Monday, 30th November 2020
Title: WHO MADE GOD?
Pastor Soong Kok Kee

Psalm 90: 1-2 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

This psalm is entitled A Prayer of Moses the man of God ( Deut. 33:1 ). The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this is the oldest of the 150 psalms. The period of the wilderness wanderings, when a generation of Israelites perished in the desert, readily suggests itself as the background for this psalm. Moses had always taught the people of Israel to pray, and put words into their mouths which they might use to turn to the Lord.

He began by reminding his people to give praise and thanks to God for his care, for being their refuge and help at all times throughout all generations. We thank God, like Moses, our Pantai Baptist Church leaders have always emphasized on the importance of personal and corporate prayer – as a Church we will be a Praying Church, as a Christian, we will be a Praying Christian.

Verse 2 tells us of God’s eternity – from everlasting to everlasting. God is the beginner of all things – the Alpha, and also the Omega, the end of all things. He is the one who created the mountains and the earth and the world and everything that is in the world and in fact, the whole universe. Many children or even adults have often asked this question, “but Who made God?”

One mother when asked this question told her young son to look at her wedding ring which his daddy gave her at their wedding and said “tell me where it begins and where it ends.” The youngster examined it carefully and then said, “Mum, there’s no starting place and no stopping place to a ring”. The mother replied, “You are right son, that’s the way it is with God. He had no beginning and has no end, yet He encircles our lives with His presence. He is too wonderful, too great, for our minds to understand! Nobody ever made God – He always was!” Somehow the boy realized that for God to be God, He could not have been created. He had to be without beginning and without end.

Finite humans cannot hope to comprehend fully a Being who always was, who is, and who always will be; yet faith may come to rest in the Word of God, which tells us that He has been “from everlasting to everlasting.” The Bible is not a textbook that attempts to prove the existence of God – the Bible opens with a positive fact – that God does exist. Genesis 1:1 reads “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ” It did not occur to any other writer of the Bible to prove this fact. The Bible plainly states that it is the fool who denies the existence of God. Ps 14:1 says “ The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God ”.
Anyone with a little bit of intelligence would acknowledge the evident fact of a living God. For us the greatest proof, apart from Scripture, of the existence of God is our daily fellowship with Him in prayer. We know there is a God because we talk to Him every day and He hears and answers the prayers of our hearts.

“ The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands ”. ( Ps 19:1 )
“ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse ”. ( Rom 1:20 )

PRAYER:
Thank you Lord, for reminding us that you are a God from everlasting to everlasting. We pray especially for those who have yet to know you as Lord, God and Savior, those who are reading this devotion and especially those we have been praying for these past few months. We pray Lord, that you will reveal yourself to them like you did to the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus as you do not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Lord, we do pray for this miracle to happen in their lives.

We also pray for your protection and providence in this time of the pandemic as many of our brothers and sisters have been so badly affected in so many ways – their families, their careers, their jobs, their businesses and the many other areas of their lives. We know as our Heavenly Father, you will always hear and you will always answer.

In Jesus’ name we pray, AMEN.

每日灵粮
星期一，2020年11月30日
标题：谁创造上帝
讲员：宋国基牧师
翻译：郑振隆弟兄

【诗90:1-2】（神人摩西的祈祷。）主啊，你世世代代作我们的居所。诸山未曾生出，地与世界你未曾造成，从亘古到永远，你是　神！

这诗篇题为《神人摩西的祈祷》（申命记33：1）。根据信徒圣经注释，这是150篇诗中最古老的一篇。旷野流浪的时期，当一代以色列人在沙漠中死亡后，这很容易成为这首诗篇的背景。摩西一直教导以色列人祷告，并把话传给他们，好让他们用以转向主。

他首先提醒他的子民要为上帝的关爱，并为祂世世代代、每时每刻都是他们的避难所和帮助而赞美感谢祂。我们像摩西一样感谢上帝，我们班台浸信会的领袖一直强调个人和团体祈祷的重要性-作为一间教会，我们将是一间祈祷的教会；作为一个基督徒，我们将是一个祈祷的基督徒。

第2节告诉我们上帝的永恒-从亘古直到永远。上帝是万物的起始-阿拉法，也是俄梅戛-万物的终结。祂创造了山脉、地球、世界以及世界上的万物，事实上，创造了整个宇宙。许多孩子甚至成人经常问这个问题，“但是谁造了上帝呢？”

有一位母亲在被问到这个问题时，她叫她年幼的儿子看看爸爸在婚礼上送给她的结婚戒指，说：“告诉我，它从哪里开始，在哪里结束。” 孩子仔细地检查，然后说：“妈妈，戒指没有起点，也没有终点。” 母亲回答：“你是对的，儿子，上帝也是如此。祂没有起点，也没有终点，但是祂以祂的同在环绕着我们的生命。祂太奇妙，太伟大了，我们的头脑无法理解！从来没有人创造上帝-祂一直都是存在的！” 这个男孩总算意识到，上帝之所以是上帝，是因为祂是不能被创造的。祂一定是无始无终的。

有限的人类无法指望完全理解一个一直存在，昔在、今在、以后永在的生命。然而，信心会落实在上帝的话语上，上帝的话语告诉我们，祂一直是 “从亘古到永远” 的上帝。圣经不是试图证明上帝存在的教科书-圣经一开篇就有一个积极的事实-上帝确实存在。创世纪1:1写道：“起初　神创造天地。” 圣经其他任何作者从没有想到要证明这一事实。圣经明确指出，否认上帝存在的是愚人。诗14:1说：“愚顽人心里说：‘没有神。’”。

任何稍有智慧的人都会承认有一位活着的上帝的明显事实。对我们而言，除了圣经以外，上帝存在的最大证据就是我们每天与祂祷告相交。我们知道有一位上帝，因为我们每天与祂交谈，祂聆听到并回应我们内心的祈祷。

祷告：
主啊，感谢祢提醒我们，祢是从亘古到永远的上帝。我们特别为那些尚未认识祢为主、上帝和救主的人祷告，为那些正在阅读这篇 “每日灵粮” 的人祷告，特别是我们在过去几个月来在祷告中记念的人。我们祈求主，愿祢向他们显现，正如祢在通往大马士革路上向使徒保罗显现一样，因为祢不愿有一人沉沦，乃愿人人都悔改。主啊，我们确实祈求这个奇迹在他们的生命中发生。

在这一大流感时期，许多兄弟姐妹在很多方面都受到了严重的影响-他们的家庭、职业、工作、业务以及生活上的许多其他方面，我们向祢祈求保护和供应。我们知道，作为我们的天父，祢永远会垂听，永远会回应。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。