The Best Worship Songs

Can we worship God without music? Of course. But for me, music is the best vehicle for worship. But before talking about worship songs, we need to look at the concept of worship. Worship is that deliberate moment in time when we connect with God spiritually, and sincerely and humbly express our reverence, adoration, praise, and awe to Him. So for music to be called 'worship' music, it must contain avenues for those types of expressions. 

True worship is always a one way street. In other words, it's all directed to God. Although worship can be expressed in a prayer, it is never a prayer asking God to do something for us. It's fine to ask God for something, but that's not worship, that's prayer. And we should be doing that. However, when our prayer to God is strictly an expression of praise, or adoration, or reverence, or awe, then that is worship. 

Music is a major part of life. So why did God invent music? Like everything he invented, if used in its rightful way, it is to ultimately bring Him glory. Music and singing is an emotional expression. It is a great way to communicate with emotion, our worship to God.

Why is music and singing so closely associated with Worship? Music and singing is a very effective tool that can be used to promote an avenue for worship to happen. The use of songs can make the path easier to approach and worship God. One reason is because music is emotional and touches the soul. Music and singing is expressive. It can be intimate and personal in nature, and it can create excitement and celebration. It can set a mood or tone and help soften the heart and open the mind.

Another reason that music and singing is closely associated with worship, in a corporate sense, is because it provides a means of participation. Through use of tempo, meter, rhythm, rhyming, and melody, all can join together to sing in unison, or harmony. It’s a way to effectively unite our efforts and our expressions of worship.

So, back to worship songs. It's important to define a 'worship' song. A worship song is a song that is strictly addressed to God. A worship song usually contains a phrase like "God, You are.....". A worship song is different than a praise song.  A praise song is a great one to sing, but it's different from a worship song in the sense that it is not addressed directly to God, but addressed to each other. A praise song usually contains a phrase like "God is.....".

When worship songs are sung from the heart with understanding and conviction, in spirit and in truth, they are essentially melodic prayers, and are a very powerful and personal form of worship, even in a corporate setting. Jesus said that we must worship in spirit and truth. Not only does this mean that our worship is spiritual in nature, but also, our worship must be done sincerely, and in line with the truth of scripture regarding who God is.

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (John 4:24)

So to summarize:  The best worship songs.....

1. Are addressed directly to God.
2. Are not asking God to do something for us
3. Are expressions of reverence, awe, adoration, and praise to Him
4. Are sung with a sincere and humble spirit
5. Are filled with truth

Here is an example of a great contemporary worship song, "You Are My King (Amazing Love)" by Billy Foote.

"I'm forgiven, because You were forsaken.
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I'm alive and well, Your Spirit is within me, because You died and rose again. 

Amazing love, how can it be, that You, my King, would die for me?
Amazing love, I know it's true.
And it's my joy to honor You.

In all I do, to honor You.

You are my King.

You are my King.

Jesus, You are my King.

You are my King."

Notice how that song has all the attributes of a worship song. There are many great praise songs and worship songs today. Practice on distinguishing the difference. And when you hear a true worship song, one that is directly addressed to God, let it prompt you to engage in personal worship. 

How To Get Rid Of All The Evil In The World

The kidnapper in Cleveland, Ohio who abducted 3 women and kept them locked up in his house for ten years makes me want to puke. That guy is a monster. And we haven't even heard the half of it. Actually, I don't want to hear much more.  I sure wouldn't want to be on that jury and listen to all that mess. They probably wouldn't let me on it anyway, because I'd say, "Guilty!",  right off the bat!!! 

With all that we see in the news lately, are things worse today than ever before? Maybe. But humans have always been really evil. Evil in the world is nothing new. It started with Cain and Able, children of Adam and Eve.  Cain attacked his younger brother, Able, and killed him. Everything goes downhill from there. There was a time that evil became so predominant in the world that God decided to destroy the entire human race!

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:5-7 NKJV)

So, God sent the great flood that covered the earth. Fortunately, Noah was found righteous in the eyes of the Lord. He and his wife, his three sons and their wives (8 in all) were spared in the ark. Everyone else was wiped out. You know what that means? We are all descendants of Noah! 

Unfortunately, thanks to Satan, the great deceiver and destroyer, it didn't take long for evil to creep back into the world. And so it goes. Even today.

What's really terrible is the fact that there is a lot more evil going on in this world than just what we hear on the news. Just in the US, according to the Center for Disease Control, there were 16,259 homicides in 2010! That's 45 murders every single day of the year, just in our country alone!!! And just think of all the other crimes going on. Then think of all the atrocities and crimes going on all over the world. Yes, this world is a mess. Seems that since the fall of man, the world always was a mess, is still a mess, and will always be a mess. There are, however, three ways that evil could be eradicated from the world. 

(1) The first way to get rid of all the evil in the world is to wipe everything and everybody out! Well, that's unlikely to happen, unless God gets totally fed up with this world again. Don't rule that out though. He must be getting close!

(2) The second way is to convince people to be transformed and live new lives. In other words, convert everyone to real Christianity. By Christianity, I mean real, obedient Christ Followers. Well, we've been working on that, but it's a real battle.

(3) The third and sure way to get rid of all the evil in the world is for Jesus to come back, as He promised, and totally annihilate Satan and all evil. Since Satan is the root cause of all evil, then destroying Satan is the only way to end evil. Satan and his followers will go to eternal damnation and Jesus and His followers will be take to eternal paradise. One thing for sure, when Jesus comes back, He's not coming back as a meek, humble servant. 

Here's what the Apostle John saw in his vision of prophecy regarding the return of Jesus......

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16 NKJV)

Now that's power! And authority! And victory! The book of Revelation goes on to describe how Satan is utterly defeated, and is ultimately tossed into the eternal lake of burning fire. So, if it takes Jesus coming back to end all evil in the world, I repeat the words of the Apostle John, near the end of the book of Revelation, "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:20) The sooner, the better. 

My Euphemism Nightmare!

Here is something I wrote a few years back, but never posted it in my blog, so here is a rewrite............

My wife and I and a group of friends had just finished hearing a sermon that warned us about the use of euphemisms. The topic was fresh on all of our minds as we arrived at a friend’s house to play cards. A euphemism is a word that is used as a less offensive substitute for an objectionable word. The preacher implied that we all have developed a bad habit of using euphemisms as substitutes for blasphemous words. 

He suggested that this was not acceptable because our intent was still the same. Therefore, in a religious context, his conclusion was that we were still guilty. For example, instead of using the Lord’s name in vain, such as the exclamation, “O my God”, or blurting out "Jesus Christ", we substitute a euphemism such as, “O my Goodness”, or "Jiminy Cricket". Instead of saying damn, we say darn. 

Was our good intention of substituting certain words for 'bad' words acceptable with the Man above? As our card game got underway, we mulled over the question of our guilt in the use of euphemisms. And as time went on, all of us began to be more critical of how we substituted words.

On the first round of cards, my wife got a bad hand and quickly shouted, “O sugar!”. Immediately, we pointed at her and found her guilty of a euphemitical error. We knew that she really meant was, “O sh__”. 

With each hand we began to spew out more and more euphemisms, and each time a person said one, the others would point at the accused and find them guilty on the spot. On one round of cards, someone exclaimed, “Son of a gun”. We all pointed and yelled. We knew what they meant. The next round someone got a good hand but said, “Holy cow”. Again, we all pointed and jeered. The more we played, and the more intense the game got, the more we became accursed. “Gosh darn it”. “Jeepers”. 

After a while it seemed like it was safer to say nothing, but the card game kept us off track through the excitement and challenge of the game. The euphemism accusations continued until we couldn’t seem to draw a line between an acute case and a mild case, or as the Catholics might say, a mortal euphemism and a venial euphemism. This started to accelerate when I was dealt three aces and innocently said softly, “wow”. Everyone pointed at me and yelled, “Euphemizer!”

After a while, things escalated to the point where it seemed that no one knew when to draw the line. Was any form of exclamation a euphemism? Even someone’s “whew” drew wrath. A cough was questioned. Clearing of the throat was out. After a while I started guarding my language to avoid any chance of a euphemism. Could I possibly make it through the game without any more accusations? The game was not of cards anymore but was a challenge to see who could complete the game without saying any more euphemisms. 

I was determined to make it through. However, to my demise, it didn’t take long until I made a fatal error. During the last deal, I couldn’t help being excited over what was certainly the winning hand. In a sense of confidence and pride, I slightly raised my right eyebrow. O No! I immediately realized what I had done, but it was too late. I had been spotted, and accused of yet another euphemism. Guilty, I was utterly defeated. Thanks preacher! I hope I don’t go to heck because of all of this!

Advice On Marriage From A 100 Year Old Woman - My Mom!

This past March, we celebrated my Mom's 100th birthday! She lives in the southern tier of New York State. She's quite amazing - her mind is as sharp as ever, and she has a lot of energy still. She's always trying to cook us dinner and do the dishes for us. She lives with her younger sister, who is a mere 98 years old. They are quite a pair, living fairly independently still, with the help of relatives. 

As a matter of fact, they exhibit a great example of true brotherly, or should I say, sisterly love. If you visited them, it would become obvious right away, how much they care for and love each other. My aunt's a widow also, and my Mom and her have lived together for about 27 years now. Many times their visitors are trying to find out what they are eating or drinking, or what type of vitamins they take. My Mom's answer to longevity...."it's all in the genes." 

She eats bacon and sausage and eggs and butter and beef and pork and cheese and coffee and sugar and chocolate and ice cream, and is on no special diet, except to try to reduce her salt intake. She said she got her quota of salt when she worked as a young girl in a salt mining and packaging plant in Watkins Glen, N.Y. "I loved the iodine in the salt, and I used to lick salt all the time."

She has an incredible sense of humor. She said when she was much younger, on her 80th birthday, someone asked her, "As you look back on 80 years of life, which period in your life was the most difficult?" She responded, "The first 80 years." Another time she was asked, "What is the earliest thing you can remember?" She jokingly said, "When they dug out Seneca Lake." (Seneca Lake is the longest and deepest of the Finger Lakes of central New York State.)

When we were visiting my Mom for her birthday celebration, I got several chances to capture on video many conversations that we had. She talked about memories of childhood and of her teenage years, about her philosophies on today's world, about her view on faith and prayer, and we talked about many other topics as well.

In one of the videos, I asked her, "What is your advice on marriage?" Now, I've heard many pieces of advice on marriage over the years. Some serious and some humorous. Even just this morning, sitting in my office (the local Paneras), after doing a Bible study with a couple of friends, I asked one of them, a 78 year old man, his advice on marriage. He responded, "Well, I have two pieces of advice for men.....number one: 'Do what you're told', and number two: 'Shut up!!'" Needless to say, we had a good laugh.

Seriously though, when I asked for my Mom's advice on marriage, I was really interested in what she had to say. And I thought that her answer would be a good one to hear since she was such a devoted wife to my Dad for about 40 years. After he died, she would never entertain even just the thought of being with another husband. She was definitely a one-man woman, and that was final. 

When I asked for her advice on marriage, I didn't give her any advance warning, or any time to prepare. Perhaps that was a bit unfair, not giving her a chance to get her thoughts together, but it was interesting to hear her candid, off-the-cuff response. She talked slowly, like she was carefully trying to craft the words to use in her answer. 

So here is her advice on marriage, word for word, taken directly from the video.....

She said, "Let me think...that's a hard one! First, to be true to each other...not to keep secrets or things from each other. Communication is very important. And to pull for one another, and think about the other more than yourself. If you think about the other more than yourself, you'll be happy, because that way, the other partner, in turn, will do it for you. He will return that love, faithfulness and sharing. And most of all, if you have God in your life - if you live without some sort of religion in your life, it's hard to make it. You've got to have God! If you turn God away, you don't find peace. If you see a lot of divorced people, or unhappy people, quarreling, you'll notice....they've shut God out of their life. They don't go to church. They don't have anything to keep them together."

I really liked her advice - how not to keep secrets from each other, and the fact that communication is so important. That's so true! And how about the Biblical principal she used....to put the other first. It reminds me of Philippians 2:3-4, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

I liked her statement that we should "pull for one another". In other words, we are never to criticize or put down the other person, either to their face or behind their back. Instead, we need to be our spouse's greatest encourager. That, in itself, is priceless advice when you really think about it!  

"...encourage one another and build each other up..." (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

She used a three word phrase that really describes a good marriage, "love, faithfulness, and sharing". Well said, Mom! When you see a marriage with those three attributes, you can be sure it's a healthy marriage. When love, faithfulness, and sharing are consistently happening on both sides, the relationship is strong. 

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..." 

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Finally, she states her most important foundational principle that has guided her whole life.....that God is foremost. She sees this as the key in holding marriages together - that both spouses must have a faithful, trusting relationship with God. She is a devoted, faithful, life-long Christian herself - a believer in Jesus - a Christ follower. When she said, "You've got to have God!", she said it ever so emphatically, with a very concerned look on her face, like she was questioning how it would even be possible not to have the Lord in your life and still have a marriage filled with joy and peace. 

I, myself, have found it true, not only in my marriage of almost 40 years, but in so many people's lives around me - that without the Lord in your life, everything will tend to fall apart. As the scripture says, "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:17) 

I'm so proud of my Mom. I respect everything she says, all of her wisdom, as well as her ongoing example to all of us. Sometimes my Mom will say, "I don't know why the Lord let's me live so long."  I know the answer!.....It's because she still continues to be a blessing to so many people. Especially to me.

Jesus, the Bible, and Basketball

The NBA playoffs began this weekend. The top professional basketball teams start to compete for the ultimate crown - the championship. We watch a lot of basketball. The sport is intertwined in our family. My son-in-law is currently the woman's basketball coach at a Christian college in Missouri, and he was an accomplished player himself in college. One of my daughters also played college basketball.

I was thinking........just for fun, can basketball be related to Jesus, or at least the Bible? I know what you're thinking....NO!  But as I'm sitting in my office (the local Panera's), I'm wondering....could there be some parallels there? And my first conclusion....NO!  I mean, I can't visualize Jesus and the disciples playing basketball. Although I guess there's no reason why they couldn't have some occasional fun together - after all they did go fishing together.

After a couple of coffees, and pondering on such a ridiculous scheme, yes, I concluded that there actually could be some similarities (with a little stretching). After all, in basketball, there are players, there are spectators, there are coaches, there are referees, and there's the rulebook. Ahhh...now your getting the picture.

So where does Jesus come in? Here's where....every NBA team has a head coach. He is the overseer, the chief shepherd of the team. He has authority over the team and has the final say. In this parallel of Jesus, the Bible, and Basketball.....Jesus is the Head Coach. He is our "Righteous Judge" (2 Timothy 4:8), our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), and our Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). He has all authority (Matthew 28:28), holds the highest place (Philippians 2:9), and in Him, all things hold together (Ephesians 4:16).

A really good NBA coach not only makes good decisions for the team, but loves the game, and loves his players. Jesus loves His church and those that are His. In the same way that any good coach would want to relate to his players, Jesus desires to have a great personal relationship with us.

OK, so everything falls under Jesus. Now what about the Bible? That's easy....the rulebook! In the NBA, there are very specific rules, and they are laid out in great detail, in writing. Without the rulebook, how would the players play? How would the referees officiate? There would be chaos. The NBA rules must be obeyed by the players or there will be turnovers, personal fouls, and even possible ejection from the game. Without the Bible, we would have no guidelines for living, no understanding of how to live the right way, and no way of knowing how to please God and Jesus. (By the way, God the Father is sort of the NBA Commissioner)

We, as Christians, are the players. We need to not only please the coach (Jesus), and be obedient to Him, we need to play this game of life to the best of our ability. We may mess up, even have some personal fouls along the way, but let's keep trying to improve by practicing, by better understanding the rule book, and by listening to the coach. We need to work on our offense (evangelism) and our defense (resisting the opposition).

The NBA referees keep the players in check. When a player does something wrong, the ref points it out. In a similar way, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. When we mess up and sin as a Christian, we know it. And as the refs guide the players and are active and present on the court, the Holy Spirit is present and dwells in us, and convicts us.

There are a lot of great plays in basketball. There is the assist, where a player sets up another player to score. Likewise, let's be an encourager to our Christian brothers and sisters, and be a fellow servant. Another play is the pick and roll, where two players work together blocking and passing, just as we should work together in the Kingdom with the common goal of spreading the Good News and ministering to others. And let's not forget the most dramatic and powerful play in basketball, the slam dunk. (Our baptism).

I can't help but think of the crowd - those cheering for their team. A serious fan of a particular team will wear the team's colors, or the team's name on their clothes. They love their team, they root for their team, they cheer for their team, and they support their team. Likewise with Jesus and His Church, we should be worshipers, and we should boast about our team and our coach. We should be enthusiastic. We should cheer for our team. We should support our team, the local church. We should love our team and try to persuade others to do the same. We should become ambassadors for our team (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Wow - I guess there actually are a lot of parallels after all! And I'm sure you can come up with even more on your own. Yes, Jesus, the Bible, and Basketball - they really do have a lot in common!

One more thought. As you play on the team, try to play as hard as you can, and work on developing your skill to the best of your ability. Study the rulebook. Play your heart out for the team and for the coach, and remember that your main goal is to win the game, and not play for your own glory. During the game, you may stumble and foul (sin). But when you do, get up, try not to repeat your mistakes (repent), and go for the win (Heaven). But by all means, be on guard, and make sure you never, ever, get ejected from the game!!!!

One Christian's Reaction To The Boston Bombing

I was watching the Fox News Channel just as it was interrupted for a special bulletin. Live reports were just coming in describing two bombs that went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Just then a live, unedited camera feed came on the screen. People were running, screaming, bleeding. Many were on the ground, injured, maybe dead. It was chaos. 

My first reaction was horror and disbelief. As the scene unfolded, it was obvious that the explosions weren't from an accident, like a gas explosion, but these blasts were caused by purposely-set bombs! That was even more shocking. Like everyone else, nine eleven came to mind, along with all the other terrorist attacks. How could someone do this? Why would someone do this?

Seeing innocent people hurt and even killed for no reason, tears at your heart. The only good thing about those scenes on TV were the videos of people who were helping others. Some bystanders were taking off their jackets and shirts to give to the injured, some jumping in to pull debris away, and some running to call for help, not to mention the professional first-responders. It makes you appreciate the good in people in the midst of such tragedy. 

Being hundreds of miles away doesn't lessen the feel of compassion for those who are hurt, and who especially have lost loved ones in this bombing. As Christians, we should always have a compassionate heart. After all, Jesus demonstrated compassion often, and we should imitate that quality. When someone is mourning, we should mourn with them.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." (Romans 12:15)

Our compassion should motivate us to minister to others in such situations. By minister, I mean serve, give, help. We may not be able to minister to those in Boston, but rest assured, there will be situations and opportunities to help others - just be poised to do so. 

There is one thing you can do to help those in Boston no matter how far away you are......pray. Pray for comfort for those who are mourning. Pray for healing for those who are injured. Pray for wisdom for doctors and nurses. Pray for law enforcement, that they find the person or persons responsible.

I don't see evil ever leaving this earth until the Lord comes back. After all, even Jesus experienced evil. He was falsely accused, scorned, and mocked. Jesus experienced mourning. He cried when Lazarus died. Jesus experienced violence. He was Himself beaten and crucified!

It's comforting to know that we have a Savior who knows our feelings, our emotions, our pains, and our sorrows. But He has overcome them. He has been raised from the dead and is alive! And because of that fact, He is at our side through all our trials. He will never leave us or forsake us.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

How God Made Everything Out Of Nothing.

One of the age old questions is this: "How did the universe begin?" It's another one of those mind-boggling topics. When man tries to explain how the universe began in a way that leaves out God, it's laughable. One such man-made God-less explanation is the Big Bang theory, which, if you ask me, is utterly stupid, unless God is in the picture.

So if God created the universe, a better question is this: "How did God create all things out of nothing?" I mean if nothing existed except the spiritual realm, how could a physical realm be created?

Consider this incredible verse that deals with creation: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3). Wow! What a verse! There's the answer to how the universe began.   It was formed by God's command, and it was formed out of nothing! Take it or leave it. As the verse above says, it takes faith that the universe was formed “at God’s command”. Faith is believing without even seeing, and without totally understanding, but simply trusting.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

The phrase in the above verse, “at God’s command”, implies that God has such creative force that all he had to do was speak the words, and the entire universe and everything in it was formed. If you look at all the creation verses in Genesis chapter one, they are commands. For example, God said, “Let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Now that is power! Do we need to figure out how God did it? No. The above scripture states that “by faith we understand it”. Settled. We just need to believe it. If the Bible says so, then it's truth.

Think about the last part of the above verse for a moment......"what is seen was not made out of what was visible."  That is an incredibly powerful statement. What it says is that everything in our physical existence was made out of nothing. And before the physical realm, only the invisible or spiritual realm existed. In other words, matter was not re-formed out of some previous existing materials but new matter was created, in a sense, out of thin air! “What is seen was not made out of what was visible.”  Settled. Either take that verse, the Bible for that matter, and believe it, or throw it out the window and go with the Big Bang theory. Your choice (you know where I stand).

And I know, we could, and maybe should (ha) stop here, but just for fun.....let's keep going. Because of the curiosity of our human minds which God gave us, we always try to comprehend these Bible truths. I’m no different. I just wonder – can the concept of God making something out of nothing be explained? How could this be done? It may be a crazy idea, and I may be wrong, but I've got a theory. (O boy here we go)

Here's my theory (from a non-scientist)........ If we break down everything that exists into its smallest components, there is a common building block. Whether we look at a piece of steel, a plant, an animal, a brick, a coffee mug, air or water – they all are made up of a combination of the same very basic elements. That, in itself, is incredible.

There are just over one hundred different elements that combine in various arrangements to make up everything in the physical dimension we exist in. For example, water is made up of 2 of the elements that are bonded together in a special combination: two Hydrogen atoms and one Oxygen atom, H2O, form a water molecule.

Scientists have discovered that all atoms have the same three particles: electrons, protons and neutrons. The determining factor in identifying a specific element is the number of protons within the nucleus of an atom. These tiny particles (electrons, protons, and neutrons) are the foundation of all matter, and guess what? The electrons and protons are charged! In other words, they are energized! Each atom is like a miniature solar system held together by opposing electrical energy charges, with electrons orbiting the atom. Everything we see then, material or living, has as its fundamental building block - Energy!

One way to look at it is that energy is light, or light is energy. And in a sense, God is light, or at least created light. Could it be that everything that is in our physical realm is really some form of God-given invisible energy force, formatted and organized in such an orderly way as to create physical matter? God surely has the resources and ability to have done such a thing. God could have created matter out of thin air by arranging invisible energy in such a manner as to form everything from the smallest cell to the farthest star we can see in the universe! Awesome!

Nobel Prize winner Max Planck is quoted as saying this about the structure of matter – “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear-headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as the result of my research about the atoms this much: There is no matter as such! All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter. "

Regardless of how God created everything, one thing is for sure – “the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible”.

OK, so maybe it’s better not to try to figure things out like I have tried to do, and you can disregard my theory, that's fine. But don't disregard Hebrews 11:3.

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

And perhaps the best thing to do is to simply take His word by faith, and praise Him with an attitude of wonder and amazement. Yes....that's a better way! As King Solomon once said, “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless.Therefore, stand in awe of God” (Eccl 5:7).

When thinking of such things as creation, that's what we all should ultimately do..............

Stand in awe of God!