Lord in heaven, I confess that You are high and lifted up and that Your purposes are past finding out. I also confess that I often want You to be more understandable and comprehensible so that I might behold more than just the fringe of Your ways. There are many things in Scripture that do not appeal to my mind, and I often struggle with hoping in the God I want more than in the God You really are. But You have called me to trust and hope in You, not to understand You. You have made it clear that Your thoughts are not my thoughts and Your ways are not my ways. They are utterly beyond human attainment, and in Your transcendent glory, You will always abound in mystery. Therefore I choose the way of trust, not that of understanding. May I hold on to You and Your character even in the vicissitudes and unexpected turns of this earthly life.

• God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.

Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa

- This is part of a series on the theme of character. -

Think about the people you know and admire. Do you know any wise parents, mothers and fathers who demonstrate sound judgment in how they conduct their lives and raise their children? Do you know any grandparents who know when to cheer and when to rebuke, when to be tender and when to use force? Have you ever had a teacher who knew when to give advice and when to just listen, when to instruct and when to let life’s consequences be the teacher? Now try to put a value on those wise insights. How much are they worth?

We all esteem people who possess wisdom in their inward character. If we admire these quality people, how much more should we value the perfection of the living God from whom all wisdom, patience and discernment is derived?

When Moses asked God to reveal his glory to him, the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence” (Exodus 33:18-19). God had to shield Moses from the fullness of his glory by covering him in the cleft of a rock, and as he passed in front of Moses, God accompanied this awesome display by proclaiming the perfection of his own character:

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Exodus 34:6-7

• Learning to value the perfection of the living God from whom all wisdom, patience and discernment is derived.

Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa

Here is a clear and cogent response to Stephen Hawking’s new book that attempts to explain the universe without God.

John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science.

As a scientist I’m certain Stephen Hawking is wrong. You can’t explain the universe without God

By Professor John Lennox  <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Professor+John+Lennox+>

According to Stephen Hawking, the laws of physics, not the will of God, provide the real explanation as to how life on Earth came into being

There’s no denying that Stephen Hawking is intellectually bold as well as physically heroic. And in his latest book, the renowned physicist mounts an audacious challenge to the traditional religious belief in the divine creation of the universe.

According to Hawking, the laws of physics, not the will of God, provide the real explanation as to how life on Earth came into being. The Big Bang, he argues, was the inevitable consequence of these laws ‘because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.’

Unfortunately, while Hawking’s argument is being hailed as controversial and ground-breaking, it is hardly new.

For years, other scientists have made similar claims, maintaining that the awesome, sophisticated creativity of the world around us can be interpreted solely by reference to physical laws such as gravity.

It is a simplistic approach, yet in our secular age it is one that seems to have resonance with a skeptical public.

But, as both a scientist and a Christian, I would say that Hawking’s claim is misguided. He asks us to choose between God and the laws of physics, as if they were necessarily in mutual conflict.

But contrary to what Hawking claims, physical laws can never provide a complete explanation of the universe. Laws themselves do not create anything, they are merely a description of what happens under certain conditions.

What Hawking appears to have done is to confuse law with agency. His call on us to choose between God and physics is a bit like someone demanding that we choose between aeronautical engineer Sir Frank Whittle and the laws of physics to explain the jet engine.

To use a simple analogy, Isaac Newton’s laws of motion in themselves never sent a snooker ball racing across the green baize. That can only be done by people using a snooker cue and the actions of their own arms.

Hawking’s argument appears to me even more illogical when he says the existence of gravity means the creation of the universe was inevitable. But how did gravity exist in the first place? Who put it there? And what was the creative force behind its birth?

Similarly, when Hawking argues, in support of his theory of spontaneous creation, that it was only necessary for ‘the blue touch paper’ to be lit to ‘set the universe going’, the question must be: where did this blue touch paper come from? And who lit it, if not God?

Much of the rationale behind Hawking’s argument lies in the idea that there is a deep-seated conflict between science and religion. But this is not a discord I recognise.

For me, as a Christian believer, the beauty of the scientific laws only reinforces my faith in an intelligent, divine creative force at work. The more I understand science, the more I believe in God because of my wonder at the breadth, sophistication and integrity of his creation.

The very reason science flourished so vigorously in the 16th and 17th centuries was precisely because of the belief that the laws of nature which were then being discovered and defined reflected the influence of a divine law-giver.

One of the fundamental themes of Christianity is that the universe was built according to a rational, intelligent design. Far from being at odds with science, the Christian faith actually makes perfect scientific sense.

Some years ago, the scientist Joseph Needham made an epic study of technological development in China. He wanted to find out why China, for all its early gifts of innovation, had fallen so far behind Europe in the advancement of science.

He reluctantly came to the conclusion that European science had been spurred on by the widespread belief in a rational creative force, known as God, which made all scientific laws comprehensible.

Despite this, Hawking, like so many other critics of religion, wants us to believe we are nothing but a random collection of molecules, the end product of a mindless process.

This, if true, would undermine the very rationality we need to study science. If the brain were really the result of an unguided process, then there is no reason to believe in its capacity to tell us the truth.

We live in an information age. When we see a few letters of the alphabet spelling our name in the sand, our immediate response is to recognise the work of an intelligent agent. How much more likely, then, is an intelligent creator behind the human DNA, the colossal biological database that contains no fewer than 3.5 billion ‘letters’?

It is fascinating that Hawking, in attacking religion, feels compelled to put so much emphasis on the Big Bang theory. Because, even if the non-believers don’t like it, the Big Bang fits in exactly with the Christian narrative of creation.

That is why, before the Big Bang gained currency, so many scientists were keen to dismiss it, since it seemed to support the Bible story. Some clung to Aristotle’s view of the ‘eternal universe’ without beginning or end; but this theory, and later variants of it, are now deeply discredited.

But support for the existence of God moves far beyond the realm of science. Within the Christian faith, there is also the powerful evidence that God revealed himself to mankind through Jesus Christ two millennia ago. This is well-documented not just in the scriptures and other testimony but also in a wealth of archaeological findings.

Moreover, the religious experiences of millions of believers cannot lightly be dismissed. I myself and my own family can testify to the uplifting influence faith has had on our lives, something which defies the idea we are nothing more than a random collection of molecules.

Just as strong is the obvious reality that we are moral beings, capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong. There is no scientific route to such ethics.

Physics cannot inspire our concern for others, or the spirit of altruism that has existed in human societies since the dawn of time.

The existence of a common pool of moral values points to the existence of transcendent force beyond mere scientific laws. Indeed, the message of atheism has always been a curiously depressing one, portraying us as selfish creatures bent on nothing more than survival and self-gratification.

Hawking also thinks that the potential existence of other lifeforms in the universe undermines the traditional religious conviction that we are living on a unique, God-created planet. But there is no proof that other lifeforms are out there, and Hawking certainly does not present any.

It always amuses me that atheists often argue for the existence of extra-terrestrial intelligence beyond earth. Yet they are only too eager to denounce the possibility that we already have a vast, intelligent being out there: God.

Hawking’s new fusillade cannot shake the foundations of a faith that is based on evidence.

God’s Undertaker: Has science Buried God? by John Lennox is out now (Lion Hudson, £8.99).

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1308599/Stephen-Hawking-wrong-You-explain-universe-God.html#ixzz0yabn9HCT <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1308599/Stephen-Hawking-wrong-You-explain-universe-God.html#ixzz0yabn9HCT>

Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa

This is another installment in a series that has been adapted from my 11-part CD teaching series on A. W. Tozer’s spiritual classic, The Pursuit of God.

It is the Holy Spirit who brings about this “experiential” aspect. The parable of “The  Prodigal Son” is a perfect example of the difference between the “experiential” and the “judicial” relationship. The parable centers around one older man and two younger men. The older man is the father and the two younger men are his sons. This father/son relationship had a “judicial” foundation in reality by virtue of birth. That is, they already were sons and didn’t have to do anything to become sons.

One day, the younger son leaves home, abandoning his relationship with his father, and squanders all the financial resources he had demanded from his dad. In time, this led the younger son into virtual slavery and total corruption. It is only at this point that the young man comes to his senses. This is an extremely important phrase in that text as well as a crossroad moment in the story. When someone “comes to their senses,” it means that they are forced to ask critical questions: “What on earth am I doing?” “What was I thinking?” “What is my future if I continue following this course of action?” Clearly something brought him to this realization and I suggest that that something was the young man’s pain. His decision had led to certain consequences and those consequences led to certain pain. Fortunately, that pain drove him to his knees.

On his knees he admits that his life doesn’t work well apart from his father and his home. So, he decides to return to his father’s house, reasoning that he would be better off as a slave within his father’s estate than a free man in the world in which he now finds himself. However, before he returns he rehearses a speech he wants to give to his father, in hope of finding his favor. The speech is basic: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men” (Luke 15: 18-19).

But he doesn’t get a chance to deliver the punch line. His father, who had been anxiously waiting for his return, spies him from afar and runs to him, embracing him with kisses. He immediately begins to recite his carefully rehearsed lines, but finds that his father isn’t listening. He is too busy preparing for the feast, a feast proclaiming that he who “was lost” has “been found.” In the end we observe that while leaving home never jeopardized the son’s “judicial” relationship with his father, it did sever his “experiential” relationship. That is, legally he never ceased being his father’s son, but relationally he had ceased enjoying the benefits of being a son.

The parable teaches us a couple of very important lessons: (1) Our legal standing as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father is independent of our behavior, even in the face of defiant rebellion; but (2) Our relational intimacy with our heavenly Father is completely dependent upon our willingness to remain with him in obedient fellowship. In order to enjoy the perks of being in God’s family, we must make him the fixed point around which we order everything else in our lives.

• What is the difference between the “experiential” and the “judicial” relationship?

Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa

God, may I never be more concerned with surface appearances than with inward substance. I long for a Christlike character that will sustain me through the vicissitudes and trials of this life. May I seek integrity over image and holiness over happiness. Protect me from the sin of lost potential that would result from pursuing the wrong things at the wrong times in the wrong ways. Grant me the power to be that same person when no one is looking as I am when I am among my peers. Let me be increasingly impressed with Jesus Christ and less impressed with appearance, posturing and posing. I ask that godly character will inform and empower my daily choices and relationships. Then I will seek the things that really matter and endure over the things that will fade and disappear.

• Pursuing the character that will sustain us through the vicissitudes and trials of this life.

Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa

O Lord, keep me from the folly of following what the world tells me to clamor for. I realize that biblical faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. And I know that it takes a great deal of trust and risk to pursue the invisible over the visible and the not-yet over the now. But hope that is seen is not hope, and if I hope for what I do not see, with perseverance I will wait eagerly for it. I will welcome Your promises from a distance and confess that I am a stranger and exile on the earth. May I trust You enough to treasure Your invisible promises over the visible promises of the world, knowing that only Your promises will endure in the end, and that the world is passing away. You have been faithful to me in the past and I will hope in You for the future.

• Biblical faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa

“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man, that You take thought of him?  And the son of man, that You care for him?”  From the time David wrote those words until the invention of the telescope in the early seventeenth century, only a few thousand stars were visible to the unaided eye, and the universe appeared far less impressive than we now know it to be.  Even until the second decade of our century, it was thought that the Milky Way galaxy was synonymous with the universe.  Now this alone would be awesome in its scope, since our spiral galaxy contains over two hundred billion stars and extends to a diameter of 100,000 light years (remember that a light second is over 186,000 miles; light from the sun to the earth traverses a distance of about 93 million miles in eight seconds).  But more recent developments in astronomy have revealed that our galaxy is a member of a local cluster of some twenty galaxies, and that this local cluster is but one member of a massive supercluster of thousands of galaxies.  So many of these superclusters are known to exist that the number of galaxies is etimated to be in the hundreds of billions.  What is man, indeed!  The God who created these stars and calls them all by name (Isa. 40:26) is unimaginably awesome; His wisdom, beauty, power, and dominion are beyond human comprehension.  And yet He has deigned to seek intimacy with the people on this puny planet and has given them great dignity and destiny: “Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and crown him with glory and majesty” (Psalm 8:5).  While these words are applicable to all people, they find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:6-8).

Follow: http://twitter.com/kennethboa
Connect on Facebook: Kenneth Boa

This is an unprecedented technological breakthrough in solar imagery. It gives us new insights into the marvel of our sun which is perfectly fine-tuned for life on earth. We are privileged in our time to see the wonders of creation in ways previously unimagined.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrmUUcr4HXg

NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/news/first-light.html

These prayers are very powerful, and they invite us to elevate our desires to have an experiential knowledge of God and to lay hold of the power of God’s grace in our lives. Few people pray in this way, yet these exemplary prayers encourage us to pursue the pearl of great price over secondary goods.

• [I ask] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.  Ephesians 1:17-19a

• And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.  Philippians 1:9-11

• [I ask] that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.  Colossians 1:9b-12

There are many ways to avoid God, and two of the best, as Pascal observed centuries ago, are distraction and indifference.

“Looking for God—or Heaven—by exploring space is like reading or seeing all Shakespeare’s plays in the hope that you will find Shakespeare as one of the characters… My point is that, if God does exist, He is related to the universe more as an author is related to a play than as one object in the universe is related to another…How, then, it may be asked, can we either reach or avoid Him? The avoiding, in many times and places, has proved so difficult that a very large part of the human race failed to achieve it. But in our own time and place it is extremely easy. Avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads off the beaten track. Concentrate on money, sex, status, health, and (above all) on your own grievances. Keep your radio on. Live in a crowd. Use plenty of sedation. If you must read books, select them very carefully. But you’d be safer to stick to the papers. You’ll find the advertisements helpful; especially those with a sexy or snobbish appeal.”

- C. S. Lewis, “The Seeing Eye”