Newsletter 80.

Contents.

Story - "Whistle down the wind"
Bible Answers for Kids -
What is my purpose in life?
Can Christians perform miracles?
Did people evolve from monkeys?
Was the Universe created with a "Big Bang"?
When will the world come to an end?
Why do we have earthquakes?


Whistle down the wind.

Many years ago, I saw a film called "Whistle down the wind". In it a criminal was on the run from the police. To avoid being captured, he hid in a farm barn. The criminal was later discovered by some children, who asked hin "Who are you?" The man replied, "Jesus". And the children belived him!

Because they thought that Jesus was sheltering in their barn, the children brought the man some food, followed by warm clothes. They even gave him some money. Thus, the children were good to the man because they thought that they were being good to Jesus.

Actually those children were being good to Jesus, because He told us that if we are being good to others, we are being good to Him. There is no difference.

So, if you are good to someone, by giving to them or helping them in some way, you are really being good to Jesus. Conversely, if you are bad to someone, refusing to help them when you can, or by lying, stealing, hitting, gossiping, etc., you are really being bad to Jesus. (See Matthew 25. 31-46).

So treat other people as if they were Jesus. That is what God wants you to do.


What is my purpose in life?

(Much of the material shared here is taken from Norman Warren's book "The purpose driven life").


Why do I exist? Why am I here? What is my purpose? People of all cultures have always searched for purpose and meaning to life, and have asked questions like these. However, the Bible makes the answer quite clear.


It has been said that "The two greatest days in a person's life are the day they are born, and the day they find out why they were born." Everyone reading this has obviously had their first "greatest day", but maybe, for some of you, today could turn out to be your "second greatest day".


God created everything for a purpose. The fact that you are here means that God has a purpose for you. Actually, God has created all of us for FIVE special purposes.

1. God created us for Himself. So that we might enjoy God, and He might enjoy us, both now and forever. Thus, we were made to know and love God.


When we express our love to God, that is called WORSHIP. We can worship God in many different ways, for example, singing a song to Him, talking to Him, admiring a beautiful sunset while giving thanks to God in our hearts, helping someone in need, obeying your parents, etc. etc. WORSHIP, in fact, is anything we do that gives God pleasure.


2. We were created to be adopted into God's family. And God's family is called the church. Everyone who puts their trust in Jesus Christ becomes a member of God's family.


The Bible likens God's family to a human body. In other words, every part of the body is important, and is dependent on all the other parts. Thus, our purpose is to work together to see the body (church) strengthen and grow. We do this by loving, praying for, encouraging, and helping each other. These activities are called FELLOWSHIP.


3. We were created to become like Christ. And to know what Jesus is like, you only have to read about Him in the Bible - Totally good, holy, loving, perfect, etc. This growth of us into the likeness of Christ is called DISCIPLESHIP. Discipleship is a lifelong job, and requires our co-operation and effort.


Galatians 5.22 lists nine "fruits of the Spirit" that God wants to see grow in our lives. These are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. God may well place us in environments where these attributes are more able to grow.


For example, if He wants to see more love in your life, He is unlikely to surround you with nice, loving, friendly people. No, you are more likely to meet a lot of annoying, unloving, unfriendly people. In these circumstances your "love" will have more opportunities to grow.


Likewise, if God wants to see more patience in your life, you are quite likely to find yourself in numerous traffic jams or Supermarket queues!


4. We were created for SERVICE, i.e. to serve God by serving others. The Bible tells us that God has actually prepared works for us to do. And if God wants you to do a particular job, He will always prepare you for it beforehand.


God has equipped us for service by giving us a SHAPE This is what makes us who we are, and everyone has their own SHAPE, which makes us unique. Each letter of the word "SHAPE" stands for something that makes us uniquely qualified for the service God has prepared for us to do.


S stands for Spiritual gifts that God has given to us as He wills for the strengthening of His family (the Church). The full list of these nine gifts can be found in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12. These are not permanent gifts, but are given by the Holy Spirit for a particular situation at a particular time.


For example, someone might be given the gift of Prophecy. They hear God's voice, and are thus able to pass on His message to someone that it is intended for. Someone might be given the gift of Wisdom. Thus, they are suddenly able to see God's way out of a difficult situation. Another person may receive the gift of Faith. Thus, he may be praying for someone, and suddenly "know for certain" that his prayer will be answered.

H stands for your Heart. What are you passionate about? What do you really love?


Some of the passions people might have are for teaching children, helping the poor, sick, or elderly, seeing better government etc. Many people have a strong passion for helping people in a different country. Usually a poor one. These passions are given to us by God. We should concentrate on them, and find out how He would have us make a difference in this world.


A stands for Abilities, i.e. the natural abilities that you are born with. These run into the hundreds, e.g. music, sport, languages, mathematics, nursing, teaching, making friends, etc. etc. God wants you to use your natural abilities to serve others.


P stands for PERSONALITY. We are all unique. God has created each of us different, with different personalities. Probably the two best known personality types are the Extrovert and the Introvert.


It is important to remember that whatever a person's personality is, it is not a case of it being "good" or "bad". Rather, it is just the way God intended them to be. Don't try to change your personality. Just be yourself, remembering that God can use a person of one personality in one situation, and a person of a different personality in another situation.


E stands for EXPERIENCES. God allows us to go through many different types of experiences in our lives, some "good" and some "bad". But, having gone through them, we are then in an ideal position to help others who are themselves experiencing similar situations.


Types of experiences may be involving your family, your school time, your job etc. But the most helpful ones will probably be your Painful experiences. Thus, you may be able to help someone who is sick, injured, going through a family break up, having learning difficulties, struggling with a bad habit, etc.


5. We were created to reach others for God. This is called EVANGELISM or MISSION. God wants everyone to know of His love, and He has chosen His family (the church) to make this love known through both word and deed.


God wants us to help the needy, but no matter how much you do so, it is important to remember that you will only be affecting their present lives. On the other hand, Evangelism, telling people how they can receive eternal life, is FOREVER. You could effect a person's eternal destiny. And there is nothing more important than that.


Many Christians are reluctant to tell others about Jesus Christ for fear of rejection. They think "If I tell my friend about Jesus, they may not like what I say - - - - they may not like me for telling them - - - - they might stop being my friend". If you feel like that, what you should do is pray and ask God to fill you with love for your friend. That is because God promises us "Perfect love drives away fear". In other words, love and fear can't both exist at the same time. And if you are truly filled with love for a person, your greatest desire will be for them to know Jesus for themselves. Then, God is well able to direct you as to the best way to share His wonderful love with them.

In summary, our five purposes of life are :- WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP, DISCIPLESHIP, SERVICE, and EVANGELISM.


Can Christians perform miracles?

Jesus raised the dead, healed the sick, and performed many other miracles. Many people believe that Jesus was able to do this because He was actually God. Well, He certainly is God, but He is God who became a man. When Jesus came to earth, He left his divine (Godly) qualities behind in heaven. During His 33 years on earth, Jesus was fully human, restricting Himself to do only what other humans can do.

According to the Bible, Jesus didn't perform any miracles during the first 30 years of His earthly life. However, after He was baptised in the river Jordan by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. Thereafter, Jesus began His miraculous ministry - not because He was God, but because of the continuing indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.


The exciting thing for all followers of Jesus is that this same Holy Spirit which filled Jesus is available to us! And that is why there are numerous examples today of miracles and healings being done through ordinary Christians. They are achieved through the power of the Holy Spirit.


In fact, Jesus once said "If you have faith in me, you will do even greater things than I." (John 14.12). Your first thought may be "Greater things!" Surely no human could do "Greater things" than Jesus? But a closer examination will show that even some "Greater things" have in fact been done by some Christians. I will give two examples.


1. In his 3 years of ministry, how many people did Jesus personally preach to, see them respond, and enter the Kingdom of heaven? We can only make a very rough estimate but, as the population was much less 2,000 years ago than it is today, it is unlikely to have been more than a few thousand. However there are many Evangelists, such as Billy Graham and Reinhard Bonnke, who have seen tens of thousands of people respond to Jesus and enter into the Kingdom of heaven IN ONE EVENING!


2. How many people did Jesus raise from the dead? There are 3 or 4 cases mentioned in the Bible (although there may have been a few more which were not recorded). However there are reports of Christians, such as Smith Wigglesworth, raising as many as 20 people from the dead.

These are some of the "even greater things" that Jesus talked about.


Did people evolve from monkeys?

There are only two explanations for how you, and all other human beings, came into existence.

The Bible tells us that an eternal, all wise, all powerful Creator made the first of every different kind of living creature, pretty much as we find them today.

The second explanation says that mankind started out thousands of millions of years ago when some kind of accident caused non-living material to change into a very tiny living animal. This tiny animal (which despite its size, we now know to have been extremely complex), then changed slowly over the years to become every living thing that has ever lived, including you. This theory is called evolution (See Diagram).


(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Suppose for a moment that a 'big bang' did result in the production of a lot of non-living chemicals. (See "Was the universe created with a big bang?) How did these then turn into living creatures? No human has ever created something living from something not living, but evolutionists must believe that this actually happened at least once by random, chance processes.

Can we test these two contrasting ideas as to how we all came to be here? There are two ways we can test which one is more likely to be true.

1. Ask "Is evolution happening today?" The answer is obviously "No." We never observe one kind of creature changing into a different kind. Thus, cats always give birth to cats, dogs give dogs, potatoes give potatoes and carrots give carrots etc. etc.

2. Is there any evidence to show that evolution ever happened in the past? Again the answer is "No." Fossils are a collection of 'dead things' - creatures and plants that lived and died in the past. But the fossil record shows clearly defined species, with no evidence of one type of creature changing into a different type. If evolution were true, we would expect to find billions of transitional (intermediate) forms. But they are just not there.

There have been a number of claims that 'intermediate' forms have been found (e.g. ape-men), but on further inspection they have proved to be false. So-called ape-men, for example, have subsequently been shown to be really either apes, men, or fraudulent hoaxes (e.g. Pilkdown man).

Science is concerned solely with what is happening in the present. It cannot tell us anything about what happened in the past. So when it comes to the origins of things, we move into the realm of speculation and personal faith. Ultimately, the question is "Who are we going to believe? Fallible men who weren't there in the beginning, or God who is the only one who was there?"

For more teaching on Creation and Evolution, see my 'Creation' Blog at www.ms-creation.blogspot.com


Was the Universe created with a "Big bang"?


The Universe, and everything in it, is real. That is a fact, But how did it all come into existence? There are only two possible explanations. Either Someone created it (i.e. God). Or, it must have all made itself.


Our common sense tells us that everything we see (e.g. our clothes, shoes, watch, pet dog etc.) must have been made (created) by someone. That is why most people believe in God - the Creator of the Universe, earth, and the first of all the different types of living creatures).


Some people, however, deny the existence of God. This is usually because THEY DO NOT WANT TO BELIEVE IN HIM. For to do so means that if they admit that God made them, it follows that He owns them, and has a right to tell them how they should behave. These people don't like that idea, so deny that God exists, mistakenly thinking that therefore they can set their own rules for life and basically live however they choose.


People who deny the existence of God (Atheists) need therefore to try and explain how everything came into existence without a Creator. Simply put, they have to believe that the Universe created itself out of nothing. (To believe that actually requires a lot more faith than to believe in a Creator!). So how then do atheists explain how the Universe, and everything in it formed? The only idea they have come up with is called Evolution, which was first made popular by Charles Darwin about 150 years ago.


Evolutionists use the idea of a 'big bang' to try and explain the beginnings of the Universe, even though none of them were there to see what actually happened! They say that first of all there was absolutely nothing. Then, around 15 billion years ago, the universe was born in a searing hot fireball which we call the 'big bang'. Everything - all matter, energy, space, time - came into being at that precise instant. As the fireball expanded it formed lots of hydrogen gas, which spread out and filled the universe. Then the clouds of hydrogen gas started to pull themselves together by gravity. These clouds got hotter and hotter until they formed stars. Then some of these stars exploded and formed all the other elements like carbon and oxygen, These elements cooled and began to "freeze out." growing into galaxies, containing stars such as our sun. Then about 4 billion years ago the earth was formed. About 500 million years ago life began spontaneously on earth.


However nobody can explain how all the energy and matter contained in the billions of stars in the universe was somehow there, condensed into a single point, which suddenly 'exploded'. Where did the first energy come from? How could it all have been contained in a single point? What made this point explode? And who ever heard of an explosion making order and design? What happens when fireworks explode? You certainly get a bang, but all you have left is a big mess!

There are lots of sound scientific reasons why the big bang idea is wrong, could not work, and simply did not happen.

It is far easier, in fact, to believe that Almighty God made the sun, the moon, the stars and everything in the universe the way He says He did in the Bible.


When will the world come to an end?

Over many centuries, many religious people have made predictions of when this world will end. Some have given a specific year, and others have even predicted the exact day and time. Needless to say, they have all been wrong so far - because we are all still here!


The Bible does tell us that the earth (as we know it) will be completely destroyed one day. But before that happens, there is another important event that will take place. Jesus will return to earth for those of us who are trusting in Him. The return of Jesus will then set in motion a train of events, which will then result in the world's destruction.


When Jesus was on earth the first time, about two thousand years ago, he was asked when he would return? Jesus told his questioners that he didn't know, and that only God, the Father knew the exact time.


It seems to me that if even Jesus doesn't know when he will return, it is very unlikely that any human being will know the time! The Bible, in fact, tells us that the return of Jesus will be a surprise. His return will be unexpected - nobody will be looking at the clock, waiting for him.


The Bible tells us that before Jesus returns, the conditions will have to be just right. Certain things (or signs) will have to happen first.


1. The "major" sign is that the Jews will return to their biblical homeland of Israel. The Romans destroyed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 66 AD and began persecuting the Jews. As a result, these people were scattered throughout the earth for almost 2,000 years. However, in 1948, the present nation of Israel was re-established, and many Jews subsequently returned to their ancestors' ancient homeland. Thus, "Sign 1" has already been fulfilled.


2. There will be an increase in wars, wickedness and violence throughout the world. Most people will agree that this is true "today". Things are getting worse and worse.


3. There will be an increase in natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc. Most will agree that this is true today.


4. The Gospel (Good news about Jesus Christ) will be shared with all the world's different people groups. This "sign" has not yet been fulfilled. Technological advances over the last century, with the invention of such things as radio, television and the internet, has seen a great increase in the spread of the Gospel. However, there are still many people groups in remote areas of the earth that have still not had an opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel. Jesus will not return until the church has completed this task.


5. Many Christians believe that another "sign" will have to take place before Jesus returns. And that is the rebuilding of God's Temple on its original site in Jerusalem. This remains unfulfilled.


Therefore, don't be misled by future "prophets" who predict the timing of Jesus' return, or the end of the world. When Jesus does return, He will do so unexpectedly.


Why do we have earthquakes?

This is a question that many New Zealanders have been asking. The city of Christchurch suffered a major earthquake in September 2010, followed by another one in February 2011 - with consequent fatalities totalling almost 200, and much property damage. Many aftershocks have also rocked the region.


I have heard many 'experts' express their opinions as to why earthquakes occur - but none of them have been really satisfactory. However, we will have a look at some of the reasons that have been proposed. I will group their opinions into three main sections.


A. Some 'experts' talk mainly about the physical causes, and leave God out of their reasoning. They point out that the crust of the earth (on which we live) sits on tectonic plates of rocks, which in turn float on very hot molten metal in the core of the earth. As these plates are slowly moving they collide with each other, producing a massive release of energy in the form of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.


A good way of understanding this is to imagine a kettle full of water, which is being heated up. When the water gets very hot, it will release energy in the form of steam, which will usually be released through the kettle's spout. However, if the kettle had no spout, it would eventually explode. In the same way that a spout is a kettle's release valve, volcanoes and fault lines where tectonic plates collide, act as release valves and thus prevent more severe and widespread devastation. However the question "Why is the earth like this?" still needs to be answered.


1. Atheists deny the existence of God, and thus believe that the earth must have been made by random, chance processes. They, quite rightly, point out that if the earth was made in this way, it was very unlikely to have been made perfect, and thus earthquakes, etc. should not really be a surprise to us. However atheists deny the fact that EVERYTHING has to have a creator. Absolutely NOTHING can make itself.


2. Some 'experts' believe in a Creator, but say that He must have not got it quite right when He made the earth, hence its imperfections. However the Bible tells us that God is perfect, and that thus He can (and did) only make perfect things.


3. Some 'experts' say that God did make the earth in the beginning, but that He doesn't really care what happens to it. However the Bible tells us that God does care. In fact, He cares passionately about everything He has created.


B. Some 'experts' believe that God actually causes earthquakes (and other natural disasters) as punishment for people's bad behaviour or rejection of Him. They point to God's judgements in the Bible, such as Noah's flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God is a God who judges sin. However, before God ever judged anyone with a disaster, He always gave the people many warnings, and provided a place of safety for those who trusted him - as He did at the time of Noah's flood. In the case of the Christchurch earthquakes, for example, no warnings seem to have been given, and no place of safety provided. Thus "Believers" suffered alongside "Unbelievers". It is inconceivable that God allowed His own people to suffer just so that He could punish the "Unbelievers".


The Bible does talk about a future Judgement that will come upon the earth. But He has already provided a place of safety for those who trust in Him - and that is through the cross of Jesus. Anyone truly trusting in Jesus, and what He did for us on the cross, will be safe. Many Christians believe in fact that "Believers" will be taken off the earth before this final judgement.

C. Some 'experts' say that although God does not cause earthquakes, He could stop them if He chose to. However, He chooses not to prevent them so that "Good" can come from them.

There is certainly some truth in this, as very often "Good" follows natural disasters. In the case of the Christchurch earthquakes, for example, much "Good" followed in two main areas.

1. Neighbours in the city became more caring, helpful and loving to each other. Also many from outside the city gave up their time, talents and money to help in the recovery process.

2. Following the earthquakes many became scared. They began to realise the uncertainty of life, and turned to God to find answers and security. Following any natural disaster there is always an immediate increase in church attendance.

This is all "Good", but the actual cause of the earthquakes remains unexplained.



WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

I am sure that all these 'experts' gave their explanations with the best of intentions. However, they have one thing in common - None of the explanations (or at least none that I have heard) have taken into account what the BIBLE actually says! Personally, I am not too interested in what people say. But I am very much interested in what the Bible says. Because what the Bible says is what God says - AND HE SHOULD KNOW!


The Bible tells us that in the beginning God made a PERFECT world. Everything was "Very good". However, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, droughts, diseases, etc. are NOT "very good".


Something has obviously gone horribly wrong with God's "perfect world". And the Bible tells us what it was. The very first people, Adam and Eve, rebelled against their Creator. This rebellion was so serious that God put a curse on the earth. And EVERYTHING was affected by this - people, animals, plants. Even the earth itself. The Bible, in fact, talks about the earth "groaning" (a good description of an earthquake) until Jesus returns to make a new earth, and everything is restored to its former perfect state.


All "Bad" things on the earth, whether they be natural disasters, diseases, wars, murders, theft, etc., etc. can be attributed to mankind's original and ongoing rebellion (sin) against our Creator. The Good News, however, is that God still loved mankind so much, He sent his Son, Jesus, to deal with our sin problem once and for all. This Jesus did when He took our sins upon Himself on the cross. This means that we can all be reconciled to God now. And sometime in the future, the remainder of creation will also be reconciled (made new).

CONCLUSION.

The Bible tells us that this present condition of the earth will get worse and worse until Jesus returns to abolish all "Bad" things. So, until that day comes, the only safe and sensible thing people can do is to make sure that they are trusting in Jesus.