A Christian Worldview from Silicon Valley

I recently discovered a fact so amazing to me that I’ve been sharing it with my friends in casual conversation. I have no idea, looking back on some of those conversations, how I have managed to bring the Amazon River into the discussion, but somehow I have. And now here I am bringing it up again and sharing it with you.

The particular fact is that of all the fresh water that flows into any ocean from all the rivers in the world, 15% of it comes from one source — the Amazon River. In addition, fresh water from the Amazon can be found 100 miles out into the ocean, its flow is so strong.

Think about those facts for a moment and the power of the Amazon will begin to wash over you, and if it affects you the same way it did me, you will soon be sharing the wonder of that power with others, too.

But the one who made the Amazon is far more powerful than that, and I confess that it has been a while since I’ve somehow managed to work the power of Jesus into a casual conversation and share his amazing grace.

Paul, it seems, never tired of telling people about the power of Jesus and praying that they would know it. That’s only part of what we’ll be thinking about in our message on Sunday, January 20 (A Prayer for PACC), but it is worthy of our reflection all by itself.

Every blessing,

Lewis

I have a problem with theology, the idea of having a theology, or is it forming a theology?

My friends will tell you I have lots of problems, this not being the least of them. I remember sitting in a Biblical Theology class many moons ago. Moby Dick was still a minnow. Moses didn’t even need to shave yet. The Colorado River hadn’t even started carving the Grand Canyon. Okay, that Colorado River had NO part in the Grand Canyon. I know that.

In BT class. I remember listening to the professor tell me all about the attributes of God, God’s relation to the universe, about the divinity of the creator, blah, blah, blah, ZZZzzzz!!

Maybe I should have stayed awake. As for me, however, I thought, ‘Who is this guy and why does he have the right to tell me how to put the Bible together? When is the Bible Jigsaw class offered? Or, is this it?’

When a student begins to create his/her theology, it becomes just that, the student’s theology, that student’s view of how the Bible fits together, that student’s attempt to put God in a box and say, “This is what God is like.”

I don’t buy into it.Rather, we ought to ask. “What is God like in the book of Mark, or in Job, or in any ONE of the epistles, or from a prophet or king’s point of view?”

I don’t find the need to piece the Bible together to form ‘a theology’ and think that in some/many instances it is not even a good thing to do.

After all, the Corinthians had a theology but they likely never read Big John or the little Johns and so on.

Ask me my theology and I will ask you which book of the Bible do you want to talk from.

What’s your theology?

The high tech grid called Silicon Valley lies between the Santa Cruz Mountain Range to the west and the Diablo Range to the east. From my home on a typical day, we can see the mountains vaguely in the distance, more or less obscured by clouds, rain, fog, or smog.

On some summer days, the mountains disappear entirely from view, replaced by a thick curtain of murky air. I dislike those days; I feel trapped in an opaque bell jar, disconnected from the earth and my larger environment.

This morning, however, was a rarity — perfect viewing conditions. As I drove along the highway, the atmosphere was so clear that the mountain appeared to have moved within touching distance. I couldn’t help but dwell on the sight, point it out to my kids, and ask my friends if they’d noticed.

My relationship with Jesus is like this situation. The murkiness of the space between has a great deal to do with whether I experience closeness with him, but it doesn’t change the fact that he actually is right there, very close to me. When I’m talking with him, depending on him, learning about him, and pointing him out to others, the spiritual air between us clarifies.

Jesus is closer than we think.

How do you keep the space between clear?

As we opened Ephesians last Sunday we found this wonderful phrase from Paul: … just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him. (Ephesians 1.4).

Many people read that and immediately get stuck on the “before the foundation of the world” part. I’m not suggesting we should ignore that, but the three words that grabs my attention are “He chose us….”

I was reminded again just how powerful being chosen can be as I watched a “reality” show called Dance War. Two professional choreographers had narrowed more than 1,000 applicants down to 14, and they were in the process of selecting their own teams from that group. The challenge was that they could only choose six each, which meant that two of the 14 were not going on with the show.

In the end there were three guys and three gals waiting. One choreographer selected a boy and a girl, leaving four. Now the last choreographer had to choose a boy and a girl. They would be in, and the two not chosen would be out.

The looks on the faces of those who were chosen told of their joy, their relief, their unmitigated happiness. One of them ran to the one who chose her and hugged her tightly, the other one chosen covered his face with his hands in disbelief and gratitude and then jumped in the air — higher than he could before, because the weight of anxiety was lifted.

Let us run to the One who chose us, and let us hug him tightly as we express our joy, gratitude — and even surprise — at being chosen.

Every blessing,

Lewis

In my message yesterday morning I read Ephesians 1.1-14. That is a powerful section of scripture, filled with wonderful statements of blessing and praise, and so it would be easy to overlook verse 2. This verse, which is part of the salutation of Paul to his readers, says simply, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (By the way, he uses exactly the same greeting in Philippians, a letter he wrote at essentially the same time as Ephesians!)

“Grace and peace” is a Christian greeting that follows the two forms of salutation used by Greeks and Hebrews in their letters, but it raises them to a new level even as it combines them. A traditional Greek greeting would be “rejoice” but here it is replaced by the Christian term “grace,” which of course means unearned or unmerited favor, especially the unmerited favor of God.

“Peace” is a Hebrew greeting which we still hear and use today — shalom — and in this context it speaks of tranquility of soul and friendship with God rather than the absence of conflict.

And so Paul has taken conventional phrases of courteous greeting from both the Jews and Gentiles and transformed them into a marvelous Christian greeting. Not unlike, perhaps, God took people from both the Jews and Gentiles, people like us, and transformed them into his own. Grace and peace to you this day.

Every blessing,

Lewis

It is the 12th anniversary for an instrument I worked on that is still going strong.

I worked on the MDI instrument on this spacecraft, which, in the not too distant past, got lost.

At the time of this spacecraft’s loss, a high ranking ESA official made a comment that stuck with me.

I wish I had the actual words, but it was something like this: “Returning full functionality to the spacecraft is about as likely as Jesus Christ returning to the earth.”

At least that is how I remember the quote.

Well, after the recovery, I would have given zero chance that the birefringent crystals that made up the Lyot filter would have survived the cold temperature. After all, these are just rocks (calcite crystals) dug out of the ground. One slight imperfection, and they shatter into a beautiful pattern of shards. As the spacraft was slowly warmed, I wondered about the comment.

After the instruments were turned on, all 10 crystals worked perfectly. All the components, and instruments were subjected to -50C temperatures or colder and survived this ordeal.

I’m reminded of the scripture “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40)

This morning, I awoke and turned to my lovely wife and asked her what time she got to bed last night and what she had been working on.

She said she was writing a BLOG. She was turned away from me when she said it was titled “Living in Color” I heard “Living in Clutter” and so after a short laugh at ourselves, I got the inspiration for my first ever blog post.

I get up this morning to gather the kids together and get them breakfast. Yes, this is my only day to sleep in, but my wife got to bed at 4:00 am after writing her blog and I’ll try to give her a few extra winks.

After clearing a small space in the junk mail, I consume my breakfast. Returning to my bedroom, I can’t find my computer to start my blog. I’ve got no idea where it is, and can’t even see it as my wife points to it on the love seat in the living room. It wasn’t even buried, just camouflaged with some other gear deposited there. (more…)

I don’t have a cell phone, so I find them more annoying than anything else (although it’s reassuring to know that they’re so prolific, we cell-phone-less folks can always find one to borrow in an emergency).  Maybe they’re making better cell phones these days, but I often find it hard to hear the person on the other end.  The worst part is, they’re annoying even when you aren’t using one. 

Whenever you find yourself behind a bad driver, chances are they’re on their cell phone (yes, I’m looking forward to July 1, 2008 when hands-free devices are required in CA).  And if you’re with someone who has a cell phone, you can be put on hold when you’re not even on the phone (nothing like being prioritized in person).

But I wonder:  who are people talking to all the time?  Why?  Is the shower our only haven of solitude left (although I found waterproof cell phones on Google)?  Are we losing the ability to be alone with our own thoughts?

Worse yet, is God getting a busy signal?

In “Experiencing God : Knowing and Doing the Will of God” by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King, the following statement struck me:

“If I have trouble hearing God speak, I am in trouble at the very heart of my Christian experience.” 

If we don’t give God a chance, how can we hear Him?

Why do we prefer to talk to “real people,” who often let us down, instead of God, whose love never fails?

Ephesians is a remarkable letter for many reasons, and as we begin thinking about it this Sunday we will be challenged as a church and inspired as individuals to grow up into Christ — even if we think we are pretty much grown up already!

The title of this week’s message is Every Blessing, and that is a phrase I first noticed as a closing on an e-mail I received from a friend and brother. I immediately liked it, and part of the reason was that it seemed somehow more sincere than the often used “Blessings.” But as I began to think about it I saw another dimension in the phrase that made me appreciate it even more.

Of course my initial understanding was that my friend was saying he wanted me to have every blessing, and that was nice. But the additional way I read it now comes from Ephesians 1.3, which in the NIV says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Do you see it? The phrase Every Blessing is not just a prayer for someone to be blessed, it is a reminder that every blessing comes from God through Christ!

The story is told of a wealthy man who would always take the time to pick up a penny when he saw one on the street. He didn’t do it because he wanted the money, he did it because he could read on it “In God We Trust” and be reminded of the true source of his wealth. May we be reminded, too, of the source of…

Every Blessing,

Lewis

In my message on January 6 we looked at Hebrews 12.1-3, which says in part “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus….” I said we need to “run the race” with focus, and I said that focus is required for success in almost any endeavor. What I didn’t talk about was one of the great benefits of focus, and that benefit applies to Christianity as much as it applies to archery, fly-fishing, or even running a race.

When you are completely focused on the target, you cannot think about mechanics. That is a good thing, because thinking about mechanics is a leading cause of failure. In other words, if I’m absorbed in hitting a baseball and all of my attention is on the ball that has been pitched, I can’t also be thinking about *how* to hit a baseball. How does that apply to Christianity? Too many of us get caught up in the mechanics of how to be a Christian and we take our eyes off of Jesus. We lose our focus.

I can just imagine Jesus standing there at the finish line, shining in all of his glory, hoping that we’ll be looking at him as we run and smiling at us as we do with his arms outstretched ready to receive us. Picture that, love him, keep your eyes on him, and no one will have to tell you how to run.

Every blessing,

Lewis