1856- FOR THE BIRDS

Late happy father’s day to all you dads out there.

 Yesterday I got up early and went to Wal Mart- I wanted to get presents for my girls and do a kind of raffle at my oldest daughter’s house [Bethany].

I had wanted to meet at the beach- but I realized that plan wasn’t going to work so we ended up at her house.

I bought some nice stuff for the kids- and had a home bingo game I bought a while back [my wife plays with her sister- so I got them a cheap home version] and I used the thing that turns/mixes the bingo balls in the cage- and stuck the names of my kids on the balls.

It was silly- but they liked the stuff.

So- after I bought the gifts I took a ride to the beach [about 2 miles from where I live] and jumped in the gulf- yeah- it was dad’s day- so I swam.

O- I forgot- while driving to Wal Mart we had one of those quirky storms- and I [and everyone else] spotted a Funnel Cloud over the bay.

I stopped and took a few pictures- we do get them in our area- but it might be only the second time that I spotted one live [you see them on the news at least once every year or so- from the area].

As I was walking back to the truck after the swim- I heard someone yell out ‘hey John’.

Sure enough it was my buddy Tim [carpenter Tim- I wrote about him in the last few weeks].

Yeah- I have not spoken with Tim in years- like I said- sometimes I’ll run into my homeless friends once or twice every 2-4 years.

That was the case with Tim.

He was on his bike- and he told me he just got back to the area.

He rode the thing to Roswell N.M. [no joke- he’s a real bike rider!].

So we talked for about 2 hours [yeah- was running late for the father’s day gig].

Tim shared with me all the times the Lord provided for him on the bike ride.

At one point the weather got real cold- and the day before he found some long John’s [thermal underwear] at a rest stop- they were still in the bag!

He told me how this was how God provided the whole time [a few week- month type trip].

He told me he still has a camp in the Bluff [where I live- many years ago I used to visit Tim regularly in the camps- many of the homeless have camps- Tim was a regular friend- I would trek thru the brush area- maybe half a mile or so- Tim would have a nice camp set up- he’d brew me some Folgers over an open fire].

As we were talking there at the beach- he had some of the old Folgers coffee in his bag- sure enough he broke it out and made some right there.

I gave Tim some money- he really did not want to take it- then he tried to give me something of value [he had some music C.D.’s].

I told Tim ‘no buddy- the last few weeks I have been giving 20’s away- felt like I needed to catch up’. I was slacking with helping the poor- so it was the lord that allowed this chance meeting.

Tim told me he still has a camp on the property of some rich lady who lives here in town.

He does work for her- at almost no cost- so she lets him live there- outside!

He has told me about her in the past- nice lady- but a staunch atheist.

You know- the type that really lets you know they don’t believe.

He was telling me how she’s an avid bird lover- has all the stuff on her property for birds.

I gave Tim a quick Apologetics argument he can use with her- if he ever gets the chance.

I have written a lot about this over the years- but let me give you the short version.

Apologetics is the field where you argue for the existence of God- you use the proofs from science and logic and philosophy to argue your case for the existence of God.

Okay- this is the short version.

The fact that ANYTHING EXISTS- is proof that God exists.

How so?

For many thousands of years- dating back to the time of the famous philosophers- Plato, Aristotle and Socrates [5- 600 years B.C.] people who studied the universe [Cosmologists] believed that the universe [time, matter, space- all things that make up the physical world] had no beginning point.

Most [though not all] believed that the universe was eternal- even the contemporary Carl Sagan said ‘the universe is all there ever was- and all there ever will be’.

So- when Christian thinkers argued for the existence of a creator- most used the Aristotelian argument that said ‘God is the Prime Mover’.

Which meant- He started all motion.

Even the great 13the century Catholic scholar- Thomas Aquinas- used this argument.

But- in the modern era- science has found out that yes indeed- there was in fact a time when no physical matter existed.

We learned this in the 20^th century- men like Einstein made great breakthroughs in the field of Physics- and they showed us that there was a time- well- when there was ‘no time’.

It would take too much to cover this here- but men like Hubbell and a few others made some great scientific observations that backed up Einstein’s theory- and vice versa.

So- when SCIENCE [not religion- not bible- not ‘God talk’] showed us that all matter had a starting point- it left the atheist in a tough spot.

If there was a time when nothing existed- then how did everything get here?

The only logical conclusion is something [or someone] who exists outside of the physical realm [called the metaphysical realm] had to have been responsible for it.

Why is this the only logical explanation?

Because things cannot come FROM NOTHING [the ancient saying ‘out of nothing- nothing comes’].

So- we are left with the dilemma that there was indeed a time of NO MATTER- and therefore something- outside of the material realm- has to be responsible for it.

This is indeed- in my view- the greatest Apologetic argument used to ‘prove’ the existence of God.

Now- some say ‘but how do we know it’s God- maybe there is some other ‘non material’ thing/being that did this’?

Look- some of the so called ‘new atheists’ have gone down this line of reasoning- and made fools of themselves.

One quick example.

One of the famous present day atheists is Richard Dawkins.

He was pinned down in an interview- and he was confronted with this dilemma.

He actually said that he thought it was possible that some ‘being’ from another time might have made all things.

He said the being- well- would have to be eternal [because if he isn’t- you have the problem- where did he come from].

He said this being had to have been very smart [you can’t get intelligence from non intelligence- this is a scientific observation].

And this being had to be very powerful- because he created all things.

In short- when Dawkins was done- he described the attributes of God down to the last detail [omniscient, omnipotent, etc.]

So- any thinking person- even an avowed atheist- realizes the problem that they face in trying to explain the existence of all things.

I told Tim it was ‘funny’ that this lady loves birds- but ‘hates’ God.

The Apostle Paul said in Romans chapter one ‘they did not want to have God in their thoughts- so God gave them up to worship the created order- Birds, etc..’

Yeah- men who rejected the obvious proof of God- creation- became worshippers of creation [they made idols of animals and birds].

I found it interesting that Tim’s bird lady was living proof that the bible is true.

I had a good time talking with Tim- it’s been a while- he asked if he should come by the house and visit in the upcoming weeks- I told him sure.

Tim is one of the homeless guys who does not like to impose on people- that’s why I hardly ever see him- he won’t even go to the free mission to eat- he avoids the whole scenario of looking like your homeless.

He works- lives- and feels like it’s his right to not have a home- without being looked down upon.

Well- I’ll end with that for now- for those who want to read more about Apologetics- I have stuff on the blog you can find- have fun.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

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