Maker of the Universe

My goal is to read the entire Bible in French. As I've mentioned, reading in French makes me slow down. I can't skim over familiar portions. I need to think about what I'm reading. 

Starting today in Genesis 1, I am freshly in awe of the God who created everything we see. He made (and makes) so many things in such great diversity and on both astronomical and microscopic scales. 

Let's start with the astronomical: 

Last night I looked up at the constellation Orion. One of his shoulders is a reddish star called Betelgeuse. According to Louie Giglio's Indescribable book and DVD (which are fabulous, by the way), Betelgeuse is twice the size of earth's orbit around the sun. The radius of earth's orbit around our sun is 93 million miles, so that means Betelgeuse is roughly 372,000,000 miles wide. If the earth were the size of a golf ball, Betelgeuse would be the height of six Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other. It would take 262 trillion earths to fill Betelgeuse's volume. That's like filling 3,000 indoor football stadiums with golf balls. 

Betelgeuse is not the largest star God has created, either. Nor are the few dozen stars I can see above my house representative of the vast number God has created. Our galaxy has 300 billion stars. There are probably between 100-200 billion galaxies in the universe. Wow. 

Coming back to Earth, God also created great diversity and multitude. Here's a breakdown of the number of different species (i.e. distinctly different types of creatures and plants) scientists estimate:

• 1.5 million fungi
• 3,000 brown algae
• 17,000 lichens
• 321,212 plants
• 1,367,555 non-insect animals
• 10-30 million insects

Getting out our microscopes, scientists estimate there are somewhere between tens of thousands and billions of different types of bacteria and other tiny things. 

God has made a LOT of different things, from teeny tiny to bigger-than-we-can-comprehend. Yet Jesus, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:6-11). 

Take That, Flu Bug!

Yesterday afternoon the flu hit me. Quite rapidly in fact. But praise God, He is healing me quickly. My fever was gone this morning, and other than being slightly achy and tired, I feel much better. 

Last night I felt Him asking me to focus on Him instead of zoning out. He gave clarity to my feverish brain, so I was able to listen to worship music, pray, and read more of "Discerning the Voice of God" by Priscilla Shirer. The chapter I read challenged me to do whatever God asks of me for the next 24 hours. Sounds like He has plans for this extra time I have at home (I can't go to work until I've had at least 48 fever-free hours).

"You can obey without hesitation because God is kind, He is good, and He loves you," says Priscilla Shirer. 

My time with Him yesterday and this morning has been GOOD. I'd like to share my journal entry with you:

I read Ephesians 1 this morning, both in English and in French. Reading the Bible in French forces me to slow down and really think about the words I'm reading. 

For example, verse 14 says, "This [the Holy Spirit] is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory" or "lequel est un gage de notre héritage, pour la rédemption de ceux que Dieu s’est acquis, à la louange de sa gloire."

Literally, un gage is something given to assure payment of a debt. Figuratively, it means "de toute sorte de garantie, d'assurance, de preuve, de témoignage," or "all sorts of guarantee, assurance (certainty, confidence, insurance), proof, and witness."It's our unshakable promise from God for our future, our redemption. It's for those who "Dieu s'est acquis," those whom God has acquired, purchased, bought. 

This part I love - it's to the louange (praise) of His glory. Louange means to speak something by which we "relève" God's merit. Relève = to put something back in the place it should be, its natural position. When I speak praise to God, I'm putting Him back in the place He should be in my life, acknowledging His true, exalted position in our universe.

This led me into worship, singing and looking in awestruck wonder at a book that combines two of my favorite things, "The Heavens Proclaim His Glory." It has pictures taken by the Hubble telescope of God's awesomeness, as well as quotes and scriptures about Him. The Sombrero Galaxy, in particular, has stirred my heart. God created that, and over 100 billion other galaxies as well. He's huge and creative and powerful. Yet he also is active in every tiny cell in my body, healing me. 

 

Why I Don't Drink Alcohol

I'm reading "Discerning the Voice of God" by Priscilla Shirer, who, as I've mentioned previously, expresses concepts in a way that just makes sense. In this book, she's encouraging me to listen more and to discern whether what I hear/feel is from God. In a chapter about peace, she addresses the same problem Paul does in Romans 14: embracing our freedom in Christ, but not allowing those freedoms to cause stumbling blocks to other believers. 

"The Holy Spirit will not lead us to do anything that in any way hinders the peace and unity in the body," Priscilla says. She quickly points out that this does not mean waiting for everyone else's approval before doing something. That won't happen. Instead, we should prayerfully refrain from activities that hinder our believing family - those people who are moving forward in their relationships with God (because if they aren't moving, they can't stumble, as Priscilla points out). We need the discernment of God to see when our actions will harm others. 

This brings us back to the title of my post - Why I Don't Drink Alcohol. Alcoholic drinks are not inherently evil. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, for example. The Bible tells us to avoid drunkenness, but otherwise we are given the freedom to drink responsibly. But that's a freedom I've been called to pass up. 

You see, I have family history of trouble with alcohol. My parents, praise God, modeled conservative alcohol habits - my mom never drank, and my dad only had a glass of wine here and there. But going back in my family tree there's some history of trouble with alcohol. Even more so on my husband's side. One of the things I admire most about my father-in-law is that he, with a lot of help with God, stopped that dangerous pattern and overcame that addiction. I strongly believe that will positively affect all the generations that come after him. I want to continue in that legacy of freedom from alcoholism. 

So my husband and I have made the decision to abstain from alcohol. The most I've ever had are sips of someone else's drink. I buy cooking wine and occasionally I buy beer to put in my vegetable garden as slug bait. And because that's the way we've always lived, it's not difficult. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I recently heard someone say that something was as inconceivable as "a holiday party without booze", implying that's what makes a party fun. But most of the parties/gatherings I attend either have no or very little alcohol, and I have a great time. It's limiting to think we can only have a good time if certain beverages are present. There's still chocolate and laughter, right? God's placed too many good things in our lives to be "deprived" by abstaining from one of them.

I have freedom in Christ. In this case, I've made a choice. Just because I can do something, doesn't mean I should or have to do it. But that doesn't mean my way is the right way for everyone. Many of my friends drink alcohol in moderation. I have no problem with them drinking in my company. It would be a stumbling block, however, if they drank around people struggling with alcoholism. Or if they drank to a point that it is no longer within the boundaries God has lovingly set for us. 

Discernment is listening for God's voice to tell us which actions, out of many acceptable possibilities, are God's desire for us personally. It's also wisdom in knowing when our actions will negatively affect those around us.