Creation – Leland Acker

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When I told everyone that I was leaving the bright lights of Austin for the quiet nights of Hermleigh, TX, people mostly had the same reaction… “There’s not much to do there, is there?”

In fact, when I told my boss that I was leaving to pastor the First Baptist Church of Hermleigh, the only part of that statement that made sense was the fact that I was leaving the insurance industry to follow my true calling in life.

Austin has a population of around a million people, has professional and Division 1 college sports, concerts galore (live music capital of the world), shopping, lifestyle and a robust parks system.

Hermleigh…

Well, let me tell you what Hermleigh has…

STARS!…

You can’t see the stars in Austin for all the city lights… but in Hermleigh, where there are no city lights, and where the town sleeps well, you can see the entire Milky Way. And, since we have an Allsups, you can buy a Milky Way candy bar so you can eat a Milky Way while gazing at the Milky Way. But… I digress.

You can’t beat the night sky in Hermleigh. It costs nothing to gaze at the wonder of it all. And the longer you gaze, the more impressive it becomes.

During the day, the Texas sky puts on a show, with some of the most amazing cloud shows known to man, while you can watch the storms and showers develop from afar off.

You see, the beautiful thing about Hermleigh is that you can afford to stop and give yourself time to take in the glory of God’s creation.

In Psalm 19:1-3, David writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. ²Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. ³There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”

God’s glory is shown through the heavens above. This is literally referring to the sky above us. As you gaze into the clouds, and as you take in the power and magnificence of the storms that roll through, you are seeing the power and magnificence of God on full display.

The firmament is the night sky. These are the stars, the planets visible with the unaided eye from our backyards. As you gaze into the Milky Way, seeing more stars and seeing deeper into the universe the longer you look, you are seeing the handywork of God.

When you consider how it all works together… how the weather works in a perfect harmony to provide rain, sun, wind, and varying temperatures… when you see the perfection of it all, you see the clear evidence of the existence of God.

When you consider how perfectly the universe is made, how gravity works perfectly to keep the planets and stars properly aligned to sustain life on our planet, you see evidence of God’s perfection.

This divine evidence is clearly understood by all cultures, all peoples, and all nations. There is no place on earth where the language of creation is not clearly heard.

Now, anytime I write about the existence of God, and the irrefutable evidence of His existence in creation, I receive an email or a comment from an atheist who blasts me for my “superstition” and “believing in an imaginary friend.”

Okay… so be it… you can believe what you want to believe…

But…

When you consider how the creation works so well in harmony with itself, can you think of any other instance where such order happens by chance? Can you think of any other circumstance where order happens without the intentional guidance of an engineer?

Without design, and without intention, there is chaos. So, given the order of the environment and universe in which we live, it is obvious that there is design and intention, which necessitates a creator.

And a creation of the magnitude in which we live requires a divine creator.

So, yes, when I stop and take in the creation around me, whether it’s the vastness of the South Plains, the magnificent views of the mountains, the beauty of the oceans, or the glory of the heavens, I see the glory of my God Who created Heaven and Earth.

So, my advice is… stop and smell the roses. Take some time to enjoy the creation around you. If need-be, take up the hobby of digital photography on your phone. It will help you to see things differently, to see your surroundings as you’ve never seen them before.

And as you do, be thankful to God, and admire His glory.

How awesome is our God?

Within the next few weeks (if it hasn’t already happened,) Christmas decorations and themed merchandise will begin appearing in the local stores. Some complain that retailers roll out the Christmas merchandise too soon.

I think it’s great!

Think about it… for three months, for approximately 25 percent of the calendar year, we will prepare to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God.

Now sure, most of the world celebrates the secular aspects of Christmas. The tree, lights, hot chocolate, Santa, gifts and eggnog. And the retailers aren’t rolling out Christmas merchandise to extend their praise for the birth of the Savior, but rather, to make sure they hit their sales goals for the fourth quarter.

I am not oblivious to any of this. Still, the holiday was coined to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and we have an amazing open door in our culture to turn the nation’s attention back to the Lord for almost three months every year.

Think about what God did here. He took a pagan holiday that was re-worked by the Catholic church and transformed it into an annual cultural season centered on His Son. How excellent is that?

Even those who only observe the secular parts of the holiday confess that it is a season of peace and good will toward others. So, even though they may ignore His name, they still celebrate His nature.

In Psalm 8, David opens by saying, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who has set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.”

God’s name is excellent in the earth because of the praise of His people. And even though His people may not be regarded as powerful or influential by the rest of the world, God is still glorified by their voices. His actions and His work on earth show His power and excellency.

David goes on to say, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitests him?”

David takes in the night sky. This is something that in the western world, we have lost for the most part. The light pollution from the cities makes the night sky less visible. I rarely saw a star when I lived in Austin.

I went to college with kids from Dallas and Houston who had never seen the night sky. As our culture urbanizes, fewer will experience the breath-taking beauty of a clear night sky full of stars.

I’ll be honest. I had forgotten. That is, until I stepped into the parking lot of the church one night. Our small, rural community has very little light pollution, and the night sky shines brightly here. It was amazing.

David takes in the night sky… which is huge, magnificent, and beautiful. On the right nights, the beauty of the night sky can impact you the same way the beauty and power of the ocean can impact you at the beach.

Taking all this in, David wonders, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, and the son of man, that you visit him?”

With all the power and glory in God’s creation, why does He preoccupy Himself with man, and why does He go to such great lengths to care for us?

When you consider the glories of the universe, the fact that we are at the top of God’s mind should blow ours. Out of all He has to show the angels His power and glory, He chooses to direct the attention to us, so that we can reflect the attention back to Him.

In the New Testament, the book of Hebrews will take these same verses and point us to Christ.

Pausing to consider this, David concludes with, “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

We truly worship an amazing God. He is not only glorified by His own creation, but He can take the imperfect things of this world and draw glory from them.

A God this powerful, Who as set his eyes and love toward us, is One worth trusting and worshipping.

Keep the faith, keep moving forward, and keep looking up.

Leland Acker

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

How Great is Our God?