Science and Miracles, Against Passivity, the Need for an Absolute Standard

Welcome back. Every Friday, I send the latest issue of The Think Institute Newsletter to our subscribers. Each message includes an idea from me, a quote from somebody else, and something for you to think about.  

Before we get into this week's Newsletter, I want to share something important. The Think Institute is committed to helping Christian fathers lead their families in the Christian worldview, and to building a biblical legacy for the younger generation. Will you help us reach our goal of raising an additional $10,000 this Advent, toward equipping more Christian families in 2024? Go here to make a gift of any amount and support the cause. Thanks! 
Now, on to the Newsletter.

AN IDEA FROM ME

“In the Biblical view, the created cosmos does follow a regular order. This is what makes science possible, because science requires nature to be consistent. Yet the cosmos is not a closed system, impenetrable to God. As Lord, God is able to contravene the natural order. So miracles are also possible. God makes sure that the sun rises every day due to the continual rotation of the earth, but he is free to stop the sun when his people need to defeat the Amorites (cf. Joshua 10:12–13).”

Source: from my book, The Bible Based Worldview. Click here to order your own copy.

A QUOTE FROM SOMEBODY ELSE

“A Christian believer is not supposed to just lie still, relax, and enjoy the salvation already given to him. He is to be active in serving the Lord, like an athlete or a farmer working hard (1 Cor. 9:24–26; 2 Tim. 2:5–6). Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

“To put it another way, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19–20). A person who truly trusts in Christ has given up every other loyalty in order to be loyal to Christ alone. He has become a disciple of Christ:

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26–27)

“A true disciple is never “off duty.” He is always a disciple. He is a disciple in the actions of his body, and a disciple also in the actions of his mind—a renewed mind. Consequently, he is a disciple in every word that he utters in an apologetic discussion.”

Source: Vern Poythress, “Foreword to Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief,” (28 September, 2015), The Works of John Frame & Vern Poythress, accessed 7 December, 2023, at https://frame-poythress.org. Click here to watch my interview with Dr. Poythress on Christian rites-of-passage for boys.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Every day a man used to walk by a jewelry store, stop and set his watch by the big clock in the window. One day the jeweler happened to be standing in his doorway. He greeted the man in a friendly way and said; "I see you set your watch by my clock. What kind of work do you do that demands such correct time each day?" "I'm the watchman at the plant down the street," said the man. "My job is to blow the five o'clock whistle." The jeweler was startled. "But...you can't do that," he blurted out. "I set my clock by your whistle!"

When it comes to timekeeping and truth, we need an absolute standard. As a Christian, what is your standard—and how can you seek to live by that standard this week?  

Source: “STANDARD,” Sermon Illustrations, accessed 7 December, 2023, at http://sermonillustrations.com/a-z/s/standard.htm.  Click here to listen to my sermon on why the Bible is our ultimate standard, “The Divine Standard of Truth.”

In Christ, 

Joel Settecase

Executive Director

The Think Institute

joel@thethink.institute