By Pastor Kevin Boothby, Tracy Creek Memorial Church —
Every year, from mid-July to Sept. 1, our planet passes through a field of debris left behind from the comet Swift/Tuttle as it makes its journey around the sun. The comet, made of ice and dust, when approaching the sun, melts, forming a tail and leaving behind a trail of debris. When this debris (meteors) enters our atmosphere it burns up and disintegrates at a lightning speed of 133,000 MPH. This is called the Perseid Meteor Shower, the best meteor shower of the year.
These meteors leave long “wakes” or streaks of light to be seen in the early hours of the morning between midnight and dawn during the weeks of Perseid. At it’s peak the shower brings up to 100 meteors each hour that can be seen with the naked eye, each of them lasting not much longer than a blink. The best way to observe is to grab a lawn chair, go outside, allow 45 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, recline, and gaze into the sky on a clear night.
This year’s meteor shower reminds me of a Bible verse. King David writes in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night-to-night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
“In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
A few nights ago I went stargazing (a new hobby of mine). Briefly, out of the corner of my eye, there was a bright flash from the Perseid Meteor Shower. It reminded me of the truth of the words of King David in the Bible about the sun, that “…there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
The heat of the sun has caused the comet to melt, leaving behind a trail of debris that is seen by the naked eye as it burns in our atmosphere! This is the heavens, declaring the glory of God! This is also the heavens showing the truth of the Word of God!
We can even see the truth of God’s Word as we go out into our backyards and see the effect the sun has had on the comet Swift/Tuttle for the remaining couple of weeks.
These meteorites also remind me of something else. Over 2,000 years ago, God sent something else from the heavens. God has sent something else into the earth’s atmosphere, and not only that, but into a cradle, into a manger, to be born into the world He created.
In other words, in the Word of God there’s an even greater testimony of the glory of God than the night sky.
All Scripture points to Jesus Christ as the center of the story for all mankind. In Jesus, the Son of God, there is forgiveness. God sent His Son to be born a man and die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. And the Bible says that if we believe in Him (Jesus), if we truly believe Who He is and what He came to do, then we’re going to have fellowship with our Creator for the rest of eternity.
He invites all of us to have this relationship with Him, a relationship with the One who created the universe. We claim this by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
When God does this work in our heart that helps us to believe in Jesus, who is God Almighty, we join with the heavens in declaring the glory of God.
As Jesus once said Himself, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
Do you believe this?
Very nice article Pastor Kevin!!