Children are Precious

Matt Miles • June 2, 2022

     At this time of year most of us are impacted by some sort of graduation. Our children are so precious to us, and we understand the gift they are from the Lord. They have been created for a purpose with His plan. Yet in the world around us, we see heartbreak after heartbreak of children being hurt through kidnapping, abuse, manipulation, and even death. This heartbreak is amplified because we know the innocence of a child and the potential available for each of them. Our Creator’s image is emblazoned in each of us in the womb as Psalm 139 proclaims, whether we acknowledge it or not.

     In the wake of another school shooting where innocent lives were taken, we are in great heartbreak for those children and their families. Each moment the news recounts stats and backgrounds of those killed adds another pain. There will be fingers pointed here and there as to the cause. Each and every time this tragedy happens, there is only one thing to blame - our lost and sinful world. Rightfully, there should be outrage over lives taken. Let us never be so calloused to the evil in sin that we become okay with it.

     We have an ongoing daily massacre of children that a lot of people don’t give a second thought about, ever. The continued death of aborted children should evoke the same heartbreak and outrage, but it doesn’t seem to. Many professing Christians somehow justify this innocent bloodshed as a woman’s reasonable and responsible choice for her health. Yet in many states when an unborn child is killed, outside of an abortion, the one responsible is written up on manslaughter or murder charges. Why the dichotomy? We are heartbroken and outraged with a demand for justice of the aborted innocent as well. I have been praying in earnest for Roe v. Wade to be overturned, not because it will end abortion or the evil/sin involved, but that people will fight for the innocent life that we understand is stamped with our Creator’s image. At the forefront of the battle should always be those that understand Whose image every single person is made through and sustained by, Jesus Christ.

     Evil is active, and there has never been a moment in history without it since the Garden. We may feel like things are good most of the time, yet under that good is the potential for evil. Only Jesus is the answer! No, sin doesn’t cease with Jesus in the picture, but restoration, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation happen instead of death. SEEING THE UNSEEN hope of eternity is what drives those of us who are sold out to our Savior. This love and eternal purpose gives us optimism for our children, knowing that this dark world is not all there is. In the midst of heartbreak and sorrow over innocent lives taken, proclaim where the light is. Keep fighting for eternity and not just the here and now. Blessings.

By Bob Dugas May 23, 2025
NS-29 Launch
By Matt Miles May 22, 2025
As many of you may know, I appreciate space. Not space around me, although the older I get the more I appreciate that as well. The things in the heavens fascinate me and have for a large chunk of my life. I love working with our telescopes, allowing people to see for themselves objects that the Lord made on the 4th day of history. When I was younger I followed our Space Shuttle program, and over the years I have had the opportunity to see a couple of those shuttles around the country. Now it is great to see all the renewed interest in exploring the heavenly creation. I know most of it is for evolutionary reasons, yet over and over again something is discovered that points to the trustworthiness of God’s Word. After all, we are to study His creation as Genesis 1:28 states. On a recent trip to El Paso, it occurred to me that Blue Origin’s launch facility is in west Texas somewhere. After some quick searching I realized we were within an hour and half of it, and there was a rescheduled launch window during the time of our meeting. So, with some persuading of my colleagues, we arose early one morning to make the launch. We made it with just minutes to spare. It was spectacular! The whole launch to just beyond the Karman Line (space boundary, 62 miles/100km) and return of the rocket and capsule is about ten minutes total. While Blue Origin is best known for its New Shepherd rocket that carries paying customers to space and back with the biggest windows ever in a capsule, this NS-29 launch was purely experimental with a payload of instruments to measure simulated lunar gravity. Even though it was not a Saturn V, Space Shuttle, Starship or Falcon launch, it was great to hear and feel a launch for the first time, from blast off to the sonic boom return. It has piqued my desire to see a bigger launch now. As I began to reflect on what I experienced, the Lord reminded me of His design. Earth, our home planet, is so well designed for life. There is literally nowhere in all the universe like it. Yet He gave us the ability to discover creation beyond it. The only reason we can launch rockets and do space exploration is because He set it up in an orderly way. Physics works because He established it to work in a predictable fashion. As much as we may never understand everything in the universe from our position here, it works on an ordered reality that is reinforced by God’s Word. This is what drove Sir Isaac Newton in his understanding of physics. He wrote, “The motions which the planets now have could not spring from any natural cause alone but were by an intelligent Agent.” Evolutionists may come up with theories about the origin of things in the heavens, but over and over again they are being shown through experimentation and observation to be wrong. The Lord set the order of everything in the beginning and sustains it by His Word (Hebrews 1:3). So as you look to the heavens tonight, gaze into the depths of space and observe the different facets the Lord placed up there for our eyes (Genesis 1:17). Peer through a telescope at the lesser light of the moon with marvel and anticipation of further human study in the coming years. Check out the amazing observations being made by the James Webb telescope from deep in space. All of these place a perspective of how awesome our Creator is and how much we depend on Him. Our design becomes more and more obvious with every discovery, yet in our universe we appear so minuscule and fragile. Thanks be to God that His infinite focus has, is and always will be here on us! Blessings.
By Ryan Cox May 22, 2025
Moses & History (part 2)
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