Tag Archives: god

Jul 10 2015

Will the Sun Explode?

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My 5-year-old girl came to me crying today. She had watched YouTube videos with her 8-year-old brother (who is considering becoming an astrophysicist) and became very upset.

She wanted to know what will happen if the Sun and the Earth will collide.  Furthermore, what will happen if and when the Sun turns into a supernova star and explodes. Tears in her eyes, quivering chin, half-spoken words and all… Meantime, the 8-year-old was sitting on the sofa giggling…

Now, what is a daddy supposed to do to fix this problem? Sounds like a theological discussion is in order (as opposed to a scientific one).

I asked her if she believes what the bible says. Big nod as in yes… I asked her if she believes the bible is the word of God.  Again, nodded yes. Right there, half the battle was won.

My super smart girl can read, so I asked her to read two verses from the Scripture.

Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The bible says that all things are held and governed by God, and no catastrophy of such proportions will happen as long as this world stands.  Not only that, but ruling the universe is easy for God to accomplish. He merely has to “speak” it. He upholds the universe together, the galaxies, the solar systems, the massive black holes at the center of our galaxies, and none of them go astray. They follow their orbits and carefully crafted paths as God planned them through Christ.

She was happy with the answer and the big hug from daddy.

But there is a lesson here for adults as well. If we believe in an omnipotent Creator who governs billions of stars, then surely he can take care of his children.  Maybe you are not worried that the sun will explode, but maybe you are worried that your relationship with your spouse or children will explode. Or maybe your financial situation will collapse.

Remember that God is big enough to hold together the biggest black hole which contains the mass of many billion suns.

Trust that your sun will not explode.

image credit: NASA

Jun 24 2013

Do Not Put the LORD to the Test

In Matthew 4:7 Jesus says “You shall not put your God to the test.”

It is a grave sin to tempt God.

It is a grave sin to tempt God by putting Him on the spot and twisting His arm to do something in order to make one’s theology work.

A fanatical faith-healing family ended up committing such a sin leading to the death of their children.

Catherine Schaible and her husband Herbert will be charged with murder as their infant died of pneumonia as a direct result of their stubborn refusal of medical intervention.  Three years ago the same episode happened when this family refused medical help on another child who also died of pneumonia.

The family’s pastor advised them to call for help, but testified that the husband “said if he called anyone, it would be a denial of his faith that God could heal the child.”

We are dealing here with a situation that is very similar to what happened in Exodus 17 when Israel ran out of water in the wilderness.  After all that God has done for them, after numerous miracles and wonders they quarreled with Moses and tempted God.  They tested the LORD by asking “Is the LORD among us or not?” Ex 17:7

In Deut 9:22 the Bible tells us that this testing was actually a provocation: “you provoked the LORD to wrath.”

They put God on the spot with the attitude of You-better-help-us-or-else.  This led to a stern commandment from God in Deut 6:16 which was cited by Jesus as the devil was tempting Him “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”

By refusing antibiotic treatment for their children (on two deadly occasions) this family tempted God.  They were essentially saying we have these modern medications which will heal our children, but we refuse them… we are faith healers and we are making you LORD responsible to do this…

God will not be intimidated by Satan, much less a human.

He is sovereign over all, and His ways are not our ways.  His ways are perfect, and He will not allow Himself to be tested by fanatics who want to prove their theology right.

When we find ourselves in difficult situations, in dilemmas, or in poor health we must lift up humble prayers and allow God to sovereigntly intervene.

And never tempt Him.

Nov 10 2012

The Triune God Revealed in the Old Testament (part 1)

Other than the teaching of salvation by grace thru faith, the doctrine of the Trinity may be the most important doctrine of the Christian faith.  Some theologians would say that it is the primordial doctrine of Christianity.  Wayne Grudem defines it in his Systematic Theology as follows:  “God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God.”

Well known passages in the Old Testament (OT) as well as obscure ones reveal the plurality of the Trinity.

Psalm 110:1 is the most frequently quoted passage from the OT in the New Testament (NT).  Here David receives a tremendous revelation from God to be able to write a glimpse of this amazing intra-Trinitarian conversation:  “The Lord says to my Lord:  “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”  Jesus challenges the Pharisees in Matthew 22:41-46 to understand that David is referring to two separate persons as “Lord” in Psalm 110.  God the Father says to God the Son, “sit at my right hand.”

David’s revelation continues when he writes in Psalm 45:7 “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”  Jesus is the anointed One by the Father when David again reveals the Father and the Son Jesus as God.

The Trinity is also revealed in a less known passage found in Hosea 1:7 “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God.”  God (Elohim) here is speaking about the Lord (Yahweh) who will save Judah.  The Scripture clearly indicates here that two separate persons can be called God and Lord, that is Father and Son.

In the context of God’s plan of redemption, Isaiah 48:16 has amazing trinitarian implications: “And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.”  In NT perspective Jesus is the Messiah the One send by the Father.  It follows that in the redemption context of Isaiah 48, the person “me” in verse 16 send by God is Jesus.  If this verse is spoken by Jesus, and I believe it is given its context, we now have all three persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit mentioned in this verse.   Amazing!

The doctrine of the Trinity is a blessing for us because by understanding it we understand God’s plan of redemption and how each person of the Trinity is involved in each aspect of salvation.  We will never grasp how God can co-exist in three persons and be One God, but if we are to believe the Bible, we must accept this doctrine.  CS Lewis attested its validity when he said that such a doctrine could never be made up by a human mind.  No one could have come up with this type of idea if it wasn’t for the revelation given in the Bible.

to be continued…