I occasionally get into discussions with those who are adamant in their view that God does not exist because He can not be proven scientifically. Now as a critical thinker myself I often find it difficult to understand this view, because to myself and many others including some of the greatest scientific minds of our time God is very definitely real.
I believe that for some reason that these men equate the fact that because people believe in the Bible that they are therefore not living in touch with reality. In my experience the flaw in their argument lies in the area that they have restricted the parameters of their investigation to what they can grasp and understand mentally, and reject many other ways that mankind receives information and revelation.
In light of these discussions I thought it might be prudent to inform our readers of what the bible teaches about some of the ways that mankind receives daily assistance from God.
Daily Blessings
*What follows is merely a simplified list of some of the things that we should be thankful for in life. These daily blessings are obvious when you understand them.
1. God holds your breath in his hands
(Daniel 5:23)
And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
During a discussion between the prophet Daniel and the King of Babylon it was revealed that the very breath we breathe as men on this earth is dependant upon God's provision and grace. God has the ability if He chose to use it, to rescind the breath He breathed into Adam, and which made him a living being. We, as Adams successors, are likewise fully dependant upon God's mercy for each and every breath we breathe.
(Genesis 2:7)
When we are young we often think we are bulletproof and that we are masters of our own destiny, but in reality we live only by the grace and mercy of Him who created us.
2.God makes the sun shine and the rain fall
(Matthew 5:45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. The life giving sun that God set in the heavens gives warmth and light daily to all who enjoy our beautiful planet. God has positioned earth strategically so we receive just enough warmth and light to sustain life at an optimum level, a little closer to the sun and we would fry, a little further away and we would freeze.
God designed the earth with a watering system where clouds are created through the heat and light of the sun causing a process of evaporation over the seas, then are blown by the wind over the land to drop their life giving rain.
Creation was designed wonderfully with sustainable processes that continue to work throughout the ages.
3.God has determined when and where you will live
(Acts 17:26-28)
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
In the past I have wondered what it would have been like being born in a different time, perhaps in Jesus time or even sometime in the future. How different our lives would have been if we had been born into a different culture or country or at a different time in history!
However the above scripture paints a clear picture that it is God who chooses our moment in history, it is not random or accidental. We are here now for a reason and have been born into our family and as part of our nation also for a reason. The reason is because God chose it, why He chose it may well become clear throughout our life or perhaps we will only find out in heaven.
However in my experience God always has a plan, a plan for your life, your family and your future.
The question we all have to face in life is whether or not we will get on board with God's plan for our lives or continue to live our lives separate from Him and His blessings and guidance.
4.God helps you escape from death
(Psalms 68:20)
Our God is the God of salvation;
And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death.
(Psalms 91:11)
For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
When I was growing up I experienced numerous near death situations, including both motorcycle and car crashes, and but for the grace of God I would not be here today. I have heard numerous accounts of God’s intervention in people’s lives saving them miraculously from an early death. Many of these people realised through these experiences that life was precious and they were living on borrowed time.
Have you or someone you know experienced a near death experience?
Some like myself realised that with death only a step away that they needed to ensure that they had their affairs in order before God, and avoid the most costly mistake a human can make, that being facing God’s judgement without the mercy available through Jesus Christ.
5.God reveals Himself in dreams and visions
(Job 33:14-18)
For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
In order to turn man from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from perishing by the sword.
God works in the heart of every person to reveal His reality to them and to impress the fact that He is the only hope mankind has. He speaks in many different ways to different people but everything He does leads us toward yielding our lives to His rule and trusting Him with our care.
The fact that God is interested in our lives enough to guide us in life and protect us from dying earlier than we should, shows a wonderful level of care and attention toward us.
6.God reveals Himself in the things He has made
(Romans 1:18-21)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
(John 1:9)
That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
I have had countless discussions with professing atheists over the years and I used to spend hours trying to convince them of God's reality. However now, more often than not I simply tell them that God has already revealed Himself to them through the things He has made and allow their own conscience to speak to them about this truth.
God works with each man from the moment of their conception until their dying breath, attempting to show them His goodness and love and encourage them to yield their lives to Him.
7.God shows us His goodness
(Romans 2:4)
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
So often as parents we get caught up with the busyness of life and consumed with the challenges we face each day and we forget to take the time and smell the roses and count the blessings that we have in our lives. It's God's patience and long suffering that gives us the time we need to open our hearts in faith toward Him and receive His mercy and forgiveness.
God continues to overlook our mistakes and failings in life, to give us every opportunity possible to come back into relationship with Him
We often wrestle greatly with this decision before we find the grace to yield our hearts and lives to God. The evil one Satan, does everything he can to stop us being saved and becoming a child of God, and ultimately God allows us to choose whether or not we want Him as our Lord and Saviour.
(John 3:16-17) (John 12:50) (2 Peter 3:9)
As parents it is our greatest responsibility in life to ensure that we lead our children into a wonderful future, a future that is filled with the love and joy found in eternal life.
God Bless
John Nolan
DadsUni
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