LIFE
IS A BEAUTIFUL GIFT – PAY IT FORWARD - BE AN ORGAN DONOR
A friend of mine, (see http://anotherdayanotherbreath.wordpress.com/),
is waiting for a lung transplant. Her
life depends on it. Please consider
becoming an organ donor. It is just a
little heart symbol on your driver’s license. Y By the time they take your organs you won’t need them anymore. Why not be generous?
Please attend a coffee house on September 11th
to help with some of the associated costs of her transplant operations. (See details)
Previous Journal Entries: CURRENT | JUN 2011 | MAY 2011
SEP 2009 to APR 2011 | AUG 2009 | JAN to JUL 2009
OCT to DEC 2008 | JUL to SEP 2008 | APR to JUN 2008
| JAN to MAR 2008
July 29, 2011
A Quote
"We're
not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how
painful the best will turn out to be."
-- C. S. Lewis.
Well,
God, that about sums it up for me.
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July 22, 2011
More Scan Results
I
had a scan done on my chest on July 11th. (See entries below on July 8th, 12th,
and 15th for more complete information.) The first report of the July 11th
scan mentioned nothing about a tumor.
The doctor asked the radiologist to take another look at the
images. The bad news is they found it is
still there. The good news is that it is
decreasing in size.
Father,
thank you for the hope of healing.
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July 21, 2011
Running Man
Tuesday
night I was talking to one of the volunteers who helps
with the services at the jail. He was
talking about being sore from running. He
had decided he needs to do better about taking care of himself and has taken up
jogging. I wondered aloud if I would
ever run again. The last several times I
tried to run my knees and ankles hurt.
This
morning I got to the church where I meet my car pool 30 minutes early. I go early so I can walk. It is too hot to walk at lunch time. There was a bunch of teenagers with luggage
and back packs standing around 20 or 30 yards from where I park and walk. I guessed correctly that they were waiting on
a bus to take them somewhere, probably a summer church camp. They were mostly standing in clusters
talking. Several of the boys were
playing with a ball kicking it around to each other. Just as the bus pulled up they lost control
of the ball and it came rolling towards the path where I was walking about 10
or 15 yards ahead of me. Without
thinking I ran to intercept it. It got
by me, but my knees and ankle feel fine.
Thank
you, Lord; that felt good.
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July 19, 2011
Wise and Foolish Virgins
Jeff
preached on the second coming based on the parable of the ten virgins and
Noah’s flood. What does Noah’s flood
have to do with the second coming?
Everything! See Matthew
24:36-42. There was a good response at invitation
and one man came forward for salvation.
Would
you tell a stranger about Jesus Christ for $1,000? Yes?
Why won’t you do it for the love of God?
What do you really believe? What
is your hope really based on?
Lord,
please make me more bold in witnessing for you.
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July 16, 2011
Temple Grandin
This
evening my wife and I watched the movie Temple Grandin. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278469/ It was about a girl with autism. It was very interesting because they were
very good at depicting a different way of thinking about things. We found it very interesting and recommend it
to everyone.
Father,
please make me more understanding of people who see things differently than I
do.
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July 15, 2011
Scan Results
I
had a scan done on my chest on Monday to look at the tiny tumor they found in
my lung in February, 2010. Since then,
in April, 2011, out of prudence since I’m a former smoker, my doctor sent me to
have it scanned again. It was still very
small, but it was larger. The doctor
wanted it scanned in more detail 90 days later to try and understand what
exactly it was and see what its rate of growth is. So this past Monday, 90 days after my
physical in April, I went and had a CT scan “with contrast.” That means they squirted radioactive iodine
into me and then took x-rays while I took an amusement park ride through a big
donut. They said they would send the results
to my doctor and he would call me.
I
had not heard anything all week so this morning I called my doctor’s
office. The lady who answered the phone
said she could not recall anything coming in, but she would investigate and
call me back. Late afternoon she called
me back and said something very like this: “I did not want you to think I had
forgotten you. We don’t know anything
for sure yet. The reports we got for
your scans last year and in April showed a nodule in the lower quadrant of your
left lung. This latest radiology report
does not mention it. The doctor is
checking with them to find out what is wrong and will call you back next week
and let you know.” Her tone of voice was
odd, like she was amused at something maybe.
She said it all very carefully like she was perhaps dancing around
between what she wanted to say and what she was allowed to say. The message I took from that was “Read
between the lines, Mr. Carden.” What I
decided was being communicated is “your tumor is gone and it has the doctor
scratching his head.”
Lord,
I believe; help me in my unbelief.
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July 13, 2011
Overheard in Sunday School
We
were studying Acts 7 where Steven is tried and executed for his faith in Jesus
Christ. Most of the chapter is what
Steven said in his own defense. It is a
great sermon, but when he got to the end, the invitation did not go so
well. Instead of repenting his listeners
stoned him to death. Right before Steven
is killed in verse fifty-five it says, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he
gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the
right hand of God.” The question was
raised, why in every other place does it say Jesus sits at the right hand of
the Father but here Jesus is standing instead of sitting? Possible Answer: Jesus stands up for martyrs.
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July 12, 2011
365 Thank You’s
Last
week a friend loaned me the book 365
Thank Yous.
(http://www.365thankyounotes.com/)
I have been inspired. I have become a
thank you note writing fool. I have
already seen this behavior toppling the strongholds of Satan both within me and
without. It goes along with what I
posted yesterday. It is amazing how it
has changed my outlook as I challenge myself to find something every day to
write a thank you note about. I am
developing an attitude of gratitude.
Yesterday, I went to have my lung tumor scanned to see if it is getting
worse or better or what. Afterwards I wrote this note to the technician and put
it in the mail.
I
want to thank you for the gracious and professional way you cared for me this
morning. Your good humor, kindness and
expertise helped me get through a scary encounter with medical technology
The
technician just called me. She got the
note. She said I made her year and that
she was going to keep the note some place where she could pull it out and look
at it any time she is having a bad day.
I'm feeling pretty good right now.
God,
thank you that I have so many blessings for which to be thankful. Please keep them coming.
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July 11, 2011
The Power of Praise
My
lovely wife shared with me an insight she just had from her scripture
reading. Please read Psalm 149 and 2
Chronicles 20 to get the full effect, but for those of you with shorter
attention spans the verses of most import are these:
Psalm
149:6 "May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword
in their hands, 7 to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the
peoples, 8 to bind their kings with
fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, 9 to carry out the sentence
written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the
LORD."
2
Chronicles 20:21 "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men
to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they
went out at the head of the army, saying: 'Give thanks to the LORD, for his
love endures forever.' 22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set
ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
"
The
idea is that praising God has power to defeat evil.
Praise
the Lord!
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July 9, 2011
Thorns & Thistles
In
Genesis 3:18 part of the curse brought on by Adam’s fall is thorns and
thistles. God appears to Moses in a
burning bush in Exodus. It is described
as a burning thorn bush in Luke 20:37 and Acts 7:30. The tabernacle is made of Acacia wood in
Exodus 26:29, which is a tree with long thorns.
The last place the Israelites camp before going into the Promised Land
is called a field of thorns in Numbers 25:1 and Joshua 2:1. Finally Jesus is crowned with thorns and
mocked during his final passion. My
surname, Carden, comes from an ancient Celtic word that means briar patch.
God,
please make me into a blessing. Amen.
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July 8, 2011
Prayer Please
On
Monday I go to have my lung tumor scanned.
It was growing when checked in April, but I am hoping it is now
shrinking. I’ve been taking vitamin D
and trying to otherwise engage in healthy behavior. I am anxious about it more because it will
tell me a lot about what the next few months or years hold for me, not because
I am particularly afraid, although I have had some fear in the last few months.
As
you probably know, in early April I found myself facing some very scary reports
from my doctors regarding not only my tumor but my heart as well. I went to a number of frightening tests with
terrifying results. I didn’t know, and
still do not know, if I am facing my death angel or just a bump in the
road. At the same time Trisha started
having significant blood pressure problems.
Her health seems to be in hand now for the most part, but it has been an
emotional roller coaster ride as my faith and Satan’s fear have struggled for
dominion over me.
Lord,
I am grateful for all the friends who have comforted us and prayed over us
during this difficult time. Please bless
all of them richly.
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July 5, 2011
The First Sixty Years
I
decided to start adding things about my previous life backwards starting from
October, 2007. While I’m waiting for my
health issues to sort themselves into some sort of new equilibrium, I am
seeking God’s will for the rest of my life.
As a part of that it seemed reasonable to spend some time documenting my
first 60 years. I thought it might help
me as I think and pray about the next 60.
You can see my notes by clicking here and
scrolling down to just past October 6th. Each time I add a new document I’ll put a
reminder note here.
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July 4, 2011
Independence Day
Yesterday
we had a good service in the morning. We
had it at a picnic shelter in a park.
See my wife’s blog for pictures. We
sang patriotic hymns, heard a good sermon, and ate too much.
Today
we are just relaxing. It was rainy this
morning so we took a long walk in the mall, stopped at the grocery on the way
home, and now my dear wife is fixing us one of our favorite meals.
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July 2, 2011
Christmas and the Sabbath
I have been e-mailing a Christian friend lately concerning his
concern that paganism is taking over Christian practices. His position is that Christmas is a
celebration of a near eastern false sun god and that the Sabbath is Saturday,
not Sunday. This is an excerpt from my
most recent response to him.
Christmas customs as they are celebrated today are more based on
worship of the Norse god Thor than a Babylonian sun god. Jesus may have been born in the Fall. I’ve heard that
theory before. Followers of this theory
claim that the Judean winters were too cold for shepherds to be watching their
flocks by night. History proves otherwise, however, and we have historical evidence
that unblemished lambs for the Temple sacrifice were in fact kept in the fields
near Bethlehem during the winter months.
You claim that Christmas celebrations are explicitly forbidden in
Jeremiah 10:2-5. It describes someone
making an idol to worship out of a tree.
You decided that it is talking about a Christmas tree. However in verse 5 it makes it clear that it
is talking about making an idol. "they speak not" and "they cannot do evil …"
or good. Idols can
not do anything, so we should not fear them. I do not worship my Christmas tree or fear
it. I enjoy it.
The triangular shape of the Christmas tree is symbolic of the
Trinity. Red decorations are for the
blood of Christ which makes us pure.
Green is for the eternal life Christ gave to us by his death on the
cross. The sharp pointy edges of the
holly leaf remind us of the crown of thorns that Jesus wore upon his brow. The silver star
above the nativity scene at the foot of the tree reminds us of the Christmas
story in Matthew. The angel on top of
the tree reminds us of the Christmas story in Luke. The other decorations hanging on the tree
remind us that we are to bear spiritual fruit for the Lord. The lights remind us that God is light and in
Him is no darkness at all. The gifts at the
bottom of the tree remind us of the first Christmas Gift -- God’s grace through His Son.
Saturday is the seventh day of whose week? You are quick to discard Christmas from your
calendar because you consider it pagan and yet you retain the pagan week. I can not find the
words Saturday or Sunday in the Bible anywhere.
Sabbath is just the Hebrew word for 7th.
(Over time it also came to mean "rest.") Seventh counting from when? It does not say, nor does it matter. The days of the week are named for pagan
idols taken from the objects in the sky that appear to move around:
Day of week: Sky Object/Pagan Idol
Sunday: Sun day – the sun is worshiped as a god by most pagan
religions.
Monday: Moon day – the Moon god's name is Allah. Ever heard of him?
Tuesday: Tieu's day (Norse god of
mischief, their name for the planet Mercury)
Wednesday: Woden's day (Chief Norse god,
their name for the planet Jupiter)
Thursday: Thor's day (Norse god of war, their name for the planet
Mars)
Friday: Friea's day, (Norse goddess of
love, their name for the planet Venus)
Saturday: Saturn's day – like the other planets, Saturn is named
after a Roman idol
Why would a Christian be concerned with any of that?!? Every day should belong to God not some pagan
idol.
Colossians 2:16 "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in
regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath
day."
Traditionally Christians meet for worship on Sunday because Jesus
rose from the dead on the first day of the week. They were doing that long before
Constantine. Acts 20:7 "On the
first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people
…" See
also 1 Corinthians 16:2
However, if you prefer Tuesday, or Friday, or whichever, better;
God bless you. I go on Sunday mornings
because if I go another morning my brothers and sisters in Christ won't be
there.
Mark 2:27
"Jesus said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not
man for the Sabbath.'"
God, thank you for a day of rest and for Christmas.
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July 1, 2011
Creation Science Museum
This
week we visited the Creation Science Museum near Cincinnati. (See http://creationmuseum.org/)
It was very educational. I recommend it
to everyone. Please visit my wife’s blog
to see pictures.
When
I first started writing this entry I tried to describe what I thought before
and how my thinking has changed as a result of my learning this week in some
detail. It became convoluted and confused
very quickly, so I’m trying again.
Although it is an over simplification let me instead just use the usual
labels to describe my journey with regard to my beliefs regarding our origins. I began my Christian walk as a “guided
evolutionist” (Evolution is true, but God guided it) but gradually changed into
an “old earth creationist.” (Evolution
is nonsense but the earth is billions of years old.) As a result of looking at the evidence more
closely most people would probably now label me as a “new earth
creationist.” (The earth is thousands of
years old.) However, I doubt if the
Answers in Genesis folks would consider me one.
(Answers in Genesis AIG is the organization who runs the museum. http://www.answersingenesis.org/ )
I will let you sort that out as you like, as I lay out my current thinking or
origins.
In
the 16, 17 and 1800’s astronomers, archeologist, geologists, and biologists
began to unearth evidence which many believed was indicative of a very
different history of the earth than the one generally understood to be reported
in the Bible.
For
instance Galileo, Copernicus, and Tycho Brahe showed
that the earth moved. This contradicted
what the Bible apparently said in Psalm 75:3 which says
the earth sits on pillars. How is a
Christian to understand all this? One
way is to flatly deny it as did the Catholic Church when it condemned Galileo
for his teaching and did not concede he was right until 1992. (See http://novan.com/galileo.htm
) Another way is to abandon the idea
that the Bible is literally God’s word.
Many have done this to their ultimate ruin. The third way is to try to find a way to
harmonize the teaching of scripture with the theories of science. Many Christians condemn this method as
compromising with the secular world view, but there are few that do not do it
themselves. If you think you don’t do this,
please read Psalm 75:3 and tell me with a straight face that you think the
earth sits on pillars.
Either
the
earth sits on pillars, the Bible is using a figure of speech, or the Bible is
untrue. I believe the Bible is using a
figure of speech. Psalms is poetry. You should expect to find many figures of
speech in it. This is where I differ
from AIG who try to take the moral high road and claim that people who
harmonize the Scriptures with science differently than them are wrong at the
outset for “compromising.” You either harmonize scripture with your understanding of
reality, ignore scripture, or ignore reality.
There are no other choices. AIG
is just harmonizing differently than some other people.
When I first became a Christian I believed in guided
evolution – that is, what the biologists said about evolution was true but God
had guided the process. However, being a
Christian brought me in contact with a number of people who did not believe
this way. As I began to sift the
evidence for myself I gradually realized that the theory of evolution was
nonsense. (See Tuesday, April 1, 2008
entry of http://www.tntcarden.com/favorites.htm
for an explanation of the failure of the theory of evolution.)
However,
the ancient age of the earth still seemed to be strongly supported. Both the geologic record and the long
distance to the stars seemed to clearly show that the earth was hundreds of
millions or billions of years old. There
are several ways to harmonize this view with the Genesis account. One is the Gap theory which says that many
ages passed between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gap_creationism
) Another way is to interpret the six
days in Genesis as each being a eon of time instead of
a literal 24 hour day. A third way is to
notice that Genesis 1 is poetry, and just consider the whole thing to be a
figure of speech which tries to convey the most important parts of a larger
event we can not possibly understand. There are other ways but I was content to
leave it at that for a while. The
important point, after all, is that God created the heavens and the earth.
For
several years now this point of view has no longer been comfortable. The geological support for an old earth has
been eroding. (pun
intended.) Creation Scientists were
constantly coming up with viable alternative explanations for the evidence and
asking questions that evolutionary scientists could not answer. However, the astronomical evidence remained
unassailable, or so I thought.
What
I have learned in the last few days is that there are many possible ways to
harmonize distant stars with the Genesis account that will make the earth
young. One is that the Genesis account
is describing the creation of the solar system, not the universe. When it says it is an account of when He
created the heavens and the earth it could just as easily be translated sky and
earth or atmosphere and earth. On the
fourth day the phrase “he made the stars also” in verse 16 could be understood
as a parenthetical referring to an earlier creation. In any event there is no way that you can
understand Genesis 1 to be a complete account of the creation of the universe
because it does not describe the creation of the angels or of God’s home in
heaven.
Another
way is to look at the Genesis 1 account as coming from a local perspective
rather than an omniscient one. For
instance in Job 37:9 the Bible says that north winds are cold. That is only true from the perspective of the
Northern Hemisphere. It may be that God
created the rest of the universe in such a way that the light from it only
arrived on earth during the creation week reported in Genesis 1. It looked like they appeared on day 4, so it
is reported that way.
Another
possibility is that light travels much faster between stars when it is outside
of their “gravity wells,” and even faster between galaxies. To understand this you must remember that a
“light year” is a measure of distance, not time. If light travels faster in space unbent by
gravity it could go hundreds of “light years” of distance in just a few
minutes. Since we know light bends
around the gravity wells of the stars (this is an observed fact) we know that
it travels faster between the stars.
Most scientists guess that it is only a small difference in speed, but
that is just an educated guess. It could
be significantly faster between the stars.
We have no way to directly measure that unless we travel outside the
solar system.
The
astrophysicist at AIG has other possible explanations as well, which either I
do not understand or do not agree with.
The point is that there is plenty of evidence to support the idea of a
young earth and since that is what the Bible says on the face of it, there is
no reason to try to harmonize it further.
The young earth idea has become the simplest explanation for all the
evidence and I will adopt it until convinced otherwise.
The
important point is that none of this has anything to do with my salvation or
the effectiveness of my Christian walk.
My destiny in heaven has been sealed by the Holy Spirit regardless of my
thinking about the origins of the universe.
Lord,
help me to be faithful to You and Your word.
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