Tag: true

Markethive

Knowing God Through His Creation

Everything God creates reveals something about Him

Written by Don Olson on 26/02/2019
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Creation, Science, Bible, Joy, Wonder
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Romans 1:20
God delights in His creation and in revealing Himself in and through it. Everything God creates reveals something about Him. That is why He told us about His creation in more than 200 verses and passages throughout the Bible.

 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

In this verse, Paul is saying that we only have to look around at nature to see that an almighty God — a supreme creator — exists.

Creation is a source of joy
From the Bible’s first verse (Genesis 1:1), God reveals Himself as the creator of everything. In other passages in the Old Testament, He tells us to look at creation: the diligence of the ant, the power of yeast, the beauty of the lilies.

In the book of Job, when God finally broke His long silence, He used four chapters to point Job to details in His creation. 

In the New Testament, Jesus, in whom all things were created (Colossians 1:16), encouraged people to look at nature — the birds, the fig tree, the fields. 

God is the ultimate source of joy, and we who are created in His image also experience joy. God wants us also to experience joy from His creation. We see evidence of this in Job 38, where God pauses while telling Job about His creation and says that when the angels saw His creation, they shouted with joy:

 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? … when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)

As mysteries are revealed, they increase our appreciation of God’s handiwork
The nature that we can see around us with the naked eye is the visible universe. While the visible universe is incredibly magnificent, there is far, far more beyond. Speaking about Jesus, Paul says that, “…by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…” (Colossians 1:16) What we can see with our eyes, or even with all five of our senses, is only the beginning. The vast majority of God’s creation is invisible to our eyes. 

A good example comparing the visible to the invisible are the stars in the sky. On a clear, dark night, the human eyes can see around 6,000 stars. Modern telescopes can see trillions. 

What is exciting in today’s world is that the tools of modern science, such as the telescope, have given us powerful new eyes with which we can peer deep into God’s creation. We can see so much, from the mighty cosmos to the tiny living cell, and see the wonders of His handiwork. Like no other time in history, science has unveiled many of the mysteries of the universe. What a gift from God! For more information on these wonders revealed by science, check out www.reasons.org.

Pray this week:
Blessed are You, O Lord, the true and awesome God Almighty who created all things.

We thank you, Lord, for the gift of science and scientific tools which allow us to peer deep into Your creation so that we may gain a fuller knowledge of You and Your plan for us. What we learn about You with our minds we can rejoice about in our hearts. We thank you, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Do you have questions about the Bible’s relationship to science? Write us to connect to someone who can help you.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

The Darkness or the Light

Are you worshipping in the light?

Written by GodLife on 13/11/2018

Series: Weekly Devotional

Tags: Church, Cults, Religion, God, Jesus

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

John 12:46

The old saying, “All that glitters is not gold,” is truth. Just because something looks like gold and feels like gold does not mean it is gold. Have you ever heard of fool’s gold? It looks like the real thing, but it is worthless. Those who know the real thing well enough know the difference. 

On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Paul (Acts 9) and told him he was to open the eyes of the Jews and the Gentiles to bring them out of the darkness into the light, from the power of Satan to the power of God, that they may receive forgiveness of sin and have a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Him. Where do you stand? Are you worshipping in darkness or in light? 

Only One God

There is only one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If you are in a church that only focuses on one person of the Holy Trinity, it is not of the Light. Similarly, when a church’s doctrine adapts the Bible’s teachings to conform to a separate religion, it is not of the Light. There is only one way to the Father: it is through Jesus Christ, God the Son (John 14:6). There is only one Holy Spirit given to indwell and guide us, and He points us to the Savior of the World.  

“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” (Isaiah 44:6) 

Sound churches go by many different names but share the same biblical doctrines. Those who are in Jesus have life because they receive these essential doctrines and have asked Him to save them. They have become a new creation. We are no longer a member of the darkness and must have nothing to do with the world’s pagan religions or practices. We are now in the Light, and we should behave as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8)

Demonic Practices

In some African and Latin American societies, Yoruba religion and other tribal practices with witchcraft, spiritism and demon guides have been blended with Catholicism or some other forms of Christianity. This practice has created new man-made religions such as Santería, Candomble and Voodoo with their demon spirit guides and curses. They are satanic in origin. These demons are disguised as Catholic saints and are worshiped. Animal and even human sacrifice may also be involved.  

Some in Hindu societies add Jesus Christ to the list of Hindu idols to be worshipped as one of their pagan gods. Hindi Christians sometimes find it difficult to come out of participating in pagan Hindu religious practices. As Christians we are to leave the darkness behind. To become a Christian is not to accept a foreign culture associated with Christianity, but to trade darkness for the Kingdom of God. 

“You shall not make for yourself any graven image of anything and bow down to it or serve it.” (Exodus 20:4-5)

Come out of the darkness and into the light. God is light, love and life. He brings joy and peace.

“…for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true…  try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (Ephesians 5:9–11)

Counterfeit Religion

Any other religion mixed with Christianity makes a separate religion. Chrislam is an example of this. Chrislam also began with the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, but has now spread around the world. Chrislam is an attempt to mix Islam and Christianity. Chrislam denies one of the essentials: the deity of Christ Jesus. It treats both the Quran and the Bible as Holy texts. Since the Bible contradicts the teachings of Islam, in Bangladesh a new translation of the Bible has been produced, which changes terms and names in order to refer to Jesus as only a prince or Master. 

In effect, in Chrislam all become Muslim because the full doctrine of Christ is denied. Christ is the Lord, God the Son and the only way to God. Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but by me.” To deny this fact is not to not believe the whole doctrine of Christ. In addition, scripture clearly says if you do not have the Son, the Saviour of the World, you do not have the Father either.

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves so that you may not lose what we have worked for; but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” (2 John 7-10)  

Chrislam, Santería, Candomblé, Vodun and New Age Christianity are counterfeits. They are of the darkness because they deny the Trinity. We are saved only by our faith in the sacrifice of the Son of God and receiving Him as our Lord and Savior. Christianity is about Christ. Fear of persecution leads many into the delusion that a compromise religion would be better. But if we deny Christ, He will deny us. (Matthew 10:33) Christ did not come to give mankind a way to salvation. He said He was “the Way”, and that no one could come to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)

A child of God cannot worship Jesus in these man-made, false religions. It would be trying to walk with one foot in the light and one in the darkness. It is following a glittering deception: a false peace motivated by fear. Just because something includes Christian terms or practices does not mean it is the real thing. Many first-century Christians were persecuted or martyred when they did not compromise their faith. In peacefully obeying His call to take up their cross and follow Him, they turned the world upside down instead. (Acts 17:6)

Pray this week:

Lord, Please, I only want your Light. Please keep me in your Light in all of my ways.

God loves you. Are you in the darkness? Why not come into the Light? 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Amazon will become an Advertising Giant

Michael K. Spencer

Blockchain Mark Consultant, tech Futurist, prolific writer. WeChat: mikekevinspencer.

Move over Google and Facebook, Amazon will dethrone you.

Just as Alibaba and Tencent compete for supremacy in the veritable tech dynasty that is emerging in China, in the U.S. Amazon and Google are increasingly becoming direct competitors.

Nowhere is this going to be more fun to watch than in advertising, smart speakers and the future of how tech companies become implicated in Health Care.

As Amazon ramps up expensive physical store expansion and logistics fulfillment with rising postal costs and higher minimum wages, it needs another “cash-cow” to fund its growth. The low-hanging fruit here is definitely digital Advertising.

Amazon is on track to generate $10 billion a year from its advertising business

Amazon’s trajectory in Advertising is also based on the growth of its Prime subscribers?—?well over 100 million at this point. With more consumers in the funnel comes more traffic and higher value for brands to advertise with Amazon, instead of outdated banner Ads with Google.

  • Amazon is quickly becoming the 3rd horseman of Western digital advertising.
  • Amazon’s growth in advertising and Alexa becoming ubiquitous is a major threat to Google and, to a lesser extent, Facebook.
  • Google has made progress with Google Home devices in 2018, but it’s hard to catch up to Alexa or AWS in the cloud.

Amazon reported $2.5 billion in sales in its “Other” category in Q3, guess what that means? It means brands are moving from Google to Amazon to do their ads. Some advertisers have already opted to move over half of their budgets from Google search to Amazon ads, according to CNBC.

Like Netflix or Tesla, Amazon is a favorite of Wall Street. Its aggressive pursuit of health care, grocery, AI and advertising means Amazon can scale over the next two decades in ways that will make Facebook and perhaps even Google look obsolete. This essentially means as an advertising platform Amazon can only go up.

Alphabet should be terrified even as they are in the smart home and some hardware initiatives, but nothing that can compare with Amazon’s dynamic approach. Alexa’s penetration of the smart home, robotics and consumer products is elevating the game, and few other companies will be able to keep up (outside of China).

EMarketer predicts Amazon will become the third largest digital ad seller in the U.S. by 2020, behind Google and Facebook. This is not news, but it may be the first time you are reading this. Even as Amazon’s stock had one of the worst weeks in recent memory, the bullish Amazon stock is the epitome of Wall Street’s recent tech bubble.

While Alphabet’s Waymo is going to be a big winner, Amazon will likely have several big winners in the decade ahead. The safest bet is digital advertising as formative companies such as Google and Facebook completely warped the internet due to their emphasis on Ads, and this led to a decline of innovation and startups in the U.S. Amazon is the last U.S. company that, in some sense, can compete on a global scale with China.

Amazon, not Google or Walmart, is the perennial “American Company”. I think the 2020s will demonstrate this.

Amazon has just a small sliver of the digital ads market in 2018, but fast forward to 2028, and just look at that chart.

Eventually Amazon Prime Video will be a massive place for digital Ads. And with Netflix’s level of debt and cash burn, it’s doubtful it will even be around in 2030. Facebook and Google have made some poor decisions that have impacted their reputations in 2018. Amazon here has the most to gain. There’s an important catch here: Amazon has demonstrated it is forconsumers, so an Amazon gain is generally a gain for consumers who value convenience, discounts and bundled services that finally have given subscriptions a good rep.

Facebook and Google were never truly on the side of consumers (nor was Microsoft), and that’s a sign of more evolved business models. Amazon’s trust levels are high and increasing the minimum wage and opening new stores should only augment it. The future of advertising is intimately connected with consumer and brand trust, and this is why Amazon as an underdog in advertising can truly disrupt the Ad-duopoly and change the face of advertising as we know it over the course of the next ten years.  https://medium.com/futuresin/amazon-will-become-an-advertising-giant-83809ac3e858

Amazon’s U.S. advertising business will generate $4.6 billion in revenues this year, giving it a 4.1% share of the market. For Amazon, its A-Z game plan?—?to dominate groceries, AI, the smart home, and ultimately advertising?—?is just beginning. Bottom line, if Amazon wins the consumer wins, and that’s the best equation for the global economy.

Jeff Bezos has googly eyes for taking on Google, and the tech wars have gotten quite serious for the future of artificial intelligence.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member