1rst Trimester 2013  THE ORIGINS

From http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/13a/helps/lesshp08.html
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Lesson& References Index  (For the context Check www.biblia.com www.biblegateway.com) with notes added from the different versions of the lesson by our site www.sse6.blogspot.com

Lesson 8 – February 16 to February 22, 2013

Jesus, Provider and Sustainer

(All Bible texts are in the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated)

Sabbath Afternoon

Memory text: Philippians 4:19

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

John 1:3

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Ellen G. White, Education, pp131-2

The mighty power that works through all nature and sustains all things is not, as some men of science claim, merely an all-pervading principle, an actuating energy.

God is a spirit; yet He is a personal being, for man was made in His image. As a personal being, God has revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus, the outshining of the Father’s glory, “and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3), was on earth found in fashion as a man. As a personal Savior He came to the world. As a personal Savior He ascended on high. As a personal Savior He intercedes in the heavenly courts. Before the throne of God in our behalf ministers “One like the Son of man.” Daniel 7:13.

The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declares of Christ that “all things have been created through Him, and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16, 17, R.V., margin. The hand that sustains the worlds in space, the hand that holds in their orderly arrangement and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for us.

The greatness of God is to us incomprehensible. “The Lord’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4); yet by His Spirit He is everywhere present. He has an intimate knowledge of, and a personal interest in, all the works of His hand.

Even more astonishing, the One who created and sustains it all was the One who was crucified for us. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com


Introduction: Light of Creation   Job 37:14, 15; Jer. 5:22

Because of the laws of creation, there is inherent order. Therefore, violating these laws has inherent consequences. God, in His kindness, simply and lovingly communicates to us the order of things so we can avoid those consequences. We are wise to know and to stay within His prescribed boundaries. Disregarding God's order leads to disorder!

...‘What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?’ ” (Job 38:19, NIV). Rachel E. Leer, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. in Collegiate Quarterly, Sabbath February 16, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

 

Sunday – The Sustainer

Hebrews 1:3

3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Colossians 1:16-17

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

1 Corinthians 8:6

6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

Acts 17:28

28 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.’

2 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Ephesians 2:10

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Daniel 5:23

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.

...The universe is not independent; its existence depends on the continuous exercise of divine will. This is a refutation of deism, the philosophy that teaches that God created the world to govern itself and then left it to evolve without any further action from Him...

Also, God is not within the creation, constantly creating it, as in the false theories of pantheism (God and the universe are the same thing) or panentheism (God inhabits the universe as though it were His own body)...

We are dependent on God’s sustaining power, moment by moment, day by day. It is because of His love that we continue to exist and are able to act and also form relationships...

It is also true that even those who reject salvation are, nevertheless, dependent on God’s sustaining power for their existence. Daniel made this point very poignantly to King Belshazzar when he said, “and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified” (Dan. 5:23). L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com


Evidence: God's To-Do List Jeremiah 1; 2; 1 Pet. 2:9-17

As we tell others how He has called us “out of darkness into His marvelous light” and has shown us His mercy, He receives the glory that is due to Him alone (1 Pet. 2:9, 10, NKJV). We also point others to Him when we obey laws and authority “for the Lord's sake” (verse 13). And when we use the gifts and abilities God has given us to help sustain others as well as ourselves, He is “glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever” (1 Pet. 4:11, NKJV).

... When Jesus was talking about His followers, He said, “ ‘I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand’ ” (John 10:28, NKJV).

The writer to the Hebrews said, “Be content with such things as you have. For [God] Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ ” (Heb. 13:5, NKJV). Thus, we can be sure that God will provide for us and sustain us in all circumstances. He will never abandon us.

One of Jesus' most comforting promises is, “ ‘I will come again and receive you to Myself’ ” (John 14:3, NKJV). And because He said it, we can believe it, and wait confidently for that day.
Rachel S. Tandug, Davao City, Philippines, in Collegiate Quarterly, Sabbath February 16, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

 

Monday – The Generous Provider

Genesis 1:29-30

29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.

Genesis 1:31

31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 2:8-9

8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Ellen G. White,The Signs of the Times, March 13, 1884

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” The mightiest intellects of earth cannot comprehend God. If he reveals himself at all to men, it is by veiling himself in mystery. His ways are past finding out. Men must be ever searching, ever learning; and yet there is an infinity beyond. Could they fully understand the purposes, wisdom, love, and character of God, they would not believe in him as an infinite being, and trust him with the interests of their souls. If they could fathom him, he would no longer stand supreme.

There are men who think they have made wonderful discoveries in science. They quote the opinions of learned men as though they considered them infallible, and teach the deductions of science as truths that cannot be controverted. And the word of God, which is given as a lamp to the feet of the world-weary traveler, is judged by this standard, and pronounced wanting. The scientific research in which these men have indulged has proved a snare to them. It has clouded their minds, and they have drifted into skepticism. They have a consciousness of power; and instead of looking to the Source of all wisdom, they triumph in the smattering of knowledge they may have gained. They have exalted their human wisdom in opposition to the wisdom of the great and mighty God, and have dared to enter into controversy with him. The word of inspiration pronounces these men “fools”.

God has permitted a flood of light to be poured upon the world in discoveries in science and art; but when professedly scientific men lecture and write upon these subjects from a merely human stand-point, they will assuredly come to wrong conclusions. The greatest minds, if not guided by the word of God in their research, become bewildered in their attempts to investigate the relations of science and revelation. The Creator and his works are beyond their comprehension; and because they cannot explain these by natural laws, Bible history is considered unreliable. Those who doubt the reliability of the records of the Old and New Testaments, will be led to go a step farther, and doubt the existence of God; and then; having let go their anchor, they are left to beat about upon the rocks of infidelity. Moses wrote under the guidance of the Spirit of God, and a correct theory of geology will never claim discoveries that cannot be reconciled with his statements. The idea that many stumble over, that God did not create matter when he brought the world into existence, limits the power of the Holy One of Israel.

Many, when they find themselves incapable of measuring the Creator and his works by their own imperfect knowledge of science, doubt the existence of God and attribute infinite power to nature. These persons have lost the simplicity of faith, and are removed far from God in mind and spirit. There should be a settled faith in the divinity of God’s holy word. The Bible is not to be tested by men’s ideas of science, but science is to be brought to the test of this unerring standard. When the Bible makes statements of facts in nature, science may be compared with the written word, and a correct understanding of both will always prove them to be in harmony. One does not contradict the other. All truth, whether in nature or revelation, agrees. Scientific research will open to the minds of the really wise vast fields of thought and information. They will see God in his works, and will praise him. He will be to them first and best, and the mind will be centered upon him. Skeptics, who read the Bible for the sake of caviling, through ignorance claim to find decided contradictions between science and revelation. But man’s measurement of God will never be correct. The mind unenlightened by God’s Spirit will ever be in darkness in regard to his power.

Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Those who have no vital union with God are swayed one way and another; they put men’s opinions in the front, and God’s word in the background. They grasp human assertions, that judgment against sin is contrary to God’s benevolent character, and, while dwelling upon infinite benevolence, try to forget that there is such a thing as infinite justice.

When we have right views of the power, greatness, and majesty of God, and of the weakness of man, we shall despise the assumptions of wisdom made by earth’s so-called great men, who have none of Heaven’s nobility in their characters. There is nothing for which men should be praised or exalted. There is no reason why the opinions of the learned should be trusted, when they are disposed to measure divine things by their own perverted conceptions. Those who serve God are the only ones whose opinion and example it is safe to follow. A sanctified heart quickens and intensifies the mental powers. A living faith in God imparts energy; it gives calmness and repose of spirit, and strength and nobility of character.

Men of science think that with their enlarged conceptions they can comprehend the wisdom of God, that which he has done or can do. The idea largely prevails that he is bounded and restricted by his own laws. Men either deny and ignore his existence, or think to explain everything, even the operations of his Spirit upon the human heart, by natural laws; and they no longer reverence his name or fear his power. While they think they are gaining everything, they are chasing bubbles, and losing precious opportunities to become acquainted with God. They do not believe in the supernatural, not realizing that the Author of nature’s laws can work above those laws. They deny the claims of God, and neglect the interests of their own souls; but his existence, his character, his laws, are facts that the reasoning of men of the highest attainments cannot overthrow.

The pen of inspiration thus describes the power and majesty of God: “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? ... Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.... It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.”

Nature is a power, but the God of nature is unlimited in power. His works interpret his character. Those who judge him from his handiworks, and not from the suppositions of great men, will see his presence in everything. They behold his smile in the glad sunshine, and his love and care for man in the rich fields of autumn. Even the adornments of the earth, as seen in the grass of living green, the lovely flowers of every hue, and the lofty and varied trees of the forest, testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God, and to his desire to make his children happy.

The power of the great God will be exerted in behalf of those that fear him. Listen to the words of the prophet: “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

In the word of God many queries are raised that the most profound scholars can never answer. Attention is called to these subjects to show us how many things there are, even among the common things of every-day life, that finite minds, with all their boasted wisdom, can never fully comprehend.

All the systems of philosophy devised by men have led to confusion and shame when God has not been recognized and honored. To lose faith in God is terrible. Prosperity cannot be a great blessing to nations or individuals, when once faith in his word is lost. Nothing is truly great but that which is eternal in its tendencies. Truth, justice, mercy, purity, and the love of God, are imperishable. When men possess these qualities, they are brought into close relationship to God, and are candidates for the highest exaltation to which the race can aspire. They will disregard human praise, and will be superior to disappointment, weariness, the strife of tongues, and contentions for supremacy.

He whose soul is imbued with the Spirit of God will learn the lesson of confiding trust. Taking the written word as his counselor and guide, he will find in science an aid to understand God, but he will not become exalted, till, in his blind self-conceit, he is a fool in his ideas of God.

Genesis 1:29, 30 show that when God first created living creatures, He provided food for them. Herbs, fruits, and seeds were the food chosen for both humans and animals. Nothing is said of predation or competition for resources...

That’s why when the Lord had finished creating it, the Bible records these words: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:31)...

Now we see God as going a step farther. Not only does He provide food in abundance throughout the earth, but He has prepared a special Garden for Adam and Eve, with trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food (see Gen. 2:9).

Ours is a greatly damaged world. Nothing on the earth, it seems, has been spared either. Yet, even amid the damage, powerful evidence of God’s love exists...

“Nature is a power, but the God of nature is unlimited in power. His works interpret his character. Those who judge him from his handiworks, and not from the suppositions of great men, will see his presence in everything.”-Ellen G. White, The Signs of the Times, March 13, 1884. Look at nature; in what ways do we see “his presence in everything”?  (Dan. 5:23). L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com


Logos: The Changed Landscape Genesis 1, 2; 2:15; Exodus 12, 13; Matt. 4:1-17; Rom. 12:6

The wilderness can be a picture of what the world—and life—becomes when Satan has his way. With one decisive blow, the joy of Eden was replaced with the barrenness of shame. But Jesus was victorious on Satan's turf! This gives us hope that we, too, can have victory—a victory that assures us the day is coming when we will no longer toil in Satan's wilderness but will be ushered into heaven, where the joy of Eden will be ours forever.

In the Bible, we see God taking delight in His creation. Genesis 1 records the crowning achievement of this divine creative process. “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (verse 27, NIV). Then God charged humankind with the task cultivating the Garden (Gen. 2:15).

God's love for us is so deep that we have a hard time comprehending it. It reaches down to us through the darkness of this sinful world, even though we are hopelessly undeserving. The Bible says that before God created our planet, He had decided to display the depth of His love for us through His Son's death on the cross (1 Pet. 1:13-21; Rev. 13:8). Farrah Paterniti, Taylor, Michigan, U.S.A. in Collegiate Quarterly, Sabbath February 16, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.c
 

Tuesday – Natural Evil

Read Job 42

Revelation 12:12

12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Job did not understand, and neither do we when we face such catastrophic losses. Although God spoke to Job, He did not provide the answer to Job’s questions, nor did He explain the cause of what happened. He simply reminded Job that there were things beyond his knowledge, and that he would have to trust God, which Job did. Our experience is often similar; we may not receive an answer to our questions. But the story of Job does give us important insight into the nature of evil, and it shows us that God is not unaware of the struggles that we face. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com


Testimony Designed by God   Deuteronomy 14-16; Mark 12:28-44

“The Sabbath bids us behold in His created works the glory of the Creator. And it was because He desired us to do this that Jesus bound up His precious lessons with the beauty of natural things. On the holy rest day, above all other days, we should study the messages that God has written for us in nature. We should study the Saviour's parables where He spoke them, in the fields and groves, under the open sky, among the grass and flowers. As we come close to the heart of nature, Christ makes His presence real to us and speaks to our hearts of His peace and love.
 
“And Christ has linked His teaching, not only with the day of rest, but with the week of toil. . . . In every line of useful labor and every association of life He desires us to find a lesson of divine truth. Then our daily toil will no longer absorb our attention and lead us to forget God; it will continually remind us of our Creator and Redeemer. The thought of God will run like a thread of gold through all our homely cares and occupations. For us the glory of His face will again rest upon the face of nature. We shall ever be learning new lessons of heavenly truth and growing into the image of His purity. Thus shall we ‘be taught of the Lord,’ and in the lot wherein we are called we shall ‘abide with God.’ ” * Ellen G. White, Counsels on Health, p. 165. from Mark Andrew Paterniti, Taylor, Michigan, U.S.A. in Collegiate Quarterly, Tuesday February 19, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com
 

Wednesday – Governing a Damaged Creation

Matthew 5:45

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.

Psalm 65:9-10

9 You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Genesis 8:1

1 Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

Exodus 10:13

13 So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

Numbers 11:31

31 Now a wind went out from the LORD, and it brought quail from the sea and left themfluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground.

2 Kings 20:9-11

9 Then Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing which He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees or go backward ten degrees?”

10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees; no, but let the shadow go backward ten degrees.”

11 So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the LORD, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz.

Genesis 18:14

14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

...Behind the scenes, God is actively providing for the necessities of His creatures. We may not understand His ways, but we know He is in control...

In 2 Kings 20:9-11, we see one of the most unusual miracles of the entire Bible. The relationship of sun and earth and day—length seems like one of the most stable and predictable features of human experience. Imagine the reaction of today’s scientific community if a similar event should occur in our day. Yet, we must ask, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14). What this miracle and others should tell us is that there is much about the creation, and God’s actions in His creation, that is way beyond our understanding. That’s why it’s so crucial that we come to a personal knowledge of God and know for ourselves the reality of His love. That way, we learn to trust Him despite all that we don’t understand. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

 

How-to: Praising Our Provider and Sustainer   Gen. 1:1-13

 

Praise God with thanksgiving. David urges us to “offer to God thanksgiving” (Ps. 50:14, NKJV) and to “magnify Him with thanksgiving” (Ps. 69:30, NKJV). When we are thankful for what God does for us, bad times are easier to bear. What bad time might you be facing now that can be made lighter by thanking God for something He has given you or done for you?

 

Praise God through His creative works. God's goodness is the point of His creation. He is “good to all, / and His tender mercies are over all His works” (Ps. 145:9, NKJV). Psalm 148:3-6 instructs the sun, moon, and stars to praise Him because He created them and “marked out the orbits in which the heavenly bodies move. They perform their revolutions with unerring accuracy within the bounds that He has prescribed.”* His creative work also includes the work He does for us and in us in terms of our salvation. He died for our sins. And He lives in our hearts through His Holy Spirit so we can become like Him. What about nature inspires you to praise God? How has His salvation inspired you to praise Him in word or deed? Leonardo del Rosario Jr., Davao City, Philippines in Collegiate Quarterly, Tuesday February 19, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

* The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3, 2nd ed., p. 940.

Thursday – Provider for a Damaged Creation

Matthew 6:26

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Genesis 3:21

21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

Matthew 6:25-34

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 10:28

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

The point is that God provided for their needs, even though they had fallen into sin. This is another example of God’s grace providing for us despite our unworthiness...

...We can be sure of His love for us, regardless of the circumstances...

God does not promise His people a life of luxury without pain, but He does promise to provide for our needs and to strengthen us so that we may cope with our challenges. We just can’t forget the reality of the great controversy and that we are in a fallen world. L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com


Opinion: Adam, Eve, and Me   Rom. 12:21

...In the temptations we face today, we, too, must decide if we will believe that the Lord will provide us with the strength to help us do what is right. We, too, must realize that sin can devastate our relationship with Him. We, too, will need His forgiveness when we fall...

The apostle Paul outlined the proper response. We are to abhor evil (Rom. 12:9), not repay evil with more evil (verse 17), and not be overcome by it (verse 21).
The true victim of evil is goodness—the goodness that God designed as part of creation for everyone to enjoy (Gen. 1:4-31), the goodness that He provides us as our Sustainer and Provider.
Yes, evil gets all the headlines, but God's goodness is stronger, and He wants us to use it on His behalf to overcome His and our enemy. Glenn Brian Ente, Subic, Zambales, Philippines in Collegiate Quarterly, Tuesday February 19, 2013, www.cqbiblestudy.org, Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Friday – Further Study

Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 113-5

There is a constant effort made to explain the work of creation as the result of natural causes; and human reasoning is accepted even by professed Christians, in opposition to plain Scripture facts. There are many who oppose the investigation of the prophecies, especially those of Daniel and the Revelation, declaring them to be so obscure that we cannot understand them; yet these very persons eagerly receive the suppositions of geologists, in contradiction of the Mosaic record. But if that which God has revealed is so difficult to understand, how inconsistent it is to accept mere suppositions in regard to that which He has not revealed!

“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.”Deuteronomy 29:29. Just how God accomplished the work of creation He has never revealed to men; human science cannot search out the secrets of the Most High. His creative power is as incomprehensible as His existence.

God has permitted a flood of light to be poured upon the world in both science and art; but when professedly scientific men treat upon these subjects from a merely human point of view, they will assuredly come to wrong conclusions. It may be innocent to speculate beyond what God’s word has revealed, if our theories do not contradict facts found in the Scriptures; but those who leave the word of God, and seek to account for His created works upon scientific principles, are drifting without chart or compass upon an unknown ocean. The greatest minds, if not guided by the word of God in their research, become bewildered in their attempts to trace the relations of science and revelation. Because the Creator and His works are so far beyond their comprehension that they are unable to explain them by natural laws, they regard Bible history as unreliable. Those who doubt the reliability of the records of the Old and New Testaments, will be led to go a step further, and doubt the existence of God; and then, having lost their anchor, they are left to beat about upon the rocks of infidelity.

These persons have lost the simplicity of faith. There should be a settled belief in the divine authority of God’s Holy Word. The Bible is not to be tested by men’s ideas of science. Human knowledge is an unreliable guide. Skeptics who read the Bible for the sake of caviling, may, through an imperfect comprehension of either science or revelation, claim to find contradictions between them; but rightly understood, they are in perfect harmony. Moses wrote under the guidance of the Spirit of God, and a correct theory of geology will never claim discoveries that cannot be reconciled with his statements. All truth, whether in nature or in revelation, is consistent with itself in all its manifestations.

In the word of God many queries are raised that the most profound scholars can never answer. Attention is called to these subjects to show us how much there is, even among the common things of everyday life, that finite minds, with all their boasted wisdom, can never fully understand.

Yet men of science think that they can comprehend the wisdom of God, that which He has done or can do. The idea largely prevails that He is restricted by His own laws. Men either deny or ignore His existence, or think to explain everything, even the operation of His Spirit upon the human heart; and they no longer reverence His name or fear His power. They do not believe in the supernatural, not understanding God’s laws or His infinite power to work His will through them. As commonly used, the term “laws of nature” comprises what men have been able to discover with regard to the laws that govern the physical world; but how limited is their knowledge, and how vast the field in which the Creator can work in harmony with His own laws and yet wholly beyond the comprehension of finite beings!

Many teach that matter possesses vital power—that certain properties are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own inherent energy; and that the operations of nature are conducted in harmony with fixed laws, with which God Himself cannot interfere. This is false science, and is not sustained by the word of God. Nature is the servant of her Creator. God does not annul His laws or work contrary to them, but He is continually using them as His instruments. Nature testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active energy, that works in and through her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the Father and the Son. Christ says, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” John 5:17.

The Levites, in their hymn recorded by Nehemiah, sang, “Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things therein, ... and Thou preservest them all.” Nehemiah 9:6. As regards this world, God’s work of creation is completed. For “the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” Hebrews 4:3. But His energy is still exerted in upholding the objects of His creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set in motion continues to act by its own inherent energy that the pulse beats and breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of the heart, is an evidence of the all-pervading care of Him in whom “we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:28. It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth produces her bounties and continues her motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the planets and keeps them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. He “bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.” Isaiah 40:26. It is through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. He “maketh grass to grow upon the mountains” (Psalm 147:8), and by Him the valleys are made fruitful. “All the beasts of the forest ... seek their meat from God,” and every living creature, from the smallest insect up to man, is daily dependent upon His providential care. In the beautiful words of the psalmist, “These wait all upon Thee.... That Thou givest them they gather: Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good.” Psalm 104:20, 21, 27, 28. His word controls the elements; He covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the earth. “He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.”Psalm 147:16. “When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries.” Jeremiah 10:13.

God is the foundation of everything. All true science is in harmony with His works; all true education leads to obedience to His government. Science opens new wonders to our view; she soars high, and explores new depths; but she brings nothing from her research that conflicts with divine revelation. Ignorance may seek to support false views of God by appeals to science, but the book of nature and the written word shed light upon each other.

Ellen G. White, “Laws of Nature,” pp. 259-261 in "Testimonies for the Church", vol. 8

In dwelling upon the laws of matter and the laws of nature, many lose sight of, if they do not deny, the continual and direct agency of God. They convey the idea that nature acts independently of God, having in and of itself its own limits and its own powers wherewith to work. In their minds there is a marked distinction between the natural and the supernatural. The natural is ascribed to ordinary causes, unconnected with the power of God. Vital power is attributed to matter, and nature is made a deity. It is supposed that matter is placed in certain relations and left to act from fixed laws with which God Himself cannot interfere; that nature is endowed with certain properties and placed subject to laws, and is then left to itself to obey these laws and perform the work originally commanded.

This is false science; there is nothing in the word of God to sustain it. God does not annul His laws, but He is continually working through them, using them as His instruments. They are not self-working. God is perpetually at work in nature. She is His servant, directed as He pleases. Nature in her work testifies of the intelligent presence and active agency of a being who moves in all His works according to His will. It is not by an original power inherent in nature that year by year the earth yields its bounties and continues its march around the sun. The hand of infinite power is perpetually at work guiding this planet. It is God’s power momentarily exercised that keeps it in position in its rotation.

The God of heaven is constantly at work. It is by His power that vegetation is caused to flourish, that every leaf appears and every flower blooms. Every drop of rain or flake of snow, every spire of grass, every leaf and flower and shrub, testifies of God. These little things so common around us teach the lesson that nothing is beneath the notice of the infinite God, nothing is too small for His attention.

The mechanism of the human body cannot be fully understood; it presents mysteries that baffle the most intelligent. It is not as the result of a mechanism, which, once set in motion, continues its work, that the pulse beats and breath follows breath. In God we live and move and have our being. Every breath, every throb of the heart, is a continual evidence of the power of an ever-present God.

It is God that causes the sun to rise in the heavens. He opens the windows of heaven and gives rain. He causes the grass to grow upon the mountains. “He giveth snow like wool: He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.” “When He uttereth His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; ...He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures.” Psalm 147:16;Jeremiah 10:13.

The Lord is constantly employed in upholding and using Men of the greatest intellect cannot understand the mysteries of Jehovah as revealed in nature. Divine inspiration asks many questions which the most profound scholar cannot answer. These questions were not asked that we might answer them, but to call our attention to the deep mysteries of God and to teach us that our wisdom is limited; that in the surroundings of our daily life there are many things beyond the comprehension of finite minds; that the judgment and purposes of God are past finding out. His wisdom is unsearchable.

Skeptics refuse to believe in God because with their finite minds they cannot comprehend the infinite power by which He reveals Himself to men. But God is to be acknowledged more from what He does not reveal of Himself than from that which is open to our limited comprehension. Both in divine revelation and in nature, God has given to men mysteries to command their faith. This must be so. We may be ever searching, ever inquiring, ever learning, and yet there is an infinity beyond.

1 Kings 19:11-12

11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake,but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

...As commonly used, the term ‘laws of nature’ comprises what men have been able to discover with regard to the laws that govern the physical world; but how limited is their knowledge, and how vast the field in which the Creator can work in harmony with His own laws and yet wholly beyond the comprehension of finite beings!”-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 114.

How does the image of creation as a musical instrument provide a more accurate picture of God’s relationship to the creation than does the image of creation as a machine?  L. James Gibson, Sabbath School lesson of the day. He's director of the Geoscience Research Institute (www.grisda.org) in Loma Linda, California. Citation of the day added by us here at sse6.blogspot.com

Exploration: Jehovah-jireh, Our Provider Genesis 1; Exod. 15:26; Neh. 9:21; Prov. 3:5, 6; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 7:9-11; Luke 12:32; Phil. 4:19; Rev. 21:1-4

From the opening words in Genesis to the closing promises of Revelation, God presents Himself as the One who supplies all of our needs. As our Creator, He relates to each of us with a Father's heart. He is deeply concerned about His children's wants. Scripture overflows with stories of people who looked to Him and found what they needed. He says He will open the floodgates of heaven and give us good gifts, including His kingdom. He will even make us a new earth! May we accept our dependence on Him, praising Him in our success and turning to Him in our need.