1/29/2013 Does God Exist?Scriptures: Psalm 19:1-4 If you want to know that God exists: Look up! The Bible claims that the most powerful proof of God will be found by looking at the heavens. Scientists have come to believe that the universe was compressed to an extraordinary degree: smaller than an atom. During the first few nanoseconds, that the universe became an unbelievably hot. In that cosmic instant, something within the tiny universe flashed, causing a gigantic explosion. It burned with a fiery heat beyond human imagination. It hurled rapidly expanding matter every direction. The universe exploded with such force, the echo can still be heard bouncing around in space! Scientists claim that within the brief moment following the big bang. All the fundamental particles necessary for life were formed – simply amazing. . . Scientists have calculated that it happened in 1043 of a second! Look at Psalm 19:4. The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. If You Want to Know That God Exists – Just think! The Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out, says Isaiah 42:5. The Big Bang violates the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, which says that left to itself everything moves from order to disorder. Ask yourself the question: have you ever left your house a mess and found it organized and clean when you returned?. Has your car ever replaced it's own gas in the tank and rotate the tires on its own – NO! Here’s the problem: How in the world did such a violent explosion get so organized? The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the big bang are enormous. Roger Penrose, a major player in the development of Black Hole Theory, estimates the odds for our universe emerging from a big bang are one in 10 billion to the 30th power! Why would anyone be willing to bet their eternal state against those odds? Many of the world’s most brilliant thinkers readily admit the necessity of God marvelous craftsmanship. Astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle, who is credited with the discovery of the resonances of carbon and oxygen atoms, explained this process, he said; “A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with the chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.” Think about this: The more you understand the facts, the greater the need for a God! Psalm 14:1 says: "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Albert Einstein claimed that cosmos are so complex that it reveals a being of super intelligence! A being who is smarter than the combined intelligence of every human who have ever lived! Robert Jastrow, a leading astronomer, wrote this in his book God and the Astronomers, “Consider the enormity of the problem. Science has proven that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment. It asks, what cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter and energy into the Universe? Science can’t answer these questions. . . For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; his is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” No wonder Heinemann Prize Winner in mathematical physics, Robert Griffiths, said, “If we need an atheist for a debate, we go to the philosophy department. The physics department isn’t much use.” If You Want To Know That God Exists –just look around! Psalm 104:5 "He established the earth upon its foundations, so that it will not totter forever and ever." In 1959 scientists discovered the fact that the earth is perfectly balanced, whereever there is mountain mass on one side of the earth, something of equal weight is on the opposite side of the earth! That’s why the earth doesn’t wobble out of orbit! Figure that the density of rocks varies tremendously world-wide. This is an utterly amazing balancing act! There is global weight distribution of land mass, mountains, valleys, and water! The oceans actually exert the precise pressure against the shores that keep the mountains standing. The Bible claimed this all along in Isaiah 40:12, it claims that God measured the waters and the dust of the earth and the mountains and hills so they would be balanced. Psalm 104:8-9 says: "Mountains rose and valleys sank to the levels you decreed. Then you set a firm boundary for the seas, so they would never again cover the earth." Many in the scientific community are talking about “Fine Tuning” of the cosmos. Scientists have identified 75 different finely tuned aspects of our world everyone of which is absolutely essential for life if any one of them were “out of tune” we would die, here are twelve of the 75: "If the sun were any further from the center of the galaxy, rock planets could not form. If it were any closer, stellar density would interfere with our orbit, if the earth was one degree loser to the sun, we’d fry! If we were one degree further, we’d freeze! If the moon was any closer or larger, the tides would destroy the coast lines. If any smaller or further away, the oceans would die from a lack of nutrient movement." "If our distance from Jupiter were any greater, asteroids and comets would pepper the earth. If we were any closer our orbit would become unstable. If the surface gravity was any stronger, earth would retain too much ammonia and methane. If it were any weaker, earth’s atmosphere would lose too much water. If the magnetic field were any stronger, electromagnetic storms would destroy us. If any weaker, ozone shield could not protect us from stellar and solar radiation. If the earth’s crust were any thicker, it would absorb too much of our oxygen. If it was any thinner; the volcanic and tectonic activity would make life impossible." "If the decay rate of a proton was any faster, we would die from radiation. If it was any slower, insufficient matter in the in universe for life. If the carbon dioxide level was any greater, runaway greenhouse effect would kill us. If it were any less, plants would be unable to maintain photosynthesis. If the polarity of the water molecule were any greater vaporization would be to great for life. If it were any smaller, ice would not float it would build up ice and freeze the planet! Even the tilt of the earth’s axis is crucial to maintaining the earth’s temperature." The probability of these 75 factors occurring anywhere in the universe, much less even these 12, is a hundred thousand trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion. If that’s not enough – One hundred billion other things had to happen for these 75 to exist!" I believe without a doubt that there is a God and just as He formed the universe He also formed each one us. He designed everything to work in perfect order and desires for each one of us to have a real and intimate relationship with Him. 1/25/2013 Trusting or TryingScriptures: John 3:1-8 There are two ways a person can live for God: living as a person in a rowboat: where it requires much human effort, or living for God in a sailboat: where you raise the sails and let the wind move the boat. Let's take a look a the rowboat: it is very difficult to live a righteous life through our human efforts. It is one task that is too great to try to do on our own. A rowboat moves but is limited to the power of the person rowing. A person starts off strong, but after a while the person gets tired. Their arms, back and legs begin to hurt, and thats when their boat begins to drift off course. Let's look at the sailboat: this is where you live a righteous life empowered by God's Spirit. The effort is still great, but God provides the fuel. Sails are raised in faith that God will propel a person forward. The undying power of God's spirit keeps us moving forward and on track. God's spirit is an unquenchable power source needed for our lives. There is vast difference between trusting and trying. When you try you are letting your life be propelled by your human efforts and you have to keep rowing. When you trust you let your life be empowered by God's spirit by raising your sails of faith and letting Him lead you where you need to go. It's time to trust God and let Him combine your effort and His power to create something great for your future! 1/17/2013 Wise Living: SecretsScriptures: Romans 7:14-25
One of the biggest challenges of our times is that people feel they deserve to have secret sins in their lives, to live wisely we must realize that secret sins are not acceptable to God. When we allow secret sins in our lives we learn to accept them, we start to like them and even cherish them. We find enjoyment in them and they become like a friend. There is something seriously wrong with this thinking, because we begin to lose our desire to change. We start to accept a false sense of freedom, and do not even realize we are hurting others. We become internally frustrated because our desires and actions are out of sync. So what is the solution to dealing with these secret sins? Ask yourself the question do you find God's Word at work in you? Are you remorseful when you sin? We must recognize that sin is a choice and can become an addiction. We must destroy the contract we have made with sin. We have to do away with our secrets. We have stop feeding our secret sins: take away the enjoyment we find in them. Confess and acknowledge that Jesus died for your sins and allow a new nature that God has given you to reign above your old nature. Jesus will rescue you and you receive a fresh surge of God's forgiveness and His grace. Pray that the Holy Spirit will empower you to live a transparent life. 1/7/2013 Wanting To Be HeardScriptures: Psalms 6:8-10
As human beings we have a basic desire to be heard: we all feel the need to know that others are listening. We want others to value our opinions and we want to the opportunity to be heard. There are different types of listening: listening to answer, listening because a person cares, listening to pacify, listening for personal gain, listening to win an agrument, or listening to meet a need. You can have confidence that God hears you, David wrote: "The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping." God hears the pain of your heart and feels your emotional struggles. The Lord is listening because He cares and wants to meet your need. David said: "The Lord hath heard my supplication." What does supplication mean? "To ask for humbly or earnestly, as by praying." When we beseech God He listens. He values our opinions. God knows that we want to be heard. Our feelings shift when we know that God hears us. Our fear is replaced with confidence. Just as much as you want to be heard, God wants us to hear Him. |
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