Space Beings

What does the Bible say about the inhabitants of other worlds? It makes only a few references, but they clearly indicate the presence of extraterrestrial beings elsewhere in the universe. Today’s blog is the most direct reference to other beings space. Paul also speak of a “family in heaven and earth” (Ephesians 3:15). In the same letter he says that Jesus will restore unity to all things, “both which are in heaven, and which are on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). The Greek word translated “heavens” here is more accurately translated “the heavens.” The only unity that Jesus came to restore was that of the family of God that humanity destroyed by sinning.

Do scientists believe that other worlds have inhabitants? Yes. A Harvard professor estimated that about 10 percent of all stars are equivalent to our own sun and could therefore radiate the right amount of energy necessary to sustain life on planets like ours. Another scientist proposed that there are at least 10 million planets like Earth. To detect life in space, scientists have set up a large radio telescope to collect possible radio messages from intelligent life on other worlds.

The clearest evidence to me from the Bible about beings on other planets comes from an account in the book of Job that describes an extraterrestrial council. It says that “the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord” (Job 1:6). Notice that they came from somewhere. Who were this sons of God? Luke writes that Adam was a son of God (Luke 3:38), so apparently “son of God” was a title given to the being in charge of a particular world. Later the book of Jobs tells us that at Creatin “all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7). After Adam sinned, Satan took upon himself the title of son of God and went to the council as the being in charge of our world. But when Jesus overcame Satan on the cross, He also redeemed the title of leadership on earth, and He is now the legitimate Son of God.

The most thrilling part of this story is that Jesus now includes us in the title: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12).

A Word From Our Creator

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.

Revelation 12:12

Sharing Trees

The Bible often uses trees as symbols of people. Sometimes they present individuals, as in our text for today, and sometimes they stand for whole nations of people, as in the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s mental illness (Daniel 4). The apostle Paul talks about the Christian church as being a holy tree (Romans 11). When we accept Jesus as our savior, we become branches on that holy tree.

In studying the old-growth forest of the northwestern United States, Oregon State University researchers have discovered one of the most amazing facts of nature, a fact that demonstrates one of the characteristics of being a member of the church that Jesus established.

The trees of the forest share nutrients with one another through their roots. A tree sends its roots far and wide through the soil on its never-ending search for more nourishment. Where the conditions are right, as they are in the old-growth forest, the roots of one tree encounter those of another. And here is where the miracle takes place. Growing in profusion in the lush soil of the virgin forest is a kind of fungus called Mycorrhiza (pronounced my-cor-RYE-za). The filaments of the Mycorrhiza fungi latch on to the roots of the living trees. The same fungus plant may have filaments attached to the roots of two or more trees.

Throughout the forest the Mycorrhiza fungi connect trees through their roots. These fungi form channels from one tree to another, passing nutrients through the forest from trees that receive more light to trees that receive less, and from trees growing where the soil is rich in certain essential nutrients to the trees growing where the soil can’t provide those nutrients. By linking together the forest through the roots of the trees, the Mycorrhiza enable the entire forest to be a single unit, with every tree contributing it can, and with every tree getting provided with sufficient food to meet its needs.

As members of God’s church on earth, we share freely with one another from what God has given us. We pass on to each other the spiritual that God gives us and the spiritual nourishment that we obtain from his Word.

A Word From Our Creator:

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.

Psalm 1:3

Water: The Gift Of God

Water is so important that God dedicated an entire day to its creation. We can’t live without it. It is the universal solvent for keeping us clean,inside and out, and for supplying us nourishment. Not only impossible for us to live without water; it’s as though God built our whole being out of the substance that He provided so abundantly.

Water has an unusual electrical characteristic that sets it apart from most other liquids. As you know, water’s molecular makeup is H2O, two hydrogen atoms connected to one oxygen atom. Because of this arrangement, every water molecule has a slight positive charge on one side and a slight negative charge on the other side, a feature that allows water molecules to hook up very easily with other nearby molecules.

Water dissolves and washes away dirt. It transports food to every cell of our bodies and then carries away the waste products of our body factories. Also water helps take oxygen as well as disease-fighting mechanisms to wherever our bodies need them. Besides lubricating our joints, it keeps our skin from drying out and shriveling up. In many ways water is our most essential nutrient.

We need at least six glasses of water a day. Wether or not we will thirsty. Thirst is not a good indicator of our need for water, however. It’s a signal that often turns off before we’ve had enough to drink.

Just as we depend on water, we also depend on God, and many times scripture uses water to illustrate our dependence on the Lord. God knew that we would understand the importance of water in our physical well-being, so He used that need to remind us of the importance of our spiritual dependence upon Him. The fact that we don’t feel spiritually thirsty doesn’t mean that we’ve had enough of the water that Jesus promises to provide in abundance. We need deeply and daily of God’s gift. So don’t forget your water today-both physical and spiritual.

A Word from Our Creator:

Jesus answered and said unto her, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

John 4:10.

Light Is Atomic Energy

When Jesus said, “Let there be light,” He was literally describing the energy of Creation. He could just as appropriately have said, “ let there be atomic energy,” because that’s what light is.

All forms of matter consist of atoms, and energy holds the atoms together-energy so powerful that even when only a little gets released, we have atomic explosions. Atomic power can be a destructive force, as in the generation of electricity. Under normal conditions the power of the atom does not escape with the force of a bomb or an atomic power plant. But we are almost constantly experiencing atomic power in the form of light energy.

Different kinds of atoms have different levels of energy. When an atom absorbs energy from an outside source, such as from heat, its energy level increases. As the absorbed energy is used up, the atom’s activity may drop back to normal. In the process it may release a small bundle of energy. You see that small bundle as light. Light occurs when the atom is losing energy happens so rapidly that we see it as a continuous flow of light, but light actually consists of pulses or waves of energy.

Different colors come from the different energy levels of atomic activity. Higher levels of atomic activity produce what we might call blue photons-short wavelengths. Lower levels of atomic activity create photons that have long wave lengths and appear to us as red light. When we heat a piece of iron to its highest temperature, you see it as white because it is emitting photons of all of the visible wavelengths, or colors. When you withdraw an energy source-heat, in this case-the iron begins to cool. As it does, you first see orange and then red wavelength photons as the atoms give off less and less energy.

So when Jesus said, “let there be light.” He was quite literally calling on the force of His own creative energy as the all-powerful God of the universe-the light of the world. With a power like that to protect us, how can we ever be afraid?

A Word from Our Creator:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1.

God's Other Book

Have you ever wondered how people who have not yet heard about Jesus can know him? Is it fair to hold people accountable for their sins if no one has ever preached the gospel to them?

We find the answers to those questions in today’s text. Creation is Jesus’ original testament of himself. For the past 3,500 years we have had the word of god as expressed in the book that we call the bible-first in the Old Testament, then also in the New Testament. But the book of nature is the oldest testament of all. It took God six days to write that book, and he dedicated the seventh day to its study.

This is not to say that we should not be taking the story of Jesus to the world, for he gave that great gospel commission to us Himself. But a God of love has made certain that everyone can know him. The apostle Paul said the same thing in a different way to the Lycaonians in the city of Lystra: “turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein…. He left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:15-17).

However, when sin entered the world, another author-the devil-began to scribble on the pages of nature. He added all sorts of messages to confuse and frighten humanity, messages that included false and theories about who God is, where we came from, and what we have to do to live forever. The gospel is the good news because it truthfully and simply answers all those questions.

And the gospel is really another Creation story. In Eden Jesus walked with Adam and Eve and taught them directly of His character as revealed in the world around them. Today Jesus walks with us through His Holy Spirit. And through us He tells the world about the new creation story-the fact that Jesus, the original creator, died to save each of us from the natural result of sin. Jesus says, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). That includes us.

A Word from Our Creator:

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, . . . so that they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20.

The Deer's Choice

Wildlife writter John K. Terres was enjoying the company of a group of timber cutters in a January day, and the snow was two feet deep, with drifts reaching six feet. Having stopped for lunch, the men were standing in a loose circle around an open fire, eating and talking.

One of the men suddenly called for silence. From the distant but unmistakable sound of baying, the men guessed that hounds were after a deer. In deep snow dogs can wear a deer down and kill it with relative ease. The hounds seemed to be coming in their direction, and the men, most of whom were also hunters, instinctively reached for the ends of large sticks that they had placed into the open fire. They waited silently as the fire crackled.

A doe burst from the evergreens into the clearing. She was breathing heavily and bleating pitifully. The dogs came right behind her. In the natural order of the forest there seemed little hope for the doe. The deer struggled with each bound through the deep snow. She looked up, and for the first time seemed to realized the presence of the men and the fire. With no time to lose, she made what appeared to be an instinctive decision to act in a way that defies ordinary reasoning. Lunging toward the men, she slipped between two of them, and stopped by the fire within the circle. She was willing to throw herself on the mercy of men before she would trust herself to the mercy of the dogs. It was the right choice.

The men used their sticks to beat away the dogs, sending them howling back into the forest. The doe waited a moment by the fire, catching her breath. Then she moved slowly and deliberately back into the woods. John Terres refers to the doe’s behavior as “perhaps a wild terror-ridden reasoning.” What do you think?

A real enemy stalks each of us, “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). And we cannot rely on our own strength, either to out-run him or to out-smart him. Our only hope is to move close to the Son of God, who will do battle in our behalf with that old dog, the devil.

A Word from Our Creator:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28.

Pelorus Jack

It is sometimes nearly impossible to make some of life’s decisions without the guidance of experience, and at the times only the Holy Spirit knows the way we should go.

Pelorus Jack was a dolphin-a Risso’s dolphin to be exact. He was perhaps the world’s most well-known dolphin other than flipper, of television fame. However, Flipper was a created character portrayed by many trained dolphins, while Pelorus Jack was a “wild” dolphin that lived in New Zealand.

In 1888 Pelorus Jack began his life’s work as a pilot. No one trained Pelorus Jack, yet somehow he knew that he could guide ships through the swirling waters of the treacherous 6-mile-long channel between the two is-lands that make up New Zealand. For 24 years Pelorus Jack led steamships through that channel. So great was Jack’s fame that Mark Twain and Rudyard Kipling, two renowned writers, traveled to New Zealand just to be on a ship going through that channel. They wanted to see the dolphin and to join in the shout “ Here comes Pelorus Jack!”

To perform his task, Pelorus Jack would wait at the mouth of the channel until a ship approached. Then he would carefully swim ahead of the ship, leading it this way and that on a safe course. When he had guided the ship safely through the passageway, Jack returned to the mouth of the channel to await the next one.

Pelorus Jack never once asked for wages, went on strike, or was late for work. He was completely dependable for 24years. What an incredibly dedicated helper he was! The only other pilot as dependable as Pelorus Jack is the one whom Jesus made available to guide us through the treacherous waters of life: the holy spirit. He has been on the job for much longer than 24 years and will continue to guide us forever. You can depend on him.

A Word from Our Creator:

Howbeit when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.

John 16:13.