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Friday the Thirteenth

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Random Ramblings of the Resident Raptor
Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the destruction of wicked people when it comes. Proverbs 3:25

Friday the 13th did not even have a completed ...
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No it is not the nightmare on Elm Street but it is Friday the thirteenth again. It has risen again just like Jason Voorhees in the latest remake of the horror film by the same name.

Although long and difficult to pronounce Paraskevidekatriaphobia, whether you can spell it or not still means the same thing, "The fear of Friday the thirteenth." There is something about Friday the thirteenth. Call it childhood superstitions, or an irrational fear, but none-the-less there are those who for one reason or another tread lightly around the thirteenth day of the month when it happens to fall on a Friday. This year we have been blessed with not one but three such occurrences of this fear inducing day. The first was February and then again this month and hold on to your black cats because November will bring the trifecta.

Some people are so paralyzed with fear of Friday the thirteenth they simply won’t get out of bed. Others will steadfastly refuse to fly on an airplane, buy a house, or act on a hot stock tip. "It’s been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina. Dossey’s organization estimates the phobia afflicts 17-21 million people in the United States alone.

This fear of “13” is strong in today’s world. According to Dossey, more than 80 percent of high-rises lack a thirteenth floor. Many airports skip the thirteenth gate. Hospitals and hotels regularly have no room number 13.

Many triskaidekaphobes, as those who fear the unlucky integer are known, point to the ill-fated mission to the moon, Apollo 13.

As for Friday, it is well known among Christians as the day Jesus was crucified. Some biblical scholars believe Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on Friday. Perhaps most significant, is a belief that Abel was slain by Cain on Friday the thirteenth. And then of course was the fateful thirteenth guest for dinner when Jesus was betrayed during the Last Supper. Jesus even went on to call Judas the son of perdition. Rightly or wrongly the number 13 when combined with Friday is viewed as unlucky to many people.

Triskaidekaphobia can afflict anyone, even Presidents and Emperors, President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the thirteenth day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

Mark Twain once was the thirteenth guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest to avoid the dreaded ’Last Supper’ scenario.

Jason Voorhees
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To the visitors of Camp Crystal Lake, Friday the thirteenth meant they were surely going to have an encounter with Jason Voorhees, the fictional machete wielding serial killer now in its 12th resurrection.

Whatever the reason for the fear, whether it’s a crazed fictional serial killer in a movie or some superstition learned as a child, for those who suffer from Paraskevidekatriaphobia Friday the thirteenth is one day to be avoided.

Continue reading “Friday the Thirteenth” →

Save, Back-Up, Restore

Allen Frederick 3 Comments

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor

Insight from the Journey across the Sky

By Allen Scott



6 Take to heart these words that I give you today. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re at home or away, when you lie down or get up. 8 {Write them down, and} tie them around your wrist, and wear them as headbands as a reminder. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deut 6:6-9 (GW)

Save, Back-up and restore are three terms familiar to every computer IT tech, especially those who working in a ‘Microsoft Windows ™’ environment. With all the malicious malware circulating over the internet and hackers sending out viruses and denial of service attacks, it is not a matter of if, but when a computer will crash. Firewalls and virus protection can only do so much, therefore it is important that when your computer is running smoothly, you take the time to back it up.

If you get in the habit of doing regular back-ups, then restoring a computer system after a crash is pretty simple. However if you fail to back-up your hard drives and save it in a secondary location, then the restoration process will take a lot longer, in fact the lost data may never be restored. Failure to have a back-up is failure to plan ahead for a crash.

I had a run-in with the dreaded drive crash over the weekend. I had been noticing a slowing down of the computer while performing normal computing tasks. I knew that a reboot was in order and so I saved all important data and backed-up the most used documents and proceeded with the reboot. Initially all seemed to go well until the computer shut down and started the reboot process again, and then again, and again. I knew from experience this was not going to be good.

After these endless restarts I was able to get the computer to start in SAFE mode and proceeded to remove the offending program. The offending program was supposed to protect my computer from malicious viruses and malware and yet it was the program that was causing my computer to not operate properly. During one of the program’s normal overnight updates the downloaded patch caused instability in my computer. Therefore it had to be removed, and the computer restored to an earlier date, to eliminate the problem caused by the program. Thank God there was a restoration point.

I have had non-repairable computer crashes in the past, in those cases I had no back-up, there was no restoration point. In fact the only thing I could do was forget the past and start over anew. Loosing all my previous work was difficult to handle but at least I was able to start over. Since then I have learned to save important documents to several locations as well as backing up important data and directories. Especially my daily journal. I have over two years worth of writings and thoughts recorded in this daily journal that I would really hate to loose. Thoughts of what God has been teaching me along this ‘Journey Across the Sky’. It contains thoughts and feelings I have about certain events occurring in the world and reminders of the goodness of God through difficult situations.

Not having a recorded history of where you have been, and where you are going makes remembering difficult, if not impossible. Not having a back-up from which you can draw from in case of a memory loss is frightening. Those who suffer from the physical affliction of Alzheimer’s know first hand the horrors associated with memory loss.

It would be nice if we could simply do a restore for memory loss, but alas that is not possible, even with the advances in modern medicine. Computer hard drives can be restored to almost like new condition, and lost data found again through the back-up, restore process. You save it, and back it up so that it can be restored if needed in the future. For humans it is not quite so simple.

God warned Israel to write the word of God upon tablets and door posts, and to teach them to their children so that when God finally gave them the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they would not forget who it was that delivered them from Egyptian bondage. God warned them to remember where they came from, and to not forget who got them to where they are now. He warned them to not forget His words, but to make sure they backed up this information by writing it down and repeating it often, and by teaching it to their children.

Can you imagine the Bible being lost? Can you imagine our lives without the word of God to fall back on? Can you imagine not being able to re-read those stories of deliverance found in the pages of scripture? What would we do if God had not preserved His word down through the ages? What would your life be like if you had never heard the Gospel of Christ?

Continue reading “Save, Back-Up, Restore” →

February Issue of ‘Pop Goes the Gospel’

Allen Frederick 5 Comments

'Pop Goes the Gospel'

'Pop Goes the Gospel'

Welcome to the February 28, 2009 edition of  ‘Pop Goes the Gospel’. The intersection of God and culture. A confluence of everyday life and the extraordinary. The crossroads of heaven and earth. Each month we offer up a select group of posts from across cyberspace that points us heavenward. This month’s edition is smaller than past editions due to some faulty links from those who submitted material for this edition. If you submitted an article and do not see it here this is probably the reason it was excluded. Anyway, less is more starting with this month’s feature article. Take time to read and comment on each article and by the end of your journey you will have been enriched. Now on with the carnival.

This Month’s Feature Article

Raffi Shahinian presents The Parable of the Cancer Cell posted at parables of a prodigal world.I enjoy doing this carnival each month because I get to read some really outstanding articles. Raffi has done a masterful job in this modern day parable and therefore receives the honor be being the feature poster this month. Be sure to congratulate Raffi for earning the rare distinction of ‘feature post’. Perhaps you can earn a spot at the top next month! Send in your BEST post for our next issue and see if it rises to the top. Use this post as an example in capturing the essence of “Pop Goes the Gospel”. Raffi captured that essence exactly.

In Media

Sarah Scrafford presents 100 Enlightening Bible Study Blogs posted at Christian Colleges.A list of lists. Apparently bloggers at Christian Colleges have a great deal of time on their hands as they produce several list articles on a regular basis. So this month here is yet ANOTHER list from the prolific listers at Christian Colleges blog. Perhaps you will find something there beneficial.

In Church Life

Angelawd presents Is Christianity Sexist? posted at angelawd, saying, Never one for running from controversy Angelawd opens a huge can of worms by tackling the “sexism” of the bible. This is sure to garner a comment frenzy. Let your voice be heard regardless of which side of the issue you find yourself. Tough subjects are not taboo here at “Pop Goes the Gospel”.

Yolanda Lehman presents LOVE POURED OUT (Alabaster Box) posted at Ain’ta That Good News?!.Yolanda, a first time contributor to this blog carnival offers up a challenge to us all. Are we being broken and poured out with Love for our savior? Have our alabaster boxes been broken for Christ, or are we saving the good stuff for ourselves? Probing points to ponder and pontificate upon.

In Culture

Andy Deane presents posted at How to Study the Bible – 40 Bible Study Methods!, saying, “Pastor Andy Deane’s new book, Learn to Study the Bible, teaches you forty different step-by-step Bible study methods to help you discover, apply and enjoy God��s Word. Each practical method has a handwritten example to demonstrate to make it easy for you to follow the steps. Learn how to study the Bible with so much variety that you’ll never get into the rut that routine brings ever again.

Rich Bordner presents Don’t Put God in a Box « The Pugnacious Irishman posted at The Pugnacious Irishman, saying, Cliches abound in our society. Rich points out the overuse of cliches are oft times simply masks used to avoid any debate concerning controversial issues. In particular Rich points out the overuse of the phrase “Do not put God in a box” in defending lifestyle choices. He points out the bias usually associated with this particular cliche. See what you think. And be sure to share some comment love.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of ‘Pop Goes the Gospel’ using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Reference Points

Allen Frederick 5 Comments

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
Insight from the Journey across the Sky
By Allen Scott
looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2Open Link in New Window
':sv:Simon Vouet -
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Orchestra’s use them, choirs and choruses use them, professional and amateur musicians use them, sailors, travelers, navigators and builders use them. What are they? Reference points.

For the orchestra A 440 is the reference tone the entire orchestra tunes to, the benchmark for any fine musical performance. To a chorus it is a pitch pipe and to the musician an electronic tuner. Sailors looked toward the heavens and by using a sextant, sailed by starlight. Hikers utilize the compass. Builders would use a level and a plumb line. All are acting as reference points.

Without these reference points orchestras and choirs would be out of tune. Professional musicians would sound like beginners. Travelers would get hopelessly lost, and buildings would have crooked walls.

Slaves, hoping for freedom from a life of slavery in the south, were taught, from a young age, how to follow the North Star, to the place where that freedom lay. To think, in the vastness of space, God placed a steady reference point for all eternity. It is not surprising then that the wise men followed a star to the place where Jesus was born.

Our lives need reference points as well in order to navigate safely through this journey called life. Without a guiding light, a plumb line, or some other measuring device we really would not know how straight or crooked our journey was.

Without a point of reference we would be like a sailor lost at sea, or an orchestra out of tune. Without some sort of compass we would never know in which direction we were actually heading. Today GPS units, utilizing satellite coordinates, guide us safely throughout the country. These electronic marvels communicate constantly with orbiting satellites and recalculate our route as we travel the highway.

To the Christian what is our reference point? Is it a compass, sextant, plumb line, tuning fork, pitch pipe, a star? No it’s a cross outside Jerusalem. Without the death of Jesus on that cross, our sins would not be atoned for, and had Jesus not risen, we would be hopeless. The Bible, God’s word, becomes our road map and the Holy Spirit our GPS (God’s Positioning Spirit).

The church calendar acts as a point of reference as well helping to keep us centered on the reason for our hope, Jesus. Each season helps us to refocus on the life of Christ. We are currently entering into the season of Lent, the time of year were we focus on the death and resurrection of our Lord. It’s life from death, hope from despair, light in the darkness, and joy unspeakable and full of glory. From Ash Wednesday, through Good Friday, into Resurrection Sunday we journey again to the cross, the grave, and finally to resurrection.

The cross is the reference point to remind us of the great price God paid for our sins, and the love God has for us. For the lost, the cross stands as a beacon of hope, a compass pointing heavenward, a steady reference point for all eternity. Without the cross, I would be lost. Thank God for the cross, our reference point, and Jesus our guide.

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)
Along for the journey
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January 2009 Edition of “Pop Goes the Gospel”

Allen Frederick 3 Comments

Welcome to the January 31, 2009 edition of “Pop Goes the Gospel”. To think another year has already started. We have completed our first full month of the new year and a lot is happening in our nation. We inaugurated our 44th President a mere 11 days ago and to say things have been stirred up may just be an understatement. In the midst of all the turmoil in our economy it is good to know that one thing still remains, the faithfulness of God. Through it all He remains faithful. No matter what we may face the Lord is always ready and able to lend a helping hand. Take some time out from the regular day to day activities and check out this month’s “Pop Goes the Gospel” blog carnival. Perhaps you will be able to gain a new perspective on your life from one of the articles shared here.

'Pop Goes the Gospel'

'Pop Goes the Gospel'

In Culture

Rich presents Counterfeit Values posted at Blogger For Christ . com. Rich offers a contrast between God and Satan his post tackles several ‘hot button’ topics like same sex marriage, ‘hooking up’ and satanic worship. Now that ought to make you want to read this post.

Astrid Lee presents Got Jesus? posted at World Healing, Astrid Lee shares several short stories about people who met Jesus. Those who have had an EPIPHANY. Have you had an encounter with Jesus? Tell us about it.

Theresa L. Twogood presents Why So Sad? and Bad Times 101 posted at OLIN e-Book e-Publishing. Theresa takes us on a journey back to paradise to uncover why things may seem so bad today. A primer on the “Fall of Man“. Some might say it is a “Paradise Lost“. Theresa simply calls it Bad Times 101 a primer on pain and suffering.

In Church Life

ChristianPF presents Short Prayers week posted at Money in the Bible | Christian Personal Finance Blog, ChristianPF a regular submitter to this Blog Carnival offers up some thoughts on ‘praying continually’. He challenged himself to offer consistent short prayers in an effort to pray more throughout the day. Here are the results of his effort. Might I suggest we all try to offer up continual prayers even if they are only a sentence prayer.

Heather Johnson presents Top 100 Theology Blogs posted at Christian Colleges. Heather gives us a list of Theology Blogs and she failed to list mine. Oh well I shall forgive her. Although not a complete list there are enough links there to keep you busy for many a late night.

andriel presents An Emerging Relativism posted at ReturningKing.com. Jeff submitted several articles for inclusion in this month’s blog however my policy allows only one post per blog per issue so I picked the best one to include this month. I am sure Jeff will submit another article or two for our next issue. Jeff asserts that certain truths are self-evident while dispelling the error of Religious Relativism, And here I thought he was going to write about his family. Just kidding. Take the time needed to read this post it will be well worth your time. There is a lot of meat on this bone to gnaw off.

In Media

Sarah Scrafford presents 50 Awe-inspiring, Free, High-Res Collections of Religious Imagery posted at Christian Colleges. Here is another list of sites to go along with the Theology Blogs list previously listed. Although this is a SECOND POST for this blog I thought many of you could benefit from this list of Religious Imagery so I left it in.

In Family

Yvette Nietzen presents Conducting a Virus Scan posted at Fresh Wind Ministries. Yvette comes through with a short but insightful post about conducting a Spiritual virus scan.

Doug Boude presents My Yoke is Easy and My Burden is Light posted at Doug Boude (rhymes with ‘loud’). Doug offers a fresh new look at the Burden of the Lord. Although his first encounter seemed oh so burdensome he later learned that doing right is not really all that hard. See what you think, Great post Doug.

In Education

Joe Hayes presents Teaching Intelligent Design posted at Teaching Intelligent Design, Joe tackles the idea of teaching Intelligent design. Although a contentious topic Joe’s article sets forth a reasoned response to radical opposition to the idea that Intelligent design could actually be taught in an educational setting.

In Politics

My own submission is Give me, Give me, and then give me some more a reflection of the evil root of the financial mess our nation is currently in the midst of. Our nation’s debt  problem is not  financial, but one of righteousness. Tell me what you think.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of pop goes the gospel using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Until next time carpe diem.

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