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Here is an incredible picture of the full moon rising over Saguaro National Park near Tuscon, Arizona. The picture was taken by astronomy photographer Stefan Seip on the evening of May 31, 2007 (June 1, 2007; 3:23 UT).

This is also an example of a “Blue Moon,” the second full moon to occur in a single calendar month. As viewed from the Americas, there were two full moons in May 2007 – one on May 2, and this one on the evening of May 31. Blue moons are infrequent, as in the expression, “Just once in a blue moon.” There will not be another one until the end of December 2009.

You can see more of Seip’s amazing space photos at his AstroMeeting website.

HT: APOD

Click links below for more Moon related posts:

• Mississippi Moon (Great song about the June solstice moon!)
• Solstice Moon Illusion
• Lunar Eclipse over the Dome of the Rock

Click here for more Space related posts.

Tim Challies blogged today about Albert Einstein’s wedding contract. See what you think of this:

Albert Einstein’s Wedding (Marriage) Contract:

A. You will make sure

1. that my clothes and laundry are kept in good order;
2. that I will receive my three meals regularly in my room;
3. that my bedroom and study are kept neat, and especially that my desk is left for my use only.

B. You will renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons. Specifically, you will forego

1. my sitting at home with you;
2. my going out or traveling with you.

C. You will obey the following points in your relations with me:

1. you will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way;
2. you will stop talking to me if I request it;
3. you will leave my bedroom or study immediately without protest if I request it.

D. You will undertake not to belittle me in front of our children, either through words or behavior.

Wow! Other than the final point, that’s a pretty brutal contract. What’s even more amazing is that his wife accepted it! Be sure to read Tim’s article for more background on Einstein and the contract as well as some good, theological reflection on it all.

Yesterday’s message in The Ten Commandments for Today series focused on a verse found in the middle of the Second Commandment. The message was called The Sins of the Fathers, taken from Exodus 20:5.

Exodus 20:5 – “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.” (NIV)

The main idea of the message was that we need to break the cycle of generational sin for ourselves and for our children. Here is the outline of the message:

Three things the Bible teaches about generational sin:

1) There is no escape: We must all face the consequences of generational sin.

    – Generational sin includes human, cultural and family sin.

    – God punishes sin both directly and by consequences.

2) There is no excuse: We are all responsible for our own choices and actions.

    – You are responsible because you do not have to follow your parents’ sins.

    – You are responsible because you choose to sin.

3) There is no need for despair: Why? Because Jesus Christ offers us hope.

    – There is hope for the parent.

    – There is hope for the children.

Application: What can you do about generational sin?

1. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
2. Pray for your children.
3. Set the example.
4. Bring your children up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

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

Nancy Beach says she needs to cut back on blogging so she can watch more TV. “This is truly another Golden Age for television, and anyone intrigued by the craft of writing/directing and acting can learn boatloads about character development and the creation of powerful moments. Some of the most gifted artists now invest their skills in the medium of television, and while there is still a lot of junk to wade through, there are also some gems to be deliciously devoured.”

Mark Roberts reflects on his sixteen-plus years as pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in California as he prepares to move to Texas for his new position as Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge. “It seems appropriate for me to compose some thoughts as I finish my ministry at Irvine Presbyterian Church. In the days ahead, I’ll put up whatever strikes me as worth sharing with my blog readers. My hope in doing this is not only to do some personal reflection, but also to help others in their thinking about the church in general and pastors in particular.”

Kevin Howard is offering a free download of his book Growing Up in Christ: Biblical Teaching for New Believers. “While this work discusses topics you would expect in a discipleship book, it also addresses issues that some books overlook–church discipline, fasting, sexual purity, tithing, dressing modestly, dealing with the poor, profanity, Sabbath rest, cults, persecution, dating and choosing a spouse, submitting to pastoral authority, confessing sins to other believers, involvement in missions.”  I did a quick scan of the book’s contents, and it looks like excellent material.  (HT: Between Two Worlds)

John Piper shares what he said at his granddaughter’s funeral this week. Felicity Margaret Piper was stillborn at full term on September 22, 2007.  “My father died six months and sixteen days before Felicity did. I believe the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ covers the sins of all who trust him and all who are not old enough to trust him here but will trust him later. Therefore, I believe Felicity and her great grandfather met each other early Sunday morning in the presence of Christ. And my father said, perhaps, ‘Hello, Felicity. I’m your great grandfather Piper. Come, there is somebody I want you to meet. His name is Jesus. He’s the reason you’re here. You don’t need to be afraid. Your Savior has led you all the way. And Jesus does all things well.”

(Excerpt from Sunday’s message on the Second Commandment.)

Adrian Rogers gives the following great illustration of why it is wrong to worship an image of God:

Suppose a woman walks into a room and finds her husband embracing another woman. He sees his wife out of the corner of his eye and says, “Now wait a minute, honey. Don’t get the wrong idea here. Let me tell you what I was doing. This woman is so beautiful, she reminded me of you. I was really just thinking of you when I was embracing her.”

There’s not a woman in America who would buy that, including my wife, Joyce! And God doesn’t buy it either when we worship something else and say, “Now, Lord, wait a minute. Don’t get the wrong idea here. I was only worshiping this thing because it reminds me of You. I’m really worshiping You.”

No, you really aren’t. That’s what the Second Commandment is all about.

(Adrian Rogers, “Ten Secrets For a Successful Family”, pp.44-45)

STUPID CRIME EDITION

Bad break. Two California men were arrested after they broke into a building full of police officers. They were planning on stealing some copper wire, but didn’t know that the local police K-9 unit was training there.

Double jeopardy. A New York man says he stole a car to turn himself in on a different charge. He claims he was on his way to the Geneva City Police department to turn himself in on a family court warrant when he was pulled over in the stolen vehicle.

Checkmate. A Colorado man robbing a bank was caught after he wrote the holdup note on one of his own checks. “We could still make it out even though he blacked it out,” FBI agent Rene VonderHaar said.

Hi! Welcome to RayFowler.org and the “Guess the 100th Country” blog contest! It’s easy, it’s fun, and it costs you nothing to enter. While you are here, feel free to browse the Archives Page to get a feel for the site. If you enjoy your visit, be sure to bookmark the site or subscribe by email or feed reader so that you don’t miss any future posts.

The Contest:  Just for fun I have been keeping track of how many different countries have visited this site since I started blogging in March. Today I had two new countries pop up in the stats: Namibia (country #98) and Chile (country #99). So, I thought it would be fun to run a little contest: Guess the 100th country to visit my blog!

The Prize:  a $25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate

The Rules:

1. Respond with your best guess in the comments section.
2. One guess allowed per person.
3. The contest closes when the 100th country visits. (One exception: If you are the first visitor from a new country, and you are the first person to guess your country, then your guess will be allowed, and you will win!)
4. When a visitor from the 100th country visits the blog, I will check the comments on this post to see who named that country first.
5. I will notify the winner by email and post the winning entry on the blog. (If no one guesses the right country, then no one wins. 🙁 )

The Tips:

1. Be sure to visit the Stats page first to check which countries have already visited.
2. Be sure to check the comments others leave before you to see if someone already guessed a particular country.
3. When you leave your comment, you may want to place a check in the “Subscribe to Comments” box to track the progress of the contest. (When you check this box, future comments from this post will be emailed to you. You can unsubscribe at any time.)

That’s it! Have fun, and may the best country-guesser win!

Fun Facts:  How Many Countries In The World?

Now that is a question that’s somewhat difficult to answer, as there is no one right answer. Many sources offer different answers, and depending on the source, there are 189, 191, 192, 193 or 194 independent countries in the world today.

(Excerpt from Sunday’s message on the Second Commandment.)

What is wrong with making an image of God for worship? It has to do with making up our own thoughts about God. Idolatry starts in the mind. As J. I. Packer put it, “Metal images are the consequence of mental images.”

The word “image” is related to the word “imagination.” How can we possibly imagine God adequately? We cannot. When we make an idol to represent God, we seek to bring God down to our level. Remember, sin was introduced into our world with the temptation, “You will be like God.” God created man in his image. When we make an idol, we attempt to create God in our image or according to our own ideas.

Idolatry is wrong, therefore, because it gives a distorted image of God. We must worship God as he has revealed himself to us in his word, and not according to our own imagination. Whenever we say the words, “This is how I like to think of God . . .” we should realize that we treading on dangerous ground. It does not really matter how you or I “like” to think of God. What matters is who God has revealed himself to be. The second commandment forbids you from thinking that God is like you or something that you imagine.

seagull.gif A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.

Dubbed “Sam” by the locals, the seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn’t looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos. Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.

Sneaky Sam’s shoplifting started in July 2007 when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips. Since then, he’s become a regular. He always takes the same type of chips.

Customers have begun paying for the seagull’s stolen bags of chips because they think it’s so funny.

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Privacy

I found this Lifeway article interesting on the new temptation for senior adults to live together outside of marriage.

In 2007, the “Boomer Generation” officially retires. This is the year that people who were born in the 1950’s are eligible to retire from work. The truth of the matter is that the population of America is growing older and this is changing the landscape of our communities and our churches.

One disturbing trend is the number of “senior adults” who are living together and in turn, being sexually active. Recent reports tell us that “the majority of HIV carriers will be over the age of 50 by 2015, and that even now about 15 percent of new infections occurs in this age group.” (Sex Ed for Seniors; US News and World Report; August 13/August 20, 2007)

Many pastors have also reported that the most disturbing trend in their aging church is the number of couples who are living together. In today’s society we might expect that this number is increasing, but what is interesting is that the majority of these couples are over the age of 55. Many senior couples are living together for financial reasons. Although they want the benefit of companionship, whether made single by death or divorce, many decide that they simply do not want to get remarried.

As a pastor I can testify that this is increasingly becoming a problem. Whereas “living together” used to be a temptation more directed at the young and single, it is becoming just as big a temptation for the older and single.

The Lifeway article recommends that churches take the following four steps in addressing this situation:

1. Preach and teach God’s design for loving relationships.
2. Develop a small accountability group for seniors.
3. Help seniors find alternative avenues.
4. Confront in love and support unconditionally.

HT: MMI

(Excerpt from Sunday’s message on the Second Commandment.)

The first two commandments are closely related. “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol … You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Exodus 20:3-5) They are similar, but there is an important difference (as pointed out by Puritan preacher and writer Thomas Watson).

The first commandment forbids worshiping a false god. The second commandment forbids worshiping the true God in a false manner. The first commandment has to do with whom you will worship. The second commandment has to do with how you worship. The first commandment already prohibited worshiping the false gods and idols of other nations. The second commandment prohibits the use of idols in worshiping the one true God.

Aaron broke the second commandment when he presented the golden calf to the people and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt,” and then built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.” (Exodus 32:4-5) Moses later instructed the people, “You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape.” (Deuteronomy 4:15-16)

The first commandment prohibits worshiping a false god or any image of a false god. The second commandment prohibits making or worshiping an image of the true God.

Yesterday marked the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Fulton Street Revival, also known as “the Layman’s Revival.”

The revival began with a middle-aged tradesman, Jeremiah Lanphier … At that time in 1857, 30,000 men were idle in the streets and unemployment and drunkenness were rampant … Lanphier walked the streets around his church and noticed businessmen he passed who had anxious appearances and worried expressions as the nation was standing on the brink of economic disaster …

Realizing the need for prayer, Lanphier began handing out thousands of flyers advertising the first noonday prayer meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 23. He sat alone for the first half hour but was soon joined by five other men. The following weeks, the Wednesday prayer meetings saw larger crowds and within three months there were prayer meetings all over the city and more than 50,000 people in New York City alone who paused at noon to pray.

The prayer revival soon spread across the nation and in about 18 months, a million people were converted to Jesus Christ. (from The Christian Post)

Two important lessons to remember:

1. God can do mighty things through the obedience of a single person.
2. Never underestimate the power of prayer.