Wednesday, October 26, 2016

The Glory of God: Cosmos, Biology, Nature & Optical Phenomenon


Photograph of the Aurora Borealis in Anchorage, AL cc 2.0
 Moses said to God, “Please show me your glory.” -Exodus 33:18

Every moment, literally, is filled with the glory of God. Here in our little lives we get to experience some of the glory of God. But we experience it everywhere, if we’ll tune our minds and hearts to it. I see the glory of God everyday, if I have the right eyes to see it. When I’m at work, I experience it in others. When I’m at the nursing home volunteering I see it. When I’m at home, and I look at my cats, I’m seeing a little piece of the glory of God. When I look at the stars at night I'm seeing God's glory.

The glory of God is most certainly beyond our full conception. But, we can perceive some of it. But what exactly is the glory of God?

John Piper, a prominent theologian of our time defines it like this: “the glory of God is the holiness of God made manifest.”

The glory of God is the manifestations of God’s greatness, beauty, and wonder. It is the awe inspiring effect of His mysteries. The glory of God is the effect of his holiness and infinite nature. 


In fact the scriptures themselves display the glory of God. Yet God’s glory is also present in the natural world.

The word of God says, “The Heavens declare the glory of God.” I certainly think that’s true. When we look up at the sky at night, or at the sunset, or the sunrise, we are admiring a piece of God’s glory.

For ages man looked up at the stars and wondered. In our age, they built telescopes, like the Hubble and have taken magnified photos of far off galaxies.



Like this one. They aimed the Hubble telescope toward the center of our galaxy, and took this photo. The heavens declare the glory of God. God gives us a look at his glory when we look at the stars and galaxies.


Here is another photo aimed toward a different region of our galaxy. God made this. It’s out there right now, a massive reflection of God’s glory. This cluster of forming stars is much larger than our entire planet, or even our entire solar system. An image of God’s glory, describing just how much higher his ways are than our ways. Our ways focus on our home, workplace, the city we reside in, maybe even national news and some deeper thoughts, but the mind of God deals not in cities or countries, or even in entire planets. God’s thoughts span star systems, galaxies, nebula, and dimensions beyond our comprehension. 



Here’s another photo. These are all photographs, not doctored in anyway, simple snapshots. Could this be a Hubble telescope photo of some far away galaxy? Nope. This is in fact a photograph of brain cells, the little engines in your brain, taken by a microscope.

In fact, you yourself are a manifestation of the glory of God. Your body, the structure of your being, your anatomy and physiology are reflections of the glory of God. They are manifestations of his creative genius and propensity to develop beautiful and harmonious structures in the world. You are a creation of God. In fact, you are a dream in the mind of God.

Habakkuk 2:14 ESV says: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

Scientists have been increasingly realizing that the universe we exist in seems to be an artificial reality. Some astronomers speculate that the universe is being artificially projected from black holes, because the event horizon of black holes is actually 2 dimensional. Almost like a projector screen. These scientists are now directing more and more of their efforts to trying to “break out” of this artificial universe. Additionally, as scientists look deeper and deeper into cells, they find that the resolution of the universe itself isn’t high enough for them to look any deeper. In other words, its like examining a painting close up and you start to notice the brush strokes of the painter.

And I have to laugh. They recognize that the universe appears to be a designed reality. They recognize that something has put it all together. But they are so obsessed with resisting the notion of a creator, of God, that they have to resort to thinking we live within some sort of videogame reality that they need to break out of.

We fight so hard as humans to escape the inevitability of divine accountability. Yet once we go through that wormhole, we find the very meaning of life and the ultimate purpose of our existence. It’s worth the price.


This is a microscope photograph, via Discovery Magazine of an enzyme produced by your body, called insulin. My goodness when I first came across this photo and stared at it, at the shape of the insulin crystals, I was aghast.

I had to mockingly ask myself the question: Does that look designed!? Of course it does. It looks intelligently generated in the starkest terms. Those crystals are produced by your body, automatically! It is absolute madness to suggest some sort of evolutionary route over billions of years to get this sort of ordered complexity. Madness. Insulin is designed by the creative and scientific genius of God almighty. Nothing could be more obvious, yet nothing is more intellectually resisted. That’s in your body right now, regulating your sugar levels, ensuring the most precise balance to sustain your internal organs and blood functioning. Evolved indeed, such silliness! 



One of the most sacred reflections of God’s glory we see here. This is a human embryo, 3 days old. Simply astounding. Glory to God. This is someone’s baby picture. That was you, just after conception. A clump of cells or a sacred human life?

Whether by the telescope or the microscope, life itself declares the glory of God.

The scriptures say in Revelation 4:1-6: “Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. 3 The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. 4 Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. 6 In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal."


Notice the rainbow is mentioned as part of this incredible description of God’s throne in heaven. Maybe it looks something like this.

I remember I would look up at the rainbows I’d see as a child and I’d be filled with wonder. Then as I began going to school I recall they tried to give us textbook “Scientific” definitions of the rainbow. Something to do with natural gases and blah blah blah. They always do that don’t they? They try to find some way, some reason to take the wonder from life. They try to explain everything away, until we’re nothing but materialist meat puppets fulfilling evolutionary Darwinistic desires for propagation and survival. Science is wonderful is how it can analyze our world, and help make our lives easier. But when science moves into the area of philosophy and starts trying to define the meaning and purpose of all life, it fails to produce accurate results. The rainbow is a reflection of God’s glory, and his promise.

But perhaps the greatest manifestation of God’s glory is in Jesus Christ our savior. The scriptures say: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” -Hebrews 1:3 ESV.

Jesus himself, in his infinite glory holds the universe together.


I couldn’t help but think of that scripture when I came along this photo. This is a photo of an optical phenomenon often referred to as “glory.” Though scholars debate how exactly this phenomenon forms, it has something to do with the rays of the sun interacting with water particles in the atmosphere.

Yet maybe it gives us a little glimpse of the idea of what it means for Jesus Christ to hold the universe together by the word of his power.

Bu it’s interesting how scientists tend to make discoveries that support the word of God. In fact Scientists in the past 20 years discovered the Higgs-Boson particle, a particle that literally holds the universe together, and allows for mass. It quickly garnered the nickname “the God particle.”


Indeed the natural world is full of magnificent sights that fill us with awe and amazement. This is a photograph of the largest hot spring in the United States. It’s simply amazing. In fact, as I gathered these photos together for this presentation, I found myself increasingly haunted by the fact that despite being such disparate representations of creation, from galaxies to brain cells to rainbows and the natural world, the thought kept coming to my mind that they all look quite similar in aesthetics. As if they were all designed by the same artist.

Our job today, tomorrow, and everyday is to live like Jesus. And to live for Jesus. Jesus being number one. And in so doing, we become like sun, the moon, the stars, nature, animals, and the very cells in our bodies, we become walking manifestations of the glory of God.

So we are called to reflect the light of the son of God. In fact, when are saved, reborn, regenerated by Jesus Christ our Lord he actually comes and lives within us, and we become his hands and feet on Earth.

Colossians 1:27 says regarding this: “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

And John 1:14 says “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

So we see that God makes his glory known through the creation. And we see that God makes his glory known through Christ in us.

And finally, we see that in the future we will see the ultimate representation of God’s glory in the eternal city of heaven. When we move past the veil of tears, and our lives end here, we will awake in glory, in the eternal city prepared by Christ for us.


Revelation 21:23 says “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” In our coming reward, our coming eternity, for all time, our future coming existence, which will never end, will be a place lit by the full glory of God. We will see the full glory of God himself, and live within the eternal bask of our creator’s wondrous glow. And in the lamp light of our savior Jesus Christ. Our destiny is to live within the glory of God, the expansive, incredible, joyous glory of God.

Ultimately when we talk about the glory of God, we’re talking about living in the presence of God. The glory of God is what the joy of heaven is. It is living in the joy of seeing God at all times. And living in full peace, becoming so much more than we are now. It is the full coming into the fullness of what we are as people, made in the image of God, restored, having given glory to God, now welcomed into joyousness, the presence of God. We get little tastes of the glory of God, the joy of God today as we carry the gospel and love others, but in our eternal future we shall experience the full glory of God, beyond anything we can fully comprehend. And we ought to look forward in great hope for that day.


Saturday, September 3, 2016

Why Do You Believe in God?


"Black Hole" NASA, via Wikimedia Images
If someone asks me, "Why do you believe in God?" I don't necessarily say "I just have faith."
 
Many might say that. But for someone who asks that question, I need to know how to defend my faith. So my response is this:
 
I think it's very reasonable to believe in God. Let me tell you why:
 
1. The universe exists and it must have a cause, everything that begins to exist has a cause.  The universe began to exist. Evolution can't create, neither can science. The universe needs a first cause that is timeless, outside the system and infinitely powerful.  God is the logical first cause (cosmological argument)
 
2. The universe is finely tuned, there is order in the universe at work that allows for planets, stars and galaxies. There are laws in the universe, constants like gravity, relativity, and so on. It's reasonable that when we find mathematical laws and cosmological laws in the universe, that there is a powerful being that created those systems (argument from design)
 
3. Within the human cell we find massive amounts of information. When we look at the human eye, we see a system so incredibly complicated that it could never come about by chance. When scientists look into the human body they see a complex yet harmonious system of machinery. We see cells and tissue, and DNA and systems that all function as one, and are irreducibly complex. (specified complexity, irreducibly complexity).
 
4. The human mind intuitively knows that there is good and evil, right and wrong, good and bad. Objective moral laws exist, they are universal. If objective morals exist, then an objective moral law giver must exist, therefore God exists. (moral argument)
 

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The Return of Jesus Christ & the New Jerusalem


 
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, New York, Macmillan, 1960, p. 119.

This life is short. Anything can happen. Our bodies function for a certain number of years, and then we die. Life can seem very difficult at times. Life can seem great at times, and we’re happy. Life is a strange thing. We walk around in these mechanical bodies working jobs, driving cars, getting married, making babies, walking about hustling and bustling to do this or that on this mud covered sphere flying through the void of space at thousands of miles per hour. You’ve got the moon, the stars at night, the clouds and sun during the day. It’s quite odd.

We do many things in life. We try many things. We work, we wonder, and we dream. And we yearn for something more.

I always had a yearning within. Even when I was very young, me and my sister would do little more than play all day. But after a few years I began to ache, just slightly at the end of the day, and think to myself: Is this all life is? The best way I could describe it is that it’s like the day after Christmas. There’s been this great build up for all these gifts I’d thought I’d wanted, that I thought would fulfill me, and they’ve just let me down.

In the same way, using marijuana, or speed, or getting drunk, I’ve done those things. And eventually after a few years your just waiting for the hangover, or your waiting for the “come down.” You can hardly enjoy it anymore. Because increasingly every day there is growing sense of meaninglessness. There is a growing sense of frustration, as time and again and again and again, I set a goal for myself, I set a desire, a product, a relationship, a marriage, a trip, a season, as my ultimate, that somehow when I reach this point finally, finally finally everything is going to be ok. But that moment never comes. It’s always a let down, and I’m disappointed beyond belief. What a cruel reality, and how frustrating after 50 tries, after 100 tries, after 500 tries.

The true story is told of Deion Sanders, a hall of fame corner back who played for the Dallas Cowboys. He had just won the superbowl. He’d had a great game. He was back at the hotel with superbowl ring. And he was on the phone ordering a new Lamborghini. He set down the foot and a very, very disturbing feeling fell over him. Meaninglessness, he had just achieved every goal he had set, and there was nothing. Just emptiness. In the hotel room, Deion Sanders fell down onto his knees, and called out to Jesus Christ.

All we seek after, the fame, the glory, the relationships, the perfect marriage… it all fails to satisfy that sacred yearning.

That yearning is eternity, set up the human heart by God almighty. It is why we ache for something we’ve never had, a perfect timeless existence in full connection to God almighty. I fall into that too, thinking about the perfect romantic relationship. Maybe then my depression will go away, maybe then my tiredness will fade, maybe then I won’t feel lonely at night. But it isn’t true. Only God can satisfy that eternity, because he has placed it upon our hearts, as a desire for a new world. We have within a sacred desire for life without boundaries, for perfect justice, for perfect love, and for a perfect world. Does it make sense to you? If nothing in this world satisfies me, then I must be made for another world.

As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ the son of God came to Earth, that he died a replacement death for us, he died in our place on the cross, to redeem us in God’s eyes. Jesus then resurrected from the dead bodily. And he returned to heaven. As Christians we believe Jesus Christ will return to collect us, his people, and give us all the promises he has made.

Revelation 22:12-17 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life."

Jesus answers our call for eternity, the desperate desire within all of us for something greater when he says “I am the alpha and the omega. I am the first and the last. I am the beginning and the end.” What an astounding statement, to save that he is all. He is the answer to the yearnings of our deep souls. We’re made in the image of God, making this limiting world quite exhausting, sad for us, we’re like teenager on a kindergarten playground. We’re capable of much more, desiring of greater things, yet stuck on the monkey bars. For now.

Because Jesus Christ is coming back. And when he returns, he will do many wonderful things. We’ll talk about that in a minute, first, let’s look at our apologetic moment.

1. The universe exists and it must have a cause, everything that begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Evolution can't create, neither can science. The universe needs a first cause that is timeless, outside the system and infinitely powerful. God is the logical first cause (cosmological argument)

2. The universe is finely tuned, there is order in the universe at work that allows for planets, stars and galaxies. There are laws in the universe, constants like gravity, relativity, and so on. It's reasonable that when we find mathematical laws and cosmological laws in the universe, that there is a powerful being that created those systems (argument from design)

3. Within the human cell we find massive amounts of information. When we look at the human eye, we see a system so incredibly complicated that it could never come about by chance. When scientists look into the human body they see a complex yet harmonious system of machinery. We see cells and tissue, and DNA and systems that all function as one, and are irreducibly complex. (specified complexity, irreducibly complexity).

4. The human mind intuitively knows that there is good and evil, right and wrong, good and bad. Objective moral laws exist, they are universal. If objective morals exist, then an objective moral law giver must exist, therefore God exists. (moral argument)

So to review, Jesus came the first time to offer himself as a sacrifice to save us, but this return of Christ has to do with rewarding those who are waiting for him.

We await our savior. We await the great chance to be with Him forever. So we must be careful that we continue in the faith. Jesus has entrusted us with his gospel, and he requires of us that we share it with others. Do you recall the parable of the 3 servants? Each of the servants were good stewards of the gifts the master gave them, aside from the 3rd servant who simply buried his gift and didn’t make any use of it.

Again, think of the parable of the ten virgins. 5 of them were prepared, 5 of them were foolish. The master took a long time to return, and they fell asleep. They didn’t bring enough oil to keep their lamps lit. So they were not able to enter the kingdom. The master told them “I don’t know you.” Those words terrify me. The parable of the ten virgins has always scared me. The last words say “Therefore keep watch, because you don’t know the day or the hour.”

I’m hoping after hoping to hear some very sweet simple words from my savior: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Faithful, and good. Interesting combination. We live by faith, yet we must also try our best to live in holiness.

In the future, we die, or perhaps in our lifetime, Jesus Christ returns. Either way, we meet Jesus face to face. Whether you believe in God or not, you will see God face to face. Every person will. I feel sorry for those killed in the Orlando shooting, because they may find themselves hearing the words “I don’t know you.” I can’t judge, only God knows for certain. But I can examine and discern the truth.

If we are found faithful and good in the eyes of Christ Jesus, we will be rewarded for our good deeds, at an event called the great white throne judgment. Some might say “oh judgment, Jesus wouldn’t judge anybody.”

"Well, actually, he will judge everyone. And to add to that, do you not know you will judge angels?" -1st Corinthians 6:3. Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

But for those of us who know Christ as our savior and Lord, there is no judgment for us, there is only reward, glory, honor, praise and riches in heaven. For those outside the cross, there will be judgment. And I’m glad for that, because God is a perfectly righteous judge. I’m certain every judgment he makes, the smallest, to the greatest will be 100% just, and right, and deserving.

Judgment offends our modern sensibilities. But judgment is a good thing when done by God. I trust Him. The return of Jesus Christ shows us a whole new side of our savior. Jesus while on earth 2,000 years ago lived a life of radical service, he was meek, lowly, and merciful. The returning Jesus Christ, we see is powerful, strong, and a warrior.

Revelation 19:11-16 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords. -Revelation 19:11-16 NIV

So we make the cut, we’re a precious friend of Jesus and we’re welcomed into a new state of existence. Many things must come to pass in the end times before that can happen. We’re not going to get too much into that today. We’re going to talk about the city of God.

The scriptures say that our current reality, this Earth and the stars, all of it are destined for fire, for destruction. And in Revelation it says that then comes a new heavens, and a new Earth. And a new city, called the New Jerusalem. Our eternal home, in the next life, will be the city called New Jerusalem.

Now let me tell you about this city, it is really something special. It will amaze you. The New Jerusalem is a city, are you ready for your mind to be blown? God’s eternal city is a giant cube, about 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles high. That gives the New Jerusalem an area of 2.25 million square miles.

This is an approximation of the size of the city when compared with Earth as it is right now. Simply astounding.

Revelation says the city will literally come out of the heavens. Almost like a ship, landing on the new Earth. Revelation 21:11 says the city shined with the glory and presence of God.

Now every once in a while we get a tiny taste of the presence of God. Sometimes when I’m leading Bible study, or preaching or praying at night, I get a sensation of the true presence of God. And it’s the most amazing feeling ever, and I wish it would stay, but it always flees. That’s how things are in this life, in the fall of man. But in the eternal city, the full presence of God will be everywhere. The city has twelve foundations on each foundation is written the names of the 12 apostles of Christ and 12 entrances along the sides, marked with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The walls were made of jasper, which is a beautiful red stone. And the city itself is made of gold. The twelve foundations are decorated with all sorts of precious stones, like topaz, emerald, ruby, and amethyst. The twelve gates were each made from a single, giant pearl. Thus the old adage, the “pearly gates.” Literally, the gates to New Jerusalem, your future home, will be pure pearl.

I won’t you to think about that, and picture yourself touching the gate with your hand. Because God willing, one day you will. You really will.

There is no temple necessary in the city, because the city itself is God’s temple. And you live there! Nothing impure will ever enter the city. The nations will come into the city, aka the gentiles. Who are gentiles? We are gentiles. Finally it says in Revelation 21 that the city has no need for moon, stars or sun, because God himself lights the city.

The angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. –Revelation 22:1-5 NIV





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Saturday, August 20, 2016

William Lane Craig's Best Moments

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25 Powerful Quotes on Why Christianity is actually Real

If Christianity is just a lie, then it doesn't really matter at all.  Then again, if Christianity is actually true then it matters more than anything else in life.  


I was very skeptical about Jesus and the Bible at first.  I thought it was stupid.  I thought it was just a bunch of silly legends.  I couldn't believe how average everyday people could believe such incredible nonsense!  Were they all crazy?  Were they completely bonkers?  Or did they just do it for show?  So they could feel good about themselves?  Those were the thoughts I had about Christianity and religion in general.  It seemed ridiculous. 

Little did I know, I'd been fed stereotypes and false caricatures by a media and culture that despised organized religion.  Only later on did I discover quotes like these describing a Christianity I had never encountered before: a deep, coherent, and reasonable Christianity.  Enjoy.

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