The Grip of God: February 6th Devotional

The Grip of God

Isaiah 41:13

February 6th Devotional

      On this day in 1971, astronaut Alan Shepard made space history.  Alan Shepard became a household name in 1961 when he became the first American in space.  Shepard was supposed to be the first person in space but the Russians just barely beat him because of flight cancelations.  His flight was a mere 15 minutes in comparison to Russia’s 108 minutes, and Shepard never actually entered orbit.  It took ten years for him to get another chance to go into space until he was finally put in command of the Apollo 14 mission, which almost didn’t happen because of the complications of the Apollo 13 mission.  Americans had already landed on the moon twice and Shepard was determined to do something that had never been done before.  Alan was an avid golfer and thought it would be a good mixture of pleasure and physics to hit a few balls on the moon.  He kept his plans totally secret.  He designed a custom-made club for his adventure.  It would be a normal 6-iron attached to a collapsible, telescopic tool that was used to collect moon rocks.  He hid the head of the club in his space suit and two golf balls in extra pair of socks.  He didn’t inform the other two crew members, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa until after the rocket exited the earth’s atmosphere.  On this day Shepard hit two golf balls on the moon.  Hitting a golf ball on the moon proved to be extremely difficult because of the bulk of the spacesuit.  Alan shanked the first ball, only traveling about forty yards which earned him many jeers from the other  two astronauts, but the second ball was struck solidly and flew for what Shephard said: “for miles and miles.”  The ball actually probably traveled around 200 yards (600ish feet) but had a hangtime of around one minute.  The mission was a success and so was his interstellar golf game. 

      Shepard’s club now is at the USGA museum in New Jersey.  I’m not particularly good at golf on earth, for that matter I’m horrible at miniature golf.  I can’t imagine traveling to the moon would be any better.  Every good golfer learns a valuable lesson, how to grip the golf club.  Shepard struggled with that because of his suit.  The grip is how we hold onto the club.  Years ago Billy Graham was talking about the subject of someone having a grip on our life.  Billy said, “We will all grip something and we will all be gripped by something or someone.”  He’s absolutely right.  We are all gripped by something or someone.  For the believer, we can rest assured that we are gripped, and held closely by the Lord.  Isaiah 41:13 says “For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'  The text provides the image that God is holding onto the children of Israel, even during a time of struggle and doubt, even in the face of hardship and disappointment.  In a chaotic, ever-changing world we can often doubt God’s grip on our life.  But friend, rest assured that God has not loosened His grip on you.  He is holding you close to Himself.  Don’t allow outward circumstances to cause you to question God’s grasp on your life.  He’s not letting go.  He might be asking you to let go of certain things in your life and to hold onto Him, but He is not letting go of you.

God, We have a Problem: April 17th Devotional

 

God, We Have a Problem

April 17th Devo

Psalm 55:22

      On this day in 1970, the hobbled Apollo 13 spacecraft splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean. Apollo 13’s fame wasn’t the splashdown, instead, its fame was over the troubled journey the crew endured. On April 11th all of America watched as the Saturn V rocket carried the Apollo 13 crew from the launch pad in Cape Canaveral to the heavens. This same rocket was used twice the year prior, taking the Apollo VI and Apollo VII crews safely to the moon. The crew consisted of Fred Haise, James Lovell, and John Swigert. This was the fifth lunar mission commissioned by NASA and was supposed to be the third time man stepped foot on the moon. This journey would forever be remembered for a near tragedy. On April 14th the crew was about 210,000 miles from Earth, almost to the moon. The crew had been in flight for nearly 56 hours and had just finished a national tv broadcast. They were inspecting the craft when an explosion rocked the ship. At 9:08 Eastern time astronauts Swigert and Lovell radioed in saying "Houston, we’ve had a problem.” Oxygen tank 2 had exploded causing a major mechanical issue. This issue disrupted the flow of oxygen, electricity, water, and light to the vessel. This was a worrisome event because the ship was losing oxygen and fuel at an alarming rate. NASA quickly aborted a moon landing and started scrambling to find a way to get the three astronauts back home. Both the astronauts and NASA worked tirelessly to get the crippled and cold ship to circle the moon and loop back to head back to Earth. The crew had to abandon the Command Module and instead move into the LM (Landing Module). The Landing Module was only designed to get the astronauts onto the moon and back to the command module. It was not designed for a crew of three, nor did it have the appropriate amount of oxygen needed for the journey. The other complication was that it struggled to move the Carbon Dioxide from the module. The crew bunkered down in the nearly freezing temperature. Only by a miracle was the crew able to safely land back on Earth on April 17th.

      The movie Apollo 13 took from creative license when they changed the SOS to say “Houston, we have a problem.” Apollo 13 did indeed have a very real problem, one of a life-or-death nature. We as Christians have problems and worries too, but we don't say "Houston we have a problem." Instead, we should say "God, I've got a problem." Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." God invites us to come and lay down our burdens at His feet. We can take any problem to God, we can cry out to Him no matter what may be the case. God works in the impossible. God never panics when we cry out to Him. Unlike NASA’s ground control, God is perfectly in control. He already has it figured out. The word sustain in the passage is translated elsewhere as nourishing or feeding. The text seems to provide the image of God feeding us, and taking care of us as we cast our burdens on Him. God does not want the burdens of this life to destroy you or stifle you. He wants to take care of you as you travel through this pilgrim pathway. Cry out to Him, “GOD, I’ve got a problem; I need your help.” He hears you, He cares, and He is actively already working for your good and His glory.

Reflections on the Beach: The Incredible Creator

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Three

"The Incredible Creator"

Focus Passage: Genesis one

Bible Reading: Romans 4-10

      One of my favorite things about going to the beach is the constant rolling of the tide.  I love to hear the noise of the waves breaking on the shore.  It's relaxing, almost therapeutic.  I could easily sit for hours in a beach chair reading a book and listening to the waves.  The waves remind me that despite all the chaos and change in our world that some things remain unchanged, and some things can be depended upon.  But when we look at the waves we need to ask, why do we need the waves and what causes them?  The tide exists because of the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon on the earth's oceans.  Those two cosmic bodies are constantly pulling at the waves, churning them.  The moon has a greater effect on the tides than the sun, so what would happen if we didn't have the moon in the sky?  A lot of things would change.  First, the tides would be dramatically smaller, if existent at all.  The ocean would be dependent upon the sun alone for the tide. It is possible that ocean life would become stagnant and potentially die without the moon. The moon also helps slow down the earth's rotation.  Scientists believe that if the moon were to disappear that we would have 6-8 hour days instead of the typical 24-hour day.  Fathom that!  Naturally, the night sky would be darker since the moon is the brightest object in the night sky.  The next brightest object in the sky is Venus which is only 1/14000th as bright as our moon.  This would change the life of nocturnal animals since they rely on the light of the moon for hunting and would potentially eliminate them.  Nocturnal animals have a significant impact on our everyday life.  They eat a tremendous amount of bugs, some of which carry diseases that affect humans.  And yet another massive change would be the earth's tilt.  The earth is perfectly tilted on a 23 degrees axis.  If the moon were to vanish our axis would change dramatically, which would result in massive climate change and probably near extinction of human life.

      Evolutionary science believes that the moon came into existence 4.5 billion years ago when our planet crashed into another planet called Theia causing the moon to be formed from the surfaces of both planets.  Over the course of billions of years, the moon's surface became smoother resulting in the rock we see today.  Science has zero proof, the history channel even calls Theia an 'imagined' planet.  The Bible doesn't leave us to speculation.  Genesis 1:16, 19 says "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also....there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day." The Bible makes it clear that the moon was created by God with a purpose, to provide 'light' at night and seasons.  Our seasons exist because of the moon.  Genesis one was written thousands of years prior to science understanding why we have seasons!  The moon's existence is not some cosmic accident, the result of two colliding celestial bodies.  Instead, it was purposefully created and designed by God.  Next time you go to the beach and see the tide be reminded that we have an incredible Creator God, who is all-powerful and all-knowing.

Reflections on the Road:

Our God is a creator.  Your reflection this week is simple: make it a point to thank God every day for His creation, which He designed for you.  AND mark down your favorite thing that God created.  Brownie points: it is Valentine's week, so husbands feel free to write down your wife's name as your favorite thing that God created.