Starship Captain Goes Into Space

 

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Psalm 73:26
Good News Translation
²⁶ My mind and my body may grow weak,
    but God is my strength;
    he is all I ever need.

 

The nonagenarian, William Shatner, stepped down out of the space capsule and walked over and threw his arms around Jeff Bezos. With tears in his eyes and a quaver in his voice, Shatner exclaimed, “What you have given me is the most profound experience!”  He went on, “I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now.” Shatner is worth at least $100,000,000, and Bezos well over $190,000,000,000.  Bezos had just given Shatner a ride some 65 miles high above the earth into space.

When I was a grad student in Iowa City, we didn’t have a TV, so at a local electronics store, Occasionally I used to watch Shatner playing Captain James T. Kirk of the space ship Enterprise as they cruised around through space in the Star Trek series. Since then, he has become famous for his acting roles. Shatner at 90 years old now is still popular. Of course, this actual space flight was a publicity stunt for Bezos, the opulent founder of Amazon. Bezos used this flight to publicize his commercial exploitation of space.  

Read the whole of Psalm 73. The poet, Asaph, compares the affluence and exorbitant lives of the wealthy to his meagre existence. Then his thoughts come back to the life he has as he rests his existence in the hands of God. He recognizes the effect of age on his own mind and body, his flesh and heart in this hymn.

Thank You, Lord, that I, too, find in You my strength and hope.

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[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/science/bezos-shatner-star-trek.html

Overcoming Substance Abuse

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Psalm 51:12

New English Translation (NET Bible)

¹² Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey!

My wife, Sylvia, stopped and chatted briefly with a beggar at the freeway off-ramp. His sign read, “Save me from myself.” She sensed in him the sincere desire to rid himself from a life of substance abuse. She chatted with him a second time a day or two later. He committed to going with her to a Salvation Army place that gives alcoholics (and druggies) a place to live and eat while they are coming clean from their controlling substances.  She offered to take him and then came to me and asked me to go with her. I didn’t totally approve of what she had done, but I was certainly not going to let her be alone with him.

When we went to fetch him, he was not at the prearranged place. We finally contacted him at his girlfriend’s home. It became evident in the ensuing conversation that he was definitely for real in his decision to come clean. It also became evident that although he had claimed to have been off of alcohol for some period, his trip to his girlfriend’s place was to indulge his habit one more time.

On the drive to the Salvation Army hostel, he told of us his conversion to Jesus Christ a couple of years previously. He spoke in glowing terms of the euphoria that came over him when he accepted salvation. He expressed the hope that this euphoria would take hold of him again. From our conversation it became apparent to me that the young man was seeking the feeling of ecstasy more than victory over the substance.

I told him of my conversion to Christ and how my Christian experience had grown but without the same feelings as at the time of conversion. I did my best to encourage him to continue the spiritual fight by the help of the strength that Christ’s Spirit would provide him.

We sat through a careful questioning an officer of the Army gave him. It put more of the hard reality of the ongoing fight in his future than I had given him on the hour’s trip over. The officer pointed out that unless he had been clean for six weeks they wouldn’t take him into their program. He did provide an address of a family that was willing to take him in and let him live with them for the six weeks and warned him strongly that they couldn’t help him if he didn’t pass this period of probation.

Sylvia had gotten in touch with the young man’s mother. She was obviously at wit’s end. She was also very hopeful and thankful that Sylvia had taken an interest in her son. Things did go well for a period of time, but then, without the initial euphoria, he went back to his old ways of living.

The Psalmist’s desperate plea for God’s sustaining power is the absolutely critical part in our battle against the united forces of evil that are seeking to destroy us.

Our Almighty King, may Your sustaining power give us the overwhelming desire to keep obeying You!

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[i] https://blog.uniongospelmission.org/the-impact/panhandling

#California, #IE, #Alcohol, #Dependence, #MotherSon, #SalvationArmy, #CleanOfDrugs, #Psalms, #Conversion, #Habit, #Euphoria, #Ecstasy, #Overcome, #Panhandler

Win Some, Lose Some, Ever Forward

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Psalm 138:7

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ Though I am surrounded by troubles,
    you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
    and the power of your right hand saves me.

For four months now I have been suffering with a headache when I’m not lying down. This appears to be the result of my bout with West Nile Virus (WNV). The hospital did several lumbar punctures to diagnose the disease. After seeing numerous doctors who were simply clueless as to how to solve the issue, I was finally referred to Dr Olivo, a neurologist.

When I described my symptoms to him, his eyes lit up, and he said, “It’s undoubtedly a cerebrospinal fluid leak (CSF) at a lumbar puncture site.” I had come to the same conclusion after reading the Internet. Apparently the fact that the headache and other symptoms disappear when I lie down is characteristic of a CSF leak.

Dr Olivo went right to work to get the various preliminary tests done and then get me into the hospital to have the patch done. Results are supposed to be immediate, so the patch is an outpatient procedure. The radiologist who administered the patch had me lie down for a half hour afterwards and then had me get up and dress. Of course he inquired if I felt better.

I walked around a bit, somewhat bewildered. The room swayed from left to right as I turned my head. I needed to hold onto something in order to walk straight. My entire head ached from my shoulders on up. Not only was I not better, I was also a lot worse.

There was the hope that it would clear up over time. That hope never materialized. I was sorely disappointed but not discouraged or depressed. By chance I had read the promise in the verse above the very morning of the procedure. I sensed as I read the promise that I might need its comfort that very day, though I certainly hoped not.

God has brought me through alive from the very deadly WNV after 9 weeks in hospital and rehab. There are some lingering areas where I haven’t fully recovered besides the CSF leak. The literature suggests that healing from the WNV usually takes at least a year. So I have a while to go yet.

Thank You, Lord, for the promise that Your mighty right hand will save me in the very midst of my troubles.

#CALIFORNIA, #IE, #PSALMS, #BIBLEPROMISE, #WESTNILEVIRUS, #HEADACHE, #NEUROLOGY, #LUMBARPATCH, #DEPRESSION, #CEREBROSPINALFLUID, #CSFLEAK, #MEDICALFAILURE, #HEALING

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