What To Do With Leftovers?  The Story We Find Ourselves In (Part 8)

    There is nothing quite like getting toward the end of a great story and beginning to realize that not all of the issues are getting resolved.  Questions remain.  Relationships between things and people are left hanging.  The main story line may be resolving nicely, and even wonderfully, but there are loose ends.  For those of us who like our reality neatly packaged and easy to manage, this can be frustrating.  We might even be tempted to simply "use a bigger hammer" to make pieces that just don't seem to fit together, fit.  And yet, there is something both wonderful and awesome about loose ends.  It reminds us that there is still more to learn, more to discover, more to think about!  It also reminds us that, indeed, we really are not little gods who can easily shrink God and all of created reality down to the size of the explanations we construct in our heads in order to try to manage them.  But then, what do we do with these leftovers?

Click Here to review Pastor Chris' sermon on this topic.

The Amazing Universe We Find Ourselves In

Whatever our unanswered questions are, there is no doubt that we live in an amazing place!  Enjoy exploring these links:

        Selected Psalms continued . . .

PSALM 33

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright.

Praise the LORD with the lyre,

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

Sing to him a new song,

play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

For the word of the LORD is upright;

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,

and all their host by the breath of his mouth.

He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;

he put the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD,

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood forth.

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nought;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

The counsel of the LORD stands for ever,

the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

The LORD looks down from heaven,

he sees all the sons of men;

from where he sits enthroned he looks forth

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

he who fashions the hearts of them all,

and observes all their deeds.

A king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

The war horse is a vain hope for victory,

and by its great might it cannot save.

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

that he may deliver their soul from death,

and keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the LORD;

he is our help and shield.

Yea, our heart is glad in him,

because we trust in his holy name.

Let thy steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,

even as we hope in thee.

PSALM 104

(God as Creator and Sustainer)

Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, thou art very great!

Thou art clothed with honor and majesty,

who coverest thyself with light as with a garment,

who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent,

who hast laid the beams of thy chambers on the waters,

who makest the clouds thy chariot,

who ridest on the wings of the wind,

who makest the winds thy messengers,

fire and flame thy ministers.

Thou didst set the earth on its foundations,

so that it should never be shaken.

Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment;

the waters stood above the mountains.

At thy rebuke they fled;

at the sound of thy thunder they took to flight.

The mountains rose,

the valleys sank down to the place

which thou didst appoint for them.

Thou didst set a bound which they should not pass,

so that they might not again cover the earth.

Thou makest springs gush forth in the valleys;

they flow between the hills,

they give drink to every beast of the field;

the wild asses quench their thirst.

By them the birds of the air have their habitation;

they sing among the branches.

From thy lofty abode thou waterest the mountains;

the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work.

Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle,

and plants for man to cultivate,

that he may bring forth food from the earth,

  and wine to gladden the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man's heart.

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,

the cedars of Lebanon which he planted.

In them the birds build their nests;

the stork has her home in the fir trees.

The high mountains are for the wild goats;

the rocks are a refuge for the badgers.

Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons;

the sun knows its time for setting.

Thou makest darkness, and it is night,

when all the beasts of the forest creep forth.

The young lions roar for their prey,

seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises,

they get them away and lie down in their dens.

Man goes forth to his work

and to his labor until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are thy works!

In wisdom hast thou made them all;

the earth is full of thy creatures.

Yonder is the sea, great and wide,

which teems with things innumerable,

living things both small and great.

There go the ships,

and Leviathan which thou didst form to sport in it.

These all look to thee,

to give them their food in due season.

When thou givest to them, they gather it up;

when thou openest thy hand,

they are filled with good things.

When thou hidest thy face, they are dismayed;

when thou takest away their breath,

they die and return to their dust.

When thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created;

and thou renewest the face of the ground.

May the glory of the LORD endure for ever,

may the LORD rejoice in his works,

who looks on the earth and it trembles,

who touches the mountains and they smoke!

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

May my meditation be pleasing to him,

for I rejoice in the LORD.

Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

and let the wicked be no more!

Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!

PSALM 102

He has broken my strength in mid-course;

he has shortened my days.

"O my God," I say, "take me not hence in the midst of my days,

thou whose years endure throughout all generations!"

Of old thou didst lay the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of thy hands.

They will perish, but thou dost endure;

they will all wear out like a garment.

Thou changest them like raiment,

and they pass away;

but thou art the same,

and thy years have no end.

The children of thy servants shall dwell secure;

their posterity shall be established before thee.

(Verses 23-28)

The Hubble Telescope and what it brings to us.  Truly amazing discoveries and images to explore and reflect upon.An additional place to look is the NASA Web page that also has a great deal of information about space exploration, including some amazing images.

Just as amazing is what we discover when we turn our attention the other direction and explore the microscopic world (a great link for a virtual look through the microscope), not to mention the molecular or sub-atomic levels of reality.  

Exploring the Challenges and the Questions

A couple of great resources that explore the unique challenges and questions we face as we reflect on scripture and on science are:

• Ben Clausen & Gerald Wheeler, The Book of Beginnings:  Creation and the Promise of Redemption (Review & Herald Publishing Association, 2006).  For a review of this book, click here.

• Brian Bull, Fritz Guy & Ervin Taylor, Editors, Understanding Genesis:  Contemporary Adventist Perspectives, (Adventist Today Foundation, 2006)

In dealing with the issues of origins we must have Christians who are both dedicated to Scripture and intellectually responsible.  Many of one type or the other are available, but few have both qualities.  Too many intellectually responsible academics give up on the church.  Other Christians are zealous for God, but unenlightened.  Clausen & Wheeler, The Book of Beginnings, 76.

"We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it."  M. L'Engle, Walking on Water, 28 quoted in Clausen & Wheeler, The Book of Beginnings, 78.

Honesty and Integrity With Evidence.  No one will listen to us until we have earned their trust and respect.  To lose the respect of others because we are people of faith is nothing to be ashamed of, but to lose respect because of our snide remarks, haughtiness, dogmatism, evolution bashing, or poorly informed comments is inexcusable.  Clausen & Wheeler, The Book of Beginnings, 78.