Tower of Babel today

Technology is great but technology can get us in trouble! Way back there, after the Flood, the descendants of Noah developed some cutting edge construction technology as they got into the city building mode. There weren't a lot of rocks for building so they developed brick making from the clay.

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Genesis 11:² As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

³ They began saying to each other, "Let's make bricks and harden them with fire." (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.)

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Apparently the new techniques were very effective and the people became pretty confident in their ability to build and expand.

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Genesis 11:4 Then they said, "Come, let's build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world."

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The people, who had not long before, experienced the Flood seem to have lost the strong connection with God. They see that they are able to invent and build and now they want to launch into self-directed ambition. They decide to build a tower that reaches way up into the sky. It's as if they are saying, "We don't need Heaven to reach down anymore. We can build our way to Heaven on our own."

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But God enters the picture at this point. He is not pleased that the people are all united around this Man-centered ambition. There is a time when unity is very good. But, apparently, when men are united around the wrong direction it is not good. The Lord confuses the language of the people so that they cannot understand each other and the different language groups scatter to find their own place on the earth.

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We don't have a Tower of Babel these days. We do have Cell phone towers, skyscrapers, massive bridges and we have digital technology that makes us feel very powerful. These days we believe that we have all the knowledge at our disposal to do whatever we want. This is a time when man feels on top of his game. We believe that, because we can do a great deal, we know which direction to go. But I think we confuse our advances in technology with wisdom to know how to use that knowledge and that ability. Today, we listen a great deal to each other, but we may not listen a great deal to God. Because there is much we can do, we think that we don't need God's input. And so our moral compass spins and the base desires that are fed by the World drive us, just as they drove the ancient people of Babel.

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A time may come when the Lord confuses the ways of man once again, so that we look up, and not only around, to find our direction. The Lord must be the foundation if our towers are to stand as lighthouses for Him.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

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one right turn

I was inspired by Pastor Travis' remarks during the Christmas concerts. He talked about how what we are moving toward shows what we value. And he talked about how when God came to earth at Christmas he moved toward us and this shows his great value for us. Pastor Travis also reminded us that God is near. The first thing Jesus seemed to preach, as He launched His ministry was this nearness:

Matthew 4:¹⁷ From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

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In the epistles we learn that when Jesus crowned His ministry through His death and resurrection He brought Himself near to all:

Ephesians 2:¹³ But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

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How close is the Lord? How close is Jesus? How close is salvation for you, personally? How close is the Lord, when you feel far away?

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He is always just "one turn away"...one "right" turn away. He is very, very near!

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2 Corinthians 3:¹⁶ But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

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blessings, with great thanks for Pastor Travis and the Chrismas message of 2013,

Rob Smith

new life

It is always a great joy to welcome a new baby! In our family we have two new granddaughters (one born in October and one earlier this month). But somehow as we approach Christmas it seems all the more special to have such little ones as we picture baby Jesus' arrival. Right now we are in Denver, visiting the younger baby and Grandma is in top form as she assists with a couple of younger generations. I was struck, each time, when these new lives made their arrival...that words fail to express the awe associated with the wonder and the reality of new life. Such an obvious testimony to the Creator is represented in each baby. He has formed each one, with incredible attention to detail to make a gift to us all. Who knows what talents, what contributions each new life will ultimately make (beyond their addition of joy to our lives). The great wonder of new life truly lies beyond comprehension...just as the wonder of our own lives is past our knowledge. It is that baby of Bethlehem who came to bring us all life...true and lasting life.

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What could be more precious than a newborn babe? What can capture all the potential of hope and dreams better than these little children? What reminds us more clearly that we are not the owners or the originators of life? We bow before the baby who came to be God in our midst. For he brings life even now to all who allow themselves to admit that the answers to life are beyond us. That babe of long ago is now our shepherd and we trust that little Elodie and Annalise will one day come to know Him and bow before Him too!

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Luke 2:

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

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blessings this Christmas,

Rob Smith