Cartoonist/Illustrator - Jeff Larson
Minnesota
 Most everyone agrees after a quick cursory glance and a collective cringe the year 2020 was not good. Then 2021 was another dumpster fire year with record inflation, COVID is still being COVID, along with a society that cannot even agree that there are two genders or if gender is a fluid state of being. ARGH! So I am praying for a 2022 and not even shooting for a good year. I would settle for the dumpster fire to be put out. But for today let me bring you back to simpler times IN THE 'very' BEGINNING when God created .. it was good! Let's review.  Genesis 1 - In the beginning, God spoke the universe into existence. Some witnesses claimed they heard a loud crackling sound like thunder. Kind of a BANG, a really really BIG BANG! Note: I am not here to discuss Old Earth v New Earth theories. This would be above the pay grade of this cartoonist, but what I will say again is .. God created and it was GOOD! Genesis 1:1-31 To summarize, this daunting project was completed in 6 days where Day 1: DAY , NIGHT , the SKY were spoke into existence by our Almighty Creator. Those first 6 days His creation included the sun, stars, land, waters, and all the creatures in the sea and on land were created. Genesis 2:1-3 Then fast forward to 7th day and God rested. He did not even watch football. In contrast I installed a bathroom floor in our town-home recently and I rested on the 5th, 6th, and 7th days and while it turned out nice it was not Hubble Telescope spectacular like God's Universe.
 This creation story is all recorded into the Bible book of Genesis. While many Cosmologists believe the Big Bang was the creation of EVERYTHING from NOTHING followed by billions of years of random collisions and explosions resulted in our ever expanding universe, all the planets including Earth including life with all it's complexities. Ok, I believe you can collide a chocolate bar with a jar of peanut butter and end up with a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.. but this Universe has too moving parts + complexities that are bound together with rules and order for me to believe EVERYTHING came from NOTHING. Important Note: I believe most Cosmologists 'do drugs'. Just my opinion.. with a smirk.  I choose instead to believe there must be an intelligent design behind creation. I believe in a divine creator that exists outside the confines of time and space. I believe this Intelligent Design is described in the Bible Book of Genesis. May God bless each of you greatly in your pursuit of truth. This is important stuff, and a foundation for life. If there is a God then the pursuit of Him is a greater science than can be found looking through any microscope, telescope, or on a petri dish  Understanding our Creator is to go boldly beyond any Star Trek five year journey exploring his creation.
So no matter if you are in the 6,000 year old Young Earth Camp, or you believe in a 4.5 billion year Old Earth let's agree God created and IT WAS GOOD, maybe even GREAT. .. and certainly better than 2020, or 2021. Just sayin' Jeff (Big Bang when he falls down) Larson 1/23/2021 and.. It was GOOD? Most everyone agrees after a quick cursory glance and a collective cringe the year 2020 was not good. In fact, 2020 was the 'dumpster fire' of years. And so.. I am praying for a much better 2021 and am not even shooting for good. I would settle for just ok. but.. no matter what 2021 brings IN THE 'very' BEGINNING when God created .. it was good. Let's review.  Genesis 1 - In the beginning, God spoke the universe into existence. Some witnesses of this moment claimed they heard a loud crackling sound like thunder, but most simply described it as a.. BANG.. actually a BIG BANG! At this point let me be clear, I am not here to discuss Old Earth v New Earth theories. This would be above the pay grade of this cartoonist, but what I will say again is .. God created and it was GOOD! Genesis 1:1-31 To summarize, this daunting project was completed in 6 days where Day 1: DAY , NIGHT , the SKY were spoke into existence by our Almighty Creator. Those first 6 days His creation included the sun, stars, land, waters, and all the creatures in the sea and on land were created. Genesis 2:1-3 Then fast forward to 7th day and God rested. In contrast I installed a bathroom floor in our town-home recently and I rested on the 5th, 6th, and 7th days and while it turned out nice it was not Hubble Telescope spectacular like God's Universe.
 To rule over the lands and seas God created MAN Genesis 2:7 in His own image from the dust of the Earth followed by creating WOMAN from man's 'spare rib' declaring it is not good for man to be alone. Genesis 2:18 To which Adam declared.. "Hey beautiful, where have you been all my life?" Then God commanded Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply".. to which Adam quickly started working on his times tables.
 This creation story is all recorded into the Bible book of Genesis. While many Cosmologists believe the Big Bang was the creation of EVERYTHING from NOTHING followed by billions of years of random collisions and explosions resulted in our ever expanding universe, all the planets including Earth including life with all it's complexities. Ok, I believe you can collide a chocolate bar with a jar of peanut butter and end up with a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.. but this Universe has too moving parts + complexities that are bound together with rules and order for me to believe EVERYTHING came from NOTHING.  So I choose to believe there must be an intelligent design behind creation. For me, I believe in a divine creator that exists outside the confines of time and space. I believe this Intelligent Design is described in the Bible Book of Genesis. May God bless each of you greatly in your pursuit of truth. This is important stuff, and a foundation for life. If there is a God then the pursuit of Him is a greater science than can be found looking through any microscope or telescope. Bigger than Star Trek's five year journey exploring the stars. Jeff (little bang) Larson 1/15/2021 Big God and.. Little God This universe was born with the Big Bang as an unimaginably hot, dense point. When the universe was just 10-34 of a second or so old — that is, a hundredth of a billionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second in age — it experienced an incredible burst of expansion known as inflation, in which space itself expanded faster than the speed of light. During this period, the universe doubled in size at least 90 times, going from subatomic-sized to golf-ball-sized almost instantaneously. - excerpt from Science.com article, June 6, 2017.  As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Ecclesiastes 11:5 Today, I return to one of my favorite topics.. Our Great God! From the micro to the macro of all things with order and purpose is the handy-work of our Creator. I won't belabor the point, but the complexity of all things from the micro level to the ends of the universe declare their is a God. Science is.. the finite study of what infinite God created. Science examines.. the boundaries of time and space, while God transcends.. both time and space. To summarize for those scoring at home.. God is BIG, and we are not. Then we turn on the evening news that spews stories of panic and where blind vitriolic hatred replaces reasonable discussions. There are wars and rumors of wars, political divide and anarchy like I can't remember. Until the last year I believed the sun was at the center of the universe, but the evening news between the years 2016-2020 the center of the universe is actually a dark star named Donald Trump. All stories somehow seem to include his name. WHO KNEW! note: This was not statement about Donald Trump (pro or con) but just the rabid obsession of the evening news.  What is missing in all of this is our God. The creator of our universe needs to be the center of our universe, not POTUS, the Pope, your job, your favorite sports team (Go Pack Go!) or.. ME. Don't put your hope in any of these things or you will be disappointed. Love the Lord God with all your soul, heart and mind and others as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39 I repeat these words of Jesus often as this must be the returning starting point of each day. To lose focus in life of these two greatest commandments of Jesus will skew your day. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. Now let me take a moment to reflect on life with a proper perspective.
 Now back to Earth in my home where I sit in my office chair. Our God is both so breathtakingly BIG, and also so very personal all at the same time. Is it possibly to fully grasp this truth? NO, but what other way could it be? “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 So I leave today's ramble on two cups of coffee and on my way to a third cup with the prayer that our focus not be on this big world with it's big angst, but instead on our Amazing God the creator of all things, and the lover of you and me. How can we help but love and serve Him. How can we help but pursue Him. Jeff 7/3/2020 Speck on a Blue Ball (rr) I have this prayer prep that I recently turn to when my mind is busy and unfocused. I slow my mind to take a glimpse of my significance. Specifically, I am a speck on a blue ball (Earth) that spins at 1000 mph orbiting around our sun in our Solar System of 8 (or 9) planets, which is one of countess galaxies in our infinite Universe. .. AND this existence.. my existence is just a microscopic blip on the timeline of .. eternity! So while I admit I should lose like 25 pounds I also am feeling very small. Then to think of the intricacies of the human body, the human condition, that I have a free will, and I believe a His spirit makes me a very special speck on this blue dot.  While I attempt to grasp this perspective of significance.. I pray Psalms 8:4 Who am I that you are mindful of me? .. and I am in awe of creation and more importantly our creator and His inexplicable love for each of us. Better yet, y'all best read all of Psalms 8 Now .. I am ready to pray as the world slows down.. I am an awe of God, and thankful for this day (even the bad ones), and pray that my life, my family, my friends, church, community, state, nation, and world come to realize the significance, purpose, and place as their own speck like roles on this blue dot. Love God, love others (less social media).. and all glory to God on this day! Cuz ya know, the rest is trivia by comparison. Blessings! Jeff (A Big Speck) Larson
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Back Pew - Draw Close to God
116 pages of cartoons of 'Clean Humor & God's Truth' CRITICS ARE SAYING..
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©2019 Jeff Larson - All Rights Reserved
1/23/2022
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