Into the Unknown

Have you ever wondered what it is like to venture into the unknown? You know, set sail in a boat headed towards the horizon, no destination in mind except lands undiscovered? Poor old Columbus shoved off from shore thinking India was straight across that there body of water and ended up halfway around the world, walking on shores that he had no intention of traversing. All he wanted was another way to India. He ended up discovering Central America instead.

My life has been one great venture into the unknown. Or maybe I should say "ventures" into the unknown. I keep getting myself into situations that force me out of my comfort zone and into someone else's world. I'm asked to do things I don't like for the sake of doing something new.

When I left my church in Gainesville, TX, I did it without assurances. I did not have another full-time job. I did not have another place to live. I did not know if I would be able to make a living doing something I loved. But I ventured out anyway. Like Peter, the waves got high and I got scared plenty of times. My faith went up and down. But I tried to walk on that water anyway and I'm a better man as a result. Since then I've ventured into new ministries and new relationships, met new people and did new things. And I still, this day, have ventured further into another new field.

I rarely, if ever, know exactly what I'm doing. That's where faith comes into play. God knows all and sees all. He exists outside of time and space. Yet He is pleased to help and guide His children as they venture into the unknown pursuits of this life. His guidance comes through many forms, such as the wise counsel of parents, friends, and pastors. His guidance comes through His word and through His Spirit, speaking directly to your heart. His guidance comes through open doors and closed ones. Through brick walls that I keep banging my hard head against and the ever-needed softening of my heart.

So I keep venturing into the unknown, assured that God the Father will take care of me wherever I go because He loves me and He is more than willing to help me. His Spirit is my Counselor, His Son is my focus. Together they receive my worship and ground my hope.

That makes the unknown much easier to handle.

Goosebumps

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/nasa/video-player/video-player.html?playerId=1550041754&titleId=1581487584

They don't come often but when they do, they have the power to drain all the energy out of a person. "They" are goosebumps. Good goosebumps. You know, those moments in which you have little to say but "wow."
Moments of great triumph. Moments of great suspense. Moments that you can never see coming but are glad that they came.

I typically get goosebumps from several types of events: sporting events, movies and documentaries. Recently, there has been one documentary series on TV that has stunned me. Each episode leaves me drained of energy, goosebumps at work, and saying, "Wow." It's called "When We Left Earth" and it's a documentary series about the NASA space missions on Discovery Channel. The program uses archival footage from NASA mixed with modern comments from the astronauts, flight directors, and other people closely associated with the space program. I highly recommend it.

I've included a clip above from the series about the moon landing of Apollo 11. Enjoy. Just watch out for goosebumps!

UPDATE: In watching the NASA missions, I am ever reminded of the fact that I spent several years living just down NASA Road 1 from the Johnson Space Center in Texas, home of NASA. I clearly remember looking up as a 6-year-old at the huge Saturn rocket they have on display outside the center. Did I say huge? It's ginormous! Even cooler is the fact that we lived seven doors down from John Young, one of the legends who flew in the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, walking on the moon and piloting the first shuttle flight.

Okay. Enough boasting. I have some things to say about the theology of what I'm watching, which I will post later.

Another Quote

This one is from Heartlight, the Christian Internet resource service.

A holy life will produce the deepest impression.
Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine.

-- Dwight L. Moody

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Quote of the Week

Found this one in an A.W. Tozer book I'm reading on Worship:

"The reason that Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary to suffer under Pontius Pilate to be crucified, dead and buried, the reason that He overcame the sharpness of death and rose again from the grave is that He might make worshipers out of rebels."

-- Tozer, "Tozer on Worship and Entertainment" p. 21

A Moment of Bliss

Yet another video blog from yours truly.

A Picture of Hope

Just wanted to share another new favorite picture, one I ran across today during my many searches for clip art for my website. We often tell people to "cross their fingers" when we're hoping for the best in a situation. I've never been able to understand what crossing the fingers does for luck or fortune. We also cross our fingers if we don't mean what we promise. I'm not sure what that means, either.

I guess this picture reminds me of the difference between the hope of the world and the hope of the believer. The world's hope is a hope that something may come true even if there is no assurance of a result. It is a crossing of the fingers. A blind optimism. But the hope of the believer is not blind optimism. It has nothing to do with crossed fingers or well wishes. It has to do with certainties -- particularly the certainty that God keeps His promises. We hope in what God has promised, not because there is some doubt that God will fail but because we know that God will succeed. He always keeps His promises. And when He says that He will love us, that He will save us, or that He will comfort us, we can count it as truth. Hope does not disappoint, Paul wrote in Romans 5. My computer dictionary says that hope is an expectation, something looking forward. God has told us what He will do for us in certain circumstances of our lives, such as times of trial. We hope in His promises. And we watch them come true time and time again.

And that makes crossed fingers rather silly, don't you think?

The Smile of a Satisfied Soul

She couldn't stop smiling. He couldn't either. Neither could I.

Tonight I helped to video a wedding at my church. I didn't know the bride or groom, though I must admit that I recognized a bunch of people in the audience. That tends to happen when one of the church's youth gets married. We all have a unique circle of fellowship. Anyway, I filmed the wedding from the back of the auditorium and just soaked in the sights and sounds of the place. There were candles arranged left and right of the seating area and even more lining the stage. It was absolutely beautiful! A rolled out pathway of white paper served as carpet cover and everyone was dressed to the nines.

Then the bride entered the room. Escorted by her father, as is tradition, she practically waltzed down the aisle and into the arms of her beloved. She smiled when she saw him standing there. He smiled when she arrived in his arms. They both smiled until they faded from view, long after the ceremony ended.

It was a marvelous sight on a marvelous night.