May 8, 2014

From Gary... Cleaned yet???

Christians come from all walks of life; from the humble man who picks up your garbage, to the Astro-physicist calculating planetary orbits of star systems (and every sort of person imaginable). We do all have something in common, though- sin.  We as a species are prone to it and it harms us in ways that we can not even imagine. Which is why we should learn to hate even the smallest, most innocuous occurrence of it in our lives. But, what do we do about it? Here is one answer... 
John 17:17 (NASB)
Joh 17:17  "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

Well, there are many answers, depending upon what is being considered, but one thing is sure- The Bible has the answers. Go to it, study it, pray about it and do what it says.  Jesus will help you become clean (sanctified: set apart for Godly purposes). Believe this, because its so true!!!

From Gary.... Bible Reading May 8

Bible Reading   
May 8

The World English Bible


May 8
Deuteronomy 31, 32

Deu 31:1 Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel.
Deu 31:2 He said to them, I am one hundred twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: and Yahweh has said to me, You shall not go over this Jordan.
Deu 31:3 Yahweh your God, he will go over before you; he will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before you, as Yahweh has spoken.
Deu 31:4 Yahweh will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land; whom he destroyed.
Deu 31:5 Yahweh will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandment which I have commanded you.
Deu 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, don't be afraid, nor be scared of them: for Yahweh your God, he it is who does go with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you.
Deu 31:7 Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of good courage: for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it.
Deu 31:8 Yahweh, he it is who does go before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you, neither forsake you: don't be afraid, neither be dismayed.
Deu 31:9 Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and to all the elders of Israel.
Deu 31:10 Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tents,
Deu 31:11 when all Israel is come to appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
Deu 31:12 Assemble the people, the men and the women and the little ones, and your foreigner who is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear Yahweh your God, and observe to do all the words of this law;
Deu 31:13 and that their children, who have not known, may hear, and learn to fear Yahweh your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over the Jordan to possess it.
Deu 31:14 Yahweh said to Moses, Behold, your days approach that you must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may commission him. Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the Tent of Meeting.
Deu 31:15 Yahweh appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of cloud stood over the door of the Tent.
Deu 31:16 Yahweh said to Moses, Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the prostitute after the strange gods of the land, where they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
Deu 31:17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come on them; so that they will say in that day, Haven't these evils come on us because our God is not among us?
Deu 31:18 I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have worked, in that they are turned to other gods.
Deu 31:19 Now therefore write you this song for you, and teach you it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
Deu 31:20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat; then will they turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
Deu 31:21 It shall happen, when many evils and troubles are come on them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.
Deu 31:22 So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.
Deu 31:23 He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them: and I will be with you.
Deu 31:24 It happened, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
Deu 31:25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, saying,
Deu 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.
Deu 31:27 For I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against Yahweh; and how much more after my death?
Deu 31:28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.
Deu 31:29 For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days; because you will do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
Deu 31:30 Moses spoke in the ears of all the assembly of Israel the words of this song, until they were finished.
Deu 32:1 Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
Deu 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain. My speech shall condense as the dew, as the small rain on the tender grass, as the showers on the herb.
Deu 32:3 For I will proclaim the name of Yahweh. Ascribe greatness to our God!
Deu 32:4 The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice: a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Deu 32:5 They have dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, it is their blemish. They are a perverse and crooked generation.
Deu 32:6 Do you thus requite Yahweh, foolish people and unwise? Isn't he your father who has bought you? He has made you, and established you.
Deu 32:7 Remember the days of old. Consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you; your elders, and they will tell you.
Deu 32:8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel.
Deu 32:9 For Yahweh's portion is his people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
Deu 32:10 He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.
Deu 32:11 As an eagle that stirs up her nest, that flutters over her young, he spread abroad his wings, he took them, he bore them on his feathers.
Deu 32:12 Yahweh alone led him. There was no foreign god with him.
Deu 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth. He ate the increase of the field. He caused him to suck honey out of the rock, oil out of the flinty rock;
Deu 32:14 Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the finest of the wheat. Of the blood of the grape you drank wine.
Deu 32:15 But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Deu 32:16 They moved him to jealousy with strange gods. They provoked him to anger with abominations.
Deu 32:17 They sacrificed to demons, which were no God, to gods that they didn't know, to new gods that came up of late, which your fathers didn't dread.
Deu 32:18 Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful, and have forgotten God who gave you birth.
Deu 32:19 Yahweh saw it, and abhorred them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
Deu 32:20 He said, I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.
Deu 32:21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
Deu 32:22 For a fire is kindled in my anger, Burns to the lowest Sheol, Devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.
Deu 32:23 I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them.
Deu 32:24 They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and bitter destruction. I will send the teeth of animals on them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
Deu 32:25 Outside the sword shall bereave, and in the chambers, terror; on both young man and virgin, The suckling with the gray-haired man.
Deu 32:26 I said, I would scatter them afar. I would make the memory of them to cease from among men;
Deu 32:27 were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should judge wrongly, lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, Yahweh has not done all this.
Deu 32:28 For they are a nation void of counsel. There is no understanding in them.
Deu 32:29 Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
Deu 32:30 How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and Yahweh had delivered them up?
Deu 32:31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
Deu 32:32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall, Their clusters are bitter.
Deu 32:33 Their wine is the poison of serpents, The cruel venom of asps.
Deu 32:34 Isn't this laid up in store with me, sealed up among my treasures?
Deu 32:35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, at the time when their foot slides; for the day of their calamity is at hand. The things that are to come on them shall make haste.
Deu 32:36 For Yahweh will judge his people, and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone, There is none remaining, shut up or left at large.
Deu 32:37 He will say, Where are their gods, The rock in which they took refuge;
Deu 32:38 Which ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise up and help you! Let them be your protection.
Deu 32:39 See now that I, even I, am he, There is no god with me. I kill, and I make alive. I wound, and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.
Deu 32:40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, And say, As I live forever,
Deu 32:41 if I whet my glittering sword, My hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to my adversaries, and will recompense those who hate me.
Deu 32:42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood. My sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the head of the leaders of the enemy.
Deu 32:43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will render vengeance to his adversaries, And will make expiation for his land, for his people.
Deu 32:44 Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun.
Deu 32:45 Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel;
Deu 32:46 He said to them, Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you this day, which you shall command your children to observe to do, even all the words of this law.
Deu 32:47 For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it.
Deu 32:48 Yahweh spoke to Moses that same day, saying,
Deu 32:49 Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession;
Deu 32:50 and die on the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people:
Deu 32:51 because you trespassed against me in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't sanctify me in the midst of the children of Israel.
Deu 32:52 For you shall see the land before you; but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel.

 
May 8, 9
Luke 21

Luk 21:1 He looked up, and saw the rich people who were putting their gifts into the treasury.
Luk 21:2 He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins.
Luk 21:3 He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them,
Luk 21:4 for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on."
Luk 21:5 As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said,
Luk 21:6 "As for these things which you see, the days will come, in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down."
Luk 21:7 They asked him, "Teacher, so when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?"
Luk 21:8 He said, "Watch out that you don't get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is at hand.' Therefore don't follow them.
Luk 21:9 When you hear of wars and disturbances, don't be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won't come immediately."
Luk 21:10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
Luk 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
Luk 21:12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name's sake.
Luk 21:13 It will turn out as a testimony for you.
Luk 21:14 Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
Luk 21:15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
Luk 21:16 You will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will cause some of you to be put to death.
Luk 21:17 You will be hated by all men for my name's sake.
Luk 21:18 And not a hair of your head will perish.
Luk 21:19 "By your endurance you will win your lives.
Luk 21:20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.
Luk 21:21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the midst of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein.
Luk 21:22 For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
Luk 21:23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath to this people.
Luk 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luk 21:25 There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;
Luk 21:26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Luk 21:27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Luk 21:28 But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near."
Luk 21:29 He told them a parable. "See the fig tree, and all the trees.
Luk 21:30 When they are already budding, you see it and know by your own selves that the summer is already near.
Luk 21:31 Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom of God is near.
Luk 21:32 Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things are accomplished.
Luk 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
Luk 21:34 "So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
Luk 21:35 For it will come like a snare on all those who dwell on the surface of all the earth.
Luk 21:36 Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Luk 21:37 Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, and every night he would go out and spend the night on the mountain that is called Olivet.
Luk 21:38 All the people came early in the morning to him in the temple to hear him.

From Mark Copeland... The Times Of Restoration (Acts 3:21)

                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                    The Times Of Restoration (3:21)

INTRODUCTION

1. As Peter preached his second gospel sermon...
   a. He called on his audience to repent and be converted - Ac 3:19
   b. He promised that their sins would be blotted out - ibid.

2. Also that Jesus must remain in heaven until "the times of
   restoration of all things"... - Ac 3:21
   a. What are "the times of restoration"?
   b. Is it limited to events to occur at the end times, just before
      Jesus returns?
   c. Or does it encompass the period between Jesus' first coming and
      His final coming?

[The language in the text allows for either understanding.  To be sure we
understand the distinction between the two views, let's first summarize
them...]
 
I. TWO PROPOSED EXPLANATIONS

   A. REGENERATION OF ALL THINGS AT THE END TIMES...
      1. Many connect the word "restoration" with "regeneration" - cf.
         Mt 19:28
      2. That when Christ comes (or shortly before) all things will be
         restored, or regenerated
      3. Including the heavens and the earth, currently in bondage to
         pain and decay, but presumably will be "restored" (regenerated)
         as a permanent dwelling for the righteous - cf. Ro 8:18-22

   B. PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT THROUGHOUT THE MESSIANIC AGE...
      1. The word "restoration" can mean establishment or fulfillment 
         a. "the Greek could just as easily mean that a process of
            restoration is already underway and that Jesus' return will
            mark its climax and dramatic conclusion." - D.G. Peterson
         b. 'Establishment' or 'fulfillment' is equally well attested,
            and makes good sense in the present context, in reference to
            the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy - F.F. Bruce
      2. As seen in the RSV:  "whom heaven must receive until the time
         for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy 
         prophets from of old." - Ac 3:21
      3. This understanding is supported further by Peter:  "and all the
         prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have 
         spoken, have also foretold these days." - Ac 3:24

["It is difficult to determine the exact force of the term restoration in
this connection" (McGarvey).  Even so, I believe the second explanation
gains merit when one considers the following question...]

II. THE END TIMES:  REGENERATION OR RECREATION?

   A. THE REGENERATION OF ALL THINGS...
      1. Many believe that when Jesus returns the current heavens and
         earth will be purified by fire (i.e., refurbished, regenerated,
         not annihilated)
      2. A cosmic redemption, if you will, to serve as the eternal home
         of the righteous (not to be confused with any millennial reign
         on the earth)
      3. Hoekema (and other amillennialists) gives four reasons for
         renewal rather than annihilation:
         a. The word for "new" (kainos) means "new in nature or in
            quality," not new in the sense of "totally other"
         b. Paul speaks of a universe longing to be liberated from
            corruption, not replaced - cf. Ro 8:19-22 
         c. The continuity between our old and new bodies is an analogy
            of the old earth being made new 
         d. If God has to annihilate this present cosmos, then His
            original purpose for it will have been thwarted and Satan 
            will have won a victory
         -- The Bible And The Future, Anthony Hoekema, p. 280-281

   B. THE RECREATION OF ALL THINGS...
      1. Putting Ro 8:19-22 aside for the moment, consider what is
         revealed elsewhere:
         a. The earth and the heavens will perish - Ps 102:25-26; cf.
            He 1:10-12
         b. The heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth grow old
            like a garment - Isa 51:6
         c. Heaven and earth will pass away - Mt 24:35; Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33
         d. The Lord will shake the earth and heaven, indicating its
            removal - He 12:26-27
         e. The earth will be burned up, the heavens will be dissolved,
            the elements will melt, therefore we look for new heavens and
            a new earth - 2Pe 3:10-13
         f. Earth and the heaven will have fled away, no place found
            for them - Re 20:11
         g. There will a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
            heaven and the first earth will have passed away - Re 21:1
      2. Every indication is that earth and the heavens will be
         annihilated; what then of Ro 8:19-22 and the four arguments 
         offered above in favor of renewal?
         a. It is true that "new" (kainos) means "new in nature or in
            quality", but if something is new in sense of "totally other"
            could it not also be "new in nature or in quality"?
         b. Ro 8:19-22 does speak of the universe longing to be liberated
            from corruption, but for what purpose?  Note carefully what
            is actually written, that the creation:
            1) "eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God" - Ro 8:19
            2) "will be delivered...into the glorious liberty of the
               children of God" - Ro 8:21
            3) Seeks not its own revealing or glorious liberty, but
               that of the children of God!
            4) Is not actually said to be refurbished when freed of its
               corruption
            5) The focus in the passage is on what happens for the
               people of God when the creation is finally freed (which it
               will be when annihilated by fire)
         c. The analogy between our bodies and the earth with the
            heavens is never made by Paul
         d. Any victory by Satan when the earth and heavens are removed
            is negated by a new heavens and new earth, just as any 
            victory by Death and Hades is negated when our decayed bodies
            are raised in incorruption and immortality as spiritual 
            bodies - 1Co 15:52-55

CONCLUSION

1. When Jesus returns, there will first be a de-creation followed by a
   re-creation...
   a. All things will not be regenerated or restored, but annihilated
      by fire
   b. All things will pass away, and there will be found no place for
      them
   c. In their place will be a new heavens and a new earth:  new in
      "nature and quality", because it will also be new in the sense of 
      "totally other" 

2. If such is to be the case, then it is best to understand "the
   restoration of all things" as...
   a. Translated by the RSV:  "whom heaven must receive until the time
      for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy 
      prophets from of old." - Ac 3:21
   b. Referring to the fulfillment of those things foretold by the
      prophets concerning the Messiah and His kingdom

This fulfillment of prophecy began with the first coming of Christ and
the establishment of His reign (cf. "the prophets...have also foretold of
these days" - Ac 3:24), and will continue until all is fulfilled with the
events of His second coming and the culmination of His reign (cf. 1Co
15:22-26).

Living in the days of such fulfillment, and looking forward to the Lord's
return, are we living as we should...?

   "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens
   and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  Therefore, beloved,
   looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in
   peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the 
   longsuffering of our Lord is salvation..." - 2Pe 3:14-15

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

From Jeff Miller, Ph.D. ... The Law of Causality and the Uncaused Cause


http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1601

The Law of Causality and the Uncaused Cause

by  Jeff Miller, Ph.D.

The law of science known as the Law of Causality, or Law of Cause and Effect, says that every material effect must have an adequate antecedent or simultaneous cause (Miller, 2011). The Universe is a material effect that demands an adequate Cause, and atheism cannot provide one. The truth is, God exists. Often the atheist or skeptic, attempting to distract from and side-step the truth of this law without responding to it, retorts, “But if everything had to have a beginning, why does the same concept not apply to God? God needs a cause, too! Who caused God?”
First, notice that this statement is based on a misunderstanding of what the Law of Cause and Effect claims concerning the Universe. The law states that every material effect must have an adequate antecedent or simultaneous cause. A law of science is determined through the observation of nature—not supernature. The laws of nature do not apply to non-material entities. The God of the Bible is a spiritual Being (John 4:24), and therefore is not governed by physical law. In 1934, professor of philosophy at Princeton University, W.T. Stace, wrote in A Critical History of Greek Philosophy concerning causality: “[E]verything which has a beginning has a cause” (1934, p. 6, emp. added). God, according to the Bible, had no beginning. Psalm 90:2 says concerning God, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (emp. added). The Bible describes God as a Being Who has always been and always will be—“from everlasting to everlasting.” He, therefore, had no beginning. Hebrews 3:4 again states, “every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God,” indicating that God is not constrained by the Law of Cause and Effect as are houses, but rather, is the Chief Builder—the Uncaused Causer—the Being who initially set all effects into motion.
Further, scientists and philosophers recognize that, logically, there must be an initial, uncaused Cause of the Universe. [Those who attempt to argue the eternality of the Universe are in direct contradiction to the Law of Causality (since the Universe is a physical effect that demands a cause), as well as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which indicates that nothing physical lasts forever (see Miller, 2007).] Aristotle, in Physics, discusses the logical line of reasoning that leads to the conclusion that the initial cause of motion must be something that is not, itself, in motion—an unmoved mover (1984, 1:428). Thomas Aquinas built on Aristotle’s reasoning and said:
Now whatever is in motion is put in motion by another.... For motion is nothing else than the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality.... It is therefore impossible that in the same respect and in the same way a thing should be both mover and moved, i.e., that it should move itself. If that by which it is put in motion be itself put in motion, then this also must needs be put in motion by another, and that by another again. But this cannot go on to infinity, because then there would be no first mover, and, consequently, no other mover.... Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God (1952, 19:12,13, emp. added).
God, not being a physical, finite being, but an eternal, spiritual being (by definition), would not be subject to the condition of requiring a beginning. Therefore, the law does not apply to Him. Concerning the Law of Causality, renowned German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, said that “everything which is contingent has a cause, which, if itself contingent, must also have a cause; and so on, till the series of subordinated causes must end with an absolutely necessary cause, without which it would not possess completeness” (Kant, 2008, p. 284, emp. added). An uncaused Cause is necessary. Only God sufficiently fills that void.
Consider: if there ever were a time in history, when absolutely nothing existed—not even God—then nothing would exist today, since nothing comes from nothing (in keeping with common sense and the Law of Thermodynamics, Miller, 2007). However, something exists (e.g., the Universe)—which means something had to exist eternally. That something could not be physical or material, since such things do not last forever (cf. Second Law of Thermodynamics, Miller, 2007). It follows that the eternal something must be non-physical or non-material. It must be mind rather than matter. Logically, there must be a Mind that has existed forever. That Mind, according to the Bible (which has characteristics proving it to be of supernatural origin, cf. Butt, 2007), is God. He, being spirit, is not subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end (Psalm 102:25-27, emp. added).
The point stands. The Law of Cause and Effect supports the creation model, not the atheistic evolutionary model. [NOTE: For more on the subject of an Uncaused Cause, see Colley, 2010; Lyons, 2007]

REFERENCES

Aquinas, Thomas (1952), Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago).
Aristotle (1984), Physics, in The Complete Works of Aristotle, ed. Jonathan Barnes (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).
Butt, Kyle (2007), Behold! The Word of God (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), http://www.apologeticspress.org/pdfs/e-books_pdf/Behold%20the%20Word%20of%20God.pdf.
Colley, Caleb (2010), “Aristotle’s ‘Unmoved Mover’ and Those Who Are ‘Without Excuse,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3795.
Kant, Immanuel (2008), Kant’s Critiques: The Critique of Pure Reason, the Critique of Practical Reason, the Critique of Judgment (Radford, VA: Wilder Publications).
Lyons, Eric (2007), “What Caused God?,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=2216&topic=93.
Miller, Jeff (2007), “God and the Laws of Thermodynamics: A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective,” Reason & Revelation, 27[4]:25-31, April, http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3293.
Miller, Jeff (2011), “God and the Laws of Science: The Law of Causality,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/article/3716.
Stace, W.T. (1934), A Critical History of Greek Philosophy (London: Macmillan).

From Jim McGuiggan... A prayer for God's coming


A prayer for God's coming

O Lord, it seems that we have always been looking for you. Prophets told of your coming and psalmists sang of tyour future arrival. The whole creation groans and wonders when you wilt show yourself and right all wrongs. Your church herself wonders why thou are taking so long to arrive. Sometimes (but only sometimes) we think that even the evil doers of the world have moments when they wish you would come and stop them in their evil tracks so that they will not plunge deeper into the moral mire they love to wallow in.
Millions toil only to have the wages of their honest labour cruelly snatched from them and they weep bitter tears as they continue impossible tasks. Men sell their body parts and even their children to stay alive and women are forced into shame so families can eat a handful of rice. People ask for bread and are given a stone while tyrants live in luxury and governments reward violence. It’s been so long and still we haven’t seen you exalt the humble and bring down the proud and arrogant. We have heard such stories of you in olden days and we believe them, but we wonder why there are none to tell today. We hear of them happening here and there and we wonder why they don't happen everywhere. Forgive our impatience but do please remember that it stems in part from your own established righteousness and reputation and the promises you hast made. Still, forgive us and help us to continue to believe that in Jesus Christ you have vindicated yourself and will gloriously fulfill all your promises, and that we will see and know it.
With sadness and some fear we recognize that you might have come to us and gone away again—might have come to us in disguise, perhaps as a child wanting to be loved, a woman looking for justice or a man wearily and in some irritation looking for his soul. Perhaps we were too busy praying for thy coming that we had no time for you. We implore you not to leave us this way but to return to us. And when you do finally come to us without disguise may you find us busy responding compassionately to you in your many disguises. O come to our aid, we pray, though we are a wicked and wayward human family for there is so much pain and suffering and loss and there is no help beside you.