Vanishing bees. In the United States tens of billions of bees have gone missing (more than a quarter of the country’s bee population), and scientists don’t know why. Although conspiracy theorists are blaming everything from cell phones to Osama Bin Laden, scientists are exploring more likely suspects such as a virus, a fungus or a pesticide.

Strait Track. Russia wants to build a railway link under the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska. The 63-mile (102-kilometer) tunnel would be the longest in the world, twice as long as the Channel Tunnel connecting France to the United Kingdom. If completed, you could conceivably ride from New York to London by train, three-quarters of the way around the world. The plans for the tunnel include a high-speed train line, oil and gas pipelines, and a fiber-optic cable network.

(Part 5 in a series of posts on Habakkuk.)

Habakkuk 1:2-4

Habakkuk was a prophet who struggled with questions about evil in the world and why God permits evil. Habakkuk’s three big questions were: “Does God care? Is God fair? Is God there?” People are still asking the same questions today. The book of Habakkuk traces the prophet’s journey from doubt to faith as he brought his complaints to God and found satisfying answers to his questions.

Habakkuk 1:2-11 deals with the first of these questions: Does God care? We will just look at verses 2-4 today.

Habakkuk 1:2-4 – 2 How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 4 herefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. (NIV)

“Does God care?” It is a question that has haunted countless persons over the ages as they have grappled with the problem of evil in the world. “If God is all powerful, then why does he allow evil and suffering? Is God concerned about us? Does he notice all the troubles that take place on our planet? Does God care?” If you have ever asked questions similar to these, then you are not alone. Habakkuk struggled with the same questions and doubts, and he was a prophet!

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The Dallas Morning News recently conducted a Q&A with Mark Regnerus, associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas in Austin. Regnerus helped lead a multi-year research project on teens, religion and sex, the results of which appear in his new book, Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teens.

Here are some excerpts:

One of the arguments in your book is that religion makes a difference in the lives of American teens. What difference does religion make?

Simply being Presbyterian or Catholic or evangelical is not as important as internalizing the faith. Kids for whom Christianity is a central identity – not just another aspect of their lives – tend to make more thoughtful and mature decisions about sex. But this is rarer than most people think: Less than 10 percent of all youth do this.

In the book, you write about surprising findings concerning evangelical teens. What were they?

Evangelical teens express conservative attitudes about sex, but they are very average in their actual behavior. Why? Because evangelical kids live in two worlds. The new world tells them to value career, self-fulfillment, happiness and entertainment – and this is what adults and parents model for them. But the old world – to which evangelicals still pay deference – values keeping commitments, God, marriage and delaying pleasure.

Most American kids only live in the new world. Evangelicals still inhabit both. The result is conflict and compromise: old world values but new world actions.

Parents and adults, did you get that? Unless we model what we believe, our teens are less likely to follow through on what they believe. We teach with our lives as much if not more than with our words.

HT: The Evangelical Outpost

Chitty-chitty-bang-bang, we love you. Popular Mechanics has a neat article on the history and future of flying cars, including the nifty 1956 Aerocar that was able to “leap from the highway at 55 mph and cruise up to 100 mph at around 12,000 ft. with a range of up to 300 mi.”

NASA has jumped into the action with a 15-year plan to launch three successive models.

The first, scheduled for 2008, will resemble a compact Cessna with folding wings that converts to road use (it shouldn’t cost any more than a Mercedes-Benz). The second, with a rollout planned for 2015, will be a two-person pod with small wings and a rear-mounted propeller. The third will rise straight up like a mini-Harrier jet and should be on the market by 2020.

And what about the danger of mid-air collissions?

Personal air vehicles will use GPS and cell phone technology to automatically broadcast information about location and speed to ground-based towers. From the ground, an automated computer system will update the flight path of every sky vehicle and provide instant directions—automatically avoiding collisions and minimizing flight time. Meanwhile, on-board sensors will detect nearby trees, buildings and power lines and avoid collisions.

Move over George Jetson – the future is coming.

Here is a neat online Christian radio station for kids at HisKids.net. Great music and format. They even offer a Wi-Fi Family Radio and Media Player for listening around the house.

Yesterday’s message was the second in the Doing Church Together series from the book of 1 Timothy. The message was called, Doing God’s Work By Faith, taken from 1 Timothy 1:3-11.

1 Timothy 1:3-11 – 3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work — which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.
8 We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9 We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers — and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. (NIV)

The main idea of the message was that the church should be doing God’s work by faith. Here is a brief recap of the message:

How do we do God’s work by faith?

1) Practice spiritual discernment (verses 3-4)
    – Do not allow false teaching.
    – Do not get distracted by non-essentials.

2) Be motivated by love (verses 5-7)
    – Guard your heart, conscience and faith.
    – Teach what will actually help others in their faith.
    – Do not seek to glorify yourself.

3) Use the law properly (verses 8-11)
    – The law is good if one uses it properly
    – The law is made not for the righteous but for the unrighteous.
    – Sound doctrine conforms to the gospel.

You are not saved by obeying God’s law. The law can only expose your sin and condemn you before God’s throne. You are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. This is the gospel that saves us. This is the gospel that God has entrusted to us. This is the gospel that allows us as a church to do God’s work by faith.

Note: To read the complete message, go to the Sermons tab at the top of the blog.

I love meteor showers. I once was driving through the state of Colorado at night when the sky positively erupted with falling stars. I pulled my car over into a nearby cornfield, lay on top of the roof, and enjoyed God’s light show for over an hour before things calmed down again.

The Lyrid Meteor Shower will be observable in the sky this weekend. Although the Lyrids have not been particularly strong in recent years, they are notably unpredictable and can sometimes offer up a spectacular show.

SkyTonight.com offers the following facts about the Lyrids Meteor Shower:

The Lyrid meteor shower has been observed for more than 2,000 years; Chinese records say “stars fell like rain” during the shower of 687 BC … In 1982 the rate unexpectedly reached 90 for a single hour — and 180 to 300 per hour for a few minutes. A brief outburst of 100 per hour was also seen in 1922. And on April 20, 1803, residents of Richmond, Virginia, upon being rousted out of bed by a fire bell, were startled to see great numbers of meteors in all parts of the sky.”

In the United States the Lyrids are due to peak this year during the daylight hours at 6 p.m. EDT (22h Universal Time) on Sunday, April 22, but they can still be seen up to 15 hours before and after the peak. Your best time for viewing if you live in the U.S.? The early morning hours of Sunday April 22nd and Monday April 23rd.

Note: Sky & Telescope has an interactive sky chart where they show you the position of the stars in the sky for any date, time and viewing location on the planet.

(Part 4 in a series of posts on Habakkuk.)

Habakkuk 1:1

Today we will look at Habakkuk’s introductory statement in 1:1.

Habakkuk 1:1 – The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Only three prophets in the Old Testament specifically identify themselves as prophets at the beginning of their books. Habakkuk is one of them; the other two are Haggai and Zechariah.

Habakkuk identifies himself as a prophet, and he identifies the book that follows as “the oracle that he received.” An oracle is another word for prophecy. Habakkuk is saying from the very start that the message in this book is not a message of his own devising. Rather, it is prophecy. It is a message from the Lord.

There are several Hebrew words that can be translated “oracle” or “prophecy,” but this particular word also conveys the idea of a burden. It is used especially to describe prophecies that carry a warning or a rebuke for the receivers. It may also imply that bringing a prophecy of judgment upon a people was a burden for the prophet as well. It is never easy to be the bearer of bad news.

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Are you trying to get out of debt? Are you looking for sound financial counseling? Here is some of the best (and funniest) advice on finances you will ever find, courtesy of Steve Martin and the Saturday Night Live gang.

(Video length – 2:28)

They say humor hits hardest the closer it hits to reality. I am going to order my copy of “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford” as soon as I can!

HT: Bradley Wright’s Weblog

The Church of Pembroke Pines in Florida has begun holding worship services seven nights a week in addition to their regular Sunday morning worship services. They are asking 600 of their members to commit to one of the night services on a weekly basis for the next year. This is partly to help with overcrowding on Sunday mornings, but also to reach out to the community in a new way.

They call the new plan 7 Nights of Worship at 7 PM. Each night of the week has a different host pastor and a particular style or focus. For example, Sunday nights have a focus on worship, Monday nights focus on young adults and young married couples, etc. However, the same message is shared at each service for the week (either live or by video).

Here is a blurb from their website:

Have you ever needed to pray or worship during the week? Have you ever wished there was a place to go where you could release your burdens and focus on something bigger than your problems? The gyms, bars, and retail stores are open every day. Why not the church? Why not our church?

I lived in South Florida for ten years just north of Pembroke Pines, so I know this area well. Although my theology of the local church and preferred style leans more towards the whole body worshiping together, this seems like a bold and creative step for the church, and I pray God uses it in a mighty way to reach more people with the gospel.

HT: Monday Morning Insight

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold the constitutionality of Congress’ 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. This is the first time a specific abortion procedure has been successfully banned in the United States.

As someone who is strongly pro-life, I was pleased to see this ruling. If you would like to know how the various presidential candidates have responded to this historic decision, 2008 Central has been compiling the candidates’ official statements. 2008 Central seeks to provide “non-partisan comprehensive coverage of the 2008 U.S. presidential election.”

HT: SmartChristian.com

Update: PastorBlog has assembled a number of links for further reading about the Supreme Court’s decision.

(Part 3 in a series of posts on Habakkuk.)

The prophet Habakkuk had three big questions about God. If we are honest, we will admit that we sometimes have the same three questions about God ourselves. The three questions are:

1. Does God care?
2. Is God fair?
3. Is God there?

Do you ever feel that way about God? Habakkuk did. That’s the way things looked to him before he went to God with his doubts and his confusion.

Let me give you a quick summary of the three sections in the book as organized around these three questions:

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