NoblePurpose Blog

The other day my wife, who is a pastoral counselor, had a visit from a woman who was in the process of preparing papers to effect a legal separation from her husband. Both the woman and her husband are committed Christians. There had been no infidelity and no abuse. She was just fed up with the careless way he treated her with silence. She had talked with her pastor. She had consulted another Christian counselor and basically had simply been asked, “Are you sure this is what you want?” Then because she had counseled with my wife a couple of years ago on another matter, she just wanted to touch base with her before she finalized and filed the papers.

After listening to her, my wife asked her a couple of questions.
First, “Have you talked about your plan to take legal action with your husband?” She replied, “No, but he will learn all about it when he is served with the documents.” Secondly, “Have you considered whether or not this action is God-honoring and pleasing to Him?”

To make a long story short, the woman went home, shared her anguish with her husband and discovered that he was horribly shocked and distraught to realize that she was hurting so grievously. He expressed his genuine love for her and was eager to do whatever it would take to alleviate her distress. Soon he began courting her as he had done so well when they first married. In a later joint counseling session the couple asked my wife, “Why did no one else even question if the proposed separation would be God-honoring and pleasing to Him?” They are now on a second honeymoon and I can see God smiling.

Well, men, setting aside whatever deficiencies and offenses we might focus on in the actions of this wife, I think there is a message here for us. Is God pleased and being honored by the way you care for your wife? I think sometimes we men can be pretty thick between the ears when it comes to understanding our wives’ basic needs – in spite of the fact that God has clearly expressed how he “wired” our wives and how he wants us to nurture their lives.

Paul wrote; “Husbands, love your wives ….” (Eph.5:25) The Holy Spirit directed him to write that because it is the most basic need of our wives – more than food, clothing and a nice house. Note that this word from our Lord is not optional. It is not just a recommendation. It is a clear command. God doesn’t just say “I think this would be a nice idea for birthdays, anniversaries and Valentine’s Day.” He said, “This is how I want you treat my daughter – always.”

Furthermore, the instruction is not conditional. It does not say “Love your wives as long as they respect you and treat you with kindness.” However, the Holy Spirit did say, “… love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Eph.5:25) And we all know how that went. Our Lord didn’t wait until we loved and respected and submitted to him, rather, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Men, a marriage to our wife is a holy gift from God. He has placed one of his daughters in our care and we need to hold her in our hands, caress her gently and treat her with the grateful love and respect due such a priceless gift from God. God cherishes marriage so much that he used it to illustrate the intimacy of his relationship with the Israelites. (Ezekiel 16) God’s concept of marriage is so holy that He uses it repeatedly throughout the New Testament to model the close connection between Christ and His church. So it is imperative that we accept this precious gift seriously and determine to care for it in the same way that Christ cared (cares) for the church.

I challenge you to find out how your wife is feeling about your “husbanding”. Sit down with her and ask her these two questions.

“Do you feel connected to me?”

“Do you feel loved and cherished by me?”

Then close your mouth, open your ears, sit back and listen intently to what she has to say.

Friends this reaches far beyond the borders of our homes. God hopes to use the marriages of His people to model to the world his connection with his people and the relationship of his Son with His church. So it is vital that we fulfill his hope. We must be certain we don’t share the condemnation God made of some of His people in the first century when he said through the apostle Paul, “My name is blasphemed amongst the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:24)

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The other day the following thoughts struck me during the Communion and I decided to share them with you. Jack Close

There is this little hill located on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

I staggered up the path to the crest of that hill and I could see two crosses with their human cargoes already in stark relief against the late morning sky. As I reached the summit, I saw a third roughly hewn cross lying on the ground – waiting for me. Forcefully I was thrust down on top of it. Two soldiers pinned down my arms while a third sat straddle my legs making any struggle useless. Frantically my mind flashed back to the screams of anguish I had heard while I was struggling up the hill when the other two criminals were being nailed to their crosses. Their screams had been followed by muted thuds and tortured groans as each cross had been raised and dropped into its anchor hole

What had brought me here flashed through my mind: the lies, the bitter, caustic words hurled in anger, the selfish choices, the hidden dishonesties, the secret blasphemies, the silent mental adulteries, the carelessly procrastinated or ignored acts of kindness, and all the other sin that had accumulated during seventy-three years of my self-centered life.

Then I felt the point of a cold iron nail pressed cruelly against the softness of my flesh. My stomach knotted. Every muscle in my body tensed. And as the executioner raised the mallet to drive in the nail, a cry froze in my throat.

But hazily through the sweat seeping into my eyes, I glimpsed the form of a man in a dazzling white robe. He stepped forward, gently grasped the upraised arm of the soldier, and whispered something quietly in his ear. The soldier stared at him in disbelieving bewilderment. Then he just nodded his head, dropped his arm and stepped back.

The man in the white robe reached down, took my hand and lifted me gently up from the rough timbers. After a tender love-filled hug He guided me reeling back into the arms of my family who were sobbing among the crowd of onlookers.

Dazed and shaking, I glanced back over my shoulder and saw my rescuer purposefully taking my place on the cross. I looked down into his eyes and saw tears of inconceivable sadness – for me – and a consciousness of the scope of his love for me swept over me like a tidal wave.

I watched the nails being driven first into and through his wrists – and then his feet. I could almost feel the anguish that I knew should have been mine. While the brilliant crimson blood gushed from his wrists and feet, I noticed the dazzling white of his robe had faded to a dirty gray. His cross was slowly raised and then plunged violently into the remaining hole between the crosses of the two criminals.

Immediately, silently a formidable darkness began to creep over the whole land and for the next three hours it hung there, bearing down on us with an oppressive heaviness. After what seemed like an interminable pause during which time seemed to have stopped an anguished cry from his parched throat sliced through the uneasy silence. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Finally, his head dropped to his chest and he murmured, “It is finished”

At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
(The New Living Translation: Matthew 27:51-54)

Sunday morning His tomb was empty. But my mind will never be empty of the images of that Friday morning on that little hill outside Jerusalem.

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Have you ever reflected on the feelings of God?  Have you ever been pained by His pain?  Has your heart ever longed to bring a smile to His face in contrast to what He must feel so often when He is faced with the disdain of the atheist, the futile worship of His creation by the ignorant pagan, or worse yet, when He contemplates those of His own declared followers, his adopted children, about whom the Holy Spirit anguished in Romans 2:

 “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 

For most of my life (On May 10 I will have been a Christian for 62 years.) I have thought about myself and my challenges and my feelings and my successes and my failures in relationship to God. It’s only in the last few years that I have begun to contemplate the feelings of God in our relationship. At first that may seem to be rather presumptuous, to think one can know how God feels about anything, yet God often shares His feelings with us. It seems to me He wants us to know how He feels. Listen.

The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.  (Gen. 6:6)

Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says:
       “See, I will refine and test them,
       for what else can I do
       because of the sin of my people? (Jer. 9:7)

“A son honors his father and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the LORD Almighty.  (Malachi 1:6)

“Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” declares the Sovereign LORD. “Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ezek. 18:23)

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  (Matt. 9:36)

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! (Luke 13:4)

“Father, forgive us for our insensitivity to your pain and grief.”
-JSClose

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A good friend and wonderful pastor sent this to me and it seemed appropriate to share.  Especially today.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

In HIm,

Dan

www.noblepurposeministries.org

George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor — and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be — That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks — for His kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation — for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His Providence which we experienced in the tranquility [sic], union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed — for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One [capital O] now lately instituted — for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions — to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually — to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed — to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord — To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us — and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York
the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789
George Washington

 http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/thanksgiving/intro.html

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I actually began writing this a couple of years ago.  However, I continue to wrestle with finding patience to listen and look for GOD to lead me ever closer to Him  One thing that I’ve begun to realize is that I’m not nearly as essential to His purpose as I thought that I was.  I’m not suggesting that God doesn’t care for me.  A glance at John 3:16 reminds all of us just how much He loves us.  However, as He fulfills His purpose my real role is more like a child playing in his father’s wood shop.  Maybe that’s why Jesus’ earthly trade skill was as a carpenter.

When my children were young, they enjoyed visiting their gradparents.  My father-in-law had a wood shop with all of the tools, patterns, and materials to build all kinds of toys.  My kids would go to the shop with him.  A few hours later, they would emerge with a beautifully built dump truck or wooden duck that could walk as it was pushed by a long stick.  They would proudly show off the prize that “they had made.”  In reality, their grandfather had supplied the materials, skills, and effort to really make the prize.  The kids had been invited to join him in the work.  They had enjoyed playing with him as he did the work.  He enjoyed their company and poured his love out on them.  This relatonship brought joy to everyone who was involved.  I believe that this is a picture of GOD’s relationship with us.  Maybe it’s time to stop taking ourselves so seriously and enjoy the opportunity to be with Him.

My studies during the past few years continue to convict me of my need to stop seeking how my desires fit into GOD’s plan, but simply seek GOD’s will and His invitation to me to join His work.  That is an early lesson from Henry Blackaby’s “Experiencing GOD” and a lesson that I am striving to open my heart to see GOD as He works around me.  Each time I try to “negotiate” a compromise with GOD to let me “be in charge” of the plan, He says “NO!”  Whether I read through the various books or listen to the lecture from my Spiritual Formation class their messages are telling me that my role is to do His will and not convince Him that my will is good too.  When I try to justify my plans by telling GOD how good they are, I read in the Bible “It is GOD who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13.  

These are not easy lessons for me to do.  In fact, I feel somewhat like the character Eustis in C.S. Lewis’ novel “Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”  The young boy, Eustis found himself turned into a dragon.  He couldn’t change himself into a boy again.  Then the great lion dug his sharp claws deep into the dragon’s skin.  Layer after layer was ripped off and finally the boy was found again.  For many years as a strategist, I operated quite independently.  I was educated to identify resources and develop plans to employ those resources to achieve a desired endstate.  The endstate was determined via queries to and statements from customers and stakeholders.  Strategy was a product of means, ways, and ends.  My job was to package these components into a nice, neat package and then work through an organization to implement the strategy.  This could be very rewarding or very frustrating.  When everything worked according to my plan, I felt accomplished and proud.  However, I had to accept responsibility when the plan fails to accomplish the goals that I intended.  Whose plans were these anyway? 

During one worship service, a lady began to talk about her frustration in her service to GOD.  She said that she had dedicated her life to health care.  She tried to conquer diseases and bring comfort to the sick.  However, disease is more rampant today that ever and she felt her life had been wasted.  

Many of us can sympathize, but we have missed the point.  The work is not mine.  The ministry is not mine.  The calling is not mine.  And the results are not mine.  I am freed of my inadequate abilities and shortfalls when I accept my role as His child and give up my prideful ownership of what isn’t mine anyway.  I work to obey the desires of my Father.  I don’t own the outcome of that work.  There is no rank among the workers.  One job is not more important that another.  Some may be more visible at one moment than another, but all of GOD’s work is accomplished in harmony by the perfect, master strategist.  GOD will make it all work together for good.  He promised us that (Romans 8:28).  But, He works on His schedule and not mine.  “We exist to serve GOD and not persuade GOD to serve us.” (page 68, “Conformed to His Image” by Kenneth Boa)  The work is GOD’s and I have been invited to participate.  My career, though I intend it for good works, may or may not be truly “service to GOD.”  Through prayerful study of His word and submission to the His leading, GOD’s work, what He is doing all around us right now, is revealed to us.  When I see His work, I am invited to participate as His servant.  It is simple, but the simple is seldom easy.  Carl von Clausewitz said, “in war all things are simple, but the simple is difficult.”  I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I pray that GOD will continue to transform my spirit to accept it anyway.

In Him,

Dan

www.noblepurposeministries.org

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Through Azariah. God’s prophet, He told Judah’s King Asa, “if you seek Him, He will let you find Him.” (@ Chronicles 15:2)  I recently heard a pastor say that “God plays ‘hide and seek’ like a 2-year old child.”  Whenever you open your eyes, He is right there beside you.  God just doesn’t hide from us.  Don’t see Him?  Maybe you need to see who is hiding from whom.  Here is something that I wrote a couple of years ago.  

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Several years ago, I shared with our church family some insights gained from talking with soldiers who had been wounded in combat.  Their attitudes provided me with an appreciation of the importance of belonging to a family of believers, being involved in the lives of one another, and sharing responsibility that comes from being in relationships.  I want to share those insights with you.

The Sunday theme of worship that week was focused on fellowship.  I was once again amazed by the way God works things together.  I had been studying and thinking of the power of fellowship over the past few weeks.  Talking with wounded soldiers, I was humbled by their unwavering desire to return to their units.  I asked medical professionals at Walter Reed Army Hospital where such commitment came from.  The answer was summarized in a single word – fellowship.

To help you understand the setting for these thoughts you should know that our church tradition celebrates the Lord’s Supper each week.  These were the remarks that I shared to prepare for that celebration.

“We have come to the period of worship where we pause and remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us all.  This period of worship has many names – Lord’s Supper, Holy Sacrament, Holy Communion, or simply Communion.  All of these names refer to sharing, sharing the emblems of this worship (the bread and the wine), sharing the belief in our Savior (that He was the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, lived as a perfect example of God on earth, and died that we might be saved), sharing in the grace given to us through His sacrifice (grace freely given, not earned, but provided at an awful price by God) – Fellowship.

During my last assignment before coming back to the Pentagon, I was privileged to command Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.  As the installation commander my duties included the honor of caring for 30 to 150 wounded and injured soldiers.  Many of these young men and women had suffered severe injuries.  One had been blown from his vehicle by a roadside bomb and was recovering from a broken neck.  Another had been shot in the face and lost his left eye.  A young lady had been shot in the knee and eventually lost her leg.  Others had lost arms and legs.  However, each of these patriots consistently asked two common questions.  The first question was, “Can I stay in the Army?”  We worked each case through a lengthy bureaucratic process and many of them stayed in the Army. Their second question, even while their wounds were fresh, was “when can I get back to my unit?  They need me!”  What a profound statement.  Their units “needed” them.  These wounded heroes yearned for the fellowship of their comrades.  They had shared good times and bad times.  They had horrific experiences in terrible conditions.  However, they had formed a bound of unity by pursuing a common cause and a shared commitment.  They now shared a heritage together.”
Acts 2: 42-44 reads, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.”

We can learn a lot from these soldiers who yearn to be with their comrades.  Our souls are wounded by sin.  We want to be with others and find camaraderie. It’s natural.  God made us this way.   Others contributed to these soldiers’ recovery, mentally as well as physically.  They experienced an outpouring of affection from their units.  They knew that their units wanted their injured comrade as much as the injured soldier wanted to be back with their units.  Is that how we are with our Christian comrades?  Do we yearn to be together?  When someone is injured, seriously injured by sin, do they know we want them back with us?  How do they know?
In Him,
Dan
www.noblepurposeministries.org

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     Have you found yourself so busy with just coping, so focused on the next objective or the maybe the delinquent project, that you ignore everything else?  Some mornings when I’m fighting traffic in the Washington, DC commute, I don’t even hear the radio.  I’ll turn on the traffic station and completely miss the report of an accident on the road ahead.  I become frustrated with myself and my anxiety increases. Satan has once again successfully blocked my blessing of enjoying time with my Father.  Heavy traffic is insignificant in comparison to people who are truly hurting.  We reflect GOD’s love for others when will help them slide back the dark blinds of pain and see that there is a strong tower that provides security from the pain and uncertainty that seems to consume them.

     Currently there are two families that I have become acquainted with.  Both are Christian believers, dedicated to serving the LORD.  Both wives in these families are critically ill with cancer.  Their lives in this world are uncertain to them and us, but not to GOD.  While we pray for their healing, we can be sure that GOD will work these situations for good.  His love, His will for our good, is praised in Psalms 136.  In all things, GOD’s love never fails.

     Lately, I have begun looking for GOD’s blessing in every situation.  I have adopted Romans 8:28 as my daily theme verse, “And we know that for those who love GOD all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  This certainly is not GOD’s promise that trouble and pain will not make their way into our lives.  It is His promise that, even in trouble and pain, He is in control and is molding the hearts of His people for our ultimate good.  He is El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One.

Hear my cry, O God;
       listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to you,
       I call as my heart grows faint;
       lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For you have been my refuge,
       a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent forever
       and take refuge in the shelter of your wings

Psalm 61

In Him,

Dan

www.noblepurposeministries.org

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These thoughts were inspired by Mel Blackaby’s book “Going the Second Mile.”  I recommend you read the little book!

I am convinced that the greatest reason for Christians who fail to grow in relationship with Jesus Christ is that we lose our focus and become distracted by all of the things around us. As life happens around us, we sacrifice the only thing that will sustain our joy. We fail to study the Word of God, we stop praying, we don’t spend any time in His presence, we only think about God when we are “suppose to,” like coming to church. We wonder why we are not growing? What is the barrier that we can’t overcome?

The second mile is the place where barriers are overcome and records are broken. We look at all of the record holders. Guinness Book of World Records presents all kinds of strange barriers that people have overcome. But there is another kind of barrier that we cannot overcome by our strength or abilities. The only way to win over this barrier is to surrender to the One who promises to carry us through it.

One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 40:31,
“Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.”

Jesus said, “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Matthew 5:41. We have heard the explanations of Roman law allowing Roman soldiers to demand someone to carry their load. But we miss the point of Jesus words by looking at the technicalities. He message is simple – find joy in going beyond what is demanded. Jesus is saying “Come. Join me in the second mile.”

We can walk with many good people on the first mile. We walk with confidence that we can do good things. We do what we think is right while we walk the first mile. However, In the second mile, we realize that faith is not a one time decision to complete, check off the list and get on with life. It is making your plans and asking God to bless them. He is not some rabbit’s foot that you keep in your pocket. He is the Almighty God, sovereign, holy, and perfect. He is the only one deserving of honor and worship. And God wants to have a personal relationship with me??? and you??? Wow!

Another reason that we grow tired of Christian living is that we depend on ourselves to fix the problems. We are not patiently watching God work. That is because the story of faith is found in the Second Mile. In the second mile we enter eternity. Do you realize that eternity is not something that we are waiting for? It isn’t the next period which comes after Jesus’ return for His disciples. Jesus prayed to His Father, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” In the second mile we know God and Jesus.

In the second mile we find surrender. This is a hard lesson for me. I have been scarred by our western culture which encourages us to multi-task. I am very good at multi-tasking. I can work on six different major projects simultaneously. I am a good time manager and keep a calendar of my wife’s birthday, our anniversary, birth dates of my children, special events. etc. We are taught, and I’m afraid that we teach our children, to compartment our lives – this area is my work life, this is my social life, this is the place of my family life, and here we have is my Christian life.

However, we surrender all of these areas in the second mile. This is the place Jesus invites us to join Him in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Here Jesus tells us how to join Him for the second mile. Notice that we have three instructions here –Come, Take, and Learn. These are the steps of relationship building. No compartments, no hidden motives, no selfish agendas, just surrender and freedom. Sounds strange, but test it and see if it’s true.

In Him,
Dan

www.noblepurposeministries.org

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The past few weeks have been a little crazy.  Connie and I moved to North Carolina where we can be near our daughter’s family.  Grandchildren can be a compelling reason to move.   However, establishing and re-establishing routines are challenging.  One routine that followed me to our new home was monthly visits to clients in Washington, DC.  Tomorrow I will make that trip for the second time since relocating.  However, I wanted to share a little of my experience from the first trip from our new home.

My trip began like most of the other visits.  I was booked for an early morning flight to Dulles International Airport.  I have been taking these monthly trips for the past couple of years.  However, this was the first time to fly from the small airport near our new home.  I was pleasantly surprised by the short 10-minute drive from house to terminal, the ease of the check-in process, and even the security folks were pleasant. 

We soon boarded the small commuter jet, taxied to the runway and launch off into the early dawn sky.   I opened my book to read, but realized that we were flying over our new home.  I saw the local school, the neighborhood, and our house nestled among the surrounding homes.  There were trees covering the rolling hills and the blue ribbon of a river meandering through the countryside.  It was nice.

Suddenly, we rose above the clouds and it was magnificent!  A soft, cottony blanket would open up to expose large cavernous spaces inside some of the clouds.  The caverns glowed orange as the sunlight passed through the outer layers and filled the inner spaces.  I thought of Jesus saying “I am the light and in me there is no darkness.”

I began to notice how the clouds appeared to be stitched together, interwoven somehow.  Just think of all of the various laws of nature that combined to make this scene possible - humidity and atmospheric gases, temperature, and elevation.  Then there is aerodynamics of speed and lift at play, just to raise us to the place where we can see it.  There were amazing biological aspects that allowed me to see and interpret the wonders that were on display that morning.  The technology was astounding – from the advance jet aircraft that carried us into the sky to the glasses that corrected my faltering eyesight.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I thought “where is God in all of this?”  Did He create the rules and turn creation loose to run on its own steam?  Is He engaged and making new creations as we go along? How does it all fit together?  The answers are in a combined “yes!”  He did create and He continues to create.  These creations fit together perfectly.  Each natural law was impacting, influencing, shaping the others.  Physical Science, mechanical engineering, thermodynamics, biology, and spirit all involved together in intimate interplay.  This was the marvelous display that mesmerized me as we flew 30,000 feet above the ground.  The panorama that was before me was a great illustration of relationship.  It speaks to the relationship that our Creator wants to have with us, His creation.  Therefore, once again God had left His fingerprints for us to see.

In Him,

Dan

www.noblepurposeministries.org

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