Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Friday, February 17, 2017

"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God.'"¹

"All of the wonders around us are accidental. No almighty hand made a thousand-billion stars. They made themselves. No power keeps them on their steady course. The earth spins itself to keep the oceans from falling off toward the sun. Infants teach themselves to cry when they are hungry or hurt. A small flower invented itself so that we could extract digitalis for sick hearts. The earth gave itself day and night, tilted itself so that we get seasons. Without the magnetic poles man would be unable to navigate the trackless oceans of water and air, but they just grew there.

"How about the sugar thermostat in the pancreas? It maintains a level of sugar in the blood sufficient for energy. Without it, all of us would fall into a coma and die. Why does snow sit on mountaintops waiting for the warm spring sun to melt it at just the right time for the young crops in farms below to drink? A very lovely accident.

"A human heart will beat for 70 or 80 years without faltering. How does it get sufficient rest between beats? A kidney will filter poison from the blood, and leave good things alone. How does it know one from the other? Who gave the human tongue flexibility to form words, and a brain to understand them, but denied it to all other animals? Who showed a womb how to take the love of two persons and keep splitting a tiny ovum until, in time, a baby would have the proper number of fingers, eyes and ears and hair in the right places, and come into the world when it is strong enough to sustain life?"²

Furthermore, "Without the moon being the size that it is and just the right distance from the earth, we would have no tides in the oceans to keep the algae stirred up and constantly moving, thereby keeping the algae alive and creating most of the oxygen in our atmosphere!"³

And some would claim there is no God! And all thisâ€"and millions of other miracles of natureâ€"all happened by chance?

Regarding agnostics and atheists, theirs is not so much an intellectual problem, but a moral responsibility problem. If they choose to believe in God, they know that they will be morally responsible and accountable. It is much easier, more convenient, and more self-centered to believe there is no God. Indeed, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'" (See the article, "Where Is God" online at: http://tinyurl.com/where-god)

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You that You have left evidence of Your handiwork in every direction I lookâ€"including in the heavens that declare Your glory. And when I look within my own heart, I sense an awareness of a divine presence and know that it is from You. Knowing that, I know I can communicate with You. Help me to see beyond my doubts, and trust beyond my fears, and 'be still and know that You are God.' Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Psalm 14:1.
2. Jim Bishop. Cited on KneMail www.oakhillcoc.org.
3. Fred Mueller.

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