I did two things today. Okay I did a lot of things today, but two of them are relevant to this post.
The first is that I looked at "The Human Body Book" with my kids. There were various things they were interested in, but one of the most interesting things, to me, was the innards of a cell. You know what's in a cell? A whole lot of junk, that's what. It varies depending on cell type, but the picture of a generalized cell we looked at looks like a huge aquarium teeming with a couple dozen forms of life. You have parts for nutrient absorption, cell reproduction, moving substances through the cytoplasm (cell goo), sugar/fat digestion and energy production, material/water storage and transport, structural support, protein assembly, substance flow control, plus the control center in the middle and various other pieces that make this whole thing work. Its like a factory more complicated than any I've seen. And we've got a gazillion of these things working together in our bodies.
The second is that I took the dog on a walk at night and looked up at the stars (and maybe one planet, it was really bright). I saw maybe a couple of dozen stars, billions of miles away, shining brightly in the depths of space. Its estimated that there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and maybe the same number of galaxies. Let's say those estimates are off by a factor of 100, each. That would still be 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 stars. I don't know about your universe, but in mine, that's a lot of freaking stars.
Then I thought of something. Okay I thought of a lot of things, but one of them is relevant to this post.
In ages past, people didn't know about the complexity of the cell. It wasn't that long ago that people didn't even know what a cell was. It wasn't that long ago either that people didn't know how vast the universe was. Yet many believed in God.
Now we live in a time when people can see small things so much more than ever before and large things so much more than ever before. These are the very things that point to God's existence. The complexity of the human body and the vastness of the universe is so great, it is a huge testimony to the vastness and glory of God himself. And what do some so called "brilliant minds" do with it? They try use the very evidence of God's existence to say that he could not possibly exist.
"Yes, this vast universe just popped into existence from nothing! And life too! This incredibly complex system called life just popped into existence from nothing too! And the little complex things grew into more and more and more complex things until one day they grew into something that had enough of a brain to think about its own existence and say 'There is no God'".
Rubbish.
If with greater revelation comes greater accountability, how much more accountable are we today, knowing the enormity of God's creation? I think much, but that's just one man's opinion.
Grace and Peace
Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Light Of The World
At one point in his life Gandhi went on a quest to determine which religion of the world was best for his country. On his quest he visited Britain. He stayed in a Christian home. He went to a Christian church. He went away concluding that Christianity is not the religion for his country. Why? He felt no love. He reasoned that if God is love and he felt no love, then God must not be there, and in that home, and in that church, he felt no love. Not one person in the church extended a hand to welcome him, and the Christian home looked no different than a non-Christian home.
No wonder he also said something to the effect of "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."
Why? Because many of us do not practice what we preach. We're often hypocrites. Period. That makes me hurt inside, especially when I realize the ways in which I also fall into this category. But I pray that anyone, especially myself, who falls into this category doesn't shrug it off and ignore it. I pray that we, who claim to follow Christ, all realize what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. I pray that we all realize what it means to be the light of the world.
I pray this because too often we want to be just like the world, liking the world and having the world like us. Rubbish. We're supposed to be set apart, which means that while we're in the world, we're not of the world. It doesn't mean isolation, and it doesn't mean conformity. It means standing up against the darkness around us and being the bright lights we're called to be.
Think about this. What if someone followed you around for a day? From the time you got up in the morning to the time you went to bed? Would you look like a Christian, or would you look just like everyone else?
1) What about your reactions? Do you race to beat someone on to the freeway or get the parking spot? Do you look the other way when you see someone in need that you really don't want to help? Do you ignore the phone when someone calls because of what you think they might have to say? Do you ignore people that smile at you and say good morning just because you're having a bad day?
2) What about your speech? Are you kind to everyone, or are you kind only to the people that matter to you and rude to others? Are you quick to snap at someone, or do you hold your tongue? Do you join in with gossiping about others or making fun of them, or do you refuse and walk away? Do you yell at other people in your car, even if no one else can hear you? Do you speak graciously to your spouse even when you disagree?
3) What about your appearance? Do you dress modestly, or do you flaunt what you've got? Do you dress down to earth, or do you dress to impress with designer clothes? Do you come as the real you to church, or do you dress way up (or way down) just to stand out from other believers and make them look at you? Do you pick out clothes that represent your Lord and your heart, or do you wear clothes promoting man made "heroes" that have nothing to do with Christian values?
4) What about your music, television shows, movies, books, and video games? Do you make wise decisions about which ones to buy, or do you grab whatever is new and popular? Do the images and sounds glorify God, or are they filled with gore, sex, murder, theft, deceit, foul language, coarse jokes, wicked lifestyles, and demonic imagery?
5) What about your faith? Do you witness to people when the opportunity arises or do you shy away? Do you share the Lord in regular conversation when you're prompted by the Spirit, or do you ignore that prompting and steer the conversation to worldly things? Do you stand up for the Lord when your friend or co-worker takes his name in vain, or do you pretend not to hear? Do you take God's word seriously or do you cherry pick what you want to hear and ignore the rest? Do you pray earnestly and fervently, or do you just rattle off something canned and heartless in the last 5 minutes of your day? Do you teach your children about the Lord and set the right example for them, or do you leave that only up to the local church?
I could go on, but I won't!
I know there are places here we ALL fall short. That's not the point. The point is what we do about it. Are we content to fall short and chalk it up to "the flesh" and "our human nature" and "that's how I am"? Or do we mourn over our shortcomings, our failings, our sins and desire truly to pursue a godly life with all we've got? So, regarding these questions, and the million others that can be asked, the most important question is this: in everything we think, say, and do, is there an overwhelming amount of evidence to convict us of being Christians? If the answer is not yes, we have many things to work on.
And. Even if the answer IS yes. We STILL have many things to work on.
If we are to be a light of the world; that light needs to stand out and shine brightly, not fade into the darkness that surrounds.
Grace and Peace
No wonder he also said something to the effect of "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ."
Why? Because many of us do not practice what we preach. We're often hypocrites. Period. That makes me hurt inside, especially when I realize the ways in which I also fall into this category. But I pray that anyone, especially myself, who falls into this category doesn't shrug it off and ignore it. I pray that we, who claim to follow Christ, all realize what it means to hunger and thirst for righteousness. I pray that we all realize what it means to be the light of the world.
I pray this because too often we want to be just like the world, liking the world and having the world like us. Rubbish. We're supposed to be set apart, which means that while we're in the world, we're not of the world. It doesn't mean isolation, and it doesn't mean conformity. It means standing up against the darkness around us and being the bright lights we're called to be.
Think about this. What if someone followed you around for a day? From the time you got up in the morning to the time you went to bed? Would you look like a Christian, or would you look just like everyone else?
1) What about your reactions? Do you race to beat someone on to the freeway or get the parking spot? Do you look the other way when you see someone in need that you really don't want to help? Do you ignore the phone when someone calls because of what you think they might have to say? Do you ignore people that smile at you and say good morning just because you're having a bad day?
2) What about your speech? Are you kind to everyone, or are you kind only to the people that matter to you and rude to others? Are you quick to snap at someone, or do you hold your tongue? Do you join in with gossiping about others or making fun of them, or do you refuse and walk away? Do you yell at other people in your car, even if no one else can hear you? Do you speak graciously to your spouse even when you disagree?
3) What about your appearance? Do you dress modestly, or do you flaunt what you've got? Do you dress down to earth, or do you dress to impress with designer clothes? Do you come as the real you to church, or do you dress way up (or way down) just to stand out from other believers and make them look at you? Do you pick out clothes that represent your Lord and your heart, or do you wear clothes promoting man made "heroes" that have nothing to do with Christian values?
4) What about your music, television shows, movies, books, and video games? Do you make wise decisions about which ones to buy, or do you grab whatever is new and popular? Do the images and sounds glorify God, or are they filled with gore, sex, murder, theft, deceit, foul language, coarse jokes, wicked lifestyles, and demonic imagery?
5) What about your faith? Do you witness to people when the opportunity arises or do you shy away? Do you share the Lord in regular conversation when you're prompted by the Spirit, or do you ignore that prompting and steer the conversation to worldly things? Do you stand up for the Lord when your friend or co-worker takes his name in vain, or do you pretend not to hear? Do you take God's word seriously or do you cherry pick what you want to hear and ignore the rest? Do you pray earnestly and fervently, or do you just rattle off something canned and heartless in the last 5 minutes of your day? Do you teach your children about the Lord and set the right example for them, or do you leave that only up to the local church?
I could go on, but I won't!
I know there are places here we ALL fall short. That's not the point. The point is what we do about it. Are we content to fall short and chalk it up to "the flesh" and "our human nature" and "that's how I am"? Or do we mourn over our shortcomings, our failings, our sins and desire truly to pursue a godly life with all we've got? So, regarding these questions, and the million others that can be asked, the most important question is this: in everything we think, say, and do, is there an overwhelming amount of evidence to convict us of being Christians? If the answer is not yes, we have many things to work on.
And. Even if the answer IS yes. We STILL have many things to work on.
If we are to be a light of the world; that light needs to stand out and shine brightly, not fade into the darkness that surrounds.
Grace and Peace
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Stand Up For Jesus
First I have to throw out some lyrics from the Newsboys:
---
Living for Jesus is the way I will go
I’ll follow Him always, don’t care what men say
I’ve been on both sides and I know where I’ll stay
The light He has shown me will not fade away
Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus
Oh can’t you hear me, He’s the way
Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus
Oh can’t you hear me, He’s the way
Where are you standing if you were to fall
Religion won’t help you if He calls on you now
Stand up and be counted say I’m for the Lord
Don’t keep so quiet, go forth and be bold
---
I think that song is just great. I was listening to Duncan again today and paid some attention when he was talking about preaching the gospel and being the light. Matthew 5:14-15 for example: "You are the world's light; it is impossible to hide a town built on top of a hill. Men do not light a lamp and put it under a bucket. They put it on a lampstand, and it gives light for everybody in the house."
The above song came to mind as he was talking.
Later in the day, something else came to mind. There was another Trinity in Trinity's kindergarten class last year. I remember ONE thing that she ever did on work I saw all year long. It was an assignment to write about yourself to the class (I think), and her sentences started something like "My name is Trinity. I'm a Christian. And...".
We sure can learn a lot from kids. This 5 year old girl stood up proudly for Jesus. If she can do it, so can anyone else. I pray that I don't dim or hide my light.
---
Living for Jesus is the way I will go
I’ll follow Him always, don’t care what men say
I’ve been on both sides and I know where I’ll stay
The light He has shown me will not fade away
Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus
Oh can’t you hear me, He’s the way
Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus
Oh can’t you hear me, He’s the way
Where are you standing if you were to fall
Religion won’t help you if He calls on you now
Stand up and be counted say I’m for the Lord
Don’t keep so quiet, go forth and be bold
---
I think that song is just great. I was listening to Duncan again today and paid some attention when he was talking about preaching the gospel and being the light. Matthew 5:14-15 for example: "You are the world's light; it is impossible to hide a town built on top of a hill. Men do not light a lamp and put it under a bucket. They put it on a lampstand, and it gives light for everybody in the house."
The above song came to mind as he was talking.
Later in the day, something else came to mind. There was another Trinity in Trinity's kindergarten class last year. I remember ONE thing that she ever did on work I saw all year long. It was an assignment to write about yourself to the class (I think), and her sentences started something like "My name is Trinity. I'm a Christian. And...
We sure can learn a lot from kids. This 5 year old girl stood up proudly for Jesus. If she can do it, so can anyone else. I pray that I don't dim or hide my light.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)