May 12 Under the Bed

May 12

Under the Bed

Ps 135:7 He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.

 

The sudden brilliant flash of light was followed almost instantly by a house shaking explosion of sound. In that short interval between flash and boom he was able to charge across the room and dive for safety under the bed. That was what Spot did every time there was a thunderstorm.  

Lightening is an amazing thing. People have studied it for years. Ben Franklin was fortunate not to be killed when he flew his kite at the end of a slender metal wire, hoping to prove lightening was an electric current.

Now most educated people of the world know that lightening is a powerful form of electricity. Scientists have some idea how it forms and what creates the conditions for lighting. But what is less known is the treasure that God has built into the thunderstorm.

A flash of lightening creates heat hotter than the surface of the sun. When and where it strikes is beyond scientific certainty. One can only guess at the extreme voltage needed to bridge the space between ground and cloud. Lightening is both a fearful and wondrous thing.  

But why did God create it? One would hope there was a better purpose that just scaring us when it flashes and booms nearby. Well there is at least one benefit and it is essential for nearly all living things. Nitrogen. Without getting too involved with the biological need for nitrogen (I think I got c+ grades in biology) we need to understand how our bodies get nitrogen.

The air we breathe is about 80% nitrogen. Nearly all the world supply of nitrogen is in the air. But it is in a form we cannot use. That is where lightening comes in. Air normally will not conduct electricity. But when charges build up in the clouds small currents of electricity start changing the air (mostly nitrogen) until it will allow electricity to flow. Then WHAM! A bolt of lightning flashes. The heat generated is so great the nitrogen in the air is altered and is absorbed by the rain. A number of complicated chemical things happen but the result is a very weak form of nitrous acid falls on the earth.  This nitrogen rich solution is gobbled up by plants and when we eat the plants, or eat animals that ate the plants, we get a form of nitrogen we can use  which our bodies must have.

What a fantastic God we worship. He sends fertilizer in every thunder storm. Just notice how much greener lawns are after a good thunderstorm.

No wonder the psalmist starts with a call to worship.

Ps 135:1 ¶ Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

He is overflowing with praise. In verse three he continues.

 

Ps 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good:

sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

A closer look at our verse for today contains another example of why we should sing praises to the Lord.

 

Ps 135:7 He causeth the vapours to ascend

from the ends of the earth…

 

Here we see the psalmist describing the water cycle. It rains, the water evaporates, forms clouds and it rains again. The Bible described the water cycle thousands of years before scientists even suspected such a thing happened. Bernard Palissy is credited in the 16th century to be the scientist who compiled a theory of the water cycle. His theory would not be accepted for decades. But there it is in the Psalms, Job, and Jerimiah 51:16, thousands of years earlier.

Skeptics, biology teachers, and most scientists want us to believe (i.e. have faith in what they say) the world and everything in it just happened. Sorry, but I do not have that much faith in them. It is far easier for me to believe the Bible, which has proven itself reliable, accurate and life changing.

Our meditation for today is to consider the works of our Great God and praise Him. All the way from the secrets inside a cocoon that changes a worm into a butterfly, to the energy of a lightning strike. There are many. Take your pick and spend some time meditating on Gods great wonders, and His book.

Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:

but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

 

May 11 Arriving without going

May 11

Arriving Without Going

Ps 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

 She broke into tears, grabbed her things and left the room. I never saw her again!

She was a student in my college computer class. I have used this illustration before but it bears repeating. During the first few days of class I made sure everyone understood how to do the basics on a computer; Load programs, save files, find files, etc. During one simple exercise she asked for help. Her question was how to do something very complex and far beyond what the class covered. I asked if she knew how to do the simple task we were working on. She said she didn’t want to waste her time learning simple stuff but only wanted to learn the real complex things about computers. Yet she was unable to even start on the simple task I had asked the class to work on.

When I explained she had to learn to walk before she could run she burst into tears and left. I recently found another example of the same thing.

Facebook holds very little interest for me outside of genealogy, but the other night I saw a posting of a prayer. It essentially asked Jesus to go through their house and remove all the sorrow, anger, hatred, and a list of other negative items. The Bible already explains how to remove those things from your home. It would be like buying a cookbook and asking the author to come over and make the cake you found in the recipe book.  I was sad to see the same person also posted obscene jokes, foul language and things inappropriate for a Christian.   

People everywhere are seeking happiness. Those who apply Biblical principles in their daily lives have discovered the way to be happy. The Bible word is blessed. People who seek happiness but are looking for immediate gratification usually do not find what they are seeking. Drugs, money, lust, selfishness, and greed don’t do it. We all know people who are miserable, sad, discouraged and cannot understand why they are so unlucky. They will not permit anyone to criticize their life style. They see no connection between their ethics and their sadness.

So what does the Bible say about how to be happy? There are 13 places where the phrase “Blessed is the man…” lists how to be happy. Instead of what makes people unhappy let’s look at what the Bible says makes a man blessed.

Ps 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

To obtain the “blessedness” the Bible talks about there are things we should do and things we should not do. The verse starts with what we should not do.

1.Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

If you seek happiness do not ask the ungodly for advice. That does not mean to ask a Christian, because I have known some ungodly Christians. It means seek people of the book, someone who applies what the Bible teaches, Someone who is happy, and understands how they got there. Advice from ungodly people usually is ungodly advice which returns ungodly results. Don’t ask ungodly people for advice.

    2 nor standeth in the way of sinners

If you follow the advice of ungodly people you will eventually find yourself standing around with sinners. If you value their advice you may desire their company. Their unbiblical view of the world will rub off on you. At the very least their language and values will dull your conscience from rejecting and opposing what they say that is contrary to Biblical principles.

   3 nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

People who permit the previous errors, listening to advice from and chatting with the ungodly, may find they will be welcomed to have a seat with those who are scornful. There are no limits to their scorn. It obviously includes religion as an object of derision and scorn. That is the progression; listening to their advice, standing around with them and finally joining them. Those are what the blessed man does not permit.

Here is what the blessed man does.

Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

The blessed man reads the Bible. No, not one of those devotional books people read while on the toilet. And not 3 chapters a day to read through the Bible in a year. He reads, thinks about and tries to understand what he has read. The verse does not say non-stop day and night, but that the portion of scripture he reads stays with him. During the day and during the night the Biblical principles he has read return to his thoughts. He finds ways to understand what it means and how it applies to his own life. The results?

He will be like a well-watered tree and he will prosper.

Some people want to arrive at happiness without understanding that happiness is not a destination. It is a manner of traveling.

Unfortunately there are those who want to arrive but won’t take the first step of the journey. They want to arrive without going.

Our meditation for today is to thank God for all that makes you happy.  For those who are unhappy but want to have a “happy cake”, go to the Bible and follow the recipe.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given …..for instruction in righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.