The Universe

The Universe

 

Can you find yourself

in the universe?

GOD CAN!

One of the wonderful attractions

at the Creation Museum

in Hebron, Kentucky

is the planetarium.

As you sit and recline

in the plush seats,

you look up and see

the story of the universe.

As you are taken on a journey,

from the earth and beyond you are filled

with an overwhelming wonder.

From the earth,

you are taken to the moon,

then the sun.

From there

the plants are added.

Soon you realize

we are a part of a massive galaxy

called the Milky Way.

 

Distance is communicated

in a term called light years.

A light year is about 5,878,630,000,000 miles

(about 6 trillion miles).

Our Galaxy the Milky Way’s

diameter is 100,000 light years.

   

If this is not enough to overwhelm you,

there are billions of galaxies beyond ours

discovered by high powered telescopes.

As we travel back to earth,

we realize we are smaller

than a speck of dust

in the vastness of God’s creation.

God’s words made everything that exists.

What is more remarkable is

His law has keep it all together

from that first day He said…

 God spoke: "Lights! Come out!

Shine in Heaven's sky!

Separate Day from Night.

Mark seasons and days and years..

Genesis 1:14 Msg

If God can rule the cosmos

without chaos…

Don’t you think it is wise

to obey His laws for life!

Scripture Reading

Hebrews 11:3 NIV

3 By faith we understand

that the universe was formed

at God's command,

so that what is seen was not made out

of what was visible.

Psalm 33:6-9 NIV

6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;

he puts the deep into storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;

let all the people of the world revere him.

9 For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

In the Beginning

In the Beginning

Have you ever asked yourself the question…

 Where did it all come from?

A trip to the Creation Museum

causes this question to resurface.

What is your answer?

 

Someone once said,

 Baseball is the first sport mentioned in the Bible,

“In the big inning”

The first three words in the Bible

have nothing to do with baseball;

But they can be the most mind boggling.

I don’t know how many times

I have pondered the thoughts

of the beginning…

How does something come out of nothing?

Where is the beginning?

If we continue on reading Genesis,

“God created the heavens and the earth.”

Many cannot accept that God

created the heavens and the earth.

SO…  

We have those who believe in evolution.

But we still have the question…

How does something come out of nothing?

Then there is the question…

If God created the heavens and the earth,

where did God come from?

From the time I was a boy and asked this question,

till today, no one has ever answered the question.

Creatio ex nihilo is Latin for “creation out of nothing”

Many have studied it and many viewpoints exist.

The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Bible,

says for Genesis 1:1 – “The primary cause caused to be”

So how do we deal with the question…

“How do you make something out of nothing?”

The something that we see,

“the heavens and the earth”

have only two possible answers.

The one is nothing became something

over billions of years ago

and the nothing has evolved into

what we see today.

Then other answer is

a God of intelligence designed it all.

We all have to accept the fact

that the heavens and earth are real.

So what makes more sense…

The heavens and earth evolved

on their own out of nothing.

OR…

 A God who has no beginning or end

created them out of nothing.

Scripture Reading

Genesis 1:1-2 NIV

In the beginning God created

the heavens and the earth.

John 1:3-5 NIV

Through him all things were made;

without him nothing was made that has been made.

4 In him was life,

and that life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness,

but the darkness has not understood it.

Romans 4:17 NIV

— the God who gives life to the dead

and calls things that are not

as though they were.

1 Corinthians 1:27-31 NIV

 He chose the lowly things of this world

and the despised things —

and the things that are not —

to nullify the things that are,

29 so that no one may boast before him.

30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,

who has become for us wisdom from God —

that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 

 31 Therefore, as it is written:

"Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."  

Hebrews 11:3 NIV

By faith we understand that the universe

was formed at God's command,

so that what is seen was not made out

of what was visible.    

Stopping the Gossip

Stopping the Gossip

Hoo Doo is like Voo Doo

When you gossip about what “who do”

You cast a negative spell on them.

Stay off the Who Do trail!

Paul gives specific instructions

on how to handle those who

do not follow his instructions.

One of those instructions

in the letters to the Thessalonians

concerns those who live an idle life…

The unproductive person.

The person who has so much time

on their hands,

they can get into the business

of everybody else.

They are the ones who criticize

the way others do things.

They think they know a better way.

They want to look good,

at the expense of others.

Think about it…

most comedians make their living criticizing

and finding fault with others.

We laugh and think that is great entertainment.

Being a busybody is an art form

that destroys relationships.

It is the painting of two pictures.

One of a person who can’t do things right

(according to their standard)

and their listeners should be concerned.

The other picture

 is self-portrait of a “wiser than”.

These pictures are painted

in the work lunch room, dinner table,

prayer meeting, just to name a few.

So what is Paul’s advice

when we come across

the busybody, the meddler,

the gossiping person?

Two simple points…

·       Don’t consider them an enemy

·       Don’t attack them with criticism

          and gossip to others about them

Just walk away –

Let them know you don’t

want to hear it! 

Scripture Reading

2 Thessalonians 3:11-15 NIV

11 We hear that some among you are idle.

They are not busy;

they are busybodies.

12 Such people we command

and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ

to settle down

and earn the bread they eat.

13 And as for you, brothers,

never tire of doing what is right.

14 If anyone does not obey

our instruction in this letter,

take special note of him.

Do not associate with him,

in order that he may feel ashamed.

15 Yet do not regard him as an enemy,

but warn him as a brother.