Life Here and There

In my last post, I talked about how God sees deeper than the skin and today, I want to carry that thought further (based on my message from last Sunday) about how God sees beyond today.

I’m busy today. I have a lot of things up in the air that are all happening at once. Your day is like mine, isn’t it? Catching up isn’t really an option. And maybe catching up isn’t what it’s cracked up to be anyway. After all, if we were caught up, we wouldn’t be necessary in the moment. So we keep living by the clock… tick, tock, tick, tock.

(more…)

God’s vision differs from our vision. He sees people, the world, and truth through different eyes. His thoughts are above ours, as are all of His ways. I wanted to elaborate.

(more…)

I’ve just begun my annual Bible reading plan over at YouVersion.com and have already been awestruck within the first chapter of the Bible by a single phrase… “and He made the stars also.”

Consider the vastness of the universe…

It so happens that the distance from the earth to one of our brightest stars, the not-too-distant star Betelgeuse (pronounced Beatle-juice), is approximately 520 light-years. Betelgeuse is the bright orange-red star in the winter constellation Orion. 520 light-years is a far-piece! Consider this: the light that left this star at the time that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the chapel door at Wittenberg beginning the Protestant Reformation on October 31, 1517, has not yet reached the earth. In fact this light will not reach the earth for many more years, until about the year 2037.
source credit

In other words, God made some huge stuff out there! But the attention His Word gives to the vastness of the universe is five little words, “He made the stars also.” What does God bring our attention to through most of Scripture? Redemption!

Yes, God made the stars – billions of them, spread across millions of miles of outer space, but His attention is fixed… on YOU! He wants nothing less than eternal life for you. Now THAT’s awesome!

photo credit: Sir Mervs [dose]

Life is a pursuit. That’s true for all of us – no escaping it. You chase something, you know it, and you can’t quit – that would be crazy. So what do we chase?

• Money
• Pleasure
• Popularity
• Success
• Peace
• Beauty
• Acceptance
• Love

That list could probably go on for days. The endless chase, whatever it is, is what gets you out of bed in the morning. It’s what makes you check your inbox and your mailbox. It’s what causes you to ask the opinions and feedback of others. The chase wears you out at times, but alas, after resting from your panting, you run again.

Most of the objects we chase are moving targets. We’re left with daily frustration. At each benchmark, we simply receive a new baton and run for the next mark. It’s endless.

Moses chased vengeance and wound up expelled from Egypt. David chased sex and it cost the lives of thousands. Saul chased power and control and it cost the lives of early martyrs. For each of these, however, the chase abruptly ended in a sharp confrontation with the Almighty.

A burning bush, the words of Nathan, the Damascus road. Everything changed when two chases collide. In their pursuit of power and pleasure, they were oblivious to the fact that they were, in fact, being pursued… and they had finally been caught.

God has chased us down throughout history. With prophets and preachers, scholars and scribes, He has communicated His message. Through circumstances, events, and miracles, He has indicated His presence. And with His Son, He threw a net.

I hope your chase for anything other than God lands you at the foot of the cross. He’s the ultimate pursuit. When you come to Him, you’ve caught the ultimate prize. And as Paul put it, this is what you’ve been apprehended for. I’m gladly caught. Then again, I’m still passionately pursuing!

Paul said, “I have yet to apprehend that for which I have been apprehended… I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” He’s always just beyond my reach, but someday… someday this chase will be worth it. Is yours?

I just read a news story about an atheistic group in Washington state that has placed a sign in the state capital building promoting atheism. The sign is located adjacent to a nativity scene also paid for by a private organizations, and both organizations obtained permits for their displays. You can read more about the story here.

I am not opposed to either display – we live in a nation that celebrates the freedom of speech as well as the freedom of worship, so either of these groups should be well within their rights to express their views in a public setting, especially seeing that they’ve gone through the appropriate measures to do so. I do, however, think that the action raises an issue about atheism that has to be dealt with by anyone who is wavering between theism (belief in a god) and atheism (belief in no god), and that is that atheism is a religion.

(more…)