The 31st--Issue #3

Welcome to this third issue of The 31st, everyone! If you've forgotten, The 31st is a semi-regular column that I write on my blog on the 31st day of every month that has a 31st day! I started this column way back in August, and naturally this is the third issue.

The 31st is all about weird, wacky, and funny trivia. It could be about anything! But today, this month, I've chosen the subject of time. Yes, time. As every year comes to a close, a new one looms ahead, it seems to me that a lot of people think about where they've been, where they are now, and where they would like to be. Time seems to be a lot more precious around this time of year. And so without further adieu, let me present a few fun facts about time!

Did you know that a year is made up of...

• 12 months?
• 26 fortnights?*
• 52 weeks?
• 365 days?
• 8, 760 hours?
• 525,600 minutes?
• 31, 536,000 seconds?

*: A fortnight is two weeks.

So this new year, 2012, is about to begin. Another 12 months, 26 fortnights, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, and 31,536,000 seconds. So what will you do with it? Make sure you spend time this year doing some things that have eternal value!

Who will you follow?

Well, here we are. The last day of Two-Thousand and Eleven. While I'm always happy for the months to come and go, I must say, the turning of a new year is always more significant. What will happen this coming year? Will it be good? Will it be bad? It's that unknown factor that always gets to me.

I don't think I'm alone in this. Many people think about where they've gone in the past year, where they are now, and where they'd like to see themselves next year this time. In other words, making New Years' Resolutions. There are many good and important resolutions one can make, but perhaps the most important question is this: Who will you follow? During the coming year? Throughout the rest of your life? A couple weeks ago I ran across the above video, and it has impacted me in a major way. I'd highly recommend that you watch this powerful presentation, and then honestly ask yourself,

"Who will I follow?"

My Story

Greetings! My name is Joktan, and I have been a shepherd on the hills of Bethlehem. It was a clear, cool night, that night was...oh, you will stay for my story, will you? I want to tell it to as many people as possible!

It was a clear, cool night, that night was. The stars twinkled in the vast, endless sky, and I could hear the sheep's deep breathing as they slumbered the night away. The quiet, resting city of Bethlehem slept away, and hardly man or beast stirred.

Once again, I turned to my companions, Eber and Uzal. Eber brought out his treasured scroll, and once again we all searched the Scriptures. Just like every other Israelite, we were highly looking forward the the coming of Israel's Messiah and Deliverer. We had checked, checked, and double-checked our calculations, but tonight we checked once more. Yes, it seemed like all the prophecies pointed to the Promised One coming very soon. Micah 5:2 even said that Bethlehem, our little town, would be where the Messiah would come from!

I took another long, longing look at the sky. The stars glistened just as brightly as always. Somewhere out there was God. But when would He come to Earth? Then--

Huh? What was that?

A light seemed to hover right above us shepherds. It quickly got brighter, brighter and brighter till it was brighter than the midday sun! I could hardly look at it! What was it? The light became more defined, and then it looked like--huh? An angel? Eber, Uzal, and I were petrified, falling on our faces to the ground.

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."

The angel--what a magnificent  majestic voice he had--continued speaking.

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

The booming voice kept on speaking. I barely got enough courage to lift my eyes to look at this heavenly being.

"This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly, night transformed into day! Angels, millions upon millions, brilliantly lit up the sky and sang,

"Glory to God in the highest,
  and on earth peace to men on
         whom his favor rests."

My, my, that was the most beautiful chorus I have ever heard! Tons of angels singing, there was no doubt this was heavenly music! Soon, the angel choir faded away. Slowly, carefully, Eber, Uzal, and I got up. Our eyes had to get used to the dark night again! Quickly, we took inventory. All the sheep were still there. The hills of Bethlehem were in their same place, and the town slept on.

All of a sudden, we spurted out words. "Let's go to Bethlehem," I cried. "and see this thing that has happened," continued Uzal. "which the Lord has told us about!" Eber joyously finished our joint sentiments.

Taking a look at our snoring, slumbering sheep, we took off running over hill and dale--bound for Bethlehem. Rocks, streams, nothing could get in our way. The Messiah had come! He was born this night here in Bethlehem! Angels told us how to find Him! Dawn was just starting to break in the east as we arrived at the city gates, which had just been opened a few moments before. Most people were still sound asleep, but we dashed through the streets to the inn, where we found the Messiah--the Baby Jesus--lying in a manger just like the angel had said. There we met His parents, Joseph and Mary, and joined in their happiness. Eagerly, we reverently worshipped our Messiah.

We had seen the Messiah! He was born, the Desire of All Nations! He had finally come! We felt like we must tell everyone. The sun was starting to shine on Bethlehem once more, and the townspeople had roused themselves out of bed. Some had come out of their houses.

"The Messiah is born!" I shouted.

"He has come to deliver His people!" Uzal chimed in.

"We saw angels who told us that He is born in a manger!" Eber concluded. "Go see Him at the inn!"

We repeated our joyous cries all across town, and everyone was amazed at our report. After proclaiming the good news to everyone, we headed back to our sheep, which had just started to stir.

But I have some questions for you. Are you getting ready for Jesus' second coming? Do you study your Bible, and learn about His coming? Just like His first coming, you don't know when exactly He will come. But you can know the general circumstances and situation which the world will be in when His coming is soon.

When God sends special revelation to you--through an impression, the Bible, trusted friend, though probably not an angel--do you listen? Do you believe what God tells you? He is always trustworthy, and will never forsake you (Deut. 31:6)!

When God reveals information to you, what will you do with it? Will you just barely acknowledge it, think it's nice, and lay back in your lazy chair? Or will you get off the couch and do something about it? Will you do the equivalent of going to see Baby Jesus? Will you decide to worship Him as your Lord, Savior, and Messiah?

After you worship Him, will you just immediately go back to your "sheep"? In Israel there are two prominent bodies of water, and one river that connects them. The bodies of water are the Sea of Galilee in the north and the Dead Sea in the south. The river, called Jordan, flows into the Sea of Galilee in the north and continues out of it at the south end, going through Israel all the way to the Dead Sea. However, that is where the Jordan River stops. It does not flow out of the Dead Sea, and that is why the Dead Sea is called that--because it's dead!

It's wonderful if you decide to worship and accept the King into your life, but that's only one part. You have the input, but unless you have output, you'll be like the Dead Sea--lifeless. In what ways can you share the news about Jesus, and have output as well as input?

Be like the Sea of Galilee. Not like the Dead Sea!

Where Am I?

Where am I? Or more precisely, where have I been?

Good question. As you probably have guessed, I have been very busy! I really wanted to blog all about the fun that I had at Thanksgiving. We had my grandparents from Michigan and my uncle from Arizona all at our house for the big day! Lots of fun was had by all, and much board game playing and geocaching was achieved as well. ;)

So then I was going to blog about Thanksgiving in early December. But did it happen? No. So many wonderful Christmas celebrations, as well as the usual work and school, seemed to take priority. There is a wonderful set of trails (probably around 8-10 miles) on the mountain just behind the local university, and my best friend and I have been taking advantage of those trails quite a bit over the past few weeks. It's so fun to finally hike the trails, and my friend and I have found a few caches up there, too! :D

Speaking of geocaching, I've been doing a lot lately. If you don't know what it is, geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt in which players use their GPS devices to locate hidden containers all around the world. I've found 123 geocaches, and hidden 25! I'm hoping to hide 5-6 more caches over Christmas break (yes, I still got one more week of school!), so of course all that planning and placing takes a bit of time as well. Not to mention all the great books I've been trying to read...

And speaking of books, I'm halfway finished with one! I've read Ellen White's classic on the life of Christ, Desire of Ages, before, but it was so wonderful that a few months ago I decided that I just had to re-read it! So I have been--but leading a readathon, as well! Since November, I've been reading approximately one chapter a day and then blogging about it over at the Desire of Ages Readathon blog. Check it out, feel free to jump in and join at any time! :D

My grandparents are coming for a repeat visit soon, and while they can't stay for Christmas, we're still going to have a lot of fun anyway. Geocaching, fun, family, and presents are all on the agenda! So if I'm not posting on this blog as much as you wish, well, I'm sorry. I'm still alive and well, happily geocaching and enjoying the season. I am still very committed to writing devotionals each and every week, and will post more about my life here on this blog when I get the chance.

Merry Christmas,
Tennessee Photobug

The Small Things

A few weeks ago, my family and I officially welcomed the Christmas season by setting up our Christmas tree. Yes, it's a "fake" tree, and it's not super big, but it's our tree and we have grown to love it (and the constantly-falling-off-fake-pine-needles) over the years.

There is a definite order in setting up our Christmas decorations. First, of course, is the tree. Dad and my little sister Alison brought it up, and got the various pieces out of the box. Soon they were all assembled, and we all helped by spreading out the bunched up branches. It looked almost perfect in front of our window, and as the sun set I knew that all we needed was the Christmas lights. Then everything would be perfect!

One of the lovely things about having a "fake", pre-made Christmas tree is that we don't have to worry about stringing the lights. Our little beauty already came pre-lit! All we have to do is plug it all together and it will work...right?

Yeah, right!

In years past, our tree lights have lit up just fine. No problemo at all. But while I couldn't remember any problems before, due to that circulating joke about how Christmas lights don't always work, I wasn't holding my breath for an immediate perfect performance.

My hunch was right! Dad plugged everything together, and then in grand suspense plugged the final cord into the wall. The tree lit up--partly, anyways! Honestly, it was the weirdest thing. The bottom third of lights was working, and the top third of lights was working, but middle third stubbornly remained off! Dad got right down to work, with his family encouraging him, "We know you can do it!" So Dad fiddled and fussed and then fiddled some more, but not much luck. Some of the lights came on, but there was still a noticeable chunk that wasn't on. What to do?

Dad tried for almost the entire evening to get all the lights working. Unfortunately, he never succeeded. We had to finally resort to other methods, that being stringing a separate strand of working lights onto the tree where the other lights weren't working. It all looks nice now, but if you look closely you can still see that some lights are off!

You know, I've been thinking about how some of our Christmas tree lights didn't work. You've heard the saying, "A chain is only as strong as its' weakest link", and I certainly think that was true in this case! More precisely, "A light strand is only as strong as its' weakest cord or light"! One of the major things that I feel this experience has taught me is how important the little things are. I may have thought that a light or cord is a little thing, but I certainly changed my mind after seeing how it affects everything!

Sometimes I feel like I may not be important. Like I'm little, and I can't make a difference. But I'm starting to rethink that. Sure, we all have different roles to play (check out 1 Corinthians 12 for details!), but we all have a power to change things for the good, or change them for the bad.

Maybe you don't know where to start. OK, start with the small things! What small--but meaningful and important--thing can you do today to better your relationship with God? A relationship with a family member or friend? What about doing "small" things to help better your neighborhood and community? Picking up trash starts with one piece at a time!

But I think you get the point. Small things are important, and can have a vast influence over things. In what ways can you do a seemingly small thing today and make something better, or someone happier?

Telling the Difference

Have you ever worked with trash bags? I know that I have. Holding the office of "janitor" for several years now, I have torn off, emptied, thrown away, and replaced more than my fair share of trash bags!

Sometimes, the job is easy. There's not too much trash in the existing bag, it easily comes out of the can in a snap, and the new bag opens with no problems, lightly settling down "just so" in the trash can. But sometimes the job is not so ideal. Too much trash has been stuffed in the bag, there's yucky food, smelly diapers, or (worse!) standing water. Sometimes, the bag is so stuffed I can hardly heave-ho it out of the trash can! Other times, it's so bad that I have to go solicit help so I can achieve my chore! And then--nightmares of nightmares--those big, over-stuffed bags were brake, and a dam of water and trash will brake. I'm not complaining, but guess who has the privilege of cleaning it up? :D

However, how hard it is to get the bag out of the can is not the only problem I have. All my big, black trash bags come on a roll. I lay the roll out on the floor or table, and then roll it out, until the needed number of bags have been unrolled. Problem is, sometimes it's hard to know where one bag ends and another begins! Since those bags have been rolled up for so long, the imprint of the tear-off point had been imprinted on several parts of the bag, whether or not they are the true tear-off point! Sometimes I will mistake a fake tear-off point for an authentic one, but when I try to tear it off nothing happens!

You know, I've been thinking about this genuine vs. fake idea a lot lately. It's not just a silly matter--in the spiritual realm, it has profound (and eternal) consequences. Jesus talks about that very matter, and how when His coming gets close, false Christs and prophets will appear:

"For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible." (Matthew 24:24)

So how can we make sure that we are not fooled by these false Christs and prophets, and that we can without error discern the real from the fake? The answer's easy, though the implication isn't fast. To discern who is the Real Christ, we need to get to know the Real Christ. We need to have a relationship with Him--pray to Him, and read His Word, too. That's how we can discern truthfully who's the Real Christ--by knowing Him ahead of time.

As for me and my trash bag dilemma, I've got it solved. Being a janitor for several years know, I've learned how to tell apart the real tear-off point from the imprint. But this spiritual matter is much more serious--could you tell the difference between the Real Christ and the fake and false ones?

Not Knowing the Time (Exactly)

Last month, I was very excited. Why? Well, because my grandparents were coming for Thanksgiving, and I was looking forward to them coming very much!

Finally, the day of their expected arrival came. As soon as I finished my school and work for the day, I joined forces with Mom and we both cleaned the house like crazy! Sure, it was early afternoon, and we didn't expect them until later in the evening. But on the other hand, we didn't know exactly when they would get here, so that's why we cleaned so soon.

Our hard work and forethought soon paid off. It was only quarter to five, but right at that time I saw a blue car come up our driveway--my grandparents! We had expected that with the 12-hour drive from Michigan, that they wouldn't get here so soon. But we were wrong (they had actually left Michigan really early in the morning), and as I said previously, we were both happy that we had done so much cleaning beforehand.

I've been doing some thinking about my grandparents' early arrival time. You know, that story is really quite similar to another event soon to happen. The event that I'm talking about is Jesus' soon Second Coming! Just like my grandparents' coming, we know some details. We know what to look for, and what the world will be like right before Jesus comes again. Check out Matthew 24 for details, but suffice it to say that by the condition of the world, Jesus' coming can't be too far away!

My family and I knew approximately the time, day, etc. my grandparents would come, but we didn't know the exact time beforehand. We just had to get ready, and stay ready. So it is with Christ's coming--we can know when it is close, but we don't know exactly when He will come. We just need to get ready and stay ready.

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father...Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:36, 42)

Are you ready for Christ to come?