Tag: Creation

God Acts – an outline

Dr. J.D. Wilkins2 Comments

If you have been one of those people who made it their goal to read the Bible all the way through … cover to cover, including the maps and concordance… what you quickly notice is how difficult it is to understand the timeline of this work.  The Bible is not linear.  The books overlap and many cover the same time period but from different authors perspective.  But one thing is clear from the very beginning, God is actively involved with the world He created.

When we ask the question “Who is God” the Bible becomes the definitive work for not just discovering the answer, but also for understanding how the information found there applies to us individually.  In Scripture we find God acting in many ways to reveal Himself to mankind.  Here is a brief outline of what we’ll examine in this section of God ACTS.

God acts:

  • Activity in and with the natural world through miracles, providence, and creation
  • Making heavenly proclamations including His Lordship in eternity past, controlling everything in the present, and a plan for eternity future
  • All these activities and proclamations are done in accordance with the plan to redeem His creation from sin and death.

Why would God go to such lengthy extremes to reveal Himself in this way?

Let’s start with God acting in this world through miracles.

So, what constitutes a miracle?

Many people today define “miracle” as anything occurring outside the laws of nature.  However, Scripture doesn’t say all that much about natural law, because the Bible authors didn’t know enough to identify miracles as exceptions to the laws of nature.  Even when Jesus calmed the storms of the sea, the emphasis from those who witnessed this is interesting.  “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” (Luke 8:25)

God has always been busy in and through His Sovereign control of nature. The authors of the Bible speak of miracles as an extraordinary demonstration of God’s LORDSHIP.  One great example is the deliverance of the Hebrew people as they left Egypt.  God made the waters separate so His people could cross on dry land, but they had no concept of natural law being suspended.  Moses wrote that the event happened through a “strong east wind.” [Exodus 14:21]

So here’s the thing.

The wording used in Scripture for “miracle” whether expressed in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, or the Greek terminology of the New Testament, seems to focus on three general ideas:  powers, signs, and wonders.

Powers… are miracles where God acts in extraordinary ways controlling His creation. [Luke 8:25; or Exodus 14:21 above]

Signs… correspond to the idea of an authentic communication from God about His intentions.  [Luke 2:12]

Wonders… circumstances of events intended to wake us up and realize God really is here, right now, just like Peter did in Luke 5:1-10.

Well… do miracles still happen today?

To answer this question, maybe we should recognize that while there are many miracles demonstrated in the Bible, even in this historical record miracles didn’t happen every day.  Miracles were the exception, not the rule, and they were usually to validate the words of a prophet (OT) or an apostle (NT), but especially to authenticate God the Father’s witness that Jesus Christ is the Son.  In fact, there is a 400-year time span between the last book of the Old Testament, and the first book of the New Testament, where God didn’t act, or speak in any way at all.  Because of this truth, we shouldn’t expect miracles to be a regular part of the Christian life either.

God never promised this.

That said, there is nothing to indicate God doesn’t or won’t work in a miraculous way today.  The term “wonder” usually applies in Scripture to floating axe heads [2 Kings 6:1-7], turning water into wine [John2:1-10], or miraculous feedings [Mark 8:1-13],

But Psalm 134:3-4 says, “Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever, to him who alone does great wonders…” then verse 25 says, “He gives food to every creature.”  We don’t pay enough attention sometimes to realize God feeds us all, through His Sovereign control to keep this world in order, producing the food we eat.

In this sense God is working in extraordinary ways (miracles) all the time, all around us.

Next time… God acts in Providence.

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A Limited Understanding

Dr. J.D. WilkinsLeave a comment

Daily Post: Finite

finite

No, this is not the latest image of Hurricane Irma.  While it may have a similar look, two notable differences are obvious.  First, the rotation of this body (if it is indeed moving) is clockwise.  Hurricane Irma’s rotation is counter-clockwise.  Second, the image above is a photo of the Milky Way Galaxy taken from space.  Our tiny home, the Planet Earth, would be virtually impossible to locate in this image since our Sun is represented by only a tiny dot just north of the second band away from the center of the image.  These are known facts, representing limited or finite human knowledge.

Regarding Irma, every meteorologist in the western hemisphere is trying to predict Irma’s course, strength, and what will happen along the way.  But none of them have infinite knowledge or understanding which would enable them to be perfect in their predictions.   This storm is governed by the hand of God, and will yield only to, and in accord with, the commands of God.  In just the same way, the Milky Way Galaxy has been in place, and will stay in place because of God’s command.

Psalm 147:4
He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.

Psalm 8:3-4
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? 

Think of it this way, “creation” is God’s act of bringing everything into existence, described for us in the Genesis 1 narrative. Scripture says God made the world “out of nothing,” ex nihilo.  So, before “the beginning” of Genesis 1, there was nothing but God himself.  There was no Milky Way Galaxy, there was no light to separate from the darkness, there was nothing but God.  He is infinite.  We are finite.

Our knowledge is finite.  Our understanding is finite.  We challenge the limitations of our knowledge and understanding daily, but we will never attain infinite wisdom and knowledge.  Those are attributes of the Creator, not the creature.

Why is it so important to yield to this awareness of exactly how finite our existence really is?  Because in the depraved darkness of an unyielding mind, there are those who see themselves as gods.  As though they had the ability to speak and sun, moon, stars, and planets would come into existence.  Or worse, that they can understand how these heavenly bodies came into existence without the help of a Creator, and tend to wax eloquent regarding the ignorance of those who believe the Genesis narrative.

It’s important to understand our finite understanding, knowledge, and abilities in order to recognize our need for a Savior.  If we think we are not lost, we have no need to be saved.  If we think we can save ourselves, we have no need for a Savior.  If we think we have all knowledge and understanding, we are infinitely out of touch with reality.

Today, we should pray to the Creator of the Universe to spare those in the path of Irma, even as we pray for His providential care for those who have suffered through Harvey.

Today, we should pray for enlightenment to come to those who think they need no saving grace, that they would come to know they do.

Today, in our finite understanding, we should give glory to the Infinite Creator who loves us, and gave Himself to save us.

 

 

 

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Nature’s Way

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via Instinct

When you hear, “Once upon a time…,” what immediately comes to mind?  Fairy Tells? Mythology? A television show?  Children’s stories?  What about this phrase, “In the beginning…”?  So often I’ve heard people say the origins of our earth and universe were creations of chance, without logic or reason, or a Creator… it was just a Big Bang.  Yet there is this document that having stood the test of time continues to be one of the best selling books of all time.  In it is found the narrative of creation, including the universe, the atmosphere surrounding the earth, the water and the mountains, all plant life, the fish and the birds, and every living animal or creature, including the human species. While there are those who continue to proclaim this document’s narrative is no truer than the average fairy tale, children’s story, or epic mythological account of time, what exactly determines the veracity of this story over the others?  There is no other tale, story, or myth that goes on to explain the meaning of life in such vivid detail, with such historical accuracy, or with such future promise as does the Bible. In fact, in the Bible is found the explanation for all the other narratives.

Romans 1:18-23
For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

So here’s the thing.  You can’t ask a tree if the tree believes in the Creator, because the only “voice” the tree has is it’s instinctive knowledge of the seasonal changes the Creator instituted, and the tree’s own presence to demonstrate this truth.  So every season the tree’s leaves change color, the tree goes to sleep, then bears new leaves or fruit in it’s time of new life.  It’s wired this way.  It’s instinctive.  But if the trees, or the rivers, or the mountains and the hills did have a voice…

Isaiah 55:12
You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

All of nature makes its way to glorify the Creator within itself.  Animals, birds, fish, plants, trees, the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars of the universe, all point to the Creator and say, “what a great God we serve!”  They all act on instinct – that innate, fixed pattern of behavior with which they were created to act.  But NOT the human species.  We are different.  While the Roman’s passage above tells us that we are capable of recognizing God’s handiwork, in the sense that we “instinctively” know God exists, we humans get to choose to worship and bring Him glory.  Or not.  Choice, that’s the difference.  We are not hard-wired in our DNA to specific actions or reactions based on certain stimuli, without reason or deduction.  Our minds think, then choose, then act.  It’s nature’s way.  It’s how the Creator made us different from every other creature on earth.

animals

If we understand this difference between choice and instinct, we are better equipped then to accept that humans are responsible for their own choices.  No animal raises its eyes to heaven and says, “Why did you make me this way?”  Yet, it might be the very question more people should be asking their Creator.  His answer will be simple.  I believe the Creator would say to every person that asks (honestly – without a preconceived answer), “You are you, so you can know how much I love you, and how I want to show My glory through you.”  You get to choose whether this answer rings true to you or not.  Let these last verses guide you in that process.

John 3:16
For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Psalm 115:1
Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth.

Psalm 33:6-12
The heavens were made by the word of the LORD, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap; He puts the depths into storehouses. Let the whole earth tremble before the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it came into being; He commanded, and it came into existence. The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations; He thwarts the plans of the peoples.  The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.  Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh– the people He has chosen to be His own possession!