by Ron Carlson

Christianity begins and ends with a spirit of intentionality. “In the beginning, God….” signals that an intelligent force acting on purpose sponsors all that we can see and know. Design, balance, and order witness to our logic that things hold together by a power greater than us.

Our inherent concept of beginnings testifies that our something didn’t come from nothing. Striving to gain the upper hand in an age of electronic disobedience persuades us that the One who keeps the stars in the air and our feet on the ground must know more about celestial engineering than the local scientists down the hall in research and design.

We know enough to know it’s a good thing that we are not in charge of the universe. We can thank more than our lucky stars that the Master Planner is not A.D.D., directionally challenged, or addicted to chocolate. Where would we be if The One who made it all forgot where He laid His keys or left the oven on? What if the sun forgot its morning appointment? What if the tides forgot to roll? What if the rains forgot to come? What if they forgot to go – again?

What if rhyme got crossways with reason? What if north met south without permission? What if the hummingbird couldn’t get a VISA and had to winter in Ontario? What if you were really lost in the cosmos and no One cared? What if your days weren’t numbered?

What if you had crawled from the slime pit without eyes to see, ears to hear, tongue to taste, nose to smell, and skin and hearts to feel? What would your world be like then? What if you were ill equipped to laugh, learn and love? What if you happened to happen before evolution got the bugs worked out? What if you were a bug, an ugly bug, with cockroaches as cousins and fire ants for neighbors? What if the universe decided to squish you?

What if you were anything but God’s kind intention?

From before the beginning until after the end, anything that is anything is solely dependent on God. There is but a single source. There is really no debate about the meaning of is, now is there? It is what it is and we are what we are because life is grounded in the Great I AM. God Is.

God is intentional, and since we are “made in His image,” we are the ultimate manifestation of His intention, and thus the objects of His intentional love. “God is love,” declares His Spirit, “and He first loved us!”

Love, by all accounts the universe’s premium expression, is intentional, and by design a verb. Love acts intentionally, without failure.
Perfect love became perfect intentionally when “God became flesh and dwelt among us.” He “acted on our behalf.”

Jesus is no accidental Savior. “Before the foundation of the world,” God purposed our salvation and completion in the missionary love of His eternal son. God didn’t make us for nothing.

Jesus willingly surrendered the power and glory of heaven and entered space and time as a space and time bound man on purpose and with purpose. Love demands God’s all and nothing less. Thank God that His loving will can’t be deterred!

We need the constant reminder that heaven and earth run on schedule and that life is anything and everything but random. God doesn’t make mistakes. He can’t err. Our Creator and Sustainer never bumbles, bungles, or blunders.

God is ultimately reasonable, though to us capricious characters, He is frequently misunderstood, misrepresented and misquoted. We often misdefine our own weaknesses and character faults as manufacturing defects, somehow trying to cover the tracks of our sin. We tumble deeper into denial with every round of the blame game. To realign ourselves with truth, we must first recognize and admit that we are the ones out of kilter. We offend God and His perfect creation with our rebellious unintentionality.

Words can only partially explain the attributes and ways of God. The best description that human tongues can produce regarding the nature of God is “perfect.” And since the human mind interprets reality in terms of comparison, our fallen understanding of “perfect” is warped. We simply can’ t grasp “God-perfect.”

When the opening lines of the Bible tell us that God surveyed His creation and pronounced it “good,” it is declaring all things “God-perfect.” And a major component of “God-perfect” is pure intentionality. God waited until the sixth day to forge His ultimate creation, and it was by divine design that humans are crafted in “the image of God.”
Make no mistake, we are no mistake. “Perfect” prevents miscues.

How you view your world and how you understand your origins dramatically affects the way you think and live. If you accept the false notion that you are without design and purpose, life is ultimately futile, and despair will surface as your only alternative. Conversely, if you embrace the great Biblical truth of creation, life finds meaning and you discover your true identity as a child of God constructed with eternity in mind.

The choice boils down to random selection or intelligent, intentional design. Which alternative best represents truth, reason and love?

1. Our habits and routines are set in stone. Please don’t even think of changing what we like to wear, do and eat. Tossing out those grimy sneakers will result in civil war.

2. Our health is not our problem, but yours (and please make it so). If we fall sick from eating or imbibing too much of the wrong things, we expect you to baby us, and to make us well.
3. If you want to be loved for more than your anatomy, don’t listen to the lady newscaster reporting on the imminent collapse of half of Europe’s economies, only to chirp, “She should’ve parted her hair on the other side.”
4. The best way to a man’s heart is through his ego. Often, it’s the only thing bigger than our stomachs.
5. Men lose about five words a day from their memory. Somewhere between saying “I love you” for the first time and celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, they’ve lost a whole dictionary. But don’t worry — that grunt does mean “You’re the most wonderful person I’ve been blessed to know, and thank you for bearing up with me, sweetie.”
6. Men were once babies, too, and a little cuddling, massage and a hug after a long day is always welcomed.
7. Unless it is a life or death situation, please do not bother us during a sports match on TV.
8. We rarely share our thoughts and feelings so during the few occasions when we do get out of our cave and open up to you, genuine attention and acknowledgement would be much appreciated.
9. Yes we like looking at pretty women, on the street or in movies and magazines. But please do not say that we are the only ones who do this as we have only two words to say in response: Brad Pitt.
10. We love cars. The way they look, feel and ride turn us on. Please do not complain about it. Men can obsess about worst things, right?
11. Women use an average of 25,000 words a day. Men use only about 10,000. Please do not expect us to keep up. This is a contest we would gladly lose.
12. We love our hair more than you do because we may have to say goodbye to it sooner.
13. Men who honor their mothers make better husbands.
14. When we have problems, we do not want to get sidelined by analyzing our feelings about it. We just want a definite solution to rid ourselves of it.
15. If you need something from us, say it! We are lousy at picking up hints.
16. If we ask you what is wrong and you answer, “Nothing,” we are surprised why you get angry. Aren’t we supposed to believe you?
17. We are not blessed with multi-tasking abilities like you. So please do not disturb us at work unless it is an emergency.
18. If you are going through a hormonal phase, please do us the courtesy of a verbal announcement. We do not want to realize it the hard way.
19. We have the attention span of fleas so when relating a story, please opt for the Cliff Notes version.
20. Please do not nag. Our romantic partners should not resemble our mothers.
21. If you think we drive too fast, you should see us when you are not in the car.
22. Even if it isn’t true, we would appreciate it if you act as though we are in charge. Our egos depend on this illusion.
23. Yes, the skimpy outfit looks hot on you but no way are you wearing it outside our dressing room.
24. Our jobs define who we are so those long hours at the office are just that. Long hours.
25. We love sex. We think about s*x. Life without s*x isn’t worth living. We think about s*x all the time. It doesn’t mean that we are pigs and it does not mean that we will fool around. It’s just that… did we tell you how much we love s*x?
source

The Moment in Time documents the uncertain days of the beginning of World War II when it was feared the Nazis were developing the atomic bomb. The history of the bomb’s development is traced through recollections of those who worked on what was known as “the gadget”. [6/2000] [Science] [Show ID: 5090]

Tony Matterhorn – Contributed
A disgruntled promoter has come forward demanding that selector/artiste Tony Matterhorn return his deposit of $90,000.

According to Wrenroy Smith, he contacted Matterhorn in December to do a show in Annotto Bay, St Mary. Smith said he and Matterhorn agreed on a price and he sent him the money through Western Union.

“I booked Matterhorn for Girls Graduation – an all-white edition fund-raising event which was to be held on April 7. Matterhorn told me his price for the event, I sent him the deposit and he collected it. I booked him, Swatch International and Jamrock sound. I got a message that Matterhorn had double-booked the date, so I contacted him and he asked if I could switch the dates. I told him no because I had already paid for the venue and printed up the flyers. Matterhorn said he would send back my deposit in two days,” Smith said.

The promoter says four months had now passed and he still has not received his money from Matterhorn.

bills to pay

“He told me he had his bills to pay etc., it’s back and forth with his stories. He deleted me from BBM. I was told I could collect the money in New York when Matterhorn came. He gave me a phone number, and the number was not working. I contacted him when he was back in Jamaica and he gave me another excuse about the phone. He changed his number so now I have no way of contacting him,” Smith said.

The promoter said he sent Matterhorn US $1,065 which is the equivalent to J$90,000. He also emailed THE WEEKEND STAR the receipt showing the Western Union transaction.

“I have my receipt, flyers from the show, etc. How can you want to change the date from somebody who has already paid you? I’m trying to get him to give me my money back. He breached the contract,” Smith said.

He further went on to say that he would now have to board a flight to come to Jamaica to deal with the matter.

“I have dealt with Bounty Killer and Vybz Kartel and they never gave me any problems. This is the first time in years that I’ve had this problem. Matterhorn said he wanted $180,000 for the show, he’s not even worth it. If I can’t get my money by the end of the month, then I am going to sue him. I am going to make an example out of Tony Matterhorn for this,” Smith warned.

Adding that the money owed to him by Matterhorn would be given away to persons who are in need of it.

“He’s taking money from people who need it. I have this event every year in honour of my mother – the Barbara Gordon Foundation. Matterhorn blatantly took the money, but I will not stop, I will make an example of Matterhorn,” Smith said.

When contacted, Matterhorn’s booking agent said she was unaware of the situation. She told THE WEEKEND STAR that the selector was off the island for some shows in the UK.

Meanwhile, Matterhorn took to his Twitter page to rant about the issue. In his numerous tweets, he bashed the promoter in question, the media and a popular website.

In one of his cleaner tweets, he said, “I’ve been in the biz bout 24 years and mi nuh beg friends nor try to rob any promoters before or u wud hear bout it long time now … .”