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Lesson Learned from a Magnolia Tree
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Oct 1, 2006 7:57 pm
Mood: earthy,
274 Views
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There is a huge Magnolia tree, at Discovery Park in Seattle, that hangs out from a cliff over Puget Sound--just by its roots. Even in the precarious position this tree hangs, it grows majestically, as if it did not have a care in the world. Every time I see this tree it makes me think of Christians being grafted into the root (Jesus) of our faith.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. {John 15:4-5)
It is amazing to see how the roots of this tree keep it from falling. Without this root structure the tree would have fallen off of the cliff decades ago. Without our lives rooted in Jesus can easily find ourselves in precarious situations. We need to be grounded in Jesus. Doing this will help us to stay on the straight and narrow path and bear fruit.
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What I Learned about Spiritual Growth from Trees
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Oct 1, 2006 7:35 pm
Mood: impressed,
282 Views
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Ever notice the bright color of the new growth on many different trees? It really stands out in comparison to the darker green of the older parts. Trees grow in spurts for at least 6 weeks every year. The new growth kind of pulpy and much softer than the older growth. The new growth is fragile. It is easily harmed or broken. Our spiritual growth is similar. We are not always growing. Our growth comes in spurts during different seasons in our lives. Our new growth spurt is fresh and not as solid as the growth we have lived for seasons. Our new growth is fragile during this new season of growth. It is a time we need to seek and depend upon God for our shelter and protection.
When we take the time and observe God's creation there are many lessons God can teach us about our lives.
What interesting lessons have you learned from God's creation?
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Where did "The LORD Almighty" come from?
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Sep 30, 2006 11:59 am
Mood: contemplative,
209 Views
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Whenever YHWH and Sabaoth occur together in Hebrew of the Old Testament they are rendered as the 'The LORD Almighty' in our Bibles. Sabaoth means ‘Host’ or ‘Almighty.’ The sense of the Hebrew name for God, YHWH Sabaoth, means "He who is sovereign over all the ‘hosts’ of heaven and earth.” We serve an Awesome God! Does it make you want to sing the song “Our God is an Awesome God?”
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Does Physics explain why God Always was?
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Sep 30, 2006 11:56 am
Mood: contemplative,
215 Views
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People have been asking the questions where did God come from and how could He always have been for centuries. That God always has been originates from verses like Revelation {1:8} which says:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
If the latest theories of physics are true and God does exist in at least 12 dimensions, (see posts below), then based on the 4 dimensional universe in which we live, God would always have exist existed. We will never understand this until we are with our LORD and Savior. But these questions are among the first I would like to ask.
He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. Rev {21:6}
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Does God exist in at least 12 dimensions?
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Sep 30, 2006 9:45 am
Mood: thoughtful,
214 Views
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Einstein tried for decades to unify the large worlds of planets and stars he described with Special and General Relativity with the small sub-atomic world with no success. Many Physicists have worked to integrate quantum mechanics (the small part of our world) with the relativity since the 1920s. In 1995 quantum mechanics and relativity were finally integrated into what is called String Theory. The solution was elegant and all the equations fit on ONE piece of paper. Much of this is documented in the book and the PBS Nova program both of the same name, “The Elegant Universe.” Within a couple of years Physics research found problems in the initial String Theory concepts and then moved on to M-Theory. Again problems became apparent and around 2003 Super-Gravity became the theory accepted by many theoretical physicists.
The latest theories physicists use to describe our universe are all multi-dimensional and are based on our universe originating at a single instant of time. I like to think of this as “Spoken into Being.” Our world now has just 4 dimensions (length, width, depth and time). But for the first 10**-43 seconds there were 11 dimensions and after 10**-43 seconds only 4 dimensions continued. In my opinion this means that God, who spoke our universe into being, has to be in at least one more dimension than at the time of creation. If these latest theories are true, then God must exist in at least 12 dimensions of which 2 or 3 of these dimensions of time.
All this to say: (1) that man living in a 4 dimensional world can never understand any more about God than what He has revealed to us and (2) our resurrected bodies are truly going to be out of this universe.
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Is ‘Jehovah’ a modern name for God?
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Sep 30, 2006 9:08 am
Mood: contemplative,
200 Views
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Before 900 AD the Hebrew texts used just the four consonants YHWH as the primary name for the God. After 900 AD vowels were added to the Hebrew Bible (Massoretic Text of the Old Testament). Over the centuries the pronunciation of YHWH was forgotten, so people did not know how to write God’s name with vowels. In addition, they did not want to say YHWH (see posts below). It was finally decided that the vowels of the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’ would be used with the consonants in YHWH. Centuries later when scholars of the Bible in England/Europe translated the Massoretic Texts they began the use of ‘Jehovah’ as God’s name.
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Do ‘LORD’ & ‘Lord’ mean the same thing in our Bibles?
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Sep 30, 2006 8:45 am
Mood: contemplative,
220 Views
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In the Old Testament of our Bibles ‘LORD’ is used to translate YHWH, the Hebrew name for God. Many people pronounce YHWH as Yahweh, but the actual pronunciation is lost. This is because the oldest Hebrew texts only had consonants and no vowels. Vowels were added around 900 AD—almost 2000 years after the books of the Torah (Five Books of Moses) were written. The Hebrew word Adonai is translated ‘Lord.’ Adonai can mean a master or Lord and is often used for people of authority and sometimes used for God’s angels and other representatives.
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Do we say God’s name to casually?
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Sep 30, 2006 8:43 am
Mood: contemplative,
214 Views
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The Hebrew people would not even say the name of God, and because of this the pronunciation of YHWH has been lost—it is thought to be Yahweh. When people said a name in that culture, it meant they knew that person. The Hebrews realized they could only know about God from what He revealed about Himself: through His acts, what God spoke through His prophets, and His written word. To them this knowledge of God was just the tip of the iceberg relative to the totality of God’s being. To say YHWH showed a pride associated a person thinking they knew God. They realized they could not fully know or comprehend God, so they did not pronounce YHWH. To this day many orthodox Jews do not say this name for God.
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After everything has been tried, Solomon says…..
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Sep 29, 2006 10:17 am
188 Views
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…here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,whether it is good or evil. (Ecc. 12:13-14)
Choosing to fear God and keep His commandments is rarely our first choice of approaching for finding happiness. But, after Solomon had tried everything else he learned that doing anything else was meaningless.
If this interested you, there are other posts below that expand upon this line of thinking.
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Do the righteous always prosper and the wicked suffer?
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Sep 29, 2006 10:06 am
Mood: contemplative,
237 Views
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A friend of mine (Teresa) was in labor for over 24 hours and still had not given birth. Some people from her church came to visit Teresa in the hospital. They told her how the pastor’s wife had come into the same hospital, had been in labor for about 45 minutes and then gave birth. They said this was because she had a lot of faith. Teresa told them she had prayed, even prayed for more faith and that she felt her faith was strong. The people from the church then asked Teresa if she had any un-confessed sin. Teresa told them no. Then they told Teresa that her complicated delivery was because she did not have enough faith and quoted scripture to her. At a Teresa left the hospital feeling guilty and that it was her problem because she did not have enough faith.
Yes some people are very insensitive and can do and say the wrong things at the wrong time. Bad things do happen to good people and we should not judge someone we witness going through difficult times. Solomon said he had seen evil under the sun and:
"righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve." {Ecc. 8:14}
What we need to do is pray for people we know who are experiencing difficulty, share their burdens and encourage them.
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