This is a cool verse to say in a deep basso voice, preferably with a hood over your head, holding a lit candle, in a dark room! Just remember though. There is no situation... There is no circumstance... He is always there with you.
I don't care what you say, you ain't all that good. You know what I am talking about. You've done enough things in your life you'd prefer people not to know about. We all get it wrong... Don't hold it against yourself... God forgives you! Don't hold it against someone else... If there is someone you need to forgive, today is a good day!
Just stop today at some point and take a look at the sky... How really cool is it!!?? Seriously!!!
He made it!
Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (NIV)The Bible is like a car. Sometimes it's hard to wrap your head around how it works. But you know... if you hit the accelerator pedal, the car goes! This verse is like the Bible accelerator pedal.
Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (NIV)My parents used to tell me... "You are what you eat!"... if that were the case then I am a walking bowl of pasta with a whole lot of sauce and parmesan cheese! Don't give in to pasta... or peer pressure! Cling to what is good!
You know, you don't have to be the all-star super saint of the universe! Just let your light shine. Be as good as you can... and God, and others around you, will be blessed by it.
We got bombarded last Friday and Saturday... Spent Saturday and yesterday shoveling. I guess it makes for a good work out, but my back is not happy with me... Australia, here I come, give me the warm weather!!! We're getting out just in time too... they are calling for more snow on Tuesday (another 4 to 6 inches!!!).
I've been following the band "The Church" since I was 15 (and yes, that was some time ago!). Just recently I got to see them live for the first time (in all places, Fairfax, Virginia!!!).
As a pastor it's always tough to say that one of your favourite musical bands is not "Christian". It's almost like it's a taboo! There are many of us who do our best to put a "Christian" spin on the bands we love (U2 comes to mind, not to mention the many country music artists!!).
Reality is though, there are musicians that are just not Christian that we are fond of. And you know what? That's ok! We just need to be careful not to make idols of them. That just doesn't go for musicians, it also goes towards all other areas in our lives (our favourite sports teams, actors and actresses, food, etc.).
Jesus Christ has to be our Alpha and Omega, our first and last. He is my Lord, He is my above all. So, as much I like "The Church", I love Jesus.
Who do you love?
This is the view from our back porch this morning.
Yeah I know it's pretty...
It's not fun shoveling it though!!!!
It's easy to create a world of your own through the internet. It raises many questions though, the obvious one being: who are we when no one is around?
It’s easy for us to create a persona, and even live that persona, if we are never required to physically interact with people. The internet has made the world much more accessible, but it has also created a pseudo mondo – a world that doesn’t really exist. Of course relativism would challenge me by saying “who am I to say it’s not real?”.
Simple you say Rob? Simple it is. Like driving an automatic transmission car, it is easy, but the first time it’s hard. And if it’s hard for you, that’s because you’ve never done it before. Take some time out and analyze yourself in the quiet, still darkness. Don’t give yourself excuses or seek to justify your personal crusade. And as you stand in that quiet, lonely moment, don’t forget, the Lord will is always with you.
- The Laws of Probability generally state that any chance smaller than 1 in 1050 is impossible. That is, beyond that, the probability is zero. I say generally because there is a debate between it being to the power of 18 all the way up to the power of 110. I've taken Probability expert Emile Borel's count.
- There are 20 different types amino acids that make up a protein molecule.
- They need to be sequenced in the correct order for the protein to be formed. One incorrect amino acid in sequence will prevent the protein molecule from forming.
- They have to be left handed Amino Acids. There are no right handed Amino Acids in living beings. One right handed Amino Acid will prevent the protein molecule from forming.
- There is no known natural process that can isolate left handed from right handed Amino Acids.
- The probability of just one small protein molecule being formed from left handed Amino Acids by chance is approximately 1 in 10130.
- Amino Acids have to be connected by peptide bonds. Atoms in molecules are generally connected by covalent bonds. Another thing to add to the statistics.
- The Amino Acid sequence has to be linear in order for a protein molecule to form. It cannot be a structure that branches out and develops lateral chains, but has to be straight, with each Amino Acid following each other in order.
- The probability of all of this coming together is more than 1 in 10900.
- For a cell we need a lot of protein molecules.
- Not only that but the protein molecules would need to form at the same time, right next to each other, under the right temperature and atmospheric conditions.
- A cell has about 2,000 enzymes (various "catalytic" proteins made up of various amino acid sequences).
- The probability of an actual cell being formed is more than 1 in 1040,000.
- One of the simplest single cell bacteria we know is called a Mycoplasma. Not a nice bloke, it tends to be parasitic. It contains thousands of protein molecules and has a genome sequence which allows it to be self sufficient. It has DNA that helps it produce new protein molecules, and RNA, which works in conjunction with it's ribosome, to line up the left handed Amino Acids. It's complexity is incredible.
What's your conclusion?
