Saturday, December 30, 2017

WHY BETHLEHEM - God chooses something small, quiet, out of the way, and does something there that changes the course of history and eternity. Why? Because when He acts this way we can't boast in the merits or achievements of men but only in the glorious mercy of God.

We get the joy

He gets the glory

Why Bethlehem?

John Piper

² But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2 English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁶And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;²⁷“and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” Romans 11:26-27 English Standard Version (ESV)

Bethlehem is scarcely worth counting among the clans of Judah, yet God chooses to bring his magnificent Messiah out of this town.

Why? One answer is that the Messiah is of the lineage of David and David was a Bethlehemite.

That's true, but it misses the point of verse two.

The point of verse two is that Bethlehem is small--not that it is great because David was born there. (That's what the scribes missed in Matthew 2:6).

⁶“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” Matthew 2:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

God chooses something small, quiet, out of the way, and does something there that changes the course of history and eternity.

Why? Because when He acts this way we can't boast in the merits or achievements of men but only in the glorious mercy of God.

We can't say, "Well, of course He set his favor on Bethlehem, look at the human glory Bethlehem has achieved!"

All we can say is, "God is wonderfully free; he is not impressed by our bigness; he does nothing in order to attract attention to our accomplishments; he does everything to magnify his glorious freedom and mercy." ...

God chose a stable so no innkeeper could boast, "He chose the comfort of my inn!"

God chose a manger so that no wood worker could boast, "He chose the craftsmanship of my bed!"

He chose Bethlehem so no one could boast, "The greatness of our city constrained the divine choice!"

And he chose you and me, freely and unconditionally, to stop the mouth of all human boasting.

This is the point of Romans 11 and this is the point of Micah 5.

The deepest meaning of the littleness and insignificance of Bethlehem is that God does not bestow the blessings of the Messiah--the blessings of salvation--on the basis of our greatness or our merit or our achievement.

He does not elect cities or people because of their prominence or grandeur or distinction.

When He chooses He chooses freely, in order to magnify the glory of His own mercy, not the glory of our distinctions.

So let us say with the angels, "Glory to God in the highest!"

Not glory to us. We get the joy. He gets the glory.

Excerpted from "From Little Bethlehem Will Come a Ruler in Israel" by John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org.

John Piper was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. He attended Wheaton College (1964-68) where he studied literature and philosophy. There, John met Noël Henry whom he married 1968. He completed a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Fuller Theological Seminary (1968-71). John did his doctoral work in New Testament Studies at the University of Munich (1971-74).

He then went on to teach Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, for six years (1974-80). In 1980 John became the senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis where he has been ministering ever since. Together with his people, John is dedicated to spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ..

http://www.jesus.org/birth-of-jesus/bethlehem/why-bethlehem.html

INSTANTANEOUS CREATION - God created the world just like He said He did, in 6 literal days (24 hours each). This does away with any theory that would try to spread out the creation over long periods of time.

Instantaneous Creation

What Is Instantaneous Creation?

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Instantaneous Creation In Six Twenty-Four Hour Days
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God created the world just like He said He did, in 6 literal days (24 hours each).

Notice in Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31 the phrase “and the evening and the morning.”

The evening and the morning make one 24-hour day today just like they always have, even from creation.

There are places in the Bible where the word “day” is used to refer to a longer period of time, but not here.

The many “evening and morning” references make this very clear.

Also, Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

The word “created” comes from the Hebrew word Bara, which refers to an instantaneous act of creation.

Therefore, this does away with any theory that would try to spread out the creation over long periods of time.

Dr. Elmer Towns is a college and seminary professor, an author of popular and scholarly works (the editor of two encyclopedias), a popular seminar lecturer, and dedicated worker in Sunday school, and has developed over 20 resource packets for leadership education. His personal education includes a B.S. from Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a M.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary also in Dallas, a MRE from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is co-founder of Liberty University, with Jerry Falwell, in 1971, and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of Liberty’s existence.

http://www.biblesprout.com/articles/bible/creation/instantaneous-creation/

CHRISTMAS - The Birth of a King - Born in a stable with no fanfare, Jesus never fought for power. He simply faithfully served the Father. When some tried to make Him king, He “withdrew.” Even though He was God, He became a servant and “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.” He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Born in a stable but now reigning forever. Jesus - our humble King - our Messiah.

The Birth of a King

by Inspiration Ministries

“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” Luke 2:1 ESV

Jesus was born in a world dominated by Rome and its rulers, led by its first emperor, Caesar Augustus.

But the years after Augustus were marked by disputes and controversies.

Consider Rome’s sixth emperor, Servius Sulpicius Galba, who was born in 3 BC. His career shows us how dangerous it was to become a Roman leader.

He had a successful political career in the Senate, served as an army general, and was appointed to key political positions.

But, when he was the governor of Spain, he learned that he had offended Nero, who then was emperor.

Learning that Nero was planning his assassination, he joined with others in fighting back.

In the ensuring conflict, Nero committed suicide, and Galba was named emperor.

But he was not able to survive long in this exalted position.

Seeking to eliminate rivals, Galba executed many highly-placed Romans, alienating many key politicians and soldiers.

After a reign of only seven months, Galba himself was assassinated.

Today, politicians clamor for office. Some fight and claw, eager to seize the limelight, to achieve power.

But Jesus was different, showing us the right path.

Born in a stable with no fanfare, He never fought for power.

He simply faithfully served the Father.

When some tried to make Him king, He “withdrew” (John 6:15).

Even though He was God, He became a servant and “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.”

Because of His humility and example, God “highly exalted him.”

The Bible reminds us that at His name every knee will bow (Philippians 2:5-10).

That He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).

That, unlike politicians, “He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).

Today, worship Jesus.

Born in a stable but now reigning forever. Our humble King. Our Messiah.

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to this earth. Thank You for dying for my sins. I crown You the Lord of my life. I worship You. In Your name. Amen.

Pray for more souls to be saved through Inspiration Ministries this Christmas season.

https://inspiration.org/daily-devotional/the-birth-of-a-king/

CEMENT AND CONCRETE - Many people talk about cement when they mean concrete. Cement is a fine-grained compound that turns into a solid when mixed with water. Cement is used to bind mixtures of materials into a composite solid. Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand and gravel. That is, cement is the glue of concrete.

Cement and
Concrete

By Andrew Alden

If you think of bricks as artificial rocks, cement might be considered artificial lava - a liquid stone that is poured into place where it hardens into solidity.

Cement and Concrete

Many people talk about cement when they mean concrete.

· Cement is a fine-grained compound that turns into a solid when mixed with water. Cement is used to bind mixtures of materials into a composite solid.

· Concrete is a mixture of cement, sand and gravel. That is, cement is the glue of concrete.

Now that that's clear, let's talk about cement. Cement begins with lime.

Lime, the First Cement

Lime is a substance used since ancient times to make useful things like plaster and mortar.

Lime is made by burning, or calcining, limestone - and that's how limestone gets its name.

Chemically, lime is calcium oxide (CaO) and is made by roasting calcite (CaCO₃) to drive off carbon dioxide (CO₂).

That CO₂, a greenhouse gas, is produced in great quantities by the cement industry.

Lime is also called quicklime or calx (from Latin, where we also get the word calcium).

In old murder mysteries, quicklime is sprinkled on victims to dissolve their bodies because it is very caustic.

Mixed with water, lime slowly turns into the mineral portlandite in the reaction CaO + H₂O = Ca(OH)₂.

Lime is generally slaked, that is, mixed with an excess of water so it stays fluid. Slaked lime continues to harden over a period of weeks.

Mixed with sand and other ingredients, slaked lime cement can be packed between stones or bricks in a wall (as mortar) or spread over the surface of a wall (as render or plaster).

There, over the next several weeks or longer, it reacts with CO₂ in the air to form calcite again—artificial limestone!

Concrete made with lime cement is known from archaeological sites in both the New and Old World, some more than 5000 years old.

It works extremely well in dry conditions. It has two drawbacks:

· Lime cement takes a long time to cure, and while the ancient world had lots of time, today time is money.

· Lime cement does not harden in water but stays soft, that is, it is not a hydraulic cement. So there are situations where it cannot be used.

Ancient Hydraulic Cement

The Pyramids of Egypt are said to contain a hydraulic cement based on dissolved silica.

If that 4500-year-old formula can be confirmed and revived, it would be a great thing. But today's cement has a different pedigree that is still quite ancient.

Around 1000 BCE, the ancient Greeks were the first to have a lucky accident, mixing lime with fine volcanic ash.

Ash can be thought of as naturally calcined rock, leaving silicon in a chemically active state like the calcium in calcined limestone.

When this lime-ash mixture is slaked, a whole new substance is formed: calcium silicate hydrate or what cement chemists call C-S-H (approximately SiCa₂O₄· xH₂O).

In 2009, researchers using numerical modeling came up with the exact formula: (CaO)_1.65(SiO₂)(H₂O)_1.75.

C-S-H is still a mysterious substance today, but we know it is an amorphous gel without any set crystalline structure.

It hardens fast, even in water. And it is more durable than lime cement.

The ancient Greeks put this new cement to use in new and valuable ways, building concrete cisterns that survive to this day.

But Roman engineers mastered the technology and constructed seaports, aqueducts and temples of concrete as well.

Some of these structures are as good as ever today, two thousand years later.

But the formula for Roman cement was lost with the fall of the Roman empire.

Modern research continues to uncover useful secrets from the ancients, such as the unusual composition of Roman concrete in a breakwater built in 37 BCE, which promises to help us save energy, use less lime and produce less CO₂.

Modern Hydraulic Cement

While lime cement continued in use throughout the Dark and Middle Ages, true hydraulic cement was not rediscovered until the late 1700s.

English and French experimenters learned that a calcined mixture of limestone and claystone could be made into hydraulic cement.

One English version was dubbed "Portland cement" for its resemblance to the white limestone of the Isle of Portland, and the name soon extended to all cement made by this process.

Shortly thereafter, American makers found clay-bearing limestones that yielded excellent hydraulic cement with little or no processing.

This cheap natural cement made up the bulk of American concrete for most of the 1800s, and most of it came from the town of Rosendale in southern New York.

Rosendale was practically a generic name for natural cement, although other manufacturers were in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky.

Rosendale cement is in the Brooklyn Bridge, the U.S. Capitol building, most 19th-century military buildings, the base of the Statue of Liberty and many other places.

With the rising need to maintain historic structures using historically appropriate materials, Rosendale natural cement is being revived.

True portland cement slowly gained popularity in America as standards advanced and the pace of building quickened.

Portland cement is more expensive, but it can be made anywhere the ingredients can be assembled instead of relying on a lucky rock formation.

It also cures faster, an advantage when building skyscrapers a floor at a time.

Today's default cement is some version of portland cement.

Modern Portland Cement

Today limestone and clay-containing rocks are sintered—roasted together at nearly melting temperature—at 1400° to 1500°C.

The product is a lumpy mixture of stable compounds called clinker.

Clinker contains iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) as well as silicon and calcium, in four main compounds:

· Alite (Ca₃SiO₅)

· Belite (Ca₂SiO₄), known to geologists as larnite

· Aluminate (Ca₃Al₂O₆)

· Ferrite (Ca₂AlFeO₅)

Clinker is ground to powder and mixed with a small amount of gypsum, which slows down the hardening process.

And that is Portland cement.

Making Concrete

Cement is mixed with water, sand and gravel to make concrete.

Pure cement is useless because it shrinks and cracks; it's also much more expensive than sand and gravel.

As the mixture cures, four main substances are produced:

· C-S-H

· Portlandite

· Ettringite (Ca₆Al₂(SO₄)₃(OH)₁₂· 26H₂O; includes some Fe)

· Monosulfate ([Ca₂(Al,Fe)(OH)₆] · (SO₄,OH,etc) · xH₂O)

The details of all this are an intricate specialty, making concrete as sophisticated a technology as anything in your computer.

Yet basic concrete mix is practically stupid-proof, simple enough for you and me to use.

Andrew Alden is a writer, photographer, editor and blogger with a lifelong passion for rocks, minerals, fossils and the planets they come from.

Experience

Andrew spent six years with the U.S. Geological Survey, which included research excursions on land and sea. He has been a writer on geological subjects since 1981, host of the earthquakes conference on The WELL since 1992, and About.com's Geology Expert since 1997. He began leading geological tours in 2005.

Education

Andrew holds a bachelors in Earth science from the University of New Hampshire. He has field experience with the U.S. Geological Survey and local government, and is a constantly improving amateur geologist with a growing rock collection. He is a longtime member of the Geological Society of America and AGU.

Andrew Alden

I believe not only that geology is the core of all sciences, but also that knowledge of geology benefits every human being of any age. I regularly attend scientific meetings and keep abreast of geological literature, and I love to translate what I learn.

https://www.thoughtco.com/cement-and-concrete-1440946