Thinking about God, Jesus and The Big Questions

Earlier this year, I read an article on AP News, titled " In wrangling dark matter, some scientists find inspiration in the Torah, Krishna and Christ ". The article, which I encourage you to read in the link given above, talks about how dark matter is still largely a mystery to us. The authors interview physicists working in the field of dark matter, and many (but not all) of these scientists feel that dark matter and faith are complementary to each other, not oppositional. What I particularly liked was that they interviewed physicists of different faiths - not just Christian. The Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhist religions were represented in these interviews. There was no one-size-fits-all answer to the precise details of how each of these scientists viewed how dark matter intersected with their faith. But one common thread in a broad sense was that they each viewed dark matter as simply one part of how the world was created by the deity they believed in. Extending from t...

I had never noticed this before, but on my yearly read through of the Bible, I noticed that the word "Understanding" comes up a lot in the book of Proverbs. This indicates that it is something important. Here are just a few examples: My child, if you accept my words  and treasure up my commandments within you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; if you indeed cry out for insight, and raise your voice for understanding; if you seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasures - then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom;  from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; Proverbs 2: 1-6 Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold. Proverbs 3: 13-14 Wisdom is at home in the mind of one who has understanding, but it is not known in the heart of fools. Proverbs 14: 33 How...

I was considering what was the biggest problem that was getting in the way of people accepting being saved by Jesus. At first, I thought it was selfishness, but then realized that it couldn't be just that, because it's in our own self-interest to be saved!  Certainly there is an element of selfishly wanting to live life on our own terms which might not involve reading the Bible or praying. But still, there must be something other than selfishness - because even with selfishness alone, people would still realize that being saved is in their interests. Eventually, I realized the biggest problem getting in the way of being saved is actually hubris, which means pride. People who don't accept being saved by Jesus may have various reasons or motivations for that. Some might not believe Jesus existed and/or that He was not capable of saving people. Other people might believe they don't need to be saved because they think they're a "good person" - but the pitfall ...

I was thinking about light and darkness, and realized that darkness cannot extinguish light. Yet light can pierce darkness. In a way, this is an analogy for good and evil.  The light of God's word - the good news of Jesus - cannot be extinguished by darkness (i.e. by Satan or by anyone else). Sure, evil can oppress people, but it does not change the fact that once you have heard the good news, you've heard it. Once you accept the gift of eternal salvation, this light cannot be extinguished by darkness . By contrast, light can pierce darkness. A small amount of light is visible in pitch-black surroundings relatively easily. In the same way, the good news can still be spread even in oppressive times and places.  It's actually quite reassuring to realize that a light in the darkness cannot be put out by the fact of the darkness. In other words, light can change darkness but darkness cannot change light.   If you found this post interesting, you might also like these rel...

Having emotions is central to being human. Jesus was the only perfect person to ever live on this planet. He had emotions and was not a robot. We should not be quick to ignore our emotions; they are what makes us human. Jesus is a wonderful example of what it is to be in a human body, yet be free of the imperfections that all of us have. Jesus displayed many emotions during his time on Earth.  One example is when He was angry that the moneylenders were doing business in the temple. He overturned their tables. He was not robotic about it. He was human, yet he had perfect discernment to know that this was the correct thing to do.  Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den of robbers.’ Matthew 21: 12 One big difference between Him an...

The words of the prophet Malachi predicted the arrival of Jesus and John the Baptist. We can see this in the Bible verse below. See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight - indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:1 The messenger mentioned in the verse is John the Baptist, while the Lord is Jesus Christ. Another Old Testament prophet, Zechariah, also predicted Jesus and his piercing, which in hindsight we know happened on the cross. And I will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that, when they look on the one whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10 At the time, without the benefit of hindsight, these words from both prophets must have seemed puzzling and c...

The expectations of society, of the local community, can be a very powerful force. People who do something different to the usual customs in the local area may experience prejudice, criticism and negativity from others around them.  In the case of a new Christian in areas where Christianity is not readily accepted, these new Christians are exposed to a very challenging set of circumstances. Some may have family members who no longer wish to have a relationship with them. Others may experience discrimination in the workplace, socially or in other parts of their lives. As extremely difficult as this is, it can be encouraging to remind ourselves that surely Noah (who was a Jew, the same as everyone else back then) had even more societal pressure. Why? He heard God's call for him to build an ark. His friends and neighbors must have thought he was crazy. And his ark was a very public thing. Even if he had desired to hide it from strangers and just let a few trusted people know about t...