A few weeks ago, at the gym, I offered to pray for a man who was in pain. He refused, saying, “Don’t bother, I’m more the scientific type”. Science, to some, is an excuse to ignore God, not evidence of God.  Then I thought I'd better collect more ammunition, so this is what I found:

Evidence of Logic. Everything that begins to exist has a cause.  Buildings require builders. Software requires programmers.  Nothing explains its own existence. Cell phones, mattresses, but also planets and people. This “Cause” could not be any part of the universe, as it didn’t exist yet.  Physicist Roger Penrose calculated the odds of our universe existing by chance as 1 in 10¹⁰⁰⁰⁰! That is a number so impossible, it makes winning the lottery every day for a million years look easy. 

Evidence of Design.  It is only because Earth sits in the “Goldilocks Zone” (not too hot, not too cold) that life is possible. If Earth were 3% closer to the sun, most life would die. If it were 3% further, oceans would freeze. The tilt of Earth’s axis (23.5 degrees) is perfect for seasons, climate stability, and agriculture. Change it slightly, and ice ages begin. Our moon stabilises Earth’s rotation, keeping us from extremely violent weather, and apparently, Jupiter's gravity pulls in asteroids that would otherwise destroy us.

Evidence of Physical Laws. The gravitational pull of every particle in the universe is so perfect that if it were altered by even 1 in 10⁶⁰ (109 is a billion), stars or planets would not form. Without planets, there would be no stable surfaces, no liquid water, no atmosphere, no life.  We can be grateful that the laws of physics are precise and reliable.  Otherwise, on Monday, your water might not boil until 200°, and on Tuesday, it might boil before you turn the kettle on.  And if the speed of light changed a lot, some days you might not see cars coming towards you in time.

Evidence of Atomic perfection.   At the atomic level, nuclear, electromagnetic and gravitational forces are perfectly balanced. If the nuclear forces were slightly weaker, atoms and matter would fall apart. Any stronger and your pot would fuse to the bench.  

So, my friend at the gym, the universe looks like a masterpiece, not a mistake.  Science leads to Him who loves us and plans for us to flourish.  Faith in our Great Creator is not a leap into the dark, but a step into the light of reason. And it is rather important. Jesus said, “And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:26.

To Be Continued…

When my daughter asked what I think about AI Christian music, I wasn’t entirely sure. William Booth, who said, “Why should the devil have all the good music?” took pub tunes and gave them Christian words, so perhaps the source of the melody matters less than the truth of the message. God has used even signs at the local gym to encourage me, so I’m sure He can use words written by AI to bless, especially when they’re rooted in Scripture. And when a Spirit-filled believer sings those words, the ministry comes from the Spirit within, not the software behind the song.

Preaching may be similar, but I think there is a catch! Preachers are called first to be with Jesus, to hear from God, and to speak for God. The direction of a message must come from Him. Once we know what God wants to accomplish, then research tools—including AI—may help us dig deeper. AI can tell you what Bernard of Clairvaux or Augustine thought about Colossians 3. But there are dangers.  Even after giving restrictive or directive prompts to avoid things like dispensationism etc, it cannot discern truth from error.

Christians receive illumination from the Holy Spirit on the revelation given by inspiration (Bible). When the Spirit illuminates something to a man or woman of God, He can use their explanation to bring growth and impartation. If the Word feeds you, it will feed them. AI cannot receive illumination. It can only provide information. If the Spirit didn’t illuminate it, the Spirit is not obligated to use it.

AI doesn’t know the congregation, so it is unable to be prophetic or hear the word of the Lord. We may preach what we have learned, not what is on God’s heart. The flock come hungry to be transformed, not informed. AI results are spiritless, but every word from Jesus is spirit and life.

AI can deceive us into thinking we’ve saved time, when in reality it robbed us of the hours of quiet listening, meditation, and walking with God. It offers knowledge but has no knowledge of God, like the Pharisees who knew the Scriptures but not the Author. AI can provide true words without the Spirit of truth, like the girl with the spirit of divination in Acts 16. It has no experience of God, unlike Christian authors and cannot operate faith, which alone pleases God.

Friend, AI gives artificial inspiration. God has built His church for 2,000 years through gifted men and women. Trust His gift within. Use AI as a concordance, dictionary and access to the ancients—but let’s hear from God. He began the Church by the power of the Spirit, and He is not going to complete it with AI.

The young Hebrew men refused to bow to the image and were tossed into a furnace so hot it killed their wardens. Nebuchadnezzar never said to stop believing in God; he simply asked them start bowing to something else. Daniel’s friends understood that today’s complacency becomes tomorrow’s captivity. The boys refused to bow to what culture worshipped, and that released their calling.  After the fire, they stepped into the authority God planned for them, but that authority wasn’t gained in the furnace. It was won long before.  Authority is built through a thousand small battles like resisting fear, immorality, and unforgiveness. Beating the “lions and bears” enables giant killing. The fire wasn’t sent to destroy the men; it was sent to qualify them. The furnace only proved they were ready. Our strength of character is not created in the fire. It is revealed in the fire.

But when the men came out, the fire had not touched them. They walked out of the furnace smoke-free.  “When the officials crowded around them, they saw that not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” Dan 3:27 

Sure, to smell like heaven, we must refuse to bow to the gods of Babylon.  And when we do, we may face our own furnaces of betrayal, pressure, temptation, or disappointment. Seasons where everything feels like a furnace. Yet by the grace of God, what was true for the Hebrew boys can be true for us. We can come out not burnt or bound — but blessed because of the ONE who stands beside us. “I see four men, unbound, walking in the fire… and the fourth looks like a god!” Daniel 3:25

Friend, if you’re in the fire, know that your purpose is not cancelled and God has not finished. Like the boys, God is positioning you to occupy territory the enemy is trying to keep you out of. You are blessed not because of what you’re standing in, but because of who stands with you. Jesus, the Fourth Man, is with you to bring you out. Fire can burn ropes, but it won't burn your calling. Flames can test you, but they cannot consume God’s favour.  And that’s why you can say: “I may be going through hell, but I will still smell like heaven.”

Blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by. He reached out and received his sight. He left behind his mat, his garment and his begging. Others in the Bible had their lives changed, too, because they received something from Jesus. The adulterous woman couldn't believe what happened. She was brought before Jesus to receive judgment, but she received mercy instead. (John 8) Zacchaeus received value, and Peter received forgiveness.

Jesus is not trying to take something from us, He is always trying to give something to us. What do we have, and what will we ever have that we do not receive?  We have nothing valuable that never came from Him.

We need to be good receivers. It is the hungry, the thirsty, and the needy that receive from Him. The only thing that hinders us from receiving is not knowing our need, not knowing He is close by, or not asking. Everyone who received knew there was no life in temple programs or rote prayers, but only in a Person. When we receive from Jesus, we receive Life.  God is so good that it always brings Him more joy to give to you than to receive from you. Blind Bart received sight and followed Jesus in the way. The more we see of Jesus, the closer we will want to follow. Not as beggars but as sons.

Friend, when you receive from Jesus, your words, your position and your garments change. If you are ready to follow Him, call out to Him, "who is coming your way" and receive.

It had been easy days for the Moabites. Although a distant relative of Israel, they did not have such a turbulent history as Israel.  They had not been subject to many changes. Jeremiah the Prophet said, “Moab has been at ease since his youth; he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, so his taste remains and his scent has not changed.”   

Wine was made by decanting the fermenting wine, off into other vessels and leaving the dregs behind in the first. This purified the wine and improved the scent of the wine. Here the people of Moab had become rancid with a taste and smell not pleasing to God. They had not been poured out. There were no changes in their circumstances and no changes in their hearts.

Great things can happen when we are in a place of change.  We begin to draw closer to God as we become more aware of our need for Him to turn up in our lives. When we are emptied from vessel to vessel or we are taken to a place that is foreign to us or even difficult for us, our scent begins to change.  We begin to smell more of Jesus; more humble, less self-confident more reliant on God. We smell more of the supernatural and of the grace of God.  In the new situation we can’t rely on ourselves anymore; we are out of our depth and have no pat answers; we need the Holy Ghost.

Friend, changes in our life help us to develop the fear of the Lord and a new scent around our life. As we are poured into a new situation of change, He can pour new wine into our vessel. His new wine will be totally sufficient and it will always fill up the shape of the “new vessel” or situation we find ourselves in. Best of all the wine in the new vessel smells wonderful to Our Father.

Peter and John saw the lame man begging at the Beautiful Gate. Interestingly, the word “beautiful” is related to the idea of a beautiful or perfect moment. They came at the perfect time and although they never had money, they had the perfect gift to give, in Jesus’ name and left a lame man leaping in the temple. Beautiful moments are created by believing our steps are ordered and believing we have something to give to others. Gifts are not our decisions but our discoveries, but if we know what we have to give and sense the time to release it, we will create a beautiful moment. When Jesus found us broken outside the House of God, He gave us all that He had, and our beautiful moment began.

Friend, today God will have someone with a problem waiting at “the gate” outside the Temple. Such as you have, whatever Jesus has given you. hope, prophecy, encouragement, mercy or healing, release Him into their life today.  Sometimes it may be even cash but there is a beautiful moment planned for you and someone else today. It will be like giving a lame man back his legs!

No one ever benefited much from arriving at their destination. Nobody learns anything on graduation day but in the 4 years it took to get there.  The Bible declares “Blessed is the man whose… heart is set on pilgrimage.  As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring…  They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God." Psalm 84:5-7 

Whatever your destination is in life, it’s the journey that God uses to grow you.  Like you, I have had difficult days.  Friends have left town, and staff have quit. Parents have passed on, and children have been in car accidents. I have been through burnout and had children away from God.  It wasn’t a desperate search for sermons that have helped me know Him and grow stronger but the weeks I walked the streets, with a desperate cry for answers to heart-breaking challenges.

It is not going through valleys that grow us, but it is making our “Valley of Baca” into a spring, as we dig deep into the Holy Spirit’s life and power. Strength doesn’t come in a manual but in the midst of mystery (sometimes misery) as we draw from His grace and the assurance of His love.  The Psalm says as we do this, we appear before God. You may not see Him yet. You might still feel lost in a crowd of troubles; at a loss to understand how things have worked out the way they have.  But when a child is lost in a crowd, it doesn't matter if the child can’t see the father, for they are safe the moment the father sees the child.

Friends, our Father sees you, and He will strengthen and comfort you. Set your heart on a pilgrimage toward Him and keep digging for springs. Who we look for/at determines who we look like. Our journey is the blessing that enables us to arrive at our most important destination: Being like Him when we see Him.

 Samson had been fighting the Philistines and winning.  In one day of powerful victory and strength, he even took the gates of a city to the top of the hill but the Scriptures say “afterwards he loved a woman.” Judges 16:4

No matter how many successes we have there is always an afterward.  A leader might take a great meeting or preach an awesome message but afterwards, there may come temptation or even a secret struggle with anger, lust or insecurity.  The greatest test of integrity is not when you have revival every night but often when nothing is going on; when it’s prayer night and you know only a handful will be there. The test is not when your marriage is in full bloom and exciting but when you come home to a tired and grumpy wife.  The test is not when you’re at home surrounded by loving parents who fill up your emotional tank but when you’re living away from home and your emotional tank still cries out for love.

Sadly it is not our successes that define us but it is our “afterward.” It is always in the "afterwards" that our integrity is tested and when our true character is revealed.  Behold, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isa 48:10 ). In a firey time of testing God sees and chooses people who will not give up their birthright for a bowl of stew.

Friend, let’s watch out for the “afterwards.” Samson found out that the afterwards of sin took him further than he planned to go and cost him more than he wanted to pay. Jesus was tested in the wilderness. The Bible says “Afterwards He was hungry”. Satan tempted Him with bread but gladly for us, Jesus knew that after a hard spiritual victory, never to pamper yourself with an easy pleasure.

As Lot looked down upon the lush plains near Sodom, it seemed to him that the rivers were like beads of diamonds laid upon green velvet.   To him, it seemed like the “garden of the LORD and like the land of Egypt”. (Genesis 13:10). The garden of the Lord and the land of Egypt looked the same to Lot.  Egypt and the garden of the Lord were both green and lush, but God dwelt in only one.  His heart immediately went there, followed by his feet. Soon Lot moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Lot was a believer.  He could be us!  Lot enjoyed great privilege as the nephew of Abraham, the friend of God. He lived with grace and faith, but he remained greedy and short-sited.  Lot’s relationship with God was enough for him to change countries but not enough to change his heart.  Abraham’s home was in the “unseen city” but Lot was more at home in things he could see.  Lot was distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked but not distressed enough to leave with his family. (2 Peter 2:7).  He was vexed but still hooked, still powerless with insufficient relationship with God, to be able to discern the difference between darkness and light, Egypt and Eden.

Lot, needed the crowd to tell him he was doing fine.  “You enjoy the same life as us; you are one of us.”  Lot knew he belonged there. Lead him out into the desert and he wouldn’t know who he was.  Yet Abraham in the wilderness would face the wind and look into the face of his Father and friend.

Every believer sees heaven to some degree, but some don't see it enough to change their love or tolerance for the world.   The world seems like home. He was more familiar with “King of the hill,” than the King of Kings.  The life of Beyoncé was more compelling than the life beyond. What defines a man is not his shoes, his haircut or the size of his TV but the size of his vision.  What can he see?  Does he look at his bank account, his 10-year plan, his FB likes, or is he gazing into heaven?  Can he see what can’t be seen? Lot, had no vision for the invisible.

Friend, have we seen enough of God to free us from the world or are we moving closer to Sodom?