Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

• Psalm 19:1

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

• Psalm 139:6

Our God is in heaven;
    he does whatever pleases him.

• Psalm 115:3

The Lord said to Job:
“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
    Let him who accuses God answer him!”
Then Job answered the Lord:
“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
    I put my hand over my mouth.
I spoke once, but I have no answer—
    twice, but I will say no more.”

• Job 40:1-5

“Lost in the silent solitude of recent days, I have been impressed anew with the vast handiwork of our incomprehensible God.
“The psalmist was correct; The heavens do indeed tell of the glory of God … their expanse does indeed declare the work of His hands (Ps. 19:1).
“And when you mix that unfathomable fact with the incredible reality that He cares for each one of us right down to the last, tiniest detail, the psalmist is, again, correct; Such knowledge is beyond me. … I cannot even imagine it (Ps. 139:6).
“I find God’s incomprehensibility absolutely refreshing, especially in a day when managerial moguls prance like peacocks and deified athletes strut their stuff. At a time when one-upmanship and human intimidation have become an art form, it is delightful to be reminded anew that ‘Our God is in the heavens’ and that ‘He does whatever He pleases’ (Ps. 115:3).
“He doesn’t ask permission. He doesn’t bother to explain. He doesn’t feel the need to say, ‘May I?’ or ‘Please.’ He just does ‘whatever He pleases,’ thank you. After all, He is the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Alpha and the Omega, the sovereign God of all the universe.”

• Charles R. Swindoll, The Finishing Touch (Devotion for week 30, Friday)

“Teach us to know that we cannot know, for the things of God knoweth no man. … Let faith support us where reason fails, and we shall think because we believe, not in order that we may believe”

• A. W. Tozer, as quoted from Charles R. Swindoll, The Finishing Touch

Job had the audacity of questioning God.  He wanted answers.  He knew that He was faithful, and he had one really big question.  WHY?!?!

We have similar questions today.  Can we do this on our own without God?  Absolutely not.  The more that we try, the worse this world will get.

Since I was growing up, we have, in the USA, gotten rid of prayer in schools, then prayer almost everywhere else.  As pastors who live in other countries have said about the world governments, just not in the USA, we, as Christians, are persecuted and bullied, but the other religions, with Muslims often cited, are not given the same harsh treatment.  China and Myanmar may be exceptions to that, abusing both equally.

BUT…  When I grew up, I was a latchkey kid, sort of.  We knew and trusted our neighbors and the house was not locked.  This New World Order is going in the wrong direction.  There was more safety, more peace, and more love for one another seventy years ago.  And seventy years ago, most of the people in my home town were in one church or another for both Sunday school and the worship service and Sunday night worship and Wednesday night prayer meeting.  As I quoted C. S. Lewis recently, the most progressive man is the one who repents first, and turns around to follow Jesus.

Within the church, we are berated for having blind faith, but at some point, we must step out in FAITH, which means we have no idea where that step will take us.  If we have certainty, we no longer have faith.

We have detractors that also have a blind faith.  They quote “science.”  Their science is really a blind faith that God does not exist, so let’s invent theories that can never be proven to believe in.  But as scientific research expands into areas unknown when the theories were dreamed up, the theories cannot hold water against the growing true science.

But just as our microscopes discover the complexity of single cell organisms and the telescopes discover the complexity of the universe, we cannot fathom a God who could create all this.  At some point, the evidence has to step aside so that faith can take over.

Can we comprehend God?  We can only comprehend God in that we can state that He is incomprehensible, beyond our capacity to fully understand.

But what then must we know about God?

That God so loved us that He sent His only Son to die for us so that we could live with Him forever.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.