Thursday, 24 September 2020
Title: God’s Spectacular Handiwork!
By: Cecilia Tan 陈俊芳
Psalm 19:1 
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”

Petronas Twin Towers are the world’s tallest twin towers, rising some 1,483 feet (452 metres) into the air, surpassing the Sears Tower in the USA. Now, if someone were to say to Argentine architect, Cesar Pelli, that the Petronas Towers “just happened”, he would be undoubtedly insulted and outraged!

When he was commissioned to design the monument, Cesar Pelli must have toyed with many ideas as to how the Towers should look like. Then, the ideas became architectural designs on paper which developed into a blueprint and eventually became a concrete reality. It probably took countless revisions of the design to arrive at a building that would be identifiably Malaysian, was of world class standard and which Malaysians could be proud of. In other words, it is impossible for the Petronas Twin Towers to have “just happened”!

On a dark night, the shepherd of ancient Israel, David, lifted his eyes towards the skies above Bethlehem hills and declared, “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” Indeed, only a fool would say, “there is no God.” When David lifted up his eyes and gazed at all the glories and beauties of the universe, it is no surprise that he would burst forth in a psalm of praise of God, the author, architect and creator of it all.

David used the plural form of the word “heaven”. This is so because three heavens exist. The first is what we call the “sky” where birds and aircrafts fly. The second heaven refers to “outer space”- the location of the sun, moon, planets and stars. The third heaven is where God’s throne is – this is situated above outer space, or outside of our universe.

It is not surprising that David was overwhelmed with awe when he gazed at the night sky and beheld the Milky Way, the Galaxy in which we live. It is a spiral shaped galaxy containing several hundred billion stars, including our sun. We can sometimes see the Milky Way as a thick band of stars in the sky – there are over 100 billion stars which make up our galaxy, and there are 100 billion other galaxies just like ours in the universe!

My first experience of the Milky Way happened in the late 50s. As a little girl growing up in the small town of Kulim, in the northern state of Kedah, (yes, I am a small-town girl, not an “Uptown Girl”!😆) I would look forward to after-dinner walks to the Kulim Clock Tower which was located very near to the house where I stayed. I would hold my late Dad’s hand as we walked, looked upwards and beheld the Milky Way in all its brilliance, flowing across the sky with many constellations forming spellbinding patterns for the spectator to gaze at. What an awesome sight with millions of stars blazing in the darkness – a sight and a childhood memory forever to be cherished!

Over a period of twenty-four hours, the sky provides for all who would bother to look at it, a stunning display of colours. At the break of dawn, the night’s darkness is gradually dispelled as the sun rises slowly but surely, turning the sky into a magnificent panorama of light and colours.

During the day, the sky loses its reddish glow of the morning. It takes on a bluish hue and is often bedecked with fluffy white clouds of varying shapes and sizes forming delightful patterns.

The evening brings forth a magical sunset – the sky is aflame with awe inspiring fiery shades of crimson and orange, mellowing into soothing hues of purple and blue, leaving an afterglow of smiles, as it were, at the close of day.

Truly, “the earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” (Psalm 24:1-2)

Our Creator God has not only revealed Himself to us through the heavens and the other wonders of nature. He also reveals Himself, His person, His power and His plans for the world through the Bible. The patriarchs, psalmists, prophets and apostles were given special insights about God and have recorded them for the benefit of generations after them.

The supreme revelation of God to mankind comes in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14:9, Jesus said to His apostle, Philip, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” Jesus was God in human flesh who visited the earth that people might know what God is like.

The responsibilities and challenges of modern living can easily rob us of a sense of wonder and the desire to bask in God’s wondrous beauty. The sky is everywhere within sight of everyone. May we constantly gaze upwards at the heavens, like David did, look at the heavenly bodies with our eyes, but see with our hearts… and be filled with wonder, awe and reverence for GOD’S SPECTACULAR HANDIWORK!

Prayer:

Our Heavenly Father, when we consider the heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon, the sun and the stars which You have set in place, we bow before Your majesty, Your power and Your creativity! For in Your hand are also the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to You. The sea is Yours, for You made it and Your hands formed the dry land. We praise You from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets! In Jesus’ name, Amen!

每日灵粮
星期四， 2020年9月24日
标题：上帝壮观的杰作
作者：陈俊芳姐妹
翻译：薛秀合姐妹

诗篇19：1
诸天述说神的荣耀；穹苍传扬他的手段。

双峰塔是世界上最高的双塔，高约1,483英尺（452米）直入云端，超过美国的西尔斯大厦（Sears Tower）。现今，如果有人要对阿根廷建筑师西萨•佩里（Cesar Pelli）说国油双峰塔仅是“偶然形成”的，那他肯定会受到侮辱并会无比愤怒！

当他被委托设计此摩天大楼时，西萨·佩里（Cesar Pelli）一定是对双峰塔的外观多方思索和筹划。之后，这些想法成为纸上的建筑设计，并发展成为一个蓝图，而最终成为一个具体的现实。这想必需要无数次地修改设计，才能得出一个被识别为具马来西亚风格、有世界一流水准及令马来西亚人引以为傲的建筑物。换句话说，双峰塔绝不可能是“偶然形成”的！

在一个漆黑的夜晚，古代以色列的牧羊人，大卫，在伯利恒山上向天空举目，宣称：“诸天述说神的荣耀，穹苍传扬祂的手段。”确实，只有愚拙的人会说：“没有上帝。”当大卫举起双眼凝视着宇宙的所有荣耀和美丽时，难怪他会不自禁地在赞美上帝的诗篇中颂赞上帝，宇宙间一切的作者和设计师。

大卫使用“天”一词的复数形式 （诸天）。这是因为三层天的存在。首先是我们所谓的“天空” ，即是鸟类和飞机飞翔的层面。第二层天指的是 “外太空” ，即日月星辰所处的层面。第三层天是上帝宝座所在之处- 它位于外太空之上或我们的宇宙之外。

大卫凝望着夜空看到我们所处的银河系时感到敬畏不已，这并不足为奇。它是一个螺旋形的星系，包含了数千亿颗恒星，也包括我们的太阳。有时我们可以将银河看成是天空中厚厚的恒星带 – 具有超过1000亿颗恒星组成了我们的银河系；宇宙中还有1000亿个其他类似我们的银河系的星系！

我对银河系的第一次体验是发生在50年代后期。作为一个在吉打州北部的居林小镇长大的小女孩（是的，我是一个小镇女孩 ，不是“大家闺秀”），我会期待着晚餐后到距离我家不远的居林钟楼（Kulim Clock Tower）去散步。一路上我会握住已故父亲的手步行，抬头观望天空，看见了光彩夺目的银河系与许多星宿漫天飞舞而形成一幅供观众凝注的引人入胜的图案。数不胜数的星宿在黑暗中闪耀的景象实在令人敬畏 – 一个值得永远珍惜的景象和童年的回忆！

在二十四个小时内，天空为所有愿意观赏它的人提供了令人惊叹的色彩展示。在黎明时分，夜晚的黑暗将随着太阳缓缓地升起而逐渐消失，把天空变成一幅光彩斑斓的壮丽全景。

日间，天空失去它早晨的微红光芒。它呈现淡蓝色调，且经常点缀着形状和大小各异的蓬松白云，形成令人愉悦的图案。

傍晚带来了奇幻的日落 – 天空燃起了令人惊叹的深红色和橙色的炽烈色彩，并渐融入柔和的紫色和蓝色，一如往常地在一天结束时留下微笑的余辉。

的确，“地和其中所充满的，世界和住在其间的，都属耶和华。他把地建立在海上，安定在大水之上。”（诗篇24：1-2）

我们的创造主不仅通过诸天和其他自然奇观向我们彰显了祂自己，祂还通过圣经来启示祂自己，祂的位格、祂的能力以及祂对世界的计划。当时的族长、诗人，先知和使徒被赋予了关于上帝的特殊洞见力，并将其记录下来以造福他们的后代。

上帝给人类的最高启示是让神子耶稣基督亲自来到世上。耶稣在约翰福音14:9中对祂的使徒腓力说： “耶稣对他说：腓力，我与你们同在这样长久，你还不认识我麽？人看见了我，就是看见了父；你怎麽说将父显给我们看呢？” 耶稣是道成肉身来到世上的上帝，好叫人得以认识祂。

现代生活的责任和挑战很容易就剥夺了我们的惊羡之心，并我们沐浴在上帝美妙的创造中的渴慕之心。天空是无处不在并在每个人的视线范围内。愿我们像大卫一样经常观看天空，用我们的眼睛来看天体，但是却要用我们的心去领会……对上帝的壮观的杰作充满惊叹，敬畏和敬佩！

祷告
我们在天上的父，当我们考量到天空、祢手指的作为、祢所设定的日月星辰的位置时，我们就向祢的威严、能力和创作力屈膝！因为大地的深处在祢手中，山的高峰也属于祢。海洋属祢，因是祢所造的；旱地也是祢手造成的。我们从日出之地到日落之处都要赞美祢！奉耶稣的名，阿门！