Be Useful

Just becasue life is getting busy, I am cutting out the Charnock Study and will just do Matthew Henry. Also from time to time I will post other things, like my videos, and other things I tackle. Here is the latest:

June 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.

Matthew Henry: Now these lights are said to rule (v. 16, 18); not that they have a supreme dominion, as God has, but they are deputy-governors, rulers under him. Here the less light, the moon, is said to rule the night; but in Ps. 136:9 the stars are mentioned as sharers in that government…

Psalm 136:9
the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;…The moon and stars to rule by night. No more is meant than that they give light…

Jeremiah 31:35
Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar-- the LORD of hosts is his name:
…The best and most honourable way of ruling is by giving light and doing good: those command respect that live a useful life, and so shine as lights.

Clay Miller: God gives two ways at least in Scripture of the purpose of the sun, moon and stars. They are to rule. They are to give light. There giving light is their ruling. Henry here connects our spiritual life with the ruling of these lights…but in what since do we rule? The closest connection I can think of off hand is Romans 5:17…

Romans 5:17
For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Death reigned over me through Adam’s sin. I received the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness through Jesus. I will reign in life. Jon Gill says of this passage:

“in corporeal life, they are not now subject to death as a penal evil, as other persons are, and though they die this death, they will triumph over it in the resurrection morn, they will rise again to everlasting life; they reign now in spiritual life over sin, Satan, and the world; and they will reign in eternal life, they will sit on thrones, wear crowns, and possess a kingdom of glory for ever and ever; and all by and through one, Jesus Christ, and not on account of any works, or merits of theirs.

…I am subject to death but not in a penal sense anymore. I will be resurrected with Jesus. So I in that sense now reign over death rather than death reigning over me. I have this life that accomplishes this. So Henry would say, shine! Be useful and shine the truth of God wherever you go.

Common Questions: If Jesus is God then Why Would He Pray to Himself?

Common Question: If Jesus is God, then was He praying to Himself when He prayed? Who was He praying to on the cross when He said, “MY God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Was He praying to Himself? Was He complaining to Himself about why He had forsaken Himself?

1. This is a question that betrays ignorance of the Trinity. For a little article explaining the consistency of the Trinity see http://claybobbilukedoggg.blogspot.com/2010/01/jesus-is-god.html. No Jesus was not praying to Himself. Jesus was praying to the Father, also known as the first Person of the Trinity. Jesus would be the 2nd Person of the Trinity. They are distinct in Persons. They are one in the Being they share.
2. This question assumes Modalism, or Sabbelianism. This is the heresy that teaches that God is one Person who acts in different modes. The idea is He acts in modes as we do. I am a dad, a son and a brother. So they say this is what God does in being the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One major problem with this error is exactly what this question emphasizes, namely that a person who is different things to different people does not hold conversations with his different modes. I do not say “Clay the dad, can you help me fix the car?” and answer, “Well, Clay the son, I would love to.” I do not dialogue with myself like this and neither does God.
3. Jesus accomplished many things by taking on humanity. One was that He set the perfect example of how every human being should live, but does not live. He set an example and provided His righteousness as a substitute for our sins, those of us who believe. So His crying out was an example. His praying was human obedience as it should be. He fulfilled the law we could not fulfill. He submitted to the Father to display what we should do. It was His role in redemption.
4. So the answer is no. He was praying to God the Father, not God the Son (Himself). Once again, this argument is a straw man argument against Christianity. It misrepresents what Christianity teaches about the nature of God.

Luke's RBI...His Team Finishes In First...still one game left

My Family at the Zoo looking at monkeys which descended from monkeys and nothing else :)

Two RBI's

Another Hit

Big hit

008.AVI

007.AVI

Real Stars or Artificial Stars.

June 16, 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.

Matthew Henry: “(3.) He made the stars also, which are here spoken of as they appear to vulgar eyes, without distinguishing between the planets and the fixed stars, or accounting for their number, nature, place, magnitude, motions, or influences; for the scriptures were written, not to gratify our curiosity and make us astronomers, but to lead us to God, and make us saints.”

Clay Miller: This is such a succinct statement… “He made the stars also”. No big deal…to God. But it is a real big deal to our puny achievements. Last night I went outside and looked at the stars. Those stars were placed there by God. It is awesome to think that Adam and Eve looked on those same stars as I am. They have been up there witnessing every human life and event from day 1 of humanity!

The Bible is not an astronomy book. We say it is inerrant and infallible and the sole rule of faith for our lives. But we do not say that it contains all truth. There is much to discover scientifically, much that has been discovered. But what we discover will always line up with God’s Scripture because the same God who wrote the Scriptures created the world and all that is in it. I was thinking about the magnitude of the stars…two posts back I wrote about our star, the sun. We call people stars who for whatever reason are popular from some talent. They are stars because they can act, sing, model, play a sport or whatever. Compare their stardom to the sun alone, a small star. They are nothing. Yet people scream and pass out if a man or woman star merely glances at them or “graces” them with their presence. And the sun and night stars? They rarely even acknowledge they are there. They even more rarely stand in awe of the God who created such superstars of creation. So take some time to take your eyes off artificial stars and look at the stars above. You may find yourself in awe of their Creator so much so that the self-ascribed stars won’t be that much of a big deal anymore. You will certainly see that the stars we “create” are as nothing compared to God’s power to create

The Amazing Moon and Its Origin

June 15, 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.

Matthew Henry: “(2.) The moon is a less light, and yet is here reckoned one of the greater lights, because though, in regard to its magnitude and borrowed light, it is inferior to many of the stars, yet, by virtue of its office, as ruler of the night, and in respect of its usefulness to the earth, it is more excellent than they. Those are most valuable that are most serviceable; and those are the greater lights, not that have the best gifts, but that humbly and faithfully do the most good with them. Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, Mt. 20:26.

Clay Miller: I love how Matthew Henry can take a passage on nature and apply it to life in a fair way. Be like the moon and reflect God’s light. Serve. It will make you shine brighter than desiring to be served or being served. Per capita, are you using your gifts more than those who have more gifts?

The moon is another phenomenal entity. Its diameter is more than a fourth of the earths but it is larger than Pluto. When the sun is directly shining on it, it can be over 215 degrees Fahrenheit. It can dip to –243 degrees F. when the sun is not shining directly on it. It orbits the earth elliptically sometimes as close as 221,000 miles away (perigee) and sometimes as far away as 252,000 (apogee).It completes a full orbit around the earth every 27.3 days and travels a million and ½ miles a month.

We always will see the same side of the moon. If you stood on the moon, the earth would always be the same place in the sky. Depending on how much of the moon is facing the sun, the face side we see will be full or barely seen. Lunar phases depend on the position of the sun and earth. The moon basically has no atmosphere. If you stood on the moon, the sky would always be black even in full daylight.

The moon is crucial for sustaining our environment. Ocean tides are the result of the moon’s gravitational pull. The earth actually bulges toward and away from the moon affecting the water level of the oceans. As the earth rotates on its axis, the bulges move across the earth. This is why there are two high and low tides each day. So, along with the sun, the moon’s gravity has a great affect on the earth’s tidal ebb and flow. These tides are absolutely vital to the balance of earth’s ecosystems.

How did the moon form then? Natural processes? Split from the earth billions of years ago after earth was hit by a Mars sized object? Formed elsewhere and just captured by the earth’s gravitational pull? Formed along with the earth as some kind of double planet? These are what evolutionists want you to believe. But none are feasible. Minerals have been found on the moon that are unknown on earth. So this undermines the earth and moon being one body that split. The sad thing is, over 20 billion dollars has been spent by scientists trying to figure out how the moon “evolved”. How did it form? Genesis 1 tells us…God simply created it and placed it in its most serviceable place.

My 100th Post! God Made the Sun!

June 11, 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.

Matthew Henry: “II. In particular, v. 16–18. 1. Observe, The lights of heaven are the sun, moon, and stars; and all these are the work of God’s hands. (1.) The sun is the greatest light of all, more than a million times greater than the earth, and the most glorious and useful of all the lamps of heaven, a noble instance of the Creator’s wisdom, power, and goodness, and an invaluable blessing to the creatures of this lower world. Let us learn from Ps. 19:1-6 how to give unto God the glory due unto his name, as the Maker of the sun.

Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, 5which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. 6Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

Clay Miller: I shared some of this before but the sun is 865,000 miles in diameter. That is about 109 X the diameter of the earth. Its volume is 1.3 million times greater than the earth. It would take that many earths to fill it! That is near equivalent to filling a bowling ball full of poppy seeds! And the sun is considered a small star. There are stars 1,000 X larger than our sun! So going back to God creating the sun with its hydrogen, helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and .5 percent of some other elements…this is a big deal. It is an extreme emphasis on the power of God! He placed it about 93 million miles in outer space. It takes about 8 and ½ minutes for the sun’s light to reach the earth. So if you see the light of the sunrise at 6:09 a.m., that light left the sun at 6:01 a.m.

The sun has eruptions from time to time. And there are sunspots that appear from time to time as well. These sunspots can cause dramatic weather changes here on earth. Solar flares on the sun are the largest explosions in our solar system. The size of a typical flare is equivalent to several million 100 megaton hydrogen bombs! These can play havoc on earth’s man-made power systems.

Here is another reason you should thank God everyday…If the temperature of the sun, or the brightness of the sun was changed just a few small percentage points…life on earth as we know it would cease. God sustains us in ways that teeter us on the brink of extinction…and yet He won’t let the world be destroyed until His time.