Thursday, April 29, 2010
Idea With Your Children
One thing I thank God for was the idea to begin learning hymns with my son Luke. We know together these hymns: All Hail the Power of Jesus Name", O Worship the King' O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing, and Come Thou Almighty King. It is a slow go but we do a little at a time and we talk about what the words mean. Each morning in the car we are singing praises together. That is one of the nicest experiences for me, singing songs of praise together with my five year old son. It is worth the effort. God bless you.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Phenomenological Language
April 27, 2010
Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Clay Miller: It is in this type of sense that the heavenly bodies govern us. We certainly do not govern them. We do not tell the sun to wait to rise. If we could I would be doing it all the time. I could sleep as long as I wanted!!!! Of course the battle of wills between every human being telling the sun what to do would be utter chaos…yeah, it just would not work too well. Actually, as a side note, the sun does not actually “rise”. The earth is actually revolving so that it appears to us that the sun is rising and setting. This is called phenomenological language. Bible writers employ this in their writings much. They write things from their perspective, not from the perspective of God. So next time the weatherman says the sunrise will be at such and such time, you can yell, “liar”!!!! “The sun does not rise!” Don’t do that, really. I am only kidding around.
Matthew Henry: “(2.) They must be for the direction of actions. They are for signs of the change of weather, that the husbandman may order his affairs with discretion, foreseeing, by the face of the sky, when second causes have begun to work, whether it will be fair or foul…
Clay Miller: This is another type of ruling the heavenly lights have over us. They determine our activity and plans. As I type this, I have my TV on to the Lakers vs. Thunder game (unfortunately the Thunder are getting hammered). This game is being played at 9:30 my time, 7:30 California time. Why? Because of where the sun is in California and because of the time people are getting off because they work at a time dictated by the sun. It is pretty amazing how much that big light up there dominates our lives.
Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Matthew Henry: “2. The use they were intended to be of to this earth. (1.) They must be for the distinction of times, of day and night, summer and winter, which are interchanged by the motion of the sun, whose rising makes day, his setting night, his approach towards our tropic summer, his recess to the other winter: and thus, under the sun, there is a season to every purpose…
Ecclesiastes 3:1.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven
Clay Miller: It is in this type of sense that the heavenly bodies govern us. We certainly do not govern them. We do not tell the sun to wait to rise. If we could I would be doing it all the time. I could sleep as long as I wanted!!!! Of course the battle of wills between every human being telling the sun what to do would be utter chaos…yeah, it just would not work too well. Actually, as a side note, the sun does not actually “rise”. The earth is actually revolving so that it appears to us that the sun is rising and setting. This is called phenomenological language. Bible writers employ this in their writings much. They write things from their perspective, not from the perspective of God. So next time the weatherman says the sunrise will be at such and such time, you can yell, “liar”!!!! “The sun does not rise!” Don’t do that, really. I am only kidding around.
Matthew Henry: “(2.) They must be for the direction of actions. They are for signs of the change of weather, that the husbandman may order his affairs with discretion, foreseeing, by the face of the sky, when second causes have begun to work, whether it will be fair or foul…
Matthew 16:2-3
He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.'You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
…They do also give light upon the earth, that we may walk and work…
John 11:9
Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
John 9:4
We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
…according as the duty of every day requires.
Clay Miller: This is another type of ruling the heavenly lights have over us. They determine our activity and plans. As I type this, I have my TV on to the Lakers vs. Thunder game (unfortunately the Thunder are getting hammered). This game is being played at 9:30 my time, 7:30 California time. Why? Because of where the sun is in California and because of the time people are getting off because they work at a time dictated by the sun. It is pretty amazing how much that big light up there dominates our lives.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
How Do the Sun, Moon and Stars "Rule" Over Us?
April 25, 2010
Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Clay Miller: It is not necessary that we know what that light was before God created the light-bearing sun, moon and stars. It may have been a disembodied light of some kind. It may have been the physical representation of divine glory…like the light God will shine in the New Jerusalem… “The city had no need of the sun of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it” (Revelation 21:23). Whatever the light was, it was situated in such a way that it facilitated the day night pattern for the first three days. Then the illuminaries we know today were created and they serve us now by ruling the patterns of our lives. We all, without fail, pattern our lives according to those bodies of light. They do not rule us as if they were animate, or a deity. They rule us only in the sense that they are God’s tool to rule our life’s patterns.
Clay Miller: God created order and He created light to illuminate that order. These lights are in our sky and are very evident, used by you today even. God lit a pretty big candle up there in our sky and it indeed lights up our lives. That same sun gives light all over the globe.
When God created the sky, our atmosphere, on day two…the pre-light was lighting the sky. Whether or not it was sufficient to light the earth as Henry says, I don’t know. What I would conclude and agree with Henry is this: The sky was not complete until God, on day four put those permanent bodies in place to govern the days and nights and seasons of planet earth. Then it could be said by God that it was good.
Some people who believe it took billions and billions of years for the universe to miraculously form from billions and billions of uncaused miracles, tell us the earth and planets of our solar system were once part of the sun. They were somehow spun off into an orderly orbit by some kind of explosion on the sun that created order, rather than disorder (as every single observed explosion produces…disorder that is). But planets like Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury are not even near to being similar to the sun in their elemental make-up. They are each unique in their composition. How sad when we look at these planets and see their peculiar and singular designs, our teachers won’t give praise to the obvious Maker behind them. Instead they would credit chance. Their God…which is actually nothing. Not me and not my family. We will praise God for what we see in our universe. And the God we will praise is the God it all points to…the God of the Bible, Who explains the universe’s meaning and purpose and ours as well. Our chief end will be to glorify God by enjoying Him forever!
Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Matthew Henry: “Of the creation of the lights of heaven we have an account. I. In general, v. 14, 15, where we have 1. The command given concerning them: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven. God had said, Let there be light (v. 3), and there was light; but this was, as it were, a chaos of light, scattered and confused: now it was collected and modelled, and made into several luminaries, and so rendered both more glorious and more serviceable.”
Clay Miller: It is not necessary that we know what that light was before God created the light-bearing sun, moon and stars. It may have been a disembodied light of some kind. It may have been the physical representation of divine glory…like the light God will shine in the New Jerusalem… “The city had no need of the sun of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it” (Revelation 21:23). Whatever the light was, it was situated in such a way that it facilitated the day night pattern for the first three days. Then the illuminaries we know today were created and they serve us now by ruling the patterns of our lives. We all, without fail, pattern our lives according to those bodies of light. They do not rule us as if they were animate, or a deity. They rule us only in the sense that they are God’s tool to rule our life’s patterns.
Matthew Henry: “God is the God of order, and not of confusion; and, as he is light, so he is the Father and former of lights. Those lights were to be in the firmament of heaven, that vast expanse which encloses the earth, and is conspicuous to all; for “no man, when he has lighted a candle, puts it under a bushel, but on a candlestick” (Luke. 8:16), and a stately golden candlestick the firmament of heaven is, from which these candles give light to all that are in the house. The firmament itself is spoken of as having a brightness of its own…
Daniel 12:3
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever
…but this was not sufficient to give light to the earth; and perhaps for this reason it is not expressly said of the second day’s work, in which the firmament was made, that it was good, because, till it was adorned with these lights on the fourth day, it had not become serviceable to man.
Clay Miller: God created order and He created light to illuminate that order. These lights are in our sky and are very evident, used by you today even. God lit a pretty big candle up there in our sky and it indeed lights up our lives. That same sun gives light all over the globe.
When God created the sky, our atmosphere, on day two…the pre-light was lighting the sky. Whether or not it was sufficient to light the earth as Henry says, I don’t know. What I would conclude and agree with Henry is this: The sky was not complete until God, on day four put those permanent bodies in place to govern the days and nights and seasons of planet earth. Then it could be said by God that it was good.
Some people who believe it took billions and billions of years for the universe to miraculously form from billions and billions of uncaused miracles, tell us the earth and planets of our solar system were once part of the sun. They were somehow spun off into an orderly orbit by some kind of explosion on the sun that created order, rather than disorder (as every single observed explosion produces…disorder that is). But planets like Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury are not even near to being similar to the sun in their elemental make-up. They are each unique in their composition. How sad when we look at these planets and see their peculiar and singular designs, our teachers won’t give praise to the obvious Maker behind them. Instead they would credit chance. Their God…which is actually nothing. Not me and not my family. We will praise God for what we see in our universe. And the God we will praise is the God it all points to…the God of the Bible, Who explains the universe’s meaning and purpose and ours as well. Our chief end will be to glorify God by enjoying Him forever!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Day Four: Consider the Sun Today
April 24, 2010
Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Clay Miller: On day four God again simply spoke and the Sun appeared, replacing whatever source of light the earth had been furnished with on day one through three. He created the moon to reflect the sun’s light at night. And He created the stars also. God could have gone into detail about the impact the sun and moon and stars have on the earth, but He chose to simply give an account of how easily He created those beings. What we continue to learn about those entities gives rise to even more awe of the power and genius behind these great works.
Clay Miller: God seems to have created in two phases. Each day of each phase relates to its corollary. Day 1 and Day 4 deals with lights. Days 2 and 5 deal with the sky and waters and birds and fish. Days 3 and 6 deal with land and land creatures. It is like God prepares and then populates. This day, day four was God’s day to create the entities that would govern the patterns of our lives. Henry speaks of the beauty of the heavens and notes the respect it has to the earth. And oh boy does it. The sun itself is an amazing body. It is an incredibly large ball of fire. It measures 865,000 miles in diameter. That is 109 times bigger than the diameter of the earth! Its volume is 1.3 million times greater than the earth’s volume. That means it would take more than 1 million earths to fill the sun! As John MacArthur illustrates, “If the sun were the size of a bowling ball, the earth by comparison would look like a poppy seed.” It is composed of 70% Hydrogen, 28% helium, 1.5% carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, and less the .5% other elements. The surface temperature is estimated at about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists believe that at its core, the temperature is as much as 27 million degrees Fahrenheit.
As we track through Henry’s commentary on this fourth day, I will add more notes on the sun, moon and stars with information on how they affect the earth and how amazing it is that we even see the stars. I was thinking about the sun being 27 million degrees. And yet that is nothing to God. He can withstand it as if nothing. He controls it. He could tell us so much that we would stand in awe of His teaching and power. But sadly, the world would rather pretend that something else is responsible for such an intelligent and coherent design.
Genesis 1:14-19
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Matthew Henry: “This is the history of the fourth day’s work, the creating of the sun, moon, and stars, which are here accounted for, not as they are in themselves and in their own nature, to satisfy the curious, but as they are in relation to this earth, to which they serve as lights; and this is enough to furnish us with matter for praise and thanksgiving.”
Clay Miller: On day four God again simply spoke and the Sun appeared, replacing whatever source of light the earth had been furnished with on day one through three. He created the moon to reflect the sun’s light at night. And He created the stars also. God could have gone into detail about the impact the sun and moon and stars have on the earth, but He chose to simply give an account of how easily He created those beings. What we continue to learn about those entities gives rise to even more awe of the power and genius behind these great works.
Matthew Henry: Holy Job mentions this as an instance of the glorious power of God, that by the Spirit he hath garnished the heavens (Job 26:13); and here we have an account of that garniture which is not only so much the beauty of the upper world, but so much the blessing of this lower; for though heaven is high, yet has it respect to this earth, and therefore should have respect from it.
Clay Miller: God seems to have created in two phases. Each day of each phase relates to its corollary. Day 1 and Day 4 deals with lights. Days 2 and 5 deal with the sky and waters and birds and fish. Days 3 and 6 deal with land and land creatures. It is like God prepares and then populates. This day, day four was God’s day to create the entities that would govern the patterns of our lives. Henry speaks of the beauty of the heavens and notes the respect it has to the earth. And oh boy does it. The sun itself is an amazing body. It is an incredibly large ball of fire. It measures 865,000 miles in diameter. That is 109 times bigger than the diameter of the earth! Its volume is 1.3 million times greater than the earth’s volume. That means it would take more than 1 million earths to fill the sun! As John MacArthur illustrates, “If the sun were the size of a bowling ball, the earth by comparison would look like a poppy seed.” It is composed of 70% Hydrogen, 28% helium, 1.5% carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, and less the .5% other elements. The surface temperature is estimated at about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists believe that at its core, the temperature is as much as 27 million degrees Fahrenheit.
As we track through Henry’s commentary on this fourth day, I will add more notes on the sun, moon and stars with information on how they affect the earth and how amazing it is that we even see the stars. I was thinking about the sun being 27 million degrees. And yet that is nothing to God. He can withstand it as if nothing. He controls it. He could tell us so much that we would stand in awe of His teaching and power. But sadly, the world would rather pretend that something else is responsible for such an intelligent and coherent design.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Steeler Football Situation
I am a lifetime Pittsburgh Steelers fan. For years they had great teams but were mediocre or horrible at the quarterback position. So many times they were a QB away from winning Superbowls. When the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger, it was one of the happiest drafts of my life. I had watched Ben play a couple of times on TV at Miami of Ohio and absolutely loved the guy. I literally thought, "Why can't the Steelers get a guy like this." To my surprise...they did! And sure enough this guy has proven to be a winner...on the field. He won his first 13 starts as a rookie including demolishing the eventual champions, the Patriots and the SB runner up Eagles in consecutive weeks. No rookie QB has ever had a year like Ben. In his 2nd year he suffered some injuries that kept him out of some key games which they lost and he had to come back, rusty against the Colts and lost, but then found his rhythm and led the Steelers through the Wild Card, divisional playoff and AfC Championship, all on the road, all the way to the Superbowl. He became the youngest QB to win a Superbowl. Then he wrecked his motorcycle and nearly died. He refused to be a spokesperson for wearing helmets, which is okay, but sort of silly to me. The upcoming season was a disaster as the Steelers missed the playoffs altogether. The next season the Steelers got back on track but lost to the Jaguars early in the playoffs.
Finally, in Ben's fifth year, the Steelers battled the Titans for the league's best record. The Titans won that battle but the Steelers did not lose again. They went all the way. Ben won his 2nd Superbowl. I was loving Ben more than ever. Then came the sexual allegations against him from a woman in Reno who alleged Ben had raped her. I tried not to be biased but really, I thought, no way. With that hanging over the heads of Steeler nation, we watched a 2nd time as our Superbowl champions failed to make the playoffs after winning the Superbowl.
Frustrated, but fully aware that we had lost our best defensive player and best all time safety, Troy Polamalu, as well as our leader on the defensive line, Aaron Smith, plus lost Ben in a crucial game against the Ravens, we all knew the Steelers would be contenders this upcoming season. Then Milledgeville happened...another accusation of sexual assault...
It is not whether or not he is guilty of the alleged crimes alone that matters. What matters to me as a Steelers fan, is that he seems to be acting very entitled and immature. This, whether well-founded or unfounded, is the feeling we Steeler fans have on the inside. I love Ben's talent. But it is time for Ben to grow up. He as a cance to win more Superbowls than any QB in history. But now, they may trade him...which brings me to my intended issue...
The only trade worth the risk is Ben to the Rams for their first pick which we would use on Sam Bradford. I admit I am also a die hard OU fan and have wanted the Steelers to draft a Sooner for over 20 something years now. This would more than make up for the wait on my part. Sam will be a great pro QB, but more than that, his character is the kind of character I as a Christian would like all Steelers to have. I actually would like the trade to happen. But that is the only trade I would favor right now, unless Ben messes up one more time.
Other people I am hoping the Steelers could get include: Toby Gerhart out of Stanford, any Sooner, Golden Tate out of Notre Dame, and possibley Dez Bryant if he will himself stay out of trouble. The draft begins tomorrow. Go Steelers! And lets get ready for the stairway to 7 (they have 6 titles). :)
Finally, in Ben's fifth year, the Steelers battled the Titans for the league's best record. The Titans won that battle but the Steelers did not lose again. They went all the way. Ben won his 2nd Superbowl. I was loving Ben more than ever. Then came the sexual allegations against him from a woman in Reno who alleged Ben had raped her. I tried not to be biased but really, I thought, no way. With that hanging over the heads of Steeler nation, we watched a 2nd time as our Superbowl champions failed to make the playoffs after winning the Superbowl.
Frustrated, but fully aware that we had lost our best defensive player and best all time safety, Troy Polamalu, as well as our leader on the defensive line, Aaron Smith, plus lost Ben in a crucial game against the Ravens, we all knew the Steelers would be contenders this upcoming season. Then Milledgeville happened...another accusation of sexual assault...
It is not whether or not he is guilty of the alleged crimes alone that matters. What matters to me as a Steelers fan, is that he seems to be acting very entitled and immature. This, whether well-founded or unfounded, is the feeling we Steeler fans have on the inside. I love Ben's talent. But it is time for Ben to grow up. He as a cance to win more Superbowls than any QB in history. But now, they may trade him...which brings me to my intended issue...
The only trade worth the risk is Ben to the Rams for their first pick which we would use on Sam Bradford. I admit I am also a die hard OU fan and have wanted the Steelers to draft a Sooner for over 20 something years now. This would more than make up for the wait on my part. Sam will be a great pro QB, but more than that, his character is the kind of character I as a Christian would like all Steelers to have. I actually would like the trade to happen. But that is the only trade I would favor right now, unless Ben messes up one more time.
Other people I am hoping the Steelers could get include: Toby Gerhart out of Stanford, any Sooner, Golden Tate out of Notre Dame, and possibley Dez Bryant if he will himself stay out of trouble. The draft begins tomorrow. Go Steelers! And lets get ready for the stairway to 7 (they have 6 titles). :)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Inconsistency of Denying God
April 20, 2010
Clay Miller: It is folly. Because only in this area will we compromise rationality. Only in this area will we allow wishes and presuppositions interfere with sense. No where in life will we stand for absurdity such as is stood for in the idea of this world with all its intricacies being the product of itself. Not one atheist would truly believe the Empire State Building, Sears Tower or a computer evolved from nothing with no designer behind it. I think the complexity of the universe alludes them. Those things put together are as nothing in complexity as the universe we live in…not even near as complex as our own bodies. But they will lay all reason aside to “prove” God does not exist…It is folly to any honest mind. I am not trying to win arguments. I could not care less to sound smart or be superior in debate…I would lose from lack of giftedness in that area. I only hope to remind my fellow Christians of the great truth and reasonableness of our God and Savior. Foremost I just want to glorify God and de-glorify all competitors. And lastly, I wish I could just get some people to begin considering the truth of God so they can discover what they need to do in order to know this Creator.
Clay Miller: If something is true everywhere, in every instance but perhaps a few, by definition, it is natural. This would take into account all times and places as a whole in general. If every man and woman in the world is held on the ground by gravity, gravity is a certain truth…even if a few deny it and try to fly, falling to their death. Denying God may not lead to immediate death as a fall off a cliff, but just consider it a very long fall…eventually you will hit the ground (death).
On a spiritual level, with one exception (Jesus Christ), all men are corrupt and sin. This is true of every man everywhere. It is natural to fallen man. Man tries to deny it, but it is undeniable. It is nature, and nature(ally) it is therefore true. We say “naturally” because it is according to nature. It cannot be said to be a lie when it is true without fail.
To end with tonight…Charnock says, “And therefore those that ascribe all to nature, and set it in the place of God, contradict themselves, if they give not credit to it in that which it universally affirms.” This is profound. He is saying, those who attribute all existence to nature, turn around and deny their god (nature) when it comes to the universal assent to a deity. They contradict themselves in saying nature defines reality and in the same breath deny the nature of their own hearts which testifies of the Creator.
Romans 1:18-20
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 2:14-16
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus
More later
Stephen Charnock: “To conclude this, is it not folly for any man to deny or doubt of the being of a God, to dissent from all mankind, and stand in contradiction to human nature?”
Clay Miller: It is folly. Because only in this area will we compromise rationality. Only in this area will we allow wishes and presuppositions interfere with sense. No where in life will we stand for absurdity such as is stood for in the idea of this world with all its intricacies being the product of itself. Not one atheist would truly believe the Empire State Building, Sears Tower or a computer evolved from nothing with no designer behind it. I think the complexity of the universe alludes them. Those things put together are as nothing in complexity as the universe we live in…not even near as complex as our own bodies. But they will lay all reason aside to “prove” God does not exist…It is folly to any honest mind. I am not trying to win arguments. I could not care less to sound smart or be superior in debate…I would lose from lack of giftedness in that area. I only hope to remind my fellow Christians of the great truth and reasonableness of our God and Savior. Foremost I just want to glorify God and de-glorify all competitors. And lastly, I wish I could just get some people to begin considering the truth of God so they can discover what they need to do in order to know this Creator.
Stephen Charnock: “What is the general dictate [guiding or governing principle] of nature is a certain truth. It is impossible that nature can naturally and universally lie. And therefore those that ascribe all to nature, and set it in the place of God, contradict themselves, if they give not credit to it in that which it universally affirms.”
Clay Miller: If something is true everywhere, in every instance but perhaps a few, by definition, it is natural. This would take into account all times and places as a whole in general. If every man and woman in the world is held on the ground by gravity, gravity is a certain truth…even if a few deny it and try to fly, falling to their death. Denying God may not lead to immediate death as a fall off a cliff, but just consider it a very long fall…eventually you will hit the ground (death).
On a spiritual level, with one exception (Jesus Christ), all men are corrupt and sin. This is true of every man everywhere. It is natural to fallen man. Man tries to deny it, but it is undeniable. It is nature, and nature(ally) it is therefore true. We say “naturally” because it is according to nature. It cannot be said to be a lie when it is true without fail.
To end with tonight…Charnock says, “And therefore those that ascribe all to nature, and set it in the place of God, contradict themselves, if they give not credit to it in that which it universally affirms.” This is profound. He is saying, those who attribute all existence to nature, turn around and deny their god (nature) when it comes to the universal assent to a deity. They contradict themselves in saying nature defines reality and in the same breath deny the nature of their own hearts which testifies of the Creator.
Romans 1:18-20
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 2:14-16
For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus
More later
Monday, April 19, 2010
Desires Becoming Rights
April 19, 2010
Clay Miller: The first sentence immediately evoked thoughts of the homosexual movement in my country. Homosexuality is not natural, no matter how you slice it. We have people who try to Christianize it by revising texts in the Bible to mean the opposite of what they mean. Yet they can provide no sound exegesis. And they can find no passage on marriage (which is highly esteemed and explained in Scripture) where God gives guidelines for homosexual marriage. Not one. Marriage is for procreation. It is for a picture of Christ and the church above all. It is always defined in terms of being between a man and a woman. God did not provide a safe way for homosexual intercourse. It is dangerous and stupid to engage parts of the body in sex that were not created for sex. If God intended men to be with men, or women to be with women, He would have made it natural. It is not. On the atheistic side, evolution speaks against it as well. Evolution is about survival of the fittest…i.e. the fittest for procreation. A species that cannot reproduce will become extinct. With all the rational reasons to understand that homosexuality is deviant behavior, and condemned in Scripture, we still are being told it is good, and we must accept it. The majority knows it is wrong, yet the minority has been given a platform that was not available in Charnock’s time: Hollywood and the Media. Charnock would be appalled.
We live in a day in which people believe desires are rights. If you desire it, it is how you are and you should not be discriminated against. That is the mentality. Of course it is a hypocritical mentality. Because one sinner will condemn other sinners in this game. Homosexuals may condemn pedophiles but pedophiles have the exact same argument as the homosexual. Murderers desire to kill. Yet that is condemned by pedophiles. Men are attracted to attractive women…so they commit fornication. That is condemned by some murderers! On and on. To bring this back around, this is true because in every man there is a conscience of some kind. That conscience is from God. And most of the sins above I mentioned, are committed by people who would say there is probably a God.
So it is with the idea of God. In my country it is lopsided, the belief in God versus atheism. Yet, the small minority has the platform. And because they have the platform, many people are confused thinking that believing in God is something “weird” or “not widely accepted”. This is the atheists darling (Hollywood and Media). They think because TV and entertainment is dominated by godlessness, that this makes the case for no God. But it is they who live in a box. God will always be acknowledged. Always. Because He exists and He makes His existence known and no amount of atheistic evangelism will change that. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God” (John 5:44).
Stephen Charnock: “Should the laws of a country, agreed universally to by the whole body of the people, be accounted vain, because an hundred men of those millions disapprove of them, when not their reason, but their folly and base interest, persuades them to dislike them and dispute against them? What if some men be blind, shall any conclude from thence that eyes are not natural to men ? shall we say that the notion of the existence of God is not natural to men, because a very small number have been of a contrary opinion? shall a man in a dungeon, that never saw the sun, deny that there is a sun, because one or two blind men tell him there is none, when thousands assure him there is. Why should then the exceptions of a few, not one to millions, discredit that which is voted certainly true by the joint consent of the world? Add this, too, that if those that are reported to be atheists had had any considerable reason to step aside from the common persuasion of the whole world, it is a wonder it met not with entertainment by great numbers of those, who, by reason of their notorious wickedness and inward disquiets, might reasonably be thought to wish in their hearts that there were no God. It is strange if there were any reason on their side, that in so long a space of time as hath run out from the creation of the world, there could not be engaged a considerable number to frame a society for the profession of it. It hath died with the person that started it, and vanished as soon as it appeared.”
Clay Miller: The first sentence immediately evoked thoughts of the homosexual movement in my country. Homosexuality is not natural, no matter how you slice it. We have people who try to Christianize it by revising texts in the Bible to mean the opposite of what they mean. Yet they can provide no sound exegesis. And they can find no passage on marriage (which is highly esteemed and explained in Scripture) where God gives guidelines for homosexual marriage. Not one. Marriage is for procreation. It is for a picture of Christ and the church above all. It is always defined in terms of being between a man and a woman. God did not provide a safe way for homosexual intercourse. It is dangerous and stupid to engage parts of the body in sex that were not created for sex. If God intended men to be with men, or women to be with women, He would have made it natural. It is not. On the atheistic side, evolution speaks against it as well. Evolution is about survival of the fittest…i.e. the fittest for procreation. A species that cannot reproduce will become extinct. With all the rational reasons to understand that homosexuality is deviant behavior, and condemned in Scripture, we still are being told it is good, and we must accept it. The majority knows it is wrong, yet the minority has been given a platform that was not available in Charnock’s time: Hollywood and the Media. Charnock would be appalled.
We live in a day in which people believe desires are rights. If you desire it, it is how you are and you should not be discriminated against. That is the mentality. Of course it is a hypocritical mentality. Because one sinner will condemn other sinners in this game. Homosexuals may condemn pedophiles but pedophiles have the exact same argument as the homosexual. Murderers desire to kill. Yet that is condemned by pedophiles. Men are attracted to attractive women…so they commit fornication. That is condemned by some murderers! On and on. To bring this back around, this is true because in every man there is a conscience of some kind. That conscience is from God. And most of the sins above I mentioned, are committed by people who would say there is probably a God.
So it is with the idea of God. In my country it is lopsided, the belief in God versus atheism. Yet, the small minority has the platform. And because they have the platform, many people are confused thinking that believing in God is something “weird” or “not widely accepted”. This is the atheists darling (Hollywood and Media). They think because TV and entertainment is dominated by godlessness, that this makes the case for no God. But it is they who live in a box. God will always be acknowledged. Always. Because He exists and He makes His existence known and no amount of atheistic evangelism will change that. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God” (John 5:44).
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Is It Really The Existence of God That Troubles You?
April 18, 2010
“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).
Clay Miller: At first, when I read this, I did not quite understand what Charnock meant that not 20 professed atheists in all ages are reckoned in the whole world. But truly, in his time, there was very little evidence of any true atheism. And what there were, like today, were men who were disenchanted with the religion they saw because they felt that the deity that existed was not at all what that religion presented. Even today “atheists” who argue with me try to use the Bible against God. They don’t like the idea of “that kind of deity”, i.e. a deity that is not palatable to their sinful conception of what God should be like…if there were a God of course. They have a knack for trying to force a moral standard on the God of the Bible as if morality actually existed in a world of evolutionary origins. They hold God to a standard outside of Himself, as if they are God’s judges. They try to define what is evil and good, which contradicts their whole worldview of relativism with no absolute morality. The truth is, I have never met a consistent atheist. I have never met a consistent relativist. I have never read of one either.
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God" (John 8:47).
“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).
Stephen Charnock: “4. This universal consent is not prejudiced by some few dissenters. History doth not reckon twenty professed atheists in all ages in the compass of the whole world: and we have not the name of any one absolute atheist upon record in Scripture; yet it is questioned, whether any of them, noted in history with that infamous name, were downright deniers of the existence of God, but rather because they disparaged the deities commonly worshipped by the nations where they lived, as being of a clearer reason to discern that those qualities, vulgarly attributed to their gods, as lust and luxury, wantonness and quarrels, were unworthy of the nature of a god. But suppose they were really what they are termed to be, what are they to the multitude of men that have sprung out of the loins of Adam? not so much as one grain of ashes is to all that were ever turned into that form by any fires in your chimneys. And many more were not sufficient to weigh down the contrary consent of the whole world, and bear down an universal impression…”
Clay Miller: At first, when I read this, I did not quite understand what Charnock meant that not 20 professed atheists in all ages are reckoned in the whole world. But truly, in his time, there was very little evidence of any true atheism. And what there were, like today, were men who were disenchanted with the religion they saw because they felt that the deity that existed was not at all what that religion presented. Even today “atheists” who argue with me try to use the Bible against God. They don’t like the idea of “that kind of deity”, i.e. a deity that is not palatable to their sinful conception of what God should be like…if there were a God of course. They have a knack for trying to force a moral standard on the God of the Bible as if morality actually existed in a world of evolutionary origins. They hold God to a standard outside of Himself, as if they are God’s judges. They try to define what is evil and good, which contradicts their whole worldview of relativism with no absolute morality. The truth is, I have never met a consistent atheist. I have never met a consistent relativist. I have never read of one either.
"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God" (John 8:47).
Saturday, April 17, 2010
True Whether I believe it or Not
“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).
Clay Miller: I love the First Cause thought. There had to be one at some point. Either and intelligent, self-existent Being created and started all other existence, or, unlike anything we have ever rationalized or experienced, existence created itself. I won’t go too much into the absurdity of “self-creation”. Nothing cannot create itself. Nothing is not even an it. When we say there was nothing, too many people try to imagine some sort of empty space or vacuum. But there was no space either. If there was space, where did that space come from…and so on and so on. “Nothing” cannot even be described because it is nothing. It is the absence of something or anything. There was nothing, they say, and then something (oops) moved on the nothing causing nothing to create itself. This is why I don’t flinch when I am called “unsophisticated” for believing in the “absurdity” of a Creator.
Even Richard Dawkins would prefer “aliens” having created our universe to the utter nonsense that it just happened. Well, I should say, he would prefer it over “God”. But where did the aliens come from? Or better, why not just believe that the “aliens” are God? Here is why…Dawkins and other atheists do not want to be held accountable to a God who is superior to them and demands what they cannot do. So they hate God. They hate people who remind them of God. And they try everything to convince themselves that they are righteous in suppressing the idea of God.
Within Christianity there is much difference and debate. There is corruption of the Christian faith. There are essential issues that truly disqualify groups from being authentic and there are issues that are not essential that true Christians may differ on, be wrong, and yet still worship the one true God. But the fact that there is so much arguing about Christianity, confirms that Christianity exists. That is no argument for the truth of Christianity, but for the existence of it as a religion. Just as the many ideas of God is not an argument for the truth of all religions, but it is an argument for the existence of God. What God we are to believe in is another issue.
I not only believe Christianity is the only truth…it is the only truth. It is self authenticating, It is consistent. It matters not if I accept it or it reject it. It stands on its own objective reality. It does not say anything about the truth or God when man rejects it. It says volumes about the man. It does not change the truth when rejected. It affects the rejecter. More later…
Stephen Charnock: “…The question was not whether there was a First Cause, but what it was. It is much the same thing, as the disputes about the nature and matter of the heavens, the sun and planets, though there be great diversity of judgments, yet all agree that there are heavens, sun, planets; so all the contentions among men about the nature of God, weaken not, but rather confirm, that there is a God, since there was never a public formal debate about his existence. Those that have been ready to pull out one another’s eyes for their dissent from their judgments, sharply censured one another’s sentiments, envied the births of one another’s wits, always shook hands with an unanimous consent in this; never censured one another for being of this persuasion, never called it into question; as what was never controverted among men professing Christianity, but acknowledged by all, though contending about other things, has reason to be judged a certain truth belonging to the christian religion; so what was never subjected to any controversy, but acknowledged by the whole world, hath reason to be embraced as a truth without any doubt.”
Clay Miller: I love the First Cause thought. There had to be one at some point. Either and intelligent, self-existent Being created and started all other existence, or, unlike anything we have ever rationalized or experienced, existence created itself. I won’t go too much into the absurdity of “self-creation”. Nothing cannot create itself. Nothing is not even an it. When we say there was nothing, too many people try to imagine some sort of empty space or vacuum. But there was no space either. If there was space, where did that space come from…and so on and so on. “Nothing” cannot even be described because it is nothing. It is the absence of something or anything. There was nothing, they say, and then something (oops) moved on the nothing causing nothing to create itself. This is why I don’t flinch when I am called “unsophisticated” for believing in the “absurdity” of a Creator.
Even Richard Dawkins would prefer “aliens” having created our universe to the utter nonsense that it just happened. Well, I should say, he would prefer it over “God”. But where did the aliens come from? Or better, why not just believe that the “aliens” are God? Here is why…Dawkins and other atheists do not want to be held accountable to a God who is superior to them and demands what they cannot do. So they hate God. They hate people who remind them of God. And they try everything to convince themselves that they are righteous in suppressing the idea of God.
Within Christianity there is much difference and debate. There is corruption of the Christian faith. There are essential issues that truly disqualify groups from being authentic and there are issues that are not essential that true Christians may differ on, be wrong, and yet still worship the one true God. But the fact that there is so much arguing about Christianity, confirms that Christianity exists. That is no argument for the truth of Christianity, but for the existence of it as a religion. Just as the many ideas of God is not an argument for the truth of all religions, but it is an argument for the existence of God. What God we are to believe in is another issue.
I not only believe Christianity is the only truth…it is the only truth. It is self authenticating, It is consistent. It matters not if I accept it or it reject it. It stands on its own objective reality. It does not say anything about the truth or God when man rejects it. It says volumes about the man. It does not change the truth when rejected. It affects the rejecter. More later…
Friday, April 16, 2010
April 16, 2010
“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).
Clay Miller: No matter what nation we go to, there is worship of a deity in its past, present, and to be sure, its future. What we find is not the absence of religion, “cultural practices” or “thought processes”, but rather worship of various types of deities and powers. Some places are very polytheistic. Some are monotheistic. Some believe in a limited being. Some believe in an all-powerful hard Being. Some people believe the sun and the moon are deities. Some people believe all things are God. There are many ideas about the nature of a higher being. But the point is, there is an idea period. I am a simple guy really. I like to take things from the very bottom and work up. What I see in this world I live in is evidence of someone very big, very powerful, very smart and very wise. I also see that there is good and bad, evil and righteousness. And the Bible is the only book, the only religion, that explains all I see so consistently. More later…
“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).
Stephen Charnock: “3. Whatsoever disputes there have been in the world, this of the existence of God was never the subject of contention. All other things have been questioned. What jarrings were there among philosophers about natural things! into how many parties were they split! with what animosities did they maintain their several judgments! but we hear of no solemn controversies about the existence of a Supreme Being: this never met with any considerable contradiction: no nation, that hath put other things to question, would ever suffer this to be disparaged, so much as by a public doubt. We find among the heathen contentions about the nature of God and the number of gods, some asserted an innumerable multitude of gods, some affirmed him to be subject to birth and death, some affirmed the entire world was God; others fancied him to be a circle of a bright fire; others that he was a spirit diffused through the whole world yet they unanimously concurred in this, as the judgment of universal reason, that there was such a sovereign Being: and those that were skeptical in everything else, and asserted that the greatest certainty was that there was nothing certain, professed a certainty in this…
Clay Miller: No matter what nation we go to, there is worship of a deity in its past, present, and to be sure, its future. What we find is not the absence of religion, “cultural practices” or “thought processes”, but rather worship of various types of deities and powers. Some places are very polytheistic. Some are monotheistic. Some believe in a limited being. Some believe in an all-powerful hard Being. Some people believe the sun and the moon are deities. Some people believe all things are God. There are many ideas about the nature of a higher being. But the point is, there is an idea period. I am a simple guy really. I like to take things from the very bottom and work up. What I see in this world I live in is evidence of someone very big, very powerful, very smart and very wise. I also see that there is good and bad, evil and righteousness. And the Bible is the only book, the only religion, that explains all I see so consistently. More later…
Monday, April 12, 2010
Where Have I Been?
My posting has slowed down. It has just been a very busy four weeks or so. I am hoping to BLOG more consistently and continue the Charnock and Henry Studies. I think I will do one week at a time on each though, rather than alternating each time. I don't know yet. I will decide on my next entry. I think I will also add some random posts now and then...maybe some family happenings, sports, etc...I will see. But I am loving going through the little, well, big, studies I have been going through on here. Hope to get back on it soon.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Won't Change the Past But Will Strive to Change the Pattern of the Past for the Future
April 6, 2010
Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.
Clay Miller: God did set an example of preparation in creation. I am a personal testimony of putting the cart before the horse in life. I have done that in major ways that have had major affects. I was just talking tonight about how I am disappointed in some ways about my life. But at the same time, God’s grace in the midst of my failures have been amazing and beyond. I would not change anything in my past because of the graces I have now. But I want to look to the future with the attitude that I want to change that pattern of the past for my future. I need to do things right, with preparation. We should sow the field and get it ready before we build. God’s wisdom shows this in how He first made ready a habitat for the living breathing creatures.
And lastly, from this passage, Henry reminds me that all the benefits we receive from the earth are from God and to His glory. I miss this a lot in my ungrateful habits. But this is a timely reminder to thank God for everything. I have because He has given.
Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.
Matthew Henry: [Observe] “4. That it is good to provide things necessary before we have occasion to use them: before the beasts and man were made, here were grass and herbs prepared for them. God thus dealt wisely and graciously with man; let not man then be foolish and unwise for himself. 5. That God must have the glory of all the benefit we receive from the products of the earth, either for food or physic. It is he that hears the heavens when they hear the earth, Hos. 2:21, 22. And if we have, through grace, an interest in him who is the fountain, when the streams are dried up and the fig-tree doth not blossom we may rejoice in him.
Clay Miller: God did set an example of preparation in creation. I am a personal testimony of putting the cart before the horse in life. I have done that in major ways that have had major affects. I was just talking tonight about how I am disappointed in some ways about my life. But at the same time, God’s grace in the midst of my failures have been amazing and beyond. I would not change anything in my past because of the graces I have now. But I want to look to the future with the attitude that I want to change that pattern of the past for my future. I need to do things right, with preparation. We should sow the field and get it ready before we build. God’s wisdom shows this in how He first made ready a habitat for the living breathing creatures.
And lastly, from this passage, Henry reminds me that all the benefits we receive from the earth are from God and to His glory. I miss this a lot in my ungrateful habits. But this is a timely reminder to thank God for everything. I have because He has given.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Thankful for Believing
April 4, 2010
“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).
Clay Miller: In general, with the exception of the few who “deny” God, the world universally submits to the recognition of a deity. Even with the coming of the atheists savior, ‘evolution’ or ‘naturalism’, the world confusedly intermingles the two ideas. The force of this truth is so strong in everyone that they try to vent it in objects or ideas. Even atheists believe in something better, they just make it an idealogy. Like I said, no atheist comes to my post without a knowledge of the idea of God. It is universal. And it is universal because it is evident. The evidence of God is older than us. It is settled and we are vapors. And yet the fight will go on. But I am thankful tonight for God freeing me from denying Him. I would have always denied Him had He not made a way for me to be forgiven in Christ and if He Himself had not changed my mind. More later…
“The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).
Stephen Charnock: If there were not this sentiment of a Deity, no man would ever have made an image of a piece of wood, worshipped it, prayed to it, and said, “Deliver me, for thou art my God…”They applied a general notion to a particular image. The difference is in the manner, and immediate object of worship, not in the formal ground of worship. The worship sprung from a true principle, though it was not applied to a right object: while they were rational creatures, they could not deface the notion; yet while they were corrupt creatures it was not difficult to apply themselves to a wrong object from a true principle. A blind man knows he hath a way to go as well as one of the clearest sight; but because of his blindness he may miss the way and stumble into a ditch. No man would be imposed upon to take a Bristol stone instead of a diamond, if he did not know that there were such things as diamonds in the world: nor any man spread forth his hands to an idol, if he were altogether without the sense of a Deity. Whether it be a false or a true God men apply to, yet in both, the natural sentiment of a God is evidenced; all their mistakes were grafts inserted in this stock, since they would multiply gods rather than deny a Deity.
How should such a general submission be entered into by all the world, so as to adore things of a base alloy, if the force of religion were not such, that in any fashion a man would seek the satisfaction of his natural instinct to some object of worship? This great diversity confirms this consent to be a good argument, for it evidenceth it not to be a cheat, combination or conspiracy to deceive, or a mutual intelligence, but every one finds it in his climate, yea in himself. People would never have given the title of a God to men or brutes had there not been a pre-existing and unquestioned persuasion, that there was such a being;—how else should the notion of a God come into their minds?—the notion that there is a God must be more ancient.
Clay Miller: In general, with the exception of the few who “deny” God, the world universally submits to the recognition of a deity. Even with the coming of the atheists savior, ‘evolution’ or ‘naturalism’, the world confusedly intermingles the two ideas. The force of this truth is so strong in everyone that they try to vent it in objects or ideas. Even atheists believe in something better, they just make it an idealogy. Like I said, no atheist comes to my post without a knowledge of the idea of God. It is universal. And it is universal because it is evident. The evidence of God is older than us. It is settled and we are vapors. And yet the fight will go on. But I am thankful tonight for God freeing me from denying Him. I would have always denied Him had He not made a way for me to be forgiven in Christ and if He Himself had not changed my mind. More later…
Friday, April 2, 2010
Aseity
April 2, 2010
Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.
Clay Miller: It is interesting how day 1 correlates with day four with light being created and on day 4 light-bearing objects. Day 2 correlates to day 5 in that the firmament was created and the seas, and day 5 filled the firmament with birds and those seas with life. And day 3 here, God creates land and vegetation, correlating with day 6 in which God fills the land with living creatures.
One of the wonders of God is His self-existence. This is also known as the aseity of God. He has no cause. He has always existed (eternal). He is the only being as such. This is one reason there can be no other God and why no one ever can become a god. Part of the definition of God is His aseity and His eternality.
Being God, He is the First Cause of creation. In creating He established a system in which second causes work to continue reproduction of plants and animals and humanity. He oversees it all in His providence and decrees. This too sets God apart as God. Only He has no need for other causes or laws to create. All of this is created from Himself as the source. So when you look at the waters, the earth, the vegetation, the reproductive systems…remember the Creator!
Genesis 1:9-13
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13So the evening and the morning were the third day.
Matthew Henry: “[Observe] 3. That though God, ordinarily, makes use of the agency of second causes, according to their nature, yet he neither needs them nor is tied to them; for, though the precious fruits of the earth are usually brought forth by the influences of the sun and moon…
Deuteronomy 33:14
With the precious fruits of the sun, With the precious produce of the months,
…yet here we find the earth bearing a great abundance of fruit, probable ripe fruit, before the sun and moon were made.
Clay Miller: It is interesting how day 1 correlates with day four with light being created and on day 4 light-bearing objects. Day 2 correlates to day 5 in that the firmament was created and the seas, and day 5 filled the firmament with birds and those seas with life. And day 3 here, God creates land and vegetation, correlating with day 6 in which God fills the land with living creatures.
One of the wonders of God is His self-existence. This is also known as the aseity of God. He has no cause. He has always existed (eternal). He is the only being as such. This is one reason there can be no other God and why no one ever can become a god. Part of the definition of God is His aseity and His eternality.
Being God, He is the First Cause of creation. In creating He established a system in which second causes work to continue reproduction of plants and animals and humanity. He oversees it all in His providence and decrees. This too sets God apart as God. Only He has no need for other causes or laws to create. All of this is created from Himself as the source. So when you look at the waters, the earth, the vegetation, the reproductive systems…remember the Creator!
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