Twinkle, Twinkle Little Meteor Showers
This is only one of God’s finest hours
by Barrett Vanlandingham (August14, 2007)
What an amazing display of God’s creation over Fort Gibson early Monday morning. The Perseid meteor shower was there for all to see. My children and I were up at one-thirty in the morning to witness this natural light show that happens every year as the Earth passes through a comet, and we get to see little pieces of sparkling debris passing into the earth’s atmosphere. What a blessing! That was my first time to stay up and watch the spectacle. During a one hour period, my children and I ooooed and aaaawed as we saw about 25 shooting stars one at a time glowing through the night sky right above my backyard (and yours, too). As incredible as the site was, it’s even more inspiring to think about the fact that God’s creation of the meteor showers is barely a thimble-full of the breath-taking phenomenons listed on His resume (Genesis 1:16), and that even each star is unique. 1 Corinthians 15:41 says, “The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.”
It’s also important for us to remember to worship the Creator and not the creation. Deuteronomy 4:19 says, “And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.”
For thousands of years, people have fallen into worshiping God’s creations instead of God Himself. Angels, stars, the sun, moon, animals, and nature. Each of these things is spectacular in their own way. Jesus obviously saw great value in His creations as He even referred to Himself as “the bright and Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16). But we as Christians must remember that none of these things deserves the respect and awe that our Creator (Genesis 1:26) deserves. After all, it is not God’s creation that offers us hope of eternal life, but rather God Himself. When it comes to important things in our lives, nothing glows more radiant than Jesus. Not sports, not jobs, not hobbies. Even our spouses and children are supposed to take a back seat to the importance of God in our lives. You see, when God is at the top of our priority list, everything else including family, jobs, hobbies, and sports will fall into place in just the right way. Jesus truly is our bright and Morning star.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Below: Pics of "rail grinder" re-surfacing train tracks in Fort Gibson on August 9, 2007. See bulletin article below.
Family Adventures in Fort Gibson
Can Lead to Meaningful Spiritual Conversations
by Barrett Vanlandingham (August 14)
Before last week, I had never heard of a rail grinder (back to that in a minute). But thanks be to God for His sense of humor and timeliness, a normal ole’ day out with my three children turned into something even more special. While my wife was getting her classroom ready at school, I took the kids (ages 14, 12, & 9) out for a day of adventure. I never know where we’ll wind up when we set out like this, but it’s always fun. We always run into something or someone interesting in Fort Gibson.
First, we went to the “Fort” area and toured around the Garrett house where the officer’s quarters were back in the 1800’s. It’s for sale. But since I can’t afford the $295,000 asking price, I decided to at least take some pictures of my kids on the front and back porch areas of the 7,000 square foot mansion and dream about how I would use this place for God if it were in my possession.
Then, went down the hill and across the tracks to the park and the old river bridge. Of course, if you read my previous article you know what I think of when I see bridges (Jesus is our support and bridge to heaven).
At some point while in the fort area things got really interesting. One of the kids said, “Here comes the train, let’s go take some pictures!” Yes, but it wasn’t the normal train that barrels through town. This one had two passenger cars, and about four other cars that I had never seen, and had tons of sparks flying out from under a couple of them. There were giant black metal protective flaps or shields attached to the sides just outside of the wheels. The next cars had huge sprinklers that appeared to cool down the rails and the areas on either side of the tracks. The caboose had a manned water sprayer on the back of it which appeared to be dousing any potential leftover sparks.
For a family of picture-taking fanatics, all of this was quite a spectacle, and made for some great photo ops as you can imagine. When the train stopped near the post office, we took that as an opportunity to find out exactly what they were doing. One worker who was shoveling dirt and rock away from the rails told us the train was a rail grinder. He said that rails have to maintain a certain shape in order for trains to continue running on them safely. He said that’s the job of the rail grinder. When you see the sparks coming out from under the train, the rail grinder is transforming the rails back into the shape they’re supposed to be.
For any Christian, it shouldn’t take a whole lot of creativity to see the spiritual applications here. In Romans 12:2a, the apostle Paul says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Jesus is our “Rail Grinder.” You see, life and all its stresses and burdens have a way of disfiguring our spiritual thought processes. The path we travel can become unsafe when we allow worldly influences to dictate what’s normal, chiseling away at our spiritual values. Satan spends a lot of time trying to convince us that things like gossip, malicious talking, drunkenness, gambling, marital unfaithfulness, fornication, unwise use of time, and even poor prayer and study habits are okay as long as we don’t let it go “too far.” I have one word to say to that: “What?!”
Here’s the bottom line, you know, where the “train meets the tracks.” We must become more dependent on Jesus to renew and re-shape our minds. It won’t happen automatically over time any more than the train tracks will re-shape themselves. Jesus is the only way this will ever happen. If we are to make it safely to heaven, we must have a relationship with Him that continually transforms us because of His grace through prayer, Bible study, and obedience by applying His truths to our lives. May God bless us all as we strive daily to find those teachable moments with our children and grandchildren, and let Jesus be our spiritual “Rail Grinder.”
Can Lead to Meaningful Spiritual Conversations
by Barrett Vanlandingham (August 14)
Before last week, I had never heard of a rail grinder (back to that in a minute). But thanks be to God for His sense of humor and timeliness, a normal ole’ day out with my three children turned into something even more special. While my wife was getting her classroom ready at school, I took the kids (ages 14, 12, & 9) out for a day of adventure. I never know where we’ll wind up when we set out like this, but it’s always fun. We always run into something or someone interesting in Fort Gibson.
First, we went to the “Fort” area and toured around the Garrett house where the officer’s quarters were back in the 1800’s. It’s for sale. But since I can’t afford the $295,000 asking price, I decided to at least take some pictures of my kids on the front and back porch areas of the 7,000 square foot mansion and dream about how I would use this place for God if it were in my possession.
Then, went down the hill and across the tracks to the park and the old river bridge. Of course, if you read my previous article you know what I think of when I see bridges (Jesus is our support and bridge to heaven).
At some point while in the fort area things got really interesting. One of the kids said, “Here comes the train, let’s go take some pictures!” Yes, but it wasn’t the normal train that barrels through town. This one had two passenger cars, and about four other cars that I had never seen, and had tons of sparks flying out from under a couple of them. There were giant black metal protective flaps or shields attached to the sides just outside of the wheels. The next cars had huge sprinklers that appeared to cool down the rails and the areas on either side of the tracks. The caboose had a manned water sprayer on the back of it which appeared to be dousing any potential leftover sparks.
For a family of picture-taking fanatics, all of this was quite a spectacle, and made for some great photo ops as you can imagine. When the train stopped near the post office, we took that as an opportunity to find out exactly what they were doing. One worker who was shoveling dirt and rock away from the rails told us the train was a rail grinder. He said that rails have to maintain a certain shape in order for trains to continue running on them safely. He said that’s the job of the rail grinder. When you see the sparks coming out from under the train, the rail grinder is transforming the rails back into the shape they’re supposed to be.
For any Christian, it shouldn’t take a whole lot of creativity to see the spiritual applications here. In Romans 12:2a, the apostle Paul says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Jesus is our “Rail Grinder.” You see, life and all its stresses and burdens have a way of disfiguring our spiritual thought processes. The path we travel can become unsafe when we allow worldly influences to dictate what’s normal, chiseling away at our spiritual values. Satan spends a lot of time trying to convince us that things like gossip, malicious talking, drunkenness, gambling, marital unfaithfulness, fornication, unwise use of time, and even poor prayer and study habits are okay as long as we don’t let it go “too far.” I have one word to say to that: “What?!”
Here’s the bottom line, you know, where the “train meets the tracks.” We must become more dependent on Jesus to renew and re-shape our minds. It won’t happen automatically over time any more than the train tracks will re-shape themselves. Jesus is the only way this will ever happen. If we are to make it safely to heaven, we must have a relationship with Him that continually transforms us because of His grace through prayer, Bible study, and obedience by applying His truths to our lives. May God bless us all as we strive daily to find those teachable moments with our children and grandchildren, and let Jesus be our spiritual “Rail Grinder.”
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Recent Bridge Tragedy Catches National Attention
But Demands Spiritual Inspection for Every Individual
by Barrett Vanlandingham (August 9, 2007)
Times of loss such as the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota often force many of us to conduct a spiritual inspection of sorts, just as engineers there are doing physical inspections to see what went wrong. Those people who perished in that accident had no warning of their impending deaths. That’s the way life’s end often comes.
I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between the bridge in question, versus our spiritual bridge. Jesus is our bridge. You see, we have no way of getting to our heavenly destination without Him.
. As Jesus spoke to some of His disciples in the Gospel of John 14 he was giving a brief description of heaven as he was reminding them to trust in God and to have hope in the place where He was going. One of his disciples, Thomas, said he didn’t know the way to where Jesus was going. But verse 6 says, “Jesus answered, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That’s also why we pray to God through the name of Jesus.
No matter how strong we build bridges, roads, buildings, and houses, things in this life are only temporary. Sooner or later, everything on earth will come to an end. Such will not be the case for the truths of our Savior. Matthew 24:35 quotes Jesus as saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
There are a lot of things in life that are not certain. Who of us could even take one single breath without God’s help? And if we could, who of us could create the elements necessary to create the air we breath? Who of us could take a single step without God’s power? And if we could, who of us could create the ground we walk on?
One thing is for sure: that if we follow Jesus’ teachings, we will gain a reward in heaven. I don’t know anyone else who has ever promised me the gift of eternal life in heaven besides God, and I don’t know of anyone else who can take me to God except His Son, Jesus.
Now, back to that spiritual bridge inspection. If your support beams seem a little rusty or stressed, it’s not Jesus who’s supporting you. It’s always good to take frequent looks at where your strength is coming from. If you are feeling burdened by life’s load, chances are, you may be trying to be your own support and your own bridge. I don’t know of anyone who can successfully carry themselves down life’s messy roads. But Jesus can carry us! His shoulders are plenty broad enough. In fact, just imagine yourself standing on one side of a valley, and heaven is on the other side. Now imagine a big wooden bridge connecting the two. Now look closer, and notice that the wooden bridge is actually the blood-stained cross that Jesus died on. What a bridge! What a support! (Romans 6:1-5, 1 John 1:7, John 14:6). And He did it for you and me. God bless you.
But Demands Spiritual Inspection for Every Individual
by Barrett Vanlandingham (August 9, 2007)
Times of loss such as the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota often force many of us to conduct a spiritual inspection of sorts, just as engineers there are doing physical inspections to see what went wrong. Those people who perished in that accident had no warning of their impending deaths. That’s the way life’s end often comes.
I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between the bridge in question, versus our spiritual bridge. Jesus is our bridge. You see, we have no way of getting to our heavenly destination without Him.
. As Jesus spoke to some of His disciples in the Gospel of John 14 he was giving a brief description of heaven as he was reminding them to trust in God and to have hope in the place where He was going. One of his disciples, Thomas, said he didn’t know the way to where Jesus was going. But verse 6 says, “Jesus answered, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That’s also why we pray to God through the name of Jesus.
No matter how strong we build bridges, roads, buildings, and houses, things in this life are only temporary. Sooner or later, everything on earth will come to an end. Such will not be the case for the truths of our Savior. Matthew 24:35 quotes Jesus as saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
There are a lot of things in life that are not certain. Who of us could even take one single breath without God’s help? And if we could, who of us could create the elements necessary to create the air we breath? Who of us could take a single step without God’s power? And if we could, who of us could create the ground we walk on?
One thing is for sure: that if we follow Jesus’ teachings, we will gain a reward in heaven. I don’t know anyone else who has ever promised me the gift of eternal life in heaven besides God, and I don’t know of anyone else who can take me to God except His Son, Jesus.
Now, back to that spiritual bridge inspection. If your support beams seem a little rusty or stressed, it’s not Jesus who’s supporting you. It’s always good to take frequent looks at where your strength is coming from. If you are feeling burdened by life’s load, chances are, you may be trying to be your own support and your own bridge. I don’t know of anyone who can successfully carry themselves down life’s messy roads. But Jesus can carry us! His shoulders are plenty broad enough. In fact, just imagine yourself standing on one side of a valley, and heaven is on the other side. Now imagine a big wooden bridge connecting the two. Now look closer, and notice that the wooden bridge is actually the blood-stained cross that Jesus died on. What a bridge! What a support! (Romans 6:1-5, 1 John 1:7, John 14:6). And He did it for you and me. God bless you.
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