Is creation good, evil, or neutral?
Then one day, while studying glucose, I was struck with an analogy.
Glucose is a three-part compound: C6H12O4 – six parts carbon, twelve parts
hydrogen, six parts oxygen. So glucose is full of oxygen, but not only oxygen;
it is also full of carbon and hydrogen. In the same way, the earth really is
full of God’s glory, despite the fact that it is also full of evil and
futility.
The Bible also says, “For everything God created is good” (1 Timothy
4:4). Colossians 1:16 goes even further,
For by (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all
things were created by him and for him.
So the bottom line in Scripture is this: (1) God made everything. (2)
Everything God made is good. Therefore, (3) everything is intrinsically good.
This implies that nature has meaning and value. This is not to say that nature
is incorruptible. Because of the fall we have to explain the stench of polluted
rivers, belching smokestacks, and natural disasters. What the Bible does men,
however, is that apart from sin, nature is good.
24-26
Does nature hint of, reveal, conceal, or tarnish God?
We can experience creation through our senses – we can see it, smell
it, hear it, touch it, taste it. Nature will not necessarily lead us to
salvation, but it will reveal God’s grandeur and give us tangible evidence of
His invisible qualities. As a spiritual habit, I know of no better way to
experience awe than to observe God as the Creator of the heavens and earth.
Through general revelation, the window is open.
38
By the end of the fourth century, there were two important church
meetings – the Council of Laodicea in 363, and the Council at Carthage in 397.
Both gave canonical lists that mirrored what was already accepted in the
church. We also know that Athanasius, the bishop in Alexandria, Egypt, had a
tradition of writing an Easter letter every year. In this Easter epistle of
367, he acknowledged the twenty-seven books that we have in our New Testament.
He testified to their authenticity and authority.
39
Why is Bible study important?
Because belief gives birth to life. Theologians say that Scriptures are
given for our justification and sanctification. That basically means the Bible
exists to bring us to faith (justification, or salvation), and to help us
become more and more like Christ as we grow up in our faith (sanctification, or
holiness).
55
C.S. Lewis said,
The two methods by which we are allowed to produce events may be called
work and prayer… The kind of causality we exercise by work is, so to speak,
divinely guaranteed, and therefore ruthless. By it we are free to do ourselves
as much harm as we please. But the kind which we exercise by prayer is not like
that; God has left Himself a discretionary power. Had He not done so, prayer
would be an activity too dangerous for man…That is why God has retained a
discretionary power of granting or refusing it; except on that condition prayer
would destroy us.
66
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for worship means “to bow down or
to prostrate yourself.” In the New Testament, the Greek work for worship means
“to kiss, the way a dog licks it s master’s hand.”
75-76
Broadcaster Roy Firestone once interviews a seven-foot tall, 260-pound
specimen of pure muscle and athleticism, a man who had lead his team to
back-to-back championships and had been named an all-star twelve times and one
of the best big man in the history of the National Basketball Association.
“Your teammates tell me that every time you hit the hardwood you give 110
percent,” Firestone said. “They say that you’ll go out and practice and shoot
hook shots for hours and hours and hours. They tell me that you will run wind
sprints until you literally cannot walk anymore. They say that during a
scrimmage that you will go for loose balls like it is the NBA finals. Why?
You’re one of the best there has ever been in this game. Why don’t you just lie
back and take it easy?”
He said, “Roy, you need to know something. When I go out onto the
hardwood, I’m not going to work. I’m going to worship. How would I dare to not
give back to God what He has given to me with joy and thanksgiving? No, I don’t
go work. I go worship.”
His name is Hakeem Olajuwan. He’s a Muslim. He’s not a Christian, and
yet God in His providence has given him the insight that our work is meant to
be an act of worship.
144
You see, tithing really isn’t about God’s need to receive; it’s about
our need to give. Tithing doesn’t earn greater favor with God. Instead tithing
gives us the opportunity to express our appreciation to God for His provision
to us, and to participate in building His kingdom. What tithing does is to help
us to remember that every good thing comes from Him.
Tithing is not a blessing for God, but from God. Tithing, instituted by
Abraham, is a way of thanking the One who has blessed us: 90 percent for
temporal life, 10 percent (or more) for spiritual life. A faithful steward
isn’t some miserly person who counts out 10 percent to drop in the offering
plate Sunday after Sunday. A faithful steward devotes 100 percent of this time,
talent, and treasure to God’s glory.
Source: A man’s guide to the spiritual disciplines: 12 habits to strengthen your walk with Christ - Patrick Morley (2007)
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