Our Marvelous Creator

Recently I was impressed by the amount of consideration and detail which goes into the customising of a Rolls Royce automobile.  According to a video by Business Insider, there are 44,000 colour options and your customised colour becomes your own.  Expertly handcrafted inside and out, a Rolls Royce is a luxury ride just over 5,000 people purchase a year.  One person had the dashboard to reflect their DNA, and another decided the fibre-optic lighting in the "starline headliner" to match a constellation of stars on the day he was born.  The video went into the effort made to make the stitching of letters and images of roses pop.

When I watched this video, what I found more impressive than the cost of a Rolls Royce was the thought, engineering, and effort put into building a car that reflects the owner.  I can't help but turn my thoughts to the Creator of the universe man can only copy:  God is the One who put DNA in every living cell of our bodies, the One who spoke the stars into existence, has given us His Word, and causes flowers and all living things to grow and reproduce after their own kind.  It would be a joke to suggest a car could create or design itself, and I cannot look at a human being or the ordered, beauty of creation and imagine it accidentally came into being.  Words like design, engineered, work, planning, and expense indicate an intelligent mind, and the living things microscopic and enormous which teem on our planet are infinitely more complex and wonderful than anything made by man.

As I was taking a walk the other day, I noticed a bird feather lying on the green grass.  It occurred to me that when I was a child I would have viewed that feather as a special treasure, picked it up, and taken it home.  I had seen birds before but had never been able to touch one:  to hold and examine the feather closely was fun.  I brushed it across my skin and dropped it to see how it fell.  I noticed how light it was, how the shaft was hollow, the expertly blended colours and how different the fluffy down was from the barbs which stuck together.  As adults we see our child picking up feathers and discourage them:  "Eww, don't touch that!  It's covered in germs!"  But the child has it right.  He recognised the feather of a bird was not grass and that it was special.  Isn't it ironic a person can value a car because of the customised features and work that goes into it yet miss the capacity for such innovation and skill are gifts from God?

Psalm 19:1-3 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. ² Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. ³ There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."  The sun, moon, and stars speak forth the glory of God, yet none of them were created in the image of God like a human being.  God has given people the capacity of thought with a will, the ability to reason, love, a thirst for knowledge, and a delight in discovery.  We are notorious for our tendency to worship the creature over the Creator, to be temporarily pleased with a gift rather than eternally celebrating our Creator.  Psalm 8:3-6 says, "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, ⁴ What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? ⁵ For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. ⁶ You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet..."  Let us never lose the wonder of our great God and Saviour, the One from whom all good things come.  He is the One we should always marvel over.

Be Ready!

I recently viewed a video of pastor Jay McCarl and it is a great explanation and exhortation from scripture.  As Jay spoke of "this" generation I was reminded of Proverbs 30:12-14:  "There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed from its filthiness. ¹³ There is a generation--oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. ¹⁴ There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and whose fangs are like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men."  I believe this is a good description of a generation I have seen in my lifetime.

No one knows the day or the hour of Christ's coming, but we know for certain He is coming.  He is coming at an hour when unbelievers will not expect it!  2 Peter 3:1-7 reminds all who have ears to hear, "Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³ knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." ⁵ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

Life continues as it always has until suddenly, unexpectedly, it stops.  People who die in house fires, who are buried under debris by earthquakes, or perish in a car accident likely didn't wake up that morning with the knowledge they had less than 24 hours to live.  No one knows the time of Christ's return, but we should be watchful.  It is a wise man who knows the signs of the times, but a wiser man still who seeks reconciliation with God and being born again through the Gospel.  Those who scoff and continue in unbelief without receiving salvation through repentance and trusting Jesus Christ face certain destruction and ultimate suffering in the lake of fire for eternity.  Take it from Jesus:  be ready!

Give God the Credit

I saw an advertisement today about a new iphone.  Apple promotes this product as a ingenious marvel of design, perfectly fitting in the human hand.  The thing I find highly ironic about this commercial is we marvel over advances in modern technology but miss the timeless engineering of the human hand!  What is harder to create:  an ergonomically designed phone, or a hand to effectively use the phone?  There is no way a glass and metallic box of circuits and a battery is more complex than a hand created by God.  The voice over in the ad says concerning the customised screen, "That's either an amazing coincidence, or a dazzling display of common sense.  Pretty sure it's the common sense thing."  Obviously.

Without God, there would be no common sense.  No logical sense comes out of sheer randomness.  No operative systems manage to develop either in the government or in the human body without the control of intelligent beings.  No ordered chains of information arise from nothing.  Books do not write themselves.  Life cannot come from non-life.  Chemicals, not even when carefully mixed and treated in laboratories by the best scientists the world can muster, have ever yielded a single living cell.  If you were to come across an iphone or even a memory stick without ever seeing one before, it would be obvious even to a child that it is a device made by man for a purpose.  When I see a human being, animals, the stars, waterfalls, flowers, and bees, my reason refuses to accept that they are merely accidents or randomly generated beauty.  I give credit to God for creating all I see, for the Bible affirms that without Him nothing was made that is made.

Did you know that your thumbprint is like none other in the whole world?  Factories churn out millions of identical iphones, but God created only one of you.  He loves you and made you as a unique creation according to His design.  It is His delight when the people He creates rejoice in the things He has made and recognise it as the handiwork of an awesome God and worship Him.  A fingerprint on a touch-screen can identify one person in the world, and God's fingerprints are all over us!  Let's give credit where credit is due!

What Really Matters

It's funny what we can find important.  In the ad, "the whole world" was watching the unblinking woman, pulling for her to claim the world record for the longest time without blinking.  People react as she survives close calls.  There is an absurd sense that those who watched either won or lost vicariously through this woman's strong effort to keep her eyes open.  Though the woman falls short of her goal, to me there was a satisfying conclusion.  All this media coverage, hoopla, anticipation, and heartbreak was generated over something that in the light of eternity didn't matter one bit.

We can be caught up in so many things that affect our attitudes, emotions, and outlook that are pointless from an eternal perspective.  In rugby, a man who kicks the ball wide of the posts is a failure, but the one who places the ball with downward pressure beyond the try line is a hero.  A man who runs the wrong direction on a gridiron pitch is a laughing stock (Jim Marshall once scored a safety for the 49ers with great enthusiasm).  A man who hits baseballs over the fence fair will make millions more than one who always hits them just foul.  Our lives are full of arbitrary events that can make us laugh, smile, cheer, or get angry with frustration.  It's good for us to step back and look at the big picture:  what does it really matter if my team wins or loses?  Who cares if someone keeps their eyes open for 16 hours without blinking?  What does it matter if I secure the big contract at work?  Does it really matter if I have the office with a better view of the city?  What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

Isaiah 40:8 reads, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."  The glory of young men is their strength, but men do not stay young forever.  A day will come when that same man will glory in his silver hair and potbelly!  An athlete who wins a gold medal in the Olympics one year may not even qualify to return four years later.  All-Pro gridiron stars make millions one season, and the next they might be working as a bricklayer.  Our lives are constantly changing, but God and His Word will remain unchanged forever.  God's love, grace, mercy, and justice will always remain the same.  Every year a new Guinness Book of World Records is reprinted because so many changes have occurred.  But God's Word and His promises never change.

Instead of placing our attitudes and affections at the mercy of the ebbing tide of worldly affairs, let our lives be founded upon Jesus Christ.  Those who hear the words of Christ and heed them are compared to a wise man who built His house upon a rock.  When the winds blew, when the rain fell, when his team lost, when the lady blinked, the man who makes Christ his foundation remains steadfast, immovable, always abounding in labour for the glory of God.  Christianity is a life built for eternity.  Only Jesus provides us with a life that really matters!

Power of a Dream

During my second of three trips to Australia, I witnessed Jessica Watson embark on a voyage intending to circle the globe unassisted.  It was yesterday I saw the news clip on cnn.com she successfully returned to the Sydney harbour after 210 days at sea.  Jessica was welcomed by thousands of people at the Opera house and was cheered by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd himself.  When called a hero by some of her admirers, she humbly brushed aside the title.  She said in her speech, "I don't consider myself a hero.  I'm an ordinary girl who believed in her dream...you just have to have a dream, believe in it, and work hard...anything really is possible."

First of all, I must say I am quite impressed by Jessica's accomplishments.  To sail a 34' yacht around the world unassisted is amazing.  Not being a sailor I wonder things like, "What happens when you fall asleep?" or "What kind of non-perishable food was she eating for 210 days?"  I am also impressed by her resolve to spend such an amount of her life during her high school days to sail - maybe she's looking at is as an early "gap" year.  For those who are unfamiliar with the term, it is common for young Australians to take a year off between high school and university for travel, recreation, or a break from the stress of school.  In America this is unheard of and clashes with our high value we place on production in the workplace, college education, and quick career decisions.

I am also impressed with Jessica's humility in not desiring to be seen as a heroine.  The only thing lacking in her statements is the mention of God and giving Him glory for her accomplishment of her goals.  I thought about what she said concerning the empowerment of young people to accomplish their dreams:  "You just have to have a dream, believe in it, and work hard."  Is that really the path to success?  Not many people have the opportunity to sail a boat, much less have a 34' yacht outfitted to sail around the world.  I have seen countless people who desire to be an "American Idol" and worked really hard and frankly are lousy at best.  How many kids dream of being a professional baseball player or star quarterback in the NFL and never realize that goal?  Did they work any less hard?  Was it only the lack of privilege, skill, hard work, or the fact their dreams reached far beyond their own potential to fulfill?  Sailing around the world involves a terrific amount of training, dedication, and hard work.  Jessica Watson was able to fulfill this dream of hers through the grace of God, the training and equipment provided by her parents and sponsors, and refusing to give up.

How does this philosophy help a child born blind who dreams to one day see again?  Almost on a weekly basis I talk with a woman who has never been able to walk because of a physical deformity.  Her dream is to walk, but no amount of hard work, effort, training, or medical treatment can make this dream come true.  The fact is, some dreams are far above our ability to obtain through any means.  It is only God who puts in our hearts a wild, impossible kind of dream and fulfills it by His grace, mercy, and power.  That a man could live forever in heaven with his Creator!  No more pain, no more sorrow, no sin, sickness, or death!  This is not an impossible dream but a reality for those who are born again by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  No amount of hard work can aid a man in obtaining heaven.  I am not saying that everyone born blind will be made to physically see again (even though Jesus opened the physical eyes of many) but God will grant the desires of His children's hearts because He put those there.

Whenever the deeds of men are lifted up, man boasts against the God who created him.  The people who united to build a great tower intended to reach heaven were easily confounded by the One who saw the pride in their hearts.  Their dreams fell into ruin when God confused the people by changing languages.  The tower was called Babel, which literally means "confusion."  Man's best efforts come to nothing when attempting to fulfill our heavenly dreams.  I have an uncle who was fond of saying, "If your mind can conceive it and your heart can believe it, you can achieve it."  Sometimes this is true, for the conception must precede the action.  But there are some dreams God has placed upon our hearts which only He can do.  The dream has no power in itself to make it come to fruition.  With men things are impossible, but with God all things are possible!

Father Appreciation

This Sunday I caught some of the Broncos/Colts football game.  The game was played in Indianapolis and the dome stadium was packed with fans wearing blue and white.  In a losing effort, Brandon Marshall had a record-setting game during which he caught 21 passes and scored two touchdowns.  After his first touchdown, Brandon gave the touchdown ball to a Bronco fan in the stands wearing a bright orange #15 Marshall jersey.  It was moving to see the appreciation of the woman who received the prize ball, clearly overcome with emotion.  I am no Bronco fan but I thought it was a classy and gracious thing to do.

The thought struck me:  see how excited people can be over a piece of inflated leather with letters stamped on it.  Am I as outwardly thankful and appreciative as the fan who received the touchdown ball with the gifts my Heavenly Father has given to me?  Am I overcome with emotion as I consider eternal salvation, joy, love, and forgiveness freely given by my flawless Savior to a flawed man like me?  That football will catch fire when a flame is put to it.  It can be lost, stolen, deflated, cut, cracked, scuffed, and scratched.  But what our great God and Savior has given us by His grace cannot be compared with a football.

Brandon Marshall singled out a fan wearing his team jersey, but Jesus singled me out and offered me the gift of salvation when I was an enemy of His.  God does not want fans but friends.  He wants people who receive His gifts as a little child on Christmas or like a grown woman on the sidelines whose dream of somehow owning a Brandon Marshall touchdown ball has just come true.  My appreciation of God ought to be great and obvious to all.  I ought to be moved with emotion when I consider what my Savior has done for me, and God forgive these often dry eyes! 

The word "appreciation" is interesting because it speaks not only of gratitude and thankfulness.  It also entails the "act of estimating the quality and value of things."  Another meaning of appreciation is "an increase in the value of something."  Is your appreciation of God appreciating?  May we value the love, grace, and mercy of God and appreciate who God is and the wonderful things He has done.

Furyball!

During my time in AUS, I've had a lot of unique experiences.  Today I ate kangaroo and crocodile for the first time, and experienced a game that I have to shake my head with a smile and say, "Only in OZ!"  It's called Furyball, and I made a video to share a little slice of country life in Canberra.  Enjoy the action!

Dinner at the Landman's

For a little change of pace, I put together a video about spare ribs, a Landman specialty.  The taste of South Africa in Australia!  Dinner was a special treat, and there were "Ribs for All!"  I thank God for the Landman family and for his remarkable provision. 

The Big Pineapple!

I joined the Landman family on a special trip up north of Brisbane to "The Big Pineapple."  I put together a video about the trip, where you can see everything from the inside of the Big Pineapple (and no, we did not find Sponge Bob!), the Nutmobile, and you can even learn how to grow your own pineapples like a real Aussie!

They also have some terrific animals on exhibit, including koalas and kangaroos.  Follow this link to see us feeding and interacting with some of Australia's most famous wildlife!