Excessive Quotation

**side note-God SPOKE this into existence. that same voice speaks through us- isn't that incredible?

I love this passage from the book The Ragamuffin Gospel by brennan manning. since i wouldn't paraphrase it very well myself, i'll just copy it right out of the book--

" As they contemplate the order of the earth, the solar system, and the stellar universe, scientists and scholars have concluded that the Master Planner left nothing to chance.

The slant of the earth, for example, tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, produces our seasons. Scientists tell us that if the earth had not been tilted exactly as it is, vapors from the oceans would move both north and south, piling up continents of ice.

if the moon were only 50,000 miles away from the earth intead of 200,000, the tides might be so enormous that all continents would be submerged in water-- even the mountains would be eroded.

if the crust of the earth had been only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen, and without it all animal life would die.

had the oceans been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetable life would exist.

the earth's weight has been estimated at six sextillion tons (that's a six with 21 zeros). yet it is perfectly balanced and turns easily on its axis. it revolves daily at the rate of more than 1,000 miles per hour or 25,000 miles each day. this adds up to nine million miles a year. considering the tremendoius weight of six sextillion tons rolling at this fantastic speed around an invisible axis, held in place by unseen bands of gravitation, the words of Job 26:7 take on unparalleled significance: "He poised the earth on nothingness."

the earth revolves in its own orbit around the sun, making the long elliptical circuit of six hundred million miles each year-- which means we are travelling in orbit at 19 miles per second or 1,140 miles per hour.

Job further invites us to meditate on 'the wonders of God' (37:14). consider the sun. every square yeard of the sun's surface is emitting constantly an energy level of 130,000 horsepower (that is, approximately 450 eight-cylinder automobile engines), in flames that are being produced by an energy source much more powerful than coal.

the nine major planets in our solar system range in distance from the sun from 36 million to about 3 trillion, 6,664 billion miles; yet each moves around the sun in exact precision, with orbits ranging from 88 days for mercury to 248 years for pluto.

still, the sun is only one minor star in the 100 billion orbs which comprise our milly way galaxy. if you were to hold out a dime, a ten-cent piece, at arm's length, the coin would block out 15 million stars from your view, if your eyes could see with that power.

when we attempt to comprehend the almost countless stars and heavenly bodies in the milky way galaxy alone, we resonate to isaiah's paen praise to the all-powerful Creator: "lift up your eyes and look. who made these starts if not He who drills them like an army, calling each one by name? so mighty is His power, so great His strength, that not one fails to answer" (40:26).

small wonder that david cries out: "Yahweh, our Lord, how great your name throughout the earth. above the heaven is your majesty chanted, by the mouths of children, babes in arms. i look up at the heavens made by your fingers, at the moon and the starts you set in place-- ah, what is man that you should spare a thought for him, the son of man that you should care for him?" (psalm 8).

creation discloses a power that baffles our minds and beggars our speech. we are enamored and enchanted by God's power. we stutter and stammer about God's holiness. We tremble before God's majesty...and yet we grow squeamish and skittish before God's love."

what a God we have over us! He created us, loves us incredibly, and nothing, nothing is above Him. He can't be nicely placed into any of the boxes we try to make for Him- He is vast and amazing beyond all our ability to rightly estimate Him. in light of how intricately He's created the universe, i can assume with confidence that He, with the same attention, created me. and while the things of this earth as they are now will pass away, we are given the opportunity to live forever with Him, and He gives us the ability to be used here to do work with eternal value. non-believers have no choice, they can only store up earthly treasures that will be destroyed. if you are alive in Christ you have a choice- between storing up things of this earth, or storing up eternal treasure in heaven. and we know with confidence that our INCREDIBLE God is always with us, giving us all we need and more. i so often limit Him, but i know that in Him i can dream big and humbly accept that He really does love me more than i can imagine, and really does want to use me.