Exploring Christ’s perspective

Science and Faith complement each other.
Faith tells us who created everything.
Science tells us how it works.
I write SciFi and commentary to explore how they relate.

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Fri, 15 Mar 2024
view from space of sun rising over the Earth for another good morning
Sun dawing over Earth. Elements of this image furnished by NASA

I was MAF’s (Mission Aviation Fellowship) Ecuador Program Manager stationed in the Andean mountain city of Quito, Ecuador when a mission director asked for a special flight. Two days earlier, he sent a large team down into Ecuador’s coastal jungle to minister in a small town.

But,” he explained, “a government official summoned us to a critical meeting tomorrow morning. I need three of the men on that team for this meeting and there’s no way they can get back here in time. Could you fly there today, spend the night, and bring them back as soon as possible in the morning?” read more ...

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Fri, 08 Mar 2024
man skies down steep slope remembering to attack the hill

The ski instructor commands, “Attack the hill!” Easy to say, standing on the flats. Harder to apply while hurtling down a snowy precipice, dodging trees and rocks. Yet, the truth is that putting weight on ski fronts gives control, leaning back throws it away. Stretching our face closer to up-rushing destruction offers safety, leaning back steals all chances. Leaning forward yields survival’s only hope, leaning back bears only bad fruit.

Not exactly intuitive. Just like walking with God. He draws us surely, inexorably to Himself. We race through time towards a final meeting that seems so like destruction we name it death. Our self-instinct pulls us back, clawing at powdered snow on ice. Yet, seeing our plight, He calls out, “Lean forward!” read more ...

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Fri, 01 Mar 2024
single-engine, high-wing, airplane barely clears trees on takeoff that's just good enough
This pilot’s takeoff calculations were just good enough to clear the trees. What happens when they’re not?

Our pastor asked us, “How good is good enough?”

Good enough for what? Pleasing people? Earning a good-person reputation? Showing genuine kindness? All worthy, reachable goals. While pleasing people is one thing, getting into heaven is an entirely different matter. Standards, after all, restrict entrance. Fortunately, Jesus illuminates the bar clearly. He says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Unfortunately, while acting good pleases God, good acting doesn’t get us to God. Jesus confirmed that no one acts or thinks good enough to make the cut. “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.” read more ...

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Thu, 22 Feb 2024
Rocks and particles of stellar dust floating in space

Our solar system contains a lot of junk. Planets, moons, comets, and asteroids sail along in a pool, dirty with bits left over from creation and debris from celestial collisions. Engineers design spaceships to withstand the constant cosmic sandstorm—less dense than the earthly variety but much faster. Typical particles zip along at 20,000 miles per hour.

Fortunately, micrometeorites are tiny—one-quarter of a hair’s thickness. But even little things can add up big. Every year, 30,000 tons (that’s 16,700 gross weight Cessna-206s or 7 million gallons of milk) of extraterrestrial dust settles gently on oceans, fields, and rooftops. read more ...

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Fri, 16 Feb 2024
Aerial view of large rocket launch over clouds because engineers had a Newtonian bias

Three things escape understanding; four remain a mystery:

* Particles that arrive before they leave
* God’s patience claimed as permission
* Temptation called His leading
* A cold heart described as His peace

We know that the cause happens first, followed by the effect. But quantum mechanics exposes our Newtonian bias and details an absurd universe rebelling against common sense.

Likewise, at the beginning, we agreed to see things the Lord’s way. But walking by His Spirit defies common sense. Our world bias paints us at the center of creation and disposes us to favor counterfeits above reality. Distorted truth—far more dangerous than the obvious lies we preach against—misplaces our confidence. We renege, ever so slightly, on total surrender and imagine successful negotiations for a few small, reasonable terms. That blinds us to the trouble of divided loyalties. Choosing between Jesus and the Devil is easy. The hard fight lies in the subtle, half-conscious middle ground of mixed motivation. Locked heart chambers hide idols of significance, security, jealousy, and fear, allowing them only to be fed regularly but never brought to trial. read more ...

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Thu, 08 Feb 2024
The prophet Samuel confronts king Saul because he hears the bleating of sheep

Saul’s long legs crossed the room in three strides. He turned, paced to the opposite wall, and returned again. “You’re sure it’s him?” he asked the soldier standing before him.

The guard frowned at the tense reception. “Ah, yes, sir. Abijah spotted him on the trail from Carmel. He has good eyes and knows Samuel’s walk.” More carefully, he added, “We thought you’d want to know right away, sir. He’ll be here soon …”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Saul dismissed him with a distracted wave, stared at nothing, and chewed a fingernail. Outside, shepherds organized flocks and herds under careful, appraising eyes. The best would be sacrificed, of course, but the very good remainder … Well, the men expected their right of plunder to be honored. Besides, taking care of Israel’s defenders made good sense for both morale and the economy. It was the wise and prudent thing to do. Samuel would understand good stewardship. Sandals slapped through the door. read more ...

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Thu, 01 Feb 2024
first responders race to demolished building even if inhabitants are accustomed to rescue

The Samaritan forgot when he’d chosen shuffle over stride. Pain hadn’t stopped him. Dragging his drooping left foot across hot, sharp rocks produced no sensation at all. After a dozen falls gave as many painless, oozing wounds, sliding seemed safer. He clutched his robe close with the remainder of his left hand. His right hand—still with solid thumb and index finger—raised, swinging his staff forward in the familiar cadence—thump, slide; thump, slide. Sometimes, he’d keep rhythm with one of his Hebrew companions—until they noticed. He thought it fun, but they said fun was not for punished sinners. read more ...

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Thu, 25 Jan 2024
small plane flies into narrow canyon under overcast sky illustrating context channels

Clouds really like mountains—or maybe mountains really like clouds. Either way, the ceiling lowered the closer I flew to the badlands. A dark grey layer pressed down, obscuring all peaks and ridges. I dared not climb into the murk above. Soft, wispy grey hid solid granite. It was too far to go around to the left or right. Thick forest punctuated by a rock-strewn river set the lower limit. A narrow canyon offered the only way through the rock wall.

I configured the airplane for terrain flying by slowing to 80 knots and setting the flaps at 20°. Lower speed meant a tighter turning radius. Extending partial flaps gave more margin above stall speed. It also lowered the nose for a better view of what lay ahead. Setup like this, the airplane would immediately climb if I added any power, not that that was an option now. read more ...

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Thu, 18 Jan 2024
man suffers from painful ocean wave slap

Are we getting anywhere?” Thomas groaned, pulling an oar. “We’ve been rowing all night.” The windy darkness hid Peter’s wry smile as he pulled with the others, not wasting energy on wit. Dawn couldn’t be far off, and they weren’t even halfway yet. He guessed three, maybe three and a half miles at best.

Suddenly, James let out a long, low moan, “Nooo …”

Oh, not again, Peter thought. Some people just never get used to boats. “Just do it over the side!” he growled. read more ...

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Thu, 11 Jan 2024
wind blowing through open window billows curtains revealing starry sky full of invisible matter

Dark matter and dark energy make up most of our universe but elude detection, neither seen nor measured. Only their effect on surrounding galaxies betrays their presence. The morning breeze passes through open windows, invisible. Only billowing curtains and wet field smell translate its call of faraway adventure.

God’s favor flows around us continually, soaking everything with His goodness, yet, like a symphony to the deaf, passes unnoticed. Nor would any even suspect what they miss except for His distributors. He designed each of us to receive a specific piece of that blessing and then, in turn, dispense our unique portion. No two are identical, but together, we administer His grace in its various forms. read more ...

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