Hello to all!
Sorry about the interruption in messages. I am technologically challenged and have not learned how to upload the messages from e-mail to our website. My trusty office assistant Zach takes care of that, as well as adding the snappy graphics and links, for which we are all grateful.
Unfortunately he has been out sick the last couple of days. Hence no postings. We are going to rectify this when he returns and have each of us get a tutorial on how to do it in the future.
So...faith.
We have previously discussed that it is believing what God says is true. And how do we find out what God says? For starters, by reading the Bible. Here are some things that the Bible says about you:
“For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
What encouragement these are to me!
I think that we always underestimate our God. Our brains are unable to fathom the magnificence of His creation. As we look to the heavens, the sheer magnitude of creation is evident, but only partially. For example, we can only see stars in our own galaxy, except for one nearby galaxy, Andromeda.
Andromeda looks like a single star in our sky, but it is comparable to our own galaxy with about 200 billion stars. Estimates are that there are 200 billion galaxies out there! The mind of our Creator is truly a marvel and magnificent on an order far beyond our comprehension.
You can go in the other direction to the micro level and be just as blown away!
In one drop of water, H20, there are about 5 sextillion atoms. That is a 5 with 21 zeroes after it. What?!?! One site explains that:
“There are more drops of water in the ocean than there are atoms in a drop of water. How many more drops depends mainly on the size of your drops, but there are between 1000 and 100,000 more drops of water in the ocean than atoms in a drop of water.”
Wow. God is amazing, right?
We are going to talk more water facts tomorrow, but for today try to get in about "1 times 10 to the 25th atoms of hydrogen and oxygen in their common molecular form."
That would be about two liters of water :)
Before signing off, I also wanted to share with you a little tale about myself.
When I was 18, I worked nights at a donut shop. All night I made and fried donuts. Glazed them and filled them. Made and fried. Glazed and filled. Again and again. After a while, I came to hate donuts and to this day I still don't like the smell of them.
Anyway, on Wednesday I was coming home from Bible study and as I passed a new Dunkin Donuts in Indialantic, there was a powerful force in me that was prompting me to turn in and get a donut and coffee. I resisted, but I thought "how strange?"
That night, Andy Stanley discussed this verse which gave me some insight:
“But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”
I know all of that seems a little costly for a donut, but it is an excellent illustration of what happens when we give in to temptation. We are pulled off the good track.
Blessings to all
-Noel