HAS SCIENCE DISCOVERED GOD?
PART TWO
(copied from
Y-Jesus.com)
One-Time Beginning
Since the dawn of civilization man has gazed in awe at the stars, wondering what they are and how they got there. Although on a clear night the unaided human eye can see about 6,000 stars, Hubble and other powerful telescopes indicate that there are trillions of them clustered in over
1 billion galaxies. Our sun is like one grain of sand amidst the world's beaches.
However, prior to the 20th century, the majority of scientists believed that our own Milky Way galaxy was the entire universe, and that only 100 million stars existed.
Most scientists believed that our world never had a beginning. They believed mass, space and energy always existed.
But in the early 20th century, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the universe is expanding. Rewinding the process mathematically, he calculated that everything in the universe, including matter, energy, space and even time itself, actually had a beginning.
Shockwaves rang loudly throughout the scientific community. Many scientists, including Einstein, reacted negatively. In what Einstein later called, "The biggest blunder of my life," he fudged the equations to avoid the implication of a beginning.
Perhaps the most vocal adversary of a beginning to the universe was British Astronomer, Sir Fred Hoyle, who sarcastically nicknamed the creation event a "Big bang." He stubbornly held to his steady state theory that the universe has always existed. So did Einstein and other scientists until the evidence for a beginning became overwhelming. The "elephant in the room," implication of a beginning is that something or Someone beyond scientific investigation must have started it all.
Finally, in 1992, COBE satellite experiments proved that the universe really did have a onetime beginning in an incredible flash of light and energy. Although some scientists called it the moment of creation, most preferred referring to it as "the big bang."
Astronomer Robert Jastrow tries to help us imagine how it all began.
"The picture suggests the explosion of a hydrogen bomb. The instant in which the bomb exploded marked the birth of the Universe."
next post 14th August
HAS SCIENCE DISCOVERED GOD?
PART ONE
(copied from
Y-Jesus.com)
Einstein didn't believe it was possible.
Stephen Hawking said it might be the greatest scientific discovery of all time.
What discovery has baffled the greatest scientific minds of the past century and why has it caused them to rethink the universe?
New, more powerful, telescopes have revealed mysteries about our universe that have raised new questions about the origin of life.
Has science discovered God?
But wait a minute. Hasn't science proven we don't need God to explain the universe? Lightning, earthquakes and even babies used to be explained as acts of God. But now we know better.
What is it about this discovery that is so fundamentally different, and why has it stunned the scientific world?
This discovery and what molecular biologists have learned about the sophisticated coding within DNA have many scientists admitting that the universe appears to be part of a grand design.
One cosmologist put it this way: "Many scientists when they admit their views, incline toward the teleological or design argument. Surprisingly many scientists who are talking about God have no religious belief whatsoever.
So, what are these stunning discoveries that have scientists suddenly speaking of God? Three revolutionary discoveries from the fields of astronomy and molecular biology stand out:
1. The universe had a beginning.
2. The universe is just right for life.
3. DNA coding reveals intelligence
The statements leading
scientists have made may shock you.
Let us take a look.
next post 13th August
OBEYING GOD
FAITHFULLY
(copied from
Y-Jesus.com)
Obedience ? Isn't our life with Jesus a relationship and not a list of rules?
It's funny isn't it - we would never begin a romantic relationship with someone who said we had to both love and obey them. In fact, if our new significant other said, "Now that we are dating, I expect you to obey me," we would set a record or the shortest relationship ever! So, how does obedience fit in to a new life with Jesus?
Relationships affect our behavior. Children act in certain ways because of parental expectations,. Spouses take each other into account when making certain decisions. Employees keep the boss's standards in mind when choosing their priorities.
What is amazing (and complicated ) about our relationship with God, is that there is no human relationship that can fully portrait our relationship with Him. So while we certainly desire to grow in intimacy with Him, part of how we get to know what He cares about is through living how He told us we should live. And the incredible part? How He tells us to live, makes it possible for us to experience a purpose-filled life, with peace, contentment and joy as well as greater intimacy with Him.
We try to live as Christ told us to live for lots of reasons, but our motivations are not always pure
Some people become Christians and live obediently because it seems like the most expedient way to get what they want. "If I act like this, God will bless me with that."
Others simply lead moral lives in line with what their community sees as acceptable, and sometimes those morals might have a lot in common with how Jesus told us to live. "That seems like a good rule, because it is acceptable to my community."
Still others see perfect adherence to Christian teachings as their duty. "If I try hard enough I can follow all the rules, and then maybe God will like me just a little bit more.
And then there are those who are afraid of the consequences of disobedience and decide that obedience as the best way to avoid punishment. "No way! If I do that God will take me to the wood shed!"
Jesus says, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15) It is easy for us to forget the relational starting point on our discussion on obedience. We ultimately follow a Person, not a rule book. A purer motivation for obedience flows naturally out of the security of being loved by Him and our desire to please the One we love.
Each of these motivations for obedience relate to a particular relationship metaphor, and are not altogether bad. The one who obeys to receive a blessing, acknowledges the goodness of our Heavenly Father Who rewards faithfulness. The one who obeys out of duty, rightly acknowledges God as the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, Who gives the marching orders. The one who obeys out of fear of punishment rightly acknowledges God as the only true Judge, Whose justice includes punishing sin.
But if we focus only on metaphors that stress authority we miss that our obedience is a response to God's "Never stopping, Never giving up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love." Obedience without love is hollow - an egg that is only a shell isn't much of an egg.
next post 12th August
IS JESUS COMING BACK?
PART SIX
(copied from Y-Jesus.com)
How To Prepare For Jesus' Return.
Jesus admonished His followers to prepare for His return as if it is the most important thing in their lives. He used the illustration of a wise servant preparing things for his master's return. In another instance He spoke of us anticipating His return as (under Jewish custom) a bride should be ready for the arrival of her bridegroom.
So, how do we prepare ourselves for Jesus' return?
We prepare first by knowing Him and then by obeying Him.
Knowing Jesus
When Jesus returns for His own, He will return personally to those who already have a relationship with Him. Jesus said that our good deeds for God are worthless unless we have a relationship with Him. The only thing that will count when we die or see Him return is knowing Him.
So, How do we get to know Him? If you have never invited Jesus to be your Savior and Lord of your life, then prayerfully tell Him you want to be in His family.
Since Jesus knows your every thought, simply talk to Him, thanking Him for dying for you and telling Him want Him as your Lord. According to Jesus, those who personally put their faith in Him, and receive Him into their lives are given the right to become the children of God.
"But to as many of them that did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right (the authority, the privilege) to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His Name." (John 1:12) Amp
If you have invited Jesus into your life, when He returns He will embrace you as one of His children, completely forgiven of all of your sins.
We encourage you to read more about how Jesus' death on the cross provides forgiveness of your sins and total acceptance by God.
Obeying Jesus
Jesus' return will be followed by a judgment at which time everyone's thoughts and deeds will be open before Him. Although forgiveness of sin is based on our faith in Jesus alone, we should want to please Him with our lives, and reach others with His message of forgiveness.
According to Jesus, those who live for Him in obedience will receive rewards. He says:
"My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done." He who is the faithful witness to all these things says: "Yes, I am coming soon."
The Apostle John then responds enthusiastically,
"Amen, Come, Lord Jesus!"
As Jesus return approaches, we need to examine our lives to make sure we are preparing to meet Him. The words of the Apostle Paul remind us of
what our aim should be.
"It is our aim therefore to please Him, whether we are at 'home' or 'away' for everyone of us will have to stand without pretense before Christ our Judge, and we shall be rewarded for what we did while we lived in our bodies, whether it was good or bad. "
The very spring of our actions is the love of Christ. We look at it like this: if one died for all men then, in a sense they all died, and His purpose in dying for them is that their lives should no longer be lived for themselves but for Him who died and rose again for them.
( 2nd Corinthians 5:9-10 14-15)
Obedience to Christ should be in response to His great love for us. To learn more about how to obey Jesus read "Obeying God faithfully."
next post 11th August
IS JESUS COMING BACK ?
PART FIVE
(copied from
Y-Jesus.com)
How will Jesus Return ?
The Bible speaks of the Lord returning with Great Power and Glory.
Five hundred years prior to Christ, the prophet Zechariah wrote of the Lord coming to Jerusalem during a time of intense war. Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies from "all nations." The battle will be bloody and fierce and the armies of Israel will be overwhelmed by its enemies. Then something dramatic will change everything.
Suddenly, when all hope seems gone, the Jews will gaze up in the sky and see their Mighty Lord Himself coming back in the clouds. We are told that every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. The Lord speaks through the prophet telling us how He will be recognized.
"They will look on Me, Whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for Him as for a first-born son who has died. "
It is important to understand that this prophecy of the Messiah's return to Jerusalem was written five hundred years before Jesus was born. No other person in history has been pierced, died and returned to life. It will be an incredible, emotionally moving experience for all who see Him.
In an instant the Jews defending their city, will realize that the Lord saving them was the very Jesus Whom their ancestors had rejected. How will they recognize Him? The same way the disciples recognized Jesus after His resurrection: by the nail prints in His hands. It is then that they will weep bitterly and "mourn for Him as for an only son." It is then that they will recognize His great love for them.
When Jesus returns, those who have already died "in Christ," will be the first to meet Him in the air. Then those from every nation who are still alive and trust Him as their Lord and Savior, will meet Him in the air. Bible scholars disagree on the timing of these amazing events, however, as Paul wrote, we should be watching and waiting for the "blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."
Jesus' promise to return will be fulfilled just as literally as were prophecies of His first coming. It will be in God's time when all prophesied world events are finally in place. His return will be a time of joy and reward for believers, but a time of horrible judgment for unbelievers.
C.S. Lewis cited three propositions to remember about Jesus' return:
1. He will certainly return.
2. We cannot possibly find
out when.
3. Therefore we must always be ready for
Him.
We have already established that Jesus promises to return, and that His words are believable. We have also seen that Jesus Himself said we cannot know exactly when He will return. But how do we prepare for His return?
next post 10th August
IS JESUS COMING BACK ?
PART FOUR
(Copied from
Y-Jesus.com)
Where Will Jesus Return ?
The Bible speaks of the Lord returning to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Some may ask, "Why not in London, Los Angeles or Tokyo?"
But God chose Jerusalem as the place of His return. Although Jerusalem is tiny among such cities, it is of utmost importance to God. A brief history explains why.
Jerusalem was the place (originally called Moriah) where God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac. But God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac instead, providing a ram for him to offer. In fact, God had never intended Isaac to be sacrificed, He was testing Abraham's faith, and giving us a symbolic picture of His Only Son being sacrificed, 2,000 years later, in Jerusalem, near that very spot.
Solomon built the first Jewish Temple over the same spot where Abraham sacrificed the ram, in place of Isaac. It is here that the Holy of Holies was located, the sacred room where God said His Presence dwelt.
Five hundred years before Christ, it was prophesied that the Jews would be the occupants of Jerusalem, when the Messiah arrives at the end times. However, when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. a million of its inhabitants were killed, and the rest fled for their lives. Jerusalem's long history as the central place of Jewish worship ceased to exist. Jews could only dream of its future restoration.
However, the Jews dreams that Jerusalem would one day be restored were based on God's promise, given through His prophet Ezekiel nearly 600 years before Christ. This prophecy speaks of the dispersion of the Jews to other nations, due to their disobedience. It then tells that in the last days, God will send them back to their land from other nations. God said through His prophet "For I will take you out of the nations. I will gather you from all the nations and bring you back into your own land.
For nearly 1900 years following its destruction by Roman armies, there was no nation of Israel, and Jerusalem was a "no man's land" under foreign occupation. Then in the latter part of the 19th century, Jews began populating Palestine. After the Holocaust imposed by Hitler's Nazis, Jews immigrated en masse to Israel.
On May 14th 1948, the Jew's 2,000 year old dream of the rebirth of Israel, became a reality, as a United Nations Charter granted them partial control of Jerusalem. However, within hours, five Arab armies along its borders vowed to destroy it.
Tensions between Israel and its neighbors became explosive.
In 1967, Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies surrounded Israel. Newspaper headlines read: "Egypt vows to destroy Israel." Israel's army seemed to be hopelessly outnumbered. But a surprise attack by Israel devastated its enemies in just six days.
Many spoke of the Jews overwhelming victory as a miracle. After Israel's lightning victory in the 1967 was, Jerusalem finally belonged to Israel, and the peace they had hoped for seemed to be within reach. Yet, the prophecy that Jerusalem would become a "burdensome stone" to the world has come true.
Israel's miraculous rebirth has set the stage for the coming of the Messiah, which requires the Jews to dwell in Jerusalem. Nearly six million Jews now live in the land God promised to Abraham. In one century Israel has exploded from virtual non-existence into a nation that dominates the worlds headlines.
next post 9th August
IS JESUS COMING BACK?
PART THREE
(copied from
Y-Jesus.com)
Has Jesus Kept Other Promises?
How do we answer scoffers like Bertrand Russell, who accused Jesus of breaking the promise to return?
First, we might ask how Jesus knew, 2,000 years ago, that the gospel would indeed be preached throughout the world. How could He have known that unless He knew the future?
Second, we need to look at other promises Jesus made to see if they were kept. Let us look at three other major things Jesus promised.
1. He is the fulfillment of Messianic Prophecies.
2. Jerusalem would be destroyed.
3. He would die, and rise again three days later.
Did Jesus Fulfill Ancient Prophecies?
Let us look at whether or not Jesus fulfilled other Messianic prophecies.
The Bible is the only holy book that contains a large body of specific prophecies relating to nations, Israel and the coming Messiah. Nearly 300 prophecies were made in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah. They told of His lineage, His birthplace, His betrayal, His death and His resurrection. These references were written 500 to 1,000 years before Jesus was born, and He fulfilled every one.
Evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls proves the prophecies were written at least 100 years before Christ, making it impossible for them to have been staged. The odds that one person could fulfill each of these prophecies without error are statistically impossible. Jesus fulfillment of so many specific prophecies is compelling evidence that He truly was the Promised Messiah.
Was Jesus Right About Jerusalem?
Second, Let us examine Jesus prophecy of Jerusalem's impending destruction, a prediction which seemed impossible at the time, and shocked those who heard it. Jesus warned the Jews that their rejection of Him would result in a horrible ending for Jerusalem, and for the destruction of it's magnificent Temple.
Tragically, Jesus' words came true. One million Jews were killed forty years later, as Titus and the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem. The Jewish historian Josephus, recorded these unusual signs during Jerusalem's fall in 70 A.D.
1. "A meteor resembling a sword hung over
Jerusalem one whole year "
2. "A light, equal to the brightness of the day, continued for half a day."
3. "Chariots and armed men were seen in the air."
Josephus writes of other unusual things that occurred during the Roman siege as well. What did these signs mean? Some scholars believe Jesus return in the clouds was fulfilled figuratively by these signs in 70 A.D. however, the actual fulfillment of Jesus literal return to Jerusalem has not yet occurred.
Was Jesus Right About His Resurrection?
The third significant prediction Jesus made was that He would rise from the dead after being crucified. Of that claim Bible scholar, Wilbur Smith argues:
"When He said that He Himself would rise againfrom the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would say, if He expected longer the devotion of any disciples - unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to man has ever said anything like that."
Jesus' prediction put everything else He said in jeopardy. If He didn't rise from the dead as promised, why would anyone continue believing Him ? Yet His followers enthusiastically did . In a New York Times article, Peter Steinfels cites the startling events that occurred three days after Jesus' death.
"Shortly after Jesus was executed, His followers were suddenly galvanized from a baffled and cowering group into people whose message about a living Jesus and a coming kingdom, preached at the risk of their lives, eventually changed an empire. Something happened ..... but exactly what?
So, what did happen that turned the first century world on its heels? Is there evidence that Jesus did rise from the dead? Skeptic Frank Morrison originally began writing a book to disprove the resurrection. After examining the evidence, he reversed himself and wrote a different book on why he believed it to be true.
Another skeptic, Dr. Simon Greenleaf, founder of Harvard Law School, scoffed at Jesus' resurrection to some law students. When challenged to investigate, Greenleaf began applying his famous rules of evidence to the case.
After a detailed evaluation of the evidence, he became convinced that the resurrection really happened, primarily because of the radical change in the disciples. (see Did Jesus Rise
From The Dead?)
So, if Jesus fulfilled numerous messianic prophecies, written hundreds of years before His birth, correctly predicted the fall of Jerusalem, and kept His incredible promise to rise from the dead as the evidence suggests, would any reasonable person doubt His promise to return?
next post 8th August
HAS SCIENCE DISCOVERED GOD?
