The Space Race

 

In the 1960s there was a Christian song in the songbook, “Youth Praise” which commenced with the words, ‘We are in a great race to put rockets in space’.  It certainly reflected the reality of the times.  In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 from Kazakhstan and though it was hardly bigger than a large beach ball it was the first man-made object to orbit the earth.  It was hailed as a great victory for Russia and communism, though the Americans pretended it was of little consequence with President Eisenhower claiming it as ‘a small ball in the air’.  Yet the Americans knew they had lost that initial race as Sputnik 1 travelled overhead every ninety minutes, every day for three months.  The US government’s reaction was to increase the budget of its space programme from $0.5 Billion to $10.5 Billion.

Later the Soviets launched Sputnik 2 with a dog inside named Laila and that was the first animal in space but it did not survive.  America’s attempt two months after Sputnik 1 to send a rocket into space managed to reach  just one metre before it fell back and exploded.  It was sometimes referred to as ‘Flopnik’. In 1959 the Soviets again got a first by sending Luna 2 to the surface of the moon.  That was the first spaceship from earth to reach the moon, though it crashed on landing.  In 1960 with America trying to catch up with space exploration they launched a satellite to study weather patterns. The Soviets launched Sputknik 5 carried two dogs, Belka and Strelka and they both survived the experience.

High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr.

 

Just last week I was looking through a book compiled by Tim Peake where he showed some of the amazing pictures taken while he was on the International Space Station.  As an introduction to the book, Tim quoted the opening lines of the poem “High Flight” and, as I read it I was transported back to my school days when my English teacher Graham “Gunner” Davies used the poem as one of his lessons.

High Flight is a sonnet written in 1941 by war poet John Gillespie Magee Jr. and inspired by his experiences as a fighter pilot of the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. Magee began writing the poem on 18 August, while stationed outside London, and mailed a completed manuscript to his family on 3 September.

Magee's poem captures the exhilaration of flight and concludes with a sense of reaching toward the divine.

The poem goes like this………

"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air....

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.

Where never lark, or even eagle flew —

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

– Put out my hand, and touched the face of God."

What is the point of resting?

All pictures used by permission of Unsplash

I would like to share some thoughts on resting with you today.

“There just are not enough hours in the day” would suggest that maybe you are not managing time effectively or that your ‘things to do’ list is too ambitious. There is  nothing wrong with aspirational targets, so says the school teacher!

To have a break or rest is so very vital to our well being and health; that is physical health, emotional health and mental health. These seem to be a very real issue for all kinds of people these days and from all age backgrounds.

Let’s face it, there is nothing better than looking forward to a long deserved holiday. It is very much a break from normal life and day-to-day stresses. If it is a long weekend, a 4 day 3 night break, a week, 10 days, a fortnight, 3 weeks, a month or more, it is a well earned opportunity to laze by a pool, sunbathe on a beach, visit places of interest and relax.

20th July 1969 - Remember!!

Photos courtesy of Unsplash 

I was reminded recently of the events of July 20th, 1969. Those that owned a television or at least knew someone who did gathered around it to watch something that was a ‘giant leap for mankind’, Man stepped off this planet and on to the nearest piece of rock to the earth in this enormous universe. It was a huge scientific achievement; humans travelled 384,400 km to step foot on the moon and leave a footprint in the dust. That footprint is still there; it has not been removed, as on the moon, there is no wind or rain to disturb it.

Lesson from 'The Sun'

Recently, I heard a quote from a preacher who lived in the 1800s. His name was Charles Spurgeon. He loved the Bible and preached thousands of sermons from it. But more importantly, he loved the God of the Bible and believed in Him. 

I heard a quote about the Sun. Charles Spurgeon believed it was a significant part of God’s incredible creation. 

It is an incredible fact that the Sun, which our planet orbits, is 15 million degrees Celsius at its core and a mere 5,500 degrees Celsius at its surface. This vast, enormous ball of glowing gas produces more energy in 1.5 millionths of a second than all 7 billion humans will use in one year. Yet when we consider our planet, the poles are frozen, and the equator is almost too hot to live on, but we live on bands of the earth with the right temperature for life. If our planet was closer to the Sun, we would all burn up; if we were further away, we would all freeze. God has placed the world in precisely the right position for life. 

Faith & Creation

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

In his letter to the Christians in Rome, the apostle Paul interspersed his writing with several doxologies. These are short, spontaneous outbursts of praise to God, arising from some statement made about Him. In one of these doxologies, Paul used a simple but sublime description of God, ‘from whom, through whom and to whom are all things.’ This formula sums up so much of what Christians believe about God and His relationship to His creation.  

We’ll concentrate on the first phrase; all things being ‘from Him’. He is the origin of all things animate and inanimate, seen and unseen. The actual mechanics of creation might be controversial, but there can be no argument among theists about the universe’s origins as having a creator. So rather than getting bogged down in the ‘when and how’ of creation, we could make useful progress by thinking rather about the ‘who and why’? Seeing God as creator – that is, in simple terms, One who made something out of nothing - puts us at odds with the famous cosmologist Prof. Stephen Hawkin of Cambridge University, whose latest M-theory outlined in his recent book ‘The Grand Design’, sees the origin of the universe as simply the solution of a set of mathematical equations. This solution postulates that the universe has up to 11 dimensions, plus time, and says we may be part of a ‘multiverse’ rather than one universe. 

Hubble Trouble!

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation to this very day. It was not the first space telescope but it is one of the largest and most versatile. Well known both as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy, The Hubble telescope is named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. It is one of NASA's Great Observatories sent out to gather images of the distant stars and galaxies of our universe.

John Glenn - The first American to orbit the earth

John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American aviator, engineer, astronaut, and United States Senator from Ohio. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling three times. Before joining NASA, he was a distinguished fighter pilot in both World War II and Korea, with five Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen clusters.

He was one of the "Mercury Seven" group of military test pilots selected in 1959 by NASA to become America's first astronauts. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission and became the first American to orbit the Earthand the fifth person in space. Glenn received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, and was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990. Glenn was the last surviving member of the Mercury Seven after the death of Scott Carpenter.

Glenn resigned from NASA in 1964 and announced plans to run for a U.S. Senate seat from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he first won election to the Senate in 1974 where he served through January 3, 1999.

He retired from the Marine Corps in 1965, after twenty-three years in the military, with over fifteen medals and awards, including the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. In 1998, while still a sitting senator, he became the oldest person to fly in space, and the only one to fly in both the Mercury and Space Shuttle programs as crew member of the Discovery space shuttle. He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Wikipedia contributors. "John Glenn." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Dec. 2016. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. He died yesterday at the age of ninety-five. He had been called "the last true national hero America has ever had", by author, Tom Wolfe.

The Washington Post reported that Glenn "did not drink, smoke or swear and maintained a disciplined, straight-arrow manner" during his training and across his NASA career. He went on to serve four terms in the Senate representing the people of Ohio. In 1998 he joined the crew of the space shuttle Discovery, returning to space at the age of seventy-seven.

John Glenn was revered for his courage, morality, and commitment to service. But there's another factor that explains all three, one that many of today's obituaries are omitting.

What really impresses me is that John Glenn said during his 1998 shuttle mission - "To look up out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible. It just strengthens my faith." He said that he prayed every day while in orbit. He made his faith public in the many spheres that he served in, in life.

Visiting space has had a profound affect on many astronauts. Buzz Aldrin's first act when he landed on the moon was to celebrate communion, Frank Borman commanded the first space crew to travel beyond Earth's orbit and radioed back a message quoting from Genesis 1: 'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.' James Irwin walked on the moon in 1971 and subsequently became an evangelical minister. Charles Duke followed Irwin to the moon and later became a missionary.

Seeing the universe from God's perspective has always had a startling affect on people! David wrote in Psalm 8 'when I look at the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him'?

Isn't is amazing that the creator of this Universe should consider us! He did for the Bible says 'the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world'. 

John Glenn has now traveled far beyond this world and so will you and I at the end of our time on earth. Where will your destination be - heaven or hell. Will you be welcomed into heaven because your sins were forgiven on earth or will you be banished, eternally, from the presence of God because you refused to believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

I'm praying that you will make the right choice.

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

Gaia Space Telescope plots a billion stars!

Gaia Space Telescope plots a billion stars!

Gaia is a space observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA) designed for astrometry. The mission aims to construct the largest and most precise 3D space catalog ever made and totalling approximately 1 billion astronomical objects, mainly stars but also planets, comets, asteroids and quasars among others. The spacecraft will monitor each of its target stars about 70 times over a period of five years to study the precise motion of each star relative to the Milky Way galaxy. This will involve approximately 1% of the Milky Way population with stars brighter than 20 G magnitude. Additionally Gaia is expected to detect thousands to tens of thousands of Jupiter-sized exoplanets beyond the Solar System,^[12] 500,000 quasars and tens of thousands of new asteroids and comets within the Solar System.^[13][14][15]

(Source - wikipedia)

The latest predictions are that there are far more planets in the Universe than we ever imagined! I find this just one more amazing confirmation that what the Bible says is true.

In Genesis 1:16 when God was describing the order of creation it says 'he made the stars also'. It almost sounds like a throw away comment. The vastness of the universe is celebrated and stated often in the Holy Scriptures. For instance when God was promising to Abraham a large family and a great nation he illustrates the enormity of his descendants by comparing them to the number of stars that are in the Universe. Look at this passage:

Genesis 15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue[a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son[b]shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

For a long time we didn't understand the vastness of the universe but God did state that we could not number the stars! As technology has developed and stronger telescopes have been developed we have discovered that what the Bible said is true. 

There are many facts that are found in the Bible which at one stage we could not prove to be right or wrong. As technologies have develop we have discovered that what the Bible said long ago is actually true.

If you want to check some other examples look at what the Bible says about the following;

1. The life giving qualities of blood (Leviticus 17)
2. The earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22)
3. The water hydrological cycle
4. Paths in seas and oceans (Psalm 8)
5. Air currents 

So list goes on!

The question is - does this make you take God's word seriously or do you just dismiss it and ignore it? 

Abrams believed the Lord and the result was his relationship with God was established on reverence for and trust in God. 

For more details about how to become a Christian please read more of these blogs.

For more information text the word INFO to 07747 101352 

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well.

All posts have the aim of pointing people to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour or to aid Christian growth and development.