A French astronomer speaking to a group of intellects proudly declared, “I’ve swept the universe with my telescope, and I find no God. I’ve searched the skies for years but can find Him nowhere. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that there is no God.”

Following him a humble, but world-renowned violinist came to the stage and said, “Your statement, dear sir, is just as foolish as for me to say, ‘I have searched inside my violin with a microscope to find a musician and I could not find one.’ Because there is music, Sir, there must be a musician.”

 And because there is a creation, he concluded, there must be a Creator!

David declares that God has revealed Himself in and through nature. In nature we learn about His power and greatness and our insignificance and finiteness. As God reveals Himself through Scripture, we learn about His holiness and our sinfulness. As God reveals Himself through our daily experiences, we learn about His grace and graciousness that frees us of our sin and guilt.

We are surrounded by God’s greatness that we see in His many magnificent displays in nature. But the greatest display that we see of God is in His work of love, grace, mercy, salvation and hope. What more evidence do we need to have than our salvation or the healing of a loved one?

Prayer:  Thank you, Father, for not only making Yourself known to us, but for providing our salvation, the answers to our prayers and the hope of being with You. In the Name of Jesus’ Amen.

Scripture For Today:   The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Psalms 19:1

Life, more often than not, seems to be determined by “boundaries.” While many are set for us by others, we often set them for ourselves. These boundaries separate the rich from the poor, educated from uneducated; railroad tracks that separate the impoverished from those living in mansions, hippies from the elite. If there is some way to establish a boundary to make one group “better” or “different” or “weirder” than another group someone, sooner than later, will discover it.

Fortunately for us, God has no favorites nor does He recognize any boundaries. “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is Maker of them all,” wrote Solomon. The Hebrew word for “common” conveys the meaning that “everyone meets or stands together” before God - their Creator and Sustainer.

We each have our own particular way of looking at others. We tend to look at them through various lenses. Sometimes we “clump” them together and label them by color or class or creed. Even though we are advised not to “profile” anyone for any reason, we do it automatically even though we have been warned against doing so. Right or wrong, it is a convenient way to classify someone and “set them aside” or reach out to them.

No doubt the way we see and respond to others has developed over the years. It depends on our education and the experiences we have had in life as well as the influence of our family and friends. We like people who are like us and avoid people who are different from us. But thank God He is not like us. He will not reject any person for any reason. He is the “Maker” of us all and His Son, our Redeemer and Savior said, that “whoever believes in Me shall not perish but have eternal life!” The “whoever” includes each of us.

Prayer:  Thank You, Lord, for Your love that includes everyone. Thank You for making Your salvation available to everyone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 22:2 Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.

God has planted evidence of His existence on the pages of history, in the handiwork of nature and the beauty of the skies above us. We read of His faithfulness to care for His people from the beginning of recorded history to this very moment. We find nourishment for our bodies tucked away in plants, animals and minerals. Sailors find directions in the stars He hung in the heavens as they sail from one country to another. Wherever we look, we can find God’s fingerprint on the planet or a signpost that directs to His dwelling above us.
Yet, it takes a willingness to see Him, an open mind to search for Him, a sensitive heart to accept Him and a selfless life to follow Him.

Even those who do not want to believe in Him, use the minds He gave them to try to deny His existence. The arguments they offer and the logic they use, in the final analysis, came from His grace. When we look at all the gods that have been created by man, not one of them has stood the test of time. They last only as long as their creator and then pass into the darkness of emptiness.

But the Creator, the God who is God, spoke through a Psalmist and said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day…and night after night…there is no language where their voice is not heard.”

Man may speak and argue, lecture and labor, write and work to erase the existence of God, but there is no way they can reach into the heavens and hide the stars.

Prayer: Thank You, God, our Creator, for making Your existence visible to those who desire to know and love You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Years ago a man who had difficulty believing that God created the universe stopped by my brother’s office for a visit. As he was sitting there, he noticed his new electric typewriter. After typing a few lines and watching the little ball swirl around and identify the letters of the alphabet that he wanted, he asked, “Where did this amazing machine come from?”

Remembering that he was an atheist, Michael replied, “Oh, a friend of mine just threw a bunch of bars and bolts, guides and keys, nuts and rollers, screws and springs and some toner stuff into a bucket, shook it for a minute or two, turned it upside down and out came this ‘creation.’”

“O.K., Preacher, I get it,” he admitted. “What you’re telling me is that just as there had to be someone design and put the typewriter together, there must have been Someone to design and put the universe together.”

There are many who argue for or against the existence of God. The Bible, however, does not. It simply states that “God is.” In Psalm 102:25 we read, “In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.” This obviously means that God “was” before anything existed and that the heavens and earth are the work of His hands. Creation is finite and transitory but our God is not. As Peter reminds us “in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

Prayer: We rejoice, Lord, for Your promise that one day we will live with You in the “home of righteousness.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Scripture for Today: Psalm 102:25-26 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.

Returning to earth after several orbital circles in outer space, a Russian cosmonaut proudly boasted, “I looked everywhere, but I didn’t see God.” That statement made me wonder what evidence would have been acceptable to him to prove that there is a God. Paul once wrote, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen.”

The eye, our “window to the world,” seems to be a very special part of God’s creation. But before the eye was formed, in His unfathomable wisdom a process was set in motion: “Let there be light!” He ordered. For us to see anything light must be reflected off of an object to form a “picture” or the eye is useless.

Before God created our eyes He prepared a special place for them: He formed the bones of the skull to give them a safe place to do their work. He then fashioned our eyelids to keep out dirt and dust and made eyebrows to keep glaring light from damaging them. Finally He developed a lubricating process to keep our eyes moist and clean by causing tears to flow.

Finally, there is the cornea. It allows rays of light to pass through the iris and form a scene in our brain. And here the process becomes complete: Our brain takes what we see and enables us to make sense of God’s creation, love and salvation through His word.

“Seeing” God, however, takes more than the eye. “If you search for Me with all your heart, you’ll find Me.”

Prayer:  Open our hearts, Father, as well as our eyes to discover Your beauty and majesty, love and salvation. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 94:9b Does he who formed the eye not see?

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God!” Do they really? When the writer looks into the heavens does he really believe that He can see God? Does he see an outline of God in a constellation? Are there stars shining somewhere that actually point to God’s eternal residence?

No. This psalm, more than any other, reflects the beauty, splendor and handiwork of God. He is speaking of the revelation of God in the world of nature. His belief in God as Creator is not an argument against the theory of evolution or the problems of science and the Bible. For him, Creation reveals the Lord’s royal majesty, sovereignty, power and design. He simply declares God’s existence and presence and wants to praise Him in worship and wonder.

We see God’s glory each morning when we are awakened by a majestic sunrise that erupts from the darkness of the night. We see His handiwork each time we look into the face of a rose, watch a bird in flight or see the crashing of waves. All of creation clearly and convincingly announces the greatness and glory of God.

This Psalm reveals a God who communicates to us through the majesty of His creation. The fact that He speaks openly to us through the work of His hands is a gracious expression of His love and His desire for us to know and worship Him. Although sin has attempted to hide His glory it is still with us and cannot be denied!

Prayer: How great You are, O Lord, our Creator and Redeemer, our source of hope and eternal life. We thank You for our salvation and making Yourself known to us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

The Bible does not present any proof for the existence of God. It simply declares that God exists and that only a fool denies that fact.

The verse, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” is perhaps one of the best-known verses in the Bible. However, many people today would say, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is a God.’” Atheism has become a religion and many individuals and countries base their way of life on the denial of any supernatural being.

To prove the existence of God some would ask us to consider “cause and effect” as a reason to believe in a God. Every effect, they argue, demands a cause - or if there is a creation there had to be a Creator.

Some offer the argument of “being.” Man has the idea that a perfect being exists somewhere or some place. Where did that come from? Certainly not from ourselves because we know we are imperfect. So, it had to come from a Perfect Being - therefore, God is!

Others claim the moral argument. We have a voice inside of us that says, “Thou shalt” and at times, “Thou shalt not.” Certainly these are not man-made, they say, but God-given. So, there must be a “Moral-Ruler” hence, God.

Is it wise to try to prove that “God is” with an argument? We can debate that issue forever.

Would it not be better to live a Christ-filled life that demonstrates the difference that only He can make?

Prayer: Help us, Lord, to live God-honoring lives and show others that You are alive and well by what we do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 14:1 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.

A French astronomer speaking to a group of intellects proudly declared, “I’ve swept the universe with my telescope and I find no God. I’ve searched the skies for years but can find Him nowhere. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that there is no God.”

Following him a humble, but world renowned violinist came to the stage and said, “Your statement, dear sir, is just as foolish as for me to say, ‘I have searched inside my violin with a microscope to find a musician and I could not find one.’ Because there is music, Sir, there must be a musician.”

And because there is a creation, he concluded, there must be a Creator!

David declares that God has revealed Himself in and through nature. In nature we learn about His power and greatness and our insignificance and finiteness. As God reveals Himself through Scripture, we learn about His holiness and our sinfulness. As God reveals Himself through our daily experiences, we learn about His grace and graciousness that frees us of our sin and guilt.

We are surrounded by God’s greatness that we see in His many magnificent displays in nature. But the greatest display that we see of God is in His work of love, grace, mercy, salvation and hope. What more evidence do we need to have than our salvation or the healing of a loved one?

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for not only making Yourself known to us, but for providing our salvation, the answers to our prayers and the hope of being with You. In the Name of Jesus’ Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

One day the Abbotts were watching the morning news. After observing one tragic event after another, Jon turned to his wife and said, “You know, I could make a better world than this one.”
Turning to him she politely said, “Why don’t you?”

We read in Genesis that God “looked over all that He made, and He saw that it was excellent in every way.” Every small detail that God brought into existence was the way He intended it to be - excellent. From placing light in the sky and fish in the sea; land for farmers to grow crops and people to enjoy; and the sun and moon and stars to govern days and nights and seasons; and fish and birds and animals for man’s enjoyment, use and nourishment - even men and women were created without flaw. It was all perfect.

But then through man - the triumph of His creation - sin entered the world and all that was the way He wanted it to be was ruined. Satan entered His creation and brought destruction and death.

Any goodness in us or in the world is of God. He is the source of light and life, grace and goodness, peace and purity. And it is only as we let God through Christ, Who is Lord, rule and reign in our lives that we can become good and do good for God and reclaim His work.

Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Prayer: Help us, Father, do Your work in Your world as we surrender our lives to Your will. May we make the world better through Your Son, our Savior. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Genesis 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.