Slice of Infinity

I subscribe to "A Slice of Infinity" daily email from the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. And I thought today's was one worth sharing. Really there are many worth sharing. My favorites are when Ravi himsself writes, also when Jill Carattini writes, She has a gift! This one was written by Ravi Zacharias.

Christianity Without Christ?

Paul Tillich, the noted existentialist theologian, traveled to Asia to hold conferences with various Buddhist thinkers. He was studying the significance of religious leaders to the movements they had engendered. Tillich asked a simple question. “What if by some fluke, the Buddha had never lived and turned out to be some sort of fabrication? What would be the implications for Buddhism?” Mind you, Tillich was concerned with the indispensability of the Buddha—not his authenticity. The scholars did not hesitate to answer. If the Buddha was a myth, they said, it did not matter at all. Why? Because Buddhism should be judged as an abstract philosophy—as a system of living. Whether its concepts originated with the Buddha is irrelevant. As an aside, I think the Buddha himself would have concurred. Knowing that his death was imminent, he beseeched his followers not to focus on him but to remember his teachings. Not his life but his way of life was to be attended to and propagated. So, what of other world religions? Hinduism, as a conglomeration of thinkers and philosophies and gods, can certainly do without many of its deities. Some other major religions face the same predicament. Is Christianity similar? Could God the Father have sent another instead of Jesus? May I say to you, and please hear me, that the answer is most categorically No. Jesus did not merely claim to be a prophet in a continuum of prophets. He is the unique and human Son of God, part of the very godhead that Christianity calls the Trinity. The apostle Paul says it this way: “[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible… He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together… For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”(1) Moreover, Jesus himself prayed, “[Father] you have given [me] authority over all people to give eternal life to all whom you have given [me]. And this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”(2) As many have observed before me, Christianity is Christ. Indeed, Englishman John Stott writes, “If Jesus was not God in human flesh, Christianity is exploded. We are left with just another religion with some beautiful ideas and noble ethics; its unique distinction has gone.”(3) At the very heart of Christianity, Jesus is the word and the incarnation. And it changes everything. Ravi Zacharias is founder and chairman of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.   (1) Colossians 1:15-20. (2) John 17:2-3 (3) John Stott, Basic Christianity (London: Intervarsity Press, 1971), 8.

The Christian Difference

"...Christianity is not just pious talk. It is neither a collection of religious ideas nor a catalogue of rules. It is a ‘gospel’ (i.e. good news) – in the apostle Paul’s words ‘the gospel of God…regarding his Son…Jesus Christ our Lord’. It is not primarily an invitation for us to do anything; it is supremely a declaration of what God has done"

~John Stott~

Give to Caesar

Voting Day 2016...

Here's to giving to Caesar, that which belongs to Caesar, and giving to God that which belongs to God! Voting for a president, and praying like crazy!!

19The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. 21So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality,^d but truly teach the way of God.22Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” 23But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, 24“Show me a denarius.^e Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.  - Gospel of Luke 20:19-26



Then I saw another angel kflying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to lthose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, m“Fear God and ngive him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and oworship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the psprings of water.”   Revelation 14:6-7

Political Unrest?

When the options have you scared...

Try and remember His words… When asked if we should pay taxes to Caesar, He said “Give me a coin. Whose image is on this Coin?” And of course it was Caesars face on the coin.

“…Give to Caesar, that which belongs Caesar’s, and give to God that which belongs to God.”

I’ve heard it suggested that the man who asked Jesus that question… ought to have had a follow up Question… “What belongs to God?” And Jesus might have said… “Whose Image is on you?” 

Just this morning on my drive in to work… I saw a license plate that had a prefix of “FTB”  And I said to myself “Face The Book”  Instead of doing FB (FaceBook), we should put it down, and FTB (Face The Book). Give to God that which belongs to God! "All of your heart, soul, mind, and strength." 

"Seek the Lord, while He may be found."

Science ...limited?

Quotes for today...

“Science cannot deal with the simplest questions of a child… ‘why am I here? What is the meaning of my life?” - Sir Peter Medawar 1915-1987  Awarded the Nobel Prize in 1960 for ‘Physiology of Medicine’ and  his work on how the immune system rejects or accepts organ transplants.

“It was my science that drove me to the conclusion that the world is much more complicated than can be explained by science. It’s only through the supernatural that I can understand the mystery of existence.” - Allan Sandidge.   

Allan Rex Sandage was an American astronomer. He was Staff Member Emeritus with the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California. He determined the first reasonably accurate values for the Hubble constant and the age of the universe.

Quotes on reaching the end of yourself...

“Meaninglessness, does not come from being weary of pain, meaninglessness comes from being weary of pleasure.”

- G.K. Chesterton.

“It is difficult to resist the conclusion that twentieth century man has decided to abolish himself.  Tired of the struggle to be himself, he has created boredom out of his own affluence, impotence out of his own erotomania, and vulnerability out of his own strength.  He himself blows the trumpet that brings the walls of his own cities crashing down, until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, having drugged and polluted himself into stupefaction, he keels over, a weary, battered old brontosaurus, and becomes extinct.”

– Malcolm Muggeridge.

“the worst effect of sin, is not manifested in pain, and suffering, and bodily defacement, but in the dis-crowned faculties, the unworthy loves, the low ideals, the brutalized, and the enslaved spirit.”

- Edwin Hubble Chapin (1814 - 1880)

"A day's march..."

Here in the body pent,

Absent from Him I roam,

Yet nightly pitch my moving tent

A day's march nearer home.

- James Montgomery (1771-1854)

We're all facing a final destiny. This is just another undeniable "empirically verifiable fact"  And as Samuel Johnson has said... "No rational man can die without uneasy apprehension." . It would be a good idea to find out to the best of your ability, where you will end up on the other side. 

We all must face the fact, that some day our bodies will no longer be living, but will indeed die. My challenge to anyone reading this, is to ponder that. Ask yourself, what will happen to me when I die? Some people believe that we don't have souls. However I agree with our good friend, the late C.S. Lewis who said while in conversation with a non-believer. 
"I agree, you don't have a soul.... You ARE a soul, you HAVE a body."  

As the Apostle Paul wrote. "To be absent from the body, is to be present with the Lord." 
When we look at the Cross of Christ, The Resurrection of Christ, we see that He, not only paved the away for us to be with him in Eternity, but we also see that by the Cross, all men have been "drawn unto" Him. And the end result is that through the work of the Cross and Resurrection of our Lord ...death is not the end. Your soul (and mine) will go on for eternity. That is a sobering thought, for "the rational man" at least. 

The simplicity and the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is this "...to Believe.." in the Lord Jesus. To take Him at His word. 

Like the Hymn states. 

1. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to trust His cleansing blood;
   And in simple faith to plunge me
   ’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just from sin and self to cease;

Just from Jesus simply taking

Life and rest, and joy and peace.

1. I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
   Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
   And I know that Thou art with me,
   Wilt be with me to the end.

Depravity of man...

It’s a timely quote to remember, from the late British Journalist Malcolm Muggeridge, who was himself a late comer to Christ.. In response to the common, and modern idea that is generally accepted in our society that ‘man is getting better and better, and that we are intrinsically all good, deep within.’  He wrote of the duplicitous nature of the human mind, and heart. Saying…

“The depravity of man is at once, the most empirically verifiable fact, and at the same time the most intellectually resisted.”

The heart is deceitful above all things,
    and desperately sick;
    who can understand it?

-          Jeremiah 17:9

But we have Hope in Christ, Thanks be to God!

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

⁵ who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved byvarious trials, 

⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 

⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

-          1 Peter 1:3-9

Basic Christianity

Basic Christianity by definition begins with the historical figure of Jesus Christ. If God has spoken, his last and greatest word to the world is Jesus Christ. If God has acted, his noblest act is the redemption of the world through Jesus Christ. God has spoken and acted in Jesus Christ. He has said something. He has done something. This means that Christianity is not just pious talk. It is neither a collection of religious ideas nor a catalogue of rules. It is a ‘gospel’ (i.e. good news) – in the apostle Paul’s words ‘the gospel of God…regarding his Son…Jesus Christ our Lord’. It is not primarily an invitation for us to do anything; it is supremely a declaration of what God has done

~John Stott~

Prayer

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,

The falling of a tear,

The Upward glancing of an eye

When none but God is near. 

- James Montgomery (1771 - 1854) 

My Shepherd 

How easy it is to forget.... 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.[a]
3     He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]
    for his name's sake." -Psalm 23:1-3

Infinite Power

“God’s infinite Power is revealed in a Child’s capacity to delight in the monotonous.” – G.K. Chesterton.

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”  - G.K. Chesterton 

Best way to start the day...

With a Nutty Buddy, and some hot Coffee! Oh Yeah!!

Finding Artifacts.

Recently I found an old Sketch book of mine, from my high school days.

One of my favorite things to draw was faces, I loved drawing portraits. Each face is so interesting, and unique. This one, in particular I was fairly happy with when I drew it. From a picture of an old man on the cover of a National Geographic magazine! I just loved his face! He just looks like he had a million amazing stories! I think I drew this around 1988, or 1989.

Every day is a Sacred gift!

Lord I thank you that you are “the lifter of my head”, that every day I have the glorious opportunity to look up, to lift up my heart towards you, because of what you have accomplished!

³ But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.  – Psalms 3:3

In that Holy act of lifting up our hearts (Sursum Corda) is the thing you told us we ought to do, to “look up” when we see the Day approaching.

²⁸ And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. – Luke 21:28

I thank you Father for this peace that is mine! Given to me by You, and You alone!

Every day is Sacred! Let me be ever aware of your presence, and your power.

Regardless of my estate, you have empowered me, through your indwelling Holy Spirit, so that I can look towards you, my Savior, and be renewed. Strengthened. Remade! Truly your resurrection from the dead making me alive in You, in the Kingdom of God which is ever present in this eternity.

Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought, by day or by night

Waking or sleeping, thy presence, my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word

I ever with Thee, and Thou with me Lord

Thou my great Father, and I Thy true son,

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee, one.

"He led captivity captive." 

James S. Stewart 1941 from “The Strong Name” Page 55

“It is a glorious phrase of the New Testament, that ‘he led captivity captive.' The very triumphs of His foes, it means, he used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to subserve his end, not theirs. They nailed him to the tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to his feet. They gave him a cross, not guessing that he would make it a throne. They flung him outside the gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up all the gates of the universe, to let the King of Glory come in. They thought to root out his doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy. They thought they had defeated God with His back to the wall, pinned and helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down. He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil. He conquered through it.”

Dimensions of light: Seeing things. 

"...The inconceivable nature of nature" 

Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winner. He was an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, among other important work in the scientific community. 

Truly Fascinating!