On the unusually cold morning of January 28, 1986, the Challenger space shuttle blew apart 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board. But according to some conspiracy theorists, six of the seven crew members still live among us.
Some of the examples are:
Captain Richard “Dick” Scobee, is now the CEO of a Chicago marketing-advertising company called Cows in Trees.
Pilot Michael J. Smith is professor Michael J. Smith of the University of Wisconsin.
Mission Specialist Judith Resnik is a professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Payload Specialist (and “Teacher in Space”) Christa McAuliffe now only uses her first name, Sharon. She has an almost entirely different face than that of Christa’s, and is an adjunct professor at Syracuse University College of Law.
Payload Specialist Gregory Jarvis is the only person that the conspiracy theorists believe died, because they couldn’t identify a double for him.
The facts have repeatedly shown that Challenger tragically fell from the sky due to an O-ring failure after the ship was launched in unsafe temperatures.
In a recent article in Popular Mechanics, Professor Marta Marchlewska at the Polish Institute of Psychology explained the cause for such conspiracies. “People who say that astronauts are still alive refuse to accept that bad things accidentally happen to good people. So, there’s someone behind the disaster or it simply did not happen.”
The author of the article then summarizes: “A conspiracy theory tames the great chaos around us, which is the likely explanation for these implausible ideas. It’s easier to blame the imagined secret machinations of influential people, serving dark agendas, than admitting life can be a cruel beast.” – Stav Dimitropolos, “Why Conspiracy Theorists Refuse to Believe the Challenger Astronauts Died,” Popular Mechanics, (1-28-22)
What does this have to do with Christianity? Consider how easily people believe lies these days. People are tempted to believe a lie when the truth challenges our false beliefs. People want to believe that good things happen to good people and bad things to bad people. People want to believe they we are able to be good – good enough in fact to “deserve” a place in heaven.
But not one bit of that is true. But, as followers of Christ, we have something far more trustworthy to tame the great chaos around us. We have the love and grace and mercy of God. We have the everlasting, eternal Creator on our side. We have the Truth – and it is the truth that sets us free – not lies. We have the knowledge of who is truly in control of the destiny of all things. We have his promises – which will always prove to be true. We have his Spirit to guide us into all truth. Why don’t we use it more? We don’t need lies.
PRAYER: Jesus, give us your Spirit to discern the spirits, to test what is good and true and pure and to reject all the lies of Satan! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. – 1 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
Surviving a cobra bite in Nepal is simple, or at least that’s what some natives believe. They hold to the idea that if the victim of a cobra bites the snake back right away, and bites hard enough to kill the cobra, then the venom that has been injected is rendered harmless.
There’s only one problem, as a farmer found out. The farmer was bitten in August in Biratnagar and later told BBC News that he went about his business normally after fatally biting his attacker. He managed to survive only after his family convinced him that perhaps the custom/superstition was ridiculous and they rushed him to a hospital. (BBC News, 8-13-2012/News of the Weird, 10/29/12)
I think there are a couple of worthwhile lessons here:
FIRST: human superstitions are not fact; they have no saving power and are rather ridiculous and foolish. Just believing something is true certainly doesn’t render it true. There are those who suggest that Christianity is a foolish superstition. How can one tell a superstition from something that is true? It’s not that hard, really. All one must do is to test the evidence for the claims to ascertain what is true and what is false. And there is plenty of evidence for Christianity, but not any for the idea that biting a cobra in return for being bitten is a way to make the venom harmless!There’s a ton of misleading, false information and conspiracy theories out there right now that are leading some of the “elect” down snake holes – don’t fall for them!
SECOND: we are cautioned by Peter not to “repay evil for evil.” Granted, most of us will never be bitten by a cobra or will bite one in return even if we had been bitten. But we are often “bitten” by the actions and words of others. We have a sense that if I can only bite back, it’ll feel better and help me heal from the wounding. Balderdash. Might as well bite a cobra to deal with the venom within us. It’ll be just as effective as injecting poison into the one who hurt us.
We already have plenty of poison in our hearts and tongues. Jesus wants to remove that poison from us, not have us use it against others.
PRAYER: Jesus, we may from time to time be able to curb our tongues and not lash out at those who have injured us, but our hearts are another matter entirely. Take the poison out of our hearts and minds and heal us! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Genesis 3:4-5 (NLT2) – “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
Haven’t we all pondered this story of the fall of man many times over? Haven’t we grieved about it? After all, it led to the introduction of sin and death into the world – things we are still plagued by.
I used to think that the most insidious lie Satan told in the garden was from verse four when he exclaimed (rather animatedly, I imagine): You won’t die! But I’ve changed my mind about that.
I now think that the biggest lie was when he said..you will be like God. In a way there was truth because they were apparently instantly able to distinguish at some level good and evil. But that’s not it. It’s and you will be like God.
Satan was appealing to their pride. Who wouldn’t like being god-like? Even many of our superheroes in the movies are “descendants of the gods” – Superman, Wonder Woman and others.
Here, though, is the tricky part. Satan was promising them something that they already had: they were already made in God’s image. In fact, the carrot that Satan was dangling in front of them wouldn’t make them like God – but unlike God.
There’s an application here for so many today who are feeling worthless, like a piece of cosmic trash, because of things they have done. Or they’ve bought into the idea that human life is no different or more exalted than the life of a common garden snail because we all “evolved” from slime and that’s all there is to life.
Nothing could be further from the truth! We were made in God’s image and there can be nothing more exalted than that! Yes, we exchanged his image by our sin (just as Adam and Eve did) but that doesn’t mean we aren’t made in his image. We’ve just defaced it.
If God truly exists and if we are to believe Scripture at all, we are like God from the moment we are conceived. Sin can’t make us like God because we were born that way.
Satan wants nothing more than to strip that away from us – even telling us lies to make us believe that by being disobedient and acting on our own free volition to do what we want to do that we are acting like God.
You have value. You are created in His image. Don’t fall for Satan’s tricks that can only cause you to doubt that heritage!
PRAYER: Father, we don’t very often feel that we’re in your image, and for all those who are despairing of their worth, don’t let them listen to Satan trying to convince them that they must do something to become like you. We pray that each day your image that we have defaced will shine more brightly within us to the world around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I still can scarcely believe the scenes that unfolded before my eyes yesterday. I’m heartbroken and saddened. But, upon reflection yesterday morning, I’m not surprised and it all makes sense. This isn’t going to be a political diatribe, but about truth and the power of words for good or ill. What is so insidious is that when we hear certain words or statements being made for long enough we come to believe it is true – even if it isn’t.
The simple fact is that truth and lies have always been at war. It started in the garden of Eden. A simple reading of the text would cause one to think that the very first time that Satan breathed out the lie: “You shall not surely die!” that Adam and Eve fell for it hook, line and sinker. Satan has been lying to us ever since. It started with that one tiny word “not” and lies continue to take on a life of their own. It may be that the fall happened the very first time, but I suspect not.
Why do I say that? Think about it a moment. What does it take for falsehood to become commonly believed? Is it not a re-speaking of the falsehood a number of times over time? Does a heresy gain traction in the church the first time a false teacher says something? Typically not! There is often a violent reaction initially, but over time people have heard it so much that it no longer sounds radical or heretical. And the false teacher gains power and a following that support the false teaching.
It has happened in our country. We used to believe marriage was for life. We used to believe marriage was between a man and a woman. We used to believe the Bible was the inspired word of God. We used to believe in a concept called sin. We used to say that pride was evil and humility was good. But over time, little by little as each false word fell like small hammers, the chips started to fly and sadly those things are no longer considered to be true.
And it happens to believers. Scripture warns us of the great danger of false teachers knowing we are gullible. We are told that false Christs, false prophets will show great signs and wonders to the point that some of the elect can be deceived. We are warned Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. – Romans 12:2, CSB
Do you get that? DISCERN what is good….don’t take what we hear at face value in undiscerning ways! That is how we can separate the false teacher/speaker from a true heart.
I fear that too often we choose who we will support based on what they say. But Jesus was pretty clear about how to test things. He didn’t say “By their words you will know them”. He said we would be able to judge based on their DEEDS. The old saying that “Deeds speak louder than words” is true, but it is true that often it begins with words that perpetuate the deeds.
And again: Matthew 5:16 (NIV) – In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good DEEDS and praise your Father in heaven. Jesus doesn’t say that they’ll hear your good words. He knows how meaningless, but also how dangerous, words are. His words “Depart from me you workers of iniquity” will carry eternal force. Words are very serious, indeed. They have tremendous power. The ancients believed that they were like an arrow that was loosed from a bow and that once spoken they could never be taken back. That’s how serious words can be. Arrows can kill.
But what of those who simply fail to discern and follow blindly along because they’ve heard something long enough that they believe it to now be true? The beloved apostle had instruction and warning for us on that score: 2 John 1:10-11 (NKJV) – If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. What’s he saying? If someone is speaking falsehood (in this case specifically about doctrine, but the principle is true in other cases) and we don’t discern properly, we share in the evil deeds. And that’s serious!
It can be hard to discern when there are tiny deceptions embedded in statements that are mostly true. But it’s even more important to discern in such a case. Bigger lies are (or at least should be!) easier to spot.
We live in a time when it has become the norm to say that each of us has our own truth, that there is no absolute truth. What utter rubbish! Two diametrically opposed statements or “facts” cannot possibly be true. If there is ever any one thing that is true, there has to be an ultimate Decider/Proclaimer of what is true. That means that there is absolute truth. But we must discern it!
I’m not trying to make a political statement here but if you feel you must draw political implications after what we witnessed on January 6, 2021, that’s your choice. I’m much more interested in the bigger topic of truth and the great and serious danger I see of people being misled by inflammatory rhetoric and fine sounding arguments, thinking that ungodly things are godly, that lies are truth. Our real enemy doesn’t sit on a kingly throne or in a white house. Our real enemy that is behind all that went on and is going on is the “father of lies”. Make no mistake about what it is that he’s trying to accomplish: he wants your very soul!
What I’m writing today may sound old-fashioned and very closed-minded. Truth, my friends, never changes. What was once truly true will always be true because the One who IS the Truth never ages or goes out of date. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and ever shall be!
Discern what is good, pleasing and the will of God! Don’t believe it because you read it on the internet or saw it on the news or because a friend told you something. Discern, believers!
PRAYER: God, give us discerning hearts and minds to test what we see and hear by the One who is the Truth and not be led astray by words cleverly disguised. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Copyright 2021, Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>
Have you ever really noticed how many neon signs there are in your town? Have you paid attention to what they claim and what they try to sell you?
I recently was listening to an old rock song by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band called Fire Inside. It contains these lyrics:
There’s a hard moon risin’ on the streets tonight
There’s a reckless feeling in your heart as you head out tonight,
Through the concrete canyons to the midtown light
Where the latest neon promises are burning bright…
I had never paid close attention to the lyrics before, but for some reason, the concept of neon promises struck a chord in my thoughts and spurred this DayBreaks. If you’ve been to any big (and sometimes small cities), you’ve probably seen neon signs promoting things like these: “All you can eat! $5.95!” “Girls! Girls! Girls!” “Paradise!” “Fresh pies!” “B-B-Q!” “Cocktails and Dreams!” “Beer on tap – happy hour – $1!”
Satan is no idiot. He knows how attracted we are to beautiful, shiny, colorful and bright things. And he knows how those things draw us with promises of dreams about to be realized, hopes fulfilled, pleasures and freedom to do as your heart pleases without consequence or regret.
But, in reality, all they are is empty neon promises. They shine bright for a while but they are empty, filled with nothing more than the hot gasses contained in glowing glass tubes.
I thought about how the promises of God offer things so different than neon promises: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” “I will remember your sins no more.” “I have come that you may have life and life overflowing.” “Come to me and I will give you rest.”
Does the different between those promises strike you as much as it does me? God’s promises relate to the deepest desires of my heart and soul rather than simply the desires of the flesh. Even if you eat all the food you want for $5.95, you’ll be hungry again tomorrow, but Jesus gives us the bread that makes it so that our souls will never again hunger.
I’ve had enough of neon promises that can’t fulfill. I hope you have, too, and that we will all recognize them for what they are: just tubes filled with glowing gas.
PRAYER: Father, than you for your promises which are real, deep and eternal. Keep us from falling prey to the neon promises of this world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 Corinthians 14:15 (NLT) Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.
I’m troubled. On the day I write this, I spent about an hour with a group of pastors and believers in prayer. It was great – that wasn’t the problem. What troubled me is a thought that occurred to me during the meeting. At one point, someone started leading a song and the words of the song struck me…hard. And that set me to thinking….
We sing lots of sweet, wonderful-sounding songs that have words which I doubt that we really mean. For example: “All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give. I will ever love and trust him, in his presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all…”
Now how true is it when we say, “All to Jesus I surrender”? Note that we’re not saying we want to surrender all to him…we’re saying we have surrendered all to him. I doubt that’s a statement that any of us can make, and if we do, we need to repent and ask forgiveness for lying or pride, one or the other. Even as we sing it, if you think about it, have you surrendered that most secret, dark sin that you seem to fall for every time, that part of your heart where you keep it hidden? You may want to, but have you? Have I?
I’m sure you can think of the words to many other songs where we make outrageous statements – but I wonder if they’re real:
“In Christ alone my hope is found…” Really? Or do we still hope in our bank account, our government, our looks or intelligence to figure a way out of a dilemma?
What of singing about how we hope to join in his sufferings and become like him “in your death, my Lord”? Really?
Does Jesus care about our words? Oh, yeah, he does!!!!
I know this is sort of a rant, but I believe based on the passage above that we need to be careful not only in what we say, but what we sing. Perhaps we’d be better off at times to keep our mouth shut than sing out lies. Or, alter the words to fit the truth of your life and reality…and in so doing we may find he gives us strength to become what the words of the song describe – a person totally sold out to him. Until we realize (and admit) that we’re not totally given over to him, we won’t make much progress because we won’t see the need for change.
PRAYER: Father, I fear that I’ve often sung words to you claiming to be things that I am not, claiming to think things that I don’t. I admit that there is a part of me that’s still all too human that doesn’t want to pay the price to surrender all to you. Forgive me. Help me want what you want for me! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Copyright 2013 by Galen C. Dalrymple.
To subscribe to DayBreaks, use this link: https://daybreaksdevotions.wordpress.com and click on the Subscribe button at the right of the page. If you wish to unsubscribe, at the bottom of each email you receive about DayBreaks, you should find an “Unsubscribe” ink at the bottom of the email.
NOTE: Galen is a missionary with Medical Ambassadors International (MAI) and raises his own support. DayBreaks is free – and will remain so – but if you wish to help support Galen in his ministry work with MAI, you can make a donation on his behalf. One-time donations may be made by going to this link: http://www.medicalambassadors.org/donate.html. Look down the left side of the page until you find the SUPPORT MISSIONARIES section then click on “Galen Dalrymple” and you’ll be taken to PayPal where you can donate to his support. If you wish to make a recurring donation, contact suzette@med-amb.org or call her at 209-543-7500 ext. 219. You can also write a check to Medical Ambassadors International. Mail the check to Medical Ambassadors International, P.O. Box 1302, Salida, CA 95368. All donations are tax deductible as MAI is a 501.c.3 organization certified with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.
DayBreaks Devotions 