TV Show Flashback - Space: 1999

Recently I discovered one of my streaming channels had an old science fiction television show that I used to love watching.  I remember back in the mid-70s tuning into watch Space: 1999 every Saturday night.  There was really no show like it at the time. 

Space: 1999 was a British science-fiction television show which ran from 1975-1977.  The premise of the show is about a base on the moon set in the year 1999 where the Earth stored its nuclear waste.  An explosion knocked the Moon out of orbit and hurled it into space becoming a virtual spaceship which encountered various worlds and beings.  

At the time, it was the most expensive series produced for British television.  There was a total of 48 episodes in the series but there were major differences between Season 1 and Season 2.  While they had a big budget for their first season, changes in production resulted in a radically smaller budget for the second season.  There were also changes in cast.  Barry Morse - who played fan favorite Victor Bergman - was unable to agree on a new contract and left the series.  New characters were introduced and the series struggled in the ratings and failed to survive for a third season.

Martin Landau and Barbara Bain were the lead characters on the show as Commander John Koenig and Doctor Helena Russell.  Landau and Bain were married in real life and had previously starred on Mission: Impossible.  

Although the series never had a true ending, a fan-backed seven-minute film in August 1999 called "Message from Moonbase Alpha" featured Zienia Merton who played Sandra Benes in the series.  In the film she delivered a final message to Earth from Moonbase Alpha as the remaining inhabitant were evacuating to a new planet.

Space: 1999 was a lot like Star Trek but it was the moon instead of a starship which was the vehicle for the 311 people on Moonbase Alpha to encounter the unknown in outer space.  

The theme song intro to the show was also something I liked.  It was very well done and very catchy.  I have found myself re-watching the series and even though the technology of producing science fiction shows have become more advanced, it is still nice to relive it.

For more information about the show:  http://www.space1999.org

Trusting God With The "If-Then"

If you've ever worked with flowcharts, there is a part in the process called "if-then".  The if-then process is part of decision making which contains decision boxes, arrows and outcome blocks in a flowchart to represent various scenarios and their consequences.

I don't know about you but I don't need a physical flowchart to have if-then scenarios constantly flooding my mind sometimes.  Honestly, I feel that I am cursed with constantly predicting scenarios in my life.  It's all about trying to control possible future circumstances in my life.  

As much as I hate to admit it to myself, I can't control things that haven't happened yet.  Although I know it is important to be prepared, I have also reminded myself that I can't always prepare myself for the if-thens in life or things that I don't know.  Many times we simply have to figure it out as we go.  

This a proverb (Proverbs 3:5) that tells us to trust in God with ALL of our heart and don't rely on our own understanding.  I can tell you that the main word that gives me problems in that proverb is ALL.  I can do well in trusting God most of the time but I often fail with committing to Him ALL of the time.  I do try and I continue to work on it.  I can make it difficult to hand over the control over to Him although He controls it all anyway.  The same proverb also says that He will direct our paths.  

Only of the things about if-then thinking about life is that we want to make the absolute right decision in everything we do - especially the big decisions.  I was struggling recently about a decision on moving and relocating to another city.  These are big decisions and I always worry about making the wrong decision but then I got peace about it that even if it turns out to be the wrong decision that God still has me and nothing has to be permanent.  He even reminds us that ALL things work together for good for us. (Romans 8:28)  I don't have to know all and see all.  I only need to trust in the one that does.  

Will we always get it right?  No.  We can't always worry about the if-thens in our lives or will will miss out on the present and what we need to do today.  I mean all we can do is to live one day at a time anyway so we need to live in the present and deal with tomorrow when it becomes today.  Sometimes all the if-then flowcharts in our minds never happen the way we think anyway.  

New things scare us.  Fear always grips us when we do new things or make decisions but if you think about it, everything we are doing right now is something that, at one time, we had never done before.

We can be assured of one thing, we don't have to worry IF God is going to be with us.  He WILL be with us in whatever decisions we make.  We just need to let Him control the IF and just make the best decision we can make based on what we know.  We can't possibly base our decisions on what we don't know.  

IF we trust in God THEN He will direct our path.

What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?

I heard someone say that you can’t be a democrat and be a Christian. Sadly in our country, the term Christian has been hijacked by a political agenda. 

So what does it really mean to be a “Christian”?

A Christian is someone who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.

That’s quite a loaded definition and is interpreted in many different ways.

So what exactly did Jesus teach?

Jesus’ teachings taught love, compassion, forgiveness and being kind to others. He wants us to love our enemies and to treat others as we would like to be treated.

Sure, it can get deeper than those basic points of his teachings but you can see that none of these teachings give anyone a political agenda or permission to be weird. You don’t have to be weird to be a Christian.

Look, I grew up in a very emotional Pentecostal church denomination where it was fueled on emotion and strict rules of holiness. To put it plainly, it was pretty weird at times. I have always had an introverted personality so I never fit in with the things that went on in the church. Now I know some people need that type of church but just because I wasn’t “weird” never meant that I wasn’t a Christian.

When I went on a tour to Israel several years ago, our guide told us that most people there do not refer to themselves as Christians due to the historical issues that occurred during the crusades but they prefer to be known as “believers”.

When you look at today’s Christians in the United States, it is looking more like the crusades during the middle ages. Christians have become very aggressive and militant. Spanning most of the High Middle Ages (1050-1300 CE), a series of military expeditions called the Crusades was launched from Christian Europe against the peoples of the Near East. Sparked by a zeal to rid the Holy Lands of infidels. This is NOT what Christ had intended. We can’t force people to believe in Christ. This isn’t a belief done by force but with love and being the physical representatives of Christ in this world.

There is a false belief that the new administration is going to usher in a new Christian nationalism but it is destined to backfire and become like the ill-fated Crusades for the Middle Ages. You can’t force Christian. It won’t work. Many will say that we need the Ten Commandments in our schools or the Bible in every classroom. That is not how it is done. If someone isn’t a football fan, you can’t put a football in front of them and expect them to become a fan. They have to feel the excitement and become a fan on their own and in their own way. Not by force or hate.

Yeah, I might not agree with someone’s life choices or their lifestyles but I can still love them and associate with them. Didn’t Jesus do that too?