199143cdfe0f3a2124974bf2b

 

The Lord Is Your Shade

 

[1]

Psalm 121:5-6 King James Version

⁵ The Lord is thy keeper:
               the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not smite thee by day,
               nor the moon by night.

 

Our family moved to Solusi, Southern Rhodesia, in 1954 when I was 12 years old, and living in tropical Africa was a brand-new experience for me. When we arrived, well-meaning folks warned me, “You are red-headed, blue eyed, and pink skinned. You had better wear a hat all the time you are outside, or you’ll have a sunstroke for sure!” A stroke sounded pretty bad to me. My grandfather had died from a stroke just days before we moved, so I started wearing a hat often when I went outside.

The E. B. Jewels, second generation missionaries at Solusi, decided to retire in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, so they bought a bungalow on Khami Road west of Bulawayo near Solusi. Their son Laverne and I were good friends, and they invited me over to help whip the neglected yard into shape. We worked all morning in the tropical sun. I wore a hat as per instructions. By lunch time, I started throwing up, had a fever, and was feeling extremely exhausted. Mrs. Jewel was a nurse and suspected I had gotten a sunstroke. She rushed me off to the Bulawayo hospital, and they gave me an IV to combat my dehydration. I felt miserable but recovered readily enough.

In 1967 when Sylvia and I arrived at Ikizu in Tanzania, a degree or so off the equator, I knew that I had better wear a hat. My picture as I left the airplane shows me wearing one. I think that was the last time I wore a hat at Ikizu. For five years, I usually dressed in short pants, a T-shirt, and sandals locally made from an old car tire. I decided that the only time I had gotten a sunstroke was when I wore a hat. I figured out that the hat must have been the cause. I relied on the Lord’s promise that He would be my shade, and that while I was doing His business, He would protect me. He did.

Gracious God, thank You, for being our keeper and shielding us from catastrophes all around us.

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[1] https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Inspirational-Images/large/Psalms_121-5.jpg

Everything is New

 

[1]

2 Corinthians 5:17 Contemporary English Version

¹⁷ Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

 

This is a new year. I have had serious reservations about what this year 2025 would bring. Our country has been divided worse than anytime since the Civil War. Only time will tell whether we can ride the crest of this wave or be drowned by it. The past is indeed being swept aside.

On the other hand, life rolls on. We have a water leak in our front yard that threatens to drain the Colorado River dry. But we will take care of that. We have a Better Than 50 Club meeting in a mere fortnight. But members will rise to the occasion. My computer, on which I am typing this, is showing more and more serious signs of rolling over and playing dead. But my brother gave me a little computer for Christmas.

When I say little, I mean tiny: it is less than 3½ inches square and 1½ inches high (less than 9 x 9 x 4 cm) Yet it is 500,000 times more powerful than the computer I used during my doctoral research at the University of Iowa that occupied a whole floor of one of the large buildings on campus, and had dozens of people running it. In less than an hour I transferred onto it more than 100,000 times the total capacity of data that IBM 360 could hold.

I am already polishing off the final chapter of my Ikizu Memoirs book on this Ace Magician. And, yes, with Sylvia’s help we have all but completed the equatorial African experience of our lives, so that part of our past is history and forgotten only in the sense that we no longer are living it.

God has had His hand in our lives through out our whole existence. We are definitely new persons, but in this case “new” includes “old” in it! Yesterday my Standard 1 grade school teacher Ruth (Miss Hurlow) Webster and her husband Eric came by our home. She will be 100 years old this year. I had found some pictures of their wedding (in 1950) that my dad had in his collection and gave them to her. I was in Standard 1 (= Grade 3) that year!

Thank You, Lord, for making us new persons—we look forward to the finished product when You come again.

Here is a wedding picture of Eric and Ruth Webster in 1950

 

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[1] https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51pmHZlGyaL._AC_SX679_.jpg

Hold Out to the End

 

[1]

Matthew 24:12-13 Good News Translation

¹² Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. ¹³ But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.

.

 

While a student at Andrews University, I discovered the joys of being in an academic environment. Many of the students had interests in all kinds of things; curiosity was popular and encouraged. I had discovered the fulfilment that came from picking up languages. In high school I learned Afrikaans and could speak it fluently. Then as a sophomore in college, I found myself at Seminar Marienhöhe sweating to learn German. By the end of the semester, I was speaking it fairly easily. At the end of that semester, my brother Elwood and I were shipping out to the States through Rotterdam in the Netherlands. From a Bbile Society booth, I picked up the gospel of Mark in Dutch. Totally unaware of the pitfalls of language, I spent several weeks reading the gospel and, using my Afrikaans to understand the meanings of the words, wrote up a grammar for Dutch and felt pretty good about knowing the language. When I got to Holland, I quickly discovered that I had done well and understood all that was being spoken. However, it took a couple days to pin down the fact that the Dutch I had taught myself so diligently was very old fashioned. It was like King James English—understandable, but totally outdated. The gospel I had used was probably the Statenvertaling of the Bible and was published in 1637! However, by the end of four days, I was getting around very well in modern Dutch.

At Andrews the Greek scholar, Leona Running, announced that she would be teaching New Testament Greek on Friday evenings in the Seminary Chapel. As a kid I had spent a lot of time delving into various historical fonts and knew the Greek alphabet very well. So, I showed up to the Seminary Chapel and got myself a seat near the front. The chapel filled up so there was standing room only as Dr. Running began her first lecture. She had me enthralled. I observed, in total surprise, that over the next ten weeks there were significantly fewer attendees at each meeting. For the last few meetings there were only about four of us attending. Prof. Running was not surprised.

About ten years later, I was a graduate student at the University of Iowa working on my PhD in mathematics. I was toying with going to teach math at Middle East College in Beirut, Lebanon. Two Egyptian students at the university announced a “class” in Egyptian Arabic. I signed up and made excellent progress in Arabic. Again, I noticed the same phenomenon as in the Greek class. The first meeting or two we had a huge class, but towards the end there were only a handful of people who were still coming. I did not go to Lebanon; instead, I went to Helderberg College in South Africa. However, I’ve often wondered how I would have done with Egyptian Arabic in Lebanon. As it is, I never used the Arabic and so have forgotten it, except for some cognates of Swahili words I had learned during five years teaching math and learning Swahili in Tanzania.

In Biblical stories, remember Noah’s Ark? I have a feeling that when Noah started building it, he had a large number of helpers. However, as more than a century went by, many helpers’ love or enthusiasm grew cold, and they deserted him. Eventually only three of his sons, and he probably had many, entered the ark with their wives and were saved. Most of the antediluvial patriarchs started their families during their first or second centuries, whereas Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth were all born around the beginning of his seventh century. Very likely he had other children during his younger years, but they never went into the ark to be saved. That must have been tragic for Noah and his wife.

Christ was aware of our human nature to start things but then give up along the way. Hence His encouragement in our text.

Continue to remind me, Lord, that I must hang in there with You, or all of our cooperation of effort will be in vain.

 

[1] https://blissfulroad.com/the-importance-of-persistence-in-achieving-your-goals/