God is marvelously big

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the LORD;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done:
He commanded, and it stood fast.

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

The LORD looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.
-Psalm 33:6-15 (NKJV)

Wow! Isn't God huge! He has created this universe which is so incredibly gigantic that the earth is smaller than a dust speck when in relation to all of creation. Tonight I was invited to watch a video of Louie Giglio (sp?) by Josh Beaudin in his apartment with a couple other people. Giglio laid out how immense these certain stars are that have been photographed by the Hubble telescope. He laid it out step by step, getting to larger and larger stars. He ended with a fairly recently discovered star called Canis Majoris that is so big that it could fit 7 quadrillion earths inside of it. To get a sense of how big that really is, one quadrillion seconds ago would be about 37 million years ago. It is simply enormous, and yet there are perhaps even bigger stars out there that we can't even see. The galaxy that some of these stars are from is 37 million light years away and is only one of millions of other galaxies in the universe. Now look at little baby earth. Then realize that you are just one of about 6.5 billion people on earth. Doesn't that make you feel just a bit small?

He then went on to talk about how this amazing God who created this humongously humongous universe formed each and every one of us with intimate care. This ginormous God is completely aware of everything about me and you. He then went on to say that the true miracle is each and every one of us and how we are made. Jesus Christ is literally the one who holds us together. Look up "laminin" in an image search. This is the protein that basically holds our body together. Prepare to be shocked.After we watched this video we talked for about an hour and a half or so. Josh really opened his heart about this thing we, as Christians, all seem to struggle with: evangelism. 2 Timothy 1:7-9 says, "God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus, and do not be ashamed of me, in prison for the Lord. But suffer with me for the Good News. God, who gives us the strength to do that, saved us and made us his holy people. That was not because of anything we did ourselves but because of God purpose and grace. That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began." Josh talked about how he had been asking God to help him share the gospel with anybody, so he asked God for the bravery to talk to people. Then he thought about how he could get the strength and so he thought that if he truly loved every person then he would be brave enough to share the gospel with them. He then thought about how he could start loving all people. He then thought about how God's Word is the best way to learn about divine love and how to love others how God loves them so he decided that he needed more discipline in his Bible reading. God then led him straight to this verse in 2 Timothy. Now isn't God awesome and totally amazing?!

I know that my words to describe the utter majesty of God will forever fall short of how above everything He is. I believe that God used that time to reshape my view of Him and also how I should interact in the world. No longer can I use the excuse that I am not skilled enough to share the gospel with someone. Wake up! When I assume that God cannot use my possibly bumbling presentation of the gospel I am saying that God is not big and powerful enough to use even me. God doesn't NEED me, but He desperately wants me to share his Good News about His Son dying for the sins of mankind because that is how He has chosen to spread the word of the gospel. He COULD simply send out all his angels to go over every inch of the earth and tell the gospel to every single human being, but he has told us in Matthew 28:19 to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." By me saying this, it first applies to me. I need to take the opportunities that God gives to me to share the gospel with everyone I meet. So now I encourage you to do the same and you now also can NOT use the excuse that you can't share the Gospel effectively. YOU will never save anyone; the Holy Spirit is the one who does that. Realize that God's Word is "sharper than a double-edged sword" as it says in Hebrews and THAT is the truth that will lead to an unbeliever's salvation. God gives us countless opportunities to share the "hope that we have within us" so just wait and He'll give you another one. I pray that God will bless you with this knowledge as He has richly blessed me already in my time here at New Tribes Bible Institute.

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty!"