With super fast computers to crunch data,  underwater sensors, deep space satellites, and a plethora of other technological tools that weren’t available in the past,  humans have increased our understanding of God’s creation at an unprecedented rate.  One area of creation that we have been learning tons about recently, are oceans, and the activities that occur below this once undiscovered part of our planet.

The scientific names of various depths in the ocean.

For example, did you know that there are underwater trenches deeper than the grand canyon, that are thought to have formed over 142 million years ago?  In fact, we now know that this is where tsunamis are formed, such as the one in Tailand, in 2004, that took the lives of 220,000 of God’s children.  These acts of God have been occurring for thousands of years.  In fact, we’ve recently been discovering entire cities, buried under hundreds of feet or hardened ash.  From buried murals, artwork, and structures, there is no doubt of God’s power.  In fact, the 2004 tsunami has the power of 600 million Hiroshima atom bombs!

So how does science aid in the knowledge we have, and why does it matter?  While the why is vastly complicated, the short of it is this.  Through underwater sensors, we can record the sound waves that occur when these massive ruptures in the earth’s crust form.   While not audible to the naked ear (the deep, rumbling sound waves are simply too low for our ears to hear), we can slow down time when listing to these recordings, and actually map the topography of the bottom of the sea, as well as how the event spreads across the oceans.  Science is able to figure out a plethora of information about a tsunami from data collected at the bottom of these massive underwater trenches, helping save millions of lives, by better predicting tsunamis.    Going back to the 2004 Thailand tsunami, we know that the crest was 300 miles apart…quite a massive crack in the earth’s crust, isn’t it?

Exploration is an innate part of our God given nature, and we have repeatedly tried to visit the depths of the sea. which is thought to be some of the oldest parts of the earth.   This area is so hostile, the zone name, The Hadalpelagic Zone‘s name is derived from the Greek word for HELL.

From this, you can imagine that exploration has been difficult in a place where there is 8 tons of pressure per square inch.  In other words, imagine that you are a McDonald’s hamburger on the highway.  Now, imagine an 18-wheel semi running over that hamburger.  That, is how hostile this area of the ocean is.  Making matters worse, over 20,000 volcanoes, along with earthquakes (that induce deadly tsunamis) occur frequently here.  Despite this though, these events help us map out the history of creation.  You see, when volcanos erupt in these dark, frigid depths, the magma turns instantly into glass when it comes in contact with the water.  Therefore, each eruption spreads its contents throughout the ocean, creating layers of mineral rich substance.  In fact, this magma turned solid, is how underwater mountains are formed.  How cool is that?

Despite the risks, our efforts to explore this area prevail, as there is so much to learn about our origins from it.    One thing we’ve learned, is that the bottom of the ocean has layers of plant and animal “silt”.   These layers of dead plant and animal fossils,  is one of the methods that scientists use to date how old the earth and ocean are.  This is one reason we can so accurately estimate the history of events on this earth… by analysing these layers of silt, and seeing what fossils, minerals, etc that we find.  This principle is similar to how we date dinosaur fossils we find encased in rock.

Back to the exploration of the ocean…In 1960, a submersible craft was created, and two brave men traveled for 5 hours, going down to the depths of the deepest trench, a staggering 36,000 feet, where the region is far more hazardous than that of Mars.  This hadalpelagic zone expedition paid huge dividends.  You see, up until this point, we expected the complete blackness, crushing pressure, and frigid waters, to be too hostile for complex animals to survive.  However, when the two man “landed” on the bottom of the ocean, they were in for a real surprise (up until this time, we could only theorize about what we’d find).

Hadalpelagic Zone Sea Cucumber

When they turned on their spotlight, they discovered that not only were there vast amounts of colorful, other-worldly creatures surviving, but that these sea creatures were thriving.  These animals, whose lineage has evolved over millions of years, have the ability to withstand the pressure, see in complete darkness, and live in abundance.  By eating the remains of dead plants and animals whose remains make up the silt bottom, the plants and animals in this region prosper.

In conclusion, the burning desire that science has to explore the depths of the ocean, has lead to a vastly increased understanding of the creation that God has created.  Without technology and scientists that have a burning desire for answers, we would have never discovered the abundant, colorful ecosystem that God has allowed to exist.   Through these types of discoveries, we learn more about God, and the earth he created for us.

If you have thoughts on this post, please feel free to share them below, or discuss your convictions on this subject with friends, by commenting using the Facebook “Like” button.   As always, I encourage you to continue exploring your faith through reading Christian books, discussing why you believe what you believe, and actively seeking truth.

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This is the perfect day, the perfect time, the perfect opportunity to thank the One who has given us everything listed above and so much more. As a not-so-young adult who has put her faith in Christ, Thanksgiving has such a deeper meaning. I am thankful that He pursued me with such a Holy zeal, I couldn’t turn to the left or the right without bumping into Him. I am thankful that, at the bottom of the pit, He reached His mighty yet gentle hand and took mine as He lifted me out. I am thankful that He showed me what life everlasting looked like and gave me the opportunity to choose it. I am thankful for His faithfulness and that His grace doesn’t end at Salvation. He pours it out into every aspect of my life; as a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister and most importantly as His child. There is so much more to be thankful for. The list could go on and on but instead of filling this blog post with my stuff, I’ll ask you what youare thankful for. What has He done for you? Who is He to you?

I’m sure there are many people out there who are struggling with those questions. Those who really aren’t feeling that “thankful” today. Life can get treacherous. Those who are facing failing relationships, financial devastation, fading health, deepening depression, or fill you in the blank. I don’t want to discount any of those things but I can tell you that you can still be thankful this Thanksgiving. It’s about choices. Thankfulness isn’t really a feeling but rather a choice; a decision you make not based on circumstance but hope, a resolution to find joy even through the sorrow. After all, that’s what it is all about isn’t it? Blog peeps, find that spark of light in the depth of darkness and hold on to it until it becomes a full out sunrise!

If you haven’t experienced God’s grace yet, there is no time like the present. What an awesome Thanksgiving memory to make. You will never be the same and you will never regret it. So, what are you waiting for???

Here are some verses that talk about being thankful:

1 Chronicles 16:8-12~ Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make know among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgements he pronounced.

Psalm 100:4~ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

1 Corinthians 15: 57~ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14~ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ…

1 Thessalonians 5: 16~ Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will  for you in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12: 28 & 29~ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

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This week God revealed something to me that is probably pretty simple, something that most of you have already grasped and understand completely. Discipline is for my own good.

How many of us have looked our kids in the eyes and have said “I love you too much to let you continue________________” or “I am disciplining you so that you will learn ______________”. I know I have. And with 4 kids it happens several times a day. This Sunday, our pastor talked about teaching our children to obey us. He explained that when our children don’t know how to obey and honor authority, they grow up not knowing how to honor and obey authority including the Lord God himself. I don’t know about you but I want to raise respectful, other’s-minded, humble kids who love the Lord with all their heart. In essence I love them, so I discipline them.

What types of discipline work most effectively?

When my youngest daughter was about four or five, she had done something that required discipline (I can’t remember what), so I sent her to her room and called her down a few minutes later to give her a spanking. As I turned her around I noticed her back side was lumpy and very well-padded. While she was upstairs, (knowing she was about to receive a spanking) she had stuffed her pants full of socks.

Isn’t that what we do when we try to avoid the discipline of our Father? We know we did wrong, we know the consequences, but instead of thinking “this is for our own good”, we decide to pad our backside. Or, like so many children, we cry out “God, this isn’t fair, you’re mean!” But oh how we get it all wrong.

I admit, sometimes I will discipline in anger. I will raise my voice, threaten empty threats, and give the evil mom eye (you know the one…the one that says “you better knock it off now” without ever saying a word). God, on the other-hand, NEVER rebukes in anger but always in love. He never impulsively sends us to the corner or smacks our hands. He never raises His voice or spurts out threats that never come to fruition. Our Daddy is firm, yet gentle; unyielding, yet trustworthy. The Bible says, that we should count it a blessing when we face the Lord’s discipline “because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son” ~Hebrews 12:6. The Lord’s discipline is evidence that we are His children. And just as I say to my children, “I love you too much to let you do that or act that way”, God lovingly looks at us and with a soft whispers says, “I love you so much that I am going to show you a different way.”

So next time you face a trial or difficulty or maybe even a consequence of a bad choice, you should thank the One who loves you and desires to show you just how much. I know I will.

Here are some corresponding NIV Bible verses:

Deuterotomy 8:5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

Psalm 94:12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;

Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Proverbs 3:11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke,

Proverbs 3:12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Lamentations 3:39 Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?

Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

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Stick with me here, because this is a pretty cool concept to understand about how God created everything in the Universe, including you and me. I am going to share a little about space, which is the very fabric our master Weaver spun for us.

It is the empty space around us. This empty space is far more prevalent than actual stuff, like buildings and planets.

Everyday, we are surrounded by this mysterious substance called space, in which we exist.

If you took everything away….the people, the buildings, the clouds, the moon, the galaxy, the entire Universe.  Think on the  level of molecules, atoms…everything.  What would we be left with?

What if we took away everything God created?

You’d think we’d be left with nothing.  However, you’d be wrong.

We would still have empty space.  And as it turns out, empty space isn’t nothing.  It is something.  And it is something that modern day physics is rapidly learning more about.  God’s chosen fabric of the universe he created for us.

Empty space helps shape everything around us.  Everything in our universe.

Craig Hogan, of the University of Chicago, says that you cannot truly understand  the world we live in, unless you understand what this empty space is.  Just as fish are not conscious of the water that they live in, we are not aware of the space that we live in.

Imagine the Empire State Building

Empty space is the most abundant thing in our Universe.   Even the tiniest of things, like atoms, which are the basic ingredients to everything we see around us, are made up mostly of empty space that exists in between these atoms.

But get this… Imagine the Empire State Building.  If you took away the empty space, you’d be left with something the size of a grain of salt that weighs hundreds of millions of  pounds.

You may be asking…why do we wonder about this?  What implications could it have?  I think it would be amazing to know more about the most abundant thing in our universe.   If you’re interested in this topic, subscribe to the blog or like us on Facebook (where I post updates about new articles in the series).

Explore your faith with me as we try to uncover the answer the questions like, “Why did God create so much extra, seemingly empty space?  Why is space big?  Why isn’t there less of it?

It is truly one of the deepest mysteries in physics.  However, technology has given us the ability to learn an incredible amount in the last decade.

How cool of a creator do we have?

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It’s easy to say the words, but are words enough? Does saying, “I forgive you” mean we have forgiven as God forgives us?

These questions have haunted me most of my life. They still haunt me.

No matter how many times I say I forgive, I wonder…Have I truly forgiven?

Understanding came when I learned this important truth: Forgiveness is a choice.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean erasing what happened or ignoring the past. Forgiveness stops the past from controlling your mind, will, and emotions and from stealing the joy of your present and the hope of your future.

One of the hardest things I’ve had to do and the biggest challenge I’ve faced in my walk with God was in forgiving my ex-husband of the abuse that occurred in our marriage. Now, I’m not going to expect you to believe I was totally innocent in the events of my life and the failure of that union.

Whether victim or perpetrator, we all play a part in domestic violence.

However, this has been the utmost test of my willingness to obey God’s command
that I forgive as He has.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve yet to arrive.

However, I have reached a place of peace.

Now I can look back without bitterness, anger and resentment; only a deep, abiding sorrow for the entire situation.

How did I reach that place of peace?

Prayer, ranting, raving, crying, begging for release from the bitterness in my heart, and resting in His gentle assurance that as I continue to say the words and release the situation and my former husband to Him, the heart change would come. And it did.

Or so I thought.

My book Tempered Dreams (#2 in a series ISBN# 0-9769960-3-0) deals openly and candidly with domestic violence. Believe me when I say it was sheer torture to write. Any author knows that writing pulls your emotions, rips your heart, and sometimes, tears your very soul. So it was with this book. But the story had to be told. The hardest part, however, was the dedication.

In the middle of a difficult chapter, God instructed me to dedicate the book to my ex-husband “in the spirit of forgiveness.”

Are You crazy, Lord?

You want me to put in writing for the whole world to see that I was abused?  No way! I just can’t.

Forgive as I’ve forgiven…

Still I hesitated, praying for a way out; begging the Lord to change His mind just this once.

In the end, I knew I had to be obedient.

My prayer became, “Okay, Lord. You win. Just help me get through the last few chapters then I’ll write the dedication.”

He did, then came the moment of truth.

How could I do it? I’d already ripped my heart out to tell the story. I’d searched every corner of my mind and soul to ensure readers understood healing is possible through love, mercy, grace -and yes-forgiveness, forgiving your perpetrator and yourself.

Still….How could I lay the remaining shreds of my heart on the altar? How could I bare my soul in such a public display? How could I know others wouldn’t think I was being self-serving nor doing this out of false pride or worse false humility?

I couldn’t.

The only thing I could do was trust God and obey.

I wrote….For James, in the spirit of forgiveness.  Though painful, what we experienced was nowhere near this horrific or dramatic; for that I am eternally grateful.

Was it easy?  No.

Did it help?  Maybe. I still have moments of intense feeling –not always good- toward my ex-husband and I still have to release him to God.

Am I glad I did it? Yes. Not only because of the blessings and peace that result from being obedient, but because of the comments I’ve received from others who found courage to do the same because of that dedication.

Have I arrived at the victorious destination of true forgiveness? I doubt it…Has anyone?

The Art of Forgiveness By Pamela S. Thibodeaux (© 2009)
Tempered Dreams is availble for Kindle & Nook for only $1.99! Print copies can be purchased directly from the author.
Bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction and creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ Find out more about Pam and her work by visiting her websitehttp://www.pamelathibodeaux.com or blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com

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I want to be worthy of respect, not double-tongued, not addicted to wine, not fond of dishonest gain, upholding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

- (1 Timothy 3:8-9)

Your grace, O God, has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly passions to live sensibly, righteously and Godly in the present age.

- (Titus 2:11-12)

Listen to the Voice of God

The first verses give a list of sins that go against God’s law.  These are things that many very dedicated Christians struggle with on a regular basis.  The second verse brings a little bit of hope.  It tells us that Jesus has come to give us salvation (while teaching us about how to best live).  One thing that I especially like about the second verse, is that it clearly speaks about living in the present moment… The present age.

We all struggle with sin.  Oneof the main reasons Jesus is so amazing.

He didn’t sin!

He rose above every single time.  No matter what he was feeling, Jesus practiced what he preached.  He was the first and only one to talk the talk, and walk the walk. This is incredibly humbling to me.  Before Christ fulfilled ancient prophecies and rose from the dead, Jesus lived a miracle.  He went through his entire life making perfect decisions.  No other religion has a savior or prophet that lived a sinless life.  I think that is pretty cool.

Going back to our own lives, we know that we all mess up sometimes.  Sometimes we consciously make decisions to say and do things we shouldn’t.  God understands this and makes it very easy for us to still be called followers of Christ, despite our shortcomings.  It’s a simple little thing called forgiveness.

However, God clearly calls us to attempt to live a sinless life. (knowing we’ll all fall short now and again)  For example, when Abraham was 99 years old, God came to him and said, “Serve me faithfully and live a BLAMELESS life.”

Remember that the Bible is God’s collection of writings, designed to light our path throughout life.   There are countless instructions contained within the pages of the Bible.  Deuteronomy3:20 says ”by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days”.

Attempt to obey the instructions God spoken to us through the Bible.  Next time you’re about to do or say something you know doesn’t align with God’s instructions, think to yourself, “I am breaking the law  if I do/say this.  I am breaking God’s law.”  It’s a pretty big deal to break the law in real life.  Why do we take breaking God’s law as a less serious offense?

We all sin.  God knows it, and is cool with it…as long as we go to him in prayer, and try to do better next time.  However, it is also clear that the ultimate goal should be to live blamelessly…without any sin.

I encourage you to continue to serve God and explore your faith.

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This year, three U.S. born physicists won the prize.   So what did these three men discover?  In short, they discovered with a large amount of certainty, that the Universe is expanding…and expanding at a more rapid rate than ever before. If you’re like me, you are skeptical.  How in the world could they figure out something like that?  However, after researching the events surrounding the claim, I began to understand a little more.

The Expanding Universe

I’ve talked in several previous posts about light, and how the Bible teaches us that light is God’s most used method to spread his creation.  In my article, Let there be light, I talked about light’s role in the creation process at the very beginning, as told to us in Genesis (check out our creation section to view more articles).  Science matches up with the theory that light started it all (remember, God started creating with the words, “Let there be light.”).

From the dawn of time, people have seen light as a connection to God.   For example, did you know that Egyptians built a “window” that was positioned in conjunction with the sun, that would allow the mummified Pharaoh to ascend with the light into the heavens?  The native people of Central and South America built elaborate pyramids that, in conjuction with the equinox and solstice, created elaborate visualizations that utilized the sun’s (light’s) position in the sky.

Going back to the discovery of the expanding Universe, I was curious whether there was any biblical support for these findings.  I specifically searched for topics surrounding change, a journey,

“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

The Old Testament is one big journey.  From Abraham, to Noah, to Moses, they all were going somewhere.  To me, this notion that we are really moving, matches up so well with our earthly home, that is moving around our sun at a staggering 67,000 miles per hour!  Our solar system spins around the Milky Way Galaxy at a mind bending 550,000 miles per hour.  Since God uttered the words “Let there be LIGHT.”, the earth has made 18 full rotations around the galaxy. Note that the earth and the solar system are spinning around in a circle.

So what about the expansion and movement of space itself?  Well, as crazy as it sounds, the galaxy is moving approximately 550,000 miles per hour 24/7!

If you’re having a hard time visualizing all of this speed, check out the short clip below, which shows how our galaxy (the thing moving 550,000 MPH) is being stretched farther and farther away from other galaxies (the space between them is getting bigger).  *Please note, this video mentions the big bang, which I believe can match up with Biblical understandings of creation (despite years of misunderstanding).  However, I wanted to mention this preemptively.  Just remember, the big bang theory says, with 100% certainty, that LIGHT is what started the creation of everything (kind of sounds like Genesis doesn’t it? )

Whether we like it or not, we are on a continuous journey.

This notion that our universe is expanding, and that citizens of earth are moving through space and time at a blistering speed match up with themes of the Bible.   God constantly tells us that we need to be striving to make change in our lives.  As we all know, overcoming sin is a constant battle of will, and it truly is a journey.  We find the strength to rise above some sin, only to begin struggling with another sort of sin later on in our life, whether it be due to circumstance, or inward change.

I encourage you today to recognize that we are on a journey toward something…toward an end goal.  Physics tells us that we are in a state of constant change.  There is nothing in this world that remains still.  Atoms are always moving one way or another.  As humans with tendencies for sin, we need to make a choice…are we going moving toward God, or away from him?

Explore Your Faith.

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As I was mopping my floors today I glanced up at my kitchen windowsill. The paint is peeling and it could use a good scrubbing. At that point, I did what the majority of women do when assessing their house; wonder what other people must think of the sorry looking windowsill. But just as quickly I smiled to myself because I love that window. I love that the paint is cracked and peeling. We live in an old farmhouse that is easily 100 years old. There are things all over the house that attest to it’s age. But you know what?

My Window Sill: Beautiful Imperfection

That is my favorite thing about it!

Can you imagine the things this house has seen? Back in the day, there were probably cows, and pigs and chickens. The barn was probably stacked to the beams with hay and straw. Kids were born and raised, generation after generation by strong women who knew how to run a house without the luxuries of dishwashers and electric stoves. The worn windowsills are just one example of how beautiful imperfections can really be.

I thought about my own imperfections. I am a wreck. I may not have peeling paint, but I do have a lot of blemishes. I used to set up my own rules and laws for myself to make sure I was towing the line. I knew we were called to be like Christ and Christ was perfect so I wanted to make sure I was perfect too. The problem was that perfection is impossible for us humans. I would snap at my husband or be too impatient with my kids and spend the rest of the day in a self-induced prison of guilt. It was a vicious cycle; always trying but never getting there.

It wasn’t until someone told me that God loves me just the way I am, flaws and all, that I began to understand just how much He cares for me. I used to think I was only good enough if I was a perfect mom or wife. I thought I had to be the perfect daughter, the perfect friend. When I messed up I thought God was mad at me and turned his face from me. I have slowly learned (why does everything have to be a process?) that I am beautiful to him all the time without exception. The days I get moody and snap at my husband? Beautiful. The days when I get frustrated at my kids because they almost missed the bus? Beautiful. The days I don’t feel like doing the laundry? Beautiful!

Now don’t get me wrong, He doesn’t want me going around treating my friends and family poorly. Not at all! But I have discovered that when I give myself the freedom to mess up and be ok, I give others that same freedom. We are all a bunch of imperfect people who deserve the freedom to mess up, learn from our mistakes and move on with life.

I have to tell you; I am loved, and I am beautifully imperfect!

***Check out more articles by me on my own blog.***

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If you are in love, or have ever been in love, you are very aware of how intense those feelings can be.  When you first met that special someone, every time you saw them, your stomach may have had butterflies.  Your palms may have gotten sweaty.  Over time though, many of us experience those feelings without even seeing that person.   A picture, a whiff of their perfume, or even a song that you listened to last time you were together, all are enough to remind you of them, and send you into a love-stricken daze.

But what in your brain is going on to illicit such a response?  With increased exposure to someone, you start to need less and less of a cue in order to be reminded of them. In other words, you need increasingly smaller “input cues” (i.e. perfume), to elicit increasingly stronger “output” (i.e. butterflies) responses.

Feel the Presence of God

The principles here extend beyond the feelings of love.  Any time you are talking about behavior or learning, you are talking of strengthening the bonds between different parts of your brain.  Initially, this happens in our short term memory.  However, with enough repitition and reminder, the memory transitions into long term memory, where it becomes more hardwired.  This is why it is better to study for an example 7 consecutive days before an exam, rather than cramming on the day before the test.

In summary, science has given us rock solid evidence that repetition is critical in learning and memory.

Transitioning to faith, do you yearn to feel the presence of God?  Knowing the above science about long term memory, can you see why regular time in God’s scripture is so important?

“Out of sight, out of mind” is a very true statement in my personal experience.  If I am constantly reading my Bible, and exploring my faith, it takes much less of a stimulus for me to be reminded of my faith…and in turn, God.  In turn, I am a better, more dedicated follower of Christ.  Feeling the presence of God in scripture, the NKJV Bible says:

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

-Psalm 145: 18

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. {12} Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. {13} And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

- Jeremiah 29:11-13

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

- Jeremiah 29:11-13

Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.  Cry out for insight and ask for understanding.  Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasure

-Proverbs 2:2-4

Draw near to him and explore his word (and your faith). God says that he will be near (i.e. be present in our thoughts),  if we call upon him.

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• The Fabric of the Universe: A Devotional on Creation
• The Art of Forgiveness
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Several months ago, my wife and I went to visit my grandparents who live in the small rural town of Archbold, OH.  I didn’t have my Bible with me, so before church on Sunday morning, I asked if I could borrow my grandmother’s Living Paraphrase Bible.  This was a very popular Bible several decades ago.  Its predecessor, the NLT Bible (New Living) is the current choice of countless people around the world.

Before the service started, I opened the Bible to the first page of Genesis (written about 700 years after Abraham) and saw the following:

The Account of Creation

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters

And the Lord said "Let there be light."

After that first verse, the Lord utters the words that start it all… LET THERE BE LIGHT.   Before those words were uttered, darkness covered everything.  Suddenly, an explosion of light, and it was the end of the first “day”.  However, I noticed the footnotes symbol next to the word day, and saw that this translation mentioned that a day could also mean an “era of time”.

Many people may have already known this, but I didn’t realize that the Bible left room for interpretation when it came to how God started the Universe.  Throughout my entire life, I was taught that God created the heavens and the earth in seven days.  Seven sunrises.  Seven Sunsets.  This intrigued me greatly, being my fascination with the beginnings of creation.  From there, I did a little digging into the literal translation.

In Genesis, when there is talk of seven days (the Hebrew word is yom), there are three different kind of “days”.

1.  12 hours

2.  24 hours

3.  Long, Indefinite Period of Time

This was an epiphany.  Creation didn’t have to happen in 7 days. It could have happened very similarly to how the majority of scholars and scientists have believed for centuries (although not fully accepted until recently), that there was a big explosion (of pure LIGHT), that started a chain of events, fully orchestrated by our incredibly creative creator.

Isn’t that the important part?  To know that God was the creator of the heavens and the earth.  That he was behind it all?  That from his command, a chain of events was set into place, that are responsible for you.  From his words, life began.

That is what it’s all about.

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• A Journey Through God’s Creation
• The Depths of God’s Creation: An Ocean Devotional
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