Religion Today: The heavens declare the glory of God
Religion Today: The heavens declare the glory of God – By Richard Lewis
When we were first married, I can recall Sue and I tent camping in Colorado. As darkness fell, the stars above our campsite took on a 3-dimensional aspect that is hard to describe. Some of the stars appeared so close it is almost like you could reach up and touch them. It was wonderful to think that this is the same heavenly show that David witnessed and probably helped reinforce his faith in God during his youth.
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As he wrote later:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens, God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.” (Psalm 19:1-6)
Paul states that God’s creation reveals God’s invisible attributes like his eternal power and divine nature.
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:18-21)
When we see a beautiful sunrise, sunset or even some brightly colored fish in a pond, this is all a testimony to God’s creative power and speaks of his divine nature. One aspect of that divine nature is consistency. That consistency and repeatability in the natural world is what makes science experiments work. If each time a scientist did an experiment the results were different and unpredictable it would make it impossible to develop any meaningful theory from the results. The consistency of gravity gives a pretty high level of confidence we can walk outside and not float away into space. That same consistency makes the computer programs I wrote during my career return accurate repeatable results.
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Likewise, God is consistent and repeatable in his actions towards man. If we hear Him standing at the door of our lives and knocking and we allow Him entrance, we are promised He WILL come into us (Rev 3:20). If we confess our sins he WILL be faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). If we come near to Him He WILL draw near to us (James 4:8). Note that these statements are WILL. They aren’t MAYBE, MIGHT or SOMETIMES.
So, the next time you are out in nature observing with wonder the beauty of God’s creation, remember it reveals His power and His invisible attributes. He is not elusive, unpredictable, erratic or capricious. He is one who is worthy of our trust and WILL do what He promises.
Richard Lewis is a graduate of Arizona State University (Advertising) and California Baptist University (Computer Information Systems). Richard and his wife Sue met while they served as staff members at Campus Crusade for Christ for 8 years in the 1970’s. Richard served in the Campus Ministry at University of Texas at El Paso, Louisiana Tech and at the International Headquarters in San Bernardino, California.
Following their ministry in Campus Crusade Richard was the owner and manager of a bicycle shop in Riverside California for 19 years. After retraining in the computer field at California Baptist University, Richard worked as a Information Systems contractor and employee at Boeing for 17 years.
Richard has written over 150 published articles in Information Systems and Computing publications including Windows Magazine and Windows Scripting Solutions. He has also served in a leadership role as a Deacon and Elder in several churches as well as being a meditation presenter and Men’s Ministry coordinator.
Richard has written hundreds of meditations and devotionals that have been used in church and small group meetings. Many of these have been published in The Upper Room and Racers For Christ publications and on their web sites.
In 2021, Richard published a collection of his devotionals. These are available in a Kindle and paperback format on Amazon (ISBN 979-8705738878) “Life Stories to Uplift and Encourage”.
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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.