My apologies to Bill Watterson for stealing his title. But I couldn't help it.

The big news today..."Physicists announced Thursday that they now have the smoking gun that shows the universe went through extremely rapid expansion in the moments after the big bang, growing from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space in less than a trillion-trillionth of a second."

This proves, they believe, the "big bang" theory, which they seem to have renamed "inflation."

Scientists are funny people. Seems to me that this goes further towards proving the theory that "God spoke, and BANG!...it happened."

Ah, yes...but the earth is getting drastically warmer, and the ice caps are melting, too. Talk about "artificial intelligence..."

I found something really good in a meditation book this morning and wanted to share it with the 4 or 5 people who read this. It's from John Piper's book, Taste and See. The reading is called "How to Pray for the Soul." I'm only going to put the main points with Scripture references.

1. The first thing the soul needs is an inclination to God and his word. Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, "Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to gain."

2. I need to have the eyes of my heart opened so that, when I am inclined to his word, I can see what is there. Psalm 119:18 teaches us to pray, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law."

3. I need for my heart to be enlightened to these wonders. Ephesians 1:18 teaches us to pray that the eyes of our hearts will be enlightened, "that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints."

4. I need for my heart to be united for God, not fragmented. Psalm 86:11 teaches us to pray, "Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name."

5. I need for my heart to be satisfied with God and not with the world. Psalm 90:14 teaches us to pray, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days."

6. I want my happiness to be strong and lasting. I want to be strong in joy. Ephesians 3:16 teaches us to pray, "that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his
Spirit in your inner being."

7. I want my strength to be fruitful for others as well as for me. I want to produce good deeds and works of love for others. Colossians 1:10 teaches us to pray, "to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

8. Finally, lest the ultimate aim of it all be missed, pray daily, "Hallowed be thy name." (Matthew 6:9)

As always, we are cautioned agains "vain repetitions" while praying, so it would not do to repeat these verbatim every single time we pray. On the other hand, when my prayer life has been most active, I have found that praying straight from Scripture is most effective. God's words are way better then mine, anyway.

TTFN, y'all!

Missed anything?
The Beatles--Abbey Road/Alice Cooper--Killer - July 04, 2012
The Beatles Eponymous Album - June 26, 2012
Autism's False Prophets - February 12, 2011
Santana--Guitar God? - November 11, 2010
Tribute To the Red Sox - September 29, 2010