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Listen while you read: "Now Let The Vault Of Heaven Resound"1 (Lyrics) |
I'm still reading the Peanuts cartoons, even though no newspaper has carried them since Charles Schulz died in February, 2000. I am especially still learning from … Lucy. Yes, Lucy! One strip that I just found has Lucy looking skyward and declaring in the first frame, "Poets tell us that the answers to life can be found in the stars." Then appear two more frames of stargazing, with the final frame having Lucy declare, "Stupid poets!" For once, I am with Lucy. When I survey the stars at night, I see the handiwork of God, but I turn to the Bible to find the answers to life that I seek and crave.
Astronomy is a legitimate science that Christians should be encouraged to study, since it reveals the wonder of God's created universe and makes us exclaim with the hymn writer,
- O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
– How Great Thou Art, Carl Boberg, tr. Stuart Hine
On the other hand, astrology is built upon the premise that what is important in life can be found in the stars.
Isaiah 47:13 – All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. (NIV)
There are millions who open their newspapers or go online first thing in the morning, turn to their horoscope, and check their month and sign, to determine what kind of day is ahead, based on the alignment of the stars. Being the cynic that I sometimes purport to be, I'd ask the Dr. Phil question, "How's that working for you?" Dr. Phil is probably less cynical than I am, and he actually goes on to say, "When I ask that, I genuinely mean it. How is what you're doing working for you? Are you getting what you really want and need?" Or does it just deflect you from your real purpose? It is best said in today's verse, "All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!"
The Bible is where I turn when I am seeking the answers to life. So, what is my response to the night sky? Maybe it is actually best said in the words of Psalm 8:3-5 (NRSV), the prayer that I offer for this day:
Prayer: "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour." Amen.
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Love this.
Thanks Kenn.
So true, Kenn.
Thank you Kenn for your devotional today.
God’s creation confirms His existence and power.
I enjoyed your message today – thank you – very meaningful.
Dear Kenn!
Thank you for your message and your prayer today.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging devotional with us today.
Blessings.
Thank you, Kenn, I love Psalm 8:3-5. You’re right, the Bible is the only source for wisdom.
The creation is visible and active presence of The Sovereign Creator! Thanks Kenn. Blessings.
Great post, Kenn! Really thought provoking as so many of us continue to look to worldly things for answers.
The quotation is not ” ….a little lower than God….,” but “….a little lower than the heavenly beings ( NIV ), or “angels” (NKJV )
Good to see you like your old self. I was concerned that you had gotten depressed with the world. A couple of your messages did not “sound” like you.
Thanks Kenn for the beautiful devotion today. Thank you, Lucy, too for the inspiration for our friend. We will never grasp the absolute miracle the sky above is to us if we take time to gaze upward.
Hi Kenn,
Whenever I read the first paragraph I thought, “I think this is a Kenn devotional!”
Blessings.
Dear Kenn,
Thank you so much for this beautifully written, inspiring devotional. Your words mean a lot to me.
Blessings, Joy, Gratitude.
Once more Kenn, you have written a very insightful devotion.
Thank you,
(Texas)
P.s. We are in the path of the solar eclipse and our small town and county are hoping not to be overcome with the crowds looking into the heavens!
Many thanks Kenn for your beautiful devotional today. We have so many beautiful things to admire in God’s creation and truly the heavenly stars are among them. As we look upward at those heavenly creations, our thoughts are definitely guided to praise the Creator. Blessings for your special writing.
Be sure to look for the new star, (well, once in eighty years new) that will be bright as Polaris and will last about a week. It is a recurring Nova, and it is easy to wonder if it didn’t glow around certain events all knit together two millennia ago. Cheers,
(ON)
Wondrous!
We live right on the ocean and have 275 deg viewpoint. It brings me such calm and reminds me of just how perfectly God has planned all things.
Bless you for this Devotional!
(BC)
Wow! You’ve definitely helped me this morning. Since I first ‘met Jesus’ in 1975, I’ve known that astrology is tantamount to the occult and have avoided it completely, and have counseled others to do so, but even though I’ve read the Bible through multiple times, I’ve never ‘taken in’ the quotes you’ve given us. I’m really grateful for that ‘new’ understanding/knowledge.