Faith is not listening to our fears

Posted on May 5, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

An army friend of mine told me that that the only time he’d ever been pushed to the very threshold of fear was when he had to make his first parachute jump. As the aircraft approached the drop zone everyone stood up, clipped their parachute release to the static line, checked the equipment of the man in front and waited while the rear door of the aircraft opened. As they stood there, tense and afraid, their instructor then said to them, ‘forget what you feel, trust what you’ve been taught.’ He did, and then stepped out into nothingness where his fear turned to absolute exhilaration as he floated to earth.
And that’s what faith is; not listening to our fears but trusting what Jesus taught us; stepping out beyond our security and finding that Jesus is there with us, just as he always was and always will be.

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Atheism’s blind faith

Posted on May 5, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

In nineteen sixty six Time magazine asked: Is God Dead? Many believe that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the argument is now coming from science itself. Theoretical physicist Paul Davies says that ‘the appearance of design is overwhelming,’ and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox says: ‘the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator… gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.’
They and many others now state unequivocally that the thing that requires blind faith is not belief in a creator, but believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being.

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One in ten quintillion

Posted on May 5, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Fifty years ago the astronomer Carl Sagan said there were two criteria necessary for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. But today there are more than two hundred known parameters necessary for a planet to support life — every one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. Multiply each single parameter by all the other necessary conditions, and the odds against the universe existing are so astronomical that the notion that it all “just happened” defies common sense. It would be like tossing a coin and having it come up heads ten quintillion times in a row. No wonder that Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang”, said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments

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Our real security is in our relationships

Posted on April 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

The giant redwood trees of California have strangely shallow root systems that spider out just under the surface to catch as much surface moisture they can. Heavy winds would bring these giants crashing to the ground if it were not for the fact that they grow in clusters and their intertwining roots support each another.
There’s a message for us in that. When we are together we provide this same support. Pain and suffering come to all of us, but, just like those giant redwoods, we are supported by the intertwining of our lives with others. It’s the knowledge that we are not alone; that there are others who are there to hold us up, that helps us survive the storms of life. That’s why, in an age that’s obsessed with good investments, we need to remember that our real security is in our relationships.

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Peaceful sleep

Posted on April 29, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

At the close of World War II thousands of homeless children were being cared for in camps all across Europe. But many of them were so anxious they couldn’t sleep at night. Eventually a solution was found. When they were put to bed, each received a slice of bread to hold. They could have more to eat if they wanted, but this particular slice was just to hold. The result was that they went peacefully to sleep, subconsciously knowing they would have something to eat tomorrow. Similarly, many of us have been conditioned by our early years to be overly anxious about the future. But Jesus teaches us to go to sleep each night holding onto an attitude of mind that if we do God’s will, God will provide what we need. The result is a quiet confidence that God will be with us tomorrow just like he was today.

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A lousy read?

Posted on April 28, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Writing to the Sydney Morning Herald, someone said the reason fewer people read the Bible now is because it’s ‘a lousy read’ and in its present form is very different from the original. The writer obviously doesn’t know that our modern Bible is the result of a continuing process of literary criticism by thousands of scholars studying thousands of manuscripts dating from very early in the Christian era; and that the Dead Sea Scrolls contain a Hebrew text written two and half centuries before Christ. No other ancient writing compares with this. For example, there are only about nine good manuscripts of Caesar’s Gallic War, and the oldest was made nine hundred years after the original.
As for the Bible being ‘a lousy read,’ maybe, as it says itself, it’s a case that a person who isn’t spiritual can’t accept things that are

Posted in Bible, Evidence, Indifference, Literary Criticism, Manuscripts, Spiritual discernment, Spiritual Insight | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Perception

Posted on April 28, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Human beings are only able to perceive thirty percent of the range of the sun’s light and one seventieth of the spectrum of electromagnetic energy. But bats detect insects by sonar, pigeons navigate by magnetic fields, and bloodhounds perceive a world of smell unavailable to us. Perhaps this explains why the spiritual realities are clear to some while hidden to others. The Bible says that such comes only through spiritual renewal. Jesus said, ‘No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above;’ and Saint Paul wrote: ‘The man without the Spirit cannot understand the things that come from the Spirit of God… because they are spiritually discerned’
But, if that leaves you feeling that you’ve been left out, remember Jesus also said ‘If you seek you’ll find.’

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Just add water

Posted on April 28, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

When the Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff first visited America he was amazed at the huge variety of instant products available.’On my first shopping trip,’ he said, ‘I saw powdered milk – you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice – you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to my self, what a country!’ Smirnoff was only joking, of course, but it makes me think about how accustomed we are to instant results that we assume the same is true for personal growth. But, there is no such powder for it.
People who are truly great souls are raised through trials, suffering, and temptations. There’s no easy way to spiritual growth. But there is the endless grace of God and presence of Jesus that’s always there to pick us and help us on our way.

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I’m here to live my life

Posted on April 28, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

A tourist once got an insight into life from an old native who refused to sell him the twenty strings of onions he had for sale, even though the tourist offered him top dollar for the lot. ‘Isn’t that what you’re here for?’ he asked. The old man said, ‘No, I’m here to live my life. I love this market. I love to have friends come by and talk about their babies and their crops. This is my life and for that I sit here all day long and sell my twenty strings of onions. But if I sell them all to one customer, then my day is ended and I have lost the life I love.’
It reminds me of people who resent having to get up and go to work, but then find themselves bereft when they no longer have a job to go to. It’s why the Bible says, ‘Eat and drink and find satisfaction in your work. This is the gift of God.’

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The sure way to failure

Posted on April 27, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

There’s a fable about an elderly man travelling with a young boy and a donkey. As they passed through one village the people told him he was a fool for not riding the donkey; so he climbed up on its back. At the next village, the people said the old man was cruel to make the child walk. So he got off the donkey and let the child ride. In the third village, the people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk. So they both got on the donkey. Then, at the fourth village, people complained about them overloading the animal. So, exasperated, the old man picked the donkey up and was last seen carrying it down the road.
It’s an old version of the wisdom that says, ‘I may not know the way to success, but I know the way to failure is trying to meet everyone’s expectations.’

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