Springtime is wonderful for photographers

All taken with a Canon T5i

Touched up in Canon Digital Photo Professional

Signs and Seasons

Genesis 1:14-19

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. ¹⁶ Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. ¹⁷ God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

   With John Hagee's new book and corresponding movie "Four Blood Moons" coming out, I've been hearing a lot about how "something is going to  happen." I have given it some thought, and concluded that perhaps something will happen, but it is equally likely, perhaps even more so, that nothing extraordinary will happen.
   The entire premise of Mr. Hagee's book is that the four blood moons we should see this year signify something. I thought it would be appropriate to look at the Scripture to see what the true authority (the Creator) says about the heavenly bodies. Genesis 1:14 says that the "lights in the firmament" (aka stars, planets, etc.) were for "signs and seasons, and for days and years." Signs of what?
   This is where things get hairy. God alone reveals "the end from the beginning." If God reveals it, and He created everything, then wouldn't the stars reveal the future? Um, no. Not necessarily. God can use the stars to mark events if He want's to. He can also give us something cool to look at so that we will glorify Him, without any other purpose. Just because something unusual happens in the night sky, doesn't mean that the world is going to end, or anything else for that matter. In Albert Barne's commentary, he sums it up nicely:

"They are to serve as the great natural chronometer of man, having its three units, - the day, the month, and the year - and marking the divisions of time, not only for agricultural and social purposes, but also for meeting out the eras of human history and the cycles of natural science. They are signs of place as well as of time - topometers, if we may use the term. By them the mariner has learned to mark the latitude and longitude of his ship, and the astronomer to determine with any assignable degree of precision the place as well as the time of the planetary orbs of heaven. The "seasons" are the natural seasons of the year, and the set times for civil and sacred purposes which man has attached to special days and years in the revolution of time."

 Now, He has used the stars to mark certain events in history. For example, when Christ died on the Cross, it says in Luke 23:45 "Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two." In Acts 2:14-21, it says "The sun shall be turned into darkness,And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." With our modern computers and mathematical representation of astronomy, we know that there was a lunar eclipse ("blood mood") on April 3, 33 A.D. This great event in history was significant enough that God marked it with a sign in the sky- BUT - He told us that He was going to. The passage in Acts is actually Peter quoting from Joel 2:28-32, which is a prophecy concerning the death of Christ. Could anyone pin down the date that the Christ was going to die? No. Lunar eclipses occur frequently, and would be of no help in pinpointing the day of his death. We can use the stars to look back. In the old testament God told His people to set up monuments -or signs- for the next generations to remember something. In the case of the crucifixion, God Himself set up a reminder, one that could never be removed or defaced. That's how important it is to Him. The "signs in the firmament of the heavens" are for looking back, not forward. 
   If we want to know what will happen in the future, we are only to go to God's Word. He alone knows the future. He sets signs in the heavens so that we can remember Him. He marked the day of the crucifixion with a lunar eclipse, the blocking of the sun (read Son) by the moon (read sin). The moon turned blood red from the refraction of the red light of the sun (sin covered by the blood of the Son). This seems to be a parallel to how Jesus' blood covers our sin. He chose to take the Cross so that His blood would cover our sins. We have only to choose Him. If we submit to Him, He will forgive us. The life changing promise found in 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This is the love of God. The signs in the heavens are signs of His love.

Flowers

All taken with a Canon T5i

Touched up in Canon Digital Photo Professional

Pi Day!

Today is the Ultimate Pi Day! 3-14-15 9:26:54 (a.m. or p.m., whichever you're awake for).
Happy Pi Day!

"Mathematics teachers call retirement 'the aftermath.'"

Easy Math: A Step-by-Step Guide to Solve Almost Any Math Problem

In my college experience, I have noticed that many students struggle through math problems, regardless of their complexity, and several of my classmates come to me for help. I have seen that they were not taught to solve math problems, but to find answers. In this tutorial, I will present a technique to problem solving that will bridge the gap between finding the answer and solving the problem.

The first step to solving a math problem is to put away your calculator. Too many people approach a math problem with a calculator in hand. Set the calculator aside, and grab your pen (or pencil) and paper. By writing your problem down (i.e. not doing the problem entirely in your head), you make it much easier to catch simple mistakes, such as dropping a negative sign, or forgetting an exponent.

Once you have your pen and paper, write down the original problem. If it is a word problem, write down all of the given information; this will let you construct an equation more easily. This tutorial will assume you already have an equation, as one could write an entire book on how to analyze a word problem.

A word of warning to you: this next part is where most people make the most mistakes. If you thought it was strange that I said to grab your pen, here’s why: if you make a mistake with a pencil, you will most likely erase it. If you write in pen, you cannot erase it. If you use a pen, your work is easier to see and it is easier to catch mistakes. If (when?) you make a mistake, it is not a big deal! Just cross it out and move on. By merely crossing it out, you can look back at it and keep yourself from doing the same thing again, or even catch your mistake later. Be bold! Make your mistakes easy to see, and make them only once.

Now, on to the hard part. The most basic part of solving a math problem is isolating like terms. Think of adding apples and oranges. If you have 3 apples and 1 orange, you can’t say “I have 4 orange-apples,” because you don’t! You have 3 apples and 1 orange. What you want to do in your math problem is move your like terms together and put them on opposite sides of the “equal” sign. For example:

12x + 7y = 2xy              //Move the y terms together by subtracting

12x = 2xy – 7y              //the same thing from both sides.

“Wait a minute,” I hear you saying, “That doesn’t look any better!” Ah, but wait. You have “something” times y, minus “something” times y. Now you can factor out the y, leaving you with y times “something.” In our example, that would be:

12x = 2xy – 7y              //Factor out the y term

12x = (2x - 7)(y)

Now we still want only like-terms together, so we undo the times function that is making the

(2x-7) stuck to the y. The inverse (or undo) function of “times” (multiplication) is “divided by” (division), so:

12x = (2x – 7)(y)

   12x    = (2x – 7)(y)     //Undo the function of y

(2x – 7)

 12x   = y                       //Flip so that y is on the left
 2x-7

y =  12x                         //(That's how your professors like it)
       2x-7

Ta-Da! You have solved an equation for y using this foolproof method. The only type of equation that I wouldn’t use this general method for is a quadratic (ax² + bx + c = 0), but you should already have a formula for that if you’ve had Algebra 1 and/or 2. Now, go forth, and conquer the world with your amazing mathematical skills!

A Sunset

Taken with a Canon T5i, Canon 18-55mm lens, f/5.6

Pretty in Pink

Taken with a Canon T5i, Canon 18-55mm lens, f/5.6

Touched up in Canon Digital Photo Professional

God's Ways : My Ways :: Heavens : Earth

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV) 

  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

This passage is often misinterpreted. Often people get the impression that this means God thinks He is better than we are (which is true... He is). They miss the point of this passage. What God is saying here is that He doesn't think like we do. He has a plan, a plan that we may not understand, but one that is far better than anything we could come up with. In context of the rest of Scripture, this idea makes sense. Romans 8:28-30 says:

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God,

 to those who are the called according to His purpose. 

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,

 that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 

Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called;

 whom He called, these He also justified; 

and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

God's plan is more than we can always understand, but for those that live for Him - seeking to please Him in all that they do - "...all things work together for good for those who love [Him], to those who are called according to His purpose."

   One thing to note: while His plan will work for the good of the disciple of Christ, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be enjoyable. It's for our own good. It could be to our benefit, even if it's painful. Also, God's plan doesn't revolve around us (read "us" as [my name here]). God "...is willing that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance," (2 Peter 3:9). Perhaps the struggles we face is more than for our benefit. Perhaps, just perhaps, God is using us to shine His light into someone else's life. We are His image in the world. We are His light in the darkness. 

   Everything we do, whether at work, at school, at church, at play, at home, even what we do when we're alone is a reflection. If we are kind, loving, humble, responsible, honorable in all things, in short, if we are what God calls His disciples to be, then we are a reflection of God wherever we are. If, on the other hand, we are not, then we look just like the rest of humanity. Not only is that a disservice to ourselves, it is - I'm not exaggerating - lying about God. We claim to be His, and we look like anyone else. We are Christ's ambassadors, and if we don't accurately represent Him, we fail to do our task. "For all have sinned and fall short of the Kingdom of God." (Romans 3:23). Indeed, our task is great, and we have all failed, but we can still reflect God's true character and the attitude of Christ's disciples in the midst of failure. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (1 John 1:9).

   We all have hard days; we all make mistakes, but God is Holy, He is on His throne, and He has a plan. When you're feeling down, when you're having a bad day, remember He loves you, He will work His plan even through you if you let Him. Maybe He's put you in someone else's life to shine His light in their life. You have hope in Him. If that someone doesn't know Him, they have no hope; they have no reason to climb out of their pit of despair, but you do. If they can see you shine brightly in the midst of pain or struggle, they get to see God through you. Your attitude is your witness. Use it for the glory of God. Lift Him up in the earth. Praise His Holy name.

Isaiah 40:31

"But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint."