Thursday, July 28, 2011

July 29, 2011

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Psalm 14:1


Researchers say they may be close to answering one of the world’s biggest mysteries.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) recently announced that researchers will know whether the Higgs boson particle, commonly referred to as the God particle, actually exists by the end of 2012. Some say the particle could be responsible for the creation of the planets and stars and that it may be the key to understanding the Big Bang.

Rolf Heuer, director-general of the CERN research center told the International Business Times, “We can settle this Shakespearean question — to be or not to be — by the end of next year.”

According to an International Business Times’ report, a recent experiment that involved shooting streams of protons through the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) obtained some atypical results that have led to a resurgence of confidence in those who have searched relentlessly for answers. For those of us who don’t know, the LHC is a large particle accelerator that sits deep in a tunnel beneath the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. Experimenters say the findings are exciting.

CERN’s Director for Research and Scientific Computing, Sergio Bertolucci, told the International Business Times that any discovery- either the confirmation of the particle’s existence or otherwise, would be good news for the world. Both results, he said, would push the research forward.

It may seem like a big question to answer in a little less than a year and a half, but with the Worldwide LHC grid’s ability to process 200,000 physics analyses simultaneously, some think the work may get done.

They seem to be working awfully hard to disprove something that they say doesn’t exist. While at the same time they are trying equally hard to prove something else they are not sure exists. Some of their statements sound a lot like faith statements to me - they believe it exists but are yet to prove it……

There are a couple of key questions that remain unanswered even if they discover this particle. The obvious question is still, “Who created the particle?”

The other question is, “Why would they rather find their origin in a sub-atomic particle rather than a Gracious, Eternal, Redemptive God?”

July 28, 2011

“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.” Psalm 126:1




Sometimes we fall captive to what my friend, John Maxwell calls, “destination disease”. That may have been the case here in the 126th Psalm. Sure, they had suffered 70 years of being held captive by the Babylonians but I think the greater captivity was in their spirit where they longed for the days when they could worship God in a certain way at a certain place.


It seems they had forgotten that though they were restricted to a foreign land, their God wasn’t. He was longing to meet them right where they were. It seems they failed to remember that Abraham had worshipped God in his travels and Moses had worshipped God in the desert. They failed to miss His presence because their experience with Him was mired in the past.


Because of this “destination disease” they almost missed the wonderful new thing that God was doing! As they longed for God to restore them back to the sacred soil of Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple, God sent a captor to take their captor captive! Cyrus the Great and his Persian army overwhelmed the Babylonians and God put it on his heart to “restore the fortunes of Zion”!


Are you suffering from “destination disease”? Are you held captive to notions that worship has to happen in a certain way at a certain place? Are you holding God captive to your traditions and your comfort zone? Are you missing a new thing God is doing because you are locked into the old? Are you waiting for Him to show up or are you seeking to find Him where He is?


God has called us to freedom! God has sent Jesus to take our captor captive! Even when the circumstances of life take us places we don’t want to be , we should live in spiritual freedom! We should meet Him where we are! We should not look for God in old places and retreat to comfort zones, we should expect God to do knew and wonderful things for us!


Tradition can be a wonderful thing but it can also inflict us with “destination disease”. Be thankful as you remember what God has done in past places and in past ways, but also realize that He is doing something new! Remember the past and respect the past but don’t retreat there! Live in His freedom! Live in His freshness! Right now! Right where you are!