ODJ: not far from us
November 22, 2014
READ: Acts 17:24-31
God made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens (Jeremiah 10:12).
Scientists tell us that the chemical element carbon is the building block of life. Hidden from the naked eye, this vital atom is in everything, from the air we breathe to the food we eat. In fact carbon makes up nearly 20 percent of the human body.
Without carbon, life as we know it wouldn’t exist. But where does it come from? How did it become the chemical backbone for all living things? This is where the amazing observations of peering through a microscope can take us only so far. Such answers can be found only through the lens of faith.
The pages of the Bible faithfully point to the answer. Twenty-seven of its 66 books speak of one Creator God who “made the skies and the heavens and all the stars” as well as the “earth and the seas and everything in them” (Nehemiah 9:6; see also Jeremiah 10:11).
Paul gave the same answer in a speech he presented in ancient Athens. To a group of people who were interested in hearing more about the resurrection of Jesus, Paul declared that the one true God of the universe “made the world and everything in it” (Acts 17:24). Translation: life as we know it, right down to the very carbon atoms we are made of, originates from one Source—the Maker of heaven and earth.
Paul goes on to declare that we’re more than just an elaborate chemistry set to our Creator God. He loves us and knows us. Paul proclaimed that the God who “gives life and breath to everything” is not far from any of us (vv.25,27). Even though He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world, He wants people from all nations to find Him (vv.30-31).
Seek your Maker today. He is there to be found. His handiwork can be seen and His presence can be felt. —Jeff Olson
365-day plan› Romans 8:19-39
Read Genesis 1:1 and Revelation 4:11 (from the bookends of the Bible) and see the similar things these verses say about God.
How have you experienced God’s presence recently? How can you seek Him in a fresh new way today?