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"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything" (Hebrews 3:4).
Today I gathered with my friend Jesse's masonry crew for the last time. Jesse is my Amish friend who has run a masonry business the last several years. He is now beginning a farming operation (dairy herd). He invited me to join his crew for breakfast and I had the opportunity to pray with the men and encourage them individually as they move on. They were sure a nice group of young men and I was the "old man" among them by some 20 years.
I enjoy construction work and the periodic opportunities I had to join the crew. Although I don't have specific building skills or training I suppose I am a handyman as a result of having a hard-working father who modeled the work ethic for me. He was a pipefitter but also had general common sense building skills and could fix about anything. There are certain sights, sounds and even smells I associate with his workbench area. For instance his old Craftsmen power tools had a distinctive motor smell I can still recall to this day.
Construction
affords us the opportunity to be reminded of the handiwork of God.
Many of you have seen one of those glass jars filled with various
colors of sand that has been carefully arranged in such a way as to
show a design, such as a desert scene or sunset. We would laugh if
someone told us the design was merely a result of randomly shaking the
jar. No, we sensibly recognize that such a design takes intelligence
and skill. A few shakes would destroy the design and no amount of
further random shaking will ever restore the original design.
Consider the readily observable truth in the daily verse. "Every house is built by someone."
If I were to stand across the road and observe my house and conjecture
that it was merely the result of a tornado which came through I would
rightly be scoffed at. We all recognize someone built my house. Every
house, even the most simple, didn't just happen, it was built by
someone.
Yet many place their faith in a scheme that is far more ridiculous.
I accept the matter of fact statement that concludes the verse, "God is the builder of everything." Many in the world mock at such a belief. "It's too simple"; or "it's not scientific", or "it's old-fashioned" they say. That's OK. I'll just remember glass jars of sand and place my faith in the God of the universe for He is indeed the builder and overseer of everything!
O Lord, my God when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder.
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee.
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee.
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, You are great and greatly to be praised. You are the Builder of everything we see and so much that we've not yet seen. We are looking forward to the future city with eternal foundations where You are the Architect and Builder. Our everlasting home in heaven is not built with human hands, but by Your divine design. Keep us faithful till that glorious promotion day! Amen.
A ministry I appreciate that has a strong defense for the Biblical teaching concerning creation is Answers in Genesis: Upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse.
For more study on this topic I suggest:
The Case For A Creator, Hardcover
By Lee Strobel / Zondervan
From evolutionary icons to the uniqueness of planet Earth, from irreducible complexity to the kalam cosmological argument, Lee Strobel gives full rein to his keen analytical mind in addressing these issues and more. But don't expect an inaccessible tome of arcane scientific terms; Strobel's years of newspaper reporting gives the book a conversational style. Relying on transcriptions of his interviews with experts in the pertinent fields, he tells the incredible stories about the hard science behind what some have termed creationism. Extensively researched, this book should a classic apologetic text for years to come.
Today's suggested
music: "How Great Thou Art" (listen to audio file)
Please note: We expect our preparation and thus the transmission of these daily messages to be inconsistent the next two weeks. We are traveling out to Missouri for a family reunion next weekend and to visit family and friends. Although we could prepare the messages ahead of time and place them on a scheduled automatic update we choose not to do so. It seems like the niche we are comfortable with is the freshly written daily message.
Friday,
July 27, 2007
Sunset
7/26/07
Last night we had a stunning sunset as the setting sun outlined a cloud.
Click here for larger desktop image.
Last night we had a stunning sunset as the setting sun outlined a cloud.
Click here for larger desktop image.
"The Builder Of Everything"
"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything" (Hebrews 3:4).
Today I gathered with my friend Jesse's masonry crew for the last time. Jesse is my Amish friend who has run a masonry business the last several years. He is now beginning a farming operation (dairy herd). He invited me to join his crew for breakfast and I had the opportunity to pray with the men and encourage them individually as they move on. They were sure a nice group of young men and I was the "old man" among them by some 20 years.
I enjoy construction work and the periodic opportunities I had to join the crew. Although I don't have specific building skills or training I suppose I am a handyman as a result of having a hard-working father who modeled the work ethic for me. He was a pipefitter but also had general common sense building skills and could fix about anything. There are certain sights, sounds and even smells I associate with his workbench area. For instance his old Craftsmen power tools had a distinctive motor smell I can still recall to this day.
Construction
affords us the opportunity to be reminded of the handiwork of God.
Many of you have seen one of those glass jars filled with various
colors of sand that has been carefully arranged in such a way as to
show a design, such as a desert scene or sunset. We would laugh if
someone told us the design was merely a result of randomly shaking the
jar. No, we sensibly recognize that such a design takes intelligence
and skill. A few shakes would destroy the design and no amount of
further random shaking will ever restore the original design. Consider the readily observable truth in the daily verse. "Every house is built by someone."
If I were to stand across the road and observe my house and conjecture
that it was merely the result of a tornado which came through I would
rightly be scoffed at. We all recognize someone built my house. Every
house, even the most simple, didn't just happen, it was built by
someone. Yet many place their faith in a scheme that is far more ridiculous.
I accept the matter of fact statement that concludes the verse, "God is the builder of everything." Many in the world mock at such a belief. "It's too simple"; or "it's not scientific", or "it's old-fashioned" they say. That's OK. I'll just remember glass jars of sand and place my faith in the God of the universe for He is indeed the builder and overseer of everything!
O Lord, my God when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder.
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee.
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee.
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer: Father, You are great and greatly to be praised. You are the Builder of everything we see and so much that we've not yet seen. We are looking forward to the future city with eternal foundations where You are the Architect and Builder. Our everlasting home in heaven is not built with human hands, but by Your divine design. Keep us faithful till that glorious promotion day! Amen.
A ministry I appreciate that has a strong defense for the Biblical teaching concerning creation is Answers in Genesis: Upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse.
For more study on this topic I suggest:
The Case For A Creator, HardcoverBy Lee Strobel / Zondervan
From evolutionary icons to the uniqueness of planet Earth, from irreducible complexity to the kalam cosmological argument, Lee Strobel gives full rein to his keen analytical mind in addressing these issues and more. But don't expect an inaccessible tome of arcane scientific terms; Strobel's years of newspaper reporting gives the book a conversational style. Relying on transcriptions of his interviews with experts in the pertinent fields, he tells the incredible stories about the hard science behind what some have termed creationism. Extensively researched, this book should a classic apologetic text for years to come.
Please note: We expect our preparation and thus the transmission of these daily messages to be inconsistent the next two weeks. We are traveling out to Missouri for a family reunion next weekend and to visit family and friends. Although we could prepare the messages ahead of time and place them on a scheduled automatic update we choose not to do so. It seems like the niche we are comfortable with is the freshly written daily message.
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