Creation - Excerpt #4 - Wake Up! Wake Up!

Creation
God created a perfect world in an orderly manner. From a formless void, God created light, then the expanse of the sky, making morning and evening, then land, sea, and vegetation, then the sun, the moon, the stars, then birds and fish, and then animals. It was a rational approach and a well-planned product awaiting God’s last gesture. Lastly, God made man in our image (Gen 1:26) and went on to say, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” (Gen 1:27) He prepared the way for man.

Something from Nothing
Can something come from nothing? As a child, I often looked to the sky with great bewilderment. How infinite it appeared. Where did it all come from? Where did it all go? Was there just a void, a vacuum, space without planets, stars, sun, nothing? And then why earth, a life-sustaining planet, in the middle of nowhere? How did I get so lucky to be here on earth as a human and not a dog, or chicken, or lion, elephant, or whatever? I could have been a plant. Just what is the probability for all this to happen? Here I am living on a planet hanging in infinite space, on a surface that supports life. It provides water, fruits and vegetables, meats, and air that sustains me. It provides resources that make living more comfortable and more interesting. And it all works together; each element on earth seems to need another. What is it? Well it is, I believe, God. He planned well, an intelligent designer. And he did this all for me; for man (and woman). There is no other place like it. No one has discovered, even though people keep trying, any place like it.

Wake Up! Wake Up! - Excerpt #2 - More on the Bible

Advice
The Bible offers proverbs filled with words of wisdom and advice.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:3-6

Poetry
Poetry can be found throughout the Bible. The Psalms provide a multitude of examples. One that most readers will know or have heard of is Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23


Odes
An example of an ode from the Bible can be found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

A Toast
To celebrate a friendship, a toast, from Song of Songs 5: “Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.”

Songs
Many songs have been inspired by the Bible and its many meanings. But the greatest songs are about love. There is a book of the Bible, Song of Songs, that provides many words of love. Interpretations made compare the love of wisdom to that of the love of a woman and a man and a woman. Well worth a read.

Guiding Principle
And as for guiding principles, they too are throughout the Bible. Again, we turn to Proverbs:

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor; a man of understanding holds his tongue. A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret. For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure. Proverbs 11:12-14

If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength. Proverbs 24:10

Familiar Phrases or Idioms

• Stairway to heaven (Genesis 28:12)
• For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
• Make swords into plowshares (Isaiah 2:4)
• Man does not live on bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3)
• Be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28)
• East of Eden (Genesis 3:21)
• Adam’s rib (Genesis 2:21)
• Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)
• As old as Methuselah (Genesis 5:25)
• Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28:12)
• Land of milk and honey (Exodus 3:8)
• The meek will inherit the earth (Psalms 37:11)
• Strangers in a strange land (1 Peter 2:11)
• Let my people go (Exodus 5:1)
• Eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Matthew 5:38)
• Jezebel (Esther 4:14)
• Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1)
• Wisdom of Solomon (1 Kings 4:29)
• The patience of Job (from the Book of Job)
• Leviathan (Isaiah 27:1)
• Spare the rod and spoil the child (Proverbs 13:24)
• The skin of my teeth (Job 19:20)
• Welcome the little children (Mark 9:37)
• Forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:12)
• The floodgates of heaven (Genesis 7:11)
• The Golden Rule (Luke 6:31)
• Much will be demanded from those who have been given much (Luke 12:48)
• A voice calling in the desert (Luke 3:4
• Wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15)
• Salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)
• Go the extra mile (Matthew 5:41)
• Daniel in the lion’s den (Daniel 6:7)
• The poison of vipers is on their lips (Romans 3:13)
• A time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8)
• On earth peace to men (Luke 2:14)
• Turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:38)
• Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24)
• Weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12)
• Den of thieves (Mark 11:17)
• Good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21)
• Physician, heal thyself (Luke 4:23)
• Cast the first stone (John 8:7)
• Stand your ground…stand firm (Ephesians 6:14)
• Written on their hearts (Romans 2:15)
• The handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:5)
• The kiss of Judas (Mark 14:45)
• Walk on water (Matthew 14:29)
• Greater love hath no man than this (John 15:13)
• Death, where is thy sting (1 Corinthians 15:55)
• The root of all evil (1 Titus 6:10)
• Light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
• The light of life (Psalm 56:13)
• The seventh seal (Revelation 8:1)
• In the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
• I am the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8)
• Fight the good fight (1 Titus 1:18)
• Armageddon (Revelation 16:16)
• Holier than thou (Isaiah 65:5)
• Sheep, gone astray (Isaiah 53:6)
• As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings (Luke 13:34)
• Wipe away every tear (Revelation 7:17)
• Woe is me! (Isaiah 6:5)
• Can a leopard change his spots? (Jeremiah 13:23)
• A drop in the bucket (Isaiah 40:15)
• Eat, drink, and be merry (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
• Give up the ghost (Job 14:10)
• Am I my brother's keeper? (Genesis 4:9)
• Fat of the land (Genesis 45:18)
• A lamb for the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7)
• The blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14)
• Old wives’ tales (1 Timothy 4:7)
• Soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31)
• From the lips of children (Matthew 21:16)
• Written in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15)
• Four corners of the earth (Revelation 20:8)
• Brotherly love (Romans 12:10)
• The Spirit is willing, but the body is weak (Matthew 26:41)
• Busybodies (2 Thessalonians 3:1;Titus 5:13)
• Jars of clay (2 Corinthians 4:7)
• Potter’s field (Matthew 27:7)
• A household divided against itself will not stand (Matthew 12:25)

So much of our language today contains words, idioms, and phrases from the Bible, and most do not realize the source. “Surely ignorance of the Bible is bound to impoverish one’s appreciation of English literature?” And the writer of the prior quote is an atheist.

Final Proof - Wake Up! Wake Up!

Received a Final Proof from Tate Publishers. See photo - one of a kind.

Completed today - I hope - abridging book for Audiobook.

My gracious thanks to all at Tate who have made this process possible. Just a few more months to go.

Another excerpt tomorrow.

An Excerpt From Wake Up! Wake Up! - #1

Love the Gift: A How-To Book

My child, hear my Words, Words of the greatest sweetness, surpassing all the learning of the philosophers and the wise of the world.

The previous chapter closed by suggesting we get to know God better. The process for me involved reading, and the big step was reading the Bible. And to get to know God, that really is the way to start. What could be better? Begin by reading what was written by messengers, witnesses, and apostles of the Lord. You will get to experience history, places, and developments and be enlightened and delighted by what you learn.

What a challenge. Read the Bible from cover to cover. It was quite an experience for me. Or I should say, it is quite an experience, since it continues to this day. Just about every day I read a portion of the Bible; it may be just a few lines or most of a chapter. Something strikes a chord, makes me think about a passage, or a situation occurs that causes me to find an answer or the right thing to say in the Word. I have not been disappointed yet. It is like Ask.com: you go to the reference, and you find an answer to your question.

My initial attempt took over a year. I was often confused or had questions and began to search elsewhere for added clarity, historical evidence, confirmation from another source, or just to learn more about the topic that was presented that for me just needed more detail. I was successful each time. My interest and enjoyment grew. The Old Testament is a difficult read, and remembering all the kings and the tribes of Israel, where and when they came and went, was quite a task. Also, how God was presented took a bit of work to fully comprehend and appreciate. Creation: okay, I got it, but was it successful? Did God achieve his end, especially with Adam’s error? Why the Jews, the chosen people, and all their trials and tribulations and their errors too?

The Old Testament and the New Testament are quite different. The God in the New seems different in some ways from the God of the Old. I know they are both God, but with the New, we now have Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Most of what occurs in the New is forecast in the Old and often in ways that tell the Jews that there will be consequences for their actions. There is a lot crammed into sixty-six books and one thousand or so pages (depending on the font and the footnotes). The Old and the New, however, go together, and in the New there are changes, a means for the mistakes of the Old to be corrected in the form of a new covenant or a new creation. God, his Son, and the Spirit work as a team to transform man, everyone, into being part of that team to make the world the heaven on earth God planned.

The Gift of Love
The gift of Jesus, of God, is love. And the answers to all questions can be found in one place, one source—the Bible. How simple is that, a how-to source? The Bible is the Word of God, God-breathed , for all to read and understand. Admittedly, it is not an easy read. But it is worth the effort, the time, and the dedication because it will open the reader’s eyes to a life that is good. There are many metaphors, some conflicting elements, but taken as a whole, it shows why all people are today, and have been since the birth of Christ Jesus, God’s children. If asked whether some passages as written actually happen, is that the way it all took place (literally), I must admit I cannot answer, but what I can say is that they are true, helpful, and powerful messages.

Seeing God
The Bible is a way of seeing God. It is the means by which God speaks to us every day. God comes to us via the Bible. Conditions of our lives, situations that occur, are addressed by the Bible and by God speaking to us through the Word. Scripture is all encompassing. The Bible is not an exclusive document; it was written for everyone.

Most people read books, some more often than others. My wife reads more than a book a week. But how many of you have read the Bible? It is the biggest seller of all time, written in just about every language and with various translations. The different translations and writings attempt to make the Bible more readable, more understandable, and more widely available to greater numbers of people. It is a resource that has found a way to be there for everyone. Have you read it? If you have time to read a daily newspaper or a book, set aside just fifteen minutes each day to read the Bible. Read the Bible, and the gift becomes more apparent and more readily available.

There are so many stories, so much advice, poetry, odes, songs, and guiding principles. It is a joy to read, and the impact it will have on you as reader cannot be fully appreciated until you yourself get involved with and captured by the Word of God.

Oh, the Energy of Daily Prayer

Recently another Blog raised the question of Christians in 20,000 different groups, with diff erring approaches to believing in Christ. I assume they all represent churches and congregants that have a Christ centered approach to the faith. Christianity is a Religion, as is Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. Within Christianity are many denominations. Are those denominations, except for their political approach to the structure of the organization they profess to be, reverent in their respect for Christ, the good news and bad news offerings of the Lord. Do they, the denominations, tell us all we are sinners, everyone of us. Do they remind us our repentance is a daily practice and our sincerity in a strict adherence to the ethical and moral precepts of the Bible is being judged daily. Forgiveness and being forgiven are everyday expectations, as well as our dedicated focus on Christ, his sacrifice, our faith in Him, and the Bible. 20,000 denominations, one religion - Christian. The good news and the bad news, that is the essence. Incarnate and resurrected - that makes the difference. We are a people of faith, only through believing in Christ is Salvation available. If that is the common thread, then a common bond is possible. Those not of the same mind among the 20,000 may be led by false teachers. Individual, self-motivated study of the bible and prayer need be everyone's personal objective. Through understanding and a personal relationship will a believer see their teachers in a proper light. Have doubts, question, seek answers, and may everyone be led to Christ, but if not, find another teacher. Read your Bible daily and let the Word be a critical part of you.

We need a dedicated everyday return to prayer. Private prayer is fine. Take the time each day, in bed at night, hold your hands together as if you are holding God's hand, knowing he reaches out to you, and just sit in silence. He knows what is in your heart and of what you seek and ask. If in the 20,000 denominations there are 100 churches each and 1,000 congregants pray each day, 200,000,000 prayers will send forth the energy of a nation united in Christ - daily!!!

National Day of Prayer. Let Us ALL Pray.

"As you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted in answer to the prayers of many." - (2 Corinthians 1:11 NIV Bible)

This is not an easy time for any in America. There is much economic turmoil, so many governmental actions happening all at once with costly potential consequences, a national invasion of banks and car companies, the appearance of government threats on those that do not cooperate, a growing Federal Bureaucracy, and now a President that stands alone, behind a closed door. I pray alone more often than I do with a group. The opportunity, however, to pray as a united voice, as a collective body, especially for what I believe, is always welcomed. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity." (Ps. 133.1) This is a time for Hope for the entire nation, a time to rejoice in what we have as a nation; it is when we can express joy for the freedoms we have and pray will endure. It is a Come Together moment.

We are a nation under God. May that never be forgotten. Obama is either in denial or in disguise. How can someone so prone to the spotlight not honor our nation by gathering with us all on National Prayer Day. "United we stand" - but apparently not all; our President is only with himself, independent and lacking humility. Is he with us or against us?

May I offer this prayer: Today we honor our Nation and our fellowship. May this prayer be heard and find favor with the Lord. We are experiencing a different feeling, mixed in terms of despair, frustration, joy and hope. Family is most embraced at times such as these, the unity of blood, as well as friends, neighbors and those joined in thanks for our liberty as Americans. Love becomes more the need and want so we can endure and gather the strength and fortitude to proceed, knowing He is with us. Know too no one is alone; we all need the support we give each other as a nation pulling in the same direction. We can do more as a team than as an individual. We are being tested. May we accept what comes our way with gratitude, love, and hope. We pray too that our President is truly united with us all. We do this all humbly in your presence, Almighty God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes. 5:16-18)

Share Your Story

If you have a story where God entered your life and changed you or someone close to you, please, share it here. Bring God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit to life for others. If you prefer, email me - most have my email address. If you have been part of a Bible Study or new to one, and it has changed you, or enabled you to see others change, please let me know.

Response to Newsweek Article - End of Christian America

Re: The End of Christian America by Jon Meacham, Newsweek, April 13, 2009)

Post-Christianity returns Christians to the basics. It may be true, Christianity as an ethical and moral dogma to be incorporated into America’s political system has diminished. Thus your Post Christian label. You may be going a bit too far, however, if America under the banner of Christianity has changed as the moral standards of society at their highest levels still reflect on the tenets outlined in the Bible. It is the most profound and complete guide on how to live a proper life for self and neighbor. When our founding fathers put together the constitution there were less than 20% self-identified Christians – now its 76% down from 86%, but the moral and ethical principles expressed biblically held sway.

Christians need to evangelize, build and grow a community for their belief and solicit volunteers for a faith, its roots and the standards set forth biblically. For Christian Americans they need fight to preserve the liberty our deist fore-fathers established constitutionally. Freedom needs to be the mantra for all religions, to include what today may be secularist, humanist, and atheist religions. Indeed as Americans “we value individual freedom and free enterprise” and “liberty, not religion, is what holds us together.” How our leaders deal with the pressures from any religion (including the secularist and atheists, as well as Christian, Jew, Muslim and any community group, even the homosexualist) reflects not on the dogma influencing our society nationally, but on the religions and beliefs of the elected and the support groups to which they acquiesce.

One of the worst things that ever happened in America was the Supreme Court agreeing with Madalyn Murray O’Hair in 1962 about compulsory prayer and reading the Bible in schools, not so much from a Christian perspective but from a freedom perspective, the freedom of choice. Saying "no" to the "compulsory" reading of the Bible and prayer is one thing, but total removal of the historical, foundational, moral, ethical offerings of the Bible from teaching, from academia, went too far and took away from all Americas a valuable point of view to be considered. This has led to a lack of tolerance. Tolerance is a critical debate issue as this term suggests “fairness” and yet seldom do we see the tolerant atheist, pro-life, pro-choice advocate, liberal or conservative. Lack of tolerance is a form of coercion and we see it everywhere, from homosexual groups abusive campaigning for same sex marriage and the use of whatever bathroom they please, atheists attacking Mother Teresa, secularists and humanists attacking ‘Christmas’, calling any believer ‘stupid’ and so on. Christians need to be concerned less with their role in government and more the government’s role in their Christian programs. Why should Christians be coerced by a loss of their church’s tax freedom when speaking out for those they support politically? This is the change in America, an overt action by the populists to remove the bible in all forms from daily life; post-Christianity is nothing more than the eradication of Christianity from the focal point of those that prefer self actualization, in government or out. Defense of freedom, especially the freedom of speech, un-coerced in any form, should be the Post-Christian mantel. A theocracy is not a goal of Christians

Consider creation, Intelligent Design, a first cause and evolution – what is in, what is out, what religion leads the way – today it seems to be evolution (in academia anyway). Has the freedom of the creationist been denied, or everyone’s freedom for not being able to hear the other side! Believing in Christ, the inerrancy of the bible and an eternal life is Christian, and no American or any one in the world is required to believe such. And not all who believe are believers; many are doubters and can be influenced one way or another. That should occur without coercion, with access to as much information as possible so that with knowledge a person can voluntarily decide their belief system. Minds of America are being coerced by academia in other directions and that may continue in your Post-Christian era, but then again after a while the pendulum may well swing back. Sure Christians want to see their faith more fully expressed in public life, but even more they want to be able to freely express their faith in all public places. Let the individual then decide his faith, not the government. Let the individual decide without the threat of committing a “hate” crime, or being denied use of a Bible, Koran or Talmud in school, but with access to all beliefs, theories and respective apologetics. Your most critical statement was “coerced belief is no belief at all; it is tyranny.” This may be the era of “Coerced Post Christian.”

As for moral issues we seem to be trending towards utilitarianism - the “greatest-happiness principle.” (philosopher - Jeremy Bentham) It holds that one must always act so as to produce the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people. Even so it will not prevent Christians from believing in the Risen Lord, reminded by Easter of the sacrifice made for all mankind, and the life lessons to be learned from the Bible. The future for Christians is strong. The effort is needed to reestablish the Bible as an essential book for the study of moral and ethical standards. More scientists and philosophers are seeing the need to include in their research the impact of a divine element. With the Big Bang showing the way for many scientists, and the discovery of DNA code, for many palientologists, evolutionists and philosophers, evidence is now pointing more convincingly towards a First Cause. This should in turn increase everyones awareness of God and the need to considered more than ever before their relationsip with God. Christians are returning to the basics with more evidence than ever before of the reality of the events that occurred Easter 2000 years ago.

Newsweek Article -The End of Christian America

Check out this weeks Newsweek article by Jon Meacham - The End of Christian America. It is a good one and well worth a read. I should have a response shortly and will post it here as well as send it to Newsweek via Letters to the Editor. Your thoughts on the article are welcomed.

Big Bang and God

How did the universe begin? Today, most scientists believe it was with the "Big Bang". Cosmologists react, deflated, their "Static State" theory has been cast aside for one that now holds true as evidenced by major scientific study. In his book, Big Bang - The Origin of the Universe, Simon Singh explains the current understanding of the Big Bang. “First…all matter and energy were condensed to a point and then there was an almighty Big Bang. The term ‘Big Bang’ implies some sort of explosion, which is not a wholly inappropriate analogy, except that the Big Bang was not an explosion in space, but an explosion of space. Similarly the Big Bang was not an explosion in time, it was an explosion of time. Both space and time were created at the moment of the big Bang.” Whether intended or not I made a specific note of Singh’s use of the adjective “almighty” when noting that after everything was condensed to a point, there was an “almighty” explosion. Ironic! To his credit I did not feel Singh expressed a Creator per se as the First Cause, but what he did mention was “What came before the Big Bang?” as a question many, including the cosmologists and atheists may now be exploring; but his answer was quite clear, that question “is impossible to answer - Beyond the reach of science.” Steven Weinberg, a Nobel prize winner for Physics, has supported this revelation as noted by Singh and made mention that it is more that just idle speculation. We now know, have knowledge, are knowers of the cause of our universe and for Saint Thomas Aquinas it means, and with the Big Bang being “beyond…science”, there was a cause, a First Cause, and that is God.

This whole knowledge of the definitive nature of the start of the universe under the Fred Hoyle term “Big Bang” (a theory he rejected) takes us to consider anew the anthropic principle, which states, “any cosmological theory must take into account the fact that the universe has evolved to contain us.” Us is us! Only the Darwin Evolution theories need be reduced to fact now, as the cosmological theories have, bringing us all closer to our Maker, our Starter, our Cause, our Creator, our God.

Even with that our government still supported the launch of a space exploration exercise to determine if we are part of a multi-verse. God or multi-verse?

Christopher Hitchens wrote, “Religion…is…fully aware of the ever-mounting evidence, concerning the origins of the cosmos and the origin of species, which consign it to marginality if not irrelevance.” To this I say – not so fast – have you studied that “silly phrase”, as you call the Big Bang theory and the discovery of DNA, which certainly seems to make the “cosmos is all there is” theory and man emanating from the “ooze” irrelevant thus suggesting strongly God as the First Cause of everything – time, space, matter, energy, earth, motion, animals, plants and man.

The circle that so many scientists and philosophers attempt to contain, studying only that which is within, and not allowing for the eternal law to provide an answer where there may be doubt, needs to be viewed from afar and seen in the light which shines upon the circle. In so doing this will allow for a complete picture to be taken when the flash bulbs illuminate the whole of an idea, theory, or study. Conclusions drawn will be done so without an empty feeling that something critical has been left out or not considered. Doubt can be erased and answers found in the First Cause, if only that is enabled in the knowing. The Big Bang is compelling to the point that looking outside the circle is more justifiable than ever. Next we need to find the “Big Bang” of evolution, and for me that is the Watson & Crick discovery of DNA. Bang, bang, cosmologist, evolutionist, God is back.