Each week, we invite special guests to join us to share the Chipalatta stage. Today, to help us kick off the feature, we’re excited to have Bill Brown, long-time play by play announcer for the Houston Astros. Among his many accolades, Brownie is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, Bill and his wife, Dianne, are strong Christians. The photos included in this guest entry are taken by Bill.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
According to Wikipedia, the earth is 4.54 billion years old. This dating is based on radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the radiometric ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples. But if we follow the Biblical explanation, the earth is about 6,000 years old. That’s quite different from 4.54 billion! Following the genealogies from Adam to Abraham, we get about 2,000 years. Most scholars agree that Abraham lived about 2,000 B.C.
That is 4,000 years ago, giving us a total of 6,000 years. The glaciers in Alaska have been retreating since the 18th century. Man’s stewardship of God’s creation has been both predictable and disappointing. Generations to come may be deprived of enjoying this beauty at the current rate of failing to heed the warning signs.
Numbers 16:31 “As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah’s men and all their possessions.”
In Moses’ day, God kept sending signs to His people that there were consequences when they were not faithful. Any of us who have been in an earthquake can recall the fear and lack of control we felt. As we experience the unexpected turns in our lives, we see signs of God’s control and our lack of it.
Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among all the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Pike’s Peak in Colorado is estimated by Wikipedia to be just over one billion years old. The view from the summit of this tourist attraction is more than 14,000 feet. At one location it is possible to see parts of five states below (Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Kansas) and even the curvature of the earth fading into the distance.
The perspective from the summit is rare and awe-inspiring – just what God must have intended for man to experience. It is easy for those who have experienced Pike’s Peak to feel a sense of surveying what is below from a detached state.
Yet, although we enjoy this gift from the Creator, we also understand that treasured moment will become a memory and will fade. These treasures on earth will soon pass and our relatively short lives on earth will soon come to an end. Our only hope for lasting peace and comfort is in our belief in The Savior, Jesus Christ.
Revelation 21:3: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”