In search of God

“One thing I ask of the LORD,  this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD  all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD  and to seek him in his temple.  For in the day of trouble  he will keep me safe in his dwelling;  he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle  and set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:4,5).”

Last night the fam sat down to watch  a movie, as is our custom on the weekends.  Since we were celebrating the Independence Day holiday, we decided to watch a flick we picked up from the library called “In Search of America”, a 1971 made-for-TV film.

The movie is the story of a 1960s era family whose oldest son Mike convinces to go on a journey to find themselves. The vehicle for this trek is an old 1928 bus which is to to take them throughout the land.

With the title, you would think the viewer would be treated to scenic sights, large cities and beautiful nature in an ongoing travelogue.  Yet, the bus stops fairly close to the beginning of the trip at a Woodstock clone, complete with hippies, marijuana and “love”.  The bus doesn’t leave the place until the end of the flick.

Frankly, the movie was a bomb. My oldest son, at the closing credits, said, “I want my hour and a half back.”   

When the bus arrives at the rock concert site, the family parks next to people hitting the self-destruct button. For example, Nick and his pregnant significant other Anne are attempting to have the baby on site  based on what they read from a book.

The worst case, however, is Kathy.  Her real name is Susan Chandler. Nineteen=year old Susan has run away from home because she  doesn’t want to face a lifetime hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine.

As the story develops, Mike’s mother Jenny tries to convince the resistant expectant couple to seek a doctor’s help.  In addition, Susan’s parents hunt all over the camp for her. She needs her dialysis, or she will die. Yet, Susan refuses to come to them.

In the meantime, Mike is falling for Kathy/Susan.  He eventually aids and abets her deluded attempt to run from her trouble and her parents, almost until it is too late.

Finally, in the climax to the movie, Nick allows Jenny and Mike’s grandmother to help deliver the baby when things get dicey. Furthermore, when Susan deteriorates to a dangerous point, Mike seeks help for her.

All’s well that ends well.  Mother and child are fine.  Susan is in the hospital recovering, and receives a visit from her new friend Mike. And the fam is off in their old bus for a new adventure, which history never records because the pilot was so bad no network in its right mind would pick it up.

Despite being a travesty, the film did have some lessons to teach.  One is that we need our families, and that the “evil parents” actually do want to prevent us from ruining our lives. In fact, the flick teaches that they may actually have some wisdom.

Another lesson is that when we feel like dropping out, there is the Lord.  My wife commented during the movie that the characters were “sheep without a shepherd”.  This is of course the view Jesus had of a large crowd of people as His boat landed.  When He saw them, He was moved with compassion. The Scriptures say Jesus “began teaching them many things (Mark 6:34)”.

Some people would be better off if they listened to what Ma and Pa  and the Lord had to teach.  For example, our parents and the Scriptures tell us to get off our rears, get to work and stay out of trouble.  If we don’t, the Bible says instant, incurable disaster will strike (Proverbs 6:6-15).  Now that’s a warning to heed!

Pharoah was warned repeatedly by Moses and God that ultimate disaster would strike if  he didn’t let the Israelites leave Egypt.  It took the death of all the firstborn of Egypt and the resulting loud outcries to get him to obey God (Exodus 12:29-32).

Pharoah had his finger on the self destruct button, and he was determined not to take it off. God did it for him with the death of his own child, yet Phaorah later put his finger back on the self destruct button again, resulting in further chaos (Exodus 14:26-28).

When we’re lost, we don’t need to tune in, turn on and drop out like the characters from “In Search of America”.  Usually, our families are there, but even if they aren’t, God is there to catch us as we fall. We can let Him stop us from self destructing and learn what He has to teach us (Psalm 27:10-11).

Probably the most important lesson we can learn from God is that He is the Truth we should be seeking.  The answers to life aren’t to be found traveling across America or any other country.  

In fact, we don’t even have to leave our couch. We just need to look up.

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I need a “refresher” course

“I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ (Philemon 1:20).”

What refreshes you? Is it a dip in the lake? A frosty drink?  A good run?  Ten hours sleep? A shower?

Every one of us is refreshed by something.  Personally, I am strengthened and revived through purposeful work.  I came to Jesus Christ out of the need to have purpose in my life.  So if the job I am doing seems empty and unfulfilling, I am miserable.  Unfortunately, too much of my life has been spent in misery, working  in positions that don’t suit or stimulate me.  How to deal with that is a topic for another day.

The apostle Paul knew what refreshed him. He was revived and replenished by the love of his friends. Paul had a friend named Philemon who once owned a slave, Onesimus.  Paul met up with Onesimus and led him to Christ.  Paul wrote Philemon and told him he was sending Onesimus back to him as a brother in Christ, not as a slave. He wanted the former slave owner to welcome Onesimus back. (Philemon 1:12-17).

Paul wasn’t exactly in paradise when he wrote this note to Philemon. He was in chains in Rome.  In fact, he met Onesimus there.  Apparently Onesimus had ministered to Paul in his imprisonment.  So giving him up wasn’t easy. The inference in Paul’s note was that Philemon would send him back to Paul.

Paul knew a “refresher” when he saw one. He had observed Philemon refresh others (Philemon 1:7). He wanted some of that refreshment sent his way.

The apostle Paul might have been in jail, but he kept his purpose in life front and center. He had received it when he first met Christ. His task was to know Christ and make him known to the Gentiles. He might have been miserable where he was. After all, it was prison! But knowing his purpose kept him going. But its always nice to get a little encouragement from flesh and blood people once in a while. Onesimus provided that, as did other friends like Philemon.

I don’t think my personality lends itself to being a “refresher”.  In fact, I am more like a drink of sour vinegar on a hot day to some people. I have to work at it. It involves a lot of change for me  to go from being a cantankerous, unsympathetic curmudgeoun to a caring, nurturing saint.

I should start at home with my “refresher” course. . I should also seek to implement it in my own prison, the workplace. Perhaps I am not fulfilled there. But I can attempt to encourage and renew others. It could be that if I seek to refresh others, I myself will be refreshed and give my work there some purpose.

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Pandora’s box

Movies are usually fiction, although they may be “creative non fiction”, based on real life. One such movie is “Marley and Me”, the story of John  Grogan and his attempts to “raise” what he calls “the world’s worst dog”.

A sidebar to the story about his dog Marley is John’s career angst. I enjoy good writing in movies, and one good line in “Marley and Me’ involves John’s problem with job satisfaction.  Having finally got a job as a hard news reporter after a successful run as a columnist writing about his dog, John suddenly is dissatisfied — again.  His wife says,”You always want what you can’t have”.

People by nature are not satisfied with their lives.  Amazingly, there is a story in the news at the moment about the depression and suicidal thoughts resulting from viewing the movie “Avatar”, a science fiction about the mythical world of Pandora.  People are posting their sad feelings to blogs and Internet forums. 

On Pandora, the indigenous people live simple lives, communing as one with the beautiful nature that surrounds them.  One chin-wagger describes the world of Pandora as one which has the appearance of undersea fauna. When these bloggers compare their lives on earth to what the people of Pandora have, they communicate a sense of not being able to obtain a fantasy.

The Psalmist looked around him, comparing his lot with others who seemed more prosperous, and he also communicates his lack of contentment. In fact, he is envious of others who appear better off (Psalm 73:3-5).

Eventually, however, the Psalmist meets with God and learns of the fate of those who try to find satisfaction outside of God. Their final journey ends in destruction and terror (Psalm 73:19). He, however, finds his satsifaction in God (Psalm 73:25-28).

Appearances are deceiving.  The world has a lot of posers who are living lives not based on truth.  They are living in a fantasy land.  These people may be seem to be ones to emulate, but in fact following their example will lead to our demise. It’s better to stick with God, regardless of our circumstances.

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Blessium

 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine upon us, that Your ways may be known on earth,    your salvation among all nations (Psalm 67:1-2).”

I have a warm up exercise I sometimes distribute to classes of science and engineering students which asks them,”If you could create an element to do anything for you, what would it be, and what would you call it?” 

A review of the periodic table shows that elements have a lot of uses. However, at least one of them –Rutherfordium — has no uses.  Very little of it has been made. To me that is very sad.  Usefulness is one of my prime values for myself.  If I could create an element, it would have to be useful.

The apostle Paul had the best purpose for himself anyone could ever have. His goal for his life was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, and to gain the resurrection for himself  (Philippians 3:10-11). Everything else paled in comparison to this.

Paul wasn’t just looking to know Christ himself, however. While in this life he saw his task as to help others know Jesus and exalt Him before others, also (Philippians 1:20-26). 

I want to be like Paul.  So I would create an element for myself called blessium. I want to know Christ.  I want God’s blessing. 

I want God’s blessing not only for myself, but for others, also. God  wants all people to praise Him, for the whole world to follow Him. In receiving God’s blessing and in knowing Him and His power, I will  help to exalt Him to others and work toward establishing His rule on this earth.

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Coming full circle

“From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples (Acts 14:26-28).”

Guy Laliberte  knows how to make the most out of life. Owner of the Cirque Soleil, the billionaire paid 35 million to take a trip into space. He is doing it to publicize a cause dear to his heart (clean water), but he is also having fun doing it. He donned a bulbous clown nose for the trip.

I’ve done a fair amount of traveling the last few years myself.  My family and I have lived in 3 different countries, moved around lot, and made some last minute “rocket trips” of our own.  Sometimes I think we took ourselves too seriously.  Now we are moving again, and this time I want to have some fun with it. Also, I want to serve God’s cause.

The 14th chapter of Acts reads like an exciting travelogue, with the main characters sharing their faith in Christ along the way. In a city called Iconium, Paul and Barnabas led a lot of people to the Lord. But they knew when to get out of town.  Their enemies planned on stoning them, so they moved on.

In the next town, Lystra, Paul and Barnabas brought joy into the heart of a crippled man by healing him.  The people of the town wanted to throw a big party to celebrate and honor the two men. Unfortunately, they wanted to worship them as gods. 

This appalled Paul and Barnabas, and they raised a large protest. It is God who brings you fun and joy, not us, they told the revelers.   But the people didn’t take kindly to these two party poopers after that and actually succeeded in stoning Paul this time. However, in an apparent miracle he just got up and walked away and the next day moved on again.

In the new city, Derbe, Paul and Barnabas strengthened the disciples of Jesus and appointed elders in the church. They passed through 4 other towns, preaching the Word along the way, and finally arrived back at where they started. They reported all that had happened to them and stayed there a long time.

I am returning to where it all started for me over 50 years ago. I hope I can stay a long time. I love the area. I would like to have some fun and do the work God wants me to do. And I hope to do some reporting, too.

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Do the math

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:19,20).”

Breitbart.com reports that the average British man or woman has slept with 2.8 million people.  It’s not that these UK folks literally have had  that many partners. The average person has “only” slept with about 8 people.

The figure in the millions was determined by a calculator which shows how many people these active Brits have exposed themselves to in terms of risk of sexually transmitted diseases.     

According to the head of sexual health at the pharmacy which developed the calculator, “When we sleep with someone, we are, in effect, not only sleeping with them, but also their previous partners and their partners’ previous partners, and so on.”

I don’t  think this is what God meant when he commanded Adam to “be fruitful and multiply…(Genesis 1:28)”.  But this is what we humans have done.  We have exponentially produced not only good results with our behavior, but bad ones as well.

People have spread all over the earth, which is what God intended. But we have also sought to multiply our riches and change marriage partners frequently to the exclusion of God, something He warned about (Deuteronomy  17:17). 

If we are going to spread anything, it should be the gospel. And if we are going to multiply anything, it should be disciples of Jesus (Acts 6:7).

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