Time: A Construct

Valerie Cullers 1 Comment

Have you ever thought about time much…especially earthly time? I was thinking about it a while back and how we have all become such slaves to it. Where did earthly time come from, and how did we get in such a chronological society?

For those of us who believe in creation, Genesis says that earthly time was created on the first day. To quote Genesis 1: 3-5: “Then God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Pretty simple, huh? When man first showed up on the earth, his days were divided into light and darkness. The sun came up, day…the sun went down, night. Not a lot of stress and pressure in the beginning. Man led an agrarian life, and that division was enough.

Eventually, man moved into communities and cities, and the need for a little more structured time came into existence. Blame it on the Sumerians, the Babylonians or the Egyptians, but between 4000 and 3500 B.C., man decided to divide the day into 24 periods. He created sundials and obelisks to track the Earth’s shadow.  Once the sun went down, the sundial was useless, and so water clocks were invented.

Those worked well but Hipparchus, a Greek astronomer, and his contemporary, Ptolemy, a Greek mathematician living in Egypt, divided the 24 hour day into smaller pieces, called minutes and seconds.  Great thinking and excellent work, but at the time, society didn’t need to be so exact with its concept of time.

As the centuries moved on and clock makers strove to make more accurate timepieces, tower clocks, spring-driven clocks, and pendulum clocks were developed during the 14th and 17th centuries. Man kept getting more and more accurate in his desire to measure the hours in a day.

We then come to the 20th century, and we celebrated the inventions of the electric and quartz clocks. And if those weren’t accurate enough, atomic clocks were invented that can measure time to the millisecond.

So here we are, victims of our own making. We now have clocks everywhere. Every time we pick up our phones, the first thing we see is the time. Sure, we have to be on time for work, school, and medical appointments, but do we have to personally keep dividing our day down to the nanosecond? Can we just take a few steps back and begin to enjoy the days we are given?

I mean, let’s think about it. Do you want to be a slave to time, or do you want it to be your servant? Can you take a few extra minutes to enjoy your lunch or dinner instead of bolting down your food and then moving on to the next thing in your day planner? Modern man has surrendered his very existence to his timepieces and planners, and I don’t believe he is the happier for it.

I saw an article the other day talking about how the universe measures time. News flash: the universe doesn’t measure time. We do, on Earth. Time is an earthly construct. Once you get off Earth, there is just existence. The moon exists, the planets exist, but apparently no one is up there measuring time the way we do. And when we do use time as the fourth dimension, when we are measuring space, it is still related to earthly time. 

Just saying, let’s enjoy the time we do have. 

 

 

 

The Making of heroes, gods and villains

Valerie Cullers 11 Comments
Earlier this week, I looked at a Gallup Poll on Political Violence that was done at the end of 2025 and released in April 2026. Overall, it stated that “While most Americans say it is ‘never OK’ to use violence to achieve a political goal, 16% say it is sometimes OK.” Naturally, the 18 – 29 group surveyed had the highest percentage (30), while the 60 and older group had the lowest percentage (4) approving of political violence.
So, I would like to address the 16 % of Americans who think political violence is okay and share what I believe are practical insights. If you were taught that the end justifies the means, then please, let’s look at the end of political violence and see what really happens.
When someone is physically attacked, perhaps even killed, that person becomes, at a minimum, a hero, to many. Let’s look at Steve Scalise and Gabby Giffords, two politicians who were shot; they became instant heroes. The people who pulled the trigger became villains. One was killed instantly, and the other is serving seven consecutive life sentences in prison. Few people even remember their names.
The men who gave their lives in service for their country, JFK, Martin Luther King Jr, and Bobby Kennedy, became instant heroes, and a few were mythologized to an almost god-like level. Their deaths catapulted them into a place that few have attained. The names of the men who shot them will remain in infamy forever. 
If you want to have your political enemies become heroes or become mythologized, then political violence is certainly the way to go. However, there is a better way. Leave them alone, and let them finish their terms and fade from the limelight. 
The last thing I would say to the 16% is, do you approve of violence being inflicted on those of your political persuasion? If you don’t, then please don’t approve of it being done to those who don’t agree with you politically. Violence begets violence, and hatred begets hatred. This is certainly not the way to improve our society.
Let the real heroes of society emerge. Don’t propel people prematurely into that category, and for heaven’s sake, don’t propel politicians into a mythologized god-like category. You will not do society or yourself any kind of service. 

 

 

 

Jesus ~ Who is He Really?

Valerie Cullers 11 Comments
Many of the great religions of the world believe in Jesus. Some believe he was a good man, a saint, a great teacher, a prophet,  or a reincarnation of a deity, but who was he really? Christians have an entirely different take on the subject; they believe He was the Son of God, i.e, co-equal with the Father.
Let’s look at what the Scriptures say: 
“Yet I have set my King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.” Psalm 2: 6-7
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Literally, God with us.) Isaiah 7:14
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Child is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
“But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with Us.” Matthew 1: 20 – 23
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16
Let’s look at who Jesus said He is:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8: 58 (“This is a profound declaration by Jesus claiming his eternal pre-existence and divinity.” Bible Gateway)
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14: 6
Who did his disciples say He was?
“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘ You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16
“And after eight days His disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here and look at my hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20: 26-28
As Holy Week approaches, and Christians prayerfully celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, I urge you to look at the claims of  Jesus. Historically investigate who He really is. Don’t just take someone else’s opinion. 
Several atheists have set out to disprove the claims of Jesus and their historical accuracy, and have become Christians after examining the facts. A few have written books about their experience. “More Than a Carpenter” by Josh McDowell and “Evidence Demands a Verdict” by Lee Strobel; are excellent references if you are interested.
When He returns, and He will return to judge the living and the dead, it will be imperative that you know exactly who He is. 

Image by Roger Casco. Courtesy of Pixabay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No Appetite

Valerie Cullers 12 Comments
As we head into another conflict, I want to say that I have no appetite for war. I remember watching excerpts from the Vietnam War on television while I was in high school. I knew people who lost their lives, their limbs, and their mental stability who served in that war.
I remember the Gulf War and seeing the final images of the road to Baghdad littered with burned-out jeeps, tanks, and military equipment. I will not forget that image. I remember the bombing of Torah Borah day after day as we looked for Osama Bin Laden.  I remember the patriotism people felt when they sent their children off to Iraq and the resulting quagmire. Are Iraq or Afghanistan any better off after all of the American blood was spilled there?
And now, we are bombing various targets in Iran to smithereens. We are sending 5,000 Marines to the Straight of Hormuz. Is it any wonder I cannot get excited about it? Is all of it really necessary? Do we truly have a Cassus Belli that justifies this action? I don’t know. In 1918, Senator Hiram Johnson said, “The first casualty when war comes is truth.” It will take us several months, if not a year or so, to find out if we really were threatened by Iran with a potential nuclear strike in the near future. In the meantime, we will hear the inevitable phrases of war.
Casualties of War – meaning the dead and injured servicemen.
Collateral Damage – meaning the innocent people who were killed or wounded when a bomb or ordinance hit them or their homes or places of work.
Unintended Consequences – meaning the things that happened that we had not planned for, and the inevitable…
Quagmire – meaning we got ourselves into something and now we are going to have a difficult time getting out.
Wave the flag all you want, beat the drum, but for me, I have no appetite for war unless it is honestly necessary for our survival.

 

Heartfelt

Valerie Cullers 9 Comments
“Heartfelt – an adjective used to describe strong, deeply felt, and sincere feelings and emotions.” Oxford Dictionaries
My husband is a man of few words. When I ask him how he feels, no matter how he is doing, he usually answers me with a one or two-word answer. Before dinner, he says grace, and if one of our kids or grandkids has a problem, same thing…he says a very short prayer for help for them.
I was thinking about his communication style the other evening after he was asleep, and I sensed the Spirit drop the word “heartfelt” into my mind. You see, when my husband does say something, he is very sincere about it. He doesn’t use twenty words when five will do.
I remember some of the most heartfelt prayers I ever prayed. My husband had a stroke and was bleeding inside his brain. The doctor told us that unless the bleeding stopped, there would not be much hope for him. The bleeding was in a place in his brain that they were unable to go in and operate.
That evening, I went into my room and just stared up at the ceiling. I just felt so much pain and suffering that I could not even mouth the words I was thinking. I knew that the Lord heard me, even though no words were spoken. Thankfully, he survived, and I know that I do not even need to utter a word to the Lord when I am overwhelmed.
What about you? Do you have a desire to pray, but you don’t know how? Do you think that you need certain words to express your feelings? Take comfort in the fact that the Lord doesn’t need your spoken words to answer your prayers. He can and does know the thoughts and prayers of your heart.
“For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Dunamis

Valerie Cullers 5 Comments
When we have made a decision to change for the better, that is a positive thing. Some change takes very little effort. Let’s say we need to floss our teeth at night, make our bed in the morning, or quit watching TV so late at night. Relatively, this kind of change is easy.
Other changes are harder. What about beginning to exercise, losing weight, applying ourselves at work…we may definitely need a kickstart to get going. We will also need some help to keep at our desired goal.
Some changes are almost impossible to implement in our lives without some real help. Breaking any kind of addiction, be it tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or pornography, usually requires some outside help. It is pretty hard to muster up the inner strength to kick these on our own. Some would say we need a miracle, especially if they have had a hold on us for some time.
That’s where dunamis comes in. In the Scriptures, it is one of the words used to describe God’s power. Google says it this way, “Dunamis is a Greek word meaning “power,” “strength,” or “ability,” often used in the New Testament to signify miraculous, inherent, or supernatural power from God.” It is where we get the word dynamite from.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have some dynamite power to help us make those difficult changes in our lives? The great thing is that it is available to each and every one of us. All we have to do is ask. Yes, that’s it. We just need to ask the Lord for help, and he is available to help us with whatever we need.
“But I don’t know him,” you might say to me. No problem, he knows you, and he is just waiting to help you. His hand is stretched out to help whoever calls on him. “But you don’t know what I’ve done.” True, but he does, and he is there waiting to help you make the changes you need. 
Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matt. 7: 7-8. When he says you, he means you. The ground at the cross is level; anyone can come, there is no litmus test you must meet. Come and ask for help. He is just waiting to give you his dynamite power to change.
Image by Ivan Thomas. Courtesy of Pixabay. 

 

 

 

Unrepentant

Valerie Cullers 17 Comments
The other day, when I was in traffic, the man in front of me was driving a black Jeep. On the back of the Jeep were several stickers with skulls and a few with crossbones, and in the middle of his display was a bumper sticker that basically said he was unrepentant. He was definitely signaling for all to see that he was a bad dude.
I’ve thought about him a lot. Bad? Maybe…but definitely headed in the wrong direction, and that makes me sad.  I hate to see anyone defiant against the Lord,  and I fear for what his ultimate end will be.
Repentant is a word that is not usually used in secular conversations. It is in the Scriptures, and the Lord has a lot to say about it. Most people think that the word means to be sorry…but that is not it. In the New Testament, it is from the Greek word metanoia, which means to change one’s mind for the better.  
In other words, we look at our past sins and misdeeds, and we change our minds about them. We make a conscious decision to go a different way. When we are unrepentant, we are saying we will not change, we will stay the course we are taking.
In the orthodox churches, this past week began the season of Lent, i.e., forty days before Easter. Christians are supposed to examine their lives and see if there is something they need to repent of…some practice, some sin, some habit that has overtaken them. When we are unrepentant, we are saying to God that we are okay the way we are.
As far as I am concerned, there is not a person on this planet who doesn’t have something they need to repent of.  During this season, we would all do well to examine our own hearts. We do not want to be unrepentant. Proverbs 28:14 says: “Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
The Lord Jesus paid a high price to cover the cost of our sins. Let’s not take it for granted. If he cared enough to put his life on the line for us, the least we can do is take a good, hard look at our own lives and see if there is something we need to repent of.

photo by john hein courtesy of pixabay.

 

 

 

 
 

Indifference – the Cousin of Hatred

Valerie Cullers 2 Comments
Indifference – “lack of interest, concern or sympathy.”  Oxford languages
Last week, I was at a luncheon. I was standing in a group of women, and one mentioned Savannah Guthrie and what she must be going through. We all agreed that it must be terrible. All of us except for one. The lady said, “But she was so disrespectful to President Trump.”  I just stared at her, not believing my ears…and then I said, “What’s that got to do with anything?”
I thought about her comment a lot and realized that the media had done its job. It had caused her to be indifferent to someone with whom she politically disagreed. Lest we think we are immune to that kind of thinking, we should examine our own hearts.
How many times do we ignore or are indifferent to the suffering of those who oppose our political views? What about those who are different than us, ethnically, racially or religiously? We tell ourselves we don’t hate them, but we certainly can’t muster up any kind of sympathy for their suffering either. Our hearts have become stone cold towards them.
When Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves, he gave us a parable to illustrate it. A man was on a road and was beaten up by robbers. A priest and a Levite passed by, and they both did nothing to alleviate his suffering. A Samaritan stopped and helped the injured man. He took him to an inn and made sure he was well taken care of.
Let’s put it in today’s context. A man is walking in a bad part of Tel Aviv at night. He is beaten up and robbed. He is left for dead. A religious person walks by and turns his head the other way. A lawyer walks by and does the same, wanting to get out of the place as quickly as possible. A Palestinian gets off work, walks by, and stops to help the man. He takes him to a hospital and makes sure he is taken care of. He doesn’t leave until he knows the man will live. 
Who do you think fulfills Jesus’ command to “Love his neighbor?” Obviously, the Palestinian. He was not indifferent to the suffering of the man, and he didn’t care about his race, religion, or ethnicity. 
As believers, we are not called to help everyone in the world. But we are called to care about and not be indifferent to those who are right in front of our eyes. Let us not be taken in by the tribal attitudes of today or the division that is being fostered in the media. We can make a difference if only we will view others with the same humanity we view those in our own circles of reference.
Let’s not justify ourselves and tell ourselves we are okay because we don’t hate them. At least with hatred, there is a level of emotion involved. With indifference, we are devoid of emotion, care, and concern. That should cause us all to take a second look at our stony hearts.
Photo by jhraskon. Courtesy of Pixabay. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Empty Prayers

Valerie Cullers 21 Comments
“I put an empty hand on an empty head and said an empty prayer.” 
Several years ago, I heard Dick Mills speak. He shared an episode from his life. He had been ministering in a church. He was finished speaking with the people. He was tired, hungry, and he had no energy. As he was walking out the door, a woman approached him for prayer. He then said, “I put an empty hand on an empty head and said an empty prayer.” As he turned to walk away, the lady was healed, right then and there.
That story gives me hope. There are people I have prayed for over several years. Although I have seen shifts in their circumstances or their personalities, I still have not seen a total answer to my prayers. Sometimes, when I am praying, I feel like I am praying “empty prayers.” The requests are the same, but it has been so very long, and I just kind of mouth the words.
Jesus encourages his followers to pray and not give up. “Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 Amplified. 
All well and good but when we have asked for so many years, so many decades, what do we do? Even though it seems like sometimes we are praying just “empty prayers,” we should do just what He said. Keep on asking, keep on seeking an answer and keep on knocking til the door is opened.  
The true lesson from Dick Mills’ story is this. The ultimate answer from God does not depend on us, it depends on Him. His timing, His reasons, and His way of doing things. So if you are like me and sometimes you feel like you are praying “empty prayers,” take heart. He hears us. He will answer, immediately, eventually or ultimately. 
 

It’s Time

Valerie Cullers 2 Comments

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14