April 2024
Dear Friend of Creation Moments,
On that Sunday morning nearly 2,000 years ago, after having been put to death in the torturous method of crucifixion, Jesus Christ rose from the dead! The corroborating eyewitness testimony of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John report the miraculous and powerful events of that day.
Today, as disciples of the resurrected and living Christ, we are invited to say along with the apostle Paul: “…I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…to…press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The apostle Paul continues, “…let us (all) walk by the same rule” (Philippians 3:7-16).
Indeed, this is the great adventure and purpose we are invited to in this evil age! Undeniably, as in the times leading up to Christ’s crucifixion, this age presents us with debilitations, infirmities, deceptions, oppressions, cruelties, sufferings, heartaches, pains, and mortality that has been present since the first man and woman. This “age” (Gr. “aion”) is under the dominion of Satan ever since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Bible tells us.
The Lord brought judgment, as well as the opportunity for repentance and salvation in the past, through the cataclysmic flood of Noah’s day. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…and it grieved Him at his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). In that situation, the Ark was God’s means of salvation, and Noah, “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), preached to the world of his time while he built it.
The Ark of Noah was a prototype of the great spiritual deliverance in store for all those who trust in Jesus Christ. With the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have the means for a much greater salvation. Another similarly world-changing judgment is coming, but one before which God is said to desire that “all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:5-10). The Bible says also, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark” (Matthew 24:37-39). Jesus Christ is the great spiritual Ark for modern mankind – in a world where the momentum of depravity is building up as a storm. There is cultural insanity, scientific insanity, and spiritual insanity all around. What should we do? – “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”!
Last month I mentioned what Jesus said on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. And note, the word “tabernacle” means “place of dwelling”. “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake He of the Spirit…)” (John 7:37-38). The Lord has a very real presence, a “dwelling” within us, which we can cultivate and listen to with spiritual senses.
The Bible tells us that the Lord indwells us and can be present in a very profound way. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
St. Augustine of Hippo famously said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” And famous scientist and mathematician Blaise Pascal elaborated by saying mankind tries “to fill an insatiable ‘void’ within himself with everything around him. … Yet none can truly help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words, by God himself.”1
This is why we are invited and exhorted to “press toward the mark”…to …“know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings”. There remains a great element of mystery while we struggle in this age and in this body. But “our conversation (our citizenship) is in heaven” and the Savior is coming, to “change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body…” (Philippians 3:20-21).
Instead of trying to control all our circumstances, we find satisfaction and healing by bringing Jesus into our sufferings. He suffered terribly and unjustly, and we obtain a “fellowship” by allowing Him into relationship, to join with us in the trials and tribulations we have here. It involves both individual intimacy with the Lord as well as corporate relationship and sharing our lives with other Christians.
Life, in its impenetrable mystery, continuously escapes us. Thus, the need for faith in the midst of certain paradoxes such as the Holy Spirit abiding within us. Pinpointing the spiritual is similar to and arguably an extension of pinpointing sub-atomic energetic vibrations – quantum particles such as electrons and photons. The more precisely we know the position of a quantum particle, the less well we know its momentum, and vice versa. The act of determining one disrupts the other. It’s as if we can’t know everything at once in this age – we can’t put God in a box – we can’t totally decipher spiritual truth. Here we see, to my mind, another proof of God’s design in creation and the transcendence of His spiritual reality above a material world! The Bible is true. So let’s all press toward the mark to know Him, its Author, and to help others know Him too!
How lovely are Your dwelling places, Your Holy Spirit here in us…
When I bow down before You, I am richer than all kings.
When I stand in Your presence, I am free.
When I sit at Your table, I am right where I belong.
In the doorway of my Father’s house, I’m home.
– Shane and Shane, Psalm 84 (“I’m Home”), 2021
The light of truth of the Word of God can and will prevail. And we thank you and urge you to be a part of it with Creation Moments as we continue to expand our outreach of biblical and gospel messaging worldwide!
Yours in Christ,
Mark Cadwallader, Board Chairman
P.S. I am very interested in the beginning of things (creation), but as a Bible-believing Christian, I am also interested in the end of things, as we see them in Bible prophecies about the end times. That’s why I am so excited to bring you As It Was in the Days of Noah: Warnings from Bible Prophecy About the Coming Global Storm by bestselling prophecy author Jeff Kinley.
You’ll be astonished as you read about the parallels between Noah’s time and our current culture, highlighting the rise in evil, the surge in immorality, and the pandemic of godlessness. This 220-page paperback illuminates the biblical evidence that God’s judgment is imminent – and reveals how Noah’s story provides a deep reservoir of hope for all who follow Christ.
I’m also thrilled to bring you The Case for Easter: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Resurrection by bestselling author Lee 
Strobel. Focusing his award-winning skills as a legal journalist on history’s most compelling enigma, Strobel retraces the startling findings that led him from atheism to belief in Christ. Written in a hard-hitting, journalistic style, The Case for Easter is a book you’ll want to share with your family at Eastertime and give to unbelievers at any time of the year … which is why you may want to request several copies!
To order these books or other previously offered resources please click here to go to the “Newsletter Resource Page”. After selecting your items, the check-out page will also provide an opportunity for you to partner with us by adding a donation of any amount to support our Biblical World Wide Gospel Outreach or call us toll-free at 1-800-422-4253 during regular office hours (Mon – Th 8:30 am-4:30 pm CST).
1 Pascal, B., Pensees,VII (425)
