Aliens Surprisingly Silent

Stephen Hawking, the man said to be the smartest man alive, said recently what a lot of people have been saying. It would be very strange, if not impossible, if among all the billions of stars, galaxies and planets that are said to exist, that earth was the only one with life on it. And not just life, but intelligent life.

Based on this thought many have concluded, along with Hawking, that there must be alien life forms just as intelligent, if not more so, out there who are looking for us, or who may have found us and are watching or who may be probing us as I write this. 

I am a sci-fi nut job. I love these story lines. So, it is not because I think that they are weird that I also have a question that leads in a different direction. Before we get to the question, we need to face some realities. 

There is no indication of any other life, let alone intelligent life in the universe similar to us. I don’t say that because of prejudice or a rush to judgment. For a whole generation now, we have been looking for and listening for signs of life.

After all, assuming the commonly accepted figures, the universe is at least 4 billion years old, give or take a few million. You would think that during that time at least a whole lot of other worlds like ours would have developed. That’s only logical. Assuming we weren’t the first (why would we be the first?), there should be abundant evidence of life.

Yet despite the determined efforts of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and many others, for a generation now, there is only one station on the universe’s radio. It comes from a noisy planet, third from a small star in the Crab Nebula known locally as Earth.

Listen to the Earth and you get reruns of I Love Lucy and The X-Files. Listen to the rest of the universe and you get what? Static. Yet there should be hundreds of world’s out there who have been producing radio signals for at least 2 hundred years if they are parallel in their development as us, or hundreds of more years if they are more advanced than us. Yet what do we hear? Nothing but static, white noise. We are not looking for the next hit sitcom. Just a few signals that are no random. Yet, what do we get? Not a peep. Not one.  Nada, zippo, the big goose egg. It is ludicrous to say that we will find it one day. The door slamming question today is, "Why isn't it present today?".

Now, here is my question. If, as the evidence indicates, that we are the only piece of orbiting rock in this universe that has life (blogging, tweeting intelligent life) on it, what does that indicate?

On this planet, there a millions of species of life, millions of stories of human life, millions of minds. Yet, you pick any place on this planet and go up 2 kilometres or so and you find not one piece of life for the next gazillion miles (and a few gazillion more) that isn’t something that we put there. What does that say?

Could it say that life is a result of creation, not natural development. Could it say that life comes from another source than that of the known universe? Could it say that life had a beginning, like the Bible has always said, and its beginning was caused by the creative act of a life outside this physical universe, God Himself? (Like 90+% of people on the planet believe). What do you think?

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Death of an iPod

It is with much sadness that I must announce the demise of my iPod Touch. My wife included it in the wash a couple of days ago. No matter how much CPR I applied or how much I dried it out,  it would not fire up. I handled it pretty well, even if I do say so myself. I have informed the family and so I thought it was time I shared with the world my loss.

My sadness soon turned to joyful anticipation when it dawned on me that it was time to get an iPhone. That silver lining proverb really is true.

Facebook Rules!

1. Don't say anything that you wouldn't say publicly
2. Set the security settings so only Friends can see your details and comment. Drop down the Account Menu on the far right side and you will see the section. Follow the white rabbit. 
3. Report Friend requests from people you have no connection with. There are links to do this on Friend requests.
4. Don't be negative. Moan and whinge elsewhere. Prayer requests are OK but don't become a whiney status updater.
5. Don't be overly political. I know I am fighting a losing battle here but I don't think Facebook is the place for you to tell me (repeatedly) that the communist antichrist is here and is the harbinger of the destruction of freedom and our nation. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I will keep flogging the dead horse.
6. Stop trying to sell me stuff. I love recommendations of products that friends found a good buy but I am so over friends trying to sign me up for a muliti level marketing scheme. If you want to do that, set up a business page and get friends to join it who enjoy this stuff.
7. Use the Hide feature to filter all those reports from Facebook games etc. unless you enjoy them. 
8. TMI - don't give too much mundane detail of your life. Very subjective I know but here is a list of status updates that contain Too Much Information. Bodily functions, Eating habits (unless it was a really great restaurant or recipe), Sexual habits, Boring stuff, etc.
9. Stop the deliberately obscure updates. Seriously, you aren't that deep. Make a comment, not a zen like probe. Everyone knows you are cool, stop trying to prove it.
10. Don't make rules for Facebook
11. Feel free to ignore the Facebook nazis who make lists of things not to do on Facebook. 
12. Post as many photos of your grandchildren as you can. People really love it. 
13. Unless you have a very interesting life don't post more than twice a day. 
14. Make a contribution. Stop lurking and reading everyone else's posts without making a few yourself. You know who you are. I see you there. Lurker.
15. Shut down the computer and get out there and talk to someone. 

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Techno Church

It's been a while since I have blogged about how technology affects ministry in the kingdom. I can only speak from my point of view. Here are some ways that my ministry has been significantly effected by the use of technology.

1. Contact with people. Regular emails from me get to every member of the church on email. I get so much positive feedback about this. Church members really appreciate being kept in the loop and like the encouragement during the week. 
2. More Contact with People. Facebook and similar networking sites provide a great opportunity to interact with those I minister to both far and wide. It has been great way for me to keep up with friends in ministry who I don't see very often. See my blog on rules for George's Rules for Facebook.
3. More productive Bible study and preaching preparation. Bible study programmes make the finding of texts so quick. That leaves more time for framing the message, illustrating and applying the message. 
4. Reading. I have not yet bought an electronic reader but I do use Kindle for Mac and for iPod Touch. Recently I moved to Australia from the USA and had to put my library on what turned out to be a very slow boat. 3 months later & I still have not received the shipment. However all my commentaries are on my MacBook Pro and all the books I have purchased in the past 6 months are on my Kindle software. Haven't missed a beat. It is so good to have all your library (eventually) on a device I just put in my satchel.
5. Blogging as therapy. I don't think anyone reads my blogs but it is such good therapy for me. It really helps me process what is going on in my life and ministry.
6. Church Websites have some effectiveness but nowhere near as much as I would like. I design and implement websites and have found them to be only effective in the following ways. A cyberspace sign post. When looking for a church in an area most people will google it. If you don't have a website you won't show up on the list. A source of recent messages preached at your church. I find people use this a lot. Also gives potential visitors a feel for your preaching. Other than that church websites can be pretty useless. Pet Peeve: if your church is going to have a website, please keep it up to date. It really sends a destructive message when you don't.
7. Helps me get out of the office. When I had an office I was constantly interrupted by sales phone calls, people who thought I didn't have anything to do, door to door sales people, cleaners etc. An office was helpful as well but for those times when I need to get away from the annoyances but yet still stay in contact, my mobile phone and a laptop with a mobile broadband internet connection or a wifi hotspot made it possible. 

One final thought: WARNING: Do not become a techno geek preacher. The rule for illustrations and visual aid also applies to technology ie. any technique that attracts attention to itself rather than the message is not only unhelpful, it is counter productive. Remember, ministry is a people to people thing, not a people to computer thing. 

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"Why?"

"Why?" is a very important question. In fact, it is THE important question. When we ask it we often don't realize what we are saying. We assume that there is a reason for everything. It would be little strange if we kept on asking the question when there really isn't any reason for anything. We, innately, believe that there is a reason.

Consider the idea that there is no God, no unseen mind behind this universe and its contents. To those who subscribe to this, this world we live in is a series of elements reacting with each other in a totally random way. Well not the whole world. The bit that we humans effect is definitely not random. That effect is guided by human design. (we can see design in small human activity but yet many have trouble seeing design in the big things) However, the rest of this world, the living things, the land, the sea, the air etc. is just a bunch of things randomly reacting with each other.

In this context the question, "Why?", has but one answer, "There is no reason". Why does water freeze from the bottom down and every other liquid from the bottom up. "No reason", says the atheist. It just happens. Human behaviour is just the result of chemical relationships in the human brain. It just happens and a serial killer is born.

Yet, every single one of us look at this and ourselves and are challenged with the idea that everything looks like it operates for a reason. We may try to take God out of the equation and call on Mother Nature as the great source of the apparent design of all that we see but that is just changing the name of God.

If we accept that there is God who has designed this creation for a reason then the question, "Why?" becomes answerable. Why does water freeze that way? Because God designed it that way. It wasn't an accident. There is a purpose and we might even see the purpose.

Now just because we can ask "Why?" doesn't mean that we will get an answer right now but it does give us confidence that there is an answer and there is a reason for the sudden death of my friend. Trust in the Lord. He may not tell you the reason for all those things that you ask "why?" about but He does have a reason and one day you will know.

Everyone asks "Why?". Everyone, deep down, knows there is a reason. It just needs to be discovered.

http://georgelittlejourney.blogspot.com/

Why I Like Sports

I used to think it was a male thing. We were just genetically predisposed to watch any sport, any time, anywhere, no matter how inappropriate it was to do so. However, my theological mind wonders why God would programme us that way. Maybe not the deepest theological thought I have had but there it is.

During my Amercian sojourn I found so many women just as obsessed as I am (some even more). Come to think of it, look at all the women at the Aussie Rules games. It's not just an American thing.

So why do I like sports so much? Here are my thoughts on the matter (read justifying my sport's addiction).

Sports are a live unfolding struggle with no ending scripted or predetermined. Barring any mafia shenanigans (always wanted to use that word) this is the truth of sport. Yes, there are plans and plays but all that is constantly changing according to the flow of the game. No game is ever the same as any other. The drama is there with every play. Who will prevail? Who will fold? When that drama is gone, like in a blowout, even the sports obsessed turn over to the chick flick their wife wants to watch.

Sports are a highly skilled art form. Now, not all sports are. That's why I can't watch UFC. I have tried and I just can't. But when you see LeBron dunk or Jarryd Hayne run around a defense, it is a work of art and grace. Skill, beauty, and elegance. An outfielder taking a running catch on the warning track is pure art in motion. Most sports participants are athletes looking like the perfect human physical form. There are exceptions of course like Sumo, Shot Putting and some golf players (check out Craig Parry).

Sports, especially when you are in the crowd, are an event. Majestic stadiums, unique food, great entertainment, giant screen, loud music. I must admit that even though I played field hockey for many years in my youth I have never wanted to go to game in my mature years (read old age). During the Sydney 2000 Olympics (I was in hog heaven) I scored some free tickets to a field hockey game. Turned into one of my favourite sports experiences. It was an event and it felt so good to be there.

I hate reality TV (well most of it). It is not real. It is scripted. It is just WWF (which I also dislike) with more boring players. However sports are the ultimate reality TV. No script. No pretend drama. If Mick Malthouse is spitting invectives at a player on the opposing team, believe me, he is not pretending. This is real. Warts and all.

There it is. I am not just some mindless slob sitting on my recliner, with a diet coke in one hand and a packet of chips in the other. I am a deeply committed aficionado of competition, drama, beauty and truth.

Finally, some athletes prove there is a God, a divine force who designed this universe. How else do you explain the talent and perfection of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, Wally Lewis (in his hey day), Chris Evert, Roger Federer? You think all that happened by a concoction of minerals, water, dirt, electricity and lots of time? Yeah right! Such extraordinary design demands that there is a designer bringing about all that beauty and talent.

Hey, NBA playoffs begin Monday (Aussie time). All right!! Go Lakers.

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A Quick Study – How To Fellowship (1)

First John Chapter One

Note: You really should read this Bible passage first. After all this is a Bible study. Go on. Try it out. 

Jesus is the Touchable Message From God

(Seriously, have you read the passage yet? Go on. I won't let you go any further until you do it.)

John says that he (along with many others) had “heard”, “seen” and “touched” Jesus :1.

Jesus is the “Word of life”, “the life”, and “eternal life” :1-:2.

John (along with other eyewitnesses) “testify” and “proclaim” this life, this Jesus :2

Fellowship Up and Down

Fellowship = partnership. The context provides who or what the partnership is with or about.

Two life changing partnerships makes us who we are.

1. “fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” – Vertical :3

2. “fellowship with us” ie. with each other – Horizontal :3

An Unexpected Message

There are so many messages coming from so many churches, preachers, authors. No wonder the world looks at us as though we Christians are a little flakey. The Holy Spirit is about to tell you what the message of Christians is to be.

“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” :5. Seriously? Yes. It may not be in your church slogan, or church creed or hardly even spoken about by our preachers but here it is but that is a topic for another time. This is the message of Jesus, the Word of life. 

God is simple. In fact John explains God in terms of something as simple as light and darkness. You know light and darkness, don’t you? Put up your hand if you don’t. Didn’t think there was any. Well God is like the light and He is nothing like the darkness.

Darkness is sin :6, :7, :8-:10. Sin is disobeying God 3:4.

Light is God :5. It is not sinlessness. God just told us what the light was in :5. Got to remember that.

Fellowship with God

Jesus reveals clearly that God, the holy one, desires with unstoppable passion, to fellowship with the unholy (that’s you and me). His very presence on this earth and in your life is proof of that!

But, how can Light fellowship (partner with) darkness? Religions since Adam was a grown man have asked this question. However you don’t have to figure it out on your own. You just have to believe the answer God gives us.

Here it is. Ready? “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light … the blood of Jesus, his Son purifies (makes us holy) from all sin” :7.

Next Study: Walking in the light is probably not what you think it is. Well, maybe it is, but you wouldn’t want to miss the next study would you?

Other Resources:

Message I preached on this - Community 1 along with others preached at Northside Church, Sydney, Australia

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The Wedding

This past Saturday our son, Harrison, married his lovely bride, Cesia. Julie and I are so happy.

The wedding went so well. Ben, Harrison's older brother, performed the ceremony. He did a great job. It was full of laughter, joy, Jesus, and beauty. Cesia was such a beautiful bride. The church building was a picturesque old sandstone one. The perfect setting for a wedding. The place was full of family and friends. 4 generations of our family. We are so blessed.

The reception was a little while later at the very same place Ben and Carly had their wedding and reception almost 8 years ago. Brought back some wonderful memories. Lots of good food, funny speeches and an opportunities to get to know those wonderful  parents who have been so helpful in our son's life. Alexander, our other son, did an incredible song and dance number to honour (read, make fun of) his brother and new sister in law. I am so looking forward to the video of this. Think it might become the next YouTube sensation.

I am so happy for Harrison. There is a lot of "stuff" associated with the event of a wedding, but at the centre of it all are two young ones who have found love for each other and for God. That's a special and glorious thing. They have committed to each other for life and are happy to let the whole world know about it. Praise God!

Reminds me that 32 years ago God blessed me with my bride, Julie. She has been a wonderful wife and mother and now grandmother. God has truly blessed me. As Harrison looks forward to his first 32, I am filled with great anticipation for our next 32. Hopefully with lots of grandchildren (no pressure).

Grandson Footnote: While all the young folk (don't I sound old) were jumping up and down (they call it dancing) Julie and I got to play with Benji in a sound proofed room (the music was really loud). He was so happy and just sat on our laps for a long time. It was so wonderful. I seem to be using that word a lot in this blog. 

After such a full weekend Julie and I are exhausted but it is a good exhaustion. Now, back to work. Well, maybe one more photo.

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Great Easter Weekend

In Australia we get a really long weekend at Easter. Both Friday and Monday are public holidays. And I have to say that I had a great one.

For Friday lunch we took Julie's parents, Ron and Edna, to Sizzler, their second favorite place for lunch. There are only 3 left in Sydney so it was a bit of a drive. They loved it. Got to help Ron get some special painkillers for the severe pain he has in his hand at night. He is going to need surgery. Hope he gets it soon.

On Friday night Julie was worn out so I went on my own to the Passover gathering with WestChurch at Glenhaven. It was a great gathering of Christians and it was inspirational to see the death of Jesus through the imagery of the Passover.  I got to visit with some wonderful friends, the Stewart's and the Gretch's, the Willems, the Gray's, Geordie Barham, Mark, Francois, Simon (too many to name) and  a wonderful singer, Luke O'Sullivan (check out the words to the song he sang called Beautiful Scandalous Night). Met a fellow preacher, Tim Yates. He is leading a church planting in the Newcastle area called Eastlakes Christian Church (I think that is the name).

Saturday was a big day for the Little clan. It was the first time in a long time to have Julie and I in the same room with our three boys. Add to that our daughter in law, Carly, and the world's cutest grandson, Benji and a couple of friends and it was one of the best days we have had. Julie made tacos for lunch and then we went for a walk to Rose Bay on the harbor. Here is a picture of the Little boys.

Sunday, Julie and I worshiped with our home church, Northside. It was a small gathering which is normal at Easter in Australia as a lot of people go away for the weekend. I preached on fellowship out of 1 John. We all shared lunch together. Got a lot of encouragement from the members. They are a great group. 

Ran Julie home after lunch and immediately headed north to North Avoca Beach to preach at a house church in the home of the Huttabarret's. Great group. Lot's of visitors and people seeking God. Caught up old friends, the Rich's, the Ritchie's and the Brown's. They meet every three weeks and are a part of the Gosford Church. God is really doing some great things in this place.

Drove the 2 hours home to my beloved wife who had recurperated from her big morning. 

It's Monday now and guess what I am doing? Resting. Trying to find the Final Four on TV and of course tapping away on the trusty Macbook Pro. Julie is out shopping. She has to get all the stuff that women need for a wedding. I just throw on the old black suit but it seems that women need a whole new wardrobe when a wedding comes around. What wedding? My son, Harrison's. It's this Saturday. His older brother, Ben, is performing it. Although, Harrison said if he messes up I will have to step up. I am so looking forward to being a witness and not a participant. 

That's enough tapping for now. Come on! When is the final four on OneHD? 

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