Soul and Spirit

What Is Man?

Amazing Images of Shuttle and Hubble Transiting Sun

No, these aren’t sunspots finally appearing on our currently quiet sun. Check out these great images taken by NASA photographer Thierry Legault. The “spots” are actually the space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope transiting across the sun! Legault’s website says these are the only images ever taken of a transit of a shuttle and the HST in front of the Sun. Legault was in Florida at the time he took this image, about 100 km south of the Kennedy Space Center on May 13th 2009 12:17 local time, several minutes before grapple of Hubble by Atlantis.

Space Shuttle Atlantis and Hubble Space Telescope against the Sun

For further perspective, consider this. The two man-made objects are roughly 375 miles away. The God-made object — 93,000,000 miles!

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

(Psalm 8:3,4)

Oh, and here you can see Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station against the Sun.

“Abortion Is a Blessing”

This is quite the sermon. 😥

Here’s one paragraph, as reported by the UK’s Telegraph

I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing – who do this work every day: the health care providers, doctors, nurses, technicians, receptionists, who put your lives on the line to care for others you are heroes — in my eyes, you are saints; the escorts and the activists; the lobbyists and the clinic defenders; all of you. You’re engaged in holy work.

😯

Why Do Good?

“Why does God want us to do good works?” asked the preacher yesterday morning.

I had a “new” answer pop into my head. But before that, another photo from the Mother’s Day excursion Ruby and I took the day before Mother’s Day.

Ruby at Jefferson, Scio, Crabtree Food Bank coffee wagon at Albany I-5 rest area

Food banks are a great way to do good. And when they have coffee at interstate rest areas, they do even more good! If Hubbard (Oregon) has no food bank, perhaps our congregation (Hopewell Mennonite Church, two miles distant) should start one.

Anyway, may God bless and prosper the Jefferson-Scio-Crabtree Food Bank as well as those who make it work. And thanks for the good coffee!

Now, back to the question: “Why does God want us to do good works?”

And what popped into my head: Because He wants us to have faith!

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17).

Peace, Part II

Furious Berlusconi demands apology from wife

Now, which emoticon should I use?! 🙄 😯 😥 😆

I don’t know if either of the Berlusconis are Christians, but I suppose one could also wonder who the real Christians are in this next story.

U.S. denies letting troops convert Afghans

The U.S. military denied Monday it has allowed soldiers to try to convert Afghans to Christianity, after a television network showed pictures of soldiers with bibles translated into local languages.

General Order Number 1 from the U.S. military’s Central Command forbids active duty troops — including all those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan — from trying to convert people to their religion, considered a crime in many Muslim countries.

[…]

“The translated bibles were never distributed as far as we know, because the soldier understood that if he distributed them he would be in violation of general order 1, and he would be subject to punishment.”

No man can serve to masters, Jesus said once upon a time.

Besides, those soldiers are there to kill people, not save them. Or am I missing something?

Other reading: Kosovo and Serbia: A Case Study Regarding Christians in the Military

Peace

[Peace (1 Thessalonians 1:1)]
from 1 Thessalonians 1:1

In my Bible reading this morning, my troubled heart grabbed at that single word in that verse.

Then in casting about for a background to use for it, I remembered a photo my friend and minister Peter Turner took last week while we were in Mexico with several other Mission Board members.

Beautiful flowers on a thorny saguaro (aka sahuaro) cactus — peace in the storm.

Maybe it will be just what you need as well.

(Thank you, Lord, for that reassuring promise: peace.)

Swine Flu Update 2

OK, OK — so somebody decided to defer to the pork industry and call this ailment something else. CO2. 280Z. R2D2. H20. H1N1. Something! 🙄

Anyway, so I was in Sonora (northwest Mexico) for a few days last week and this.

Two of my traveling companions and I were struggling with varying illnesses of varying degrees.

Thankfully, none of us had symptoms that were strictly flu-like.

However, upon returning home, I learned that one of the missionaries we visited had come down with flu-like symptoms. The last I heard, thankfully, she’s doing better.

Thank you for your concerns and your prayers.

Above all, love God!