Devotions can be an effective way to study the Bible and enhance your faith. But how do you find the passages to study, and how do you find the passages for those special occasions when you want—or need—an extra boost.
In 130 Biblical Devotions, author C. Keith Mee presents a collection of devotions centered on Scripture. To help readers find what they’re looking for, the devotions are divided into categories, including beliefs or doctrines, the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, fruit of the spirit, and holidays. Mee includes illustrations from his own life and experience. After each devotion, there is space for the reader’s own thoughts, questions, or even disagreements.
This collection seeks to help those involved in group Bible study and individuals who seek personal Bible study. The lessons are brief, so they do not require a commitment of hours to learn more about faith and the Bible. Whether used for general Bible study or to find inspiration when at a crossroads, 130 Biblical Devotions can serve as a trusted guide.
A Special Creation
Think about the earth with all its resources and its special location in the universe. Then consider man with his capabilities to utilize the earth’s natural resources. To think that it all came about by chance and natural processes requires more faith than to believe what the Bible has to say about it. I have enjoyed reading “The privileged Planet” by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards. I would recommend that everyone read it.
The first chapter of John begins by saying “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:1-3).He not only made everything, but according to Paul in Colossians, He maintains the entire creation. “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). I have heard that scientists have a theory called the Colossian theory. In the heart of an atom the positive charges should repel each other like the south ends of two magnets repel each other. Instead they are held together with a mighty force. The theory is based on Colossian 1:17.
Psalms has David asking “What is man that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him a little lower than God, and dost crown him with glory and majesty! Thou dost make him to rule over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet” (Psalms 8:4-6).
The word man appears in the Bible about 2100 times. God has delegated to man the responsibility of caring for His creation.He made us with minds, hands and eyes that enable us to understand, appreciate and manipulate the elements of His creation. Without man, and his abilities, all of the beauty and usability of the earth and universe would have no purpose.
I have never read this anywhere, but I think that it requires the entire universe of galaxies and stars to maintain the stability of earth. Any way you look at it, humans and earth are special. The earth really is unique. Days vary in length because the earth tilts on its axis. The tilt is caused by the moon’s gravity and the amount of tilt is caused by the size of the moon. The tilt gives earth its seasons. The moon gives us our tides and ocean currents which in turn regulate our climate. If we had no moon we wouldn’t be here. A smaller or larger moon would not give the conditions favorable to life.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also” (Genesis 1:1, 16). Just five words devoted to the creation of billions of galaxies and stars.
Earth and man are special! It should make us bow down and praise God who created us and everything that exits.
Notes
C. Keith Mee served for thirty years as manager of the Field Services Section in the Church Library Department of the Baptist Sunday School Board (Now LifeWay Christian Resources). He currently helps churches start or develop their libraries. He and his wife, Jean, direct a senior adult Sunday school department at the Central Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. They have twenty-six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.