Signs of the Apocalypse

It's official. The end is near. Don't buy any green bananas. The world is about to end.

How do I know this, you ask?

It's simple if you read the signs.

First, read this story. It seems that if you are short and commit felonies against children in Nebraska, you get probation. The lack of height is sufficient reason to avoid a jail sentence in that great state. I thought it was crazy when Debra Lafave got 3 years of house arrest for molesting a young boy. But she is pretty, and pretty people can't be sent to jail. Now short people can't go either. I guess only regular schlubs go to jail for molesting kids.

Second, as of May 26, 2006 the Detroit Tigers have the best record in baseball. I can't even begin to describe how ridiculous this sounds to a long-suffering fan. You had to be there for the last 13 years. You just had to be there.

Third, Pat Robertson has leg-pressed 2000 pounds, or so he says. You know my love for the goofy stuff that comes out of Pat's mouth. This one is a doozy. This ranks up with Chia-head Kim Jung-Il, who has made a series of similarly preposterous claims over the years. It seems that both of them have left reality and have entered another plane of existence. Let's pray that they stop making public pronouncements.

Otherwise, the world will come to an end. Very soon.

Ralphie

I was trolling through Glenn Beck's website and saw a picture of him on the "On Television" tab that looks like a 40-year old version of Ralphie, the kid from A Christmas Story. Can it be true that Glenn really is a grown up version of the kid who wanted a BB Gun?

Look at the photos and tell me if you agree.

Pearls

I love the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. Aside from the obvious biblical references, it is a dark and funny strip with some great characters. Take a look at this recent strip:
As is the law of nature, the crocodiles are always trying to kill the zebra who lives next door. But what I find amusing is their penchant for false piety to try to trick the zebra. It always backfires on them, as this strip humorously depicts.

But there is a caution for us here too. Just because someone claims to be a believer doesn't mean their motives are pure. There are many snakes posing as Christians, and many good and Godly people have been hurt by them. We need to take Jesus' words in Luke 16:8 to heart.

8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

I almost lean to following Ronald Reagan's advice to "trust but verify" when dealing with people. Whether they claim to be a Christian or not. I've been burned by Christians who behave no differently than the culture at large. Maybe that is why I find the crocs so funny.

Border issues

Here we go again. The furor over illegal immigration has reached a point where the U.S. Senate may have to act, and tonight President Bush is preparing to announce that National Guard troops will be placed in support roles along the border with Mexico. Predictably there are many in favor of this and many opposed to the plan. President Fox is concerned about the militarization of the border. Of course, his country takes in billions each year from illegal immigrants sending money back to Mexico, so he has a vested interest in keeping the status quo in place.

One of the most intriguing comments comes from Senator Chuck Hagel (R- Nebraska) who said the proper way to do this is to double the Border Patrol during the next five years, but opposes using National Guard troops during the intervening 5 years. So, is it a free-for-all during that time? This makes no sense to me.

I have nothing against immigrants. But I am terrified of a porous border when we are at war with fanatics who recruit all over the world. Unfortunately the Mexican citizens trying to get into this country get caught in the blowback.

Stillness

Take, take till there's nothing, nothing to turn to.
Nothing when you get through.
Won't you break, scatter pieces of all I've been.
Bowing to all I've been running to.

Where are you?
Where are you?

Did you leave me unbreakable?
Leave me frozen?
I've never felt so cold.
I thought you were silent.
And I thought you left me for the wreckage and the waste.
On an empty beach of faith.
Was it true?

Cause I, I got a question, I got a question- Where are you?

Scream, deeper I wanna scream.
I want you to hear me, I want you to find me.
Cause I, I want to believe but all I pray is wrong and all
I claim is gone.

And I, I got a question, I got a question- Where are you?

lyrics from Silence by Jars of Clay

That's where I am today.  I'm reaching out for God to tell me
what he wants me to do with my life, my vocation, and the
seminary education I am acquiring.

But there seem to be more questions than answers.

Then along comes a chapel podcast on Be still and Know.
Whack! (sound of 2x4 hitting skull)

Read Psalm 46 with me

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah (emphasis added)

Pray for me to be still. If you know me, you know how difficult that is. I want to know it all now, and it doesn't work that way. But I want to know because there is a restlessness in my soul that I cannot explain.

Time

I'm at the Sci-Fi thing again. This week's episode of Dr. Who was about Rose going back in time to see the scene when her father died. She was an infant when this happened. Unfortunately Rose ignores the Dr.'s instructions and intervenes and sets off a calamitous chain of events because of the breach in the time continuum. This got me to thinking about what would I like to go back in time to see. There is so much.

I would love to see the Exodus live. All 40+ years of it if I could. I envy Moses for the relationship he had with God. The signs and wonders he saw had to be mind-boggling. Yet he faithfully soldiered on.

I would also like to see Solomon's Temple when the Lord moved in. To see the presence of the Lord inhabit a place would be the most awe-inspiring thing I can imagine. To viscerally feel the presence of the Lord Almighty, to see, hear, smell and feel His presence would probably cause me to completely lose my composure. Yet I would love that opportunity.

Rome in it's heyday is something I want to see. It was a city of 1 million people, a feat that was not equalled in the West until the 19th Century. Rome had it going on, and seeing that would be an incredible scene

I want to hear Jesus teach. I'd love to be with him and the disciples as they walk from town to town. To hear the banter, admonition, jokes and teaching that went on between the Son of God and his followers would give me insight into a person who is hard to get my head around.

Where would you like to go? Anything you would like to see? Let me know if you have the time.