The first day of Fall/Autumn this year was September 22. Actually, and to be more precise [and who doesn't want to be precise?], Astronomical Autumn [the September Equinox] in Louisiana began on September 22nd at 8:03 PM,CDT. According to "Calendar Date.com", Astronomical Autumn is determined by the changing positions of the Earth relative to the sun. For some scientifically unknown reason, the Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees [to be more precise, the tilt is 23.439281 degrees] on its axis. Thus, as the Earth orbits around the sun, the amount of direct sunlight falling on the Northern and Southern Hemispheres changes, creating the seasons which, of course, are opposite in each Hemisphere. As we start Fall here in the Northern Hemisphere, they are starting Spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

And, I spoke too soon regarding the "scientifically unknown" reason for this strange tilt. Science does, in fact, have an answer. According to the "Universe Today" website, as the planets were forming from dust and gas, eventually, enough matter collided to form small versions of planets known as "planetessimals" and "protoplanets". The collisions continued, creating larger planets. Finally, "it looks like it [Earth] probably collided with another proto-planet, and in the process, it [Earth] was tilted."

Right. I will say that, to its credit, this website admits that this "explanation" is the result of scientists "taking a crack" at answering the question of why the Earth is tilted on its axis, and that the theory described above is the "main consensus" explanation. In other words, it's really a mystery, and this is about the best that science can come up with to explain this strange fact.

Then, apparently without a shred of self-awareness of how silly they are sounding, the writers of "Universe Today'' go on to say: "the Earth's tilt is very important. It is perfectly positioned to give us the seasons, and on top of that, the seasons are nearly perfectly calibrated for life. When compared with other planets, Earth's tilt allows for seasons that are not too extreme in temperature, but are pretty well-balanced."

Amazing! The Earth's tilt, "nearly perfectly calibrated for life", is the result of an accidental collision with a chunk of matter that happened to be flying by. I guess the old saying is true: "It's better to be lucky than good."

Of course, it's all nonsense. Their own language betrays them. Just ask a scientist if any of his instruments could become "nearly perfectly calibrated", all by themselves, after colliding with a chunk of space debris traveling at hundreds of miles per hour. And they say that it's those of us who believe in The Creator God who are the ones that are foolish.

None of this is what I intended to be talking about today. I wanted to ask: did any of you see the Hunter's Moon [the first full moon of October] climbing into the sky Sunday evening just as the sun was setting? It was magnificent! Huge and orange just above the trees, looking for all the world like The Great Pumpkin [if there was such a thing]. As I returned home just before dark, the wise old feathered night hunters in my backyard, joined by a chorus of their young, were hooting loudly and joyfully in welcome of the sight. In my mind, they were shouting forth praise and thanksgiving [Think that's crazy? Read Psalm 148. Some of you can probably sing it.] to The One who set The Moon, The One who tilted the Earth, The One who set the seasons, The One who said:

"While the Earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Winter and summer,

And day and night,

Shall not cease." - Genesis 8:21-22.

Late Sunday night, I took out the trash, and stopped to look into the sky - a sky dominated by the Moon. By now, it had climbed high into the sky, and was so bright that it was almost like it was day. And there, near the Moon, was mighty Jupiter, still shining brightly even as it continued its journey away from its closest approach to the sun, and from its "near miss" of the Earth two weeks ago. [Oh - you didn't hear about that? Jupiter had not been that close to us since 1963, and it won't be this close to us again in my lifetime. Sure, it missed us by over 365 million miles, but by astronomical standards, that was pretty close!]

As I stared into the heavens, it finally dawned on me that both the Moon and Jupiter were right over my house. Now, I know that is not strictly true. But it sure looked like it Sunday night around midnight. Imagine - the two brightest objects in the midnight sky - were right over my house.

I saw light streaming from heaven, beaming from heaven, illuminating and driving the darkness from my house - a house bearing the mark of Death. And the light from heaven covered a house down the street - another house bearing the mark of Death. And the light from heaven covered another house up the street - a house where Death is waiting outside the door, soon to enter. No, the light did not remove the marks of Death from these houses, or banish Death from the door where it waits - not now, not yet. But, as I turned my eyes upward, I was reminded, again, that "in the end, the Shadow is only a small and passing thing: there is light and high beauty forever beyond its reach." - JRR Tolkien.

The message I'm getting from all of this is just [just?] this: God was, God is, God always will be - no matter how much the unbelievers twist themselves to overlook the obvious. And God loves life and light and variety. And God shines His light over all of His Creation - including the unbelievers who continue to twist themselves in knots in their efforts to deny the obvious, even as Death is literally knocking on their door - because He wants all of us to turn our eyes upward and see Him. How wise we would be to join with the feathered night hunters in my backyard in shouting forth joyful praise and thanksgiving to The Lord!

Ambrose Ramsey | Pastor and Shepherd