MARTHA VANCISE

Writing for 21st Century Pilgrims

A Really, Really, Really BIG God

A Really, Really, Really BIG God

by | DecThu2015 | SIGNPOSTS

The Hubble Telescope has given us images of the universe that have been almost beyond our comprehension, but when the Giant Magellan Telescope begins operations in 2029 it will produce images ten times sharper than those delivered by the Hubble. The GMT will address key questions in cosmology, astrophysics, and the study of planets outside our solar system. http://www.gmto.org

When I see the ever-expanding view of our universe, I realize how minute my understanding of God has been. Yes, I believe God created the earth on which we live, the clouds, and the Milky Way, but glimpses of the universe from the Hubble make me realize how very little I understand about God. http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/

I am not alone in having a limited view of God. References to our lack of understanding of God fill the pages of the Bible.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! — Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? — The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power. — Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. — No one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  — Whatever exists is far off and most profound– who can discover it? — No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all their efforts to search it out, no one can discover its meaning. Even if the wise claim they know, they cannot really comprehend it.”  (Romans 11:33, Job 11:7, Job 37:23, Psalm 145:3, Ecclesiastes 3:11; 7:24, 8:17)

I cannot comprehend the greatness of God.
All I can do is raise my hands to heaven and sing to God,

I Stand, I Stand in Awe of You

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful of comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom
Who can fathom the depth of Your love
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above.

And I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of You.

I Stand in Awe of You – by Mark Altrogge

Martha Hawn VanCise©

Outer Fringes

Outer Fringes

by | JanTue2015 | SIGNPOSTS

Job spoke of the suspension of earth over nothing, the spread of the northern skies, waters bundled in clouds, and the powerful churning of the sea. He ended his observations by saying about God, “And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

Millennia later, we see farther into  God’s creation and his works than Job could see. The Hubble and ever-larger telescopes reveal planets and galaxies considered to be billions of light-years away. A recent headline “Secret worlds ‘lurking’ in the outer fringes of the solar system,” reveals how little we still know. No matter what we discover with our telescopes, our electron microscopes that can make images to a resolution half the width of a hydrogen atom, we will still see only the outer fringe of God’s works. God’s paths are beyond tracing out.

How faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?
WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!

Job 26:7-8, 12a, 14; Romans 11:33

Martha Hawn VanCise©
Photo: Hubble