Cetus

Today's word of the day is Cetus. Any ideas what that means? Cetus is a constellation, sometimes called "The Whale" in English. Cetus (ketos in ancient Greek) was a sea monster in Greek mythology which both Perseus and Heracles needed to slay (whoever THEY were).

A whale . . . Hmm.

"Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." - Matthew 12:38-40

Jesus was in "the belly of the whale" for three days just like Jonah. Surely Jonah's stint in that deep, dark place was a prophetic sign of Jesus crucifixion and his descending into hades for three days.

I saw this piece of artwork (pictured above) while searching for today's story picture. It is Cetus the whale! Note the stars on its side. It's the constellation Cetus! Amazing!

What else do we see? Well, it's a clock for one thing. We can tell that by the Roman numerals III, IX, VI... and Cetus is pointing at the number 3. THREE days in the belly of the whale? Interesting.

Who knows what all this means. Perhaps Jesus and His heavenly host will come to us out of the constellation Cetus. I really have no idea, but this encoursging to me. All we know for sure though is this . . . time is definitely ticking. And we do NOT want to end up in the belly of the whale.

Seeking Emmanuel

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” - Matthew 2:1-2

The Magi were in the east according to verse 1. Stars and planets appear to travel east to west as the earth rotates. Looking west towards Jerusalem, these heavenly bodies would then appear the decend not rise for the Magi. The "star" had to have been something else. But what? Here's my theory.

Note in verse 1 above where it says, "we saw the star when it rose." It sounds like they saw the star actually rising . . . moving. Impossible. Unless it was something else.

"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." - Matthew 17:1-2

The star was not Jesus, obviously. He was down below in the manger. An angel perhaps? Maybe, but I don't think so, although they do make appearances dressed in white.

What about the Holy Spirit? He is part of the Trinity. He IS God, just like JESUS is God. Could the Holy Spirit be transfigured like Jesus was? From Spirit to Light? JESUS  is light. Why not the Holy Spirit?

When we come to faith in Christ isn't it God's Holy Spirit who draws us to God? Don't we follow the Holy Spirit's leading as we seek Jesus?

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them." - John 6:44

Or was it God Himself who rose up and drew the Magi to Himself. John 6:44 just told us that He does that sort of thing. What do you think? Wouldn't God The Father want to be present for the birth of His One and Only Son?

“His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” -  Matthew 28:3

Emmanuel literally means "God with us." God HAS come to earth before (Jesus' transfiguration, Jesus' baptism, with Moses at the tent of meeting, etc.).

A mystery.

But why did the Magi stop in Jerusalem to ask where the newborn king was? They were following the star, right? Bethlehem is beyond Jerusalem to the northwest.

I'm thinkin' that, when they got into the big city they lost sight of the star with all of the tall buildings and narrow streets. They couldn't see it.

So they stopped in to see Herod. Wouldn't this visit have occured during the day when Herod was awake? I think they lost sight of the star. Only when they searched for it again at night did they find it. Another mystery.

"With God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26

The moral of this story is this: Never stop searching for God. Never take you eyes off of Him. When the Magi couldn't follow the star anymore they became lost. And they asked the wrong person for directions. A literal 'anti' Christ.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13

Keep searching. Never give up. You WILL find Him.

The Convergence Parable

Have you seen the two "stars" in the western sky at sunset? They're quite bright and are actually planets - Jupiter and Venus.

Jupiter, the fifth plant in our solar system, was named after the chief deity of ancient Roman religion.

Venus, the second plant in our solar system, was named after one of the most widely referenced deities in Greco-Roman mythology, as the embodiment of love and sexuality. 

These two planets currently appear right next to each other at sunset in our western sky. They meet up with each other like this every 2.3 years.

The two planets actually seemed to touch on March 2nd in what's known as a conjunction. In actuality, they are millions of miles apart.

Jupiter is departing Venus now, getting closer and closer to the sun. Eventually, Jupiter and the sun will appear to be one.

What an incredible parable!

Venus is a picture of us Christians, the bride of Christ, Jupiter represents Jesus, the bride groom, and the sun is God The Father.

Jesus came close to us for a short time but then left us to be with The Father. He WILL draw near to us again. And perhaps He will take us with Him next time so that we can be with Him where He is.

So, think about this Jupiter and Venus parable as you watch the skies tonight. And also think about this:

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken." - Luke 21:25-26

Stars

One of the things my wife and I enjoy about our house is that we built it WAY out in the country. We live six miles away from the closest town. Whenever people come to visit us way out here in the boonies they always remark how dark it is out here after the sun goes down. I try to keep my explanation simple . . . something city folk can understand . . .

"That's because it's dark . . . and there are no lights."

Sometimes the obvious can be so difficult to see or understand. I know people who have spent hours searching for their glasses, only to discover them on top of their head. We've all had moments like that. The sudden realization that we aren't quite as observant and we thought we were.

You've probably heard of Jeff Foxworthy and his "Here's Your Sign!" stories. They're pretty funny and sadly an all too true to life depiction of our ability to see the obvious. Here's a few.

A truck driver was climbing out of his too-tall truck that had become stuck under a too-low bridge. A police officer arriving on the scene asked, "So, are you stuck?" The truck driver replied, "No, I was just delivering this bridge and I ran out of gas." Here's your sign.

A fisherman was about to head home after a day's fishing from the pier. He pulled a large stringer of fish out of the water and a bystander asked, "Wow! Did you catch all those fish?" The fisherman replied, "Nah. Some of them just jumped right up here. The rest surrendered when they saw me comin'." Here's your sign. We humans can be incredibly blind when it comes to the obvious.

My wife and I went snowshoeing at the state park night before last. It was a cool, clear night with temperatures in the single digits. My wife remarked, "Look at all the stars!!" She was right. The stars were extraordinarily noticeable that night. However I could just imagine hearing one of our city friends exclaiming, "Wow! You have a lot more stars out here than we have in town."

No. The stars are always there. Even in town. Even in the day time. You just can't see them at night in the city because of all the city lights." (sigh)

For 52 years of my life I was blind. Blind to the reality of Christ. I had heard all of the stories. And that's just what they were to me. Stories. There was no meaning to them at all. I just didn't get it.

I'd like you to watch a short video clip. It's from the 1989 movie Field of Dreams. I'd like you to pay particular attention to the character played by Timothy Busfield (the guy with red hair and a beard). In this scene, Busfield's character, Mark, does not believe there is a team of old, dead baseball players in his brother-in-laws yard, even though everyone else around him does. He doesn't believe it until something happens. Please watch.

Field of Dreams clip

Near the end of the clip Mark says, "When did these ballplayers get here?" Well what do yo know. Mark finally believed. But it took a miracle, one of the young ball players being transformed right before his eyes, before he finally came to believe. At that moment, Mark, who had been tormenting his sister and her husband for the entire film to sell the farm, did a 180. His eyes were opened. Where have I heard that story before . . .

"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord - Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here - has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength." - Acts 9:1-19

There are many people in this world who do not KNOW Jesus. They have heard about him but do not believe in Him. Many of the non-believers enjoy persecuting Christians today just like Saul did back then. When Saul became Paul on that road to Damascus his life changed for ever. He was blind and then suddenly he could see. That account of Saul's conversion is the tale of every born again believer the world has ever known. And what did Paul do with this sudden knowledge? He began to spread the Gospel to everyone he met. It's like he handed himself a Jeff Foxworthy sign for his stupidity in not recognizing the truth. It's like Timothy Busfield's character saying, "When did all these Christians, my new brothers and sisters, get here? And what about the men who were with Saul/Paul. They heard the voice! They helped a blind Paul into town where he was made to see!

Go outside on some clear night and look up at the stars. Gaze at them in wonder. Look at God's immeasurably vast, heavenly creation and thank The God of all of it for opening YOUR eyes. Then preach the Gospel wherever you go for you once were blind but now you see.

Amazing Grace by Celtic Woman