Articles – September 2009
For the Birds
Written by Mike Webb
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
This Saturday, we are scheduled to hike up a local landmark named Old Rag Mountain. (I have no idea where the name comes from – so don’t ask.) It’s a pretty strenuous, steep, 8 mile hike rising from the base of the Shenandoah National Park to a towering panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. Roughly 2/3 of the way to the top, you encounter a rock scramble. Picking your way through this cropping of exposed granite is physically demanding, and, in my opinion, due to that challenge, the most rewarding and enjoyable part of the hike. A word of caution, though: if you are not used to physical activity, the climb may a bit much. The name of our outings are Meet Your Maker with the idea of introducing folks to their Creator in a personal way, not sending them, literally, to meet their maker.
There are so many aspects to Old Rag, depending on your interests; you can never get bored with it. There are lessons to be learned and facts to be gathered, if you desire. Or, you can just enjoy the climb. For example, if you have a bent toward geology, you’ll be fascinated by the granite formations and the dikes formed where the softer basaltic magma was extruded, then eroded away. There is an abundance of wildlife for those that thrill at seeing deer and bears. If you simply enjoy the physical activity, this is a climb for you.
The one thing in common that everyone enjoys, is the view at the top. With the granite outcroppings limiting vegetation growth, the views are, for the most part, completely unimpeded. You can see for miles in every direction.
One of my favorite sights from the top is the variety of birds hovering, soaring, effortlessly over the landscape. The air currents, gentle breezes and updrafts, keep these guys flying for hours on end with little exertion required on their part.
On one of our recent visits, the sky was overcast and the winds were blowing. While we were growing a bit concerned over being exposed to the elements, the birds took no notice. In fact, because of the wind and increased updrafts, they soared higher and faster, with less apparent effort than usual. The one thing we feared and threatened to drive us for cover, caused the birds to soar higher and faster.
An inescapable fact of life is that all of us will face storms in our lives. Not just physical storms, but times of trials and testing that threaten us and make us want to dive for cover. There will be times when we feel like we can’t go on; that we just want to give up. When those times occur, learn from the birds. Sometimes, un-believers accuse believers of having “blind faith,” of not being very intelligent, or of being “bird-brained.” In this case, trust me; it’s OK to be bird-brained!
You see, God has promised that if we trust in Him, and seek Him, whole-heartedly, we will find Him (Jer. 29-13). And, if we follow Him, He has made the promise that He will lift us up and carry us so we will not grow weary. Check this passage out from the prophet Isaiah, “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
God does not grow weak or weary! He offers that power to the weak and strength to those who have no power! He will make us soar high on wings like eagles! Those are simply awesome and encouraging words!
God has made other promises as well. He has said that He will never allow more than we can handle and that His grace is sufficient for us (1Cor. 10-13, 2Cor. 12:9). And as I was reminded this past weekend, although “with God all things are possible” and “all things are possible to him who believes,” nowhere does it say that it will be easy!
The key is to press in and let God. Trust Him. Find “new strength” in Him. Let God be the wind beneath your wings, the updraft that carries you effortlessly higher. Let the storm strengthen your walk and your faith as you depend on Him.
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Friday Night Lights (cont.)
Written by Mike Webb (9/09)
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” Psalm 8:3-4
“So,” you ask, “how do observing these meteor showers show that God cares for man?” Following are three things to consider:
Laws of Nature
Scientists can calculate where and when Swift-Tuttle will pass by. They can calculate when the earth will pass through the debris stream. Not only can they calculate the “when,” but they can also tell us the “for how long.” And not just for this meteor event, but for other meteor events caused by the same processes. (Watch the Geminids in the first two weeks of December). Not only can they use those calculations for meteor events, but they use them to rendezvous satellites with planets in deep space and to put men on the moon, for example.
How can they do this? Because all creation follows “natural” laws, laws such as: laws of gravity, of motion, and of thermodynamics. The list is long. Where did these “natural” laws come from? Surely the Big Bang does not explain it, no matter how hard the secular side tries to convince us it does; chaos and randomness do not lead to order. They originate with the One Who designed the universe. From the One, who by nature, is orderly and orders things. Because of these laws, things can be calculated. Things can be tested. Predictions can be made.
Signs and Seasons
Want another “where is God in this?” Imagine the dawn of time, before calendars, watches, etc. How did folks know when to plant? Some seasons are more favorable than others. How did they know when to stop working and go home before they were lost in the darkness that was sure to come? Here’s how (from God’s Word): Genesis 1:14, “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.” Do you want to know how I could say positively, “Watch the Geminids in the first two weeks of December?” Because they happen like clockwork every year. As do the Perseides in August. And the Leonids in the middle of November. And if they happen like clockwork, I know what time of year it is – every year. If they occurred randomly, that would not be possible.
How about another event that fits this category? How about the June and December solstice events? You may not recognize the designation, but these events measure the “longest” and “shortest” days of the year? Because of the Earth’s rotation and its position with regards to the sun, we can tell where we are with respect to summer and winter.
Our Atmosphere
Our atmosphere, the stuff you are breathing right now to keep you alive, is also the design that keeps those particles from slamming into our planet. Because of the friction caused as they enter our atmosphere, they burn up without ever reaching us! It’s the same reason the space shuttles need heat tiles to keep from igniting on re-entry. Imagine the damage even a small rock could do slamming into someone, or something, from that height and at that velocity! Only the larger objects are able to penetrate our atmosphere. These are rare indeed.
Our planet’s size plays a role here also; it’s just the right size. It’s large enough to hang on to its atmosphere, but not so large to hold on to too much atmosphere and consequently too much heat, thereby making it uninhabitable.
Staggered orbits
Imagine the damage an object 6 miles wide would do if it were to impact Earth. Remember, that’s the size of comet Swift-Tuttle. God in His infinite wisdom has set them in their proper orbits and ordained that none of these objects would collide with us. Even though their paths do cross, we are not in the “intersection” at the same time.
To be sure, there have been objects that have hit our planet. Secular science believes that it was a Swift-Tuttle sized object that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. There are meteor craters around the planet that testify to this. One of them is in central Arizona, called cleverly enough, Meteor Crater. Interestingly, these have all occurred in “prehistoric” times (which, I learned from a National Park ranger, means different things in different places; it’s a relative term. For example, even though people in the Middle East were recording history centuries before they were recording in the U.S., since no one was around to record an event in the U.S., it is said to have occurred in “prehistoric” times. So “prehistoric” in the Middle East is much further in the past than “prehistoric” in the U.S. Make sense?).
Earth’s Place in the Solar System
Recently in the news, it was reported that a massive object struck Jupiter. Why is that important? It speaks to the Earth’s position in our solar system and how we are protected.
Astronomer Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute called the Jupiter impact “a bit of a surprise,” adding, “We all thought these were a little more rare.” In a sense, it’s a good thing that the impacts on Jupiter aren’t too rare, since incoming cosmic debris could otherwise threaten Earth. Jupiter, with significant gravity due to its mass, acts as a sort of solar system “vacuum cleaner” to help minimize the number of objects headed toward Earth by diverting and vacuuming up incoming debris and keeping Earth safe. If you haven’t heard about, or seen pictures of the moon, it too is pockmarked from collisions which, conceivably, would have hammered Earth.
God’s care and provision are everywhere – if you look for it and are willing to believe! (Acts 14:17; Romans 1:20)<><>< –>
