A Poem

 The Scream of Symmetry

 A spinning sphere, its halves the same, glides through silent space

in perfect orbit teaming with other planets screaming

that their symmetry of shape and path has a source in something more than chance.

 

In fact, this symmetry extends to every place

from the very microscopic to the reach of the expanse,

quietly declaring with a breadth quite overbearing

that each whole is halves—each half alike

in nearly everything that matters.

 

Is it for matter’s sake

that such symmetry flatters

such quirky things as the fishy shapes of clams and stars,

stingrays, whales and pike

as well as coral, shrimp, anemones, manatees and gars?

 

The forms of viruses and germs,

and the parts, the whole, the half, and the path of every snake,

the contour look of spiders, moths and gnats,

beetles, flies and worms,

and a billion other bugs that hide in dirt or share the skies

with other symmetric creatures

having halvish sameness aspect features

like finches, terns and hanging bats

or birds of prey,

whether soaring, diving or even perching quiet—all say

quite a lot aloud without a word about the symmetry they share

with our selves and cells and fingers, teeth and lungs,

our veins and ribs and ears and heels and tongues

and even tears sneaking

from and past each configured part of our very balanced faces, speaking—

with drops of mist in clouds and fountains

or as frozen flakes each alone

or combined in colored spectral bows that display

in each arching tone

with each atom making either dust or mighty mountains

as well as with the roots and stems and leaves and fruits of plants

and in everything with legs or wings or DNA,

its twisted ladder shape with every wave or bolt or spark

of light or sound—

a simple truth that’s quite profound:

 

This common feature isn’t happenstance

or the result of some explosion;

nor is it an evolving growth or some fortune quirk of time and motion;

 

it is rather—its uniqueness stark—

a glorious and clever, clearly loving maker’s perfect mark.

Mark Absher

Copyright 2007

A Poem

 The Cross

The Cross, the Cross—

     the most expensive purchase 

        ever made

at Jesus’ loss—

The most endearing payment

     ever paid—

So high a price!

So high a price!

So high a price!

Thank-you for the hope and grace—

     the ever-loving smile on your face.

Thank-you for the stunning sacrifice—

       my life, your death

       your blood, my breath

   for all eternity.

Mark A. Absher

            April 2004

A Poem

In Grace

[You can be]

 Swimming, fresh inhaling,

 

laughing, never failing

 

always moving

 

in the pleasure

 

of its rush ensuing space—

 

without measure

 

peace and stillness,

 

soft, serene, sight unseen—

 

Living, basking in the soothing,

 

warm surrounding

 

ever bounding depths

 

of green release

 

that is found in boundless grace.

 

 

Mark Absher

2002

Here's How God Can Be Everywhere at the Same Time--and What It Means

I've had occasion recently to reflect on the spiritual nature of God and on the fact that the better we understand the spiritual nature of God, the better we understand God.  In considering His spiritual nature and further considering that He is the source of everything that we know to exist in the physical realm, it becomes clear, fundamentally, that He is not at all constrained by the rules that govern the physical realm.  For what we understand of existence stems from our experience in the physical realm.  We cannot help but think of existence linearly, for example, because we are subject to the physical realm, and that is how things exist in the physical realm.  Things are made, they are used and then they are depreciated to nothing and disposed of.  People are born, they live and then they die.  We witness the physical realm and its rules, and we witness the limited existence of things, and we conclude that God must be subject to the same rules--He must exist linearly like us.  But it's not how things are.  God existed before the physical realm existed, and God created the rules regarding the physical realm.  He can, therefore, alter them at will.  He did not make the rules as a means to constrain Himself.  He exists apart from and outside of the rules of the physical realm. When you consider what He can do, because He is outside of the physical realm, you should be speechless.  

The physical realm, which includes time, space, matter and energy, was born when God enabled it to be.  So think for a moment about what existed before time, space, matter and energy: nothing.  Yet God occupied that nothing place that we cannot comprehend--because He is a spirit. That nothing space is beyond our comprehension, because there is absolutely no physical element to it, and we know and understand only the physical realm.  Notably, in a place where no physical elements exist, time does not exist, which explains why God is eternal and not subject to time.

Think about it.  Space (and probably time) did not exist until energy and matter were created by God.  Because matter and energy cannot exist without space, the existence of space was necessary to accommodate energy and matter.  Time did not exist (or at least it did not matter) before matter and energy, because time only matters when matter, space and energy exist. Thus, when energy and matter came into being (along with space to accommodate them), time immediately began (or became meaningful) as something of a byproduct--an offspring of rules that somehow govern the matter, energy and space such that it only seems to make sense to us when it is considered linearly.  This is why the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  In the context of absolutely nothing, energy and matter exploded into existence at the Word of God.  It was most certainly a “big bang” when matter and energy suddenly came into existence.  Space (what we understand or experience as constituted in the heaven) was simultaneously created to accommodate the new physical elements of matter and energy (what we most directly understand or experience as constituted in the earth), and all originated “in the beginning” because time started (or became physically meaningful) at the birth of matter and energy.  Consider further that when matter, energy and space cease to exist, time will also stop (or cease to matter).  It is against this backdrop that we begin to understand how God's spiritual nature can account for His sovereignty, His omnipresence, His omniscience, predestination, and the magnitude of His forgiveness.

Here's how.  Since God originated the physical realm, and He is outside of it and not subject to it, then He is not subject to time or space, and He can, therefore, necessarily move through and exist in time and space in ways that to us are mind boggling.  For instance, because of these considerations, He can do the following amazing things: He can be with each of us at every moment of our lives at the same time, at any time or at all times.  This is how He knows us.  He can literally see the day of our birth and the day of our death at the same time.  Of course, He can also see every millisecond in between.  It is because of this fact that He can "foreknow" the date on which a person will accept the Word of God for salvation.  This is also how He can know the number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7)--because in a realm where God is not subject to time, He has all the time in the universe to spend with each of us--knowing us to the degree that He can take the time to count the hairs on our heads.  This is why we can be confident that when we call out to God, He hears us (Psalm 18:6)--all of us; He hears everything we say, He observes every one of our actions (Psalm 139:2).  Amazingly, we can better understand how God can be our intimate companion; indeed, He exists with us more closely, more attentively, and with more knowledge than we can ever possibly understand.  There is no need to try to hide from Him in our sin, because He literally sees us from every angle at every millisecond; it's pointless to try to hide; you cannot hide from a being with such a nature.   

While King David likely did not understand the science of it, he truly understood the impact of the spiritual nature of God, considering that he wrote the following passage, recorded in Psalm 139:

"Lord, You have searched me and known me.
² You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.
³ You observe my travels and my rest;
You are aware of all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue,
You know all about it, Lord.
⁵ You have encircled me;
You have placed Your hand on me.
⁶ This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

⁷ Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸ If I go up to heaven, You are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
⁹ If I live at the eastern horizon
or settle at the western limits,
¹⁰ even there Your hand will lead me;
Your right hand will hold on to me.
¹¹ If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night'—
¹² even the darkness is not dark to You.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to You."

(HCSB)

Knowing that God has such power to know us so well, each of us should find peace in further knowing that we are so intimately known.  We can speak to God at any second of our lives, knowing that He hears us.  This is how we can understand that we can be called "children of God"--except that God has the ability to know us in ways that parents can never possibly know their children.  This consideration of God also explains His name; when Moses asked His name, God said that His name is “I am because I am.”  He is the one who always exists, because time is His creation--not His master; He is the only self-existing being.

So when God created matter, energy, space and time, He could immediately see and know everything that would take place, and He could occupy every facet of space and time and move through matter and energy as though it were a frozen frame--like moments of the Matrix--only to an insanely more enhanced degree.  Of course, He also has the ability to alter the course of any outcome--which is why He is sovereign.  He has the ultimate "butterfly effect" ability.

This consideration also gives us a window of understanding into the amazing salvation that we enjoy, because in the moment of Christ's death, God could actually witness all sins that each of us would ever commit at the same time as the nails were being pounded through Jesus' hands and feet and the same time that Jesus was taking His last breath on the cross and the same time that Jesus was being raised from the dead.  This is how all of our sins could be laid on Jesus--because God could see them all. Curiously enough, too, we say that Christ "died" on the cross; yet, because God is not bound by time, to God, Christ will die, is dying and has died on the cross--all at the same time.  The act of cross always exists as though it is always currently happening to God.  The superior act of Jesus, constantly occurring in the presence of God, overcomes the constant sins that we commit--if we have placed our trust in Jesus for forgiveness of our sins.

This amazing consideration regarding the nature of God--His existing beyond time and space--is also how God can, in His Word, give us prophecy.  He can see the events unfold and even the end of time on the day that time began.  So, explaining something to us about the future is like us talking about a historical event--only He sees all of the details in a way that enables Him to be 100% accurate--unlike the stories that we tell from our past.  Again, to God, the events will happen, are happening and have happened all at the same time.

The other ramifications of this consideration of God's nature are abundant, but this simple explanation, I trust, enlightens our understanding of how the nature of God, relative to the physical realm that He originated, explains His attributes of omniscience, omnipresence, foreknowledge and sovereignty as well as the definitive nature of His plan and His forgiveness of our sin.

In understanding this aspect of His nature, we have all the reason in the universe in which we exist to praise Him.

Mark Absher 
California
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Standing before God and the Impact of the Work of Jesus

A. We will all someday stand in the presence of God.

• Romans 14:12 - So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

B. Consider what happens to righteous men when they stand in the presence of the glory of God:

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1:28-2:2 - As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking. Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.

Ezekiel 3:23-24 - So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold, the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory which I saw by the river Chebar, and I fell on my face. The Spirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet, and He spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house."

Ezekiel 44:4 - Then He [YHWH] brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face.

Daniel

Daniel 8:16-17 - [In the presence of an angel who stands in the presence of God:] And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.” So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

Daniel 10:4-10 - On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult. Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.

Daniel 10:10-19 -When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.” Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

Isaiah

Isaiah 6:1-5 - In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,

The whole earth is full of His glory.”

And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

Then I said,“Woe is me, for I am ruined!

Because I am a man of unclean lips,

And I live among a people of unclean lips;

For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Abraham

Genesis 17:1-3 - Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly." Abram fell on his face ....

John, the Apostle

Revelation 1:17-18 - When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades."

If the world's most righteous people, like Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Abraham and John, fall on their faces and say, "Woe is me," in the presence of the glory of God, what will become of the unrighteous when they so stand?

C. Consider our standing in the presence of God--given what Jesus has done for us.

Jude 24-25 - Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling [lit. falling], and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy. To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Thus, because of Jesus, not only will we not be falling on our faces, crying out "Woe is me," but we will actually be enabled to STAND in the presence of the glory of God; further, as we are standing, we will be BLAMELESS; further still, we will actually experience, instead of dread, GREAT JOY.

It's no wonder that the words of Jude 25 follow this amazing truth: "to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Mark Absher 
California

 

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Considerations Regarding End Time Events

1. Recognize That End Times Events Signal Christ’s Return - Matthew 24:32-33 - "Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door." (See also Mark 13:28-29: Luke 21:29-31.)

2. Either Jews as a People Group or the Generation Alive at the Time of the Tribulation Will Survive to the Return of Christ - Matthew 24:34-35 - "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (See also Mark 13:30-31; Luke 21:32-33.)

3. No One Knows the Day or Hour of the Day of the Lord - Matthew 24:36 - "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." (See also Mark 13:32.)

4. The Coming of Jesus Will Be Unexpected/Surprising - Matthew 24:36-41 - "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left."

5. We Should Be Alert for Christ’s Coming - Matthew 24:42 - "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming."  (See also Mark 13:33-37 - “Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!’”; Luke 21:28 - “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near”; Luke 21:34-36).

6. Believers Should Prepare By Using Their Spiritual Gifts - Matthew 24:43-51 - "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, “My master is not coming for a long time,” and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

7. Believers Should Pray for Strength to Escape - Luke 21:36 - “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

8. During the Tribulation Salvation Will Require Endurance - Matthew 24:13 - "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."

Mark Absher
California



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