Misc. – Page 21 – Mark Spruill

A Faint Reflection

Sep 162010

A few nights ago, I went out with my little telescope to look at the stars. The light pollution in Atlanta is so bad that it makes it very difficult to see anything unless it is very bright, but I still found a few things worth seeing. There were some binary stars, a few barely visible galaxies, and three planets.

Venus was visible as the brightest planet. In fact, I think it is about the brightest object in the sky other than the Sun and moon. A little bit later, Jupiter rose in the South Eastern sky. It was bright, reflecting the Sun’s glory from millions of miles away. As I peered at it through the telescope, I could even see its moons. I decided to try for a bigger challenge.

A little up and to the right should be Uranus. Would it even be possible to spot such a far away planet? I searched. There were dots of light everywhere. But focusing in on one, in the right spot and about the right brightness, I noticed it was different. Stars appear as a pinprick of light, but this was a miniscule disk of blue-green color. I had found it.

What a wonderful creation. Almost 3,000 times less bright than Jupiter. Smaller and much farther away, it is a tiny disk of light far out in space. And yet, for those who take the time to look, it is still faithfully reflecting the glory of the Son.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
– 2 Corinthians 3:18

Battered

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Sep 132010

: A Battered & Tattered Butterfly

Ever feel like this?

This guy was sitting on my back patio, just slowly flapping his wings up and down. I don’t know if he could still fly or not. One thing I do know, he’s been through a lot.

When I took this picture, I could definitely relate. That was a few days ago. Today, I realize that I am still in the catepiller stage. I am grateful that when I break from my cocoon, my butterfly life will be in the Father’s meadow, full of sunshine and beauty. And my wings, will be eternally perfect.

Yellow Lights

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Aug 242010

The light was yellow. A big truck was in my rear view mirror. I had to decide fast. Slam on the brakes or go on through? I went on through. The light turned red. Was the camera watching? Will I receive a ticket in the mail? If I had stopped in time, would the truck have done the same?

We all face yellow lights in life. Sometimes we make the right decision. Sometimes we don’t. The consequences aren’t always a reliable indicator of a good decision. We may never know what the outcome of the “un-chosen” option would be. So, we pray, we listen, we do our best, and we keep driving, forgetting what is behind, and pressing on toward the goal.

TGIM?

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Aug 022010

Some Monday’s are particularly hard to get up and go to work. This one started off that way, along with a little guilt, compliments of a book I purchased yesterday. Now I know you can’t believe everything you read (this blog is proof of that) but sometimes I find it hard to ignore advice when it comes from a prominent, well respected writer.

One message of the book in question could be summarized thus: If you are doing what God has uniquely gifted you to do, you will enjoy going to work. If that is true, then there are a whole bunch of us who are not doing what God has in mind for us. It’s not that I hate my job, but if I had the choice, I would definitely pick a week-end over a week-day.

I am sure some might suggest that I change my job, but I can’t help but wonder if the writer of a letter to the Phillipians might have another suggestion. This author said he had learned to be content anywhere, which makes me think: What really needs to change? Is it my job . . . or my attitude?

Who Are You?

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Jul 192010

The song we sang in church yesterday morning said “We worship you for who you are.” As I face one of those “dry” periods in my relationship with God, it came alive with new meaning to me.

Today God, I worship not who you seem to be, but who you are.

Unexpected Impressions

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Jul 132010

I went to a funeral this Sunday and I will attend another before the week is out. A member of my Sunday School class passed away last week. It was pretty unexpected from what I hear. Mowing grass one minute, then with Jesus shortly thereafter. Tammy and I were taking food for the family when I heard about the second one. A co-worker at my company – a guy who was just in my office on Friday – was killed in a car accident on Saturday.

I know that people are living and dying every day. And I am sure many people have had to face death in a more close and personal way than I have. One thing is for sure. We all face it. Most of us will face it many times before the final time.

When I was about 14 years old, I had an encounter with death. It happened in the woods beside our house. A baby bird, a blue jay, had fallen out of the nest. It was too young to fend for itself so I tried to take care of it, but ultimately failed. It died. I cried. I have had much more serious encounters with death before and since that episode but I still remember how sad I felt that day. I remember feeling embarrassed because the death of this one baby bird affected me so. Even today, I don’t know why it affected me so deeply. It left an impression.

That’s the thing about death. It always leaves an impression. These two deaths have impressed me with the realization of how quickly and unexpectedly life on this earth can end. Our spirits are housed in a wonderful, but fragile bit of clay. It is in times like this that I cling to the spirit, and hold the clay a little less tightly. It is, after all, dust that will slip through your fingers no matter how tightly you hold on.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
– Romans 8:10-11　

The Morning After

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Jul 062010

I made coffee all over the counter this morning. I didn’t mean to, but I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I suppose it just had to happen on the first day back to work after a wonderful vacation.

It started last night when I set up the coffee maker to make coffee for me this morning. I cleaned the pot, filled it with 4 cups of water, then poured it in the coffee maker. I set the pot on the counter while I cleaned the basket and reloaded with filter and fresh coffee grounds. Then, I turned on the timer and went to bed.

When I shuffled to the kitchen this morning the coffee pot was still sitting where I left it and the nice coffee brew was all over the counter. As I see it, I only had two choices. a) I could wipe it up with a towel and then ring out the towel in my cup, or . . . b) I could pour some sugar and cream on the counter and lick it all up. I chose option “a”, because I couldn’t figure out how to stir the counter. It was too early to think straight and I hadn’t had my coffee yet.

I figure there is a moral in this story and it probably has something to do with not getting distracted. Pay attention to the details or you might wake up with a mess. King David got distracted and made a big mess. Then, not unlike me, he finally decided to suck it up and come clean. Or perhaps the lesson is simpler: If you are going to make coffee on the counter, be sure to pour the sugar and cream on first.

Human Nature

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Jul 012010

My vacation this year has reminded me how much I like nature. Sometimes I feel like I could never get enough of the mountains and the beach. They are beautiful places that show off the wonder of God’s creation.

On this vacation, we headed for the beach. We stopped along the way and spent one night at a swampy lake in Georgia.

Sam paddles through the cypress trees

It was beautiful, but after a little while, the heat and the bugs started bothering us, so we made for the air conditioned comfort of our nice bug-free camping trailer. The next morning, we pulled up camp and finished our two-day journey to the beach. Continue reading »

Worn Out Brakes, and Joy

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Jun 152010

I had to fix the brakes on my wife’s van yesterday. I didn’t want to do it. It was a lousy job to come home to after a full Monday at the office, but the brakes were making a noise so I decided I better look at them. Bad brakes and mountain driving are not a safe combination.

After dinner, there was a struggle to get the jack in place, a fight with lug nuts that involved a hammer and a breaker bar, and calipers that were at times downright uncooperative. The last rays of daylight were slipping away as Tammy pointed a pathetic excuse for a flashlight at the brake master cylinder. The lid came off easily enough, but I think it took us 15 minutes to get it back on. Now there was just the test drive left to do. Tammy carefully started off, disappeared up the street, then came back smiling. The brakes were working perfectly.

As the old pads (worn almost to the metal) were tossed in the trash, I began to have that feeling of statisfaction that comes from a job well done. It is odd how that works, this inverse relationship. The more you don’t want to do a thing, the more happy you are when it is done. The more difficult the job, the more relieved you are when it is completed. The more you dread the start, the greater joy you have at the finish.

Imagine a day over two thousand years ago, and One who had the most difficult task of all. As the pain and struggles from that long day ended, He declared, “It is finished.” Then came the joy. Perfect joy. Heavenly joy. Unimaginable joy.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
– Hebrews 12:1-3 NKJV

Throw It Away

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Jun 082010

We had communion last Sunday. It is almost always a moving experience as I eat the bread and drink the juice. Then I toss the plastic cup in the trash and it’s over.

The little cup that held the juice that represented the blood of Christ, tossed away as if it is nothing. It felt a bit strange, like the little cup ought to be more important. But if the bread represents Christ’s body, and the juice represents Christ’s blood, then what does the cup represent? I guess . . . nothing. What else do you need?

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
1Corinthians 2:2 NKJV

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