God's hand...

(In a new image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, high-energy X-rays emanating from the nebula around PSR B1509-58 have been colored blue to reveal a structure resembling a hand reaching for some eternal red cosmic light.)


I love this photograph. I discovered it today online, and I think it is absolutely amazing!! It is beautiful and mysterious and fascinating!


It was described as "a hand reaching for some eternal red cosmic light." But, as I look at it, I see a picture of God's hand reaching for my heart. Across the vast expanse of space and time, He reaches for me.


Today I was feeling a little down, a little blue, and God reached across the expanse of space and time and touched my heart--by having a friend unexpectedly call me to come to her house so she could make dinner for me tonight. And my heart glowed with an eternal red cosmic light.


This week, as we meditate upon and celebrate the Passion Week and Easter, we are reminded of how God reached across the expanse of space and time and touched our hearts--by the unbelievable gift and sacrifice of His Son. And our hearts glow with an eternal red cosmic light.


God is continually reaching across the expanse of space and time ...reaching for our hearts... reminding us of His amazing love, of His amazing grace. Let us place our hearts in His hand that they may glow with His eternal light....

(see the article about the nebula)

the Shepherds' Song...

The Shepherds' Song

It was a dark and starry night; the shepherds quaked in fright
As a host of angels filled the cloudless sky.
They said, "Do not fear...Rejoice! for we are here
To tell you of a child that's born this night."

In Bethlehem He lay in a manger filled with hay,
For there was no room in any of the inns.
There His mother, Mary, smiled as she gazed upon the child,
For she knew that He was born to be a King.

For unto us is born in the City of David
The Son of God, Jesus Christ the King,
God Himself on earth, through a humble baby's birth
Has come to save all people from their sins.

So the shepherds quickly went to see this great event.
They found the baby as the angels said.
Though a king He would be, there were no signs of royalty--
No velvet robe nor a crown upon His head.

But the shepherds, they believed
the word of God which they'd received--
That the Babe would be the Savior of all men.
Messiah was born! The shepherds couldn't wait til morn;
They hurried off to tell the world the news right then.

For unto us is born in the City of David
The Son of God, Jesus Christ the King,
God Himself on earth, through a humble baby's birth
Has come to save all people from their sins.

Now, all who heard were amazed.
The name of God was greatly praised
For the glorious things the shepherds saw and heard.
The Babe, they could see, was fulfilling prophecy.
Once again, the Lord Jehovah kept His word!

So, like the shepherds we should be telling everyone we see
Of the love of God which He so freely gives.
Through forgiveness of our sins, the peace and joy of Christ begins
When within our hearts we let this Saviour live...

For unto us is born in the City of David
The Son of God, Jesus Christ the King,
God Himself on earth, through a humble baby's birth
Has come to save all people from their sins.

(song written by Sharilyn based upon the account in Luke 2:8-20)

the gifts of the Magi

Three Wise Men.
(These just happen to be the ones from my nativity set.) Actually, the Bible doesn't call them Wise Men; they are called only "Magi from the east." Nor does it tell us there were only three of them. All we really know is that there were three particular gifts given to Jesus by the Magi (not that there were only three givers). It is also believed that the Magi did not actually visit Jesus at His birth, in the stable, but that they came later. Most commonly it is thought they arrived about two years after His birth. (I think we get much of our Christmas-related theology from Christmas carols--in the case of these ideas, we can attribute them to "We Three Kings.")

The important thing here is not how many Magi there were. Or when they arrived to visit Jesus. The truly important things are how they got there, what their posture was toward Jesus, and what they brought with them.

First, the Magi found Jesus by following a star: "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." (Matt 2:1,2)

They knew the prophecies; they read the skies; they knew the exact time the star had appeared. And they followed it until they found the One to Whom it was leading them. They traveled a long way to find Him, but they did not stop until they found Him: "...they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed." (Matt 2:9,10)

When they saw the place to where the star pointed, they were OVERJOYED! Not because the place itself was special in any way, but because they knew they had found the King about Whom it was prophesied! Their long journey was complete!

Their posture toward Jesus is another of the important pieces of this story. "On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him." (Matt 2:11a) These were men of wealth and respect. They were probably men to whom others bowed in reverance or to whom, at least, great respect and deference was given. And their automatic response to seeing Jesus was to bow down and worship Him. They knew Who He was-- the King of Kings!

Also of importance is the nature of the gifts which they gave to Jesus: "Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh." (Matt 2:11b) Strange gifts, perhaps, for a child, but very appropriate gifts for this King. Gifts of great value. Treasures, no less. And, oh, so symbolic of Who Jesus truly was --King, God, Sacrifice.

Gold was a gift for a king--representing His royalty.
Incense was a gift used in worship of God--representing His diety.
Myrrh was a gift used in death--representing His sacrifice for us, that He was born to die.

These were the gifts that were laid at the feet of the child. These were the men who traveled so very far to bow down before Him and worship Him.

In the manner of the Magi, we, too, must search for Jesus with all our hearts. We, too, must bow before Him in reverence and worship Him. We, too, shall give to Him the treasures of our lives and our hearts....

...Oh come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord...

night sky treats...

For the past few nights, we here in the US have been treated to an interesting evening sky. A couple of nights ago, I saw a couple of very bright 'stars' in the western evening sky. I figured one of them must be the planet Venus, but I wasn't sure about the other. After searching online, I found the following information:

On Monday evening, the three tenors of the night sky will reunite, an event that may not be seen again for another 40 years. A crescent moon will join Venus and Jupiter, which have been slowly moving closer to each other, creating a triumvirate of the three brightest objects in the heavens. The planets will not be as close, or as visible again, until 2052.

Patti Winsa - Staff Reporter,

(http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/545772)

So, this is something a bit unusual and will not be seen again for quite a few years. (imagine! I'll be 86 when it happens again! eeek!) I went out after work with my trusty camera when the sun was beginning to set and started trying to get famous photos to record the event...

there are the two planets, if you look real hard!

...they form a triangle with the moon on the left, Venus on the bottom, and Jupiter up a bit to the right from Venus...

...and the next three shots I just had to include to demonstrate my amazingly steady hand (and no tripod!) with a long exposure!! (Ha!)

I thought this was a lovely moon shot...

...and in this one, you can see the outline of the entire sphere of the moon...

Below you can see the detail of how they all line up:

Ok... here was the very best shot I could get (with my 12x zoom, nonetheless!). Ah, what I would give tonight for a telescope!!

Well, I'm sure I didn't capture any shot to make me famous and rich, but I thought I would share them with you anyway. I love these fantastic night sky treats! Perhaps, if you go out just after sunset tomorrow night, you may be able to see it, too. God makes such wonderful things for us to enjoy if we will take the time... to stop for a moment or two and look up at the sky!!

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? ~Psalm 8:3-4