Earth Light

There have been some very interesting shots from the International Space Station over the years.  This 60-second MSNBC video caught my eye Sunday – watch it, takes but a moment. The bright yellow lights are cities.  See the white lighted areas along the cloud lines?  Those are lightning displays.

The power to light an area equal to a city within a bolt of lightning.  We know so little of our world, while we have learned so much! See again that thin greenish line of atmospheric airglow.

The flight to the sunrise begins over the Pacific Ocean and zooms at an altitude of about 220 miles (350 kilometers) past Vancouver Island and Victoria, the Pacific Northwest and the American Southwest, Texas and Mexico, Central and South America. The highlights to watch for include constellations of city lights, lightning flashes in the clouds, the stars whirling in the night sky above, the faint brown-yellow atmospheric airglow that rims the eastern horizon, and the glorious dawn at the end.

My grandfather came to Oklahoma on a train, then drove a covered wagon to a new home before 1910.  His grandson was an aerospace engineer with NASA, reaching for the heavens.  The past century’s giant steps forward have given us new perspectives as we view our planet and the changes on it.

From space, our Texas drought can be tracked, smoke from the fires photographed.  Hurricanes, too.  The massive ones, such as Katrina and Irene, can be seen in their entirety and their size is simply awesome.

I know, this is very similar to other posts this summer, but this one is pure awe while watching this small slice of God’s awesome power and planning.

O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. (Psalms 92:5 KJV)

Our lesson Sunday morning was the second on Theology Proper, the study of God, His essence, His existence, His attributes and our limited ability to understand Him.  David wrote of this in his psalms:

O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. (Psalms 104:24 KJV)

There are many verses in Job about how we do not understand God’s ways:

Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? (Job 26:14 KJV)

Many who deny the existence of God say He is simply a way these men faced the unexplainable, putting a name to what they did not, and we do not, understand.  They continue by showing examples of what science has done in explaining how our world works and when it originated.  I’ve acknowledged hearing, researching and learning about what they’ve learned – while they cannot say the same about a Christian’s belief.

Come, join us in seeking what God has said, and done:

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. (Psalms 27:8 KJV)