***This Devotional is dedicated to the 7 crewmembers of the Space Shuttle Columbia, Colonel Rick Husband, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Anderson, Commander Laurel Clark, Captain David Brown, Commander William McCool, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon a colonel in the Israeli Air Force, who gave their lives to help further the great scientific discoveries that our space program has provided mankind these past 40 years. May their bravery and service to their fellow man never be forgotten, and may Almighty God be a special source of peace and comfort to the families that they leave behind.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL    MONDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2003
(Genesis 1:1, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Then Ezra prayed, "You alone are God. You have made the skies and the heavens, the earth and the seas, and everything in them. You preserve it all; and all the angels of heaven worship you."

The heavens are telling the glory of God; they are a marvelous display of his craftsmanship.

Since earliest times men have seen the earth and the sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day.

SOURCE #1: (Genesis 1:1) The New Student Bible, ©1992 Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan 49530
SOURCE #2: (Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20) The Children's Living Bible, ©1970 Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187

Does God exist? Some of my fondest memories as a young boy growing up in the 60's was getting up very early in the morning, turning on the television set, and watching Walter Cronkite announce the latest blast-off of a manned rocket into outer space. From the initial single man Mercury rockets, to the 2 man Gemini missions, to the 3 man Apollo series that was highlighted in July of 1969 by Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, to the current era of the Space Shuttle flights and a manned space station, the space program has been one of man's great accomplishments.

I also remember the horrible reminders of how dangerous space travel can be. I remember watching in tears as a fire in the capsule of Apollo 1 that was still on the launch pad, killed astronauts Virgil Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Edward White. I remember 17 years ago seeing the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger just 73 seconds after lift-off, killing all 7 aboard. The past 40 years of space travel has been very exciting to witness, has contributed greatly to advancing our existence in this life, and in the future will continue to help us find answers to some of the great questions that we have about our world.

Perhaps the greatest question ever asked is, "does God exist?" With over 1.8 million subscribers and having many subscribers forward each day's Devotional to their friends and family, having it posted on hundreds of other websites and message boards each day, I get hundreds of emails daily with that very question. Anyone that has ever taken a Theology 101 course knows that right after the Table of Contents, the very first chapter is on the "Existence of God." I could spend hours proving the existence of God because belief in the existence of God is intuitive, it is assumed by the Scriptures, and it is corroborated by various arguments. But I am not going to.

Instead, when anyone asks me "does God exist?" I tell them ABSOLUTELY. When they ask me to prove it, I tell them to do two things. First, go look in a mirror, and second, go outside and look into the sky. When you look into a mirror and see yourself, YOUR EXISTENCE is one of the greatest proofs there is that God exists. After all, one of the questions all men throughout human history have asked themselves is, "where did I come from?" Evolution and other theories have all proven to be impossible. There is only one plausible, legitimate explanation, and that is GOD CREATED US. If God created us, then God must exist.

When you go outside and look into the sky, the EXISTENCE OF THIS WORLD is one of the greatest proofs there is that God exists. Man from the beginning of time has asked "how were the heavens and earth made?" There have been numerous theories put forth, but all have fallen woefully short of even coming close to explain how the world in which we live was created. There is only one plausible, legitimate explanation, and that is GOD CREATED IT.

Of course those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and know that the Bible is God's inspired, inerrant Word simply go to Genesis Chapter One. The existence of God is a given fact. Those who have made the choice to reject Christ in the their life, will in many cases also reject the existence of God. It is easier for them to live with themselves by believing that there is no God, that Jesus is a story like Santa Claus, and that the Bible is just a book of fables.

This way, they can live their life however THEY choose, free in their own mind from being accountable to anyone. These people will rely on incredible arguments, unproven scientific studies, and anything that they can find to deny God exists so that they can feel better in their rejection of Him. For people like this, you will never convince them God exists through arguments. The best thing to do is to pray for them, since the God they reject is able to open their hearts to His reality and love for them.

I love you and care about you so much. Only a fool would ever doubt the existence of God. As a matter of fact, it would take greater faith than I could ever dream of having, to even question whether God exists.

As a tribute to the 7 crewmembers of the Space Shuttle Columbia, let me leave you with some quotes by former astronauts about the existence of God:

"I am convinced of God by the order out in space." --Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan

"But when you leave the earth, in a spacecraft, I personally think there's a real motivation to look toward God. After being in space, I certainly have a much greater appreciation for the world God has made, the universe He's created. It's very clear in my mind that this universe couldn't have happened by chance." --NASA Astronaut Col. Jack Lousma

"To look out as this kind of creation out here and not believe in God is to me impossible. It just strengthens my faith. I wish there were words to describe what it's like..." --Astronaut John Glenn

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

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