Looking Up?
The race of man is rapidly growing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, world population is at an all-time high, with 90 million people entering our world each year. It took 123 years for the population of the world to grow from 1 billion to 2 billion, but each successive billion people have arrived in ever-shorter timespans. From 2 to 3 billion took only 33 years, from 3 to 4 fourteen years and it only took 11 years to grow from 5 to the current 6 billion people. The population of the world's most economically developed countries is actually dropping, while 95% of all population growth is taking place in the world's poorest countries.
Coupled with this incredible population explosion, is a dramatic increase in premature death. According to the worldwatch institute (www.worldwatch.org) for the first time since the great famine of China in the 1960's, the world's mortality rate is increasing, despite and perhaps even because of rapid population growth. The main causes of this dramatic calamity? HIV, water depletion and the scarcity of cropland for food.
HIV, which leads to the fatal AIDS Syndrome is wiping out whole cultures on the African and Indian Subcontinents. I have spoken to African pastors who have told me that they fully expect half of their church to die of AIDs in the coming year. One out of every three people on our planet live in Africa or the Indian subcontinent and these are the regions most devastated by thie terrible disease. In Botswana and Zimbabwe, the life expectancy of males has FALLEN from 62 to less than 44 years - primarily because of HIV/AIDS. The saddest fact of these statistics is that this disease is entirely preventable - And only children and rape victims indescriminantly die of AIDS, having inherited it from their sexually promiscuous parents or attackers.
In China, the world's most populist country, despite strict controls on families and forced abortion and sterilization, another kind of epidemic is raging - the lack of women. More than 50 years of the forced abortion of infant girls have created a gender imbalance that will dramatically affect Chinese and perhaps the world's culture. Some statistics I have read state that there are 152 men for every 100 women in China and in rural areas, where boys are needed for work, the figure may be much higher. What happens in a society where there are tens of millions of men with no women to marry?
The shortage of drinking water is something that we cannot imagine in America. One example of the effects of no available water could be seen in the Masai tribesmen of Africa who for generations, drank the blood of their cattle during the dry season because there was simply no water to be found. God has graciously helped in the case of the Masai; Living Water International (www.living-water.org) has provided clean water to this tribe and others, but one organization cannot even begin to address the global water shortage efectively. One film I recently watched from some of our missionaries in Bangladesh showed the condition of water in much of the undeveloped world - in the same river, people bathed, gathered drinking water, dumped their trash and human waste - all at the same time.
Even though there are perhaps millions of American families who struggle with meeting their daily nutritional needs, no one in America really knows what it is like for there to be NO food sources. Rich in farmland, our country pays farmers each year not to grow their crops. But in many parts of the world, there simply isn't any food because there isn't any land on which to grow it, or the population growth is far outpacing the ability of land to produce crops. One cannot feed 10,000 families from a single acre of land, and yet in some parts of Africa and India, this is the demand placed on the earth.
What does this have to do with the church?
In the book of Luke, Chapter 21, Jesus is giving His disciples and vicariously, you and I a picture of what will happen as the end of time draws near. "And He said, "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven" (Vv.10-11).
In December of 2004, approximately 280,000 people died within 15 minutes from an earthquake and tsunami in the Indian ocean, which qualifies as a "great earthquake" in my humble opinion. Jesus went on to say "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake." (v. 12) The Jewish believers until the time of Constantine (285-337 A.D.) were brought before the synagogues and persecuted in Jerusalem. Many Christians since then have been brought before kings and rulers for naming the name of Jesus' Christ. It is estimated, in fact, that since the Stalinist persecutions in Soviet Russia until the present time, more Christians have died than in all the centuries before combined.
For the last 2000 or so years, this particular prophecy of Jesus has been fulfilled. Further on in this passage (v.20), Jesus provides some startling detail. Jesus says that Jerusalem will be surrounded and that "Jerusalem will be trampled until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled". Jerusalem was crushed by the Roman Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 70 and not one single Jewish person was left alive inside the city.
Jesus then goes on to talk about His return. He states in (v.28) "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
One doesn't have to be Chicken Little to see that our world is heading for a disaster. Jerusalem has long been considered the "center of the earth" (according to Herod the Great) because on this tiny stretch of land alongside the Mediterranean sea lies the most fertile land in all the earth. Everything grows abundantly there - water is plentiful, the weather is just right and the soil is rich. If you were the dictator of a nation filled with starving, dying people where would you go? If you had an army of trained men, hundreds of millions strong and couldn't feed your people, in what direction would you travel?
That's right - to the most fertile slice of land on earth. This is precisely where these nations will go. When? I don't know. But what I do know is that before these nations of the East march toward this rich source of food and water, Jesus Christ will return. There have been earthquakes and famines on the earth for thousands of years. But there has never before been a time when mankind could no longer find food and water or when millions of men could not find women to take as wives, because these things simply were not there.
When Jesus comes back He is going to quickly leave again, taking with Him all those who have joined with Him in their hearts and minds. Those who do not leave with Him will be left here to watch as the great masses of humanity, driven to seek their basic necessities, march toward that most ancient city of Jerusalem; filled with food and exotic women. The Bible talks about what will happen when they get there. The details can be found in the book of Revelation, Chapter 19.
The Bible asks the question, "Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?Or who may stand in His holy place?"(Psalm 24:3)
The answer, "who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:4) In short, only those who have not lifted up their soul to anything else but Jesus Christ. In a world where sex, money, fortune, notoriety and self-indulgence are the loftiest goals one can obtain, it is easy to lift up our lives (our souls) and sell ourselves for these things. Don't do it. Nike is wrong. And when Jesus comes back, he won't be wearing tennis shoes. Set your mind and your life of the things of God. That way, as the end of time approaches, you won't be like Chicken Little, wondering what is going to happen next. Don't guess at the most important thing in your entire life - eternity. Be certain that when Jesus Christ returns, you will go with him. The trip is free; all you have to do is ask.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Monday, June 13, 2005
JC's Weekly June 13th 2005
In a recent interview with British author Joseph Pearce, the great Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, spoke about his worldview, having lived much of his life in Soviet prison camps and now watching as Russia struggles to free itself from the grip of communism.
Mr. Solzhenitsyn was asked; "A British journalist recently stated that you believe that Russia has overthrown the evils of communism only to replace them with the evils of capitalism, is that a fair statement of your position and, if so, what do you feel are the worst evils of capitalism?"
To which he replied, "In different places over the years I have had to prove that socialism, which to many western thinkers is a sort of kingdom of justice, was in fact full of coercion, of bureaucratic greed and corruption and avarice, and consistent within itself that socialism cannot be implemented without the aid of coercion. Communist propaganda would sometimes include statements such as "we include almost all the commandments of the Gospel in our ideology". The difference is that the Gospel asks all this to be achieved through love, through self-limitation, but socialism only uses coercion. This is one point.
Untouched by the breath of God, unrestricted by human conscience, both capitalism and socialism are repulsive."
There is a common tendency in the west to equate materialism (capitalism) with Christianity. This is not of God as many in America would claim. And yet, capitalism as an economic system appears to have many benefits. It offers the individual, if properly administered, with the ability to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor. However, capitalism is an economic system and not, as we in America have come to understand it - a political one. Neither is it intended to be a religion; yet in America it has become just that.
The Bible speaks a great deal about money. Jesus warned His followers not to seek after financial wealth. Jesus was not an aesthete as some claim, denying all property rights and ordering people to live communal lives of poverty. As I have mentioned before, He and his followers had a bank account and through St. Paul, we learn that money is not the root of all kinds of evil - but the love of it is. The great problem of our generation is that the west is in love with money. Jesus taught a proper perspective for money; a perspective which I believe we have lost.
American life is inseperably intertwined with this natural desire for money. I use natural here in the pejorative, negative sense - as the Bible does. It is a "natural" person who cannot understand the spiritual things of God (1 Corinthans 2:14) and it is this same natural desire for money that permeates American society. But is Solzhenitsyn correct? Is capitalism, bereft of God, repulsive? I believe it is. And stand guilty of having participated in its ugliest aspects.
Capitalism as a system seeks the attainment of capital, for production and profit. In and of itself, this system is neither good nor bad - it, like the money upon which it operates is neutral; purely a system. But nothing in our world is truly neutral when it involves mankind. This principal illustrates the foolishness of much modern thinking ( or rather non-thinking) about government, schools and religion. There are no real atheists and to suggest that someone must remain "neutral" toward all things is idiotic. No one lives life without emotion, desire and will and so no system of man can exist without these things. This is the problem of capitalism. This is also the reason Jesus spoke in such harsh tones about the pursuit of money. He identified the "deceitfulness of riches". (Mark 4:19) and He said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven. (Mark 10:25)
Solzhenitsyn did not say capitalism was repulsive. He said capitalism "untouched by the breath of God" is repulsive. My assessment of America is that much of our country is "untouched by the breath of God" and certainly our economic system must be included. For the Christian, our highest aim is always to love God and secondly to love man. One of the ways we demonstrate this love is out of service. No one can seriously suggest that the system of capitalism which we utilize in America serves mankind.
At a recent government hearing of the Joint Economic Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan said, "The income gap between the rich and the rest of the US population has become so wide, and is growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten the stability of democratic capitalism itself." Thus the problem of American capitalism. In a system where each individual seeks his or her own highest good, someone eventually loses, because what may be in my best interest is not necessarily in yours, or anyone else's for that matter. When my own economic benefit is my highest priority, I and those whom I influence will eventually suffer.
Jesus taught that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) If we are honest, we know this to be true. When my aim in life was to become wealthy, my energies, efforts, time and resources were directed to this cause. Which means they were not directed to the love of God and my neighbor. "But can't we do both?" someone has asked. Not according to Jesus. He said "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matthew 6:24)
Communism as a system is of the devil. It operates by force and coercion and Sozhenitsyn knows this well - he suffered by it. Capitalism is not necessarily of the devil - it is a system of economics. But without God as our guide, capitalism quickly becomes a tool of the devil - as does anything mankind uses or develops having left God out of the development.
How can we know where our "heart" is? Ask yourself the question, "If I lost all of my material possessions tomorrow, would I be burdened by this?" If answered honestly, most would say "yes!" If someone were to come to your house and ask for anything in it - could you give it to them? Or is there some cherished possession you must hold on to which is really the repository of your heart? Jesus taught us that no material thing is really worth anything. Sleeping in a bed under a roof with hot food and even transportation is a blessing from God. And so can be other material things. But ultimately, even the most opulent material thing will waste away into nothing. If there is something which you possess which you could not this day give away, then you do not possess the object - it possesses you.
Recently, a friend of mine was awakened by the smell of smoke and jumped out of bed to find his house on fire. He rushed to his children's rooms and woke them and he and his wife and children fled to the safety of the street outside and watched as their house burned. When I called him later that day, and asked how he was doing, he said "fine. My house burned down, but my family is safe and I can always get a new house - but only God can give me a family". His heart is in the right place.
Sozhenitsyn might ask, "is yours?"
Mr. Solzhenitsyn was asked; "A British journalist recently stated that you believe that Russia has overthrown the evils of communism only to replace them with the evils of capitalism, is that a fair statement of your position and, if so, what do you feel are the worst evils of capitalism?"
To which he replied, "In different places over the years I have had to prove that socialism, which to many western thinkers is a sort of kingdom of justice, was in fact full of coercion, of bureaucratic greed and corruption and avarice, and consistent within itself that socialism cannot be implemented without the aid of coercion. Communist propaganda would sometimes include statements such as "we include almost all the commandments of the Gospel in our ideology". The difference is that the Gospel asks all this to be achieved through love, through self-limitation, but socialism only uses coercion. This is one point.
Untouched by the breath of God, unrestricted by human conscience, both capitalism and socialism are repulsive."
There is a common tendency in the west to equate materialism (capitalism) with Christianity. This is not of God as many in America would claim. And yet, capitalism as an economic system appears to have many benefits. It offers the individual, if properly administered, with the ability to enjoy the fruits of his or her own labor. However, capitalism is an economic system and not, as we in America have come to understand it - a political one. Neither is it intended to be a religion; yet in America it has become just that.
The Bible speaks a great deal about money. Jesus warned His followers not to seek after financial wealth. Jesus was not an aesthete as some claim, denying all property rights and ordering people to live communal lives of poverty. As I have mentioned before, He and his followers had a bank account and through St. Paul, we learn that money is not the root of all kinds of evil - but the love of it is. The great problem of our generation is that the west is in love with money. Jesus taught a proper perspective for money; a perspective which I believe we have lost.
American life is inseperably intertwined with this natural desire for money. I use natural here in the pejorative, negative sense - as the Bible does. It is a "natural" person who cannot understand the spiritual things of God (1 Corinthans 2:14) and it is this same natural desire for money that permeates American society. But is Solzhenitsyn correct? Is capitalism, bereft of God, repulsive? I believe it is. And stand guilty of having participated in its ugliest aspects.
Capitalism as a system seeks the attainment of capital, for production and profit. In and of itself, this system is neither good nor bad - it, like the money upon which it operates is neutral; purely a system. But nothing in our world is truly neutral when it involves mankind. This principal illustrates the foolishness of much modern thinking ( or rather non-thinking) about government, schools and religion. There are no real atheists and to suggest that someone must remain "neutral" toward all things is idiotic. No one lives life without emotion, desire and will and so no system of man can exist without these things. This is the problem of capitalism. This is also the reason Jesus spoke in such harsh tones about the pursuit of money. He identified the "deceitfulness of riches". (Mark 4:19) and He said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to Heaven. (Mark 10:25)
Solzhenitsyn did not say capitalism was repulsive. He said capitalism "untouched by the breath of God" is repulsive. My assessment of America is that much of our country is "untouched by the breath of God" and certainly our economic system must be included. For the Christian, our highest aim is always to love God and secondly to love man. One of the ways we demonstrate this love is out of service. No one can seriously suggest that the system of capitalism which we utilize in America serves mankind.
At a recent government hearing of the Joint Economic Committee, Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan said, "The income gap between the rich and the rest of the US population has become so wide, and is growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten the stability of democratic capitalism itself." Thus the problem of American capitalism. In a system where each individual seeks his or her own highest good, someone eventually loses, because what may be in my best interest is not necessarily in yours, or anyone else's for that matter. When my own economic benefit is my highest priority, I and those whom I influence will eventually suffer.
Jesus taught that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21) If we are honest, we know this to be true. When my aim in life was to become wealthy, my energies, efforts, time and resources were directed to this cause. Which means they were not directed to the love of God and my neighbor. "But can't we do both?" someone has asked. Not according to Jesus. He said "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matthew 6:24)
Communism as a system is of the devil. It operates by force and coercion and Sozhenitsyn knows this well - he suffered by it. Capitalism is not necessarily of the devil - it is a system of economics. But without God as our guide, capitalism quickly becomes a tool of the devil - as does anything mankind uses or develops having left God out of the development.
How can we know where our "heart" is? Ask yourself the question, "If I lost all of my material possessions tomorrow, would I be burdened by this?" If answered honestly, most would say "yes!" If someone were to come to your house and ask for anything in it - could you give it to them? Or is there some cherished possession you must hold on to which is really the repository of your heart? Jesus taught us that no material thing is really worth anything. Sleeping in a bed under a roof with hot food and even transportation is a blessing from God. And so can be other material things. But ultimately, even the most opulent material thing will waste away into nothing. If there is something which you possess which you could not this day give away, then you do not possess the object - it possesses you.
Recently, a friend of mine was awakened by the smell of smoke and jumped out of bed to find his house on fire. He rushed to his children's rooms and woke them and he and his wife and children fled to the safety of the street outside and watched as their house burned. When I called him later that day, and asked how he was doing, he said "fine. My house burned down, but my family is safe and I can always get a new house - but only God can give me a family". His heart is in the right place.
Sozhenitsyn might ask, "is yours?"
Monday, June 06, 2005
JC's Weekly June 6th
" The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5)
It is an incredible, awesome fact that one day every living creature will see the openly revealed glory of God. We see His glory today, but we see it through weary, darkened eyes.
Have you ever been in a room filled with smoke from a fire? Not the grey or white smoke caused by burning bisquits in the oven, but the thick, black smoke which rises from intense heat and burning wood, fabric and oil? In this type of environment, one must crawl on the floor in search of oxygen, and if we try very hard, through the choking soot and ash we can make out the faint outline of a door, or window. In my case, having seen the door, every ounce of my being was spent trying to crawl along the floor, reaching it. And once through it, after a fit of coughing, sneezing and hacking, I was finally able (after what seemed forever), to take a deep breath of fresh, clean air. (Thankfully I wasn't in Los Angeles !)
The scenario above aptly describes, I think our lives today. We live in a world filled with the thick, black smoke of sin and evil. We spend our lives gasping for breath, struggling to find a door through which we might escape.
The difference between my experience and our world today, is that God has placed a great, shining door in the room of our world - a door that we can see from anywhere on earth, if we will only lift up our heads and see it. Unfortunately, it appears that many people are focused on the floor and the short gasps of oxygen that can be obtained there. They bump their way around the room we live in and horribly, never reach the door.
It is my job to tap people on the shoulder and point them to the door. This is very easy work for me, because although I have to continue to put up with the wheezing and sneezing of this smoke-filled world, I have been allowed to peek through the door and know what is on the other side.
In contrast to the smoke-filled room where we now find ourselves, on the other side of the door, are enormous, rolling hills, filled with every imaginable flower (and some you cannot even imagine). On these hills live beautiful creatures; there are majestic horses, lions and even some lambs - all of which live in perfect harmony. It is never night there and through all of the hills flows a great river, which is so clear that you cannot even see your reflection in it.
In the world beyond the door, one never has to gasp for breath. In fact, you could run for a thousand years and never even become tired. Beyond the door, there is no sickness, disease or pain. Believe it or not, I even saw a unicorn there.
Sometimes I have to scratch my head and wonder why more people aren't headed for the white door. But this weekend, I met someone who is and I want to introduce him to you. His name is Billy and he is twelve or thirteen years old. Billy doesn't fit into the box that most of us put twelve and thirteen year olds. Billy lives in a foster home far away from where he was born, because his father tried to kill him. He arrived in Texas without any possessions, except the most precious possession any of us can have - a key to the white door. Billy talked to me about his mom, who he prays for because she "lives with lots of men". He prays for his father who is in prison in another state. Billy was very excited this weekend, because the tooth fairy brought him seven dollars for his tooth. (In case you didn't know - the tooth fairy is a Christian).
Billy and I spent three days together and I have to tell you that those three days were some of the most rewarding I have had on this side of the white door. I think that once we pass through the door to that world with rolling hills, I will look up Billy and we will spend a few years talking about the tooth fairy.
In case it's not clear, the dark room in my story is this earth and the white door is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Billy and I would like to encourage you to lift your head from the floor and look up and see Jesus. Yes, the smoke is dark and thick, and yes, we know you sometimes have to cough and sneeze and it is hard to crawl through this dark room, but if you will just look up, you can see Jesus and He really will give you a key to the door and let you briefly look on the other side. Billy and I can tell you that once you have seen what's over there, you will never be the same.
It's awfully hard to be sad once you have seen a unicorn.
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5)
It is an incredible, awesome fact that one day every living creature will see the openly revealed glory of God. We see His glory today, but we see it through weary, darkened eyes.
Have you ever been in a room filled with smoke from a fire? Not the grey or white smoke caused by burning bisquits in the oven, but the thick, black smoke which rises from intense heat and burning wood, fabric and oil? In this type of environment, one must crawl on the floor in search of oxygen, and if we try very hard, through the choking soot and ash we can make out the faint outline of a door, or window. In my case, having seen the door, every ounce of my being was spent trying to crawl along the floor, reaching it. And once through it, after a fit of coughing, sneezing and hacking, I was finally able (after what seemed forever), to take a deep breath of fresh, clean air. (Thankfully I wasn't in Los Angeles !)
The scenario above aptly describes, I think our lives today. We live in a world filled with the thick, black smoke of sin and evil. We spend our lives gasping for breath, struggling to find a door through which we might escape.
The difference between my experience and our world today, is that God has placed a great, shining door in the room of our world - a door that we can see from anywhere on earth, if we will only lift up our heads and see it. Unfortunately, it appears that many people are focused on the floor and the short gasps of oxygen that can be obtained there. They bump their way around the room we live in and horribly, never reach the door.
It is my job to tap people on the shoulder and point them to the door. This is very easy work for me, because although I have to continue to put up with the wheezing and sneezing of this smoke-filled world, I have been allowed to peek through the door and know what is on the other side.
In contrast to the smoke-filled room where we now find ourselves, on the other side of the door, are enormous, rolling hills, filled with every imaginable flower (and some you cannot even imagine). On these hills live beautiful creatures; there are majestic horses, lions and even some lambs - all of which live in perfect harmony. It is never night there and through all of the hills flows a great river, which is so clear that you cannot even see your reflection in it.
In the world beyond the door, one never has to gasp for breath. In fact, you could run for a thousand years and never even become tired. Beyond the door, there is no sickness, disease or pain. Believe it or not, I even saw a unicorn there.
Sometimes I have to scratch my head and wonder why more people aren't headed for the white door. But this weekend, I met someone who is and I want to introduce him to you. His name is Billy and he is twelve or thirteen years old. Billy doesn't fit into the box that most of us put twelve and thirteen year olds. Billy lives in a foster home far away from where he was born, because his father tried to kill him. He arrived in Texas without any possessions, except the most precious possession any of us can have - a key to the white door. Billy talked to me about his mom, who he prays for because she "lives with lots of men". He prays for his father who is in prison in another state. Billy was very excited this weekend, because the tooth fairy brought him seven dollars for his tooth. (In case you didn't know - the tooth fairy is a Christian).
Billy and I spent three days together and I have to tell you that those three days were some of the most rewarding I have had on this side of the white door. I think that once we pass through the door to that world with rolling hills, I will look up Billy and we will spend a few years talking about the tooth fairy.
In case it's not clear, the dark room in my story is this earth and the white door is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
Billy and I would like to encourage you to lift your head from the floor and look up and see Jesus. Yes, the smoke is dark and thick, and yes, we know you sometimes have to cough and sneeze and it is hard to crawl through this dark room, but if you will just look up, you can see Jesus and He really will give you a key to the door and let you briefly look on the other side. Billy and I can tell you that once you have seen what's over there, you will never be the same.
It's awfully hard to be sad once you have seen a unicorn.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
JC's Weekly June 1st 2005
I was thinking today about the magnificence of God. Contrast this with the "mannishness of man" as Francis Schaeffer said. In my contemplation, I began thinking about the universe. Because I am not a scientist, I am limited in my ability to understand as much as I'd like to, but fortunately, there are some friendly scientists who have helped me. For example, there is the beautiful whirlpool galaxy pictured on my blog's opening page.
When we think of the universe, we tend to make our observations earth-centric. This is natural, but not a good idea. (When we think of our lives, we often think of them as "me-centric", which is also a bad idea) Perhaps some numbers can help?
According to the Sloan Digital Survey astonomical site, there are approximately 10,000 billion, billion stars in the visible universe. http://cas.sdss.org/dr3/en/proj/advanced/hr/
I have done some rudimentary calculations and if we say that 96 billion people have lived on the earth at some time, this means that each person that has ever lived could have somewhere around ten trillion of their own stars!
Some European fellows have discovered a group of stars called "Redshift 10" which are the farthest known observable objects in space. These stars are 13.2 million light years away. This means that to see them on earth, the light they emit left them 13.2 million years ago!http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2004/pr-04-04.html
Now the really awesome part of God's universe is that we can only see about 4% of it because most of it is dark! We see stars, because they emit light. But we cannot see most planets, or black holes or other objects because they do not. Now, if we KNOW that there are somewhere around 10,000 billion, billion stars and these represent only about 4% of what there really is, well, you get the idea. God's creation is unimaginably vast.
And it is unimaginably creative and beautiful. If we look on the ocean floor at giant tube worms, we see these worms and some species of shrimp which live in environments that are unbelievably hostile. These creatures live in a solution of hydrogen sulfide which would kill any other living thing. they also live in temperatures which would melt steel. And yet they live and thrive just where God put them.
In the Bible book of Psalms, verse 104, the Psalmist wrote; "Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great:You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain."
When we look at the universe we can see the majesty of God, in brief. We could not survive a true glimpse of the full majesty of God. But one day, when Jesus Christ comes to take His followers with Him into His eternal kingdom, we will be able to not only see, but interact with the God who created us and His universe.
I am excited about this coming day. Are you?
When we think of the universe, we tend to make our observations earth-centric. This is natural, but not a good idea. (When we think of our lives, we often think of them as "me-centric", which is also a bad idea) Perhaps some numbers can help?
According to the Sloan Digital Survey astonomical site, there are approximately 10,000 billion, billion stars in the visible universe. http://cas.sdss.org/dr3/en/proj/advanced/hr/
I have done some rudimentary calculations and if we say that 96 billion people have lived on the earth at some time, this means that each person that has ever lived could have somewhere around ten trillion of their own stars!
Some European fellows have discovered a group of stars called "Redshift 10" which are the farthest known observable objects in space. These stars are 13.2 million light years away. This means that to see them on earth, the light they emit left them 13.2 million years ago!http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2004/pr-04-04.html
Now the really awesome part of God's universe is that we can only see about 4% of it because most of it is dark! We see stars, because they emit light. But we cannot see most planets, or black holes or other objects because they do not. Now, if we KNOW that there are somewhere around 10,000 billion, billion stars and these represent only about 4% of what there really is, well, you get the idea. God's creation is unimaginably vast.
And it is unimaginably creative and beautiful. If we look on the ocean floor at giant tube worms, we see these worms and some species of shrimp which live in environments that are unbelievably hostile. These creatures live in a solution of hydrogen sulfide which would kill any other living thing. they also live in temperatures which would melt steel. And yet they live and thrive just where God put them.
In the Bible book of Psalms, verse 104, the Psalmist wrote; "Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, You are very great:You are clothed with honor and majesty, Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain."
When we look at the universe we can see the majesty of God, in brief. We could not survive a true glimpse of the full majesty of God. But one day, when Jesus Christ comes to take His followers with Him into His eternal kingdom, we will be able to not only see, but interact with the God who created us and His universe.
I am excited about this coming day. Are you?
Friday, May 27, 2005
JC's Weekly May 23
According to the UK Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk) the President of France, Jacques Chirac is threatening to ignore the French public and press ahead with the new European constitution even if the people of France vote "no". It was once difficult for me to imagine any western leader saying such a thing, let alone actually doing it, yet as history progresses as we see the prophecies of the Bible come to pass before our eyes, nothing surprises me anymore.
Francis Schaeffer wrote: "Today we are left largely not only with a religion and a church without meaning, but we are left with a culture without meaning. Man himself is dead."(1) This is the position of the French People. Recently, I had the great pleasure of visiting with Pastor Fred Decoster who leads a Baptist congregation in Honfleur, France. This church now has 400 people attending, which in France is a vast number. Pastor DeCoster shared with me why France, which had such a rich Chrisitian history during the reformation, has become cold, pagan and dead. Beginning at age 5, French children are educated in philosophy - secular philosophy, which is atheistic, teaching the citizens of France that there is no God. This is why France is a morally bankrupt country (with the United States not far behind). If there is no God, then one's own personal good is the supreme desire of every man, woman and child. So, if the French people don't want to be a part of a grand new Europe, as it is designed, then their President's personal desire for this new government trumps the desires of the people he leads and so he is free to make any decision he chooses. In America, we recently had such a leader - Bill Clinton.
How does this affect those of us outside of France? Well, there is an old saying which is largely true, "As goes France, so goes Europe". History tells us this is correct. But the French people, who struggle to live each day as does everyone else in the world, can see that something is wrong with a united empire called Europe. There was once a united empire on the European continent; this empire was called Rome, which ended sometime around the year 400.(2)
The Bible tells us that once again, as history draws to a close, there will be a new united empire, consisting of ten nations, which forms out of Europe. This prediction, or prophecy was given to the Prophet Daniel, approximately 600 years before the birth of Christ, while the Jews were in exile in Babylon. (Daniel chapter 11)
The French people may largely deny the existence of God, but inside each of us is a yearning to know Him. Solomon wrote that, "God has placed eternity in their hearts"(3) and this is true, even for a people who don't understand why. Each person instinctively knows that this life on this planet is not all there is. I believe it is this innate feeling that there must be something more, is what is keeping the French people from ratifying the European constitution.
At any rate, history is indeed unfolding before our eyes, and whatever the outcome of the French referendum on the EU, there will one day be a new "Roman Empire". The question for all is "are you ready for this time?" This new empire isn't important simply for the economic and social power it will bring (a truly United Europe would dwarf the United States and as a trading partner with China would make the U.S. at best the third most powerful country in the world) but also because it signals the coming of the end of human history. Are you ready?
1. (Francis A. Schaeffer, Death In The City, Ch. 1)
2. Rutilius Numantius: On His Return, I.xi.47, The Greatness of Rome in the Days of Ruin, 413
3. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Francis Schaeffer wrote: "Today we are left largely not only with a religion and a church without meaning, but we are left with a culture without meaning. Man himself is dead."(1) This is the position of the French People. Recently, I had the great pleasure of visiting with Pastor Fred Decoster who leads a Baptist congregation in Honfleur, France. This church now has 400 people attending, which in France is a vast number. Pastor DeCoster shared with me why France, which had such a rich Chrisitian history during the reformation, has become cold, pagan and dead. Beginning at age 5, French children are educated in philosophy - secular philosophy, which is atheistic, teaching the citizens of France that there is no God. This is why France is a morally bankrupt country (with the United States not far behind). If there is no God, then one's own personal good is the supreme desire of every man, woman and child. So, if the French people don't want to be a part of a grand new Europe, as it is designed, then their President's personal desire for this new government trumps the desires of the people he leads and so he is free to make any decision he chooses. In America, we recently had such a leader - Bill Clinton.
How does this affect those of us outside of France? Well, there is an old saying which is largely true, "As goes France, so goes Europe". History tells us this is correct. But the French people, who struggle to live each day as does everyone else in the world, can see that something is wrong with a united empire called Europe. There was once a united empire on the European continent; this empire was called Rome, which ended sometime around the year 400.(2)
The Bible tells us that once again, as history draws to a close, there will be a new united empire, consisting of ten nations, which forms out of Europe. This prediction, or prophecy was given to the Prophet Daniel, approximately 600 years before the birth of Christ, while the Jews were in exile in Babylon. (Daniel chapter 11)
The French people may largely deny the existence of God, but inside each of us is a yearning to know Him. Solomon wrote that, "God has placed eternity in their hearts"(3) and this is true, even for a people who don't understand why. Each person instinctively knows that this life on this planet is not all there is. I believe it is this innate feeling that there must be something more, is what is keeping the French people from ratifying the European constitution.
At any rate, history is indeed unfolding before our eyes, and whatever the outcome of the French referendum on the EU, there will one day be a new "Roman Empire". The question for all is "are you ready for this time?" This new empire isn't important simply for the economic and social power it will bring (a truly United Europe would dwarf the United States and as a trading partner with China would make the U.S. at best the third most powerful country in the world) but also because it signals the coming of the end of human history. Are you ready?
1. (Francis A. Schaeffer, Death In The City, Ch. 1)
2. Rutilius Numantius: On His Return, I.xi.47, The Greatness of Rome in the Days of Ruin, 413
3. Ecclesiastes 3:11
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