The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
December 20, 2009
In
This Issue:
Inconvenient
Truths
by
Steve Klein
The
Majesty of God
by
Jason Cicero
Incovenient Truths
The United Nations Conference on climate change concluded this past week in Copenhagen, Denmark. Leaders from 193 nations have been attempting to reach agreement on international policies to combat global warming. Outside the conference center, thousands of protesters braved the frigid temperatures, risking frostbite and hypothermia, to protest global warming. The humor and irony of the protesters' actions appeared to be lost on police who at one point had to spray the rowdy crowd with pepper spray. Not surprisingly, things heated up and 230 protestors were detained by authorities.
To people with faith in God and His word, many of the concerns raised about alleged man-made climate change are not very significant. Here's why:
1. We already understand our duty to be stewards of God's creation. People who read, study and follow the Bible understand their God-given responsibility to be good stewards of the earth. Mankind was given dominion over all creation, and he is responsible to take care of it (Genesis 1:26; 2:15; Psalm 8:6-8).
2. We believe that God is in control of the climate. Jesus said, "Your Father in heaven . . . makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). The book of Job declares that "God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength" (Job 37:5-6). The entire 37th chapter of Job makes clear that God not only controls the weather and the climate, but man cannot pretend to understand how and why He does so.
3. Man does not have the power to appreciably alter the climate. God has promised that "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). About the only thing man can do to make any difference in the climate at all is to pray to the God who controls it. "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit" (James 5:17-18).
4. We should be concerned about the global warming that with will occur when Christ returns. The Bible teaches that "the heavens and the earth . . . are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (2 Peter 3:7). "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness" (2 Peter 3:10-11).
-- Steve Klein
"The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved." (Psalm 93:1)
The GOD we worship and adore is majestic. There are many synonyms for majesty: Beauty, comeliness, excellency, glory, glorious, goodly, grandeur, honor, magnificence, ornament, splendor. Majesty has to do with having an imposing form and appearance and carries with it overtones of superior power and position. When used of GOD it evokes a sense of amazement in the mind of the one beholding Him. Simply stated, GOD's majesty is his "greatness" (Vine). GOD would have us see His majesty, respond to His majesty, and magnify him in our lives.
See His Majesty
Moses requested to see GOD's greatness: "Please,
show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:17 - 34:7). What Moses saw at
Mount Sinai we are to see by faith! See GOD's greatness through the
eyes of faith! Gaze at His glory, majesty, and dominion. Grow in the
grace of seeing Him: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened&ldots;" (Ephesians 1:18). Each of us needs our own
Mount Sinai experience. Wisdom unsearchable. Purity unspotted. Years
unending. Strength undaunted. Love immeasurable. Glimpses of the
majesty of GOD!
Respond to His Majesty
"So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward
the earth, and worshiped" (Exodus 34:8). The proper response to
GOD's greatness is worship! To worship is to prostrate oneself
(literally or figuratively) in reverence to the great I AM. The
externals (reading, prayer, singing, the Lord's supper, giving, and
preaching) are important, but our hearts must be engaged in order for
GOD to be glorified! In worship, GOD longs for you to turn to Him
"with all your heart. So rend your heart and not your
garments&ldots;" (Joel 2:12-13).
Magnify Him in My Life
To magnify is to make great, to enlarge (Vine).
GOD is great; but is He great in your life? Have you made these words
your own: "&ldots;in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all
boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body,
whether by life or by death" (Philippians 1:20)? Magnifying GOD
in every aspect of your life glorifies GOD!
The GOD we worship and adore is worthy of our praise because He is majestic! See His majesty. Respond to His majesty. Magnify Him in your life. He is worthy. "&ldots;to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 25).
-- Jason Cicero
Via The Exhorter, Elliotsville church of Christ, Alabaster, AL