<div>I heard an old story again recently about a group of scientists who got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.</div> <div> </div> <div>The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost." God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how abou this? Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"</div> <div> </div> <div>But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam." The scientist said, "Sure, no problem," and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.</div> <div> </div> <div>God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"</div> <div> </div> <div>That silly story illustrates how much we take God's work in our very existence for granted. He is creator, we are His creation, and we are completely dependent upon Him. It is the nature of sin, more than any act that we do, to try to control our own destiny, and be our own boss. Such an attitude of pride and and rebellion--the creature challenging the dominion of the creator--is what usually gets us into trouble the most. But that last statement--"You get your own dirt!"--reminds us how we ultimately depend on God for everything.</div> <div> </div> <div>There is an old Latin term that describes the unique ability of God as creator. He creates <em>ex nihilo</em>, or, "out of nothing." That is, He is able to take nothing and create something. That is how He created the world those many generations ago, and even our most brilliant scientists today cannot duplicate that ability today. He is, after all, God--and we're not. That in itself should humble us from our pride and self-sufficiency and lead us to trust Him with all of our lives.</div> <div> </div> <div>The great Protestant reformer Martin Luther too that truth and expanded on it even further. "God creates <em>ex nihilo</em>...out of nothing," said Luther. "Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him." How very true.</div> <div> </div> <div>I pray that you'll realize how very much you need God, and that you'll find the true joy of submitting your life to the One who created you, sustains you, and loves you so much He sacrificed His only Son to redeem you.</div> <div> </div> <div>I'm praying for you, and look forward to seeing you Sunday.</div> <div><em>--Pastor Ken</em></div> <p>]]</p>