San Juan Capistrano, a small city in southern California, is famous for the swallows that arrive and depart every year with predictable consistency. Around March 19 they can be expected to arrive, and around October 23 (the day that Saint John of Capistrano died in 1456), they can be expected to depart. “Like swallows returning to Capistrano” is a proverbial way to speak of that which is done by nature or by instinct.

Fortunately, we do not cycle between the northern and southern hemispheres on an annual basis! Indeed, we are distinguished from the animal kingdom by our ability to choose our destinations—where, when, and with whom we will go. The ability to choose reflects the image of our Creator God, and contributes significantly to an identity which sets apart from everything else that has life. However, there is one destination which all of the earth’s peoples seek instinctively—one yearning which makes us like the swallows of Capistrano—and that is our “instinctive” yearning for eternity.

Don Richardson, a modern missionary-anthropologist, has studied human cultures in the most remote parts of the world. His book, Eternity In Their Hearts, shows how people all over the world—from the Stone Age tribes in New Guinea to the sophisticated secularists of the West—demonstrate a yearning for God. They may not know the true God, but they know he exists. Why is this so? Because God has “set eternity in the hearts of men.” If there is no God, why do peoples of all cultures seek him? They seek him because he made them. As Capistrano is inscribed in the genetic material of a swallow, so eternity is written deeply in the souls of all people. A longing for God is the one part of a person’s identity which cannot be “turned off.” It can be denied, resisted, even cursed—but it cannot be removed.

If you long for heaven, it is because the God who made you is there. But he is also here, confirming that part of who we are is a seeker after him.

God’s Promise to You: “Your longing for eternity is evidence that I exist and that you are my unique creation.”

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On your next visit to a large shopping mall, see if one of the busiest kiosks is not the one selling genealogical information: family histories, coats of arms, and the derivation of names. People are fascinated with discovering their “true” identities. “Were our ancestors really ‘bakers?’” the Baker family asks. “Are we descended from blacksmiths and metal workers?” the Smith children ask their parents. A name can tell a lot about who we are—or were.

God takes naming seriously as well. Not only did he name the parts of his original creation (Genesis 1:3-10), but he named the stars as well (Isaiah 40:26). And to Adam he gave the task of naming the animals (Genesis 2:20) and Adam’s children (Genesis 4:1,2,26). God’s own names were one of the most important indicators of his identity. Not only did God name himself at times (Exodus 3:14), he also received the names which his chosen people gave to him as they came to know him personally. One of those names was “Sovereign Lord.”

This compound name of God is beautiful in that it reveals the two attributes of God most cherished by Israel: God’s personal approachability and his mighty rule. Think of a father in a home who tenderly lavishes affection on his children yet firmly acts as the authority. Or think of a shepherd who binds the wounds of his sheep, yet uses his rod to drive away the ravenous wolves. Affection, yet authority. Tenderness, yet strength. Servant leadership, yet sovereign lordship.

“Sovereign” to the Israelite meant master or ruler; the one over whom no one else had power or authority. “Lord” (Yahweh) was the name God gave the Israelites to use in their personal relationship with him. “Sovereign Lord” is the name of the God who tenderly saved his infant nation from slavery, and totally destroyed her enemy in the Red Sea. Moses truly knew God as “Sovereign Lord.”

Do you know God like Moses did—as Sovereign Lord? One of the reasons God exists is to reveal himself to you—to show you his true identity—as the God who loves and protects his children.

God’s Promise to You: “I will always love you and protect you.”

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“No excuses!” How many times in your life have those case-closing words rung in your ears—or proceeded from your mouth? While the words are often spoken by parents, teachers, coaches, or judges with a finality that sounds irrefutable, there is probably always room for argument in the realm of human experience. Were the instructions really clear? Did my child truly understand? Is the law really without loopholes? Sometimes in life there may be a valid excuse even in the face of “No excuses!”

However, there is one place where excuses are not valid: the court room where the existence of God is on trial. The Bible promises that God has made His existence crystal clear to every person who has ever lived. So clear, in fact, that “men are without excuse” (v. 19).

How can we be sure that God exists? First of all, because God has made it plain. If it is so plain, we wonder, why doesn’t everyone simply see the evidence and believe? Without proposing all of the theological and philosophical answers to that question (and there are some good ones), the problem at its simplest may be one of looking for the wrong thing; not being able to see the forest for the trees. Do you remember the Russian cosmonauts who boldly announced their intention to solve the problem of the existence of God? They would simply look around heaven and see if He was there! Upon returning to earth, they said, “We looked, and there was no God.” In Biblical terms, that’s like saying, “We saw no forest; all we saw were thousands of trees.” They were so focused on seeing a “being” that, in the midst of one of the most spectacular showcases of God’s mighty power, they were blind to the evidence of His existence.

If you ever question God’s existence, simply look around. A star-studded sky, the dimpled cheek of a newborn, the complex design of a flower, the life-giving rain and sunshine—all these and more paint a plain picture of His presence and His power in our world.

God’s Promise to You: “Even in your darkest moments, My presence and My power are plainly seen in what I have made.”

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God of glory, in wisdom You have made the heavens and the earth, and nothing is too difficult for You. You rule over the cosmos with its hundreds of billions of galaxies and hold all things together. You created all things for your good pleasure, and the heavens proclaim Your glory, majesty and greatness. Your glory and wisdom are also manifest throughout the manifold flora and fauna of this rich, though bent, world. In spite of the transgression of the Fall and the consequent spread of sin and of death, Your redemptive work will overcome the ravages of sin. Your Word clearly reveals that no amount of human effort could conquer this alienation and bring about peace with You and with humanity. I thank You that You have paid the only price that could bring this about through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

• The heavens proclaim the Creator’s glory, majesty and greatness.

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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.

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

When God revealed himself as the compassionate and gracious God who is slow to anger, who abounds in love and faithfulness, who maintains love to thousands and who forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin, he made it clear this his personal character is the absolute standard by which all of these qualities are defined. God is accountable to no one, and there is no higher standard to which he must conform. As the great thinker Anselm said in the 11^th century: “God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived.”

Anselm originally made this statement in an attempt to prove God’s existence. But as Michael Witmer points out,

The real legacy of Anselm’s argument is not its attempt to prove God’s existence but rather how it teaches us to speak about God. If God is “that than which nothing greater can be conceived,” then we know there are certain things we must say about him. For starters, we must use only our best words to describe him. God must be righteous, powerful, loving, and kind – all the things that it is better to be than not to be. We may disagree about what items should go in the list…but we all agree that the list must include all the great-making properties we can imagine….

God is qualitatively superior to anything in his creation. There is nothing that compares with the greatest possible being. He is in a class by himself – literally.[1]

God’s own eternal and uncompromising character is the unchanging standard that gives ultimate meaning to love, graciousness, faithfulness and forbearance. And yet the incredible call of the gospel is that fallen creatures such as we are can now begin to reflect our Father’s character in our own lives. The One who is goodness in his essence, the One who defines virtue by his very being, promises to empower those who will trust him enough to live according to his will.

• God is that which nothing greater can be conceived.

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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>

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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.

A Christian is one who accepts the terms of the created order: God is the Maker, we are the creatures; God is the Redeemer, we are the redeemed; God is the Almighty, we are totally dependent upon him. If we reject these terms, we will attempt to elevate ourselves as gods and create “God” according to our image.

A.W. Tozer introduces this chapter with just such a reminder: “It is true that order in nature depends upon right relationships; to achieve harmony each thing must be in its proper position relative to each other thing.” Just as there is a proper sequence and order in the natural world, so too there is in the relational world. But something has happened to the natural order – something is wrong. We see everywhere we go. We hear it in every person we know. We feel it in every moment we breathe. What is it?

Tozer answers, “. . . the cause of all our human miseries is a radical moral dislocation, an upset in our relation to God and to each other.” This radical change can be seen in the Genesis 3 account. We first observe it in the relationship between God and the two people he had created for fellowship. They went from a “Thy will be done” stance to a “My will be done” stance. Everything began to fall apart from there, so that the dislocation in Genesis remains with us to this day. For example, we see the “My will be done” stance in our prayers. They often degenerate into childish attempts to persuade or manipulate God into doing our will, rather than an ordained means by which he transforms us into the “My will be done” kind of children.

What we need is a restoration of the Creator-creature relation; it is the only means to maturing our salvation. However, this change is not a judicial change merely, but an experiential change, one that affects our whole nature. The judicial change has to do with what God has already accomplished on our behalf, a change that has been brought about by the work of Christ. However, that change must continue to extend to every part of our being so that we are completely brought back into relationship with God through Christ. It is there that we are free to experience life as part of God’s family and as children of light.

• What is the nature of our radical moral dislocation?

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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.

But someone might object that this skillful kind of faith is too simple. Tozer responds, “It would be like God to make the most vital thing easy and place it within the range of possibility for the weakest and poorest of us.” It can be accomplished without the need for special religious paraphernalia. It can be done from any posture, whether standing, kneeling, or lying down. It can be done at any time, in any season. Every day is a day of salvation. It can be done from any place – simply turn your heart toward him. And every one of us can do it, whether child or adult, whether ignorant or educated, whether clergy or laity.

Tozer writes,

“Many have found the secret of which I speak and, without giving much thought to what is going on with them, constantly practice this habit of inwardly gazing upon God. They know that something inside their heart sees God . . . . Let their attention but be released for a moment from necessary business and it flies at once to God again.”

Tozer references Nicholas of Cusa to illustrate this sweet language of experience. Tozer writes of Nicholas: “His conception of eternal life, for instance, is beautiful in itself and, if I mistake not, is nearer in spirit to John 17: 3 than that which is current among us today. ‘Life eternal,’ says Nicholas, is

‘nought other than that blessed regard wherewith Thou never ceasest to behold me, yes, even the secret places of my soul. With Thee, to behold is to give life; ‘tis unceasingly to impart sweetest love of Thee; ‘tis to inflame me to love of Thee by love’s imparting, and to feed me by inflaming, and by feeding to kindle my yearning, and by kindling to make me drink of the dew of gladness, and by drinking to infuse in me a fountain of life, and by infusing to make it increase and endure.’”

• How is it possible to constantly practice the habit of inwardly gazing upon God?

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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.

There are three Latin words that can all mean faith: noticia, assentia, fiducia. Noticia simply means that you saw something or took “notice” of its existence. Assentia means that you acknowledged or gave “assent” to the truth of something. But it is the third word that represents biblical faith: fiducia. This is a word that simply means to “trust.” We must think of biblical faith as more than an intellectual notation, more than a cognitive assent; it is placing one’s trust in truth. And because propositional truth in Scripture always points beyond itself to the author, we see that trusting a certain truth is grounded in our trust of the Truthgiver – we are to look to him who is the Author of our faith, the One who has written everything from the introduction to the conclusion. Therefore, faith is choosing to believe that the Bible is true regardless of any feelings or beliefs to the contrary. Faith always involves a choice of the will and an intention of the heart.

This is exactly what Jesus did; he kept the inward eyes of his heart upon his Father. When he asked his Father to raise Lazarus from the dead, he raised his eyes toward heaven and prayed. When he fed the 5,000, he took the five loaves and two fish and looked up toward heaven and gave thanks. And even as his followers stood “gazing intently” as their resurrected Savior ascended into heaven, they soon learned how to run the race of faith by “fixing their eyes on Jesus.” Throughout his whole life Jesus himself demonstrated this continuous and uninterrupted gaze of the soul in the direction of his Father. Likewise, he calls us to intentionally aim our hearts toward Jesus.

Tozer goes on to say that,

“. . . this one committal, this one great volitional act which establishes the heart’s intention to gaze forever upon Jesus. God takes this intention for our choice and makes what allowances he must for the thousand distractions which beset us in this evil world. He knows that we have set the direction of our hearts toward Jesus, and we can know it too, and comfort ourselves with the knowledge that a habit of soul is forming which will become, after a while, a sort of spiritual reflex requiring no more conscious effort on our part.

Faith is the least self-regarding of the virtues. It is by its very nature scarcely conscious of its own existence. Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied on the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves – blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do.”

Most of religion tinkers with your soul, forever trying to figure everything out and get everything right. But you must get your eyes off of all that nonsense and get your eyes onto Christ because when you do, he’ll take over the care of your soul.

• How do we cultivate a beneficial habit of the soul?

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