In His Palm, A thought on dark matter, dark energy, and laminin

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. – (Colossians 1:17 NIV)

Consider the vast measure of our universe. Many scientists believe that the universe is as many as 156 billion light years wide or even larger. It is said that the edge observable universe is 45.6 billion light years in any direction. Yet in all, that scientists can see based on all they know their observations lead them to believe that as much as 90% of the mass required to hold the universe from flying apart is missing. Based on the velocities of the galaxies and the physics involved they believe there must be some sort of matter that they cannot see that is responsible for generating the gravity required to keep the galaxies intact. They say that thought they cannot see it they know it is there because they see the evidence that it is there. They see the effects it has on things they can see. Is this not a statement of faith? “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV). As I became aware of this debate over dark matter and all that it entails, it brought to remembrance Colossians 1:17, which says, “in Him all things consist” (NKJV). The NIV puts it this way. “In Him all things hold together”. Romans 11:36 says also “For of Him and through Him and to Him [are] all things” (NKJV). It goes on to state that the glory belongs to Him. All things point to Christ if you “believe” the evidence for what it is.

Without getting too much into the science of it all, I would like to explore some of the thoughts I have along these lines. The first thought I have already mentioned and that is the faith aspect. Anyone who denies that they have faith is a fool. We all have faith. The question is what are we putting that faith in? The scientist who believes in the Big Bang Theory and in Evolution must have faith in order to believe it. This simply because it has not, and cannot be proven. They are simply relying on the evidence that they have seen and bring it to their own conclusion. I would even go so far as to say that they need more faith to believe in these things than the faith I need to believe God. This matter of dark matter demonstrates this concept of faith perfectly. The scientist who does not believe in God see’s the evidence of some sort of missing matter and draws their conclusion according to their faith. As a believer, I see the evidence and relate it to the power of God. It reminds me once again of His control.

Also, understand that I do not necessarily believe that this dark matter does not, or cannot exist. I simply see it on a much grander scale. As we look across all of creation, we see such complexity that we could never truly grasp it all. Every detail of creation is so important that without one the whole thing would collapse. The deeper man probes into things the more questions he raises. The more complexities he finds. I believe that this missing matter could simply be the power of God holding all things together just as His word states. Or, is it just a picture of the validity of the word of God. God has created many pictures within creation that point to Him. Even if science does verify some physical matter that is this missing matter, I will still believe. The picture here is of the faith that thought we cannot see with our eyes what is holding creation together we know that something is there and it is holding this all together. The believer knows that it is God and it is by His power and word. I recently came across another picture that demonstrates this relationship between Christ, His word and our physical makeup. It is Laminin. The following video shows us this.

What an awesome picture of Christ being so intimately involved in His creation. Yet so many people deny it. Daniel at the scene of the writing on the wall in Daniel chapter 5, tells Belshazzar of the work of God in Belshazzar’s father Nebuchadnezzar. He tells of how Belshazzar saw and knew all this yet raised himself against God. “Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways” (Daniel 5:23 NIV). It is so sad that even though there are so many pictures of God’s hand in creation all around us people still refuse to recognize it as such. Even though it is God who gives them breath and life, still they do not recognize Him. Simply because they do not believe the evidence. Instead, they conform it to their own godless notions.

There is one more picture that I would like to share with you. It is closely related to dark matter. Another dilemma science is facing is the ever increasing rate if expansion in the universe. Popular science believes that dark matter is holding the galaxies from flying apart into total chaos. It also cannot identify the energy that seems to be pulling the universe apart. The given is that the universe is expanding and has been since the beginning of time. However, what science does not understand is why it seems to be expanding exponentially faster and faster as time goes on. This force pulling the universe apart they have dubbed dark energy. I immediately related this to sin in our world. The Bible is clear that sin is destroying the creation. It tells us of the wickedness that will be so prevalent in the last days. One need only look around to see this happening around us even now. Sin and godlessness seems to be picking up momentum each and every passing day. Evil is taking over. But remember just as the iniquity of the Amorites had to come to completion (Genesis 15:16, Numbers 21:26) before Israel could receive the promised land so must this age of the Gentiles be fulfilled before Christ returns and calls us home. Know that the more it seems that sin prevails the nearer Christ return is! Are we going to recognize the signs and prepare for His return or will we continue to deny the very one in whom our very existence consists?

1

Universe Measured: We’re 156 Billion Light-years Wide!

By Robert Roy Britt

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_040524.html

2

Observable universe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe#Size_of_the_observable_universe

3

Dark matter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_matter

4

Dark energy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_energy

In The Shadow Of His Wings

Here In The Shadow – Shannon Wexelberg

Consider the song “Here in the Shadow” by Shannon Wexelberg. Here in the shadow of the wings of the Almighty God.  Here there is shelter. Here there is rest. Here there is peace. Where else can we run to hide?  Four times David in the Psalms referred to his refuge being in the shadow of His wings. I thought of the Disney movie, Bambi. As young Bambi explores his new forest home, he experienced his first rainstorm. In that scene, you will see a mother bird open her wings for her chicks as she runs for shelter. All her chicks are able to find shelter from the storm under her wings. However, there was one requirement. They had to go where she went.  They had to go with her to where she was taking them.

How many times we find ourselves in the storm by ourselves. Seemingly alone, and unprotected. Crying out to God asking why He has abandoned us. And He replies asking why we abandoned Him. His wings are open wide. Yet, we have wandered away from where he was taking us. So many times, I have found myself wandering lost. Floundering in my walk with the Lord. All because I had gotten off track. I had lost my way as I sought out my own way often ignoring the instruction that had been given to me from the Lord. We need to find our shelter under His wings. Let God take us His way to His places. Truly under His wings is peace and rest!

A Living Stone

Consider the work of the Lord in your life. His purpose and will for you. The intent with which He does His work in you. The ultimate end. Where does this all go? Why is the Lord continually working in me? What is His purpose in me? Consider the building of Solomon’s temple. As with most old testament stories there is a direct correlation to our lives. The Lord was creating a picture of the work He intended to do in His people.

The Reason For the Gifts (Part 2)

I wanted to expand on the thought I presented in The Reason For the Gifts. Especially as it relates to the passage in Genesis 45. This is a point that I think needs to be emphasized. The Holy Spirit inspires belief. If you recall the Holy Spirit is given to us as a deposit of our future inheritance in Christ. ” In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee [deposit] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13,14, NKJV). Also recall the gifts sent by Joseph to Jacob. And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey (Genesis 45:23). And finally notice why Joseph sent these things. What was his purpose? He wasn’t simply sending provisions for the journey. This was far more than would be required to travel from Canaan to Egypt. Doesn’t it seem silly to send all this stuff back to Canaan in order for Jacob to turn around and have to bring it all back to Egypt anyway? This was instead a deposit or guarantee of Josephs earlier promise. Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land (Genesis 45:18).

Jesus promised us eternal life. He promised that we would lose these mortal bodies and live with Him in perfection for eternity. However as mortals this seems so foreign to us. A life without pain, and suffering? A place where everything and everyone is good? We are so far removed from this reality that we could hardly even comprehend it. Christ is going to restore this creation to its original sinless form. We are once again going to be as Adam who was without sin and perfect in every way before his fall. So the question is why would we believe this? What evidence do we have that the promise is real? If Christ is alive how do we know he has the authority and resources to fulfill His promise?

Jacob struggled with these same questions regarding Josephs promise. When Josephs brothers returned to Jacob they informed him that Joseph was alive and ruler of all Egypt. “And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them” (Genesis 45:26). Remember that as far as Jacob was concerned Joseph is dead. And note that as far as the world is concerned Jesus is dead. Most people believe that Jesus was a real person who was crucified by the Romans. It’s Christ’s resurrection people struggle to believe. Jesus lives.

Something changed Jacobs mind however. “But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive” (Genesis 45:27-28a). This is so powerful. Notice that it was the gifts sent by Joseph that revived Jacob. They inspired belief within him. He heard the words then he saw the evidence. And it all came together within him. He knew Joseph was alive. And also that Joseph had the authority his brothers said he had.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is He who inspires belief in a person. Look at what he does. He changes people, making them into new creations. He enables signs and wonders, giving evidence to the power and authority of Christ. All to draw people to Jesus. All to inspire belief!

Please take some time to compare Genesis 45 with Ephesians 1:13,14. Draw out the similarities and allow the Holy spirit to inspire belief within you.

The Reason for the Gifts

Genesis 45:25-28 (NKJV)

Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father.

And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them.

But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.

Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jacob was revived upon his belief. He saw therefore he believed. It was the deposit sent by Joseph that inspired this belief. That was their purpose. It was what they were intended for. So it is the same with the deposit given to us by Jesus Christ.” In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee [deposit] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13,14, NKJV). Jesus said “these signs will follow those who believe“, when he gave his great commission (Mark 16:16). Signs and wonders were intended to demonstrate the power of God and inspire belief in people. Through his Holy Spirit Christ has given us the power to work signs and wonders for the purpose of witnessing of Him. It is all intended to bring glory to Jesus. To inspire belief. To cultivate faith. The power of the Holy Spirit working through the gifts of the Spirit is not for any purpose other than to build the kingdom of God. We are to use it as such. Whether to bolster the faith of ourselves or another believer or to inspire faith in an unbeliever, we should always understand that that is the purpose of the gifts. Healing, prophesy, speaking in tongues, etc, are all for this purpose. They will always be used, or demonstrated for that purpose. You will not see signs displayed for any another reason.

Discerning His Voice

Many Christians struggle to one degree or another with discerning the voice, or will of God.”Do I, or don’t I? Should I, or shouldn’t I? Well I just pray about it”. Sound familiar? Sometime’s this may be less about hearing the will of God and more about acting upon it.

Looking at Judges 6 and 7 gives us a good picture of the progression we should see in our lives as it relates to hearing from the Lord. The story of Gideon starts with a weak fearful man hiding in a winepress threshing wheat. It’s here he meets the Lord face to face. This is the first step in our progression. Voice recognition starts both visually and audibly . Now granted most if not all of us will not have a visual experience with our Lord. But we will have experiences when we know it is Him, regardless to whether we can physically see Him or not. I liken this to a newborn baby. My baby son would not recognize my voice as mine unless he had seen me as I spoke. In this way he learns my voice. If I only ever talked to him over the phone he would not know the voice is mine. Yes he would recognize the voice but who’s voice is it? But now that he has seen me speak I can speak to him when he cannot see me yet he still knows whose voice he hears.

This brings us to the next step. Judges 6:21 says “And the Angel of the Lord (Christ Preincarnate) departed out of his (Gideon) sight” (NKJV). Two verses later the Lord says to Gideon “peace be with you” (Judges 6:23). You see Gideon could no longer see the Lord but he recognized his voice. The Lord had not left him but had taken him to a new level of growth and maturity.

As we see however with the infamous fleece test Gideon did not have 100% confidence in his perception of the voice of God. He wanted confirmation of the will of God. Many Christians are stuck at this point. Performing endless fleece tests in order to understand the will of God. But as we see from the story of Gideon the fleece test should provide confirmation to or faith that we should rely on. It should not need to be repeated. The Lord wishes to draw us out in faith. He desires to transform us so that we no longer hear from Him externally but internally. We know His spirit is in us and it speaks to us. He will teach us to hear His voice but we must listen for it. And act upon it.

In Judges 7:10 we see the Lord bringing Gideon into completion. You see verse 9 is the last time we see the Lord instructing Gideon. In verses 10-14 he provides one last confirmation to Gideon. And in verse 15 Gideon is transformed. The Bible says that He worshiped. While in the enemies camp Gideon worshiped.

Once again I will use my son as an example. As he grows he will begin to not only recognize my voice but to understand and know my ways. Through the years instruction and correction will settle within him. And as he becomes older one of two things will happen. Either He will rebel and will require constant correction and instruction. He will not obey my voice, nor my instruction. Otherwise He will conform. In this case he will not require constant instruction. He will know what I desire and will do it. Regardless to whether I tell him or not. This is the condition in which Christ wants us. Conformed to Him. True worshipers. True worship does not come from the lips, but from the heart through our actions conforming to the will of God.

Is God calling you to do something but you’re unsure? You’re looking for confirmation, after confirmation, after confirmation. What He desires is that you step out in faith. Only then can He bring you to the next step. Ultimately bringing you to a place where you can know His will without always hearing specifically from Him!!!